Urban Short Stories

An all-new Dresden Files story headlines this urban fantasy short story collection starring the Windy City's favorite wizard. From the Wild West to the bleachers at Wrigley Field, humans, zombies, incubi, and even fey royalty appear, ready to blur the line between friend and foe. In the never-before-published "Zoo Day", Harry treads new ground as a dad, while fan-favorite characters Molly Carpenter, his onetime apprentice, White Council Warden Anastasia Luccio, and even Bigfoot stalk through the pages of more classic tales.

I never wanted a stepbrother, especially one so hot. It makes it harder to keep my secret, to keep pretending I'm not gay. But Jackson has something else in mind…and he doesn't care if it is wrong. Is it really so bad to give into our desires? Warning: This is a naughty taboo gay erotic romance. Adult readers only. All characters are of legal age and not related by blood.

Today's hottest urban fantasy authors come together in this delicious brew that crackles and boils over with tales of powerful witches and dark magic! For anyone who's ever wondered what lies beyond the limits of reality, who's imagined the secret spaces where witches wield fearsome magic, come and drink deep. Let yourself fall under the spell of this bewitching collection!

Knight Miller and Exotic Wright aren’t strangers to one another. After being in LA for ten years Exotic decides to come home just in time for Christmas. What she didn’t expect was to run into the one and only, Knight Miller. He had grown into a sexy man who had her thinking of explicit Christmas Pleasures. ​When Knight lays eyes on Exotic after ten long years the night before Christmas at a crowded downtown bar, he knows he has to have her. After a few drinks and small talk the two embark on a world of pleasure that will leave them both yearning for more. Secrets and drama swarm ...

Johannes Cabal, a brilliant scientist and notorious snob, is single-mindedly obsessed in heart and soul with raising the dead. Well, perhaps not soul.... He hastily sold his years ago in order to learn the laws of necromancy. But now, tormented by a dark secret, he travels to the fiery pits of Hell to retrieve it. Satan, who is incredibly bored these days, proposes a little wager: Johannes has one year to persuade 100 people to sign over their souls, or he will be damned forever.

When the vampire Lord Constantine returns to oversee his favorite haunt, Castle Belan, he’s shocked to discover a quirky, curvy woman has claimed sanctuary in his home while he was away. Despite her anxieties over his blood-drinking dependency, Daria Stoica seeks sanctuary with Constantine after a trusted witch delivers a dark portent that scares her even more than the vampire’s blood lust does. To keep busy, Daria has taken on maid duties, exploring Castle Belan, and also exploring her newfound guardian. Daria’s not the only one curious about the new living situation, but ...

A fresh-faced newcomer arrives in an isolated, gang-run town and soon finds herself taking a job nobody else wants: bodyguard to a ghoul. Not just your average mindless, half-rotted shuffler, though. Lucille is a dancer who can still put on her own lipstick and whose shows are half burlesque, half gladiator match. But the stranger is no stranger to this particular ghoul. Both women are undercover in their own way. And both have something to lose if their connection comes to light.

Nadine is the only witch of her kind. With unique powerful abilities, she's a prime contender to sit on the witch's council, yet she's anything but welcome. A haunting family curse threatens to force her out of her magical college, and revealing her greatest secret may lead to the destruction of her people. Lucas is the only warlock of his generation destined to ferry the souls of the dead. Accepting his dark gift is as brutal as investigating the coven's mysteries. He's prepared to fight the darkness alone, until he receives a warning beyond the grave from Nadine's mother.

A larval Great Old One is growing day by day in power and just about ready to pop. If Chad Gadenier can't convince "the powers that be" to get involved, not only New Orleans, but the entire world, is going to fall under the power of the nastiest of nasties. Now on the outs with the US government and in exile from his usual job of saving the world, Chad must rally the forces of light against the coming darkness. The problem is one guy with a sword and a sub-gun isn't going to solve this one.

They've only dared to dream about their secret love for each other... Until now! Tasha has done a really good job keeping her feelings for her father's co-worker a secret. She's sent him just a few clues, but she's convinced he hasn't even noticed her. Mike has done a very good job at keeping his feelings a secret too! He doesn't want to upset his best friend, Tasha's father, but he can hardly keep his eyes off her sweet smile, her luscious curves. When Tasha's over-the-top friend Michelle comes for a visit, Tasha knows it's now or never! She's going to have to confess her real feelings, ...

