Heart in Chains (MM) ~ Elodie Parkes @ElodieParkes @EncompassInk

From the Author…

I so enjoyed writing ‘Heart in Chains’. I’d just written, MM romance, ‘A Forever Kind of Thing’ for an Encompass Ink anthology to be released later this year and I was still in MM story writing mode.

Connor and Jay my heroes just gelled in my mind immediately as I considered the kind of adventure Connor might have on vacation in an exotic place such as Indonesia. Jay is a mysterious character, tough, driven, but on the verge of changing his dangerous life when he meets Connor. Connor is still getting over a relationship break up, but it’s been long enough and he’s tired of being single. His former boyfriend’s betrayal stays with him, but as soon as he sees Jay, attraction is seeded in his heart.

These two characters are dear to me. Tenderness lies beneath Jay’s composed and tough exterior and courage lies beneath Connor’s sexual vulnerability. I think both will surprise you as you read their story.

Blurb:

When Connor Douglas takes a tropical island holiday, he hopes to leave heartbreak behind. Little does he know the extent of the danger and sexual temptation that awaits him.

Long after Jay Levesque has closed down his operations on the very same tropical island, the memory of Connor haunts him.

Warm nights and scorching sex has someone’s heart in chains.

Be warned: m/m sex

Excerpt:

Darkness was falling as Jay arrived back with another man. They carried a tray each and the other man carried a stool. The other man left, but Jay smiled at Connor as he waited by the bed. Jay flipped a switch on the wall by the door and lit the place. Light streamed downward from the little white coolie-hat shade.

“Come, let’s eat.” He indicated the chair and sat on the stool himself.

Connor dragged his chain as he went to the table. He sat and took the cover off the plate of food. It looked good and the fish was already cut up, which was great since there was no knife, only a fork by his plate. He didn’t expect to be hungry, but after tasting the food, he ate almost all of it before he put down his fork and gave a sigh.

Jay ate slowly. When Connor stopped eating so did he and he placed his fork on the tray.

“It’s good to see you eat. Kiku, the man who brought the food with me, is going to bring coffee. Tell me about yourself.”

Connor turned to face Jay. He felt better after eating. “I don’t get it. Why do you want to know? Why are you being kind?”

Jay frowned. “There’s no need not to be kind. Humor me. Tell me a little about yourself.”

Connor shrugged. “I’m a marine biologist. I’m on vacation. I needed something completely different in my life for a time. These islands seemed like a good idea, far away, warm, beautiful, and …” He stopped talking. What’s the point in this?

Jay pushed his dark hair back from his forehead and folded his arms. He smiled.

“Far away. From what, Connor? A love affair gone wrong I think.”

Connor looked down at the remains of his food in confusion. Did he really want to tell his captor about his heartbreak?

“Not that it’s anything to do with you, but yes … I guess.”

Before Connor could react or even know what was happening, Jay reached out a hand and slipped it around Connor’s head. He swooped on Connor’s mouth and kissed him.

The kiss was so unexpected and yet so delicious, Connor closed his eyes and let it happen. He drifted in the soft merge of Jay’s lips on his. The lingering pressure and the way Jay brought his other hand up to caress the back of Connor’s neck was addictive. Connor leaned into the embrace. His cock hardened. Tingles from the circle of Jay’s fingertips on his neck spread down his spine and made his ass feel melted. Thoughts left him. The only thing that mattered right then was the kiss, and he lifted his hands to hold Jay’s muscled shoulders and kiss him in return.

It was Jay who drew away from the kiss.

Connor leaned back in his chair then, shocked at his response.

Buy Link:

Amazon (smart link)

Author Bio:

I’m a writer who is in love with happy endings. Currently based in the UK but thinking about joining the next flock of birds I see heading south for the winter.

I love: music, art, flowers, trees, the ocean…

I work with antiques by day and words by night.

Like a vampire, darkness is my friend, that’s when the silence is only broken by an occasional hoot of owls in the woodlands opposite my current home, and I write.

