Unfortunately, his true self is a thirty-six year old man who dresses like he did in high school and has never stepped foot in a nightclub of any sort. Thank goodness for the fabulous, unflappable Mr. Wren. Handsome, confident and refined, Wren takes Hunter under his wing and vows to make him the ultimate player. Things become complicated and confusing as Hunter's makeover proves a little too successful and harmless flirting goes too far. Kisses were the bait Wren used to snare his prey, to melt their resistance and make them his. He perfected kissing but it was just another weapon in his arsenal, it never really did much for him. But he was trapped and melting as Hunter’s lips pressed against his and their tongues twisted and searched hungrily. Hunter’s head tilted and the kiss became deeper and Wren felt much drunker than he did minutes earlier as Hunter’s hand curved around his neck. Wren growled softly against his tongue as he eased Hunter onto his back. His hand slid down his stomach and Wren’s cock pulsed insistently against the front of his jeans. His instincts were about to take over when Hunter panted his name. Oh, no, no, no… “Shit,” Wren whispered as he sat up and leaned back. “Sorry, I got carried away,” he murmured weakly as he reached for his wine and Hunter swore under his breath as he scrubbed his hands over his face. “Yeah… That was…” His eyes were dazed as he sat up and Wren swallowed a large gulp of wine then cleared his throat. “I think it’s safe to say you don’t have anything to worry about,” he said and Hunter raised a brow. “No?” he asked and Wren nodded. “That was a very decent kiss.” Liar. That was so much more than decent. That was probably the most arousing moment of your life. Wren licked his lips and stifled a moan at the taste of Hunter’s lips and tongue. “In fact, if you were anyone else, I don’t think I would have stopped,” he said and Hunter’s lips pulled tight. “I don’t know if that’s reassuring but thanks,” he said sarcastically and Wren gave him a pointed look. “If I didn’t care about you as much as I do, I’d have you bent over the arm of this couch and be riding you like a stolen bike,” he said. “Ummm…” Hunter’s brow rose as he stared back and Wren rolled his eyes. “Tomorrow would be hideously awkward and I wouldn’t want to jeopardize our friendship,” he explained and Hunter frowned. “You don’t think it’s a little late to worry about awkward?” He asked and Wren shook his head. “Of course not. It was just a kiss,” he said and the memory of Hunter’s tongue sliding around his made his balls ache. “I only did it so you would stop worrying, it didn’t mean anything.”

    Two days after his birthday, a momentous first date with the man of his dreams convinces Aaron he's in love and ready for marriage. However, Aaron must first address the damage he suffered from a difficult childhood. “You aren’t super macho. More like…sweet and hot.” That‘s how Aaron’s friend and neighbor Michelle, the smartest girl in the class, describes him. She promises he’ll meet someone soon.Aaron is skilled at ignoring an unhappy childhood that left him serene on the outside and insecure, vulnerable and anxious on the inside. From middle school on, he concentrated on getting good grades and running faster but also gained more than enough experience with hopeless crushes on really nice straight classmates. Now, at the start of his last semester of high school, he’s ready for a real romance. With help from Michelle and a pooch named Daisy, he meets three seriously good-looking guys who invite him to join their running club. Daniel, Justin and Matthew are a few years older than Aaron but they quickly accept him into their social group. Life has programmed Aaron to be pessimistic but he gets his hopes up and for the first time he makes a connection with another gay guy. Aaron knows “the course of true love never did run smooth,” but he lets himself forget and believe that it will for him. Naturally, when it doesn’t he blames himself. There Was a Boy recounts a pivotal time when a teenager enters adulthood sooner than he’s ready, meets the man of his dreams and falls in love. Aaron has a lot to learn about sex and love. He’s positive he’s found the right teacher but an additional lesson awaits him and he must confront the wounds of his childhood before he can graduate to his new life.

    Only problem is his laptop has died, and Levi Francis - the guy Ally knows doesn’t like him - sees Ally acting suspiciously on the computers in the University's Physics lab. Ally's day can't get much worse.But after Levi accidentally drops a love letter written in Spanish, Ally returns it and finds his assumptions about Levi are turned upside down. Betrayed and hurt by his ex, Ally knows it’s the worst possible time to start trusting someone but there’s something about shy, glittery Levi that gets under his skin.

