Rough carpet. Burned dinner. Awkward silence. Bitten lips. Startling length. Spilled wax. Pinched fingers. Shattered wineglass. Closet quickie. Flat souffle. Broken bedframe. Shower sex. Overzealous spanking. Embarrassing ex. Lost wallet. Terrible taste. Sore shoulders. Noxious odor. Absent date. Unbelievable girth. Kitchen canoodling. New toy. Stained sheets. Backward compliment. Stifling pillow. Locked handcuffs. Aching ass. Missing keys. Torn seams. Wrenched back. Angry cat. Overeager pass. Uncooperative zipper.Something always goes wrong in real life. Fortunately, in these stories love blunts the edges so that romance always triumphs over adversity.Stories included are:Midnight Caller by Anna BirminghamSnapshots by Rena ButlerBasil's Luck by Henrietta ClarkeBoys, Toys, and Carpet Fitters by Taylin ClavelliOutbursts by Bell EllisTyler Wang Has a Ball by Kim FieldingBoy Next Door by Ellee HillGremlins in the Works by Kiernan KellyGood Food Gone Bad by Venona KeyesAttack of the Hedgehogs by Kate PavelleIt's Not What You Think by Teegan LoySlippery When Wet by K. LynnDesperate Measures by E.T. MalinowskiGordon's Cat by Aundrea SingerPhoto Finish by AC Valentine

    Whatever the reason, a designated bottom is someone who's happy to surrender, to submit, or just catch instead of pitch! In Czech Me Out, by BA Tortuga, Korde discovers what it's like to fall for someone when food truck owner Josh takes on the cowboy virgin. Katey Hawthorne's gamer grad student Paul doesn't date. He keeps things strictly physical. So why is Sammy so important to him in The Mistell? Kitty shifter and stripper Aleks doesn't mix business with pleasure, but he thinks Rafe might just be the master for him in Julia Talbot's Faster Bobcat. Sean Michael's Peter isn't sure about the club his friend takes him to, especially when Doms start hitting on him. Experienced Dom Rupert is happy to help, explaining about that Little Square of Cloth. In Sgt. Hardass, by Shannon West, recent ex-Army man Jake meets up with a man he has history with, and Chad isn't sure he can explain himself and defuse Jake's anger. In the Prince of Paupers by Kiernan Kelly, Prince Liam and longtime friend Deacon have to go back to Deacon's Appalachian home, much to the prince's dismay. And in Switching It Up by KC Wells, Jay knows he looks like a twink, but only hunky Dean understands that looks can be seriously deceptive.

    Each of these books have a special place in my heart, for varying reasons – in particular the bundle’s namesake, Family Affair. I hope you’ll come to love these alpha and omega couples as much as I have: Ellis and Jasper, Logan and Cole, Austin and Cody, Josh and Matt, and of course, Matt and Kevin. Each of these tales are quite different, and I know you’ll find a story in this array that speaks to your heart. But if you’re new to my books, be prepared: each of these novels contains hot, explicit gay lovemaking and intense M/M Alpha/Omega mpreg romance! So as always, they’re for adults only. Click that download button, shut off your phone, lock the bedroom door, and dive in tonight! xoxoxo, -Aiden

    An up-and-coming lawyer, he has no time to dwell on the mazes, puzzles, and riddles he solves while asleep. He has no interest in dreams, or anything that might derail his career.Until Kian shows up. Sensual, playful, he claims that Paul rescued him four years ago. Now he's determined to repay him with the one thing he knows best: sex laced with ... magic.Kian is unlike any man Paul has encountered. He won’t go away, for one. The fact that Paul doesn’t remember him doesn’t deter his mission of seduction in the least. But soon enough, Paul finds that this strange, carnal creature has the ability to melt his ice with a touch, to bring out a sweetness Paul didn’t even know he had.As Kian becomes a part of his life, Paul finds himself more and more attached. Forgotten dreams, buried memories, and the dangerous obsession of another conspire to tear them apart. Is he strong enough to endure a trial by fire in order to keep them together?

