If The Seas Catch Fire


L.A. Witt - 2016
    Years later, through ruthless strategy and tireless patience, he’s a contract killer working for the three families ruling Cape Swan… and he’s nearly in position to bring them all down from the inside.Domenico “Dom” Maisano is Mafia royalty, a made man… and a hitman. He’s caught up in a violent life he can’t escape, struggling to maintain an image he doesn’t want, and suppressing desires he can’t have.A chance encounter throws the killers into each other’s paths. Though Dom knows he’s playing a dangerous game, he’s intrigued and keeps coming back. Sergei can’t resist him either—Dom is everything he set out to destroy, but he’s also everything he’s ever ached for in a man.Then Sergei gets the contract he’s been waiting for—the hit that promises to bring the town’s Mafia to its knees.But when a capo makes an unexpected move, Sergei must choose between dropping the hammer on the families he vowed to annihilate, and protecting the man he swore he wouldn’t love.And the wrong choice—or even the right one—will destroy them both.

Poetry in Motion


Samantha Wayland - 2019
    He knows his days on the ice are numbered, but he’s happy with the Moncton Ice Cats and he’s still got some time to figure out what comes next. He’s been taking college classes online and thought he knew what he was doing, but then he made the ultimate rookie mistake. It turns out the poetry class is not the easier way to get his required English credits. Barnaby Birtwistle has exiled himself to the wilds of New Brunswick, leaving London, his so-called friends, and his cheating ex behind. His life is finally getting back on track, and he's going to keep it that way, even if it means living like a monk. Travis is expecting a bookish nerd to help him pass his staggeringly boring class; Barnaby is expecting a meathead hockey player who struggles to string two words together, let alone appreciate poetry. Turns out that they both have something to learn.

One Time Only


Lauren Blakely - 2020
    And nowhere in the job description does it say I should lust after the charismatic, charming rock star.But every night I spend with him the attraction grows more intense, electric, undeniable.Until one night in a limo when we combust.One time only will have to be enough.Because the mistakes from the past are chasing me.And If I give in again, I might lose everything.Good thing I’m strong, determined, and dedicated to resisting him.But after a close call at his concert, all bets are off.And in his hotel room, we strike a brand new deal.One that can’t end well for me, but I do it anyway. Because sometimes you grab hold of the desire. And other times, the desire takes hold of you.

Just a Bit Twisted


Alessandra Hazard - 2014
    Strict, reserved and ruthless, he doesn't tolerate mistakes and has little patience for his students.Shawn Wyatt is a twenty-year-old struggling to provide for his younger sisters after the death of their parents. On the verge of losing his scholarship, Shawn becomes desperate enough to go to Professor Rutledge.Everyone says Rutledge doesn't have a heart. Everyone says he's a ruthless bastard. Shawn finds out that everyone is right.He strikes a deal with Rutledge, but unexpectedly, the deal turns into something so much more.Something all-consuming and addictive.Something neither of them wants.

The Charm Offensive


Alison Cochrun - 2021
    So it’s no wonder then that he’s spent his career crafting them on the long-running reality dating show Ever After. As the most successful producer in the franchise’s history, Dev always scripts the perfect love story for his contestants, even as his own love life crashes and burns. But then the show casts disgraced tech wunderkind Charlie Winshaw as its star. Charlie is far from the romantic Prince Charming Ever After expects. He doesn’t believe in true love, and only agreed to the show as a last-ditch effort to rehabilitate his image. In front of the cameras, he’s a stiff, anxious mess with no idea how to date twenty women on national television. Behind the scenes, he’s cold, awkward, and emotionally closed-off. As Dev fights to get Charlie to connect with the contestants on a whirlwind, worldwide tour, they begin to open up to each other, and Charlie realizes he has better chemistry with Dev than with any of his female co-stars. But even reality TV has a script, and in order to find to happily ever after, they’ll have to reconsider whose love story gets told.In this witty and heartwarming romantic comedy—reminiscent of Red, White & Royal Blue and One to Watch—an awkward tech wunderkind on a reality dating show goes off-script when sparks fly with his producer.

Muscle Memory


Stylo Fantome - 2017
    Her voice when she laughs, her eyes when she cries. Her soul connected to mine, for better or for worse, for all eternity.I don't remember.A blank face. Unrecognizable. The darkness and impenetrable fog, day after day after day. Who am I? And for that matter, who is she?I can't remember.Two sides to the same coin – one wants to remember, and the other wants to stay forgotten. Which side will win? Can he trust his heart to bring him back to her? Or will she stay lost in the fog forever?I might never remember.warning: features adult themes

Our Way


T.L. Swan - 2020
    beyond belief.In another life, he’s probably my soul mate.However, lately things have changed. He’s started looking at me differently.His eyes drop to my lips as I speak.His hugs are tighter…. longer.Our fights are more passionate, his jealousy insane.I know it’s all in my head….it has to be.They say to never love someone who treats you like you’re ordinary.I don't. To him I'm a queen.But our story is complicated.And as much as I love Nathan Mercer with all of my heart. . .He’s the one man I can never have.

