Books Tagged With potential trigger - traumatic past

Word Count: Click here to reveal51000 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealGay (Click here to hide)

Summary: A human thief unable to escape a deadly fate. A vampire warlock who lives in internal chaos. Saving his fated mate means saving his sanity, but is a human willing to be a Daddy to a needy boy?   Mitchell Burke is out of time. Escaping an evil crime boss who makes him fight for his life every night is impossible. Until the prettiest stranger comes to his rescue.   Seryn is one-of-a-kind. He's a vampire and a warlock. He's also an assassin and a darn good one. But Seryn has a problem. He can see the future, but his visions are out of control. The second he sees his fated mate the past and future collide.   All Mitchell has ever known is how to fight and steal, but helping Seryn means having a firm but gentle touch. Just when he has it all figured out, his past comes back to bite him.   Mitchell is the second novel in the Dragon Skull MC Daddies series. This steamy MM Paranormal Romance features a Daddy-in-training who finds out vampires and magic exists the hard way and a magic-wielding vampire who looks like an angel but will kill everyone who hurts his fated mate. If you love unsuspecting humans, mates with a size difference, and lots of sexy time, then you'll love this Action-packed romance.

Word Count: Information not available

Character Identities: Click here to revealGay (Click here to hide)

Summary: “Ky’s a fighter. Blue’s an artist. But together they are truly magical.”  Ky’s fought his way to the boxing championship for the third time, but now the fight of his life isn’t against an opponent in the ring. He’s battling a darkness within himself that he can’t ignore and can’t control. If he fails, everything he’s spent his life working for will be gone, and he can’t see a path to victory. Only a hunch sends him looking for help in the most unusual places. Blue’s a quiet guy, living for his family and the art of his tattoos. He’s created his shop, Blue’s Dungeon, to be a place for the celebration of art on skin—simple, friendly, and mostly uncomplicated—and Blue likes it that way. But when Ky shows up in Blue’s tattoo studio, desperately searching for a lifeline, it’s the beginning of something magical for both men…

Word Count: Click here to reveal17,600 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealLesbian (Click here to hide)

Summary: Sometimes life gives you more than this. Two years after whistle-blowing on irregularities in the company she worked for in the US, businesswoman Veronica Smith runs into Cassandra Forster, the woman with whom she had an intense affair back in New York. Cass pushed all Ronnie’s buttons as well as her boundaries, and the relationship was becoming something more before Ronnie left without an explanation. When they pick up where they left off, Ronnie finds she still wants more…but does Cass feel the same? Cass wants an explanation. Being with Ronnie had begun to mean more than great sex, but then Ronnie left her high and dry. Cass’ feelings haven’t changed, but can she trust Ronnie enough not to hurt her again? Can she trust herself to let someone into her life? Over a weekend and a wedding, the two women finally talk and discover they have more in common than the ability to meet each other’s desires. But can they take this second chance life has given them to have more than this?

Word Count: Click here to reveal47,349 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealGay (Click here to hide)

Summary: All the Honorable St. John Ashford ever wanted was his father’s love, but if he can’t have that, he’ll settle for being noticed. In an effort to do that, St. John sets his sights on Andrew Dorincourt, a man for whom the Viscount has nothing but disdain. Surely this will draw his father’s attention? Unfortunately, while Andrew seems willing to date him, he appears entirely disinterested in anything else. St. John knows it’s just a matter of time before all his plans going up in smoke, especially when Andrew becomes attracted to an exotic young man he rescued from Malossini’s House of Oddities. Robin Dorincourt is something of a playboy who enjoys nothing so much as flitting from one boyfriend to another. He doesn’t poach, though, and when he finds himself attracted to St. John Ashford, he does what he can to keep a healthy distance between them, using taunts and teasing. It’s difficult, until he realizes his brother is in love with someone else. Robin’s path toward St. John is clear, and he makes his move. But is his path as clear as he imagines? St. John might be as attracted to Robin as Robin is to him, but he’ll be damned if he allows himself to be passed from one brother to the other as if he’s nothing more than a poor second choice. Now it remains is for Robin to persuade St. John he’s no one’s second choice.

