He’s watched over the last few months as his partner’s health got worse and worse. Logan doesn’t eat. He doesn’t sleep. And Baxter can’t begin to figure out what to do with the terror he sees in Logan’s eyes.Finally convincing Logan to go on vacation, Baxter is committed to using the time wisely. He knows Logan loves him; he’s not worried about anything like that. But something is going on and he’s determined to get to the bottom of whatever it is. He’s got to find out what secrets Logan is harboring before it does irreparable damage and Baxter loses the most important thing in his life. But when Logan begs Baxter to go to a hotel without him and Baxter refuses, he gets his wish. It isn’t anything Baxter is prepared to face, though, and when he finds his own life hanging in the balance, love is put to the ultimate test.Dear Author,I love him so much and I hate to watch as he slowly drives himself to the point of exhaustion. Being a lawyer is a stressful job, I get that, but in most cases he just forgets to eat. My cooking can easy fix the problem; after all, he is not dating a chief of 2 star restaurant for nothing. This time is different. He barely eats or sleeps, and if he manages to fall under he wakes up screaming. When asked about it, he constantly says “I’m fine, sweetheart”. But I can’t help but worry. He was always loving and supportive. When I hit a rock bottom, he helped me get through it. So now is my turn. The last straw was when he got into a full bloody panic attack right in front of me. Now every time I close my eyes, I still see his face so frightened and vulnerable. After insisting and pleading, he finally agreed to go on long overdue vacation. Maybe a change of scenery will help calm his mind and, if I am very optimistic, finally trust me enough to tell me what caused all of it.Photo Description: Two men are on a beach, one carrying the other. Both are barefoot, in shorts and T-shirts, the one face we can see is happy and smiling.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 never imagined his almost useless talent would ever become a marketable skill, and even worse--the sight of his new boss leaves him breathless. That was the worst, until the first day on the job, he finds himself nearly dying in the arms of his new boss.Tarquin is a storm dragon, and he's been alone for centuries. Fleeing the Great Wars, he sacrificed his old territory and made a new home in Montreal, collecting companies to fill the void left by the loss of his hoard. Running an international company in the magical world means hiring a clairvoyant to protect his assets, and yet there is nothing to protect his heart when Alaric Keening walks into his office.Between trying to keep Alaric alive and trying to find who's out to kill Tarquin, they can't deny the connection that goes far beyond that of a boss and his new employee--but that of a dragon and his treasure.Treasured was previously published as the short story, A Caller From Montreal, in the Heart2Heart Charity Anthology Vol 4. It has been expanded and lightly edited with new content. Word count is 25,000 words.

    The party is in full swing, the guests are all occupied, and a ten million dollar prize sits unguarded just over their heads. But bumping into sexy, mysterious Theo Edgeworth throws a wrench into Clayton’s plans for a clean getaway, and Theo has an agenda of his own.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.

    . .A lonely boy falls in love with his closest and invisible friend. A story about two boys struggling to be seen in each their own ways - and about friendship and love.This is an alternate cover edition for ISBN (ASIN) B0070F32X0.

    Generations of Russells have lived and died with only their familiars at their side. The presence of a friendly familiar is enough to keep even the loneliest witch sane, and yet Piotr deliberately hasn’t chosen one. He forces himself to keep busy instead, but the emptiness of his house haunts him even more the spirit of Great-Great-Aunt Elysia in the parlor. With Samhain and Halloween approaching, he’ll have much to do, and knowing that, his concerned coven seizes the chance to intervene and sends help to his door in the form of Bartleby Dorchester. The rarest of rare jewels, Bartleby is a human familiar: a witch with no magic of his own, and a desire to find a strong witch to help and serve. In particular, he desires to help and serve Piotr, and everything in Piotr wants to let him. Bartleby was meant to be his familiar; Piotr knows it as surely as he knows when it will rain or when the apples in his garden will ripen. But what Piotr wants from Bartleby, all he’s ever wanted, is for Bartleby to love him, something he thinks is impossible. Russells live and die unloved, and he won’t allow Bartleby to feel obligated to spend his life with him as his familiar if he could be happy in love with someone else. But Samhain is a time for change, when walls come down and borders grow thin, and Bartleby isn’t going to waste what might be his last chance to convince Piotr that they were meant to be. He might have no magic, but love is a power all its own.

