Ashton Laytham was a happy little boy until, at the age of seven, he lost his parents. Sent to Fayerweather to be brought up by his uncle and his uncle’s wife, he was perceived to be an unhappy, unlovable child. Shunned by family and servants and permitted no friends to visit, he grows to adulthood alone and aloof, with only an occasional illicit rendezvous to lighten his days. When his uncle dies, leaving the estate virtually bankrupt, it’s left to Ashton to make good on his uncle’s gaming debts and save Fayerweather. But how? The family talisman, worth thousands of pounds, has been stolen and the suspects vanished in the night, leaving Ashton to face the loss of the home he’s come to love. Geo Stephenson, who works in His Majesty’s civil service, has ghosts of his own. The product of a marriage of convenience, Geo has known all his life his father never loved his mother, and he vows that will never happen to him. Marked by a physical scar earned in battle, none of his previous lovers could bear looking at it without shuddering; his mental scars are due to the many friends lost in useless battles. Geo arrives with a fistful of Sir Eustace Laytham’s IOUs and a solution: Ashton accommodating him in bed, thereby paying off the debt. Attracted to Geo in spite of himself and desperate for any human kindness, Ashton agrees ... never expecting to lose his heart to a man who has sworn he’ll never give his. Can these two men find a measure of happiness together?

Mark Vincent has risen from senior special agent to Director of Interior Affairs in the WBIS. Lately, life has been sweet for him -- in addition to his promotion, he's found a partner in Quinton Mann, who can almost match his ability in the intelligence field, in spite of the fact Quinn's CIA. Mark has also found a condo in Alexandria with the help of Portia Mann, Quinn's mother, and it's closer to Quinn's town house than Mark's present apartment. Sweetest of all, Mark plans to take Quinn to his island in the Caribbean for the holidays. Quinn's glad he has the holiday with Mark to look forward to -- something is going on at Langley, and he feels he's being kept out of the loop. To make matters even worse, useless missions and sleepless nights filled with nightmares are leaving him exhausted. But then his mother's life if threatened, and Quinn discovers the accident that resulted in her hospitalization was no accident. The obsessively self-absorbed Senator Wexler is involved, and while Quinn considers himself a civilized man, now he's out for blood. Up until this point, Mark has stayed out of Quinn's CIA business. But hurting Quinn and those he loves isn't a smart move, and Mark has every intention of seeing Wexler pays. Quinn demands to come along, and while Mark isn't happy, he finally agrees, and they set out together to deal with the senator. There's just one catch: this will be the first time Quinn sees Mark at his deadly best, and Mark isn't sure how his lover will react.

Even the nicest of guys can decide to cut loose at some point, especially if he's at college and a frat brother invites him to a party. Unfortunately, that can end quite badly. Luckily for Dante ap Owen, it doesn't -- until he keeps needing to piss every few minutes and he sees blood in his urine. Another stroke of luck for him is the substitute professor, also a medical doctor he’s been crushing on, who happens to be there when he passes out in class and pushes him to come to his clinic. But Dante and his beloved, critically ill mother are under the control of his bitter uncle, who also provides health insurance. If his uncle finds out Dante is being treated for anything, let alone what Dante fears is an STD, he's ... Dante doesn't want to think about that. So he flees the clinic before he has to make a follow-up appointment. The good doctor shows up at his uncle's farm when phone calls do nothing. And when Dante's uncle invites the doctor to dinner and serves a meal worthy of Medea, the doctor urges Dante and his mother to leave. But will they? And will Dante realize the doctor wants him as much as he wants the doctor?