Word Count: Click here to reveal67642 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealBisexual, Gay (Click here to hide)

Summary: Edward Grey is a medical student by day, necromancer by night. He lives alone with the first zombie he ever raised, his childhood cat, Boo. Edward’s life is simple: studying medicine, training his necromantic powers with his mentor, Mariel, and having weekly dinners with his parents. When he finds a very attractive corpse in a park and brings it home to reanimate, he creates a sassy, free-willed zombie who believes Edward is the one who murdered him. With no memory of his former life, Edward names the zombie Kit and tries to win his trust. Kit slowly adjuststo his new un-life with Edward’s help, though he’s still suspicious of Edward’s role in his death and is convinced that Edward is hiding his former identity. Edward is very attracted to Kit, but understands why Kit doesn’t trust him. As they become closer to one another, Kit turns to Edward for comfort and love. The fragile trust they’ve built together will be tested when Kit unexpectedly regains his memory and seeks revenge on his murderers.

Word Count: Click here to reveal63500 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealBisexual, Gay (Click here to hide)

Summary: Edward Grey is no stranger to the undead; since raising his cat as a zombie when he was a child, he and his mentor Mariel have explored and developed his power as a necromancer. Despite everything he's learned, as a necromancer and a medical student, he's never encountered a ghost. While Mariel is unreachable in Haiti on mysterious business, a ghost wakes Edward in the middle of the night, claiming to be his grandfather. When the ghost offers to teach him about this different form ofundeath, Edward has little choice but to trust the spirit. After receiving a phone call from a young girl claiming her father is possessed, Edward and his Undead Canadian fiancé, Kit, must travel to an acreage in Kingston…Ontario. The haunting proves far more complicated than Edward could ever have guessed, and he finds himself pitted against an ancient evil determined to engulf everyone on the farm. Edward's love and connection to Kit will be tested, and his necromancy stretched to his limits as he has to find—and destroy—a twisted spirit more powerful than anything he's ever encountered.  

Word Count: Click here to reveal237403 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealGay (Click here to hide)

Summary: These four novels span about a year, from late October 2013 until early October the following year. A pivotal date to remember—and to celebrate—is February 4, 2014. On that day, around eleven o’clock on a fair morning, Scotland’s Parliament approved the country’s historic same-sex marriage bill. These novels serve as a commemoration of that lovely day, its foreplay, and its aftermath. Rory Drummond and Alex Dominguez are an unlikely pair…a bigger-than-life Scot with an immense appetite for sex and adventure meets a shy Nevada State Trooper who’s been thrust into the job of “baby-sitting” him during a big game hunt in the mountains of Nevada. What could go wrong? More important, what could go right?  The first novel, Nevada Highlander, brings these guys together. And boy howdy, as some folks might say, do they come together—a lot—until Rory finds out that the man on his tail is doing it only as a job. One reviewer said it well: “Sparks and Levi’s fly.” In The Kilt Complex, Rory is back in Scotland, at the castle he oversees as a laird or “landlord.”. But there’s an interesting new meaning to the words “castle keep,” because Alex is now living with him. As Alex struggles to extricate himself from his role as boy toy, Rory tries his best to understand why his lover needs to earn his own way in such wide open spaces. And thereby hangs a tale of guilt and kilt…the story of a lovely girl named Thistle…and the mystery of a killer in paradise. Alex’s need for space comes to a climax when he moves out of Rory’s castle, into a small cabin called Hunter’s Point. And speaking of points—he now has a job as Special Constable, overseeing the point of land where a famous lighthouse stands. The action ramps up when a local teacher turns up missing, and the trail of a possible killer leads to the lonely lighthouse. It also leads straight to a very troubling time in Rory’s past…and to the fateful date of February 4. When an old friend and former war comrade of Rory’s father disappears, Rory and Alex team up as a pair of ersatz constables in Scotland’s Highlands. Rory finds out the hard way that being the mate of a hard-ass cop means he’ll always be Sleeping with Danger. On the trail of the missing man, they find a Jacobite tower hiding recent violence…a 300-year-old elbow of the devil…and a graveyard whose crumbling bones cover old secrets worth killing for. In four novels, a pair of intriguing men go from the Highlands of Nevada to the Highlands of bonnie Scotland. The romance is full of bumps and detours, a silver wolfhound, several silver foxes, and surprising self growth for both of them. PS, a fifth novel (Brash Tower) is due to be released in early 2022. A jawbone and an old relic serve up a deadly mystery for Rory and Alex, just as they move into their new home and try to plan an official wedding ceremony that Scotland has not decided how the hell to do.

