Marco had the word etched in his skin to seal their vow. He thought they’d always be together. Three weeks later Jonny dumped him.Now, after six years, Marco’s finished college and worked his way up to head chef at his family’s popular Mexican restaurant in downtown Chicago. He’s found his calling, and he finally has his life where he wants it. Then Jonny reappears, throwing Marco’s emotions into chaos.Jonny demands a chance to explain. Marco doesn’t want to hear excuses, not from the man who left him without a backward glance. Yet Jonny claims to still love him, and he won’t be denied. Marco wants to believe him, but will the truth be enough to mend the damage Jonny did when he broke Marco’s heart and walked away?~*~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. Dear Author,He told me it’d be forever, a forever I had permanently inked into my skin. I thought I’d always want the reminder of a love as incredibly perfect as we had together. The passion and our connection was overpowering, but apparently his idea of forever and mine were two different things. Yet, no matter how painful it is I haven’t been able to let go of the memory of him in my heart. I’m trying to live my life again, trying to find a rhythm in a world that doesn’t seem to balance for me anymore. I’ve covered more and more of my body in the tattoos of a life lived, but somehow even though I’ve surrounded it with other images, I can’t quite make myself cover up and paint over that one word.Photo Description: A muscular man sits on his haunches, his lower back and buttocks braced against a stone wall. He’s bare-chested, wearing sports pants and running shoes. His entire left side is covered in tattoos, the most visible one being the word “forever” on his rib cage.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.

    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.

    He is burly, with a smooth bald head, close-cropped beard and a wealth of tattoos across his naked back and down his arm. His bowed shoulders, his eyebrows drawn down, his hand slack on his knee, suggest sorrow.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.Read the here or find it in Don't Read in the Closet, Volume 1 or Don't Read in the Closet: GayRomLit Retreat 2011 Special Edition.__________Genre: contemporaryTags: gay m/m, hurt/comfort, power exchange, age differenceWord Count: 6,530

    We had some really good years, the three of us. But now that she’s gone, the pain of her death is tearing both our minds apart. I know he’s been doing stupid things. Breaking the rules our sire taught us. Risking his life. What am I going to do? He’s all I have left— just like I’m all he has, but am I enough?Photo Description: A black and white photo of two young men— standing in profile— naked and nearly identical. They appear to be in their mid to late twenties; short dark hair, prominent noses. The background is completely black, the only thing visible in the photo are the two men facing each other, nose to nose in a tight embrace.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.

    They don’t realize how fragile love can be and how one moment can change everything.Dear Author,I'm so glad we're finally at this point in our relationship where we are comfortable with each other like this in public; I was an idiot for so long, trying to hide what we had. But after what happened, I'll never take him for granted again. I'm through hiding. I'm going to make sure that he knows every day just how much I love him.Photo Description: Two men are entwined on a seat while riding a subway. One of the men, in a black long-sleeved shirt, is leaning over the other, who is lying across his lap and wearing a white T-shirt. Their lips are just a breath away from touching.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.

    If it has the same effect on YOU, I'm listening....Photo Description: A naked, dark-haired man is on his knees, hunched over so his forehead touches the ground. His elbows are tucked between his knees so that his hands hide his face. The floor and background are covered in wrinkled black fabric. His skin and the fabric are smudged with dirt.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.Read the story here or find it in Don't Read in the Closet, Volume 2.__________Genre: sci-fi; futuristic, auTags: gay m/m, slavery, D/s, established relationship, spanking, orgasm denial, collar, auWarnings: very mild bdsm, melting ice cream being shared, the inappropriate placement of sand, public tickling and smoochingWord Count: 4,425

    He's not afraid to make the merciless decisions, to put in the long hours, to lose himself in his work for the greater good of his company and his clients…even if it means losing a piece of himself in the process. But when does a man with a mind always turning at two hundred rotations per second get his personal needs met?Dalton is an uncompromising businessman, who could, no doubt, go toe-to-toe with Archer in the boardroom—but that's not the room Dalton wants to tackle Archer in.With a little help from his friends at the premier BDSM club, The Sanctuary, Dalton hopes to fulfill every one of Archer's hidden needs.**Previously released as part of the Don't Read in the Closet V.II M/M Romance Collection in 2011. Since then it has been reworked and edited for your reading enjoyment.8,100 words

    That twink was so determined not to date an infamous playboy like myself that there was no way for me to resist proving him wrong. However, I didn't expect to actually fall in love with him. How can I make him mine? How do I make him believe I really want him and for him to stop pushing me away?Photo Description: Two men fill the frame, with only their heads, pale-skinned bare shoulders and bare arms visible. The light-haired one is closer, and leans his forehead on the other’s shoulder, eyes closed, his face almost peaceful. He grips the dark-haired man’s biceps; the other man does the same. The dark-haired man, only partially visible, presses his head into the light-haired man’s chest.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.

