The dare leads to a connection he never expected and a night he’ll never forget.

    French chef Luc Tessier is five-star successful. His cookery program on TV is rated as high as his restaurant, and casual flings are his specialty. The only stain on his toque is Daniel Sheridan, an English food critic who has made it his business to ruin Luc's reputation. The only way to clarify this particular pat of butter is to invite the critic to dine and bury the hatchet-preferably in Daniel's back. The moment he lays eyes on Daniel, however, Luc's thoughts turn from sauces to seduction. Daniel definitely finds Luc appetizing, but he plays it cool. He never wants to be anyone's toy, ever again. Yet in the face of Luc's relentless pursuit, he's finding it harder to keep the flamboyant chef at arm's length. A cooking competition on a remote Scottish island seems the perfect way to put some distance between them. Until Luc shows up to compete, determined to win not only the trophy, but Daniel's heart... Warning: Ingredients include two extremely hot men determined to come up with a whole new definition for "sizzling." Explicit use of food items could incite spontaneous nekkid food fights.

    But the course of true love never runs smoothly. Just as they seem to find solid ground to stand on, Jazz's former lover Richard shows up, strewing an already rocky road with gravel. When Jazz has a serious motorcycle accident that threatens to end his life, Chris and Richard try to carry on without him. Can they find common ground of their own?

    But the instant he hears the night’s speaker, Will is glad he showed up. Joshua Rhinehardt is dynamic and engaging. Although Joshua isn’t physically Will’s type, Will can’t get the man out of his head. Joshua may be comfortable in his own skin, but it isn’t often men like Will are attracted to him, and he's not comfortable changing for someone else. He wants to make a life with Will, but his own insecurities keep getting in the way. Will’s unwavering acceptance helps Joshua see that when two people connect, physical appearance just might not matter at all.

    They were close friends for a long time, but life just got in the way and their competitive careers and busy lives meant they somehow fell out of touch. They never forgot about each other, and they have both been waiting for this moment for years.I’d like to see an emotional reunion, maybe a hint of hurt/comfort in there somewhere if you can fit it in, but most of all just a whole lot of love (I’m a hopeless romantic!).Photo Description: The black and white photograph shows a bed, from directly above, with two young men all the way over to the right side, visible from the waist up. Their torsos are bare. They lie facing one another, and their embrace is tender and loving more than it is passionate.This story was written as a part of the M/M Romance Group's "Love Has No Boundaries" event. Group members were asked to write a story prompt inspired by a photo of their choice. Authors of the group selected a photo and prompt that spoke to them and wrote a short story.

    After years of homeschool and isolation, he’s a senior in high school who's put the past behind him. Mostly.In a rash moment, Taylor volunteers his artistic flair and ends up heading the decorating committee for the annual Cupid's Dance. It's behind the scene work though. What could possibly go wrong?

    Hopelessly single, he spends his time working at the video store with his insane friend Boyd. But Connor gets the distraction he needs in the form of his newest customer: beautiful, green-eyed Dane Masters. Before Connor can wrap his mind around their instant connection, he's dealing with the kind of obsession that can only lead to disaster.With Boyd's dubious help, Connor manages to get Dane on a date, and soon they're racing towards something that looks like a relationship. But fate has no intention of letting them find happiness so easily...

    While he's putting himself through school by working in the library, he's also tutoring for cash. Xander comes from a strict LDS background and has never allowed his fantasies to filter toward the front of his mind. Not until he meets his new tutor, Ozzie. For Mature Readers.

    Can they rise above the heartaches of their separate pasts and build a future together? Scott Jasper needs a change in his life. Stuck in a dead-end relationship with a man who manipulates and uses him, Scott wants out but hasn’t found the one thing to motivate him to leave. Until the night his partner takes him to local gay swinger’s club Ganymede’s Grotto, where Scott meets the man who might just be The One. Keegan Rourke—a.k.a. “Eros,” the most popular stripper at Ganymede’s Grotto—has been burned before. Determined never to let another man rip his heart out, Keegan doesn’t let anyone get close enough to love him. Until Scott comes along, offering Keegan the gentle, unconditional love he’s always needed but has never experienced. For Scott and Keegan, the road to lasting commitment isn’t a smooth one. A lot of roadblocks stand in their path—Scott’s trepidation about his own dominant tendencies, Keegan’s abusive past and resulting fear of intimacy. Can they can rise above past sorrows and find their happiness in each other’s arms?

