We may not be cut from the same cloth, but at the end of the day, the same things matter to us: family, honor, and sacrifice. All of our enemies are interconnected, and so are we. The question is, who will win? Them or us? As our enemies draw closer, we must join together in a fight that not all of us are prepared for. The only thing is, we don’t know that we need each other yet. What will happen when everything adds up? When we discover that they haven’t just crossed one of us, but all of us. This is just the tip of the iceberg and they will pay for the heartache they have caused. That is a promise none of us plan to back down from. Reign “Lines are meant to be crossed” Redemption “Forgiveness isn’t always earned before it’s given” Revenge “I’ve waited years for this, and I’ll finally get it” Relentless “She’s innocent…too innocent for me and yet I want her to be mine.” Reckoning “Being selfish has never felt so good” Tough as Steele “The past always finds a way to haunt us” Stripping a Steele “I never thought a player could turn into prince charming” Promised “Promises aren’t always meant to be broken” The Trade “I thought our trade would have been fair…little did I know...” Blackjack “The forbidden fruit has never tasted so sweet” Healing Charlie An exclusive story by K.J. Dahlen

    People are a vulnerability I don’t need or want. But then there was him. I couldn’t get him out of my head, he was a distraction I didn’t need. No matter how much I pushed him away, he kept coming back. One kiss and I know I’ll never let him go.Photo Description: Close-up of two men, both in monochromatic blues and high-contrast lighting. The man on the left is showing his side profile with his eyes closed, pressing his forehead to the other man’s cheek. The man on the right is looking toward the viewer with striking, blue eyes.This story was written as a part of the M/M Romance Group's "Love’s Landscapes" 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.

    David is a handsome finance director who works nearby, eats lunch by himself, and expects nothing but "the usual"—small vanilla latte—from the cute guy in the cart. But when David shows up for his first Portland Pride festival, Robby works up the nerve to take their slow-brewing relationship to the next level. David, however, is newly out and single, still grieving the loss of his longtime lover, and unsure if he’s ready to date again. Yet with every fresh latte, sweet exchange—and near hook-up—David and Robby go from simmering to steaming to piping hot. The question is: Will someone get burned?

    Marco had the word etched in his skin to seal their vow. He thought they’d always be together. Three weeks later Jonny dumped him.Now, after six years, Marco’s finished college and worked his way up to head chef at his family’s popular Mexican restaurant in downtown Chicago. He’s found his calling, and he finally has his life where he wants it. Then Jonny reappears, throwing Marco’s emotions into chaos.Jonny demands a chance to explain. Marco doesn’t want to hear excuses, not from the man who left him without a backward glance. Yet Jonny claims to still love him, and he won’t be denied. Marco wants to believe him, but will the truth be enough to mend the damage Jonny did when he broke Marco’s heart and walked away?~*~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. Dear Author,He told me it’d be forever, a forever I had permanently inked into my skin. I thought I’d always want the reminder of a love as incredibly perfect as we had together. The passion and our connection was overpowering, but apparently his idea of forever and mine were two different things. Yet, no matter how painful it is I haven’t been able to let go of the memory of him in my heart. I’m trying to live my life again, trying to find a rhythm in a world that doesn’t seem to balance for me anymore. I’ve covered more and more of my body in the tattoos of a life lived, but somehow even though I’ve surrounded it with other images, I can’t quite make myself cover up and paint over that one word.Photo Description: A muscular man sits on his haunches, his lower back and buttocks braced against a stone wall. He’s bare-chested, wearing sports pants and running shoes. His entire left side is covered in tattoos, the most visible one being the word “forever” on his rib cage.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.

    The only rules I follow are my own. Love? I learned that lesson the hard and painful way it wasn’t right for me. Sure, sometimes it gets lonely and I wish I had a man to hold. Who’d love me. Want me. Treat me with respect. Yeah, I dance in a club but that doesn’t mean I’m easy. Or a fool. So you, sitting in the back, watching me? I know what you want. You want me. In your bed. Under you. But I say no. It doesn’t matter how many presents you give me. I’m not falling for you. I know who you are. But you don’t know me. You don’t know Austin. This is a 14,000 word CLIFFHANGER story. It is a start to a new series, entitled Man Up. The next book in the series is Rhoades—Undeniable