Sidebars are stories set in the Spy vs. Spook/Mann of My Dreams universe. The stories are told from the point of views of Nigel Mann, Bryan Sebring, Jack Matheson (Wills’s dad), a pair of jeans, Michael Shaw, and finally, Wills himself. Contains the stories: Solo Tu: Nigel Mann, known as the CIA’s own Mr. Freeze, and Portia Sebring, the Ice Princess of the NSA, might seem like a match made in the Arctic, but it’s exactly what Anthony Sebring wants for his daughter. This story takes place in 1958. Chasing Rainbows: Bryan Sebring tells the story of how he and his “one” finally get together. How to Handle a Gay Son: Jack Matheson learns his beloved oldest son is gay, and we see how he handles it. The Lick Me, Suck Me, Fuck Me Jeans: Wills’s jeans explains how his owner becomes pretty much irresistible while wearing him. Where Have You Been, Willie Boy?: Michael Shaw has been William Matheson’s best friend since they met in the sixth grade. Things change when they start college, helped along by those lick me, suck me, fuck me jeans Wills had been given for a birthday present. But Michael isn’t gay, and he won’t let anyone label him as queer, not even for his best friend. But will his determination drive away the one man he values above all others? Into the Lion’s Den: The first of Wills Matheson’s stories. We see his relationship with Michael Shaw, with his family, and eventually with the WBIS and Mark Vincent, who becomes his boss.

Giving up his life as a rent boy for his lover William Matheson is the easiest decision Theo Bascopolis has ever made. This smart, handsome man wants him in spite of his past and promises to love him forever. But that past has left Theo riddled with insecurities, which have a tendency to turn up when he’s at his most vulnerable. Case in point: things seem to fall apart when Wills goes on an extended assignment and the number of times he contacts Theo is precisely zero. Theo might be willing to believe work is getting in the way, but then a message he receives appears to confirm another betrayal. Well, his heart may be broken, but he’s not dumb enough to hang around waiting for it to get shattered. He leaves town determined to have nothing more to do with Wills. Wills returns home after an exhausting assignment only to find Theo gone with no explanation. It doesn’t take him long to piece together what’s happened and determine a plan of action. Wills is a man of his word who keeps his promises, and he has no intention of letting the best man he’s ever found walk away from him. But having been betrayed once, is Theo willing to trust his lover not to break his heart again?

Ben Haggerty is devastated when he returns home from work to discover his lover of eight years has gone off to complete his master's degree at another college -- and left no forwarding address. Not only has Ben chosen Rick over his beloved family, but he's supported his boyfriend both financially and emotionally the entire time. Unable to remain in their shared apartment, Ben moves and spends a miserable holiday season alone. With the New Year, however, he's determined to make a fresh start, so he manages to obtain Rick's address and sends him a card asking if Rick ever plans to return. Somehow, the card winds up in the wrong mailbox. Jason Prescott is a genius, having obtained his first master's degree at twenty-one and now working on his second. When he receives a card in error, he returns both the card and a card of his own to be courteous, expressing his hopes Ben can get in touch with his boyfriend. This begins a correspondence that leads to friendship, and ... the start of something more? Jason introduces Ben to his family and reunites him with his own. But will Jason, who's even smarter than Rick, be satisfied with someone as ordinary as blue-collar Ben feels himself to be? Or will Rick, realizing what he's let slip through his fingers, manage to persuade Ben to take him back?

Max Futé lost his license to practice medicine when he assisted someone he loved to die. His only chance of working again is to join up with Prinzip, an anti-terrorist organization in Paris. He manages to subvert the madmen running Prinzip and save numerous lives. Among those is WBIS agent Charles Browne, with whom he falls in love. When the organization is taken down and they’re rescued, Max is brought to the US to work for the WBIS. Browne invites Max to move in with him, and the little French doctor thinks all his dreams have come true. Unfortunately, Browne is a commitment-phobe, and sees Max as nothing more than a convenient body. Will Max stay with him? Or will he cut his losses and find someone who will love him as he deserves?

