As a founding member of The Vers, a queer podcast I host with my three best friends, I’m "The Loner"—quieter than the others, and except for them, I don’t let myself get too close to people. Most of them just let you down anyway, or maybe it’s just that something about me chases people away.

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.

Being invited to my cousin’s wedding really shouldn’t be a big deal except, oh yeah, I haven't seen my family for a decade. My parents turned their backs on me, and I’ve done everything since to become successful and show them what they've lost. Only it’s kinda hard to be a success when you’re a walking trainwreck.

Ben Emerson has lived by his minister father's rules most of his life. Born into an ultraconservative church community, he's finally brave enough to break free and move to San Francisco. Distancing himself certainly helps create a new mind-set, but living as an openly gay man takes some getting used to. When he reaches out to Xavier, a childhood friend who lives in the city, Ben isn't sure how he'll respond given their thorny history. Ben hopes the familiar connection will help him right some wrongs as well as provide the solace he's been craving.

Lucky Tyler Holloway has never felt particularly lucky. Frankly, he's as regular as can be. He works construction with his brothers, loves his small-town life, and shares a close bond with his family, especially his grandmother. Okay, so maybe he has a few secrets in his closet, like his bisexuality...and that other thing he doesn't talk about... Grayson "Saint" St. Claire has it all: a dream job in LA, money, freedom. Saint doesn't do attachments, which is just the way he likes it.

My name is Hudson Newgate, but my teammates call me "New Guy". That was my nickname in Chicago, too. And Vancouver. That’s what happens when you keep getting traded. Brooklyn is my last chance, especially after my poor performance last season.

After divorcing the woman he'd been with since he was 17, Nick Fuller is starting over. He owns the restaurant of his dreams, and he's determined to meet new people, find new passions, and experience life to its fullest. Easier said than done - that is until he meets his new neighbor, Bryce Tanner. Neither man has ever wanted another guy, but there's a connection between Nick and Bryce from the start - a spark they can't deny.

I have to stop replaying the one night I spent with my rival. Trouble is, that white-hot encounter with the other quarterback answered a lot of questions I’ve had about myself, but it also led me into this mess where he hates me. I never showed up for our second date. Since, well, life happened, and the worst part is he’ll never know how much that night meant to me.

Tyson Langley thinks the king in Franklin University Kings is in reference to him. Star lacrosse player and God’s gift to the female and male population, there’s nothing the spoiled jock can’t have. It’s impossible for us to be in the same room without talking crap to each other. But I also have a secret…as much as I despise Ty, I want him too. I revel in our banter and in never knowing what he’ll say next. I’ve spent too much time on the wrong side of the law for someone like Ty, though, and if I want to escape my past, he’s a distraction I don’t need.

The day Clint sees his son, Joey, off to basic training, the young man he’s devoted his life to extracts one promise from him: spend the summer doing something selfish for a change. The request seems harmless enough until Joey puts his best friend, Raven, in charge of seeing it through.

Three years ago, Bear McKenna’s mother took off for parts unknown with her new boyfriend, leaving Bear to raise his six-year-old brother Tyson, aka the Kid. Somehow they’ve muddled through, but since he’s totally devoted to the Kid, Bear isn’t actually doing much living. With a few exceptions, he’s retreated from the world, and he’s mostly okay with that - until Otter comes home. Otter is Bear’s best friend’s older brother, and as they’ve done for their whole lives, Bear and Otter crash and collide in ways neither expect.

Kelly Cannon is satisfied with his life. He has friends, a wonderful family, and a great job. But his love life has reached a new level of pitiful. Why? Well, his heart decided to break all the rules. Don't fall in love with a straight guy. And definitely don't fall in love with your best friend. NFL standout Britton "Blue" Montgomery has pressure coming at him from all sides. When Kelly admits he's in love with Blue, bonds are tested, and Blue has to decide what's really important.

Milo. Unusual. Quirky. Different. I’ve heard it all. I’ve accepted I’m not for everyone. When I find out I inherited a bookstore and apartment on a small East Coast island, I jump at the chance for a new life. Turns out I’ve also inherited a sexy, tattooed guy who not only rents the space next to my store but my apartment too. Gideon. I wasn’t looking for a roommate, but it’s not like I can stay at Milo’s place while he’s banished to a hotel. According to Milo, we’re bestie goals. And if he doesn’t wear pants at home, who am I to complain?

My loser high school friend never deserved him anyway. If I’d had the chance, I would have locked Remy down years ago. Only, when the party leads to a drunken kiss, going on their honeymoon, and sharing their marital bed, I have to say, I’m not entirely sad that their wedding went up in flames.

Hockey is in my blood. I learned to skate before I learned how to ride a bike. I’ve been on a wild ride, playing at the highest level for some of the biggest and best teams in the league. But now it’s over, and I’m not sure what to do with myself. So I'm going home to Elmwood. But I’ll tell you what I’m not gonna do—I’m not going to coach my buddy’s junior hockey league. No chance. I don’t know how to deal with kids, and besides, the other coach—who happens to be my best friend’s brother—hates me. With reason.

World-renowned Chef Prescott Vaughan was at the height of his career. Right before he's to leave for Paris to work alongside his idol, a horrific car accident leaves him completely blind. His female fiance leaves him in a state of desperation and depression. He pines for love and companionship and so happens to find it in the form of his very sexy neighbor. His sexy male neighbor, Dr. Rickson "Ric" Edwards Prescott's not gay - at least he never considered himself gay - until Ric saves him from a date gone terribly wrong.

