Showing results by narrator "Alexander Cendese" in All Categories

Apparently, the trauma from being kidnapped doesn't end when you're rescued, although I'm doing better. I have a roommate who has become family, and we've been adopted by a pack of otherworldly creatures who protect us. I'm still a little jumpy, and most people make me uncomfortable, but baking, therapy, and my daily walks are all helping. The sweet guard dog who follows me around in the woods helps, too. I can tell him anything I want—even how scared I am of my own family. I'm afraid to bring trouble to my new family's doorstep, but I can't end up caged again.

It turns out making out with my best friend in high school could be considered gay. Who knew? Apparently, everyone but me. Now that it's been pointed out, I can't help reliving it in my head. Repeatedly. Good-bye Denial Town, hello Confusionville. When my path leads me down the gay dating app route, I don't expect to meet anyone I like, but then I meet him. He can't be more opposite than me. He's smart, he hates hockey, and he identifies as demi - something I've never heard of. Yet I can't deny something's there.

After my honorable discharge from the Marine Corps, it only made sense to put my skills to good use as a personal bodyguard. The contracts keep me moving and traveling, and the money is good. All I've ever wanted was to make sure my mother and sister were taken care of after my father passed away. So when Anthony Costello, the notorious mob boss and my dad's ex-employer, asked me to take on a special job for his family, I couldn't say no. But not even my six-year stint as an elite Marine could have prepared me for the hellscape that is being trapped in a secluded safe house with his son.

Returning to my hometown, to normalcy, after all I've been through feels strange, to say the least. Returning to the friends and family who have all moved on with their lives while I'm still trapped with demons of my past haunting me is the worst kind of torment. I'm safe now. Lydia, the woman who stole me when I was just nine years old, is in prison. I'm free. But I don't feel free. I don't even know who I am anymore. The child I was is dead, and the man I've become is lost.

Of all the people who could have seen me when I was at my most vulnerable, it had to be him. Caleb. My stepbrother and the golden child of our messed up blended family. We barely know each other, but for some reason, he takes care of me when an incident at the club leaves me helpless and alone. He hates me as much as I hate him, but something about his bossy attitude and unflappable calm soothes me. I don't want to want him, but no one has ever made me feel the way he does.

It's said that college is where you try things and eventually find yourself. Chase Matthewson hadn't expected to experiment with his roommate and fellow teammate, Gage Statler, but a drunken night at a party led them to the same bed. Before either of them could wrap their heads around what happened, Gage suffered a devastating injury and left college. With no closure, the two put that night behind them and never spoke of it or to each other again. Years later, both men find themselves divorced, focused on fatherhood, and not looking for another long-term relationship.

Best friends. Teammates. Totally straight… until a kiss changes everything. Nate (Holky) Holcomb I’ve always been straight. No confusion, no questions—just a long list of hookups with women and a reputation for being the life of the party. But when Mad Dog moves into my house for a while, things start to get weird. Not in a bad way. Just in a “why do I want to kiss him” kind of way. We’re teammates. We’re roommates. We’re definitely not boyfriends. At least, that’s what I keep telling myself.

I hate Galaxy 6781. HATE it! One last job. The bounty of a lifetime. It wasn’t supposed to end with me on a slave planet and my entire crew dead. So, when the chance to escape presented itself, I took it. Had I known more about my fellow escapee, I might have reconsidered. When Grantham, crowned prince of Ditali, tried giving me some schpiel about how the universe has chosen us to be together, as in together ‘together’, I shot that theory down stat. I mean, I’m not even into males.

I’ve spent years as the Warriors’ goalie, holding the line under pressure. But off the ice, my life’s a disaster. After dating too many men who only saw me as an NHL trophy, I’ve sworn off romance—until Brody skates into my life. He’s newly traded to the team, ten years younger, and carrying the weight of the world. I should keep my distance, but every stolen glance, every unguarded smile pulls me in. A playful bet pushes me to take a chance with Brody, though I’m risking more than my heart.