Church Chetwood, renowned motion picture director, is given an ultimatum by his studio: film a movie with romance or else. Since this is the height of the Depression, and since Church enjoys eating, he reluctantly agrees. He finds a beautiful woman who’s willing to sail on the August Moon to the uncharted island of Iwi Po’o. While there, he makes the discovery of a lifetime, guaranteed to make them all millionaires ... Only it doesn’t exactly turn out like that. The “discovery of a lifetime,” a saber-toothed tiger the press dubs Chetwood’s Kitty, breaks free and runs amok in Manhattan, causing death and mayhem. Months later, Church is facing indictment and a long stretch up the river and has no choice but to lie low until he can get out of town. While nursing his troubles in a saloon, he spots a young man who’s even more down on his luck than Church. Johnny Smith has been on his own since Black Tuesday, four years earlier, and he does what he has to in order to keep body and soul -- what’s left of it -- together, even if it isn’t what he ever expected to do. He enters the saloon, hoping for a little warmth and perhaps a meal. What he finds is Church Chetwood, the director whose documentaries have fascinated him for years. Mr. Chetwood buys him that meal, and Johnny willingly goes with him to his rooming house, ready to do whatever Mr. Chetwood wants, even if Mr. Chetwood claims he isn’t “like that.” Is Johnny’s luck about to take a turn for the better? After all, Mr. Chetwood has a plan to get out of town, and if Johnny’s really lucky, maybe Church will let him come along.

William "Wills" Matheson is a computer whiz, hired by Huntingdon right out of college. He's groomed for a position in the Washington Bureau of Intelligence and Security, a sister organization to Huntingdon. Eventually, he's promoted to senior special agent in the department of Interior Affairs, under the notorious Mark Vincent. Instructed by Trevor Wallace -- The Boss, and yes, that's in caps, of the WBIS -- to follow Vincent after his apartment is destroyed, the younger agent discovers why the man is considered the best when Vincent easily spots him. Rather than knocking him down as expected, Vincent orders Wills to accompany him to his friend's bedside in GW Hospital. There, Wills meets the rent boy known as Sweetcheeks and is instantly struck by the handsome redhead. Wills has never had a male lover before, but he's more than willing to give it a try. Gradually he begins to wonder if there could be a future for them together. Things look positive for them when Sweetcheeks confesses his own love, but Wills is a WBIS agent, and Sweetcheeks is a rent boy. Will their jobs come between them before they can explore their newfound love?

All the Honorable St. John Ashford ever wanted was his father’s love, but if he can’t have that, he’ll settle for being noticed. In an effort to do that, St. John sets his sights on Andrew Dorincourt, a man for whom the Viscount has nothing but disdain. Surely this will draw his father’s attention? Unfortunately, while Andrew seems willing to date him, he appears entirely disinterested in anything else. St. John knows it’s just a matter of time before all his plans going up in smoke, especially when Andrew becomes attracted to an exotic young man he rescued from Malossini’s House of Oddities. Robin Dorincourt is something of a playboy who enjoys nothing so much as flitting from one boyfriend to another. He doesn’t poach, though, and when he finds himself attracted to St. John Ashford, he does what he can to keep a healthy distance between them, using taunts and teasing. It’s difficult, until he realizes his brother is in love with someone else. Robin’s path toward St. John is clear, and he makes his move. But is his path as clear as he imagines? St. John might be as attracted to Robin as Robin is to him, but he’ll be damned if he allows himself to be passed from one brother to the other as if he’s nothing more than a poor second choice. Now it remains is for Robin to persuade St. John he’s no one’s second choice.

Andrew Dorincourt has the blood of powerful shifters in his veins. It’s his job to take care of his siblings, who are his pack, and he has no intention of letting anything get in the way. However, he’s seen the love shared not only by his parents but by the Papas, the men who raised his mother, and he wants that for himself. The problem is none of the young women he’s dated have left him wanting anything more than to go home alone. Perhaps he’d have more success by dating men, as his brother does. Only it seems he’s not very successful at that, either. Da’ric is the son of Ric’u, a Brachi who’d been stranded on Terra for decades, and David Knight, an ichthyologist who traveled up the Amazon in search of his heart’s desire. Seeing the deep love his fathers have for each other, Da’ric determines to settle for nothing less. At any rate, the dating pool is pretty much empty in the Lagoon of Dreams, and so he goes to the States, where he intends to become a herpetologist. In order to do that, he must mingle with normals, Terrans who have no idea extraterrestrials share the planet with them. When he walks among Terrans, he must disguise his heritage by wearing sunglasses to conceal his rainbow-colored eyes and long-sleeved shirts to hide his scale-patterned skin. After being kidnapped and sold to a high-ranking member of the London underworld to be displayed as the Snake Boy, Da’ despairs of ever seeing his beloved family again, until Drew wanders into the House of Oddities and helps Da’ escape. Is it fate, kismet, or destiny that brings together the offspring of two very unique families? Have these two been waiting for each other, and will the future hold the love they’d both been seeking?