Bennett Cole had lived next door to Mitchell "Mac" Campbell, III for 18 years of his life, in the small town of White Acre. They'd never gotten along, never seen eye to eye, and never understood one another, not that they'd ever cared to try. But when Bennett's so-called buddies ditched him at a party in the woods where he was assaulted and left for dead, Bennett pulled through. The emotional scars rendered him too terrified to go back to school and face his "friends" or his attackers. With little choice, his family packed up and left town.

Noah Bradford knows secrets that could get him killed, and staying in WITSEC seems like a good plan. What he didn't plan on is losing his heart to a man who is sworn to protect him. Battle scarred US Marshal Robert "Mac" Mackenzie has a job to do, and guaranteeing the safety of Noah Bradford is at the top of that list. Mac will do whatever it takes to keep Noah safe, even if it means walking away. Mac and Noah, brought together during extreme circumstances, have been separated by evil.

Disgraced detective turned private investigator, Ray Clancy, left the force with a case unsolved. Finding the killer was no longer his problem, but it still haunted him. How long would he survive the frustration of not knowing? Server Andrew Shay existed where he didn't feel he belonged. One night he returned home from work to find his roommate dead and the killer still there. Afraid and alone, his life spiraled, and he didn't know what to do. Could a detective at his core and a scared young man join forces to bring down the killer in their midst?

Beau was devastated. After the worst day of his life, Caleb, the kindhearted and beautiful man he loved, had left him for good. Beau was now at the end of his rope - and the bottom of his last bottle. With trouble following him everywhere he went, he guessed it was only a matter of time before he turned into his messed-up dad, alone and yearning for a love he foolishly let slip through his fingers.

Noah Dixon is damaged goods. After an accident leaves him physically scarred and emotionally vulnerable, dating isn't in the cards, so he throws himself head-first into his retail job. When he's obligated to attend his best friend's engagement party on Fire Island, it dawns on him he's about to spend yet another weekend feeling totally invisible and alone among a swarm of gorgeous men.

No indiscriminate killing. No collateral damage. No unvetted targets. These are the rules Hawes Madigan lives by. Rules that make being Fog City's Prince of Killers bearable. Soon, he'll be king - of an organization of assassins - and the crown has never felt heavier. Until the mysterious Dante Perry swaggers into his life. Dante looks like a rock god and carries himself like one, too, all loose-limbed and casually confident. He also carries a concealed weapon, a private investigator's license, and a message for the prince.

In the hottest summer on record, Iron Lake reservoir is emptying, revealing secrets that were intended to stay hidden beneath the water. The tragic story of a missing man is a media sensation, and abruptly the writer and the cop falling in love is just a postscript to horrors neither could have imagined.

Vaughn O'Keefe has been part owner of the Hog's Den for years. Privy to plenty of Disciples of the Road business, he's never been more ruffled as when a new recruit named "Smoke" walks through the door. Something about the man gets his blood pumping, but he knows to keep his preferences under wraps around the club. "Smoke" Callahan has done a couple of rehab stints and is finally clean, thanks to help from the Disciples. He's on the right path and isn't about to get sidetracked, no matter how much the guy who manages the bar gets beneath his skin.

Being a lifelong Chicago Thunder fan, I know that Blaine Olsen is trouble. Because all hockey players are. He's a notorious playboy, and I refuse to be another notch on his bedpost. But when he shows me the part of himself he keeps hidden, it gets harder to resist him.

Blessed by the gods and goddesses, edoli have lived alongside humans for thousands of years. While some hold such abilities as shape-shifting and controlling the elements, the rarest are the kings and queens who can bond through blood with keepers and amplify their power...and their own. Titos has been seen as useless and weak his entire life. He's never been able to bond with another edoli and has nothing of value to offer his queen. When a stranger saves him from certain death, Titos's life will never be the same.

Captain Maddox Stone is ready to put the men who messed with his family on a fast train to hell. Eliminating the enemy is the only thing he's good at anyway. He sure as hell isn't good at connecting. Of course, on the heels of that thought, his past comes walking through the door. Will he finally have the guts to explain what really happened that night so long ago?

Officer Noel Carlson isn't out to anyone in small-town Stratton, Pennsylvania, so a relationship is out of the question. That doesn't stop him from wanting one, though. When a night-shift call brings him face-to-thonged-butt with a hired stripper whose girl-party gig went terribly wrong, Noel takes pity on the guy and lets him go. But he can't get the encounter out of his mind.

Austin Romero: No one's fast enough to outrun grief. Trust me, I've tried. I ran away from the city and took a job as the lead detective back in my old home town of Blue Creek, New Hampshire. I expected to bump into past ghosts, but I never expected those ghosts to reopen old wounds. The biggest ghost of them all: Charlie Marsh. He was the man who had stolen my heart when we were teens, and who now couldn't even remember a single day we had spent together. Which makes it exceptionally awkward when he becomes my first client.

Bookstore owner Aubrey Barnes likes his quiet, orderly London life, thank you very much. His shop may be struggling, his only employee is a menace, and his plumbing is one creaky pipe away from disaster, but he can handle it. Maybe. He cannot, however, handle the film company that's thrown his Soho street into chaos. And he definitely can't handle the charismatic American actor Blake Sinclair.