Figuratively speaking, at least.Enter Sonny Valentine, a go-go dancer at Blue's sister club, Silver's. Levi has secretly admired Sonny from afar for years, but there's one problem–he can't stand Sonny and the feeling is entirely mutual. When Levi learns Sonny is to play the third part in a scene he considers his worst nightmare, he figures things can't get any worse.But when preparations for the scene from hell collide with tragic events in his personal life, he finds his fast growing, red hot attraction to Sonny the one thing left between him and a bullet.

    The answer is easy. Simply looking into Carson’s innocent blue eyes tells him that the lamb is his mate. If he’s going to eat Carson up, they’ll both enjoy it.Carson has been isolated by his flock due to his inability to grow into a strong ram. When he is unexpectedly attacked by his half-brother, he does not expect being rescued by a wolf—let alone falling in love with him.But in spite of Brody and Carson’s feelings, there are other forces at work, and people who don’t agree with Brody’s new plans and diet. If Brody can’t find a way to save their bond, Carson might become lunch, after all.

    Born capable of breeding like a female, he was raised in the cruel environment of his sire, Haldon’s, pack. He’s spent his entire short life dreading the time when he’d be expected to breed as many pups as possible. His fears are realized one night when Haldon hands him over to the frightening, yet sexy, alpha of the new Rogue Pack. A few minutes in the virile alpha’s company triggers Kyle’s first heat. At first, he assumes the Rogue alpha will breed him then toss him to his pack for sport. The male surprises him by taking him as his mate instead. Having become the reluctant leader of an unusual wolf pack, Alpha Lorcan simply wants to build a settlement for his ragtag group of shifters. Each of them is either a runaway or an undeserving outcast from packs that treated them badly. They call themselves the Rogue Pack, and instead of turning dangerous and predatory, they have found a new sense of belonging under Lorcan’s guidance.Lorcan wasn’t looking for a mate just yet, but the beautiful omega male thrust in front of him as part of a treaty with Haldon changes his mind. With his new lands secured, he wants to increase his pack and nothing accomplishes that quicker or better than an alpha siring pups. Although still emotionally scarred from his own sire’s cruelty, he is determined to be a good alpha. Doing so by mating with Kyle allows him to mix unwanted duty with unplanned pleasure.As Lorcan and Kyle work to form a bond as a mated pair, outside forces threaten to come between them. If their lives together are to become more than mere duty, each of them will have to overcome his painful past and learn to trust and love.

     An alpha fractured. Sawyer Holt can’t go home. The Alpha who has replaced his father wants to use him as a tool to cement his political power, and Sawyer isn’t interested in marrying his father’s murderer. Dez Sullivan’s leg may never heal from his last mission in Afghanistan, but he’s getting used to that. What he can’t adapt to are the nightmares and the tremor in his hand that the doctors insist is all in his head. Next to that, being a brand new werewolf seems easy, until Sawyer Holt blows into his life. The omega activates his burgeoning wolf instincts in a new way, and they threaten to overwhelm his common sense. Both men are in Colorado searching for a new start, a new pack, and the safety they’ve lost. Their meeting is pure Kismet.

    While traveling to his new home, he saves a strange, winged man who is being chased through the woods. He doesn't expect to fall in love. Half-fae, half-demon, Ciaran is an outcast among his people. When he's summoned to the human world, he doesn't know what to do. To him, Earth is complicated and scary, and he soon finds himself dealing with unexpected feelings for his rescuer. If they can find the courage to take a risk, two outsiders may find a home at last.

    At twenty-two we bought a house together. At twenty-six we got a bigger house, a white picket fence and a golden retriever. The stuff dreams are made of right? At thirty-one, he comes home and says “I’m just not feeling it anymore,” then he’s gone… I’ve been replaced. Just. Like. That.I thought I knew what a soul mate is; man did I have no idea.Two years later, I found out.I met him at a concert; he approached me like he’s been waiting his life for me. Little did I know at the time, that was exactly the case. It was a while before I learned that this guy, that I am falling fast for, is a dragon shifter and not only are soul mates real, but he only gets one. And it’s me.Photo Description: A Joe Phillips illustration of two men, one sitting up, one with his head in the other’s lap, asleep against a graffitied wall, with a skateboard beside them. The man sitting up has his fingers in the other man’s hair, as if he’s fallen asleep midcaress. Both are shirtless and tattooed— one with obvious dragon markings.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.

    He realized he felt more than friendship for him by the time they were in junior high school. One fateful night when they were eighteen Zack couldn’t take it anymore. Fueled by love and lust and need, he finally kissed Noah like he’d wanted to for years…and Noah kissed him back, returning every drop of Zack’s passion.The next morning, Noah ended their friendship for what Zack believed was forever.Now twenty-one, Zack resents being dragged by his guilt-tripping mother every summer back to the lake cabin where every leaf and rock and turn in the road reminds him of Noah and the love he felt for him three long years before. He hates being reminded of what he lost and more than anything he wants his best friend back.But this year things are different.Noah has returned, apologetic and more gorgeous than ever. Amazingly, he seems to want Zack as much as Zack wants him. He’s sweet and attentive, sexy enough to make Zack’s thighs quiver, but there’s something not quite right…What secret is Noah hiding?

    Years of being used and abused have left him tough and determined to make it on his own. When he sees a dog getting beaten, his protective instincts drive him to rescue her. But as the attackers turn on Dylan, out of the shadows comes a hero. One with mysterious eyes and a shy sensuality Dylan can’t resist.Cam Coburn can’t reveal his true identity to the man he rescues. Nor can he reveal that he’s a freak among freaks, a cockatrice shifter with an unwanted gift for seeking out conflict rather than treasure. Newly independent from his mentor, Cam sees in Dylan his first chance to test the limits of his human guise. Defying every rule, Cam succumbs to Dylan’s seduction for just one night. But Cam finds he can’t let his lover go, and Dylan breaks down every barrier. For he is the one human who can gaze in a cockatrice’s eyes without fear.Yet even as their bond deepens, danger closes in on them from all sides, and Cam’s dark secrets may save them—or lead to their destruction.