Vanessa needs someone to watch over her! Sweet, shy Vanessa has gotten her life halfway together, but one small misstep gets her fired and on the wrong side of town all in one day. Little does she know that Thomas has been guarding over her, keeping watch on her and her mom ever since her dad passed away. Now she needs him more than ever, and fast! **Standalone short story with HEA, intended for mature readers!**

I was the perfectly obedient, good little girlfriend until I got dumped. Turns out, being good is no fun. So I decided to get revenge on the cheating bastard and I knew just how to do it. Revenge is a dish best served with a side of sexy. Warning: This naughty story contains very dirty scenes between a stripper and a man who needs to learn a lesson. Adult readers only.

Enter the world of a young writer as he struggles to find his voice in downtown Toronto in the 1990s. The quest for fame, sex, artistic integrity and wanderlust are just a few things that he writes about in the stories in this collection, which are more autobiographical than he would care to admit. Captured in these stories is life in Toronto in the 1990s where the internet hasn't taken over everyone's lives yet and things were simpler. The writer reflects on each story, giving the story behind the story, and shares his experiences with publishers.

Dirty little secrets are the best kind. I've got a secret. I've found the most incredible man. But I'm his little secret too, and he has reason to keep me hidden. When our secret gets out, someone is after me. But my man looks out for me. He's been keeping a secret from me too, and I'm about to find out just how big this secret really is… Warning: This is an erotic romance and contains adult content.

Alexis Silver has spent a century dancing between two worlds: the deep, dark ocean that made her a mermaid and the human shores she can never fully leave behind. But when a playful midnight swim near a cargo ship reveals a darker truth: a young woman hidden below deck, destined for a nightmare, Alexis knows she can’t turn away. Soon, Alexis launches a daring, high-speed rescue across the waves. Saving one life won’t change the world. But for Alexis, tonight, it’s enough. Fans of Samantha Moon and urban fantasy will love this heart-racing, emotional short adventure in the Alexis Silver...

What do you do when you finally have the one person you've always wanted, but everything else is falling apart around you? Jane Durant's entire world has collapsed at the hands of a powerful secret society and she is now on the run with James Donovan, a handsome, enigmatic billionaire on a mission to dismantle the very organization he worked for most of his life. Will they be able to stop their enemies before it is too late? And can their desire overcome the many obstacles? In this second book in the Society Series, passions run high and the stakes are raised. Check out book one of the ...

One night in Lagos, two former friends reunite. Obinna is a dutiful and unsophisticated stay-at-home husband and father married to a powerful businesswoman. Eze is single, a cautious rebel from his university days whose arrival soon upsets the balance in Obinna’s life. In a world where men are constantly under surveillance and subject to the whims of powerful women, more than Obinna’s ordered and accustomed routine might be on the line.

In Trio of Sorcery, Mercedes Lackey presents three exciting short urban fantasy novels, including the return of Diana Tregarde and the debut of a brand-new heroine for the twenty-first century.

Ryn Tilley came to the desert to paint in solitude away from the city art scene she had come to despise, and to escape from the memory of the man who broke her heart and betrayed her trust. Remote, vast and quiet, Ryn’s refuge was perfect – but she couldn’t shake the feeling that something was missing. That is until a mysterious stranger, dehydrated and lost in the desert, stumbled into her life. Daggen Trys shouldn’t be on Earth, and he especially shouldn’t be lying unconscious in the bed of this beautiful human female. Interaction with humans is strictly forbidden in his mission...

Julia and Matthew were that boring, safe couple in college. No parties, no alcohol, no fun. They were focused and determined to achieve their goals and sacrificed their social life to do so. They did have one vice, however: a ravenous, sexual appetite! Now that Julia and Matthew are married, graduated, and have secured their dream jobs, they are looking forward to delving deep into something more than just textbooks. A house warming party, new hot tub, and the company of their hot best friends Lucy and Bradley, Julia and Bradley are planning on making up for all that lost time in college.