Hello, all! To celebrate the upcoming release of the final novella in the North Pole City Tales series, Mending Noel is FREE for a limited time, plus books 2 through 5 have been reduced in price! Looking for some sweet holiday fun? Join Mayor Kringle's fly boys in North Pole City on their adventures as they fight foes and find love. Filled with holiday cheer, and a little naughty to go with the nice.

Warning: contains broody winter spirits, sassy elf pilots, and elf swearing such as "Holy holly!" and "Crabapples!" 

All is not sparkly snowflakes and sweet candy canes in North Pole City. Office workers Tim and Noel do nothing all day but antagonize each other—petty fighting that might be based on hatred… or a heated mutual attraction. It’s up to Jack Frost and his elf-friend Rudy to broach the hostilities and introduce some Christmas kisses, but is the Frost Prince up to the challenge of launching a new romance when someone’s trying to break his holiday spirit?

“Are you sure this isn’t overkill?” Cael asked, wondering how he was going to get out from the sea of Christmas lights surrounding him on all sides. “I think we’re one crazy cousin short of a Griswold family Christmas.”

Dex shook his head, his tongue poking out in concentration as he replaced the tiny lightbulb in the string of lights he held. He’d been searching for the damned thing for almost an hour.

“I’m also concerned for people’s retinas,” Cael muttered as he gauged the distance between him and the sofas around him. If he dove straight ahead, he should be able to make it to the armchair.

“The only thing people are going to be blinded by is awesomeness.” Dex plugged the little bulb in just as Cael made the leap. The living room exploded into white light.

“My eyes!” Cael yelped as he fell, missing his target. Except instead of falling onto hundreds of pokey, stabby lights, he landed in a pair of big strong arms.

“Sorry!” Dex shuffled around the room, and the lights went off.

Cael blinked, his vision filled with thousands of white dots, but among the dots, he could make out a handsome face looking down at him in concern.

“You okay, sweetheart?”

“My hero,” Cael said with a sigh, as he turned, and cuddled up against Ash’s broad, muscular chest. He inhaled deeply, and let out a low hum. “Mm, you smell like Christmas cookies.”

“I just finished baking the last batch, and was bringing them over.” Ash kissed the top of Cael’s head, and put him on his feet, his eyes narrowing at Dex. “You ass. What the hell is all this? I thought you said you two were getting ready to string up the outside lights.”

Dex blinked at him. “We are. I just had to replace one of the lightbulbs.”

Ash stared at him. “Are you telling me all these lights are for outside?”

Dex waggled his eyebrows. “Yep.”

“No way.” Ash shook his head as he took in the blanket of Christmas lights. Not one piece of the living room rug was visible. It was nothing but lights and green wires. “Are you insane? There’s enough lighting here to land a plane!”

“Actually,” Dex said, holding up a finger as he went to the kitchen and returned with a large blueprint of the front of the house which included the schematics to “The Daleys’ Eye-gasm-inducing Décor of Christmas Awesomeness.” “As you can see by my very detailed Achlys-created plan that I have the exact number of lights needed.”

Ash counted off his fingers. “One. You’re an idiot. Two. That title needs to change because I want to make it through this holiday without throwing up in my mouth. Three. What the fuck is Achlys?”

Dex lay the blueprints on the couch. “It’s like Themis, but the TIN version. On steroids. It’s artificial intelligence, and connects to the Dark Net.”

Ash’s jaw dropped, and Cael chuckled. “Yeah, that was sort of my reaction when he told me.” Cael shook his head. He’d been surprised, but then remembered it was his brother. “I still can’t believe TIN let you use their government artificial intelligence system to create a blueprint of your house for your Christmas decorating.”

Dex shrugged, mischief in his bright blue eyes. “I ran it through as a training scenario.”

“I don’t even want to know,” Ash grumbled, heading toward the kitchen. Cael followed him, smiling at the scent of freshly bakes Christmas treats. The island counter was lined with insulated carrying totes, and with every container Ash removed, Cael drooled a little more.

“Did you make the Christmas mix?” Cael asked excitedly.

Ash removed a container, and handed it to Cael, kissing his cheek. “Of course I did, baby. I know how much you love it.”

Dex appeared beside him, and leaned over his shoulder to sniff at the container. “Ooh, Christmas mix.”