Change comes to all of us. For Theo Bascopolis, the first time is when he's fifteen. He finds his life falling apart when his father discovers Theo is gay and orders him to become straight or leave. Having no choice, in spite of what his father might think, Theo leaves. But where can a fifteen-year-old go? Especially when it starts to rain. He thinks things are looking up when he meets a striking man named Franky, who seems very attracted to him. However, once again Theo's life changes when he learns all Franky wants is for him to hustle. And so Theo becomes the rent boy Sweetcheeks. However, Franky underestimates Sweetcheeks, and the results of the ensuing fight sees Sweetcheeks fleeing to Washington DC, where he crosses paths with a group of rent boys who take him in. Finally Sweetcheeks has a family, a home, and an additional source of income in the form of apartments they're able to rent out. His life changes again a few years later when a mysterious tenant by the name of Mark Vincent becomes the reason behind the assault on one of Sweetcheeks's boys. Vincent visits the boy in the hospital, bringing with him his equally enigmatic trainee, William Matheson. The instant attraction blindsides Sweetcheeks. In spite of knowing love isn't for rent boys, he hopes Matheson can see beyond the body he's offered to so many. But Matheson has secrets of his own. Can Sweetcheeks overcome his insecurities enough to believe in the quiet man who's come into his life? Can Matheson keep his actual occupation a secret without it jeopardizing their budding relationship?

Imagine an earth just a bit different from ours. In this world normals unknowingly share the planet with all manner of beings, including vampyres, most of whom rely on bagged blood, which is supplemented by the blood of sabors, valued individuals whose blood contains an element necessary for the survival of the species. Tyrell Small has always felt different. He just never knew how different. On his sixteenth birthday, his father reveals Ty is one such sabor, with the birthmark to prove it. Upon learning he’ll be required to feed vampyres, Ty decides he’s not having any of that. He’ll run away and make his own destiny. Slipping out his second story bedroom window, he finds Adam Dasani, the most gorgeous man he’s ever seen, waiting for him on the roof. Adam is reluctant to distress the young sabor about to slide down the drainpipe, but he’s one of the vampyres Ty will one day feed. Equerry to the vampyre king, Adam had been given the task of guarding Ty on the day he was born. Because the blood of the two most powerful saborese families in the shared history of vampyres and sabors runs through Ty’s veins, some vampyres will do anything to obtain him for themselves. It will be up to Adam to keep Ty safe, not only from those rogue vampyres but from others who have plans of their own for him. Everyone keeps telling Ty he can’t escape his destiny, but he has no intention of sitting around twiddling his thumbs, waiting for life to catch up with him. However, will something Adam inadvertently said give Ty a way to live the life he wants and keep those he loves -- including Adam -- out of danger?

Kipp Llewellyn, the proverbial poor little rich boy, can have whatever he wants, except the one thing he wants most: his father's love. When the opportunity arises to obtain it, Kipp jumps at the chance, even though it means breaking a date with "Ham," the man he's sure he's falling in love with. However, the opportunity turns out to be an arranged marriage with his father's biggest competitor. Even worse, Kipp discovers his proposed groom is Hyde Wyndham, the man of his dreams. Having lived in a gilded cage his entire twenty-one years, Kipp refuses to settle for anything less than love and walks away from both his father and his future husband. Hyde didn't achieve his position in the financial world by taking no for an answer, however, and he'll do whatever it takes to make Kipp realize he's wanted for himself, including wooing the young man he intends to marry, prenuptial agreements be damned. He's certain he's succeeded, until Kipp learns something that puts an insurmountable barrier between them. Will Hyde be able to overcome Kipp's doubts, and will Kipp realize that some things are worth the sacrifice? NOTE: This edition includes the short stories "What You Will," "Brown-Eyed Handsome Man," and "Whether Granted or Denied."