    Will you be strong enough to make them, to see them through? Can you risk your friendship? Can you risk letting your friend know your true feelings? Are you willing to risk anything to keep him safe?Photo Description: Two young men embrace and kiss passionately in a green field, one with a leg kicked out behind him, like he has just run across the field to tackle his friend and kiss him. They look like they are laughing and smiling, happy just to be together.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 has a real mischievous streak when it comes to firing those arrows of his, but lately he’s been feeling lonely creating so much love but getting none in return. Give Dashiel a run for his money with a little tease all of his own and let him see how it feels to experience the shot of a cupid’s arrow for himself.Photo Description: A dark-haired, shirtless man with defined abs leans against a waist-high white wall. He wears black low-rise jeans and knee-high leather boots. A compound bow in his right hand rests on his hip. His left arm is bent over his head, hand grabbing the string.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.Read the story here or find it in Don't Read in the Closet, Volume 1.__________Genre: fantasyTags: gay m/m, long-lost-friends-to-lovers, sexy-immortals/gods, coming-out-in-love, f**k-me-bootsWord Count: 10,116

    Adam is convinced it's fate that draws him into the showers after a night of studying so he can finally get a chance to be with the guy he's been crushing on for two years. Lincoln had no idea being with a guy could be more than getting off, but Adam's definitely more than he ever expected. Can they make it work for more than one night? Can they build the foundation of a relationship that will last for years to come?Original Prompt:Dear Author,I would love it if these boys could tell us the story of how they came together. Starting from that mind-numbing blowjob in the showers at high-school.One of the boys could simply no longer hide his feelings and lust and spurred by the acceptance of intimate contact by his colleague, he confessed his love. And was rewarded with a confession in return and more days of fun and loving.Photo Description: Surrounded by azure tiles, two naked young men share a shower. One stands, arms up-stretched to grip the shower-head, eyes closed. In front of him the shorter boy presses close, bellies touching, his hand gliding soap up one raised, exposed armpit, mouths hovering an inch away from the kiss. 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, coming-of-age, virgin, high school, teens, coming outWarnings: teenagers (both 18)Word Count: 9,322

    Small, small town. There are ways out of even the smallest town, if you can find the hand to guide you out.Original link: http://s2b2.livejournal.com/176784.htmlWords: 12,720 Complete

    When the local witch offers to make Eldon female for just one night, he agrees. One spell. One night. One dance. What could possibly go wrong?This story also available in print in the anthology Ever After: The Collected Short Works of Marie Sexton.

    But Pete has this dream of becoming a metaphysical scientist and that means all his time—his attention—is taken up by college and studying. So in order to deal with the pain of watching Peter and never having him I spend most of my time in the Gray Zone, the no-man’s-land between the city of Atlanta and the Dens. There I’m free to drown myself; with drugs, with booze…With the inhuman.Lesser-Breds. Kin hybrids. The offspring of Humans and Dragons.But then an act of revenge led to a stupid college prank, which put Peter right into my arms.A better man would make the right decision and tell Pete no.I am so not that man.

    His frustration at the situation is palpable, but when he's taken home by good-looking Hamilton, his plan is to win over his new owner and make his escape? However, after a few weeks with Hamilton, does he want to make a complete escape, or just stop being caged? If you like foul-mouthed tiny shifters whose surly attitudes are many times bigger than their physical presence, then this may be the book for you.

    . . that’s how the old stories always begin.Once upon a time there was a king of a fallen kingdom. He was just and he was beloved. Or so the numbers said. One day, he gathered together the greatest, wisest minds in all the land—not sorcerers, but scientists—and he bade them fashion him a son. A prince. A perfect prince to embody his father’s legacy.The scientists each brought the prince a gift: beauty, strength, ambition, intellect, pride. But they must have forgotten something because when he saw the mermaids dance at the Cirque de la Mer, he ran away to join them.For a year, he trained them, performed with them, thought he was happy. For a year he thought he was free. But then Nerites came: A merman who refused to be tamed. A captive from another kingdom. A beast in a glass cage.The old stories always end with happy ever after. But this isn’t one of the old stories. This is a story of princes and monsters. Author note: This is available as a freebie for new subscribers to my newsletter.

    On his way home from school, Kipling rush falls through some broken boards and lands on the strange boy Chemuel, whom he calls Crash for obvious reasons and their lives together begin.What's not so obvious is who Chemuel is, why he's down there, or what lies ahead for them in this short story about the transformative power of selfless love.

    I was human, so I understood why I was being sent to the auction. I didn’t like it, but I understood it. Even if there had been affection for me, even if they had been willing to keep me as a pet (neither of these was the case, but an Omega could dream), Cal couldn’t afford not to sell me. Clint Omegas were hard to come by worldwide. While I would have preferred to mate for love, it didn’t seem that it was in the cards for me. I had taken over as pack Alpha five years earlier, and it was high time that I started adding to the pack population. Granted my pack is run less rigidly than some; the Betas in my pack are not just allowed to breed but actively encouraged to. Unfortunately, only a small number of Beta females are fertile enough to get pregnant, and I’ll be damned if I am going to hump my way through the pack until I find the ones who are. Which brought me full circle to why I was standing in line to pick up the bidding paddle at the auction house. Less, even, than a marriage of convenience, purchasing an Omega at the auction was more of a long-term service contract; a means to an end, so what was an Alpha to do when he found his soul mate on the auction block?5% of royalties received from the sale of Soul Mate for Sale are donated to The Trevor Project; the leading national organization providing crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning (LGBTQ) young people ages 13-24.