Cael hugged it close to his chest. “This is mine. If you touch it, so help me I will stab you with one of your lawn candy canes.”

Dex held his hands up and backed away slowly. “Right. Sorry. Forgot that’s the Willing-to-commit-murder-if-you-so-much-as-sniff-it Christmas mix.”

Cael peered at Dex, following him with his eyes as his brother rounded the counter to peek at the other containers. No way he was letting Dex anywhere near his super yummy Ash-made treats of goodness. Cael opened the lid, and Ash laughed softly at Cael’s happy sigh. He took a small handful out and stuffed it into his mouth. The sugary explosion in his mouth made him moan.

“Oh God, this is so good.”

Ash cleared his throat, and subtly adjusted himself. “Sweetheart, can you, um, maybe eat that later? Or in private?”

“Cael, please do not make your boyfriend pop a boner in my kitchen.” Dex made a gagging sound, and Ash scowled at him.

“Screw you, Daley. You can hang up your own damn lights.”

“No dice, Keeler. We had a deal. Sloane and I would use our super-secret spy connections to get Cael moved into your apartment, and you would help me decorate the house.” Dex snagged a sugar cookie from one of the containers, and shoved half of it in his mouth. When he spoke, it was through a mouthful of cookie. Classy. “I want this to be the best Christmas my boo has ever had.”

Ash arched an eyebrow at Dex. “I still can’t believe Sloane married you.”

“Yep,” Dex said waggling his eyebrows. “He married me good. You’re stuck with me.”

Ash groaned, and Cael rubbed a hand over his back soothingly. “It’s okay, babe.” He stood on his toes, and kissed Ash’s cheek. “Besides, that means he’s stuck with us,” Cael said, winking at his sexy boyfriend. Ash grinned wickedly. He wrapped his arms around Cael, and Cael slipped his hands up Ash’s chest.

“What are you two doing?” Dex asked, frowning.

Ash leaned in, and Cael slipped his arms around Ash’s neck, bringing their lips together, both of them moaning into the other’s mouth.

“My eyes!” Somewhere to Cael’s right, Dex cursed, and a chair fell over. “My shin!”

Cael laughed against Ash’s lips. Mission accomplished. Oh, this was going to be the best Christmas ever.

“Is this a schematic?”

Calvin stared down at the large, intricate diagram of what looked like Dex and Sloane’s house, along with a detailed layout of—were those Christmas lights? When Dex had approached him, Calvin had expected a few strings of lights, some wreaths, a few outdoor decorations. He’d never thought he’d be involved in something that involved a schematic created by a government intelligence agency.

Ethan rested his chin on Calvin’s shoulder, and reached over him, snickering as he pointed to a particular spot on the schematic.

“That’s….” They both tilted their heads. “Is that a tiny digital Dex and Sloane in the window?”

“Yes!” Dex bounced over to Ethan and threw a hand up. Ethan high-fived Dex without moving his gaze away from the schematic. His boyfriend was way too amused. He should be more concerned. Terrified actually.

Calvin narrowed his eyes at Dex. “Can you read this?”

“Of course he can,” Ash replied with a smirk. “It’s all pictures. No words.”

“Bite me, Simba.” Dex flipped him off, and turned to Ethan with a huge smile. He was looking a little unhinged.

“Is that Sloane on your ugly Christmas sweater?”

Dex looked down at his knitted red sweater with alternating snowflake and heart pattern running across it. In the center was a black jaguar wearing a Santa hat.

“Isn’t it amazing?”

“It’s… something all right.”

Christmas did weird things to Dex, and Dex was weird enough at the best of times. Calvin turned to Cael to ask how much sugar Dex had already had, but quickly realized asking the guy stuffing his face with sugarcoated Chex Mix was probably not the best idea.

“What?” Cael asked through a mouthful of crunch. His pupils were looking a little big.

Calvin smiled then took hold of Ethan’s elbow, and turned him away to whisper at him. “We’re looking at an optimum Threat Level Fuchsia situation here. Get the fire extinguishers ready, and make sure Rosa’s bringing her medical kit.”

Ethan nodded, and gave him a salute, before darting off to prepare for Dex-induced mayhem.

Since everyone would be with their respective families for Christmas, Dex had decided they should all get together to celebrate their own Christmas a couple of weeks early. He’d put off decorating until today, and poor Sloane was staying at Tony’s until the surprise was ready.