Word Count: Click here to reveal68000 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealGay (Click here to hide)

Summary: Hunter Callahan loved being a merc. As an explosives expert for Lawson & Greer, he’s dealt with everything from IEDs to rogue nukes. But when a suicide bomber in the form of a seven-year-old boy walks into camp, Hunter learns there are some fates far worse than death. Payne Gibson recognizes the “thousand yard stare” of the PTSD Hunter refuses to acknowledge, and as a natural caretaker, he can’t resist when his boss, Cade “Hercules” Thornton, asks him to help. Hunter is resistant until their surveillance assignment turns dangerous, and Hunter realizes he’s in danger of losing his career, the only thing in his life that matters to him anymore. Conventional therapy hasn’t worked, so Payne suggests an unorthodox form of therapy: BDSM. As a Dom, Payne thinks he can help Hunter face the issues he’s been avoiding. Having come to trust Payne and knowing his career is on the line, Hunter agrees to try. Their relationship as Dom and sub deepens more than either of them expected. Payne knows adding emotions into the mix is dangerous, but he can’t help it when Hunter is both the man and the sub Payne has hoped to find. But Hunter doesn’t feel he deserves love, not when his best friend is dead because of him, leaving behind a wife and child to mourn -- and to blame Hunter for their loss. Payne can help Hunter to stare into the abyss… but what stares back might be more intense than either of them can handle.

Word Count: Click here to reveal49135 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealGay (Click here to hide)

Summary: Love hurts… Rick Hendrickson is a drifter who stops in the hick town of Noble, Nevada, hoping to find a job. One night in a bar his delft-blue eyes reach out and snag young Tony Grazzo like barbed wire. Hometown boy Tony, home from college, is ducking a suffocating relationship with a girl. When he and Rick find themselves in a dumpy roadside motel room, on a swaybacked bed …blue eyes and tight Levi’s come together. Their affair is fast and unrestrained, in spite of Tony’s awkward naivete and Rick’s shrouded history. Each begins to think life is pretty damn good. But the past of both men fractures their present life together. What happens to put one behind bars, while the other runs? And if love hurts this bad, can it also heal?

Word Count: Click here to reveal103000 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealGay (Click here to hide)

Summary: First I was a sorcerer. Then I was a hermit. For so long—for years that seemed to go on forever—I couldn't bear to be touched. I put up not just walls but whole stone bunkers to keep everyone out, emotionally, and physically as well. I was protected from people, from ghosts, from specters real and imagined. Sure, I was alone. But I felt safe. Only, after a while, I wasn't sure any longer whether a totally "safe" empty life was really worth living. Then Tobin came along. Out of the blue, out of my past, with a summons from the king that he wouldn't let me ignore. I tried to cling to my isolation, but he wouldn't give up on me. Tobin never believed in walls. This story was written as a part of the M/M Romance Group's "Love Has No Boundaries" event. Group members were asked to write a story prompt inspired by a photo of their choice. Authors of the group selected a photo and prompt that spoke to them and wrote a short story. 103,000 words

Word Count: Click here to reveal75000 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealGay (Click here to hide)

Summary: When Perfection Collides With Chaos, Sparks Fly Crispin Eladrin, desk fae at the Office of the Lost, could find a needle in ten haystacks. His desk is so neat it would make an accountant blush, and he's never failed to complete a recovery mission. He has no idea how adorable he is, especially when he's at his most annoyingly officious. Enter utterly chaotic Leopold Lane. His life is a masterclass in disastrous events--and it's about to get worse. He's the latest thing that Crispin has been sent to retrieve, but when they meet, sparks fly. Literally. And now they must find their way back before someone—or something—enchants them, eats them, or stomps them to death. Neither knows why the Office of the Lost is so hell-bent on acquiring Leo, but they're determined to survive long enough to find out--and to see if opposites really do attract.

Word Count: Click here to reveal42642 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealBisexual, Gay, Transgender (Click here to hide)

Summary: Haunted by his last case and still struggling financially, private investigator Nick Fabian is floundering when a birthday surprise from his best friend Connor Long and boyfriend Roy Constas—a home of their own—offers a ray of hope for a future life beyond living in a cramped trailer and staring into the depths of human depravity. Nick's optimism soon fades when he finds human remains crammed into a suitcase dumped in the attic. The bones belong to a local child who was reported missing three years ago. The news only gets worse when Roy reveals he was the one who took the suitcase up into the attic at Connor's request, but he insists he had no idea of its grisly contents. With Connor Long the prime suspect in a murder yet again, battle lines are drawn in Point Clear. Connor's pregnant wife Lillian and girlfriend Sabrina stand by him, but Roy and Emily aren't so certain of his innocence. Nick finds himself trapped in the middle, drawn to Connor by an attraction he's never fully explored, but forced to accept the fact that Connor's hiding something. Connor's brother, Sheriff Thomas Long, hires Nick to investigate and find out the truth, no matter how ugly it may be—but will he regret asking the question once he knows the horrifying answer?