Sequel to Call Me Church Johnny Smith's luck has been bad from the moment the Stock Market crashed and he'd been forced to leave an exclusive boarding school, and he sees no reason to believe it will ever change. But then he meets Church Chetwood, a dashing, devil-may-care director of motion pictures, and his life is turned topsy-turvy when Chetwood takes him along on what the man promises will be the adventure of a lifetime. Johnny doesn't care, as long as he's with his Mr. Chetwood. The year before, Church had hired Captain Johansen to take him to the mysterious island of Iwi Po'o on the tramp steamer August Moon. There he'd found and captured a sabretooth tiger and brought the animal back to the States. "Chetwood's Kitty," so dubbed by the press, is the reason he has to leave New York so precipitously -- people had died and the law is after him. The only bright spot is the kid he'd come across in a saloon. Church thinks he's had the best idea of his life when he decides to take Johnny along with him to the South Seas. He and Captain Johansen plan to make a living transporting goods from one island to another, and they have every intention of avoiding Iwi Po'o. But a treacherous stowaway has plans to take the August Moon for himself, and convinces the men to mutiny. Johnny, Church, the skipper, the ship's cook, and the wireless operator, accompanied by the little girl Johnny had rescued from prostitution, find themselves in a lifeboat, with Iwi Po'o the only spot of land. The last time Church was on this island, twelve men lost their lives to what lived there. Will Johnny, Church, and their friends somehow manage to make it our alive this time?

Kyle Winchester has a facility with numerous foreign languages, as well as reading and writing Braille, but when he fails to hear from the numerous colleges he’s applied to, he thinks he’s destined to spend his life as a busboy. Then, as luck would have it, he learns of an opening at a company in Boston where his knowledge of Braille just might get him the position. Off he goes, hoping he’ll obtain a good job and an even better girlfriend. When it turns out it isn’t Huntingdon that needs an expert in Braille, he turns his sights on the company’s sister organization, the Washington Bureau of Intelligence and Security, which actually deals in the gathering and dissemination of intelligence. The job is good, but still no girlfriend. April O’Shay has a secret she’s been keeping for years. To prevent a spiteful coworker from outing her to friends, family, and other coworkers, she leaves the small town where she’s lived all her life and moves to DC. With the help of her previous boss, she obtains a job waiting tables at the Rib Shack, a well-regarded restaurant. Now she has a good job, even better roommates, and a life that’s happy except for one minor detail -- she’s not comfortable returning to the dating scene. As much as she’d like to find a boyfriend, she’s afraid her secret will come between them. And then, one day, Kyle is sent on assignment to the Rib Shack, to observe a shady character who wants to get his talons into the gay son of the Secretary of the Treasury. There he meets April and is quick to realize he’s fascinated by her. As for April, she takes one look at his violet eyes and is smitten. It’s “like” at first sight for the two, with the promise of developing into much more. But Kyle works for an organization that could send him out to kill someone at any time, and April has her own secret she’s guarding. When April reveals she must return home for Christmas for the first time in many years, Kyle suggests he accompany her. Will her refusal result in their relationship teetering on the brink, or will they find a way to trust each other enough to hold on to what they have?

Sidebars are stories set in the Spy vs. Spook/Mann of My Dreams universe. The stories in this book are told from three different points of view: William Matheson’s, covering the majority of the events from 2002 to 2009, including his work at the WBIS and his relationship with Theo Bascopolis, a former rent boy. Contains the stories: Is It You?: Wills meets Theo Bascopolis and wonders if he could be the one. Sway: Wills goes along with Theo’s assumption that he can’t dance. This Simple Phrase: Wills and Theo spend their first Christmas together. Goodbye to Love: Wills returns home to the apartment he shares with Theo to find his lover has left him. Wills intends to discover why. To Be Loved: Wills has asked Theo to marry him, and they celebrate their first Easter as engaged men in Cambridge with Wills’s family. P.S. I Love You: Wills and Theo get married and welcome a new addition to their little family. Dedicated to the One I Love: In 2004, same-sex marriage becomes legal in Massachusetts. For their first anniversary, Wills decides to take advantage of that and takes Theo to Cambridge so they can be legally married. Happy Anniversary, Baby Redux: It’s Mark and Quinn’s anniversary, and Mark muses about how they got there. The Very Best Christmas Ever (So Far): Pat Mulcahy, aka the Antichrist, has turned his life around and now lives with the Mathesons. On the trip to Washington, he meets someone who just might make this the best Christmas ever for him. When Complications Arrive at Your Door: This is the missing epilogue from Complications. Rebecca Goddard, daughter of the former WBIS doctor, has decided making herself scarce after Mark Vincent discovered her part in the events that went down in 2004 is a good idea. Five years later, she’s no longer looking over her shoulder, but maybe she should be. Trick or Treat: It’s Halloween, and Wills and Theo take their children trick or treating. Happy Birthday, Baby Redux: Mark Vincent has a birthday coming up, but his husband is out of town and won’t be there to celebrate with him. In addition, it’s snowing.