Author Links:

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Parker’s Profile (MM) ~ L.D. Blakeley @ldblakeley @evernightpub

From the Author…

Thanks so much for having me on your blog today to talk about Parker’s Profile! I’m excited for everyone to meet Parker and Lane as I’ve become quite fond of them since they sprang to life.

The boys first appeared to me last December when a certain viral video was making the rounds. You know the one I’m talking about. The one where the impossibly beautiful Brock O’Hurn teaches the ridiculously adorable Zach Kornfeld how to be sexy? Yep, that video. Because it’s the way my brain works, my first thought was, “oh, what if it were two slightly different men in that situation?” And thus sprang the story idea.

And, while I did envision Zach and Brock initially, it didn’t take long before Parker and Lane were two fully-formed characters with their own ideas about how their story needed to be told. So I listened. And I hope you enjoy.

Blurb:

Parker Knowles needs a date. No, really. If he can’t find one by Valentine’s Day, he’s agreed to let his sister fix him up. And quite frankly, he’d rather chew off his own arm than go out with someone of his sister’s choosing.

Internet phenom, Lane Steadman, has offered to show Parker the art of the perfect selfie. After all, an outstanding dating profile is useless without a topnotch photo, right?

Can love really be found on the Internet? Or is a real-world connection closer to Parker than he thinks?

Be warned: m/m sex

Excerpt:

“What we need to do is get you wet.”

“Pardon?” Parker squawked.

“Yeah. Aside from that video Seth posted, my most popular pics are the ones at the beach or in a pool,” Lane explained.

There’s a shocker, Parker thought.

“I smelled chlorine in the lobby. I’m assuming there’s a pool in your building?” the other man continued.

“Yeah, there is, but…”

“Perfect.” Lane hopped up and slid his phone into his back pocket, giving Parker both the means and opportunity to ogle. And ogle, he did.

Until he realized Lane meant to take pictures of him in a bathing suit, and all ogling ground to a screeching halt. Oh, hell no

“I’m not sure if it’s such a good idea,” was what he actually said.

“What’s not a good idea?” With perfect timing, Seth strolled into the living room and handed them both a beer.

“Me posing in a pool.” Parker searched for a reason that wasn’t I don’t want to pop a boner near Lane that I can’t hide in a bathing suit.

“Maybe being in the pool will relax you,” Lane added. “Because I don’t think the beer is doing the trick.”

Parker knew the gorgeous man was trying to be helpful. Reluctantly, he nodded. “Fine. Can I grab my trunks first?”

“Unless you’d prefer to be naked.” Lane winked and Parker felt his kneecaps liquefy.

He knew Lane hadn’t intended to come across as flirtatious. Unfortunately, his brain was having a tough time comprehending that. Pull yourself together, you drooling idiot. This guy is doing you a favor. The least you can do is behave like a sane, rational adult.

Too bad his id was projecting horny, teenage boy.

Pushing aside his inappropriate and misplaced lust, Parker headed into his bedroom and quickly changed his clothes, swapping out boxer briefs for swim trunks. He could do this.

As he headed back into the living room, he grabbed the security swipe card off the key rack by the door. “Okay, let’s get it over with.”

Lane and Seth followed behind Parker and kept up a constant chatter as the three of them rode the elevator to the lobby. Parker waved a quick hello to a neighbor as they exited and made their way toward the pool. When he heard voices coming from the direction of their final destination, however, he started to have second (and possibly third and fourth) thoughts.

“There’s people in there.” He faltered outside the glass doors that led to the pool. “Maybe this isn’t such a good—”

“Nope.” Seth grabbed the swipe card from Parker. “You’re not bailing on this.”

“M’not bailing. Just … can we do it when there’s nobody around?” He was prepared to start begging when the two older gentlemen who had been swimming laps, climbed out of the pool and started gathering up their belongings.

