West Rickert is an asshole. He's a crackhead, and he's a drunk. At least, that's what everyone says about him.

Trigger Warnings: Mentions of suicide, arson, murder, mental illness, and past abuse. All handled with care, empathy, and growth. Detective Lucas Reyes lives by the book-until a string of arson-murders shakes the city and throws him into the path of Aiden Shaw, a newly transferred officer with a calm voice, a keen eye, and a past that mirrors his own. As the fires grow deadlier, and the cases more personal, Lucas and Aiden must navigate the shadows of New York, their own haunted histories, and a killer who believes fire is justice. But amid the smoke and crime scenes, something tender begins to kindle. What starts as a partnership becomes something more. Something that might just save them both. A slow-burn gay romance with accurate crime scene investigation, emotional depth, green flag love, and a happy ending.

For years, Luka believed his brothers were the reason his life always felt one wrong move away from blowing up. They were the danger. The threat. The shadow hanging over him. Then the secrets start spilling out, and the story flips. His brothers aren't the disaster he's been bracing for. They're the ones trying to keep it from swallowing him whole. The same men he's spent years fearing are suddenly the ones stepping in front of the worst of it, making choices that could cost them their lives just to keep him standing. It messes with Luka's head, because monsters aren't supposed to protect you. Trust doesn't come easy, but neither does survival. Somewhere between the lies, the secrets, and the close calls, Luka stops just trusting them. He starts counting on them. And in the process, he learns something that scares him almost as much as the truth about his family: He's more capable than he ever let himself believe. Love to hear from all the readers so please leave a comment. :) MxF relationships and family focused

BOOK TWO IN THE STAGE MANAGEMENT DUOLOGY - AIDEN RYKER I'm frenemies with nightmare fuel! For the last seven months, Nash Fox has made it his mission to make sure I could never forget he existed. And okay, I'm not too upset by it. I could tell him to go away or stop texting me, but I don't. That would be so mean. Except, that comes back to bite me in the ass when I'm invited to Colorado for two weeks. For the Luna-Pierce family games. Never mind the Kitt Luna tour I have to managed in less than a month. Why does it come back to bite me? Oh, right. I agree to go on a Colorado road trip with Nash! Someone sedate me for the next two weeks. Because now, he's there every second, and I already had trouble with getting him out of my psyche. Nash was the brash, cold-seeming 'bad boy' you'd read about. But he isn't those things, and I find out exactly why I'd been so sure of that. My back rooms stranger is Nash. How do I find out? Nash falls into another panic attack, and I'm the only one around. When I find out, there is nothing I can do to keep hiding the feelings I have for the ice-cold bad boy. But we both have secrets, and when those secrets show up through our reactions, we have to figure out how to navigate them. Which is why I begin dating Nash. In secret. Until we can both make sure this is what we really want. Through rescue missions, horse snuggles, adrenaline-activities, snarky dialogue, and stolen moments? There lay a beautiful moment that I become less scared to take. But why does Nash hide this sweet, soft side of himself? I want to find out what he's protecting himself from, so that I can shield him, too. Nash isn't alone anymore, and I need to realize that I'm not, either.

Book two of six in the Chaotic Hearts series. MUST BE READ IN ORDER I'm usually level-headed, I swear. But when it comes to Maverick Asher, he makes me lose all my sanity, and all he has to do is open his mouth and let his putrid words spill out. Maverick has been friends with my brother for thirteen years, and I've been around him just as long. Over the last few years, he's taken to seeking me out to get a rise out of me. I hate him. I hate him. I hate him. I hate his stupid motorcycle. I hate his stupid leather jackets. I hate his attitude. I hate his sarcasm. I hate his sharp tongue. And I hate that he doesn't care about anyone except himself. I try to ignore him, but he lights me on fire, and I can't stop myself from firing back at him. Now, I can't ignore him because it's February, and my family has come up with a fun game. We have to pick a partner and work with them until Valentine's Day to plan platonic dates for one another. Which means, we have to spend time with our partner to learn what they might like for a date. No one picked Maverick, and that left him with me. I'm nothing if not a perfectionist, and even if that means competing with Maverick to make my platonic date for him perfect. He's battling against me to make his date perfect. We are at each other's throats. I start to get confused. Then, when it's time for the dates, my brain spirals into further confusion. I don't expect what he has prepared, and I start realizing there is far more I had failed to notice about Maverick Asher. The man who claims romance and love is nothing but failure has me falling into the trap that he believes love is. But is he falling with me, or am I being played?

Book Five out of five in the New Beginnings Series. OLIVER PIERCE: I've always waited for the darkness to consume me. Every day, I open my eyes, and I wait for it to hit. It never does. I cry for hurt animals, mourn the loss of life, and hurt in the name of others. Empathy is something I have, and it's stronger than I thought. There wasn't any kind of darkness in me, but I still feared it would pop up. Five years ago, my girlfriend of three years completely abandoned me when she found out about my past. And I made the vow to never open myself up to anyone romantically again. It was better this way. But there is this irritating "bad boy" who thinks the world owes him. I've known him for the last four years, and he won't leave me alone! He made a bet to win my heart. Our friend group is going on a road trip, and I'm stuck with him as a roommate. I'm straight. I'm closed off. I don't like him! I swear! Shit, I might have been wrong about that because why does he feel so right? MALACHI REEVES: The bet is to win his heart. That's the prize. I'd have his heart. I'd have him. And he's all I've ever wanted. However, Oliver swears he's straight, but I noticed the way he looked at me through college. The curiosity in his stare. So, I want to show him what I have to offer him during this damn road trip across the United States. Things don't go at all how I planned. Something dark and haunted lives within Oliver Pierce, and I want to help him through it. The sweet smiles, the soft laughter, and everything in between-I want it to be mine. I have two months to prove to him that we're meant to be. No matter what darkness lingers behind him, I'll help him battle it all. I'll keep him safe. Protected. But only if he lets me.

