Hound travels across country, to California and part of the way back, trying desperately to figure what he needs to make the pain go away.What he finds is small town Utah, and a man named Del, who convinces him that he can start over. The changes in his life amaze him, and even as he takes back his given name of Kevin he finds himself falling for Del. Has Kevin finally found the man he wants, the one he can have for all time?

    When he bought Skin Deep, he immersed himself in his work. Focusing on the shop and his work leaves AJ little time to dwell on what he doesn’t have—a sweet boy who likes to dress up in pretty clothes. Oliver’s worked hard to overcome his start in life. Kicked out of his house at seventeen, he sold an app he created for millions at twenty-one. Objectively, Oliver has it all. What he doesn’t have is someone who loves him for him, including his collection of sexy lingerie, cute pajamas, and the occasional skirt and pretty top. When Oliver goes into Skin Deep, he expects to leave with a beautiful tattoo to represent how far he’s come in life. What he doesn’t expect is a sexy tattoo artist who sees way more than just a pair of pretty panties.

    Which is precisely what Aleks does. At first, he’s conflicted to learn Harris is only seventeen and on the run from a past he refuses to talk about, but that confliction soon morphs into feelings for the tragic genius, and he desperately wants Harris to open up and trust him. Maybe it wasn’t the best decision to start off his new life by hacking into a well-known security company to ask for a job, but Harris is surprised by what he finds there—a boss who genuinely seems to care about him. As the months pass, Harris finds he wants to tell Aleks everything. To stop hiding. To finally stop running, unless it’s into the man’s arms. But fear’s grip is strong, and doesn’t let go easily. So, when Harris’s past does come calling? Aleks must prove he will do whatever is necessary to protect his new employee and friend—including fake marrying him, despite being in love with him. Tags: Brazilians have no concept of personal space, Kizomba, I climbed the trope tree, and hit every branch on the way back down, shy character, underage runaway, bad parenting, May/December, Fake Marriage, Boss/Employee, friends to lovers, virgin character, sharing a bed, Aleks protests all the cockblocking, hurt/comfort, told you I hit every trope, wait I might have missed one Editor: Katie Griffin

     I'm not at a particularly good point in my life right now. I've recently lost the only person I truly loved and I'm not sure how to get back on my feet. The things I once cared about so deeply simply don't seem to matter anymore. I've lost my passion for life and I have no idea how to get it back. Honestly, at this point I don't even have the energy to care about getting it back. Until my loud and overly perky florist neighbor, Oliver, decides to weasel his way into my life. I've got a love for life but have never been in love... until I met him Things are going good for me, they usually are. I've got good friends, a great relationship with my parents, I feel very passionate about my job as a florist. Things aren't going too bad in my romantic life either, though I do have a tendency to jump from guy to guy pretty quickly. But what can I say? I haven't felt that urge to settle down yet. That is, until I meet my new neighbor, Gabe. Getting involved with a neighbor seems like a terrible idea... But I can't help myself, my connection to him feels magnetic. This standalone gay-for-you novella of 30,000 words and comes complete with a HEA ending! Includes bonus material from two of my other books!

    Tait’s more than interested, but he’s sworn off coworkers. Can Jude market himself as an employee benefit?Also available here.

    What follows is a series of progressively intimate encounters that leads them on a scintillating erotic journey together. But Jeremy has a secret. Will his revelation destroy the burgeoning intimacy between them? Or will Martin rise to the challenge of loving a 'less than perfect' man?

    When Cold Case Detective Ronan O'Mara enters a charity Strip-A-Thon on New Year's Eve will he nail his sexy performance or will he just get nailed by his psychic husband, Tennyson Grimm?

    The casual meetings that sustained him will be over soon—Raymond’s parents are moving from the old family home.The weeping willow tree in Raymond’s back yard is a place of transformations: from caterpillar to beautiful moth, from child to youth to adult. The old tree might retain enough of its childhood magic to open Raymond’s eyes and let him see the loving man where the adoring child once stood.Original Prompt:Dear Author,Everyone keeps telling me I'm too young to really know what I want or who I am yet. Give it time, don't be rash. But it's all just noise -- just blah blah blah -- when I see him.He's older, wiser, experienced and he makes me melt every time he looks at me. He's what I want and his boyfriend is who I am. Well, I'm hoping that's where tonight will lead, anyway. I'm going to do my damnedest to seduce him, to show him I can give him the sweet and tender I'm betting he needs.He spends his days being tough and confident, but I know there's a marshmallow angel inside him. I can take care of him. I can. Even if I've never done anything like this before. I have to try.Photo Description: An older, naked mystery man lies back, left leg bent so his foot is flat on a white bed, hands on his torso. His naked teenaged lover is on hands and knees between his legs, arms braced to either side of his hips. The blonde youth stares at him with intent.This story was written as a part of the M/M Romance Group's "Hot Summer Days" 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.Download the story, read it here or find it in Don't Read in the Closet, Volume 3 or Don't Read in the Closet: GayRomLit Retreat 2011 Special Edition.__________Genre: contemporaryTags: gay m/m, friends to lovers, age-difference, college, vanilla, outdoorsWord Count: 4,382

    He just wasn’t sure what. After nine months of dating, Daniel was ready to take things to the next level, but Easton’s evasiveness was standing between them. Easton had a secret. He hadn’t meant for their relationship to get that far without telling Daniel, but he was afraid it was too late. How could he have fallen for someone without telling them? Easton knew that Daniel wouldn’t deliberately hurt him, but he wasn’t sure how Daniel would react when he found out what Easton had been hiding.Not every man could understand that their boyfriend had a thing for satin and lace. Easton is a 13k-word prequel to the new Leashes & Lace series by Shaw Montgomery. It is a standalone novelette to introduce the series.A Free Read through Insta-Freebee from August 28th to September 4th together with other authors ->https://claims.instafreebie.com/gg/FC...

    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.