He’s part owner of a highly successful tech firm, he has a supportive family and a great group of close friends. But something is missing. Or maybe he’s reacting to his business partner and ex’s wedding news. He knows his former lover is making a big mistake but he also knows it’s time to move on. And hopefully avoid falling for another friend.Zane Richards is an avid sailor and surfer with a laid-back approach to life. He firmly believes there’s a time and place for everything if you’re willing to take a chance. Like letting his best friend know he’s interested in being much more than friends. Eric has always been half in love with Zane but going from friends to lovers isn’t an easy sell for someone protecting his heart. Eric will have to decide if he’s willing to risk it all by leaning into love.THIS EDITION INCLUDES BONUS CHAPTER

    A "Zero at the Bone" short story.D accompanies Jack to a party with Jack's hospital colleagues, plays with Legos, and makes a new friend.Author’s note: This short story takes place right after the epilogue of “Zero at the Bone.” During that epilogue, Jack referred to a going-away party for a colleague that he had to attend, and D volunteered to accompany him to the party.

    The last thing he expects is for his friend’s roommate to be the one guy he despises the most. The same guy who stomped on his heart senior year of high school. And by the looks of the girl on his arm, the same man who’s still deep inside the closet. Nicholas Dell never predicted that eleven years later, one of his greatest regrets would show up on his doorstep down on his luck. Nick has made some terrible mistakes—story of his life—and he’s been paying for them ever since. And if the guilt and shame aren’t enough, his first crush had to turn into one of the sexiest men he’s ever laid eyes on. Nick and Brin have weeks to steer clear of each other. Weeks to avoid strangling each other. But when stubbornness leads to skyrocketing sexual tension, hate-sex doesn’t seem like such an awful way to work through their frustration. Except hate is a powerful emotion, especially when it’s turned inward. And in Nick’s case he’s been drowning in a sea of self-loathing for so long, he can’t see his way out. As Brin reconnects with Nick, his perception of what really happened in their past begins to change. He’s finally ready to forgive him and take a second chance on the one guy who stirs him like no other. But Nick’s demons are complicated, heart-wrenching…demanding. So devastating, he might never allow himself true happiness—even with the one man who’s always owned his heart.

    His garden is flourishing, he has Nathaniel Travers in his bed most nights, and his lover has become his neighbor.When Nate suggests they play ‘the physician and his patient’, Jasper eagerly agrees. The erotic game proves just the thing to fill the rainy summer afternoon. Yet Nate’s request after their game is over gives Jasper pause, stirring up old doubts and making him question if he is indeed first in Nate’s heart.word length: 7,700

    In the darkest days of the Great Depression, New York Times reporter Whit Stoddard has lost the heart to do his job and lives a lonely hand-to-mouth existence with little hope of recovery, until he meets Peter, a man in even greater need of new hope.

    Flynn has a job he can no longer hide behind. A simple proposition in an effort to solve both of their problems leads two young men to confront the heartbreaks of their pasts in order to make a future together.What starts as an innocent bit of voyeurism turns into a public display of…everything.You know you like to watch.

     His sex life has been nonexistent for some time, though. After a particularly bad hookup, he keeps mostly to himself. That leaves chocolate. Luckily, he works surrounded by the most delicious, extravagant produce in Gothenburg. Beside his job at the chocolaterie, his main source of excitement is his online friend, Magnus, whom he stubbornly refuses to meet in person. A customer turns up at the chocolaterie one day—tall, shy, and charming. He could be just the right man. If Michał can step out of his overly safe shell, there might be not only chocolate, but sex, too. Maybe chocolate-flavored sex. And if he’s lucky, maybe even love. Warning: This book contains explicit scenes, adult language, and obscene amounts of chocolate.

    Empty, off-season flings are all he can look forward to until he retires. He figures his secret is safe—until he meets Ingram Fletcher, a nightclub owner who ignites a passionate inferno in his body.Gram has lusted after Kasey ever since the long, tall basketball player was traded to Phoenix a year ago. But with Kasey’s twin brother running interference, up until now Gram’s been unsure if it’s safe to make a play. Then some incidental contact in the crowded club leads to a kiss that starts Gram wondering if a relationship is possible—now, and beyond March Madness.A romantic weekend together answers that question. Now the only one remaining is if Kasey is ready make a fast break out of his comfort zone.