    The lying, cheating, scheming piece of crap bassist for my brother’s band destroyed my faith in men. Funny how another musician saved me from humiliation, became my best friend during my internship with his band’s tour, and ended up winning my heart despite the fact that I had sworn to never go there again. ​Too bad things couldn’t stay so simple. One jealous ex-girlfriend, one crazy infatuation later, and I became public enemy number one. Then I waited to see if he would remain my savior, or prove that I was right the first time around… You can’t trust a rocker. Why the hell had I done so twice? He was the reason for the second chance, and my reason for everything that followed. *Note: The Infinite Something is over 100k words, a stand alone book (future books in the series involve other people) and is intended for adult readers due to strong language, sexual situations, and some violence.

    Then his parents were killed in a tragic accident, leaving him to raise his two siblings. Determined to hold on to what remained of his family, Cassidy settled into an ordinary life, his dreams of fame reduced to occasional nights of singing at karaoke dives. But his careful, ordinary life began to fray with his new job, and the beautiful, charming boss who reminds him of all the things he tried to stop wanting.Malcolm Osborne is a classic rags to riches story, a foster child who wound up with the perfect family and more money than he knows what to do with. He's wealthy, beautiful, successful, and completely miserable. Then he hires a new worker for his office, a young, hard-working man with a sadness in his eyes that Malcolm aches to banish, hoping that in doing so he will be rid of his own loneliness as well.

    It’s not easy to keep up the pretence, the deceit, but it’s safer. Coming out to a world who so easily hate takes a courage he’s yet to find, so he pretends – pretends to be into women – pretends to love being a part of the university’s football team. It keeps him safe, hidden. Until he meets Julian. From the moment they first meet, Mattie knows life is about to change. He’s yet to determine if it is for the better or worse. Living life through laughter, Julian is lonely. Without the jokes, the humour, he would be living on the edge of depression. Succumbing to his controlling father’s demands, Julian finds no joy in the path laid out before him. Until he meets Mattie. As soon as they cross paths, Mattie has the power to drive Julian’s man parts crazy with lust. But can lust be enough to help Mattie out of the closet, and guide Julian into a happier place? Limits will be pushed. Rules will be broken. But it’s only together, that they will have the strength to overpower fear, fear of themselves and fear of others. Just how far are they willing to go in the aim of coming out?

    Caleb Deering is the captain of the swim team and the hottest senior in school. He comes from a loving home with a kind father and a caring, but strict, mother who is battling breast cancer. Nico Caro is small and beautiful, and has a father who rules with an iron fist--literally. One morning Caleb forgets himself, and he pecks Nico on the lips at school. A teacher sees them and tattles to the Headmaster. The accidental outing at school might be the least of their problems, because the ball set in motion by the school’s calls to their parents could get Nico killed. In the face of that very real danger, Caleb knows he has only one mission in life: to keep Nico safe.

    But I wanted to be true to my desires at last, and yeah, impress this guy I met. In my street clothes, most people wouldn't even guess I am gay and those who know assume I am a top, but I am not. This guy, he is really cute and kind of flamboyant, but he has a core of steel. Perhaps he is the one who will see me as I am and complete me.Photo Description: The man in the photograph wears black stockings and lace suspenders, and his back is to the camera. He also wears leather: gloves, a belt cinched around his arm, and a double strapped harness over his shoulder and looping around his waist. Under the ankh tattoo in the small of his back, his ass is bare, and a faint blush of pink from a spanking is barely visible…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.

    Read about three badass ladies and the silly alpha males who think they can manage them. Each book is a standalone novella. Scrooge McFuck Piper Stone’s hunky, rude, entitled, Scrooge of a boss is pushing her buttons every day, but he’s taken it too far, this time. Saying she couldn’t take the holidays off was one thing; preventing her to go home to her sick child? Not happening. She has zero regrets when she resigns. Bennet McFinnley can’t believe his annoyingly perfect personal assistant has actually resigned from her cushy, highly paid position, and he intends to tell her exactly what he thinks about it. But when he gets to her place, he comes to realize he might not know Piper as well as he thought he had. Bring on the Psychobitch Lucy is a perfectly reasonable person, up until she isn’t. She bottles up incidents, willing to forgive and forget, but when someone crosses the line, she becomes what her friends have affectionately called The Psychobitch. There’s one person who has it coming; from their very first meeting, Trick Johnson, CFO of Harris Toys, has been a contemptuous ass to her, but she held her tongue… Until her boss asks her to work with him for a month. Trick has a huge problem. He has a life plan – a simple, straightforward plan – and the gorgeous ball-buster his best friend employs isn’t part of it in any way, shape or form. He’s managed to keep her out of sight and mostly out of mind quite successfully… Until Carter Harris makes them work together. Them Back Dimples Cali believed she was done with men - after what the last one has done to her, she has zero reasons to want to open her heart or her legs ever again. Then he happened. Wren Richards, genius with a scalpel in his hands, charming when holding a flute of champagne, is a mess outside of the public eye, and he knows it. He’s quite happy living in chaos, but when his friends ask him to take on a cute young woman who needs a break as a housekeeper, he takes the plunge. Everything should be alright - as long as he remembers to wear pants when she’s around.