    Tammy and Jamie are soul mates, but their love is thwarted for years by bad timing, fear of ridicule, and the damage that lingers long after childhood.

    The distraction saved Jon’s life but cost the lives of innocent people including his best friend and partner. It was a price for survival Jon couldn’t live with and was sure he’d never understand. Driven by grief and guilt he tried to escape his past by fleeing to a small town in the middle of nowhere. Only instead of peace, the memories festered. Then the offer of a stick of gum from a stranger changes Jon’s life and puts him on a road out of the nightmare he’s trapped in. Ellis Harper has lived the past twenty years isolated from the outside world and sole caretaker for his mentally disabled brother, Rudy. While Ellis loves his brother, he longs for a life he’ll never be able to have. Shut away, his days consist of chores, endless cartoons, and games of Go Fish. A world that seemed to have no end until an innocent misunderstanding turns Ellis and his brother into a target for a town bully. It’s a fight Ellis can never win on his own but thanks to a chance meeting with a stranger, he doesn’t have to. What begins as a new journey in love for both men quickly unfolds into something neither of them could have ever imagined.

    He loves his job as a makeup artist, and he’s ecstatic about being Twink of Honor in his best friend’s wedding. He’s more than capable of supporting himself, but that doesn’t stop him from longing for an older man who’ll take care of him. Graham Hillingdon has finally repaired his relationship with his son, and he’s thrilled to be part of his son’s wedding day, though he wishes he had a plus one to bring with him. Sadly, he has yet to find a man who appreciates both his dominant and nurturing sides; maybe even someone to call him Daddy. When Avery and Graham meet at the wedding, attraction sizzles between them, and they end up spending an insanely hot night together. Graham makes sure Avery knows exactly who’s in charge in bed, but afterwards, he’s exquisitely gentle. This is just what Avery needs, and Graham is certain he’s finally found a man who desires what he has to give. Neither of them wants to part the next day, but between their age difference and their reluctance to reveal their relationship to Graham’s son, they wonder if they have any chance for a future together. But as perfect as they are for each other, shouldn’t it be worth the risk?

    Five years after losing his job and his lover and almost going to prison, his self-help program, Charmed Life, is more successful than he’d ever dreamed. He thinks he’s put his sordid past firmly behind him, until he starts receiving cryptic threats . . . and realizes it might not be as over as he’d hoped. Security expert Lennox West has been lost since a deadly skirmish in Afghanistan led to his forced retirement from the Army. His PTSD makes helping his ex raise their daughter a challenge. When his ex’s sister asks him to set her boss up with a security system, Lennox isn’t expecting anyone like Elliot McKenzie—a man who captures his attention and makes him feel relaxed for the first time since leaving the service.But Elliott is dangerously stubborn. Even as the threats against him escalate, he refuses to involve the police, and Lennox fears that stubbornness could kill him. A battle of wills ensues that brings them closer to each other than either man expected. But if the threats turn real, they might not live long enough to get their future together.

    His apartment is always a wreck, he works at a sewage plant, and he’s an abrasive jerk to just about everyone. When he's not out drinking and hooking up with strangers, he trolls people on the Internet for lulz. His life changes when he finds out a victim of his trolling lives right next door. Noah is super hot and disarmingly nice. In spite of himself, Oscar starts to fall for him. All he has to do is make sure Noah never discovers the truth behind his trollish ways. 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. Photo Description: Photo 1: A macho guy with black hair and a scruffy face stares derisively into the camera. He’s wearing a tank top that shows off a couple of tattoos and a nice body. His mirrored sunglasses make it hard to tell if the expression on his face is a malicious sneer or a mischievous smirk.Photo 2: A nice-looking young man wearing a jean jacket. He has soft brown hair and soulful brown eyes, which are directed bashfully away from the camera.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.

    This captivating coming of age tale chronicles the life of Zach Nance, a young man struggling to find his place in an ever-shifting world and the zany cast of local characters who help him come to an understanding of himself and the secret he harbors. The small town of Durango, Colorado provides the rural backdrop for Garvin's masterful novel. A hunky traveling carnie, an eccentric gaggle of pious church spinsters, a flirty drag queen and Jesus Christ, himself, all make appearances within the pages of this endearing novel. After tragedy befalls the Nance's, Zach's close-knit family unravels. He vows to protect his beloved mother and sister from the fallout of his troubled father's choices -- forcing young Zach to redefine his loyalties, his faith and his own destiny. A beautiful and heartrending tale in the grand tradition of To Kill A Mockingbird and The Help. A Faithful Son captures life's bittersweet journey through lost innocence, sacrifice, and self-discovery, treating readers to a compassionate story of enduring hope.

