After losing love and fighting addiction, he becomes a successful substance abuse counselor and helps people regardless of their insurance or ability to pay. It isn't the dream life he had in San Francisco, but at least he has something to be proud of. Everything seems to be getting back on the right track until Angel, a heroin-addicted male prostitute, crosses his path. Erik not only sees a lot of himself in Angel, but a lot of potential as well. He quickly realizes he's willing to sacrifice a lot to get him on the right path--but is he willing to jeopardize his career?

    A chance meeting with a young American chased away the fear that he would always be alone and brought him the prospect of a new existence.Dustin Earl joined the military and escaped his small town Southern upbringing with the hope that he could give his mentally challenged brother a better life. But Dustin had never known real love, an honest hug, or a simple kiss. He considered his sexuality a weakness; a threat that had been used against those he cared about.For eight months their relationship blossomed until Dustin suddenly returned home. He cherished Stephen, but felt his responsibilities to his brother outweighed his own chance at happiness.Shattered, unable to function and unwilling to accept Dustin’s departure, Stephen flew three thousand miles to get Dustin back and rekindle what they had. But what he would learn when he got there… he could never have imagined.

    Once a year, he motors down to an exclusive yacht club on the Cornish coast and takes the summer off from the trap that is his life. When his car breaks down, leaving him stranded on the beach, he's transfixed by the sight of a surfer dancing on the waves. The man is summer made flesh. Freedom wrapped up in one lithe package, dripping wet from the sea. Once a year, Darren Stokes takes a break from his life of grinding overwork and appalling relatives, financing his holiday by picking up the first rich man to show an interest. This year, though, he's cautious-last summer's meal ticket turned out to be more pain than pleasure. Even though Alec is so deep in the closet he doesn't even admit he's gay, Darren finds himself falling hard-until their idyllic night together is shattered by the blinding light of reality- Warning: One explicit m/m sex scene and a great deal of swearing.

    Now he’s found a home among the haystacks and village fairs as the general manager for the Duck and Drake Hotel. With the fears and demons from his youth hidden away in this bucolic oasis, he’s very protective of who he lets in. Until he stumbles across shirtless carpenter Rain Engel building the hotel’s new custom-designed bar. Working in the countryside, Rain prepared to face his biggest fear: sheep. He didn’t expect to deal with his second biggest fear: commitment. Toby’s controlled, tough guy façade coupled with his “find happiness where you can” optimism calls to Rain like nothing before. While Rain may be an exhibitionist, his romantic history forces him to hold his emotions close. As their relationship develops, secrets from their pasts drive a wedge between them: the ex-boyfriend who tore apart Rain’s trust and Toby's history with the law. But can the secrets hiding among the quirky villagers bring them together? With missing sheep, pole dancing at the winter festival, and a crippling drought, everyone is waiting for Rain.

    But are they really gay? Is this just sex? Or is it something more? It takes time for confused Grady to figure that out, but once he does he wants all of Mateo. Too bad tracking down brokenhearted Mateo proves impossible.Grady's last resort is to post an online ad encouraging his friend out of hiding and back into his life. He's sure that once he gets Mateo between the sheets he can convince him what they had together was no college experiment. But Mateo's been hiding from something—or someone—and he has no intention of returning home.Grady is determined to tear down all Mateo's walls so he can find out what happened to him and help heal his wounds. In the process, he'll show his best friend that he won't run. Not this time. He swears.

