But life in a tiny town isn't as peaceful as advertised, and being treated like an outsider is making Kris’s Tourette's flare up. When he inadvertently offends Tyr Tollefson—a beautiful blond giant of a man—Kris is ready to chuck it all. But he strikes up an unlikely friendship with Tyr's cousin Bun, who shows them the magic of Christmas and gives them both a lesson in love and acceptance.

    When she announces in the middle of a vacation in New Orleans that she's managed to obtain an invitation to a notorious local Vampyre Haven at the historic Maison Bertrand, Brady reluctantly agrees to accompany her. He's never understood her fascination with "the lifestyle," as Tessa calls it, but complete in Gothic makeup and black Victorian garb, he goes with her to the mansion in the bayou for what he believes amounts to an elaborate Halloween party.He couldn't be more wrong. Brady almost immediately realizes he's in over his head: he's not put off by the decor, or even the drugs, but when they stumble across rooms where blood play is on display, he decides it's time to leave. But Tessa isn't ready to go, the doorman Gerard keeps referring to him as "the offering," and some of the more insistent guests have chosen him as a party favor when he is rescued by the enigmatic Lucien Bertrand. Or is he only getting into deeper trouble?Part of Dreamspinner Press's Daily Dose 2010: Midsummer's Nightmare.

    It’s the chance Nick’s been waiting for, the opportunity to get to know the guy he's been mooning over at work, up close and personal. Nick just has to cope with the fact it’s got to happen outdoors.Through various disasters and culture shocks, Nick tries to impress. But finding himself a fish out of water, albeit on a camping site, Nick demonstrates far too well the fact he doesn’t do canvas. Can town meet country, and he and Max find more common ground?This story originally appeared in Tea and Crumpet.

    He convinces two friends that a visit to the rodeo is every gay man’s wet dream, and so the three of them gaily (and I do mean gaily) set off to watch cowboy asses in action.A visit to a bar after the event gets Martin closer to the action than he ever thought possible, and he meets Jesse Cumberland, the man who caught his eye in the ring and made his rhinestones sparkle. Instant attraction leads to a one-night stand that gets under Martin’s insouciant skin and causes him to rethink his determination not to get involved emotionally. When Jesse invites Martin to his ranch, the visit is almost derailed by Martin’s realization that they lead very different lives. As a flaming city queer, he sees no way to fit with the solid, athletic Jesse. It’s up to Jesse to see if he can change Martin’s mind.

    There were just some things he didn’t think the strait-laced Blake would understand. It was better to keep it quiet and appreciate the relationship he had with the sexy, albeit vanilla man. Right? Blake didn’t see himself as vanilla—at least not until his boyfriend fessed up to his interest in BDSM after a little too much alcohol. It was clear Keith thought Blake wouldn’t get it, but it really wasn’t that difficult to grasp. All his sweet, overworked boyfriend wanted was a way to relax and let everything go. Right? When one boyfriend has a secret, and the other is the definition of vanilla, can dipping their toes into kink really work?

    I laughed so hard and spent the rest of the night looking at the whole blog. It was full of this goodness that I had to get to know who ran this blog! We started getting to know each other…Photo Description: A cheeky young lad, reminiscent of Just William, sits on Santa’s knee, clutching a long list and apparently in midrecital. The caption reads: “Dear Santa: This year I want your list of bad boys and their phone numbers. Thank you.”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. 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.

    French chef Luc Tessier is five-star successful. His cookery program on TV is rated as high as his restaurant, and casual flings are his specialty. The only stain on his toque is Daniel Sheridan, an English food critic who has made it his business to ruin Luc's reputation. The only way to clarify this particular pat of butter is to invite the critic to dine and bury the hatchet-preferably in Daniel's back. The moment he lays eyes on Daniel, however, Luc's thoughts turn from sauces to seduction. Daniel definitely finds Luc appetizing, but he plays it cool. He never wants to be anyone's toy, ever again. Yet in the face of Luc's relentless pursuit, he's finding it harder to keep the flamboyant chef at arm's length. A cooking competition on a remote Scottish island seems the perfect way to put some distance between them. Until Luc shows up to compete, determined to win not only the trophy, but Daniel's heart... Warning: Ingredients include two extremely hot men determined to come up with a whole new definition for "sizzling." Explicit use of food items could incite spontaneous nekkid food fights.