    What led them to it and what's going to happen next?Photo Description: It is the instant before the kiss. A tall, slim young man in business clothes stands chest to chest with a shorter suit-jacketed Asian man. The taller man tilts his head, eyes closed, waiting. The Asian man places a palm on his shoulder and leans in, mouth opening to claim his lips.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.Read the story here or find it in Don't Read in the Closet, Volume 1.__________Genre: contemporaryTags: gay m/m, friends to lovers, suits, gay for youWord Count: 3,549

    Please give these boys a sweet story. All I ask is they are roommates and this scene included in the story. The rest I leave up to you.Photo Description: In the first picture, a brown-haired young man is stretched out on a couch, his hands resting on his belly. He is wondering aloud if his best friend— who is sitting on the floor, propped up against the couch— could turn up the heat in the room. In the second picture, his black-haired best friend is now lying on top of him, cradling his head in one hand, and holding a book in the other.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.

    While he's putting himself through school by working in the library, he's also tutoring for cash. Xander comes from a strict LDS background and has never allowed his fantasies to filter toward the front of his mind. Not until he meets his new tutor, Ozzie. For Mature Readers.

    This book is an anthology of those letters and stories.Whether you are an avid M/M romance reader or new to the genre, you are in for a delicious treat. So sit back, relax and enjoy Stuff My Stocking: M/M Romance Stories that are Nice and . . . Naughty.

    I’ve never seen him look like that. I’ve never seen him look at ME like that! And never in a million years did I think he’d be kissing ME! What is going on!Photo Description: Two shirtless men are writhing on top of one another on a hardwood floor. Personal effects seem scattered around in the men’s anxiousness to be with one another. The guy on the bottom has a massive tattoo spanning his rib cage and the guy on top seems to be in raptures.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.

    Instead, his overprotective corporate CEO mother demands that he stay in New York City and help her evaluate the benefits of a potential merger. Jordy agrees, but resents to constant presence of his mother's spy, her administrative assistant, Ken. Until one night he sends Ken out on an errand and discovers a sketch of the two of them together that throws his life into a tailspin. After suffering through traumatic childhood events, Jordy believed he'd never be able to get close to anyone, especially a man, but he can't stop thinking about the drawing and Ken. Ken thinks that Jordy is out of his league and he has family responsibilities that mean he can't risk his job by pursuing his boss' son, but neither can he deny his attraction. Jordy and Ken have to decide if there are too many obstacles between them or if they can somehow create a merger of equals.STORY INFO:Genre: contemporaryTags: businessmen/lawyers, sweet no sex, abduction/kidnapping, hurt/comfort, coming outContent Notice: off-page deaths of background characters, off-page child abduction, discussion of past child abuse; discussion of past sexual abuseWord count: 23,435Author's note: This story has a Happy For Now ending, but it's only the beginning. Unfortunately, when the boys' tale took on a life of it's own and grew much more complicated than I ever anticipated, I was unable to write out the whole story due to the LHNB event deadline and other simultaneous obligations. I am, however, planning a follow up that will tie up all loose ends and will hopefully be available in the first quarter of 2014.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.

    Since we were supposed to be rivals and everyone expected us to fight, we just did it. But then we met under completely unexpected circumstances and realized that neither of us is the prick we thought the other one was. Eventually, we became friends and now I cannot imagine a life without him. Just a few people know that we only fight for publicity now and actually like each other very much.But during our last “fight” something went awfully wrong. He grabbed me in front of the cameras and kissed me! And I liked it! Now, everyone asks me if we are gay or if that was some kind of prank. But I really don’t know! I need to talk to him but he doesn’t react to my phone calls. The only thing I know is that I don’t want to lose him.Photo Description: Two men stand whisper-close, one second from a kiss.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.