But that doesn’t mean he has the confidence to make a move on the gorgeous young blond who just breezed in to the Blue Dragon Bar. Fate will play its hand, anyway. Finding the same young blond beaten to the edge of death, terrified of a hospital, Sebastian has to choose - walk away, or try to save a life.This one chance encounter will lead Sebastian into a web of danger. Who is the enemy and who is a friend? Who will he trust when everyone has a reason to lie? How far will he go, and what will it cost, to do the right thing?Original Prompt:Dear Author,I'm so out of my league with this one I have no idea what the hell I'm doing. I watched him walk into that bathroom. How could I not notice him? Just look at him. He's fucking beautiful. I didn't see him come back out, but I was trying to play it cool, ya know? I thought maybe he'd left when after 30 minutes I didn't see him in the bar anywhere. Shrugging it off, figuring he's probably a good 10 years too young for me anyway, I went to the bathroom and saw him again. Only this time he was a broken, bloody heap on the floor in the last stall. Shit! I rushed over to him, felt for a pulse and tried to assess the damage. I'm just a retired Navy medic, not a doctor but when I roused him, he started screaming and pleading with me not to take him to the hospital. Said they'd kill him if they found him and they'd be sure and look there first. So I picked him up, carried him out and brought him home. He's so badly beaten. I think they kicked him half to death. I have to examine him, but he's so scared. I'm not sure if he's been raped or not but how do I get him to trust me enough to even check? Please help me put this beautiful, battered boy back together again.Photo Description: A bleached-blond young man with a sculpted body is sitting half-naked and curled over his own knees. His eyes are closed, and his head is down. He looks tired and scared.This story was written as a part of the M/M Romance Group's "Love is Always Write" 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 online or find it in Love Is Always Write: Volume 11 - Bonus Volume.__________Genre: contemporary, thriller. Tags: medical personnel; military men; first time; hurt/comfort; slow burn; unresolved sexual tensionWarnings: descriptions of post-violent-attack first aid and medical care; non-graphic discussions of off-screen sexual assault; gun violence (non-sexual). Word count: 70,085

    So when my ex-wife abandoned not only me, but our son, my world was on its axis, and I was forced to raise my son Jackson by myself. Unfortunately, trying to balance that fine line as both mother and father, as well as work full-time, was something I failed at… miserably. My world centered on my child and my job. A personal life was non-existent. Until one last-minute decision to pick my child up from school, I realized two things: I didn’t know my son at all, and his male teacher had the most stunning blue eyes I’d ever seen. Anthony ~ My student, Jackson Anderson, had a secret. One that I was determined to figure out. It was one of the many reasons I became a teacher in the first place. To watch the light flash in their eyes as they finally grasped what I taught them had to be one of the most rewarding experiences ever. And even though I probably shouldn’t admit it, Jackson had burrowed his way into my heart to become my favorite student. How could I stop myself from offering to tutor the little dude so he could pass my class? Considering I’d been single since my douchebag ex cheated on me, I couldn’t help but notice just how sexy Jackson’s father, Marcus was. Too bad he was straight. A friendship blossoms between the two men and leaves Marcus questioning whether he was so straight after all. And thanks to Anthony, Marcus begins to mend his relationship with his son. Obstacles seem to hit them at every turn, but maybe sometimes love will find a way… ***Teaching Tenderness is book one of the Forever in Middlebury series. While each book could be read as a stand-alone, it is recommended that they be read in order. Each book will revisit characters from the previous ones in the series. It is a contemporary romance between two men with explicit language and graphic sex scenes intended for adults only***

    Dealing with drug dealers, hookers, and mentally ill suspects on a daily basis is his stock and trade. He once loved his job with the LAPD but three years ago, he put his trust in the wrong man and he’s been paying the price ever since. Refusing to work with a partner after the first one nearly killed him, Pope is jaded, still hurting, and hanging onto the career he once adored by a thread. Homeland Security Investigator Felix Jbarra is a fresh-faced young agent with a bright future in the DHS ahead of him. Deeply closeted, Felix hides his sexual orientation from his huge Catholic family which brings him terrible guilt and grief. One night in a back-room nightclub encounter, he connects with a man who inexplicably makes him want to confess everything. Assigned to help shut down an elusive child sex trafficking ring, Felix instinctively knows he’ll need turn to the more experienced detective for help if he and his partner want to crack this case. In the first book of the brand new Thin Blue Line series, join Felix and Pope in this exciting adventure as their worlds collide on the mean streets and in between the sheets… Thin Blue contains a sneak peek at Order & Anarchy (The Thin Blue Line series Book 2) ** Please Note** If you’ve read the Death and Destruction series, Lincoln Snow, McBride M. McCallahan, Jarrett Evans-Wolfe, and Thayne Evans-Wolfe also play ongoing roles in this new series. Never fear, Jarrett probably won’t be base jumping off any more buildings… probably.