Word Count: Click here to reveal147,000 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealGay (Click here to hide)

Summary: After Oliver Twist commits murder to protect Jack Dawkins (The Artful Dodger), both flee London’s now dangerous streets. Along the way, Jack becomes gravely ill, and Oliver is forced to gut fish by hand to pay for the doctor’s bills. While Oliver tries to balance his desire for respectability against his growing love for Jack, Jack balks against staying in bed, and wants to pick pockets, and both their tempers flare. But in spite of their personal struggles, and in the face of dire circumstances, they discover the depth of their love for each other. Oliver & Jack: At Lodgings In Lyme is the second book in Christina E. Pilz’s Oliver & Jack series, a gay historical romance. If you like nuanced characters and forbidden love overcoming adversity, then you’ll love this story, so pick up a copy today!

Word Count: Click here to reveal160,000 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealGay (Click here to hide)

Summary: After a seaside interlude, during which they grew closer and their relationship stronger, Oliver and Jack are arrested and sent to Axminster Workhouse to await trial for the theft of books that they only borrowed. They are put in the less-than-tender care of Workmaster Chalenheim, who controls the quotas they must fill, the amount of food they eat, and the punishments they must endure. Oliver struggles with the shame of being in a place he thought he’d left behind him long ago. Meanwhile, Jack is confronted by a predator, who tests the limits of Jack’s love for Oliver. Together they must find a way to escape the workhouse before they succumb to the harsh conditions or are separated by the hangman’s noose, whichever comes first. In Axminster Workhouse is the third book in Christina E. Pilz’s Oliver & Jack series, a gay historical romance. If you like dark stories about forbidden love in dark places, then you'll love this story, so pick up a copy today!

Word Count: Click here to reveal45000 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealBisexual, Demisexual, Gay (Click here to hide)

Summary: Can I be both Alpha and the man Rob needs me to be? I spent nineteen years rebuilding the pack I took from our abusive Alpha, with my bondmate Melody as my wife, and my best friend Rob at my side as Second. Then I lost Melody and the child we hoped to have, and my world crashed down on me. I holed up, grieving and fighting conflicting impulses, until my Third, Sherman, got tired of my apathy and Challenged me for pack Alpha. I could've taken Sherman down, no sweat. Rob could've wiped the dirt with him. What held us back was the memory of one night when we were both seventeen, and three decades of not giving in to impossible dreams. If we were free, away from the violent homophobia of the packs, maybe we could finally be more than Alpha and Second. So I suppressed my Alpha instincts and walked away. Rob, as always, came with me. Now we're in my truck, heading west into the mountains. Just David and Rob, two men trying to figure out what we can be to each other. Until we stop in a small town for a meal, and someone who smells like a wolf steals my truck. Trouble's afoot, the local lone wolves need help, and I'm discovering that once an Alpha, always an Alpha. But if we get entangled with a new pack, does that mean any relationship Rob and I might've found has to be lost again to werewolf laws? Set in 2010, a year before Unacceptable Risk in the bad old days of the packs, this is a Hidden Wolves universe standalone 45,000 word novella with new characters. Content warnings for grief, past pregnancy loss, past abuse, past captivity, and violence. Contains the added bonus 5K short story Toby, Doyle, and the Cats.

Word Count: Click here to reveal102937 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealGay (Click here to hide)