Louder Than Sirens, Louder Than Bells


K.D. Sarge - 2012
    Lip gloss, eyeliner, eye shadow, nail polish? Back in the small town where I grew up, a boy would have never dared to dress like him. When an assignment to create a video news segment from one of our professors places us both in the same group, personalities clash, and what started as fascination on my part turns into instant dislike, which he seems to immediately return. He's smart, quick-thinking, creative…but also snarky, moody, defensive, and basically the complete physical opposite of every guy I've ever been attracted to. And yet, despite the fact that I think he needs an attitude adjustment, and he thinks I'm just a backward country hick, I've quickly come to realize that sometimes the line between love and hate really is paper thin.P.S. An HEA would definitely be preferred to an HFN ending. Photo Description: Two young men stare at each other through a chain-link fence. They are holding hands through it; one has nail polish and lip gloss.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 it online or find it in Love Is Always Write: Volume 11 - Bonus Volume.__________Genre: contemporaryTags: first love; college; coming out; gay-for-you; enemies to loversWarnings: noneWord Count: 68,123

Forbidden


Tabitha Suzuma - 2010
    He is seventeen; gorgeous and on the brink of a bright future. And now they have fallen in love. But... they are brother and sister.Seventeen-year-old Lochan and sixteen-year-old Maya have always felt more like friends than siblings. Together they have stepped in for their alcoholic, wayward mother to take care of their three younger siblings. As defacto parents to the little ones, Lochan and Maya have had to grow up fast. And the stress of their lives—and the way they understand each other so completely—has also brought them closer than two siblings would ordinarily be. So close, in fact, that they have fallen in love. Their clandestine romance quickly blooms into deep, desperate love. They know their relationship is wrong and cannot possibly continue. And yet, they cannot stop what feels so incredibly right. As the novel careens toward an explosive and shocking finale, only one thing is certain: a love this devastating has no happy ending.

Step-Lover


Bella Jewel - 2015
    I fell for a mystery guy who I spent a long, amazing weekend with. Then he got up and left me, without even a goodbye. I was nothing more than a bit of fun.He broke my heart.I didn’t see him again.Until my mom and her new husband, Jack, decide to take us all on a family vacation to the lake so I can meet my new stepbrothers for the first time.I don’t see it coming.When he gets out of that car, my world stops. My passionate lover is…my stepbrother.He isn’t the same man. He’s a prick and he makes sure I know it.I’m not the same woman. I’m in love with him and I very much plan to make sure he knows it.He won’t make my life easy. I won’t give up.

Unearthed


Kora Knight - 2016
    The most powerful force in existence, but also the most ruthless. Cunning and deceptive. Man’s greatest Achilles heel. Leaving all who embrace it weak and vulnerable. At least that’s how Dom-for-hire Max Kelley sees it, after the love of his life knocked him on his ass. A brutal blow that not only stole his breath, but decimated his ability to trust. Turning him cold and cynical. The TKO he never saw coming. Love. A mistake Max won’t ever make again. Meaning no more relationships—not exactly a hardship. Just the thought of dating makes him queasy, and one of the reasons he doms for a living. To sexually engage without the poison of intimacy. The other reason? To keep his demons sated. With whips and chains, and scandalous kink. A fiery mix that always hits the spot. That is, until a bright-eyed beauty walks into his life and refuses to leave. Sean Matthews. College senior and flirt extraordinaire. Max’s newest—and greenest—client sub. Man, is he delicious; able to push Max’s buttons, able to make him crave the things he knows he shouldn’t. Sound the alarm, this can only mean trouble. Unfortunately, deterring Sean proves virtually impossible, and now Max finds himself at a crossroads. Man up and kick his favorite sub to the curb… or succumb to his own caged desires. ** Warning: Contains references to sensitive matters involving teens, as well as mentions pertaining to child abuse, that some might find disturbing.This BDSM romance also contains intensely explicit scenes both inside and out of the dungeon.** Note from the author: While this duology can be considered a stand alone, I highly recommend readers visit the prior series (Upending Tad: A Journey of Erotic Discovery) first for two reasons: It was the chemistry of Tad and Scott that started it all and won these books such a devoted following. But also, the love interests in Unearthed (Max and Sean) were first featured in the previously mentioned series, giving the reader a unique first impression of them from Tad and Scott's POV. Most readers would agree that Max definitely made his mark in a very striking way long before Unearthed ever came to be.