    Desperate for emotional closure, Steve makes a journey he's put off for years: he travels to the town that was once an integral part of his late lover's life. Steve hopes his pilgrimage will help him better understand Frank, serve as a final farewell, and allow him to move on. His visit to St. Jerome's Church one snowy, silent night proves more consequential than he'd ever anticipated. Evan McAllister, an unassuming man still grieving over the death of his son, befriends Steve. As their bond grows, they both make startling discoveries-not the least of which, for Steve, is that he's ready to love again.

    All you have to do is promise to protect his secret identity and try not to damage the spandex! Some things just won't wash out. With any luck, you might become a sidekick. Every superhero has a super ability, and this latest Eric Summers collection of erotic short stories highlights those incredible talents that seem to come out when the sun goes down and the bedroom door closes. But, every superhero also has a weakness. Be careful because one such superhero in Unmasked: Erotic Tales of Gay Superheroes loses his powers if he has an orgasm. What is a boy to do? Unmasked: Erotic Tales of Gay Superheroes tells the stories of those hot men who are powerful in a dangerous situation and equally powerful under the covers. Try not to fall in love because the life of a superhero can be a lonely one, and the life of a heart-sick admirer can be even lonelier. Just lie back and enjoy the moment as a man with a cape and a mask takes you to new levels of ecstasy.Featured authors: DesertMac, Jay Starre, Troy Storm, Christopher Pierce, Stephen Osborne, Kiernan Kelly, Mark Wildyr, Ryan Field, Armand, Sedonia Guillone, and Jeremiah Bodkin. Plus a special bonus: Unmasked includes a comic strip by erotic artist Henry Kujawa.

    He’ll need to catch up fast to survive. Diego’s impulse to rescue a naked bridge jumper starts as just that—talk the man down and get him to social services. But there’s something odd about this homeless person, more than just his delusions of being a pooka, and something so vulnerable that Diego’s determined to help him stabilize rather than see him institutionalized or deported.Finn went into the Dreaming centuries ago to escape a heartbreak he couldn’t bear. Now that he’s back, he finds the Veil to the Otherworld closed. The fae courts have abandoned him in a poisoned human world where a displaced pooka has little chance of survival. His human rescuer is kind and compassionate—and shockingly familiar. One thing at a time, though. He needs Diego to believe he’s not human first.

    Maxfield, and Josh Lanyon's Until We Meet Once More make up this contemporary anthology. Fifteen percent of the sales of Because of the Brave sold at the Aspen Mountain Press website will be donated to the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network between release and September 11th!  Perrenial favorites, Laura Baumbach, Josh Lanyon and Z.A. Maxfield contributed to the anthology Because of the Brave.  This collection honors the men who've served in the military and labored with the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy.  In Laura Baumbach's Designated Target a soldier returns to his commander's hometown to tell his brother the truth about what happened in the field.  Josh Lanyon's Until We Meet Once More pits a Naval Academy graduate against the Taliban and his own repressed past.  Finally in Z.A. Maxfield's Jumping Off Places a soldier returns home to be with his dying mother and finds more than he bargained for in the place he'd hoped to never see again.

    Will Ryder cross a line no man should cross to obtain a second chance?Ryder Halloway made a life changing decision about his relationship with Harlan when he was young and stupid. Thanks to one rash moment, he lost it all. He lost the only man he would ever love, his drive to even try to finish college and his zest for life.Seven years later finds him in front of Harlan's house preparing to take back what he lost with a vengeance. He's prepared to use all the tricks in his arsenal to plow through every wall, protest and excuse Harlan might come up with.Of course, he never expected Harlan to put him in the hospital.Harlan Mychels had his heart broken in college by the popular Ryder. He learned his lesson about love and since then hasn't allowed anyone even remotely close to his heart. Then one morning he turns and sees the one person able to tear his walls down and destroy what is left of it.He uses every defensive tactic in his possession to keep Ryder at arm's length, but Ryder is persistent. Harlan's not sure if he can stay safe from heartache, and he starts wondering what the real heartache is – letting Ryder in again...or letting him go for good.**This book was previously published in the Story Orgy anthology Word Play**