    He has spent the last few years of his life making a name for himself in the dance community, has a very expensive apartment in Manhattan and he knows he's gorgeous. So why is he so miserable? Enter Vernon "Vet" Tate. The older brother of Richard's best friend Amanda Lynn. The first time the two men meet it's when Vet is saving Richard's life from an oncoming vehicle. Moments later Vet is turning Richard's life upside down by telling him that his baby sister, who had passed weeks before, left her three newborn children to Richard, to share custody with Vet. Things wouldn't have been so bad for Vet, a wolf shifter, if Richard wasn't also his mate, his very human, very male, mate. So how will Richard cope with becoming a father, giving up his sophisticated New York lifestyle for a ranch out in Wichita Falls, Texas, and finding out that not only do shape shifters exist, but he's the mate of the Alpha?

    And to be fair, he hates me right back. We do our best to avoid each other at all costs, except when we feel the overwhelming urge to kick each other’s asses.Which is exactly what happened one clichéd dark and stormy night. Fists flying, thunder rumbling, and lightning flashing were apparently the magic combination to set off a bonding curse someone had set on us.Now we’re stuck in closer proximity than either of us have ever wanted. The fighting is getting worse, but the bond is eager for that energy to change to something way hotter and a lot more dangerous.I don’t want to be anywhere near Ethan, and I don’t want to sleep with him, and I certainly don’t want to be married to him for the rest of eternity…do I?

    As it is, he’ll be riding the edge of failure to graduation next month. Then Spence gets the news that his long-gone father is not only dead, but was a Coyote, one of three clans of tricksters in the City.With a near-catatonic mother on his hands, Spence couldn’t care less about the Coyotes’ ongoing feud with the Phouka and the Kitsune—until it lands on his doorstep. Suddenly he’s thrown headfirst into a dangerous world he knows next-to-nothing about. His only guide is Rourke, dashing King of the Phouka, plus a growing pack of half-siblings, a god, and Fate herself.As Spence embarks on a journey to learn the Coyote’s creed, the truth about his heritage, and how to handle his growing attraction to Rourke, he wonders when his life turned from TV sitcom to real-life danger zone. And what price must he pay to survive the next roll of the dice…Warning: Contains PG-13 rated violence, R-rated language and X-rated hotel scenes. Meta-humor, pop-culture humor, utter disregard for the 4th wall abound.

    Some days the tension between his human side and his werewolf instincts threaten to tear him apart. But the challenge of running a horse farm as a gay man in a conservative Tennessee town keeps him focused until he meets horse shifter, Jonah Marks.Jonah's family insists that shifting is sinful, but Jonah longs to let his stallion run free. Desperate to escape his family's judgment, he asks Cole, his secret crush, for a job. Cole turns him down, scared his desire for Jonah will make him lose control. When Jonah's brother threatens his life, Cole struggles to save him and give them both a second chance at the life they've always wanted.

    All his life, he's experienced things he can't explain. Things that have colored his view of the world and of himself. So taking a job as a paranormal investigator seems like a perfect fit. His new co-workers, he figures, don't have to know he's gay. When Sam arrives at Oleander House, the site of his first assignment with Bay City Paranormal Investigations, nothing is what he expected. The repetitive yet exciting work, the unusual and violent history of the house, the intensely erotic and terrifying dreams which plague his sleep. But the most unexpected thing is Dr. Bo Broussard, the group's leader.From the moment they meet, Sam is strongly attracted to his intelligent, alluring boss. It doesn't take Sam long to figure out that although Bo has led a heterosexual life, he is very much in the closet, and wants Sam as badly as Sam wants him. As the investigation of Oleander House progresses and paranormal events in the house escalate, Sam and Bo circle warily around their mutual attraction, until a single night of bloodshed and revelation changes their lives forever. Warning: this title contains explicit male/male sex, intense violence, and graphic language.

    The only thing beautiful in his life is his sister. When Gwennie is obliged to turn a suitor down because she fears to leave her brother to the brutality of their village, Knife is desperate for anything to ensure her happiness.Her suitor's cousin offers him a way out, but it won't be easy. Aerie-Smith has been cursed to walk upright in the form of a beast, and his beloved village suffers from the same spell. Aerie-Smith offers Gwen a trousseau and some hope, if only Knife will keep him company on his island for the span of a year and perform one "regrettable task" at year's end.Knife is unprepared for the form the island's curse takes on his own misshapen body. In one moment of magic, he is given the body of his dreams—and he discovers that where flesh meets spirit and appearance meet reality, sometimes the only place to find truth is in the darkness of a lover's arms.

    Weary of his past, Alex plans to keep to himself, but it seems his sexy, new neighbor, Tate, can’t take the hint—a good thing, since it turns out he’s handy for all kinds of things around the house. Tate even gets along with Alex’s werewolf friends, though one of them pointedly reminds Alex that their friendship is a bad idea. If a platonic relationship is a bad idea, the growing attraction between Tate and Alex is a disaster waiting to happen. Loving Tate will draw him into Alex’s dangerous world, and Alex is torn between having the relationship he’s always craved and keeping Tate safe. Tate won’t take no for an answer, however, and seems to handle everything Alex can throw at him without blinking. Just when he thinks things might turn out all right after all, Alex’s past catches up with him—forcing him to make a terrible choice.