The nineteenth century frontier is a harsh place, where would-be thief Emmett accidentally kidnaps the son of his nemesis, the young, privileged, and rather good-looking Archibald van Haeften. Emmett is determined to get his revenge against the van Haeften family – but he doesn’t expect Archie to be so sympathetic. And kind. And, yes, unsettlingly handsome, as well as sharing Emmett’s own proclivities. When Archie comes up with a daring heist idea of his own, Emmett has to decide whether to trust the heir – or whether he will be Emmett’s own last stand.

This spicy MLM story is ~23,000 words long and previously featured in the anthology Wild Blue Yonder.

Archie laughed. Emmett wasn’t much broader than him, but Archie had felt the strength in those arms when Emmett had let him down out of the saddle, and Archie barely had sensation in his own hands, even when Emmett cut the rope binding them. Even if he’d wanted to, Archie had little chance of overpowering Emmett, and he didn’t trust his hands to grab and operate Emmett’s pistol at the moment.

from The Heir and the Outlaw