Honesty and Artifice


S.H. Allan - 2014
    After years of isolation and secrets, he's unprepared for the feelings that Eric Atherton awakens in him. While Eric recuperates, the two men grow closer, and it doesn’t take long for Boaz to begin to question whether his reasons for remaining alone are good enough. But Eric has secrets of his own, ones that bring grave danger, and could end what has been building between them, maybe their very lives. For the men to know if they have a chance together, they'll have to brave their fears and face demons from the past. In the lonely and vast ocean waters of Alaska, the two men only have themselves to rely on. Can either man trust the other enough to survive the coming storm? Or will Boaz's one chance for love be over before it even began?Genre: action/suspense/adventureTags: first time, masturbation, past abuse, strong HFN, Alaska, series, isolation, boatsContent Warnings: allusions to childhood abuseThis 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. 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.The original prompt:Dear Author,I found him in the edge of the surf one morning, on one of my many solitary treks down the beach. Naked, battered, unconscious— just another bit of discarded flotsam on the sand.Who is he? How did he get here? Is he telling me the truth? Can I trust him at all? Can I help him— or can he help me? Or maybe we can even save each other…Photo Description: A muscular, dark-haired man lies prone on a sandy beach, waves frothing and swirling around him. He is naked save for a tiny bikini or underwear that is barely clinging to the round globes of his backside. He also has on a small, dark, braided bracelet. If not for a mound of sand beneath his head, his face would be immersed in the water. He appears to be unconscious.

Prelude to Claimings, Tails, and Other Alien Artifacts


Lyn Gala - 2016
    Ye Ondry wants to earn status, and he is curious about this new human. Liam has just arrived on the planet and he’s trying to figure out these aliens who supposedly have good metals to trade. Neither of them suspects that a chance trade and a few pots knocked off a table could lead their lives and their fates to intertwine. Note:This free story is a prequel to the story of Ondry and Liam that details how they met. As such, it's not a romance.

Man of the Match


Lane Swift - 2014
    We even shared most of our ‘firsts’ together. But as it sometimes does, life pushed us in different directions after high school. Grad school will be hectic enough, but his appearance back into my life just might change my plans!”These two guys look to have just finished playing/watching a ‘rousing’ game of football. They may have had to overcome a few obstacles to get to their current point of intimacy, but of course it was worth it for these two.Photo Description: An athletic, tanned young man, wearing only boxers, sits on a sofa; his left hand is resting on a football. A second man, in a T-shirt, is kneeling down on the floor to one side of the first. His head rests on the first man’s thigh, facing his erection, which he regards, as he holds it upright through the opening of the boxers. The moment appears tender and intimate.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. 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.

Elevation


Jenna Jones - 2014
    I live in XXX, or rather in one of the crappy suburbs of XXX. I am and have always been the poor kid, everywhere I go. It’s not my fault I have a few siblings and my parents divorced when I was little. We kids stayed with (either mom or dad) and (the other parent) never paid any support. So it’s been tight. Enough for me to skip my college dream for now in favor of making sure my (younger sibling) has the means and the money to go.When I needed a better job to make ends meet when my (parent) fell ill, my uncle stepped in. He’s one of the maintenance men in this massive building downtown. It has offices in the first ten floors and apartments above. They needed someone to fill in for the maternity leave of one of the “night portiers” as they call the position and I got the job, for now. It’s actually a glorified way of saying “you get to stare at screens all night and sit in the middle of a lobby that’s bigger than your house.”That’s okay, it’s easy money. Or was, until this one guy showed up. He’s one of the people who get to use the special elevator in the back corner. That leads to the top two floors only. Where the city’s richest people live.I’ve no clue where he was, maybe abroad or in rehab or whatever, but since he came back, he’s been hitting on me nonstop. It’s been going on for months, now. Every night I’m on shift. He’s getting frustrated, sure, but I didn’t expect THIS! What the hell is he doing? Doesn’t he know WHO ELSE needs to use the elevator and might walk into the building at any momen while he surfs up and down, doing this… THING! (I refuse to call that striptease, the elevator doesn’t even have music…)He’s hot, but we’re from two very different worlds, and a guy like that is no good for a guy like me.Photo Description: A series of animated .gifs where a handsome, bearded man strips off his clothes in an elevator. At the end of the series, he laughs.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. 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.

More Than He Can See


Nicole Forcine - 2014
    I met the man of my dreams the other day. He had these adorable red curls (and I’m just a sucker for redheads, and curly hair, so put those two together and oh boy, droooooooool) and the most beautiful smile I’ve ever seen. He’s not gorgeous or anything, in fact, most people would say he was plain. But then, so am I. I don’t even have the smile or the hair, or anything like that.Can you find a way for me to meet him, and maybe even get him to smile at me?Photo Description: I look at this picture and I see baggy, tired eyes, thick brows, some shyness in the pose. I find this man adorable (because yum redheads), but I can see the plainness too. He sits, most of his body in shadow, looking over his freckled shoulder at the camera. There is no smile on his face, and the rest of his body sits at a profile.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. 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.