Book four of five in the New Beginnings Series. VALENTINE PIERCE: My dearest cousin is going on his honeymoon, leaving me jobless for two weeks. Maybe that's a little dramatic, but it left me open and needing something to do. Allison Yates, the CEO of the label August works for has tasked me with helping Vesper Quinn adapt to the changes in his life. Which means, I have to be his temporary manager until they can find him one. Normally, I would have jumped for joy at the opportunity, except, Vesper decided I'm nothing but a snobby rich kid, who does whatever he wants. If I want it, I get it. It stemmed from Vesper finding out that I showed his videos to the company. He was signed, and he wasn't the least bit appreciative. See, I followed him for years. I was once intrigued by him. We even... went on dates. I thought he liked me, and I even thought we were headed somewhere. But then he vanished for almost two years. He stopped making music. He changed his number. He didn't contact anyone. Until he finally showed up for his audition, and he was signed. Sure, I thought, maybe we still had a chance. Until it evaporated that night in the stairwell. So, why is he being kind to me? I'm not falling for his tricks. I won't let him in again. I tried twice. I even gave him a chance after he vanished on me-but then I saw the way he looked at me when he not only found out what I'd done to help him, but who I was related to. But something is going on with him. I see it in his eyes. The mistrust. And then I find out he's suffocating, and he's been alone. It's dangerous to fall after the soon-to-be superstar, but I want him. I desperately want him, and I have for years. Hey, it's Christmas-anything can happen, right?

Book Two of Five in the New Beginnings Series. **You do NOT have to read Inhale, Exhale, & Breathe to enjoy these stories** SALEM LUNA: Does anyone ever feel like they're riding a mechanical bull that is never ending? No matter how many times you get thrown off the thing, you appear right back on it? No? Just me then? See, I have this best friend. Former. Best. Friend. It's taking my brain a while to get used to it. Whatever. I'm hopelessly in love with him, and I tried desperately to admit my feelings out loud. So, I did. Raven Fox told me not to love him, and the look he seared into my skin when he said it was now branded into my brain. Now we're on the university book club Christmas retreat. Who did I get roomed with? Raven because of course I was given the bird. The damn bird that didn't love me in return. Which would have been fine had he not looked like the idea disgusted him. Six months have gone by since that day, and our tension is growing with more animosity each second. Now, we're doing activities together, and Christmas is my favorite holiday. He's not screwing this up for me. After a snowstorm starts hitting, though, I end up stuck in the middle of nowhere, out of gas in my snowmobile. I'm terrified as the wind starts picking up and snow starts whipping my face. I thought he wasn't listening. That he didn't care. So, why did he become the one to save me? Why does he look so distraught? His words say one thing, but his eyes are telling me his words are lies. Raven is lying to me. He loves me. But he doesn't want me to love him. All I want to know is why because I can't breathe without him anymore.

BOOK THREE OF THREE IN THE SKATES ON ICE TRILOGY - CASPIAN VALE I made a mistake that wasn't so much a mistake. I can't figure out how to rationalize what happened. I don't know how to regret it, either. I slept with my ex-fiance. That sentence is enough to send anyone into a spiral. Including me. I'm in a spiral. I've finally managed to make my dream come true. I'm going to the Olympics. Which means, I am steadily in New York for the next few months, training. No comps. No traveling. Nothing. I'm in my home of New York, and I'm staying. Guess what fate the world gave me? Keon Wilder, my precious ex-fiance, has been traded to the New York Knights. Meaning, Keon will be here, living in New York. And the moment he finds out my new home has been New York, he is trying to be my support system. He wants to talk, which is fair, but I can't. Not yet. I'm right there. I'm about to achieve my dream. However... Keon was my dream, too, and I love him more than anything in this world. Just know this. Chaos ensues. Keon's team isn't welcoming him the way he deserves, and I simply can't leave him alone. The same way he can't leave me alone. But what Keon doesn't know? I've been to his games. A lot of them. Too many of them. And I start going again. He's trying to help me reach my dream-because he's amazing-and here I am, scared I'll lose him all over again. Is it possible for me to have both dreams, or were we always doomed from the start?

BOOK TWO IN THE SKATES ON ICE TRILOGY - NOAH WILDER I want the attention of the media, and I will get it by any means necessary. It's crucial. I need their cameras and articles because that means my name is finally hitting headlines. Which means, more people will see them. Like, perhaps, my older brother, who I haven't seen since we were forced apart by the foster care system. I was nine, and he was sixteen. I was adopted, and I even have another amazing older brother that I want him to meet. Except, when I keep falling on my face in hopes to get noticed by the media, Caleb Calder keeps pulling me back, and making things better. Caleb Calder. Caleb Calder. Caleb Calder. We used to be friends. Best friends. Secretly. Until we weren't. Until he asked me on a date, and when I tried to find him before our game against each other-the night of our supposed date-I heard him. I heard him say that he'd never date him-me-in any reality. It was a ploy, and I thought better of him. Until I couldn't. Now, I'm confused. Because his actions don't seem that of someone who didn't care. Did I get something wrong? We're on the same NHL team now, and things are getting crazy. Caleb keeps protecting me from the media, and I keep getting addicted to the way he protects me. Until I am forced to realize two things... One, I'm falling for Caleb Calder all over again. And two? My lost, big brother has been marginally closer to me than I ever could have realized. THIS STORY CONTAINS THE FAKE DATING TROPE. XOXO