The room suddenly burst into Jingle Bell Rock, scaring the crap out of Calvin. Before he could say anything, the doorbell rang, and Dex bounced over like a reindeer on crack, the bells hanging from the reindeer antlers on his head ringing. Calvin once again asked himself what the hell he had gotten himself into.

“It’s worse than I thought,” Calvin murmured to Ethan who stepped up beside him. He looked up to ask Ethan if he was ready with the stuff when his words failed him. “What’s on your head?”

Ethan beamed at him, and flicked the little bell hanging from one of antlers, the name “Comet” stitched in white up one of the brown antlers. He held a headband out to Calvin.

“I’m not wearing that,” Calvin grumped.

“Suck it up, Summers,” Ash said as he walked past him toward the door, antlers on his head. “If I gotta wear this shit, so do you.”

Calvin glared at Ash’s back. “Yeah, because you got Blitzen. Why do I have to be Prancer?” He growled at his stupid antlers before putting them on, ignoring Ethan’s delighted gasp. He leaned in and kissed his cheek.

“Yeah, yeah.”

The girls had arrived, and cheerfully put on their antlers. Rosa was Dancer, and Letty Vixen. When Seb and Hudson arrived, Seb was given Donner, and Hudson Dasher. Cael was Cupid, and Dex Rudolph.

“Okay, who picked these?” Calvin asked. “Why am I Prancer?”

Everyone went quiet and turned to him before they burst into laughter.

“What?” They were losing their minds. Oh God, it was catching. Dex pulled his phone out of his pocket, and walked over. He tapped away at it, and Calvin eyed him warily.

“This is why.” Dex handed him the phone, and Calvin hesitantly pressed play on the video. His jaw dropped. No way. It was a video of him, drunk off his ass at Dekatria, dancing—no prancing—to Barry Manilow’s Flashy Lady. “You’re such a flashy lady,” Dex teased.

Calvin’s face went up in flames. “Delete it.”

“After you help put up the Christmas lights for my beautiful unsuspecting husband.”

“I’m gonna kill you, Daley!” Calvin launched himself at Dex, but Ethan caught him before he grabbed Dex’s antler’s and gave him a different type of holy night.

“Such a grumpy little reindeer,” Dex said with a laugh. “You have my word that I will delete it the moment the lights are up.”

“Fine,” Calvin grumbled.

Ethan wrapped his arms around Calvin, and pulled him close against him.

“Did you know about this?”

Ethan shook his head. He leaned down, and pressed his lips to Calvin's. Damn him. It was hard to stay annoyed when Ethan kissed him all sweet like this. Calvin let out a sigh.

“Okay, let’s do this.”

“I brought my medical kit,” Rosa said, winking at Ethan.

“Really, guys. It’s just some Christmas lights,” Dex said walking into the sea of lights in the middle of the living room.

Rosa arched an eyebrow at him. “Which Destructive Delta are putting up according to a schematic you had made.”

Letty turned to Rosa. “Hey, how many agents does it take to put up Christmas lights?”

“Six,” Rosa said motioning to the rest of them. “The same number it takes to cause a citywide incident

“Don’t include us in your crazy,” Seb said, holding Hudson close against him.

Ash patted Seb’s shoulder. “Not only did that ship sail long ago, it’s been docked in Crazy Town for a while now.”

Hudson sniffed Ash. “Have you been drinking the spiked eggnog? Because if you have, I want some.”

Everyone laughed, and Hudson blinked at them. “What? Are you saying there’s no alcohol?”

“You can sniff the eggnog, and get drunk after the lights go up,” Ash said.

Dex clapped his hands together to get everyone’s attention. “Rosa, Letty, you take the banisters. Hudson, you’ve got the fence. Seb, the windows. Cael, you, me, Hobbs, Ash, and Cal are on lights. Any questions, just let me know, otherwise, just look at the schematic. Decorations that are not lights can be found in their respective boxes in the dining room. All the boxes are labeled.”

Calvin had to admit, he was pretty impressed with how organized Dex was. Maybe this was actually going to be okay.

