Showing results by author "Riley Hart" in All Categories

I see myself as mature and responsible for a 24-year-old - I have a steady job, a comfortable apartment, and eventually I’ll find the right guy to settle down with. Some might find this boring, but at least I know what I want. That is, until reconnecting with a childhood companion flips my preconceived notions upside down. Skylar was my first real friend - my first crush, too - and 12 years later, he’s still the same gorgeous and charismatic free spirit. I’m easily sucked back into his orbit, my protests futile when it comes to his amusingly harebrained ideas.

I’m the eldest Swift brother, the one who should have taken care of my siblings and protected them, but I’ve never been the kind of brother they deserve. Both Morgan and East had the courage to walk away from our abusive father before I did, but now that I have, there’s no turning back. With that comes the realization that my whole life has been spent trying to be exactly what my father wanted, what I hate.

I don’t experience attraction the way most folks do, but as our friendship grows, I can’t deny I want him. It’s my first time with a man. Every brush of his skin against mine makes me feel things I hadn’t thought possible. I didn’t know intimacy could be like this. I could spend a lifetime kissing him, but for us to have any chance at a future, we’ll both have to face truths we’ve tried to ignore for too long.

With his raven hair and snow-white skin, Lord Ansil Eirwin draws unwanted attention wherever he goes. After his father’s untimely death, Ansil is set to become Duke of Ravenswood on his next birthday. Orien Moore, known as the Huntsman, lives on the fringes and has forsaken close bonds with anyone, even the misfits he has taken in. When Orien is called upon by his brother, Reginald, to kill the pampered future duke, it is the perfect opportunity to seek revenge against his power-hungry brother.

I wasn't supposed to fall for my older brother's best friend. Unfortunately, that ship sailed when I was a teenager, even though Chase Hawthorne always treated me like nothing more than a younger sibling. Things were worse after my parents died. Chase was sweet and supportive, which only strengthened my feelings for him. But then he'd act like I couldn't take care of myself, and that part didn't go over well with me. Yeah, I had a habit of screwing up.

I always felt I wasn’t wired like my peers, but when my brother, Kellan, gave me three terms - ace, aromantic, and demi - I had possible names for it. Those three words have been on my mind ever since, as has my brother’s best friend, Josh Westbrook. It’s been cool getting to know him and spending time together, just us. He makes me feel something I never thought I’d be able to feel. When we end up alone in a cabin with only one bed, all my crossed wires finally connect and point toward being demi and wanting him.

Callum: A gay guy walks into a straight bar and notices the hottest man he’s ever seen...Why am I not surprised my life sounds like the beginning of a bad joke? First, my ex cheated on me, and I went running to Havenwood and the mom I have a complicated relationship with. Then, there’s Knox, the gorgeous lumberjack I don’t stand a chance with. To top it off, he’s more than just a pretty face, and I start to fall for him. Knox is kind, funny, honorable, quickly becoming my best friend, and unfortunately, straight with a capital S.

Listen to Book Four in The Vers Podcast series now.

On a sleepless night in a 24-hour café, Caleb White and Ryan Daily forge a connection full of laughs, junk food, and whispered secrets. In the middle of their budding friendship, desire blooms unexpectedly. Ryan has kept his heart protected after having it shattered, and Caleb finds that what he has with Ryan is nothing like what he’s experienced before. In a world of black and white, they bring each other color. But when the past comes knocking, Ryan and Caleb will have to reach through the darkness to find the light they see in each other or risk slipping into the shadows for good.

When it comes to The Vers, the queer podcast I host with my best friends, I’m The Romantic. The one who’s looking for love in all the wrong places. If there’s a jerk close by, I’ll find him. I’m beginning to think my Mr. Right doesn’t exist.

Lincoln I've done a good job getting over my past. I'm not only proud of who I am, but revel in it. Still, I don't let myself get too close to people...Except I can't stop sleeping with Rush Alexander. I try, I really do...Unfortunately, things become a little more complicated when I tell a white lie that lands me in a fake relationship with him. Yeah, not my best moment.

Nothing in life is ever easy, and no one is more painfully aware of that than Josiah Evans, Mateo Sanchez, and Tristan Croft. They know what they want - each other - but with three people as broken as they are, all those pieces aren't so easily mended. Josiah is their glue. All he wants is to give his men what they need. Mateo wants to absolve himself of his sins. To be worthy of love and to protect it. Tristan must let go of his past, must learn how to need, and what it really means to take care of someone.

Grady Dalton is in a rut. He’s 38, without a boyfriend, and has yet to find the place that feels like home. The closest he ever got was his best friend, Nathan. But it’s been seven years since he passed, and life isn’t getting easier. That’s how he ends up in Briar County, hoping to grow roots in the place Nathan had loved. Deacon Sharpe spends his days serving homemade ice cream and his nights alone, pretending he’s getting by after his wife’s death better than he is. His world is rocked when a man shows up who claims to have been his brother-in-law’s best friend.

Trevor Dixon has made too many mistakes to count. Sober for 13 months, he's determined to do the right thing: rebuild his relationship with his family and help his brother get Rock Solid Construction off the ground. Failing them again isn't an option. Too bad the first estimate Trevor goes on alone is for an uptight doctor with a superiority complex. A hand injury took away the only important thing in Dr. Simon Malone's life - performing heart surgery. He doesn't do well with people and has no family, but being a damn good surgeon? He always had that.

Portland was supposed to be my fresh start, my chance to live for myself. Unfortunately, it’s not working out that way. I stay in the apartment Mom chose and major in finance like she wants. I let bad memories keep me from hooking up. I wouldn’t know the first thing about finding a guy who gets me, who’s okay with my need to be held and feel safe. When I befriend a worker at the assisted living facility where I volunteer, I don’t expect to get invited to dinner, only to realize her son is Jake, a guy I met through friends last fall.

They were only kids when they met for the first time. Leo Mancini was the son of a judge. Roman Cipriani the son of a criminal. So different, yet as they shared stolen kisses and secret moments, they fell in love. One day they would run away together, have the future they deserved, because no one loved Leo like Roman did, or Roman like Leo did. But before they could make their dreams come true, their future was viciously stolen and their lives changed forever. Roman has spent the last 12 years repressing the trauma in his past, trying to pretend it didn't exist, until even he believed his own lies. 

Zack lost his job, his apartment, and his hope, which is why he ends up on the roof of a high-rise, certain that one final step will solve his problems. But a mysterious stranger named Rob happens to be on the roof that night too. He talks Zack down, convincing him there's still hope left in the world. Zack thinks maybe he's right, which is why he's shocked when he turns on the news the next morning to find out Rob jumped himself.

A night on the town after a long workweek at my family's distillery should include shots and dancing - not a hot kiss with a handsome stranger. I'm straight. At least, that's what I figured until I find myself locking lips with a sexy city boy. Now, all my circuits are going haywire, and the spark that ignites between us makes me even more curious. Unfortunately, I kissed the one man who's off-limits: Cohen Mitchell - the sole surviving heir to the Mitchell Creek distillery, a rival neighbor my family has feuded with for nearly a 100 years.

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...

Frankie Ramirez never figured helping a twink in need would lead to him finding a bestie, but that's exactly what happened with Evan. Evan tells him everything, but when he finds himself curious to explore something a little unusual - maybe a little strange - he worries about what will happen if Frankie finds out. But who better to explore your closet kink with than your best friend? Evan and Frankie know they're strong enough not to let something like this get between them. And really, is there any harm in just trying it?