When a homeless young omega comes by Burke’s pub asking for work, Burke doesn’t have the heart to send him away. He lets the boy help with some chores in exchange for food, and soon, Emerson’s visits become regular. Then, one frosty December night, the boy keeps his head down, hiding in a corner until closing time, and looking like he wants to disappear into the ground.

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.

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.

When my ex kicks me out of the car in the middle of nowhere, I’d rather freeze than wait for him to come back. I hike through the snowy forest, aiming for a tiny mountain town I know nothing about. I’m losing my strength when a guy on a four-wheeler finds me, wraps me in a parka, and brings me to his home. He’s huge and scary-looking, but the longer he lets me stay, the more I like him. Under his grumpy façade, Barclay Black is a teddy bear.

Harley: What happens when the most successful boy band on the planet breaks up? How about 20,000 fans screaming my name. But the price of fame comes with an increased risk to my safety. I've been avoiding the dreaded B word for as long as I can, but after a close call with a rambunctious fan, I can't do it anymore. It's time to give in. I need to hire a full-time bodyguard. And when he shows up, he not only screams badass, he's another B word I try to stay away from: boyfriend material.

I’m the first omega king in a land previously ruled by alphas, and I’ve had the audacity to remain unmarried. Of course, all kinds of outrageous tales surround my palace. People say I’m a sorcerer constantly in heat, the orgies in my bathhouses never end, and every so often, a young alpha expires in my arms from exhaustion. According to one legend, I choose three men to knot me every night because I can’t sleep empty. Another story says that I keep virgin omegas at the palace and organize games where the best soldiers get to deflower the boys as a reward while I look on.

If there's one thing I know, it's how to play the game...both on and off the field. If it hadn't been for that one teenage slipup where I kissed Beau Campbell, I'd be able to keep fooling myself. Football is the one thing I use to distract myself from the truth, and when I screw-up and lose the game I love, I find myself right back in Fever Falls. And right back face-to-face with Cranky Campbell, who hates me even more than he did when we were kids. But whatever magic he held over me then is still there.

Between running a garage full of beefed-up gear-head mechanics and bailing my idiot brother out of trouble every other week, the last thing I have time for is a relationship. I’ve tried it too many times, and the ridiculous reasons I always find to end it have become a running joke around the garage. But I’ve learned my lesson. No. More. Boyfriends. I don’t care how many times Porter falls asleep drunk in my bed or how cute he looks covered in oil smears while I teach him how to fix up the vintage car he has rusting away in his garage; I’m not going to fall for him.

Something has changed with the heat. Not just my body but my soul has changed too. I can’t sleep without Jonah in my bed or touch my belly without my mind drifting to him. This wasn’t a part of my plan—I wasn’t supposed to care for this man at all, let alone crave him by my side constantly. Rumors circle that a peasant has become my favorite lover, but nobody knows the truth. Jonah means so much more to me. Can a commoner become the king’s true mate?

I’m everyone’s friend, but no one’s everything...I love working for Ballsy Boys, but when you make the kind of videos I do, relationships are pretty damn impossible. Guys find me sexy and want to either be with me or be me, but no one has ever cared enough to see the real me. Until I meet Troy...who shows up in a banana suit at my door. Long story.

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.

I left my family and tiny Texas hometown 15 years ago to escape small-town gossips and to give my mom and sister the chance at a better life. But when a phone call from an attorney back home informs me that my sister passed away, leaving me custody of her newborn baby, I'm shocked out of the steady life I've built for myself running a tattoo shop in San Francisco. The thing is: I don't do babies. And I don't do small towns. Or commitment. And I especially don't do family.

Being traded to the Seattle Vipers has left me with mixed feelings. On the one hand, they’re my team, the team I’ve loved and supported since I was a kid, but on the other hand, he’s here. Him. Ant Decker. Infamous NHL bad boy. Right wing to my left. A man who’s made it his sole purpose in life to be better than me.

"Look out for Zach, and don't hit on him." My brother's request sounds easy enough. Keep an eye out for his best friend on campus and keep my hands to myself. Easy. Even if Zach is a quintessential nerd, who I've always thought was cute, I don't have the time to think with my...stick. There's only one stick I should be focused on this year, and that's my hockey stick. My goal once I graduate is to get an NHL contract. The last thing I need is a distraction. On or off the ice. Only, keeping to the rules is harder than I thought it would be. 

Join the men of Champion Security as they settle into the town of Licking Thicket, Tennessee… and accidentally stumble into a whole heap of trouble. From accidentally hijacking a cartel overlord’s plane, to posing as fake-fiances to plan a wedding and solve a crime, to hacking the world’s silliest video game, the Champion Security series is packed with laugh-out-loud humor, steamy connections made under pressure, and plenty of delicious, schmoopy love.