    Go skinny-dipping in a disused quarry. Hang out with the boys in the band. Meet a bad boy made good, and one with a shy smile that hides a dark secret. Or maybe get your heart pillaged by a Viking re-enactor. With gentle humour, hot sauce and a hefty scoop of romance, enjoy a quintet of sultry stories of men loving men from Clare London, Chrissy Munder, JL Merrow, Josephine Myles, and Lou Harper. The mercury's not the only thing that's rising! Summer Hire by Chrissy MunderLost and Found on Lindisfarne by JL MerrowSalt 'n' Vinegar by Clare LondonWerewolves of Venice Beach by Lou HarperBy Quarry Lake by Josephine Myles

    Intent on setting up a happy, stable life for them, he vows not to allow his past to intervene with their future. That is until Jared, the boy who had broken his heart all those years ago, returns to his life a full grown man who knows exactly what he wants...Seth. Jared Stewart thought he had lost his only chance to be with Seth after a series of misunderstandings and mistakes. When Seth finally comes home and back into Jared’s life, Jared vows to do anything it takes to keep him there. However, while Jared and Seth grow closer, they discover that not everyone is so happy for them. Will they be finally able to make a life for themselves together? Or will they be torn apart again, by people they thought they could trust?

    When the pathway opened, I followed the stone walkway through to his world, disregarding the rules that had been taught to me from childhood. I knew I was supposed to let one of the Court advisors know, but the magic called to me.The priest who summoned me ran when I appeared; I don’t think he expected his ritual to work. I followed the scent of his magic until I bounced off his wards. His home is protected against all spirits, including me, keeping me away from the warmth of his hearth. He leaves each morning and returns in the late afternoon, often staring into the woods where he must feel my presence. I’m stuck here, sitting on a branch, counting the hours until he comes home again and praying that today is the day he’ll offer an invitation of hospitality after demanding my presence. Until he dismisses the call, I am bound to him. His voice though—I’ve heard it before in my dreams. I think I’ve always been bound to him.Photo Description: A lonely fairy sitting on a tree-branch in a dark forest.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 2.

    His heart is in turmoil. He has just discovered that his late brother might have left behind a child. This child is only a rumor, a possibility, but Phillip sets out to find him. To help him with his search, he brings along Leon, his assistant. Leon is very young and new to his job. Phillip doesn't want things between them to turn too personal, but he needs Leon to keep him sane. Even as he searches for his nephew, Phillip is afraid to hope. After the heart-wrenching loss of his estranged brother, it seems too much to expect that this child could be real. It turns out that Ant, short for Anthony Morton Junior, is very real indeed. He is a sweet three-year-old living in precarious circumstances with an elderly relative. Phillip has found them just in time. As Leon lends a hand with all the new challenges in Phillip's life, the two of them are growing closer every day. If only Leon can free himself of the demons from his childhood. While Leon's past still haunts him, he and Phillip can't rush into anything. Will Phillip's love and patience win out in the end so they can all become a family? 85,000 words Mature content

    Gunner has spent half his life running from his past, and the other half trying to protect himself from ever being vulnerable again. He’s escaped his old club and worked hard to earn the VP patch on his cut after joining the Broken Chains. But his entire life is turned upside down when Gunner’s past comes back to haunt him, and the club’s Deaf delivery guy ends up at the wrong place at the wrong time. When his president asks him to protect the injured man, Gunner wants to say no. After all, he hasn’t been able to take his eyes off Logan since the day they met, and Gunner can’t afford that kind of distraction. But ignoring him is damn near impossible when every time he looks at Logan, he starts to feel something. And Gunner doesn’t think he has the power to resist him for much longer. There will be no promise of a future though, if the Broken Chains can’t protect Logan from the mess he’s in, but even if they succeed, Gunner isn’t sure there’s a place for Logan in his world.

    Right? We all dream of that magic moment when sparks fly and the attraction is undeniable. However, during the search, it is often enjoyable to take a time out and share a few stolen moments or even a whole weekend with Mr. Right Now. This anthology showcases a series of stories that describe random encounters involving Mr. Right Now: sizzling-hot lunchtime meetings, passionate, tense clashes in the back seat of a car, once-in-a-lifetime opportunities or casual arrangements of convenience. These moments can last a handful of explosive minutes or build into lasting romance - you never know when Mr. Right Now is going to surprise you and become so much more. Have you met him before and desired him from afar? Or is he a complete stranger you bumped into at the corner supermarket or in a dark club? Give Mr. Right Now a chance. Even if all you think you have is the now... he might surprise you.