He can't help but notice when the man in front of him is given a plum-colored cup holder, as it goes perfectly with his own tie. There are other things he can't help but notice, like how hot "Mr. Plum" is.When Mr. Plum hands over a cup of coffee, exactly how Dave likes it, the morning he's late getting to the station, it's the start of a beautiful friendship. Or is it?

    For Joey, he didn't care if it ever came at all. He was much too busy adding notches to his bedpost and preparing for life as an adult. But when a casual fling waxes nostalgic about the one that got away, Joey starts to wonder if he isn't missing something after all, if there really is something to be learned from the language of love.

    Patrick McCloud wake up married. A quickie divorce is the most obvious way out—unless you’re the heir of a staunchly Catholic mafia boss with a draconian position on the sanctity of marriage.Stuck between a rock and a hard place, Will and Patrick don't like it, or each other, but they have to make the best of it until they can find another way out of their marriage. To ensure the trust fund Will's charitable foundation relies on isn't revoked by his mobster grandfather, he and Patrick travel to Will’s hometown of Healing, South Dakota, posing as a newlywed couple in the throes of true love at first sight.Complicating their scheme are Will’s unresolved feelings for his all-too-recent ex-boyfriend Ryan, and Patrick’s desire to get back to the only thing that really matters to him in life: neurosurgery. Will they fool everyone? Or will the mafia get wind that their marriage is a fake? Throw their simmering attraction into the mix and all bets are off!Approx. word count: 34KEpisode 1 of 6 in the Wake Up Married serial.

    However, with Jake studying abroad 8,000 miles away, Aidan soon finds himself struggling with the intense feelings that he's developed for a man he's never actually met. With an ocean between them and all of the doubts and questions that come with the distance, will their relationship ever find wings? And when they finally meet in person, can their online romance become an IRL happily ever after?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.

     Betrayed by first his body and then his girlfriend, Liam O’Reilly, assistant coach of the Seattle Thunder, is not having a very merry Christmas. So when a smoking hot hockey player in a Santa suit offers himself up like a present begging to be opened? Well, it’s a freaking Christmas miracle. If only the man in question wasn’t hockey’s own bad boy, Joey ‘the Looch’ Luciano, his best friend’s little brother and the same kid who used to trail behind Liam like a loud, mouthy shadow. Whatever. Wrong as it might seem, a one-time hookup with Joey is exactly what he needs to make the yuletide gay. By tomorrow, he’ll be back in Seattle, Joey will be in New York, and his troubles will be miles away. But as Christmas Eve becomes Christmas Day, Joey weaves his way past all Liam’s defenses, and Liam starts to see the sensitive, caring man behind the cocky smirk. When the last present is opened and the Christmas lights go dark, will Joey and Liam's night together be just another Christmas memory or can the holiday magic they made survive the pressures of the real world? Boy Toys is a heart-warming Christmas story featuring the inappropriate use of a Santa suit, sibling bribery, and ninety separate instances of the f-word.

    Each of the portraits in Close Range reveals characters fiercely wrought with precision and grace. These are stories of desperation and unlikely elation, set in a landscape both stark and magnificent.The half-skinned steer --The mud below --55 miles to the gas pump --The bunchgrass edge of the world --A lonely coast --Job history --Pair a spurs --People in Hell just want a drink of water --The governors of Wyoming --The blood bay --Brokeback Mountain

    But when Logan ends up blindfolded, half-naked, and tied to a post on the full moon, Christian gives in to temptation. Calling himself Lucas, he seduces Logan, but his plan goes awry when his control shatters...and he shifts in the middle of their encounter. Can Logan handle the truth?Warning! This 9,100 word short story contains explicit descriptions of light bondage, rimming, blindfolds, nipple play, anal sex, sex with a shifted (but humanoid) werewolf, and knotting.