Hello, all! A huge thank you to everyone who nominated me and the fellas for the Goodreads M/M Romance Group's 2017 Member's Choice Awards! I'm so very honored to be listed alongside so many amazing authors and books. Voting has begun, so if you fancy voting for me or the THIRDS fellas, you'll find the link and categories below. I'm so excited to see the THIRDS has been nominated for the Hall of Fame All_Time Favorite M/M Series! Thank you again all so much for all your awesome support!

Link to Poll (closes Sunday, December 31st, at 11:59 pm Eastern US time): https://www.goodreads.com/poll/list/20149-m-m-romance?type=group   Remember you have to be a member of the group to vote.

Hello, all! The final book in the North Pole City Tales series, The King's Courage, is now out! Plus get the rest of the North Pole City Tales books at a reduced price until December 31st, including your FREE eBook copy of Mending Noel!

SYNOPSIS

With the wedding of Jack Frost and Rudy Rein Dear only three weeks away, everyone travels to Jack’s palace in Svalbard, Norway, where the happy couple will exchange vows beneath the northern lights. Festivities have been planned leading up to the wedding, and Dasher eagerly anticipates not just the fun, but staying under the same roof as the blustering winter spirit who’s caught his eye—the King of Frost, Jack’s father.

A long-ago tragedy has left Eirik fearing to ever love again. As the King of Frost, Eirik maintains his distance from everyone, especially the young Christmas elf who insists on intruding on Eirik’s solitude. But Dasher is determined to find a way to show the lonely king that his heart still beats and he shouldn’t fear allowing it to beat for another.

💛 EXCERPT

North Pole City Tales Paperback Anthology: The Complete Set

SERIES SALE

“You’re going to burn a whole in my floor,” Tony grumbled.

Sloane couldn’t help his pacing. It was almost time. Dex wanted to surprise Sloane by getting the crew to help him decorate the house for Christmas to make it extra special, which was touching. It really was. Sloane loved that Dex was even more excited about Christmas than usual, and all because it was their first as a married couple. It didn’t however ease his mind. Dex had a habit of going over the top, and the fact that he was bringing the rest of the crew in to help, made Sloane a little nervous. Okay, a lot nervous.

“Hey,” Tony said, interrupting his pacing. “There’s been no word from dispatch on any fires or emergency services being sent out.”

“You’re right.” Sloane sighed, and took a seat on the couch. “I’m overreacting.”

“No, you’re reacting appropriately,” Tony said, a hint of amusement in his tone. “This is Dex we’re talking about. God only knows what he’s up to, but he’s not ended up on the news so that’s a good sign.”

The fact they could judge how his husband’s evening was going based on whether or not Dex made the news was… somewhat disturbing, yet comforting because no news was good news.

His watch beeped, and Sloane stood. “It’s time.”

Tony’s reply was a chuckle as he made his way to the front door with Sloane quick on his heels. They’d had a nice relaxing day—at least when Sloane wasn’t thinking about news headlines containing the words “Strange Blond Man Causes Christmas Chaos…”.

Sloane was enjoying his “play dates” as Dex called them, with Tony. His father-in-law and former sergeant wasn’t big on chatting. He was one of those guys that believed in talking when there was something worth talking about, but there was never any need to fill the silence. Sloane could just sit and enjoy the man’s company as they hung out and read, watched TV, or played cards.

They took a cab to Sloane and Dex’s house, and on the ride over, Sloane checked his phone. No texts from anyone. No calls. No alarms. That was good right? He checked his phone battery. Fully charged. The closer they got to his block, the more he found himself leaning forward.

“You planning on crawling into the passenger seat,” Tony teased.

With a sheepish grin, Sloane sat back. “Sorry. No, you’re right. I’m good.”

The cab came to a stop, and Sloane bolted from the car. Shit. Spinning around, he ran to the window, and gave the driver money. “Thanks!” Not bothering with change, he ran across the street just like he’d been instructed. As nervous as he was, he didn’t want to spoil Dex’s surprise. Nothing was on fire, so there was no immediate danger. That he could see, anyway.

“Sweetums!”

Sloane couldn’t help his dopey smile. He laughed when Dex barreled into him, and hugged him tight.

“I missed your face,” Dex said, kissing him sweetly. When he pulled back, he winked playfully. “Among other things.”

With a chuckle, Sloane pulled him close, and nuzzled his temple. They’d only been apart a few hours, but with their bond, it felt much longer. Having Dex back in his arms settled his felid half, and he let out a happy sigh.