    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

    Daniel has never fit in—not at home in Philadelphia with his auto mechanic father and brothers, and not at school where his Ivy League classmates looked down on him. Now, Daniel’s relieved to have a job at a small college in Holiday, Northern Michigan, but he’s a city boy through and through, and it’s clear that this small town is one more place he won’t fit in. Rex Vale clings to routine to keep loneliness at bay: honing his muscular body, perfecting his recipes, and making custom furniture. Rex has lived in Holiday for years, but his shyness and imposing size have kept him from connecting with people. When the two men meet, their chemistry is explosive, but Rex fears Daniel will be another in a long line of people to leave him, and Daniel has learned that letting anyone in can be a fatal weakness. Just as they begin to break down the walls keeping them apart, Daniel is called home to Philadelphia, where he discovers a secret that changes the way he understands everything.

    Caught in a compromising position, rumors abound. It's hard enough to be an openly gay football player, but gossip and snide comments only add to his stress. Threats against his partners causes Trent to wonder if he should step back from the relationship.AJ and Brock know there is something wrong when Trent begins to pull away. A call from Trent's father only adds to his distress. AJ and Brock refuse to let him shoulder the responsibility alone and they call for help. Will Trent find the strength to withstand the pressure and hold on to those he loves? Or will AJ and Brock be too late to convince Trent that they are playing for keeps?

    The man who normally has a clear path to victory surrounded by brothers in combat is suddenly lost and alone. After meeting Beckett Ridge, a bearded tattoo artist, Dax’s journey begins winding down an unexpected path. Still reeling from events that shook his foundation, Beck has never been part of anything meaningful. Now faced with responsibilities foreign and daunting, Dax’s broken spirit mends Beck in ways he never even knew he was destroyed. As both struggle to find balance, they are healed by the comfort they find in one other. On the other side of chaos, they hope to find themselves On Solid Ground.

    He’s perfection in motion with his lean, muscled body and rich boy good looks. But there’s no way in hell Emilio is going to do anything about it. He’ll just have to be content with fantasizing about the guy of his dreams and watching him from afar, because hitting on another player is out of the question.That is, until Andrew turns the tables and makes the first move. Then all bets are off as the two of them drift into uncharted territory.

    When the terrorist known as Medusa threatens to kill millions with a stolen nuclear bomb, Nick Jameson makes a fateful decision. He reveals himself on global television as a Daywalker - a vampire with a soul. To save Los Angeles, Nick exposes not only his own gifts but three separate cultures based on millennia-old magic.By NightThe three metahuman races exist in careful balance, working to maintain a fragile peace. Nick and his fellow Daywalkers successfully master their natural bloodlust. The Sentinels, armed with both magic and steel, repress their warlike instincts. And even some Nightwalkers, normally their natural enemies, have deserted the Court of Shadows to join the triple alliance. Nick Jameson is deeply involved with two such Nightwalkers - handsome Lorcan and powerful Rory. Both men love Nick. But neither can protect the new Ambassador to Humanity from the events he has set in motion.By the SwordJeremy Harkness was lured into Medusa's service under false pretenses. A loner with no one and nothing to cling to, he was willing to die for his cause. But the night Medusa tried to obliterate Los Angeles, Jeremy met Nick Jameson, triggering the onset of his own psychic gifts. For Jeremy is the third race of metahuman, a Sentinel, born to kill the Nightwalkers with no quarter asked or offered. And neither Medusa nor the Court of Shadows will settle for peace when they can make war.Betrayal and treachery lurk around every corner on the road to coexistence, and at every turn, Nick must question who to trust among his metahuman allies, friends, and lovers—before their civilization is plunged into the depths of darkness and bloodshed. With millennia-old magic, emerging romance, and ever-shifting allegiances, this inventive series unveils a scintillating, homoerotic world of Nightwalkers, Daywalkers, Sentinels, and Humans, who battle for world dominance in the not-too-distant future.

    Trouble is, Matt’s firefighter outfit is pretty convincing, and the longer he keeps up the pretence the harder it will be to reveal the naked truth: that there’s nothing underneath his costume but a sequinned thong!