Summary: HAYES I say yes to adventure. To spontaneity. But that’s probably why all my relationships ended in heartbreak—for me. So, I swore off dating for a year. Figure out who I am and what I want. Then my dear friend Emilee was killed in a car crash. She’d started a Bucket List, but much had been unfinished—she was only 27. So, when our group decided to tackle her bucket list, I chose: Take a road trip with my brother. I don’t have a brother, but Emilee did. An older, sexy as hell, very straight, international pilot brother. A road trip with him will be fun, meaningful… and platonic. A totally uncomplicated five day, no temptations trip. Except Gabe wasn’t all that was ‘advertised,’ and every hour on the road makes staying detached harder. If I’m not careful, I won’t just break my own rules—I’ll break my heart. GABE Love means loss. I’ve buried my parents, my first boyfriend, and most recently, my baby sister. That’s why I keep people at arm’s length. It’s safer that way. Especially when being openly gay in the cockpit still raises eyebrows. So why did I say yes to a road trip with Hayes? Maybe because he reminds me of Emilee. Maybe because, for the first time in years, I don’t feel like I’m free-falling. Maybe I’m tired of flying solo. Because Hayes isn’t just Emilee’s best friend. He’s funny. Obscenely positive. Loyal. Off-limits. Stupidly gorgeous. And unraveling every defense I’ve ever built. When the trip ends, I’ll have to choose: keep flying… or finally land where I belong. Because love might mean loss… but maybe, this time, it also means home. Open Roads, Open Hearts is a heartfelt, steamy MM romance about love, loss, and taking the leap—because sometimes, the best destinations are the ones you never planned.

Word Count: Click here to reveal60869 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealGay (Click here to hide)

Summary: Storms pass and, in their wake, new beginnings can be found. Talented young artist Jonty Trelawn paints the sea as self-inflicted punishment. For almost a year he has hidden away from life, survivor’s guilt consuming him, but the time has come to move on. He conceives the idea of a charity art auction in support of the local lifeboat station and the men and women who saved his life. He hopes the tribute to his family will release him from the sea’s invisible chains. Carpenter Jed Curnow is bound to the water in a different way. As deputy coxswain of the Govenek, the local lifeboat, his world revolves around the close-knit crew. He thinks nothing of risking his life to save others. Saving Jonty is less dangerous but just as important to him. He wants nothing more than to give Jonty the love and security he needs. Jed’s dominant personality calls to Jonty’s more submissive nature but will he ever allow himself to be happy? It’s up to Jed and his best friend Marmite to help Jonty put his tragic past behind him and live for the future.

Word Count: Click here to reveal23000 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealGay (Click here to hide)

Summary: Caught between a mad scientist, a witch, and a hard place —and that was before he shifted. Austin thinks he's a guy trying to do the right thing, live a decent life that he’d fought so hard for. Then his world changes forever... A secret government project, Operation Elevate, abducts him for their nefarious and mysterious purpose, and what are they giving him in return? A mission, a lover, and the ability to shift into a panther. Now he's battling against forces he doesn't understand. He had thought he could stop fighting, but Austin’s fight is only beginning. Operation Elevate Part One: Panther Abducted

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Character Identities: Click here to revealGay (Click here to hide)

Summary: A divorce lawyer with a romantic spirit.  A cynical television executive who thinks commitment is for fools.  They can’t fight their attraction, or their affection. Can they find a way to reconcile their vastly different needs, or will each of them walk away from the best thing they’ve ever had? Jordan might be a divorce lawyer, but he’s a hopeless romantic.  He doesn’t see the two as incompatible, either.  He’s never had a relationship last long enough to be with someone on Valentine’s Day, but he’s still hopeful he’ll find the one out there somewhere. Sam is an executive vice president at a major television network.  He spends his days managing programming, much of it centered around romance, and he knows exactly how fake television romances are.  His own background of rejection only cements his views on the fleeting nature of affection. They meet by chance, when Sam’s sister and best friend file for divorce.  The divorce is messy, and Sam and Jordan are thrown together often enough to try to make a relationship work.  When the winter holidays roll around, the difference in their expectations comes to the fore.  Can Sam overcome his fear of commitment – and rejection?  Can Jordan get over his need to define their relationship?  Or will they both lose the one thing in their lives that made them happiest?

Word Count: Click here to reveal77630 (Click here to hide)

Character Identities: Click here to revealGay (Click here to hide)

Summary: Abandoned by his mother and raised by a judgmental, homophobic father on the unforgiving streets of Overtown, Davin Monroe knows a lot about survival and little about love. As heir to the family business, Alaric Bennett’s innate strength makes him the pillar upon which the family problems fall but leaves him emotionally abandoned by those that need him. One chance meeting and five beautiful years together do not prepare them for the dark, depraved jealousy threatening their hard earned happiness. Now a killer has forced Detective Monroe to face the past and the only man his heart has ever wanted. With only one shot at redemption, Alaric is determined to uncover to truth and bring his lover home. When discovering the one secret that has kept them apart for eight years unravels an entire hidden life can Alaric and Davin survive the revelations that follow? Authors Note: The books contains references to past abuse. Kindle Unlimited: Past Hurts' enrollment in KU will expire February 6, 2017