    He’s always had to hide who he is or else incur the wrath of his strict and abusive father. After he’s faced with a horrible ultimatum, he flees to Hollywood where he hopes he can escape the specter of his miserable upbringing. Aaron is a wealthy, sophisticated man who loses himself in painting portraits of bound men to stave off his loneliness and despair. Unable to find a lasting connection with anyone, he has resorted to paying lovers so he can indulge in his darker passions. Aaron’s only respite is the Hampton Road sadomasochism club where he’s a respected Dominant. Naïve in the ways men can please one another, Sam takes a job at a bathhouse where he first glimpses a handsome older man. Aaron has his interest sparked when he spies a shy towel boy watching him whenever he patronizes the Temple of Eros. When a traumatic event triggers Aaron’s protective nature, he rescues the gentle Sam from the clutches of the disreputable establishment’s manager. As their bond deepens and Sam is trained for his first night at the Hampton Road Club, an unknown danger lurks. Will Aaron’s heart be crushed once again? Publisher Note: This book was previously published under the same title with a different publisher. It has been reedited, revised and expanded. Hesitant Heart is Book 1 in The Hampton Road Club series, but there is a satisfying HEA with no cliffhanger!

     Ollie knows exactly where he's going and what his plan is: get a smokin' hot girlfriend (so she can cry over him when he enlists), join the military, work his way up to Army Ranger, and finally earn he respect of his big brother, Benjam. But everything changes when a military car pulls up in front of the Hannigan household. Now Ollie's world is in chaos. His friends have abandoned him, his plans are falling through left and right, and he doesn't know what he wants in life anymore. Plus, as if he wasn't already confused enough, his brother's best friend, Luca Santini, has caught Ollie's eye. While Luca may be smokin' hot, he's definitely not the girlfriend Ollie was expecting!

    A brand-new contract with an NHL team, a nice apartment, the life he’s dreamed about since he was a little boy. He has everything, except the name of the man he shared a drunken, blistering hot night with. Etienne Brideau can’t stop thinking about the night he spent with Adam, but he knows better than to think Adam will want him sober. People don’t fall in love with gawky, rawboned, awkward Etienne, especially not men like Adam Caron, rising hockey star, with his stunning good looks and charismatic personality. When Adam gets back in contact with him, Etienne doesn't let himself hope that they'll ever be more than friends. But the more entangled he becomes in Adam's life, the more he can't imagine letting him go, and when an injury threatens Adam’s career, Etienne knows he’s in too deep to walk away. But Adam has secrets of his own, and more than just their life as a couple may be at stake.

    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**

    Foreman and part owner of the ranch, ex-rodeo star Nathaniel 'Nate' Todd has been running the dude ranch for five years ever since his mentor Marcus Allen became ill.His brothers convince him that he needs to get an expert in to help the business grow. He knows things have to change; but when the new guy turns up, with a troubled family in tow - he just isn't prepared for how much.This is a previously released title. It includes a new chapter and is re-edited with new cover art.

    His resentful new guardian. It’s hate at first sight until love takes an unexpected encore. Closeted actor Owen fears failure and betrayal. So after he’s stabbed by a crazy fan, the movie studio offers a hunky bodyguard for protection. Suspicious that the ripped security man is just a gossip-seeking plant, he pushes back at his bulging biceps, ignoring the chemistry. Newly retired SEAL Jamal is having a hard time adjusting to civilian life. Reluctantly taking a Hollywood job for a bad boy with tight abs, he’s sure the star is simply paranoid. But when he discovers the sexy celebrity is in serious jeopardy, he doesn’t hesitate to jump into action mode. As the peril hits closer to home, Owen finds himself falling for the handsome hero fighting for his life. And as the threats intensify, Jamal fears he might lose the man he has come to love. Will Owen and Jamal go down in a catastrophic climax, or will they star in their own happy ending? Hollywood Lighting is the red-hot first book in the Bodyguards M/M contemporary romance series. If you like tortured heroes, intense predicaments, and steamy affairs, then you’ll adore J. V. Speyer’s tale of LGBT passion.