A boy who planned to be the next school shooter. A patient with OCD whose loved ones really did suffer every time he missed a ritual. A choir boy who claimed he was being molested -- not by a priest -- but by God Himself. A patient with PTSD who gave me nightmares. A husband and wife who accused each other of abuse, and only one of them was telling the truth.And how could I ever forget, Patient #220.The problem is, my patients have a habit of dying. Sometimes I wonder if I'm the common denominator. Or maybe that's just the cost of taking on exceptionally broken clients.Either way, I'll never stop trying to help.

    When he finally gets his chance to talk to him, Mateo’s response, or lack thereof, is enough to have Elias vowing to never make such a fool of himself again, not for any guy, no matter how hot.But then the flowers start arriving. Every day, each with a special meaning, a story to tell him – a secret admirer who has a way with words even though Elias doesn’t even know who he is.When Elias finds himself in over his head late one night and Mateo comes to his rescue, can Elias learn to stop expecting pretty words and start listening to his heart instead? Original Prompt:Dear Author,This young guy is a shy florist. [picture 1]His dream is to build up a courage to ask out the sexy mechanic who works across the street. A mechanic who wears EYELINER that drives our florist crazy. He just doesn't know what to do! He doesn't even know if the sexy mechanic knows he's alive.Wearing this kind of t-shirt (below) is a bit too blatant, isn't it? *grin*. [picture 2]Well, if you can help him to get his HEA, you will make my florist's summer.Photo Description: [picture 1] A lithe, dark-haired man hugs a bouquet of white lilies to his bare chest, face tilted to the flowers until one silky petal lies against his chin. The curve of his muscled arm, and the wistful look on his face, suggest it is not flowers he imagines in his embrace. [picture 2] A young man wearing a white t-shirt with the phrase ‘I love boys in eyeliner'.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 at Author's website [pdf format], read it online or find it in Don't Read in the Closet, Volume 4.__________Genre: contemporaryTags: gay m/m, flowers, public sex, hot men in eyeliner, guy next door, blue-collarWarnings: mild assaultWord Count: 9,853

    The weight of a decision—of a truth he was still trying to accept.Starting to fall in love with his best friend wasn't helping. His best friend being a guy... that could be a problem.

    He never expected to be dragged into a terrifying series of events that culminates in a single moment of horror, one that would forever change his life in a way no teenager should have to endure. Now Eric must face an uncertain future while combating the ghosts of the past that threaten to rip away any happiness in his life.

    She never wanted to move with her mama to the farm her daddy owned before he died. But now here she is, in a tiny Vermont town where everybody sings the praises of the father Maggie never knew.Then Maggie meets the Parker family—two moms, six kids, plus a pony. The Parkers are loud and wild, ask lots of questions, and don't follow any of the rules Maggie grew up with in Georgia. Suddenly Maggie has questions too—questions about her father, and why Mama kept him away for so long.In her search for answers, Maggie will learn that families are like patchwork quilts, sewn together by love, and all the more beautiful for their different colors.

    Endless Adventures.Arizona Creed lost her assassin father, and her whole world changed.Literally.With one magical skeleton key, Arizona lands in another realm.Forget Earth. Terlant is the place to be. And Lucifer wants her there, the dashing man with no last name and more secrets than even she has. But love isn’t always enough. Arizona must find purpose in her new life.The Royal Guard could give Lucifer and Arizona what they desire.They only need to pass two tests to win the Game and enter the elite Guard.But is her real test to open her heart to true love?And will she win her wings to fly into his arms?

    In the decade that followed, Will relocated to the other end of the continent, filling his days with shallow and pointless affairs, unable to come to terms with the bizarre disappearance that could have been a tragic drowning, a well-planned abandonment, or both. While immersing himself in New York’s gay bar and disco scene, and a hedonistic Fire Island culture darkened by the grim specter of AIDS, Will meets Sean Paris, a young man as tortured and damaged by the past as Will himself. Drawn together by mutual doubts, needs, secrets, and obsessions, the intense relationship that they form will make waves in their circles of friends and ex-lovers, transforming Will’s life forever.