Seth had already unlocked the door and was holding it open for Parker and Lane to join him on the deck of the now-empty pool. “C’mon, stud. Let’s take some pictures.”

“Oh God.” Parker cringed at Seth’s choice of words. As they made their way around the perimeter of the pool, he looked to Lane, who had his phone out and looked keen to get started.

“Should I just…”

“Strip, baby.” Lane’s eyes crinkled in mirth as his mouth curved into a wicked grin.

“I hate you both,” Parker muttered as he fumbled with the buttons on his shirt.

Buy Links:

Evernight  ~  Bookstrand  ~  Amazon  ~  All Romance  ~  Barnes & Noble  ~  iTunes

Author Bio:

L.D. Blakeley is a pragmatist with a romantic soul & a dirty mind who’s a fan of horror movies, hot sex, and happily ever afters. Easily distracted by shiny things, L.D. is a slightly neurotic, highly ambitious dreamer who enjoys dabbling in photography & pretending she can carry a tune.

In another life, L.D. was a newspaper reporter, an entertainment & music writer, travel writer, website content editor, and a marketing shill. Now she prefers to spend her time writing hot, steamy fiction (with a healthy dose of romance) about intriguing, sexy men.  Although she dreams of living some place isolated with an endless supply of wine and an infinite number of titles on her eReader, she currently lives in downtown Toronto with her husband and their rock star cat.

Author Links:

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BAD ALPHA: Manlove Edition @evernightpub

Bad Alpha features a select collection of stories with shifters so ruthless they will stop at nothing to protect their pack. These aren’t sugar-and-spice heroes. Our alphas are feared, inked, and don’t ask questions first. They take what they want, never give in to their enemies, and think love is for the weak—until they meet their mate. Are you ready to learn how to tame a savage heart?

Be warned:  m/m sex

7 AUTHORS ~ 7 HOT PARANORMAL STORIES

**** **** **** ****

BLURBS:

Bully Boys by Nicola Cameron 
When Victorian solicitor Arthur Finter is forced to cut down a dangerous London alley after work, he stumbles upon pit bull shifter Alpha Gunner Jones in the middle of a dogfight with a rival shifter pack. The hardnosed bully boy scents Arthur and recognizes him as his mate, but will events orchestrated by the other pack separate them before Gunner can lay final claim?

The Alpha’s Assassin by Doris O’Connor
Love is for fools…

Bear shifter Zayden Reid makes his living doing what he does best—killing people. The sought after assassin doesn’t have to think twice when he’s offered a lot of money to kill the Alpha of a wolf pack, until he scents his mate.

As the Alpha of his pack Quinton Thorn is used to giving orders. He may be gay, but that doesn’t mean he’s weak, and he’ll squash any challenge to his leadership with ruthless efficiency. When the threat comes from a source he trusts, however, can he afford to give into his feelings for his mate, knowing that he’ll endanger everyone under his protection?

The mating bond cannot be denied, no matter what the consequences, and they might well kill.

Discarded Pup by Angelique Voisen 
Betrayed by his beta and abandoned by his pack, Cole Reyes wasted the last ten years of his life rotting behind bars. A cage is no place for a wolf, and wounds left open, fester. Cole has zero tolerance for mercy. The time Cole spent in prison didn’t just bleed out all the decency he once possessed. It broke him. Made him hard and unforgiving. Cole’s vengeance starts now, beginning with his beta’s new toy.

Yellow Eyes by Gale Stanley
The brutal war between shifters and humans is over, but each side still sees the other as a threat. The only thing they can agree on, is that they can’t agree. Humans live east of the bridge, shifters live west. Camden is a half-breed, the product of a rape that happened during the war. Neither side wants him, but he lives with his human mother. The night she dies, Camden goes west looking for revenge. He knows he won’t find his father, and he’ll probably get himself killed, but he doesn’t care. As long as he takes a shifter with him, he’ll die happy.