“Where is everyone?”

Dex looked up at him, eyes slightly wide. Uh-oh. His husband might be training to be a spy, but when it came to Sloane, he was still shit at lying.

“They’re inside.”

Sloane peered at him. “Why haven’t they come out to see your big surprise?”

“They will.” Dex pulled out his phone, and waved it at Sloane. “Soon as I text Hobbs, he’s going to hit the lights, and then they’re all going to come out.” Dex’s smile widened, and Sloane braced himself.

“Is everyone inside?”

Dex nodded slowly. “Yes.”

What wasn’t Dex telling him?

“Are they all in one piece?”

Dex’s expression was unimpressed. “I did not maim any of our friends in the making of the The Daleys’ Eye-gasm-inducing Décor of Christmas Awesomeness.”

Sloane nodded, though he wasn’t quite sure he believed him.

“Ready for your surprise?” Dex was so excited he was practically vibrating.

Well, Dex was in one piece, no bandages, bleeding, bruises, or missing appendages so that was a good sign. Sloane looked him over while Dex was sending his text. He looked perfectly fine. Wait, what was that on his Christmas sweater?

“Is that me?” Sloane asked, pointing to the somewhat grumpy looking black jaguar wearing a Christmas hat.

Dex grinned up at him. “You have been forever immortalized in 100% cotton.”

“Um, thanks?” He was a little bit worried about the Christmas sweater he knew Dex had inside for him.

Dex reached into his pocket, and pulled out a pair of sunglasses that he then handed to Sloane. “Here, you’re going to need these.”

“But it’s eight in the evening.” Sloane took them, and put them on. Relax, it’s going to be fine. Where the hell had Tony gone? Probably inside. Because he’s a smart man.

“Okay, turn around,” Dex said excitedly.

The block was suddenly plunged into colorful daylight, and Sloane turned around. “Holy fuck!”’ His jaw dropped, and he took a step back. Somewhere under the millions of tiny bright lights was his and Dex’s house. The strings of lights ran from the base of the house to the roof. There were lights around the windows, the handrails, the fence. There were reindeer pulling a sleigh angled off the roof, frosted holly wrapped around the handrails along with the lights, and candy canes attached to the fence. The words “Happy Holidays” flashed in sequence to what Sloane now realized were Christmas carols coming from speakers somewhere. Christmas had exploded all over their house, and it lit up the entire block like a supernova had just gone off. There was a giant wreath on the door, and even their tree was lit up, from the bottom of its trunk to the very top, and candy canes were plunged into the dirt circling it.

“Don’t look directly at it without sunglasses or you might burn your retinas,” Dex said casually before he bounced like a little kid beside Sloane. “Do you love it?”

Sloane turned to Dex, his husband’s blue eyes filled with adoration, and his face lit up like the lights on their house. Sloane's expression softened, and he pulled Dex into his arms.

“Baby, it’s amazing. Thank you for doing this. I love it.” He kissed Dex, pouring all his love and admiration for his man into the kiss. As much trouble as Dex got into, his intentions were always nothing but pure, and everything he did, he did from his big heart. He was the best man Sloane knew, and he loved Sloane like no other. “I love you,” Sloane murmured against Dex’s lips. Dex melted against him with a dreamy sigh, and Sloane chuckled. “I have to admit, I was a little worried. I’m glad to see it all went as planned.”

Dex cringed, and Sloane opened his mouth when he heard Ash grumble behind him.

“Your pain in the ass husband needs to be declared a national disaster.”

Sloane turned, ready to reply that it couldn’t have been that bad, but when he saw their friends, the words died on his lips. Ash looked like he’d fallen down a ravine. He was covered in dirt, had a bandage over his right eyebrow, he was missing a sleeve, and a shoe. Everyone else looked just as bad. Rosa’s hair was standing on end like she was the Bride of Frankenstein. Letty was wrapped in so many bandages she looked like a mummy, Hobbs was covered from head to toe in—

“Oh my God, did someone use a fire extinguisher on you?”

Hobbs nodded, a big boyish grin splitting his face as he held two thumbs up.

“What the hell happened to you guys?”

Everyone turned their narrowed eyes to Dex.

“Well, you see….”

Three hours earlier….

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