    United in a common loss, Ukamaka is glad to have someone she can confide in about her home, her ex-boyfriend, her life as a graduate student in the United States, and her ambitions. But, in her eagerness to discover a new friend in Chinedu, Ukamaka is slow to realize the tragic and desperate secrets he is protecting from her.       In this poignant, stirring short depicting the solitary lives that immigrants face in the United States, acclaimed author of Purple Hibiscus and Half of a Yellow Sun Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie celebrates faith and the fragile ties that can grant salvation.   An ebook short.

    He wasn't supposed to have this effect on me, but he did. He wasn't supposed to consume me, but he did. He wasn't supposed to touch me in places no other man had before.But he did.And I wanted him to do it again.**Steamy mm and hot lgbt erotic story. Readers over 18 only due to graphic sexual situations**

    When he meets Alex, newly bereaved and taking his first tentative steps into living out and proud after a lifetime in the closet, Ewan reaches out to offer sympathy. As their friendship deepens, Ewan finds himself questioning both his own identity and the nature of his feelings for Alex. But is it too late for a second chance at love?

    One stuck in the past, the other a very real present. Lucy Owens’ life was irrevocably changed in a matter of seconds. Life as she knew it was over in the blink of an eye. Moving away from all that she knew, Lucy now lives a solitary life in her cabin on the shores of Lake Tahoe. Filled with guilt and pain, she keeps herself to herself, and for years she manages to avoid immersing back into society. Nicole Granger has three small children to worry about. Always looking over her shoulder, they arrive at the lake with very little to call their own. Haunted by years of physical abuse, she longs to belong again, to bring normality to her girls’ lives for the first time. Both women are pulled towards one another in an attraction that could bring both of them their freedom.

    Kyla was forced to leave behind everything she cared about when her parents' ranch went bankrupt. With all of her friends and her boyfriend so far away, she isn't sure she'll ever feel as comfortable in this new life as she did in the old. Unaware of the danger, reclusive werewolf, Camille, couldn't be happier to make the new girl feel right at home in the small farm-town of Tranquility, California. By the time Kyla realizes there's something hiding out in the dark, watching her, she's unwittingly stepped into the crosshairs of a dangerous werewolf. Original target? Camille. Can the girls take down the threat before they become the latest victims of his deadly game?

     Alyx Reimund is a servant in the home that used to be his father's. Beaten, abused in ways he dare not recount, he longs for the day that he might feel a steady and kind hand. A chance encounter brings him face to face with the Crown Prince, a man so handsome and brave, surely he was made from Alyx's own dreams. Crown Prince Evander De Loughrey heads one of the fiercest armies in all the lands. He wields his power with less violence than his father before him, wishing only for an end to all the wars he had been on, wishing for someone to wake in his bed with him, to love him as he is not for the power he will one day have. When the two meet, it is as though fate had drawn them together. But will they be able to keep each other, and the royal family, safe? Will their kingdom survive an unknown enemy? Will they be able to know peace and harmony with each other. This novel features MM sex scenes, lots of dashing knights, and plenty of sweetness to match. A Hundred Others is meant for the 18+ crowd who enjoy a lot of sweet with some of their heat.

    There's only one problem: her grandmother is dead. As the two young women beat their own early path toward marriage equality, Ellen's longing to plumb that voluminous silence draws her into a clandestine entanglement with a wily Holocaust survivor--a woman with more to hide than tell--and a secret search for buried history. If there is to be a wedding Ellen must decide: How much do you need to share to be true to the one you love? Set in ebullient, 1990s Dot-com era San Francisco, Paper is White is a novel about the gravitational pull of the past and the words we must find to make ourselves whole.

    With support from his Jewish family, and taking one small step at a time, they find their way to a new life. Isaac and George are grateful for a love that never fails. No matter what.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. Dear Author,These two men have been partners for a while and have been through a lot together, having stood by each other through thick and thin. While they are strong, they are not afraid to show emotion or affection to each other. They are only just realizing what the other truly means to him. This story could be angst-filled, or filled with minor humorous trials and tribulations (or a combination of both), as long as they get a happily-ever-after.Photo Description: The photo pictures two men holding each other. One looks into the camera with confidence while wrapping his arms around the other man in a protective manner. The other man supports himself on his boyfriend, looking away from us. Both are bare-chested, and a beach and the sea are clearly visible in the background.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.