    If someone he s attracted to wants to have sex with him, he's not going to say no to them. That's not a character flaw, it s just common sense.Stephen seems to think otherwise. He's sure Andrew is incapable of saying no to a cheap thrill. But, at the same time, he's more than happy to provide Andrew with the prefect opportunity to prove him wrong.Andrew has no doubt that he can say no to everything the younger man offers him for the next twelve hours, and that's all he needs to do to win their bet. He's also quite looking forward to cutting the would-be dominant down to size in the process. Because, while he may be easy when it comes to vanilla encounters, Andrew has high standards when it comes to dominants.There's no way an inexperienced nineteen year old is going to receive his submission. Andrew will obviously find it easy to say no to that. Won't he ?Reader Advisory: This story has been previously released as part of the Friction anthology by Total-E-Bound

    Told in two parts, the first ‘The Journey Away’ is set in Melbourne and Sydney during the Australian Open tennis tournament where Lewis is competing as the only openly gay man in the sport. Eighteen months after claiming the Wimbledon title at the tender age of 21, Lewis’s life has spiralled out of control: his career in decline and his love life a mess. With the tennis establishment against him and the tabloids scenting blood, Lewis’s motivation is at an all time low. But two men are in Australia who will turn things around.Scott Taylor is an ex-champion who hides his bi-sexuality firmly in the closet, and was Lewis’s sporting hero as a lad. Now retired from the game, the American Idol is enlisted to help with the young Scotsman’s game, but his interest in Lewis goes way beyond tennis.Lee Porter is an entirely different prospect: a male model who is out loud and proud. The Body Perfect Englishman is a figure of internet fantasy for our naive young hero. Lee is also a top class schemer, whose agenda regarding Lewis is complex to say the least.Both will compete for Lewis’s affection as each in their way help him to deal with the adversities he faces. But can either live up to the ghost of his father – the perfect man in Lewis’s eyes, and the benchmark for everyone else?Note: ‘Naked Hero – The Journey Away’ was originally released as an experimental piece of work under the title ‘Man in the Box’ and is now offered as a rewritten polished novel.

    In the 22nd century, a forbidden love between a man and a machine spins the Earth toward one final war.

    With an ultimatum—get a promotion by his 36th birthday or find a new job—and a deadline looming over his head, it’s easy to get wrapped up in his own Ivy League world. That is, until he meets Oscar. The last thing Oscar Nash needs is to take on a new charity case at his failing mechanic shop. But when a handsome, well-dressed art history lecturer shows up with a vintage car in need of some TLC, Oscar is too intrigued to say no. Sure he can fix up the car… on one condition. Ben has to agree to a date. Despite misunderstandings and clashing worlds, the two men hit it off, connecting over their deep love of art. As their connection grows, Oscar shares his greatest yearning: the car mechanic’s dream to become a sculptor and open his own gallery. But will their chemistry be enough to overcome the differences in their two worlds? More importantly, can Oscar step up with a mechanical miracle while Ben’s career hangs in the balance? Driven is a 50,000-word standalone contemporary gay romance, complete with lots of heat and a happily ever after ending.

    When the people around him keep dying, he forgoes personal attachments. The thought of his pyromancy hurting anyone else isn't something he's willing to risk.Tanner O'Bannon is broke and desperate. The recent loss of his father has thrown Tanner into a tailspin of debt he can't afford to pay. Working as a rent boy allows him to pay the mortgage and his college tuition, but it's eroding his soul in the process.Through the machinations of Male Companions -- the escort agency for which Tanner works -- the men are thrown together. Smoldering embers of desire fan the flames of love, but will it be enough to make Christian overcome his fear of love, or to save Tanner from the fire?Only one thing is certain; both men will burn.Publisher's Note: This book contains explicit sexual content, graphic language, and situations that some readers may find objectionable: Male/male sexual practices (anal/oral sex), violence.

    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.