At Rho Kappa Tau, I’m a legacy. It’s a lot of pressure, but I’ve always been responsible, never had that rebellious need to rock the boat - and I like it that way. But after a party at Sigma - the jock frat - I meet Chad Doomsen, and for the first time in my life, I want to step outside my square. Our houses have always had a rivalry, but some of the guys seem to hate Chad specifically, and I don’t know why. He’s surprisingly sweet and kind. I need to stay away. A relationship with Chad would be betraying the very legacy that brought me here. But I can’t help myself.

When the guys at work dare me and the new guy to play a game of gay chicken, I figure I'll get my first kiss and bragging rights for winning. What I don't expect is for that game to awaken something in me. Something I've never felt before. Something that makes me want more. Makes me want him. I never back down from a challenge, but that doesn't explain why being with Noah feels so good. Why I can't stop thinking about him. Why he's the only person who's ever stirred even the slightest interest in me. Why getting him off gets me off.

Getting kidnapped and held hostage in a human trafficker's basement was not on my bingo card. Getting rescued by a paranormal being was also not on my bingo card. (Apparently, I needed to trade in bingo cards.) The guy who took me may be dead, but I know there are more people behind the operation, and I plan to shut it down. If I need to get the help of one of the creepy glowing-eyed dudes to do it, I will. It turns out Liam is incredibly sexy and really good with technology, too. He may be great at hacking into computers, but I'm determined to hack my way into his life.

I planned to arrive early at our remote lakeside cabin for a solo week of much-needed rest and relaxation before Thanksgiving. That was until my brother called and told me his best friends, my childhood crushes, would be there early too. I convinced myself it was fine. Besides, that was four years ago, and after they ghosted me, I got over them.

The rookie goalie with the Christmas-movie smile was never supposed to get under my skin. He's loud, relentless, and far too good at seeing through the walls I've spent years building. When the blizzard hit, I figured I could survive a few days of his cheer. I didn't plan on him looking at me like I was worth unwrapping. We said it was just to keep warm. Just a weekend thing. But then he keeps showing up—at the rink, in my bed, in my dreams—and suddenly I'm the one breaking all my own rules. He still believes in holiday magic. I stopped believing a long time ago.

While I've always known my infatuation with Cash and Ford was meant to remain an unfulfilled dream, I never really lost hope. Hope that the two men, twice my age, would ever see me as more than just a kid. As more than just their best friend's son. I'm not a kid anymore, and at twenty-one, they're about to see that little meek and quiet Ben is old enough for many things. Old enough to finally attract their attention. And frankly, old enough to know better. To know that these stolen touches and lustful trysts behind closed doors could never really amount to more.

A morally grey billionaire. His bride, the woman he'll do anything to protect. The steamy, emotional wedding romance you'll never forget. Avery Ross and billionaire Dominic Baine have fought for their love through every secret, every scar, and every storm. Now, as they stand on the edge of...

Max has been in love with his childhood best friend, Ash, for years. The reason he has kept it a secret is because Ash also happens to be Max's brother's ex-boyfriend. Complicated doesn't begin to explain their relationship.

When it comes to hockey, I'm all about the game. I've worked for years to be one of the best in the league, and l've done it without splashing my orientation all over the tabloids. My hockey image is one I've carefully cultivated, and after one night with Ezra Palaszczuk, I risk it all. He's cocky, obnoxious, and has an ego bigger than Massachusetts. And okay, maybe he's the sexiest man I've ever known. We'll never get along. Not when we sleep together. Not even when my possessive streak awakens. That doesn't stop us from falling into bed together over and over again.

My newest obsession is nothing like any of my past hookups. A perma-scowl and general leave-me-alone attitude? Yeah, that's the kind of thing I usually stay away from. But the most shocking part about all of this is that the person who's got me all out of whack . . . isn't a girl. Bash is a six-foot-four-tatted personal trainer who seems to want nothing to do with me. Until I'm naked, that is. As soon as I'm dressed, he's more than ready to say goodbye. But if there's one thing getting a taste of Sebastian Crawford has taught me, it's that one taste just isn't enough.

Our pasts were a part of us. Definitively. Irrevocably. Mine hijacked my dreams every night, drowning me in guilt and staining my hands red. It wasn't just a part of me, it stole a piece of me—the piece that stopped me from letting people get too close. And I'd become pretty damn good at playing the untouchable asshole card just to keep them away. But apparently, Dakota Samuels didn't get that memo.