    Scared and stupid, Jack ran away. Seven years later, haunted by what he lost, Jack returns to claim the man who'd been his since they were four years old. But has he left it too late?Photo Description: Two shirtless men embrace, seconds away from kissing. The black-haired man looks down at his lover, one hand holding his face; his thumb just brushing against the smaller man’s parted lips. His lover’s eyes are closed as he leans towards the other man’s chest, his expression longing.This story was written as a part of the M/M Romance Group's "Love is Always Write" event. Group members were asked to write a story prompt inspired by a photo of their choice. Authors of the group selected a photo and prompt that spoke to them and wrote a short story.Read the story online or find it in Love Is Always Write: Volume 8.WARNING. This book contains explicit scenes unsuitable for readers under eighteen. It also contains buckets of angst, crying in the rain, a jealous boyfriend and a very lonely bear. Available free from Amazon

    Brady Novak was kind, responsible and easy on the eyes. Yeah, the guy had a kid but Ryan loved her too. What could go wrong? Well, Ryan's sister Ellie, that's what. Ellie is a flighty, love-em-and-leave-em kinda girl with a big heart who doesn't realize she dated the guy Ryan had fantasized about. But, like all of Ellie's other relationships, this one ended within two months, just in time to send Brady running off to take a job in Phoenix, taking Ryan's heart with him.Ryan never thought he'd see Brady again until eight years later Ryan's sister blindsides him by announcing that not only is Brady back in Atlanta but she'd asked him out on a date. And he'd accepted. As if that wasn't enough to send Ryan on a tailspin, a neighborhood girl brings him face to face with Brady in an unexpected way.Brady can't believe when he sees Ryan again. He assumed Ryan had moved on from Atlanta, like he'd always said he would. But Brady hasn't forgotten his cute, nerdy friend and wants nothing more than to have a chance to try the relationship they never got to have all those years ago, but convincing Ryan that he hadn't slept with Ellie proves difficult. Ryan is still hurt over the way they left things and makes it an uphill battle, but Brady has waited too long. He'll damn well give a good go of trying to get his man and with the help of his precocious teenage daughter and a little help from friends they may just get their Happily Ever After. *2nd Edition, has been re-edited and revised*

    Future pillar of the community. Stick in the mud. That's Aaron Fitchley, and since his father retired, leaving him in charge of the business, it's been all work, work, work. Dale Lambert is a free-spirited, responsibility-shirking charmer who has been spicing up Aaron's upstanding life since they met as kids. So when Aaron gets Dale's phone call for help at three a.m., he's sure he can handle it. But nothing could have prepared him for the sight of Dale in his underwear, wearing lip gloss, and handcuffed to his bed. After the initial shock, Aaron lets Dale loose and plans a hasty escape. But the cuffs quickly go back on... only this time Aaron is the one chained to the bed Now that the tables have been turned, Dale has a few things to teach Aaron about breaking the rules.

    One of those promises was to stay in touch and keep seeing each other. But Chad never called, and Jeff remained behind to finish high school. Chad broke Jeff’s heart, but both men suffered. Chad couldn’t forgive himself for being a coward and not standing up to his parents, and Jeff wouldn’t let anyone into his heart again to hurt him. A year after Katrina and ten years after that fateful summer, Chad and Jeff meet again, only this time it’s in the ER of a local hospital. Chad is the attending doctor and Jeff is an assault victim, on the brink of death. Chad is once again swept into the past by the only man he’s ever loved, and like before, Chad makes promises to Jeff—promises he will keep, or else. When Jeff awakes from a coma, he finds the man who broke his heart sitting in his hospital room. Angry, confused and scared, Jeff has no defense against this man. And he also has no one else to care for him, only Chad. After all these years, Jeff’s dream has finally come true, Chad is back in his life. But for how long? And is Jeff willing to open his heart to the man who broke it?

    City of Love, my ass. Now I’m sitting here in this café near the Eiffel Tower, sipping the cheapest coffee they had on the menu, heartbroken and unsure of my next steps.Without a place to live, no job, not much money left in the bank, and speaking only a little French, I guess it’s time to put my tail between my legs and head back home to Bumfuck, Idaho.Unless…Photo Description: The Eiffel Tower looms in the background as two men kiss in the foreground of the black and white image.This story was written as a part of the M/M Romance Group's "Love is an Open Road" event. Group members were asked to write a story prompt inspired by a photo of their choice. Authors of the group selected a photo and prompt that spoke to them and wrote a short story. This story may contain sexually explicit content and is intended for adult readers. It may contain content that is disagreeable or distressing to some readers. The M/M Romance Group strongly recommends that each reader review the General Information section before each story for story tags as well as for content warnings.

    His father left to start a new family and now that his mother passed away, he's even more certain love is only temporary. People always disappoint him in the end, a lesson he learned years ago when his summer camp best friend and secret crush disappeared without a trace, never to be heard from again. Until now. Fifteen years ago, Paul Merola left everything behind when he ran away with his mother to escape his abusive father. He lived life on the run for years, but never forgot his best friend, Danny. When his job transfers him to the New York City office, the past collides with the present, as Paul finds himself face to face with Danny, who works there as well. To Paul's dismay, a reluctant Danny makes it clear he has little desire to rekindle their friendship. Despite Danny's desire to learn what happened all those years ago, he refuses to fall victim to Paul's charm, fearing he's being used to get ahead. Paul, finally secure enough to stay and put down roots, must convince Danny that there is more to them than a broken promise. Not only does he want to be friends again, he wants love. He wants forever. And he wants it all with Danny. This story first appeared in the It Was Always You Anthology. It has been re-edited and expanded by approximately 5,000 words.