    Furious, he speeds away from the gates of his luxury home and life into the unknown. When he finds himself stranded on the side of the road in a remote village, his future looking bleak, his dreams wasted on a fairy tale that turned out to be a nightmare, he doesn’t expect the handsome but shaggy-looking bookshop owner, Nathan Marshall, to come to his rescue. A Divine Intervention if Charlie ever saw one.But the village is foreign land to glamour puss Charlie, who’s more at home in the bustling city, shopping for the latest trends. getting his hair coiffed and his nails buffed by his best friends, glamour girls Trinny, Kylie and Sasha than he is trekking through muddy hills in jeans and wellies. And Nathan’s never even seen the inside of a beauty salon, let alone considered having that tumbleweed on his chest waxed. How on earth can a queen even begin to craft himself into something fabulous in such dire circumstances?Hope seems lost until Charlie discovers that an amateur dramatics group are looking for budding stars to fill in two of their starring roles at the last minute. Could the village offer more than babbling streams, scenic moorland and the smell of horse manure? Could it offer a chance for Charlie to claim back the dreams he thought he’d lost? And, more importantly, could an unlikely romance be brewing on the horizon, even when the dark characters from this unlikely pairing’s pasts come back to make matters worse for them?A darkly comic look at love, death, dysfunctional family, emotional trauma and finding yourself, with a huge cast of characters. More than a romance. A story of self discovery. Gay romance. Gay romantic comedy.

    They are a product of the Love Is Always Write promotion sponsored by the Goodreads M/M Romance Group and are published as a free gift to you.What Is Love Is Always Write?The Goodreads M/M Romance Group invited members to choose a photo and pen a letter or story prompt asking for a short M/M romance story inspired by the image; authors from the group were encouraged to select a letter or story prompt and write an original tale. The result was an outpouring of creativity that shone a spotlight on the special bond between M/M romance writers and the people who love what they do. Nearly 150 stories were submitted and published as a ten volume set – as well as an additional special bonus volume with three novel-length stories – titled Love Is Always Write; this edition is Volume One. Whether you are an avid M/M romance reader or new to the genre, you are in for a delicious treat.Stories in Volume 1: ADVANTAGE CROSSE – West Thornhill (contemporary/friends-to-lovers)ALEX & DREW – Justin South (contemporary/teen loneliness) ALTERED STATES – L.E. Harner (mystery/suspense/law enforcement) AMERICAN BOY – Dany Sirene (contemporary/twink/HFN)AND THEN HE SAID I’M BEAUTIFUL – Nallux (contemporary/hurt-comfort) AN ANGEL’S SOUL – S.L. Armstrong & K. Piet (angels/hurt-comfort) ANIMAL INSTINCTS – Kim Alan (contemporary/veterinarian) ARS DAEMONICA – C.C. Williams (paranormal/mage) AT WHAT COST – Kathryn Sparrow (contemporary, paranormal/shifter)BABY, CUFF ME ONE MORE TIME – Stephani Hecht (contemporary/friends-to-lovers)BED OF MY CHEVY – Megan Slayer (contemporary/medical personnel)BEGINNINGS: LIBERATION – Alessandra Ebulu (fantasy/Greek mythology)BETWEEN YOU AND ME – Alex Mar (contemporary/first time)BEYOND DUTY – S.J.D. Peterson (contemporary/sexy marines)BLOOD IN THE WATER – Megan Derr (fantasy/merman)Words of Caution The stories in this collection are sexually explicit and intended for adult readers. Some stories 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.

    Whether it's a May/December romance, a second chance at love, or finding a soul mate later in life, these stories prove that it's never too late for love.Stories Included are:Nachos on Saturday by J. Leigh BaileyQueening Out by Mari DonneGranddad's Cup of Tea by Amy Rae DurresonThe Way to a Fisherman's Heart by Tray EllisNo Place Like Home by Kim FieldingIvory Black, Flecked with White by Laylah HunterLoving Again by John InmanFull Circle by Rhidian Brenig JonesStraight Shooting by Maggie LeeHero Worship by Sam C. LeonhardCurtain Calls by Pinkie Rae ParkerThe Bodyguard's Dilemma by Chris ScullyPicture This by Dottie Stratton & Linda JamesHunting Season by AC ValentineWaiting for the Light by Layla M. Wier

    High School sucks and so does the jerk and his pack of bullies who live to torture him. When Joey feels there is no hope left and no chance at having peace, there’s only one choice left. He’s sure the people he cares about would be better off without him anyway. Things happen for a reason, and when Luc steps in, Joey’s faced with two decisions. What will Joey’s choice be?