And it all gets even better when he shares the fun with his new best friend, Felix, even though Felix doesn't care about Aladdin. In fact, scrappy, foul-mouthed Felix doesn't care about anything much, except looking after the class snail, Bob, and playing with Beanie in the magic kingdom they create together. He might even like the kisses and cuddles Beanie gives him as they play, although he's not about to admit it.As they grow older and the affection shared between the two boys changes into something much deeper, so do Felix's fears that Beanie will leave him. But Beanie is determined to prove to Felix that he will love him forever, and what better way than recreating the magic kingdom they once shared?This short story can be downloaded for free as part of the Goodreads M/M Romance Group's 'Love Has No Boundaries' event, athttp://www.mmromancegroup.com/?p=28553

    Maybe it’s the day he’s first been unpacked and settled into his new home! Maybe it’s sometime after he’s settled into a routine. And what IS that routine, anyway? Is he privately owned? Is he on staff at a sexy high-tech brothel? Has he become self-aware enough to run away from the sexy high-tech brothel and follow his heart circuits in search of a better life and someone who can love a synthetic man?Photo Description: A human-like robot, apparently naked, lies on a bed of packing peanuts. He has just been unboxed, and waits for his new owner’s first orders.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.

    Antho is no murderer, but in watching the killer stumble he recognizes something that links them together.When he rescues the assassin in secret, he finds the monster on his screen is only a young man, cursed with the effects of a trauma as outsized as his deadly skill—and somehow linked to the stirring of a terrifying power. Unable to walk away, Antho makes a choice that could cost them both their lives:He takes the assassin home.Revised Second Edition

    He narrowly avoids the brutal prison system thanks to his mother, who negotiates with the judge to secure him a five year apprenticeship in lieu of a prison sentence. And so William finds himself in a carriage bound for the remote woods upstate, where he'll spend the next years of his life learning a new trade under some old master.When he first sees Merrick, William thinks he's been dropped into a medieval horror story. Tall and gruff, dressed in a hooded robe that completely conceals his features, and riding a black mare, Merrick might as well be the Grim Reaper.But appearances are deceiving. A skilled apothecary and healer, Merrick proves to be a generous host and a gentle teacher, and William soon finds himself surprisingly comfortable in his new surroundings. And yet troubling mysteries abound: Why does Merrick never show his face or hands? Why do his movements seem so young and sure beneath his robes? What lies within the cave behind the stone cottage? Something unnatural is afoot. But most alarming by far is William's own reaction to his new keeper. For Merrick's strange charms are bewitching enough by day; but by night, in the darkness of the room and the bed they share, William finds himself entirely overwhelmed by desires he never imagined...51561 words

     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!

    "When one door closes, another opens." "There's always a silver lining." "When life hands you lemons, make lemonade." But, what if you're the lemon?After crashing and burning at his job in the Palliative Care Unit, a young nurse takes a cross-country road trip, hoping a break from his routine will be the transfusion he needs to heal his bruised heart. What he doesn't expect is to fall head over heels in love with a chance met acquaintance, a man who lives in the moment, treating each day as an adventure.An idyllic afternoon in a field of poppies leads to confessions by both men, but can their relationship survive the return to reality? Are the poppies a symbol of death, or a sign of rebirth?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.

    Bonded to his dragon, Miri, together they lead a squadron of fliers. His fliers respect him, his enemies fear him, his reputation precedes him. Yet, nothing in his life could have prepared Drekken for his greatest challenge: babysitting.Stranded after a deadly battle, separated from his squadron and Miri, Drekken finds himself the only hope for two young empaths and their nursery group of hatchlings. He must lead them all to safety and, along the way, discover some truths about himself.Words: 20,697

    He doesn’t speak to anyone. Avoiding conversation is easier than the pity and impatience he senses from everyone the moment he opens his mouth and nothing comes out. Since he split up with his partner years before, he hasn’t had much to do with anyone and that has suited him just fine. He has his dog, Zen, for company. Zen doesn’t care that Niall can’t get through an entire sentence without stuttering. Zen is all Niall needs. And that’s how it would have stayed until the day a new neighbour moves in next door.Zak is Niall’s exact opposite—twenty-three years Niall’s junior, bubbly, gregarious and never shuts up. His arrival fills Niall’s quiet life with constant noise and constant company. Zen appears to have defected, and Zak doesn’t seem to even notice that Niall rarely speaks. Gradually, Zak’s endless patience brings Niall out of his shell. To Niall’s surprise, he suddenly has a friend, a confidante and perhaps something more.And he didn’t even have to say a word.This story was originally 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.A new, extended version is now available with Beaten Track Publishing.