Wyat is alpha of the pack living in the west. He’s a warrior who believes in separation of the races. Then on the night of the full moon, he discovers a half-breed hiding in the alley. The man’s scent makes him burn with lust, and against his better judgement, he takes him home—and discovers that sleeping with the enemy might just lead to a better future.

Destined by L.D. Blakeley 
Caleb Stokes has had a shit night. Too bad catching his boyfriend in flagrante delicto with the club DJ isn’t the worst thing he’ll witness before the night is through.

Marick Gevrees has no time for romance. He has even less time for a tipsy twink looking for a man to fill some Daddy fetish. But what the hell is he supposed to do when said twink wanders head-long into the middle of a bloody vendetta that could result in the exposure of his clan?

Trouble by James Cox 
Tremarc is sleeping his way through the entire Bear Shifter Clan. He’s sent to the moon, under the colonized dome to stay out of trouble. When he meets sexy alpha Lyon and his mated human, Quinn his life takes a sharp turn that may just find him his happy ending or get him kicked out of yet another bear shifter clan.

Outlaw Wolf by Elizabeth Monvey
Dekker ran away from his pack in an order to protect his lover and Alpha, Grey, when he overheard two higher ranked wolves talk about killing him.

When Grey finds him six months later, Dekker tries to convince the man he loves to go away. But Grey won’t take no and as the two talk it out, their mutual attraction overwhelms them.

In desperation, Dekker renounces Grey as his Alpha. But when another force tries to punish Dekker by silencing him forever, Grey must choose which stand he’ll take…being the alpha for all his pack, or being the man Dekker needs, even if it means breaking the rules.

**** **** **** ****

BUY LINKS:

EVERNIGHT | BOOKSTRAND | AMAZON (US) | AMAZON (CA)
AMAZON (UK) | AMAZON (AU) | ALL ROMANCE

A Second Chance (M/M) ~ Iyana Jenna

Blurb:

Chance Devereux and Ryder Adkins have worked on the same TV series for three years and share a house near the set. Yet Chance can only watch from afar when Ryder gets engaged. Even though Chance is still deep in the closet, he can’t help be jealous.

Since the first day of shooting, Ryder has had his sights on his costar, but Chance has a girlfriend and Ryder thinks Chance is straight. After years without a concrete result, Ryder decides to forget his desire to be with Chance and go back to Mike.

During a hiatus, Chance does an interview with journalist, Sebastian Vanderbilt. Sebastian opens Chance’s eyes, and he decides he needs to make Ryder his. Can they work it out, or  are they all out of retakes?

Be warned: m/m sex

Excerpt:

Without waiting for Mike’s answer, he slid his phone open and scrolled down to Chance’s number. Ryder glanced briefly at Mike, who simply nodded and turned away to give him a semblance of privacy. Ryder turned his attention back to the call he was making and nearly jerked in anticipation when it was answered.

“Hey. Chance, it’s—”

“I’m sorry, but Chance can’t answer the phone right now.”

Ryder’s eyes bulged. Taken aback, he swallowed. “W-what? Who is this?”

“May I ask who’s speaking, please?”

“It’s, uh, Ryder. I’m his, his best friend—”

“Oh, Ryder. Sure.”

Ryder lifted an eyebrow when the man laughed a little.

“Chance talks a lot about you,” the man went on.

“Thanks, but….” Ryder’s eyes flickered to Mike, who was observing him closely. His mind began to wander to places he didn’t want to go. How could he not? The man had Chance’s cell. “Where is he? Do you mind if I talk to him?”

“No, of course not.” The man sighed. “But he really can’t.”

“What? What happened? What have you done to him?”

“Whoa, wait a second. I’ve done nothing to him. But he’s asleep right now. He hasn’t been able to sleep for some time. He’s been in so much pain he couldn’t even rest.”

Ryder slumped in his seat, rubbing his face. “Oh, God.” Mike had been right. Feeling lightheaded, Ryder whispered into the mouthpiece. “What’s wrong with him? God, is he okay now?”