Inhaling Smoke


Tia Fielding - 2014
    They did not think I could raise this baby. Being a tattooed, pierced, young, gay tattoo artist. But I WILL prove them wrong. I will be amazing. \with the help of my super supportive boyfriend I will get through this.Photo Description: A shirtless young man with tattooed arms, stretched ears and a lip piercing holds a toddler. The baby is looking down at something; it almost looks like they're drawing together.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. 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.

The Arroyo


M. Caspian - 2014
    He keeps his head down and looks after his family, but every two years the sick fear comes around again as the Feds arrive for a new harvest of kids.It’s Trace’s last sweep; he’s about to serve out his term of slavery. One last run and then… what? A life alone, with his books and music? He’s seen far too much of the dark side of human nature to think that’s a possibility.Trace and Isaac both know happy ever after doesn’t grow in the parched desert. Maybe together they can change that.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,I always knew it was a possibility. Have known since childhood that they could take me someday. The slave traders have been sweeping the area for weeks now but I didn’t think they’d want me. They usually take girls and if they take boys they’re younger, blonder… prettier. There’s not usually a demand for someone who looks like me and has reached the ripe, old age of twenty-four. But I was wrong. Someone did want me. I’m so fucked.One last sweep of this dirt water town and I can get back to my life. My books, my music, my art and my life that doesn’t revolve around grabbing kids to sell to the highest bidder. I hate this shit. One last run. My debt will be paid and I’ll be free from that son of a bitch who grabbed ME as a kid. Maybe then I can finally stop thinking and dreaming. Turn off those dark desires that swirl in my head and wake me up at night in a cold sweat. I’m not HIM. I will never be HIM. My last fucking run and it all goes to shit when some guy, trying to be the hero, gets in my face. He’s too old, too dark, too inked… but God help me I want him.I don’t know what I was thinking when I stood up to him. I just wanted the kid to have half a chance at getting away. He’s so angry. I screwed up his quota and now I’m going to pay for that. He told me to get clean. EVERYWHERE. Then he gave me a thick chain with a padlock on it and told me to chain myself to the table when I was done. Something about “inspecting the merchandise”. I’m so fucked.Photo Description: A dark-haired, young man crouches naked in the corner of a bathtub, beneath a spray of water. White tiles and chrome fittings surround him. A heavy chain with a sturdy padlock is draped over his right shoulder, above a large tribal tattoo on his bicep. The man protects his head and chest with his arms, cowering, as he apprehensively meets the gaze of the viewer staring down at him.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.

Lacuna


A.M. Daily - 2015
    Humans struggle to survive in the few remaining cities beside Mechi, artificially intelligent beings whose most recent models are indistinguishable from their human creators, and the Ezri, a race of humanoid alien life whose descent to Earth changed the future of humankind forever.Caden is number 508349, and has lived a comfortable and privileged life as the son of a wealthy corporate bigwig, kept safe from the dangers of life outside of Belen. An inexplicable restlessness leads Caden to pursue Earth's lost past in cities other than his own and in the dusty words of suppressed history books.Together with his streetwise friends, Mikas and Blue, Caden learns to navigate the shadowed world of the Underground Streets as he searches for answers to the questions left by his recurring nightmares.When a series of catastrophic events leads to an encounter with a mysterious stranger, Caden is drawn unwittingly into a decades long war for freedom. As he struggles to accept his place in his rapidly changing reality, Caden is given insight into his true nature, allowing him to finally take the leap of faith he needs to reclaim his identity and freedom.

Bound


Amelia Bishop - 2014
    Until he meets Nate, and learns to love again. A male/male Romance with explicit sexual scenes and mild BDSM elements, this novella is intended for adult readers. ***This story was written for the goodreads mm romance group's 2014 Love's Landscapes event. It was written in response to a prompt letter (included in the front copy of this book)

For Want of a Nail


M.A. Ford - 2014
    The new semester was starting and my scholarship didn’t quite cover all my expenses. I’d never thought of myself as particularly photogenic, but when I saw the advertisement for male models hanging on the bulletin board in the Art building, AND saw how much they offered to pay, I was in.My first shock was that I was expected to model nude for the cameras. I was nervous, but the professor assured me that everything important would be covered in a “truly artistic manner.” Not what I expected, but I was sure I could handle it.My second surprise was that I was not the only model. Not a big deal. I’m comfortable with my body and my masculinity. It was just a job— a rather well-paying job. Nothing personal. Nothing real. So when I opened my eyes and saw that look, why did my insides start to burn?Photo Description: Two men, naked, on a clear Perspex chair, chest to chest, forehead to forehead, looking intently into each other’s eyes.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. 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.

