Twenty-two-year-old Alessandro Silva knows that returning to tiny Perch Creek to help his foster mother was the right thing to do. With no degree and a delinquent's reputation, he's lucky to have landed a job waiting tables. But not everyone is happy he's back, and the only thing keeping his move home from being a total bust is his boss's hot brother. Jaime Winters spent most of his life watching the world go by, first from a series of hospitals and then from behind big stacks of textbooks. Studying is easier than facing the fact that years of heart failure means he's still a virgin at twenty-three. Until the new waiter in his sister's diner awakens desires he'd long ago given up on. The last thing Alessandro wants is to fall for someone as fragile as Jaime. And Jaime may have a new heart, but he's scared of what giving it to another person would mean. Their no-strings-attached, instructional approach to sex keeps emotion safely at bay, until a secret from Alessandro's past forces them to confront their feelings in the present… 67,000 words **

Matheus Taylor didn’t ask to be murdered.To be fair, the percentage of people actually asking to be murdered is probably small enough to be safely ignored, but he felt it was worth stating regardless. His life might have been ordinary, but it was his life and he wasn’t done with it yet.Quin didn’t care.A seventeen-hundred old Roman, Quintus Livius Saturnius had a different view of morality than most people. Killing Matheus and hijacking his undead existence seemed perfectly acceptable to him.Now, Matheus spends his nights running for his life, questioning his sexual orientation, and defying a mysterious new threat to the vampires within his city.Not that he set out to do any defying; he just wanted to be left alone.Unfortunately, that was never going to happen.

Circlet Press is pleased and excited to be bringing back Laura Antoniou's enchanting series of books about an underground secret society of owners, masters, mistresses, and their property: submissives, maids, butlers, and pleasure slaves. In the first volume, follow the trials and tribulations of four aspiring slaves as they undergo training hoping to be accepted into The Marketplace. Under the firm hand of Grendel, the sharp eye of Alexandra, and the painful leather strap in the hands of Chris, these men and women will find some of their hardest challenges come from within themselves.

JayLife was going exactly how I wanted it to. I was doing well in school, hanging out with my brothers and partying like it was going out of style. I didn't need or want anything else. Then I met Paige and suddenly my life didn't seem so complete. She's cute, nerdy and a little neurotic, and I can't stay away from her. I can tell she has her secrets and is reluctant to fully open up, but I couldn't care less. Paige is the first girl to make me want to be a better man, and I'm not about to let her go. PaigeI like things organized and predictable, and I don't like surprises. My life has been plotted out for me and I'm doing everything I can to keep my head above water as I struggle to live up to everyone’s expectations. Then Jay happened. He's unlike anyone I've ever met, and he's the first person in years who sees me for who I really am. There are things in my past I know will scare him away, but I can't let go of the hope that he could be the man to show me what unconditional love feels like. 

Nine gods ruled the world, until the ultimate betrayal resulted in their destruction. Now, the world is dying and only by restoring the Lost Gods can it be saved.Nine hundred years ago, the Dragons of the Three Storms, gods of chaos, tried to destroy their land of Kundou. Only by rising up and slaying the Dragons and stealing their power was Kundou saved. Now, that power resides in the royal family and grants them the right to rule.But that power comes at a terrible price, and Prince Nankyokukai is determined that he will be the last to pay it—even if it means surrendering his chance with the man he has waited for his entire life.

Science Fiction/Fantasy. 17050 words long. First published in Fantasy and Science Fiction, 1954

Countess Meredith du Chevalier, a widow with a reputation for being sexually adventurous, is intrigued when she is approached by a gentleman who wishes her to “make a man” of his son. Sensing a passionate man beneath Christopher Whitby’s reserved exterior, Meredith takes on the challenge, inviting the botanist to her country home to revitalize her abandoned greenhouse. Chris finds people to be a chaotic, animalistic species, and has chosen to devote his life to the study of plants. One kiss from the vivacious countess, however, and his inner animal is aroused. But lust is only a fraction of what he feels for the vulnerable woman hiding behind a brittle façade. He resolves to coax her to grow until her petals unfurl in a glorious bloom. To her surprise, Meredith finds Chris brings much more to life than just fallow soil. But just as their love begins to thrive, he learns about the secret arrangement. Meredith must risk her heart for the most dangerous lesson of all—love.

High school seniors Raine, Amelia, and Mel have little time to enjoy their budding romance. An eating disorder is ravaging Amelia's health, and the trio must rally and stand together in a fight for her life.