    It is a product of the Goodreads M/M Romance Group Hot Summer Days event and features original stories from 29 authors; if you like what you read, come join our group! Read these stories online or download the anthology from AReNote: These stories contain sexually explicit content and are intended for adult readers only. Mark Alders – PYROGASM (Paranormal/Firemen) Rory Auden – BONDS AND BUBBLE RINGS (Shifters/BDSM) Poppy Dennison – BLINDSIDED (Hurt/Comfort)Megan Derr – PERMANENT EXHIBIT: THE GUARDIANS (Fantasy/Angels) Charles Edward – HEROTICA: PHOTON'S STORY (Superheroes) R.L. Ferguson – RIDING FOR A FALL (Cowboys/Friends-to-Lovers) S.A. Garcia – BOUND TO BE SUITED (BDSM/Humor) S.A. Garcia – A CURE FOR THE KING’S LUST (Wizards/Warriors) David Greene – SNAKE BITE (Adventure/Coming of Age) Kathleen Hayes – BROKEN (Hurt/Comfort) Kayla Jameth – CONTROLLED FALL (Adventure/Nature) K-lee Klein – OUTFOXED (Rockstars/ Established-Couples)Celia Kyle – JOY AND PAIN (BDSM/Voyeurism) Taylor Law – WRONG TURN (Shape-shifter/Coming-out) Elizabeth Lister – THE BEACH HOUSE (M/M/M) Ryan Loveless – TWENTY YEARS LATER (WELCOME HOME TO THE CONQUERING HERO) (Military/Reunion) Selah March – THE SATYR’S LAMENT (Post-Apocalyptic/ Mythology) Michele L. Montgomery – TEARS FROM ABOVE (Angels/Light D/S)Zahra Owens – TRUST (Organized Crime) Sloan Parker – SWEPT AWAY (Established-Couples) Jen Pinto – BLUE FLAMES (Sci-Fi/Masturbation) K.D. Sarge – ROMEO AND JULIAN: A NEAR-TRAGEDY NEAR VERONA (Sweet-No Sex, In-the-Closet) Kate Sherwood – TAKEN (Friends-to-Lovers, Hurt/Comfort) K.Z. Snow – QUIET ERP (Fairies/ Non-Explicit Sex) V.J. Summers – LIAR, LIAR (Goth Club/Friends-to-Lovers)Fae Sutherland – MORE THAN WORDS (Guy-liner/Public Sex) Anne Tenino – WHITETAIL ROCK (Cops/Inter-Racial) Pia Veleno – FREEDOM’S SOUVENIR (Vacation Romance) Eden Winters – SWEET DREAMS (College/Coming-Out)

    Their reliance on each other takes an unexpected turn after Hell Week, the most grueling stretch of basic conditioning, when Cooper and Eli surrender to passion fueled by fatigue, horniness, and alcohol. Despite the danger of being discovered, their intense attraction begins to feel like a natural extension of living, working, and training side by side, and neither is willing to give it up, no matter the risk.

    One of those people being Jess, her best friend who she'd completely lost contact with. Though she never stopped thinking of her, she could never bring herself to reach out after the shame of what she'd done to her. Gina didn't even want to come back to her hometown in fear of running into Jess, but she had to take care of her mother who is ill with cancer.But fate and a kitten brings them together again, meeting for the first time in years. The connection is clearly still there between them, but will Jess be able to forgive Gina in her time of need? As the change in seasons brings color to the autumn leaves, will it also bring a drastic change in both of their lives? In this heartwarming, steamy novella Edie Bryant takes the reader on an emotional rollercoaster toward happily ever after.

    This takes place a few months after the end of A to Z, at about the same time as The Letter Z.Coda: Which book do I read first?

    Pete has just about given up hope of Ash ever fulfilling his promise when one day the end of a long shift finds Ash waiting for him. Tonight is the night. Ash is ready, and it seems the time has come for him to leave his mark on Pete in more ways than he ever imagined.

    I don't know what his problem is but I intend to find out...tonight I will get my revenge.Photo Description: A smiling, dark-haired young man, wearing a t-shirt and baggy basketball shorts, is completely covered from the neck down in pale mud. He is standing in a patch of green rushes, and behind him is a sandstone cliff.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.Read the story here or find it in Love Is Always Write: Volume 9.

    After all, Dave’s still straight, right? Wrong. Dave reveals he’s bisexual, and that pounding you hear is Shawn’s heart. He’s loved Dave for so long, but he’s not about to jeopardize their friendship by telling Dave how he really feels.But when Dave discovers Shawn’s little kink, it opens up a whole new chapter for the two friends. Except Shawn can’t help but worry – if there was no kink, would Dave be there? And is Shawn brave enough to find out?A standalone short story of lust, lace – and love….This is a standalone erotic romance for readers who are 18+. 24,460 words

    Almost.A deadly hunter.Hraban has dedicated his life to taking down creatures like Drakjan, protecting those who cannot protect themselves.An uneasy truce.When fate forces them together, the nix and the hunter discover a dangerous attraction… and a threat that can destroy everything Drakjan has come to love.~~~~~~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. "Still Waters" contains sexually explicit content and is intended for adult readers. ~~~~~~This story prompt and photo inspired "Still Waters":Dear Author,I only have two words for you: ginger merman! Everything else is up to you.Photo Description: A redheaded, muscular young man with a short beard stands in a lake, a scraggly stand of seaweed-draped deadwood behind him and mountains in the distance. He looks directly at the viewer, wearing a neutral expression. The water comes up to just above his waist, and he is lifting a sturdy white net from the water with both hands.