Senator Franklin’s life seems perfect. He has a devoted wife, a smart son, and in a relatively short period of time, he’s moved up in politics to become Secretary of the Treasury. And then a man from his wife’s past arrives in DC and begins dating his son. What’s a man to do but call on a friend who’s one of the deadliest agents of all the alphabet agencies to look into it? Ryder Franklin’s life seems perfect. He has loving parents, a job at the State Department he enjoys, and a good friend who’s more than just a friend. Then a man from his mom’s past comes to DC and contacts him. Donald Edmonton assures Ryder he’s simply curious as to how his onetime sweetheart has fared, but Ryder isn’t sure he believes the man. Can he -- should he -- keep the man’s appearance from his family? Donald Edmonton’s life… isn’t perfect. His career has gone down the tubes and his finances are in disarray. The solution he comes up with lies in DC. He’s kept track of his former girlfriend and her family, and learned something interesting about her husband. He’ll go to her son first, see if he can get the rumor verified, and possibly make some money. After all, how difficult can that be?

The New Year of 2002 starts off with a literal bang, when Mark Vincent is called to WBIS headquarters and learns the Washington Bureau of Intelligence and Security has been disbanded. He's not happy with the situation, but he's ready to make his own way in the intelligence waters of DC. However, when Trevor Wallace, known as The Boss, requests he accept the CIA's offer of a job, Mark reluctantly agrees. He isn't surprised to find working for the CIA is exactly what he expected, with the Company not allowing him to do his job. Mark lets his resentment be known as he's partnered with one officer after another, with no success. As a result, he's determined to leave the CIA, in spite of his promise to the man whose opinion he valued so highly. Quinton Mann is viewed as royalty in the intelligence community. He had a run-in with Mark Vincent a few years before, while Vincent was still senior special agent for the WBIS, and Quinn had developed a healthy respect for him. Now, however, it's his turn to partner with the man considered by the alphabet agencies to be a sociopath. Quinn can see what the problem is, and he's aware Vincent might not remain CIA for long. Now, the year is drawing to a close. Will a drink on Christmas Eve change things for both men?

Clancy Makem has played for the Brookeville Scorpions for the past seventeen years and is considered the century’s best shortstop. After he tears his ACL for the fourth time, his career falls apart, and the team’s surgeon gives him no choice but to retire. At thirty-eight, he finds himself without a job, so he decides to return to college to get the degree he’d put on hold. With that fourth surgery looming on the horizon, he’s also in need of a temporary caregiver, something -- someone -- he’s unwilling to accept. Clancy’s teammates, who love their former shortstop, are willing to do whatever it takes to get rid of this person. Charles Newton is a mathematical genius who had two master’s degrees under his belt by the age of eighteen. Now twenty-one, he has a doctorate waiting in the wings, only he finds himself burned out and with no desire to defend his dissertation. Even in the face of being disowned by his overbearing mother, he’s willing to walk away from academia. He’s in need of a job, and fortunately he’s offered one as a temporary caregiver to Clancy Makem -- a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for someone who’s secretly a baseball aficionado. Will Clancy welcome Charles -- supposedly clueless when it comes to baseball -- into his home, or will his teammates succeed in running the younger man off? Will Charles get the chance to work with the man he’s admired for years? And who is this person they refer to as Chuck?