    Growing up, he only had one friend and spent his teenage years building a software company that made him a millionaire in his early twenties. Despite his success and being what anyone would refer to as a hot nerd, Brandon found himself in a catastrophic marriage that resulted in him being a single father. Jude Strickland is Brandon's only friend. He's also the exact opposite of Brandon. Musically gifted, charming, popular, easygoing, stylish and strikingly handsome, Jude could have any woman he wanted. Which was moot because Jude wasn't into women. At night, he was having more than his share of luck with men and was content living quietly with Brandon, helping him raise his young son, Noah. A bad party, a few too many drinks, an argument and an insane offer turn their comfortable lives inside out and challenges everything they know about themselves and each other.

    Now raising his young nephew, he seeks a quieter place away from the paparazzi and all the vices of his old life. Lust and love in the form of an eccentric man weren’t even on his horizon.Yet.Francis Keen talks to his dog and his car. In his experience, people are less predictable and safe. His crippling anxiety keeps him anchored to his grandmother’s home. He wonders if he’ll ever find the courage to live—and to love. Two men, so different, on track for a romantic collision... can they survive the impact? “Let me start by saying that I loved this story - and all of its quirky, thoughtfully written characters. It's sweet, sexy, poignant - and, overall, one of the most unique M/M romance novels I've read.” ~Passionate ReadsRead the novel that inspired the bestselling series The Sin Bin.

    With so many fences between them and happily ever after, two men wonder if it’s worth opening the gate. Ten years ago, Eddie Crane, an actor on the rise, loved his costar and dreamed of the day they could be together. But his love, with his submissive nature, couldn’t handle fame, and before Eddie could help him, he died in a car accident—with Eddie at the wheel. Now, scarred and guilt-ridden, Eddie buries himself in bad decisions and prays that a stunt—on or off camera—will go wrong. Teenaged fantasies about the actor on his wall distracted Arthur Pike from real life—his dead father, runaway mother, gruff grandparents, and his unrequited love for his cousin’s straight husband. Now grown and off the farm, Pike is a horse stuntman hired to teach a reluctant Eddie to ride. Pike is drawn to Eddie’s dominant nature despite the sadness clinging to the actor. Eddie let one lover down, but in Pike’s submissiveness, he sees the possibility for redemption.

    But when his best friend and partner on the police force, Chrys Delos, is shot in a raid gone bad, it’s one of the worst moments of Bryan’s life.Bryan’s been secretly in love with Chrys for years, and the shooting is a wake-up call that it might be time to tell Chrys the truth. The problem is, Bryan’s never been with a man before, so in addition to worrying about Chrys’ injuries, he’s an indecisive wreck over the future.But with the help of two unlikely matchmakers, Bryan knows it’s time to find the courage, and the perfect moment, to tell Chrys exactly how he feels...

    His ambition to be an author has stalled, and he has a nightmare of a family, most of whom think he is a waste of space. His father killed himself when Rob was 15, and since then, Rob has found it hard to trust and commit himself to anyone but himself, yet over the course of a test drive with a suave stranger, he discovers he is capable of behaving in a totally irrational and risky manner. Lexington Black is the wealthy New Yorker who rocks Rob's world. After a night of hot sex, he wastes no time in luring Rob to the US to stay at his penthouse for a month so that he can reboot his writing career. A ruthless businessman, Lex is accustomed to getting what he wants. He is in love with Rob and he also wants his ailing father to accept his sexuality before the old man dies. As Rob is introduced to gay Manhattan by Lex's colourful friends, he is unaware that Lex is holding on to a crucial secret. Years before, Lex was a student at the college where Rob's father was Headmaster. A brief encounter between them had resulted in the tragedy that Rob had been unable to forget. With this secret hanging between them, it is only a matter of time before Rob and Lex's relationship is balanced on a knife edge. A heated tale of deception and lust between two hot men who cannot keep their hands off each other...

    His best friend, Jesse Emerson, an ex-Security Forces Specialist, needs a job. What could possibly go wrong?Jesse thinks protecting Alex will be a piece of cake. He’ll get to spend quality time with his oldest friend while avoiding his ex-girlfriend. Of course, nothing ever goes as planned. Why would Alex introduce him to everyone as his lover? And why didn’t Alex tell him about the threatening notes he’s been receiving for months?Alex has been in love with Jesse for years, not that he’d ever admit it to his best friend, but he’s not above making a practical joke out of it. Telling everyone that Jesse is his boyfriend will go a long way toward relieving the stress of the threats he’s been plagued with recently. Unfortunately, when someone tries to shoot him at a charity gala, he discovers that maybe he needs Jesse’s skills more than he realized……because sometimes a billionaire’s best friend is the fake boyfriend who’s really his bodyguard.