     Carter Olson never expected he’d get a chance to date his older brother’s best friend, Rip Taylor. Wished for it? Yes. Fantasized about it? Possibly too much. But ever thought it would actually happen? Not in a million years, since Rip is straight. But even if it’s just to try and win a gay game show, having Rip for a boyfriend—even a temporary/pretend one—is still the best thing to happen to Carter in... well, ever. Especially because Rip’s so good at it. Amazingly good, actually. So good that Carter starts to hope that maybe it won’t have to end once the show’s over… If there are two things Rip Taylor lives for, they’re having fun and being there for his friends, so a trip to Vegas to help surprise his best friend’s girlfriend with a big, flashy proposal sounds awesome. And even more fun? His bestie's plan to try and win some prize money for the wedding by signing the two of them up as contestants on The Boyfriend Game. The game show is sponsored by the gay dating app bLoved, and Rip is all in. He may be straight, but he's never been narrow, and when circumstances (aka a best friend who can't hold his tequila) mean that little Carter Olson gets roped into being Rip's fake boyfriend instead, that’s almost better… because who wouldn’t be able to be a convincing boyfriend to Carter? After all, Carter’s hella sweet. Kind of adorable, actually. And really, really easy to get into character with… Winning The Boyfriend Game? Rip and Carter have it in the bag. The Boyfriend Game is a gay romance novel of approximately 75,000 words that contains some confusion about tops and bottoms, a straight guy who realizes he isn’t, an ice cube that melts much too fast, and the kind of luck that can only be found in Vegas. Every Stella Starling romance takes place in the same interconnected, contemporary world. The Boyfriend Game is a standalone book with cameos from other Stella Starling stories, a #boyfriendsbybLoved spinoff that takes place around the time of the epilogue from Ready For Love (Book One of the Semper Fi series).

    Until the elder Aldsley issues an ultimatum: either Benn agrees to wed Leopold Ravensworth to save the family from destitution or his younger sister will be forced into marriage. But when Benn signs the marriage contract, he loses much more than he expects. Trapped on the Ravensworth estate, he becomes isolated and lonely with little to distract him from the painful memories of his past. Until Leo. Leo has long since given up on inheriting, throwing his energy into becoming a successful entrepreneur. When a new law changes things, his father comes up with a plan to see him married before his twenty-fifth birthday. Once the contracts are signed, Leo thinks nothing more about his husband on paper until illness forces him to return to the family home to convalesce. He's surprised to find Benn there, even more so to see he is a shadow of the gorgeous man he met at their wedding. He makes it his mission to connect with the skittish, fragile Benn. And the more he unravels the events of Benn's past and present, the closer they become. Until husband on paper starts to look like something more... The Dotted Line is a 36,000 word romance novella with some angst, a happy ending and no cliffhangers. It contains some scenes unsuitable for readers under the age of eighteen.

    Yeah, I knew that he was reluctant to make our partnership legal but I thought that he would eventually be as happy to be my husband as I was going to be his. Nick tried to warn me, though I didn’t listen. It’s funny how my best friend Nick seems to be right about a lot of things lately... like how I should go on the honeymoon that I spent forever planning even though Mark and I aren’t together anymore. Taking Nick with me so that the extra ticket wouldn’t go to waste was another great idea. Just wish I knew how we ended up in bed like this...Photo Description:Two men are in bed with an empty champagne bottle and two glasses.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.

    Bonus short: Dominic and Luke's visit to see Garrett and Kai.