    He calls in backup, in the form of his brother, Daniel, and their friends Ginger and Christopher. Even after a year together, Colin still has trouble expressing how he feels—so he has to find something that can do it for him ...*FREE Valentine's Day Short Story*

    People are a vulnerability I don’t need or want. But then there was him. I couldn’t get him out of my head, he was a distraction I didn’t need. No matter how much I pushed him away, he kept coming back. One kiss and I know I’ll never let him go.Photo Description: Close-up of two men, both in monochromatic blues and high-contrast lighting. The man on the left is showing his side profile with his eyes closed, pressing his forehead to the other man’s cheek. The man on the right is looking toward the viewer with striking, blue 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.

    ---Benjamin Snowley is trapped in a most distressing predicament. He’s been feeling poorly and after having recently recovered from influenza, he knows that the fault for his declining health lies in a vice he wouldn’t dare mention in polite conversation. Onanism, self-pollution, masturbation. All names for the same sinful affliction. For Benjamin, it all started back at school, where he first encountered the immoral Frederick Cory. Ever since then, the man has been plaguing Benjamin’s dreams and causing most unnatural urges.Now is the time for all the infatuation nonsense to stop. With the help of an unorthodox doctor and an indecent proposition to a young stablehand, Benjamin will rid himself of the vile addiction. But can the experimental treatment be enough to make him forget his feelings for Frederick?Warning: Contains a clueless young man on a futile quest for chastity and a libertine artist eager to rid him of that goalPOSSIBLE SPOILERS:Themes: masturbation, historical attitudes to sexuality, medicine, doctor, guilt, unorthodox treatment, master/servant, groom, superstition, moral failure, enemies to loversGenre: M/M Regency romantic eroticaErotic content: explicit language, inappropriate medical examination, cum swallowing, bareback, sex toys, body worship, multiple partnersLength: ~45,000 words

    Almost.A deadly hunter.Hraban has dedicated his life to taking down creatures like Drakjan, protecting those who cannot protect themselves.An uneasy truce.When fate forces them together, the nix and the hunter discover a dangerous attraction… and a threat that can destroy everything Drakjan has come to love.~~~~~~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. "Still Waters" contains sexually explicit content and is intended for adult readers. ~~~~~~This story prompt and photo inspired "Still Waters":Dear Author,I only have two words for you: ginger merman! Everything else is up to you.Photo Description: A redheaded, muscular young man with a short beard stands in a lake, a scraggly stand of seaweed-draped deadwood behind him and mountains in the distance. He looks directly at the viewer, wearing a neutral expression. The water comes up to just above his waist, and he is lifting a sturdy white net from the water with both hands.

    But growing up gay in the Bible belt of west Michigan was difficult, and unlike Matt, he wasn’t brave enough to face the prejudice head-on. Especially when his family told him over and over that he wouldn’t be able to attend college without a scholarship.Back in high school, he worried that coming out would get him kicked off the baseball team or make recruiters reluctant to scout him. Eventually, Matt broke up with him when he couldn’t handle being Chris’s secret boyfriend any longer, but college has given them a second chance — if Chris has the courage to take it.When a terrible injury puts Chris's baseball scholarship in jeopardy, it reminds Chris of all the reasons he stayed in the closet to begin with, and his ultra-masculine father's expectations and thoughtless homophobia aren't helping. Baseball has always been Chris's hope for the future, but now that dream could cost him Matt's love.

    An award-winning start on the Broadway stage led him to the silver screens of Hollywood, where his star began to rise, and his heart fell hard for professional baseball sensation, Manuel Guzman. But there was no script for living out loud with the man of his dreams in the world of 1964. Then Richard disappeared without a trace. Forty years later, Michael Spencer discovered a journal in his grandmother's attic that would change his life forever, and quite possibly, solve the mysterious disappearance of Richard Lewis Bancroft. Original Prompt:Dear Author,They met while vacationing on a tropical beach, can their summertime romance last?Photo Description: Two very muscular, tanned men are naked on the beach. One is lying down, his left knee bent, his head (to the right) in the lap of his lover. The dark-haired, kneeling lover is leaning over him, hands to either side of his shoulders, about to kiss him upside-down.Download the story, read it here or find it in Don't Read in the Closet, Volume 2 or Don't Read in the Closet: GayRomLit Retreat 2011 Special Edition. __________Genre: contemporaryTags: gay m/m, family secrets, lies, angst, HEA, intolerance, sacrifice, romance, emotionalWord Count: 31,889

    He cannot use a sword, he faints at the sight of blood, and even his brilliant abilities as a strategist are not enough to overcome his failings. When his father loses a bet to the notorious Lord Mallory over the matter of a dragon slaying, he pays his debt by ordering Ingram to marry him.Then his father reveals that he is putting Ingram to a greater purpose, giving Ingram one last chance to prove he is not worthless. All it requires is betraying his new husband.