Dean Ryder is a rough and ready PI, the kind of man who will take on any case, just to prove his worth. His lover Matthew? Not so much. Matthew is an English professor who much prefers his books to Dean’s adventures... but that doesn’t mean he won’t ride along when Dean needs him.

When Dean meets an old man calling himself the Merlin, Dean and Matthew set out to investigate his claim. Matthew knows the legends, but Dean’s specialty is Matthew’s safety, and he will be working overtime to win the battle of good and evil with his partner by his side. Because if the old man really is who he claims to be, then an old evil is threatening one of the world’s greatest sources of good.

Shy erotic romance writer Ryan Michaels bases all his hero-characters on Nick Driscoll, the model who graces the covers of his books. After meeting Nick in person at a publisher get-together, Ryan is smitten but convinced that Nick would never be interested in him. Fantasy suddenly meets reality when Nick asks Ryan out for coffee. Can Ryan believe something that feels like a scene from one of his books is really happening to him?

Genre: Contemporary

Length: Short story (36 pages 

When FBI Agent Cole Stanton is assigned to a murder investigation, he’s shocked to discover he has a personal connection to it. Someone stabbed Russian ballerina Irina Markhov with an ornate dagger, and the prime suspect is Alexei Valchikovsky, principal dancer with the ballet… and Cole’s ex-lover.

It was Alexei’s mentor, Anton Stolin, who broke them up, and the man has secrets—secrets Cole suspects are connected to Irina’s murder. Cole’s gut instinct tells him Alexei’s murky past is intruding on the present, but neither expects the link between then and now to threaten their very lives.