Soldiers and Mercenaries Series by Kasia Bacon

As the Light Festival draws near, the Něssyrians craft paper lanterns, awaiting the most important holiday of the year.  The Lyliňg Fighting House, too, prepares for celebration--by laying fresh sand onto the arena and setting up a match against their top pit fighter, the unrivalled Yüuzuki Ōren.  His last match. One he can't win.  With the odds more than stacked against him, the gorgeous Barbarian is as good as dead... moreAs the Light Festival draws near, the Něssyrians craft paper lanterns, awaiting the most important holiday of the year.  The Lyliňg Fighting House, too, prepares for celebration--by laying fresh sand onto the arena and setting up a match against their top pit fighter, the unrivalled Yüuzuki Ōren.  His last match. One he can't win.  With the odds more than stacked against him, the gorgeous Barbarian is as good as dead. Unless his lover, healer Ĥaiatto Ẽkana, proves himself every bit as determined as he is clever and finds a way to protect the man he'd stop at nothing to save. less

RED:Lázhien’s human. A common Imperial soldier. And my soulmate.How could fate get it so wrong?The demon in me craves this bond with every shred of his being. He pushes me to accept it. This time I won’t yield to his demands.LÁZHIEN:Red’s a lust demon, a whore and a stuck-up snob.The most beautiful man I’ve ever seen. Pain in the arse. And he hates my guts.I’d be an idiot to pursue him. Yet something about him compels me to make him mine... moreRED:Lázhien’s human. A common Imperial soldier. And my soulmate.How could fate get it so wrong?The demon in me craves this bond with every shred of his being. He pushes me to accept it. This time I won’t yield to his demands.LÁZHIEN:Red’s a lust demon, a whore and a stuck-up snob.The most beautiful man I’ve ever seen. Pain in the arse. And he hates my guts.I’d be an idiot to pursue him. Yet something about him compels me to make him mine.When I First Saw Red is a complete and standalone short novel with an HEA ending, featuring a couple of reluctant fated soulmates—a demon and a human—trying and failing to defy destiny. less