“Yeah, I truly hope so. He’s much calmer now. He caught a stomach bug a couple of days ago.”

“And you’re—you’re Sebastian, right? Sebastian Vanderbilt? I saw the pictures.”

“That’s me. Oh, and Ryder?”

“Yes?”

“I heard about your engagement. Congratulations, man.”

“Well, I don’t—”

“Hey, look,” Sebastian cut him off. “I’d love to talk to you, but I really have to go. I’ll tell Chance that you called, okay?”

“Wait, Sebastian. I’m just… you know, I—” But it was too late. Sebastian had hung up. Sucking in a breath, Ryder could only gawk in disbelief.

****

Sebastian didn’t know for sure why he felt reluctant to talk to Ryder. He had no reason to feel threatened by him, though if the way Chance talked about Ryder in the interview was anything to go by, Sebastian might have to consider how he felt toward the guy. This was such a new thing for him, feeling insecure. He wasn’t that kind of guy. Sebastian wondered what Chance had done to him.

Back in the guestroom where Chance was resting, Sebastian found him awake. Chance’s gaze wandered, his expression half-studying his surroundings, half-wondering how or why he was there in the first place. He turned to Sebastian only when he heard him clear his throat. Warmth surged in Sebastian’s heart at the fleeting blush on Chance’s freckled face. He wondered what Chance thought about the room. Sebastian loved his place, but perhaps it was childish to want to hear what Chance had to say about it.

Sebastian went to sit next to Chance, reaching out to feel his brow.

Chance groaned, shying away. “I’m not a child, Sebastian.”

“No.” Sebastian smiled. “But you gave me quite a scare.”

“Sorry.” Chance looked down.

“Hey, that’s not your fault. You were sick and obviously you hadn’t fully recovered when you left the hospital. How are you feeling now?”

“Much better.” Chance licked his lips.

“Water?”

“Please.”

Sebastian watched Chance drink slowly, and when he pulled back, some drips still clung to his lower lip. Sebastian knew he’d been staring, and he completely ignored the glass shoved back into his palm. Finally, he chuckled, put the glass away on the nightstand, and took off his shirt.

Chance’s eyes widened before they darkened a bit.

“May I?” Sebastian gestured toward a space on Chance’s huge, fluffy pillow.

Chance shifted a little to give him more room, much to his delight. He slipped under the cover and could feel Chance stiffen slightly. His face—mere inches from Sebastian’s—was taut before he relaxed and snuggled into Sebastian’s bare chest. Chance’s body felt sleep warm under his thin T-shirt, and Sebastian braved Chance’s reaction and slid a hand under it. He palmed Chance’s flat abs and up to his muscled torso, sighing appreciatively at the deep moan wrenched out of Chance’s throat.

“Beautiful,” Sebastian said huskily. “Very beautiful.” He tweaked a nipple and was rewarded with the stretched column of Chance’s smooth neck as he threw his head back, lips parting, his guttural growl sending Sebastian’s blood to his groin.

Buy Links:

Evernight  ~  Amazon  ~  Bookstrand  ~  All Romance Ebooks

Author Bio:

Iyana writes M/M short stories and novellas. Her works have been published by Evernight Publishing, JMS Books, Books to Go Now, Torquere Press, Bitten Press, Leap of Faith Publishing, Breathless Press, and Alfie Dog Fiction.

Iyana lives in Jakarta, a city famous for its traffic jams, a lot of cars and motorcycles, and people selling stuff on the roads. You can spend two hours on the road going to a place you can reach in half an hour in a normal situation. Thanks to the traffic jams, though, Iyana can come up with a lot of stories, mostly shorties, as she prefers to spend the time during her trips writing into her cell phone rather than sleeping.

Another thing Iyana loves is kitties. Right now she has three of them. Their names are Cil, Horus, and Betsy, and one kitten. When she doesn’t write, she plays with them, or they would play with her when she writes.

Author Links:

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