    He never expected an undercover assignment to unleash emotional chaos and destroy life as he knew it.But that's before he discovers that teammate and friend Shawn Matthews nurses a secret love for him, before he embarks on a sexual relationship with the other man. Their "love affair," after all, is nothing but a matter of necessity, an elaborate and daring ruse to save their lives during a dangerous undercover sting operation, right? Except Alex's heart doesn't believe that for an instant. So how can he return to his old life as if Shawn doesn't matter?

    The last thing he expected to find was love in the form of a seemingly innocent wilderness guide--a guide who inexplicably knows more than he should.Noah Taylor lives for the wild backwoods, spending days camping alone and only returning to town on the weekends to lead kayak tours through the dark waterways of the Everglades. But when he finds the remains of a ritually sacrificed body hanging from the twisted limbs of a mangrove tree, his life's going to change in ways he can't possibly predict--or can he?Now Scott must untangle a web of deceit while struggling with his passion for Noah. Because loving him is easy. But trusting him could be deadly.

    Aiden doesn’t want to admit he’s gay, but his first stumble into man love leaves him disoriented, searching for answers and desperate to find the truth. He covers his real desires by dating an ultra hot girl, but it’s the guy sitting a few tables away that draws his attention. Super nice and attractive Doctor Trace Williams is so special he seems like an angel to Aiden. Their first kiss blows Aiden away. That Trace sees into his soul, even when Aiden is trying to hide everything, pisses him off. Aiden needs Trace in his life, but once Trace finds out the truth about Aiden’s job, will they have any part of their relationship left? What would you do if your lover ripped apart the very foundation of what you believed? From Randy's Book Bag Reviews "This was the most unusual of M/M novels that I have yet read. The men were men, not limp wristed crybabies. This disagreed about something; they argued it out like men. They made love like men.... I wish more people would write their character the way Sara York does. These guys are realistic and if I used a star grading this one would be 5 out of 5"....Randy Wiggins

    Faced with the possibility of being left behind, Jesse vows to care for her young son, though he’s not convinced he can.When Trip Cantrell returns to town, he’s blindsided the instant he’s reunited with his kid brother’s lifelong friend, Jesse. His inability to find happiness in the years he’s been gone, suddenly makes sense. Love’s been waiting at home all along.Life begins to look promising, except for the fact that neither have come out of the closet publicly, and that’s not even their biggest problem. Someone has a secret so shocking they may never find a way past it.Will they be accepted in their small Texas town, or will secrets, lies, and the threat of tragedy destroy everything?

    No, really. I was dead on the side of the road following a gruesome motorcycle accident. From what I've been told, it's only because of one stubborn man that I have another chance to make something of my life. I no longer hate him for screwing up what I thought I wanted. I want to thank him. NEED to tell him what his actions mean to me. Now, I’m headed back to the town I’ve never set foot in even though it’s a huge part of my life. I’m not thrilled about that, but the job offers haven’t exactly been flowing in. They’ll probably think I’m crazy, because there’s no way I won’t be able to look at every guy I walk past, wondering if he’s the one who saved me. Michael: My entire life, I wanted to save lives. I’d earned a full-ride scholarship and had been accepted to med schools across the country. I was so close to making those dreams a reality until the night held a dying man in my arms. I’ve never been able to get the images of his lifeless body caked in mud out of my head. Even when the paramedics tried to take over trying to save him, I couldn’t let go. I never let go. Eventually, my guilt over not doing more cost me everything but my son. And now, I worry I’ll lose him if I don’t get it together. I’ve often thought that if I could find him, maybe I could get some closure and finally get my life back on track. Now he’s here and I’m more of a mess than ever. Once the truth comes out, will he keep trying to save me or will he realize that it’s too late?

    To make ends meet, Randall does erotic photography and massage—a secret he keeps from his family so he can remain a part of his young niece’s life. But the price of that relationship is high, and Randall is once more slipping under his family’s thumb.Noah Carroll is the spokesperson for the Seattle Humane Society, and the city holds a special place in his heart. When fate intervenes during a pet adoption, Noah finds himself face-to-face with his first love—Randall.While Noah and Randall are not the teenagers they once were, the flame of a first kiss long ago draws them together. Their romance is beginning to grow, but someone is out to destroy Randall and expose all he keeps hidden.When secrets and rumors thrust Randall into the public eye, his relationship with Noah isn’t the only thing that comes under threat.