Jacinto's Voyage


Daniel A. Kaine - 2012
    To make ends meet, Dane and his crew take up mercenary jobs. Yet wherever they go, trouble never seems to be far behind.On what should have been a routine cargo delivery, the ship is forced to make an unexpected pit-stop on the barren wastelands of Earth. There Dane meets a young man with no name or past, whose only companion is a leopard by the name of Spot. Feeling a connection to him, Dane takes the duo onto his ship, unaware of the trouble he has invited in.When the young man's memories begin to surface, Dane leads his crew across space in search of a hidden past, to a backwater planet where something is very amiss.Original Prompt:Dear Author,He was wrong, that's why his family left him on Earth. It was for his own good. The Elders would have taken him away, tried to 'fix' him. It wasn't safe for him on his home world, ever.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.

Measuring the Rein


Jae Moran - 2014
    My family and friends don’t know my secret, I’m gay. More specifically I’m a gay cowboy, I’ve been riding the rodeo circuit for several years now. What’s worse is my best friend, the person I’ve shared everything with since we were in grade school, doesn’t know the ‘real’ me. So here I stand, saddle in hand, trying to muster up the courage to come clean with him. He’s over in the arena getting ready to ride one of the most dangerous bulls in the circuit, he’s probably looking for me right now for support. We’ve been there for each other through all the injuries and self-doubts, been supportive for each other when our families have thought we were crazy for leading a rodeo life.I take a deep breath and go watch my friend, the one I’m about to lose when I tell him I’m gay, I wonder what he’ll think when I tell him I’m in love with him too?Photo Description: Black and white photo of a muscular cowboy standing in a field, holding his saddle in one hand. He is shirtless and wearing jeans. His head is dropped to his chest and his face is obscured by his hat.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. 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.

Yarulf's Duty


Vicktor Alexander - 2014
    We are deeply formal, and decorum and honor are most important to us. So I’m sure you’ll understand my utter dismay upon being married to one of those savages, those long-haired barbarians we had been fighting for centuries. And to a man, no less. I was to broker peace by bringing shame to my family and to my kingdom.That was how I married into this happy, weird clan, this race of freedom and warmth that wouldn’t know propriety if it hit them in the face. And I’m terrified. Terrified that that my dark, deviant, twisted desires will be brought to light for all the worlds to see. Not that my new family seem to care. From what I’ve seen, men holding hands or women kissing in the streets are as common as sunrise in this land.And what am I supposed to do with my gorgeous, warm husband, who looks at me with such kindness in his eyes and a smirk I just want to kiss punch off his face? Or with that red-haired band of lunatics, with absolutely no concept of personal space, they call the royal family?I’m starting to believe I could finally find myself here, and yet it is my duty to betray those that I’ve come to hold dearest. When I’m made to choose between duty and love, when the hour comes when I must favor a side, how will I do it without losing a part of myself?Photo Description: 2 drawn images 1)A man with a naked upper torso. Long wavy red hair, purple eyes, wearing a leather thong necklace with a large red pendant. The background is a grayish sky. 2)A royal portrait of a man with blue eyes and dark bluish hair. He’s wearing a white shirt with frills down from the neck and flared frilly sleeves. Over the shirt is a royal blue coat with gold detailing. His left hand holds the handle of a sword.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. 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.

Geeking Out on 11C


L.L. Bucknor - 2014
    He lives in my building, but I didn’t think he would ever notice me. I’m shy, I’m a geek and I’m probably too old for him. The other day he passed me in the hall and winked at me. Of course I completely clammed up, blushed and rushed by him. I can’t even say hi to the man without being completely flustered. But I can’t get him out of my mind.Photo Description: A guy with golden skin, washboard abs and a scruffy, sexy grin is staring off into space. He looks like he’s thinking about something hot as he lifts up his sleeveless shirt.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. 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.

Overkill


Elizabeth Daniels - 2014
    As the semi-reluctant leader of the up and coming rock band, Station Zero, he is forced to be the responsible front man keeping the boys in line. But responsibility comes at a price and that price is often lonely.When Tate Newman walks into an audition as Station Zero's new drummer, he turns Declan's world upside down and forces him to question his boundaries and restrictions.The want, the need and the drive to be more to Tate than his front man leads Declan down a path of deception, lies and the possibility of never having what he wants most in life.Can six months on the road with Tate make him lose control, or will it all be... overkill.