Showing results by narrator "Gomez Pugh" in All Categories

It’s Christmas Eve in NYC, when anything is possible. For these couples, it’s the season to find true love. From second chances, big leaps, missed connections, and reconnections, this charming collection celebrates the spirit of the holidays and delivers nine perfect HEAs.

He was a vision of power and privilege. Ruthless arrogance personified. A total stranger and an irresistible challenge. I approached him in a busy casino and felt the sting of his brutal rejection. Then, I did something incredibly brazen. Impulsive. Reckless. I stole from him. The object was inconsequential, only worth a handful of dollars. I didn’t do it for the money; it was about making a statement.

A few excruciating minutes pinned under a burning beam cost Ryan Ward his job as a firefighter, the easy camaraderie of his coworkers, his current girlfriend, and damn near cost him his left leg. Giving up, though, wasn't an option. He fought and won the battle back to health, over a painful year. Now, choosing a new profession, going back to school, and renting a room from the college groundskeeper should be simple. Until he realizes he's falling in love with his housemate and things take a turn for the complicated.

I'm a fighter. At least that's what my daddy always told me. It's in our blood. Hard work, hustle, and a little Hennessey is the Reid motto. He taught me to fight for everything I wanted in life. Take down those who threaten the dream.

Since Hank Calder's four-year-old niece Josie came to live with him, his life has been plenty dramatic, thank you, and the last thing he needs is a swishy, flaming twinkie to complicate things. But when Justin, the daycare worker at his gym, offers to do something incredibly nice for Hank - and for Josie - Hank is forced to reconsider. Justin may be flamboyant in his speech and gestures, but his heart and kindness are as rock steady and dependable as anyone, even Hank, could ask for.

After spending the first part of his life chasing pretty girls, love has finally come to Ryan in the form of John, a tall, lanky, red-headed landscape architect with wide shoulders and a five-o’clock shadow. For the first time in Ryan's life, love feels easy. Hell, he even ran into a burning building for John and his son, and he’d do it again if he had to. But telling his father and brothers and classmates “I’m gay. I’ve met a man”? That’s going to take nerve of a different kind.

She didn’t think she’d ever come home again. When Sarah Bitterman left Huckleberry Bay at the tender age of 19, newly married to a much older man, she had every intention of coming home to visit. Sadly, she quickly learned that was out of the question. Until her husband throws her out with only the clothes on her back and finally sets Sarah free. Coming back to the small seaside town has been the hardest thing she’s ever done. Facing those who loved her the most and think she turned her back on them is almost unbearable. But she needs her two best friends.

Does everyone have a certain "type" they end up with, whether they want to or not? If Ray Carlucci's ex is anything to go by, Ray likes his men gorgeous, rebellious, and chock-full of issues. But now that Ray is single again, he has a shot at a fresh start - a very fresh start, since his tattoo shop was gutted by repo men and he can fit all his belongings in the trunk of a taxi.

I’m a hunted man, forced into witness protection after the man I put behind bars as an undercover DEA agent escapes federal custody. Nothing matters but lying low until he’s recaptured and I can return to normal life until I meet her. Confident, sexy as hell, and my new warden, I crave her the moment our eyes meet. Alone in a safe house on her long horn ranch force us together, turning the lonely days into hot nights that neither of us wants to end.

Thanksgiving can't end too soon for Victor Bayne, who's finding Jacob's family hard to swallow. Luckily, he's called back to work to track down a high-profile missing person. Meanwhile, Jacob tries to find a home they can move into that's not infested - with either cockroaches or ghosts. As if the house-hunting isn't stressful enough, Vic's new partner Bob Zigler doesn't seem to think he can do anything right.

Criss Cross finds the ghosts surrounding Victor getting awfully pushy. The medications that Victor usually takes to control his abilities are threatening to destroy his liver, and his new meds aren't any more effective than sugar pills. Vic is also adjusting to a new PsyCop partner, a mild-mannered guy named Roger with all the personality of white bread. At least he's willing to spring for the Starbucks.

Victor Bayne never saw himself as husband material, but after an undercover stint as half of a married couple, he’s willing to give it a shot. Jacob Marks was eager to settle down from the get-go, so once Vic popped the question, the wedding should’ve been smooth sailing. But new evidence has come to light that casts a pall over the whole affair: decades of psychic experimentation and intrigue. Vic would hardly be shocked to discover he’s been an unwitting test subject, but it’s not his name on the roster.

Although Victor Bayne is a valued asset of the FPMP, he still vividly recalls his PsyCop days: the eye rolls, the nasty looks, and the occasional utterance of the words Spook Squad whenever he showed up on a scene. So he really should empathize with Howard Jibben, the weekend lab manager known as Heebie Jeebie.

Psychic medium Victor Bayne is well acquainted with pharmaceuticals, from the Auracel that blocks his ghosts to the Seconal that offers him a blissful night's sleep. But he's managed to steer clear of street drugs…so far. Jacob Marks has a medicine cabinet filled with every over-the-counter remedy known to man, but none of them are doing much for his mood - and his long, fruitless days of combing through records at The Clinic are taking a heavy toll.

I move in the shadow of death. I'm the villain. The monster everyone fears. I've been born into a life of depravity and ruthlessness. It's kill or be killed. Until her… The moment she smiles at me, my world changes. I keep coming back. Watching her brings me stolen moments of peace. Until I can't stay away… She doesn't know who I am, that she's flirting with death. Slowly, we fall deeper until she loves the lies I've told her.

Few people would willingly spend the night in a murder house, but Victor Bayne is up for the challenge. He’ll do whatever it takes to get a look at his permanent record, including going undercover in a townhouse where a recent death took place. Why not? There was no foul play involved, and as a psychic medium, he’d know if a ghost was creeping up on him. The whole “murder house” claim is just a product of a kid’s overactive imagination, and he’s confident he has the situation under control.

Oscar is a grouch. That’s a well-established fact among his tight-knit friend group, and they love him anyway. Jack is an ass. Jack, who’s always ready with a sly insult, who can’t have a conversation without arguing, and who Oscar may or may not have hooked up with on a strict no-commitment, one-time-only basis. Even if it was extremely hot. Together, they’re a bickering, combative mess. When Oscar is fired (answering phones is not for the anxiety-ridden), he somehow ends up working for Jack.

Seasons: PsyCop Briefs, Volume 2 contains four novelettes and 14 short stories. This all-new novel-length collection begins right where book 12, Other Half, left off, with Vic and Jacob’s honeymoon. It then cycles through each season, highlighting various moments in the series with laughs, scares, tender domestic scenes, and of course, ghosts - then circles around to Other Half again.

Jeff Paxton came home from Afghanistan looking to put down roots. Instead his pregnant sister talks him into a job babysitting the volatile megastar Nigel Gasp. Nigel is stubborn, needy, and determined to be the center of attention everywhere he goes. Before long, Jeff realizes that something is bothering Gasp, and that keeping him out of trouble might be more difficult than he thought.

Usually, when Victor Bayne is called upon to investigate a ghostly apparition, the “haunting” can be chalked up to a perfectly mundane cause. When he’s sent to check out some suspicious phenomena in small-town Iowa—and no one seems unduly alarmed—he’s hoping for more of a weekend getaway. Especially since he’s bringing along Jacob as his Stiff.