Checking Him Out


Debbie McGowan - 2014
    He and Elise have been in Boston for eight years, he loves her, and she loves him. They’ve got a great apartment that’s kept its value, they’re both up for promotion, and he can hook up with any guy he likes—all the sex he wants, so long as it’s of the “no strings” variety. And that’s all fine and dandy… until a chance meeting at the checkout. * * * “This isn’t a fluffy m/m filled with stupid misunderstandings…this is a book about the cost of being truly grown up; not in a YA coming of age, but in a turning over a whole new chapter way, complete with love and loss. Excellent read.” “…wonderful and refreshing and just laugh out loud funny at times.” “A powerfully written, life changing book. A beautiful read.” * * * WARNING: this story contains sex acts between consenting male adults. * * * Also in this series: Checking Him Out For the Holidays - a Hanukkah/Christmas novella. Hiding Out - a Hiding Behind The Couch / Checking Him Out crossover novella.* * * * * * First published as part of the Love's Landscapes Anthology (DRiTC 2014, MMRomanceGroup.com), based on the prompt: Dear Author, When I met the love of my new life (his words not mine…ass), I was simply waiting in the checkout line. I might have been caught up in a conversation with my best friend/wife of X amount of years about something, I can’t remember at the moment. So anyway, we were distracted and didn’t notice that the line had moved. So after maybe 30 seconds, or a minute at the most (I’m pretty sure it wasn’t that long), Mr. Impatient, with an accent like that character on The Originals (not that I watch that show at my age), got our attention in the rudest way in my opinion, or in my wife’s heart-of-a-ho opinion, the kindest way possible for our insensitive asses. I’m pretty sure his accent, mixed with his damn charm, got him out of more trouble than it should. We had a rough start, but we had quiet moments when we weren’t all over each other or fighting, in and out of bed. Anyway, I would love a story about our first year. P.S. I want a story with interesting secondary characters interacting with the main characters. I want it to be known that the marriage is a *lavender marriage—no one is being fooled here. I want humor mixed in with hot-damn, slightly overwhelming sex. Alpha males with a bad case of the giggles at inappropriate moments. No BDSM please. One other request is that I wish the main characters to be in the age range of late twenties to early thirties. *A lavender marriage is a “beard” marriage of convenience. Sincerely, T

Something Permanent


Roan Parrish - 2017
    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*

Tattoos & Tinsel


Anna Martin - 2012
    It's Christmas at Rob and Chris's house; the tinsel has been hung, the sugar cookies are baking, carols are blaring out of the stereo and, despite Rob's best efforts, there is a definite feel of Christmas cheer in the air.Rob doesn't know it yet, but Chris has one or two holiday surprises hidden up his heavily tattooed sleeves...

Too Many Chances


Lavinia Lewis - 2012
     First his boiler breaks down in the middle of his shower then he learns his beloved cat would rather live with his crotchety old neighbor. But while he’s in work, at a job he hates, a phone call from the hospital gives Matt the worst news of all—his father has just passed away. When the man he’s been ‘dating’ for the past five months tells him he’s getting married to a woman, Matt doesn’t know if he can take any more bad news. Thoroughly dejected and sick with grief, he packs a bag and makes the six-hour drive home to Missouri to arrange his father’s funeral. While out near his childhood home, Matt runs into James, his ex-best friend and the last person on earth he wants to see. James was Matt’s first crush and the person who hurt him more than any other when they were just eighteen. However, James has an apology for Matt and a confession that could tilt Matt’s world on its axis. Can Matt forgive the person who broke his heart ten years ago and learn to trust him again or has he already given him too many chances?

Long Winter


Rachel Ember - 2021
    Alone, that is, except for his three devious cats, four saddle horses, and the forty-eight mustangs that roam the ranch. Robbie is preparing for yet another snowfall when he gets the last call he expected—a plea to pick up Lance Taylor from the county jail.Lance wasn’t just his little brother’s best friend, he was a part of the family. Then, one night, after Lance asked Robbie for something Robbie couldn’t give, he ran away and never came back. Lance was sixteen and heartbroken when he left his middle-of-nowhere hometown. Six years later, he’s at rock bottom with nowhere else to go, and no one to turn to but Robbie, the man Lance has been inconveniently in love with for most of his life.When Robbie offers Lance a place to stay, Lance expects a guest bedroom and awkward silences. Instead, he finds himself sharing Robbie’s one-room hayloft apartment and its single bed, while realizing that the old flame he carries for Robbie might not be so hopeless, after all.Long Winter is the first book in the Wild Ones series and has a happy-for-now ending. Robbie and Lance’s story continues in Signs of Spring.

Little Boy Dead


Marshall Thornton - 2012
    Short on funds, he takes a temporary job as a driver for Film Fest Chicago. In a very short time, Nick deals with stalking fans, a crowd of protesters, and a critic’s stolen wallet that leads to murder.

Wide Awake


Kade Boehme - 2013
    He's intelligent, quiet, made good grades and went on to become a celebrated civil rights attorney. But the one thing he has always wanted was the one man he should not.Mark Riley realized at 33 that his life was not what it should have been. He'd been in a marriage of responsibility, raising his son that was a teenage mistake, taken the job his father had pushed on him on the police force and had been miserably drifting along, until one night his teenage son's friend was visiting from college and woke him from his miserable slumber. Tyler Marcus changed Mark's life with a simple act of kindness and with one chance meeting 5 years later may also end up giving him the world

Macon's Story


Hennessee Andrews - 2013
    One is taboo, his best friend Wade Sutherland. His second love is the rodeo, where their problems begin. When a nosy reporter clicks a picture at the rodeo, capturing Wade and Macon kissing, life is never the same and neither are their relationships with their family and peers. As outcasts in their small, narrow-minded town, Wade and Macon feel the effects daily. Wade becomes secretive with their relationship, foolishly believing that hiding is the answer. What he doesn't realize is how much harm he is inflicting on Macon by doing so. Sneaking away for intimate moments with Wade are as hurtful as the glares Macon receives from people who are supposed to be neighbors, friends. Even roping buddies have stopped inviting them to functions. He can't stand how he feels or how Wade is treating him. When he receives a call from Zander Wesley, he sees a new life and opportunity for him and Wade. Note: This book is written in one point of view.Note: This book was previously available as a free read on Goodreads under the title Rough in the Saddle. ** A Siren Erotic Romance

Once in a Snowstorm


Ofelia Gränd - 2015
    With only three days to Christmas, he doesn't want to be alone. He wants a place to belong, wants people around him who won't look down on him. He might not find all that at his mother's place, but at least it's better than being alone in the city. If he can make it there, that is.Tristan is looking forward to a quiet night in front of the TV, but instead, he has to save an idiot in designer clothes from freezing to death in his forest. Tristan tries not to notice the man's good looks, just like he has tried not to notice any man's good looks for the last seven years. He knows where relationships go and is far better off living alone, with his dog, in his cabin.Aiden is driving Tristan mad with his bratty comments and irresponsible ways, and Aiden is going crazy from Tristan's judgmental attitude. Luckily, in a few days, the weather will clear up, and the two men won't have to be together any longer. But will a few steamy nights with the grumpy lumberjack change Aiden's mind about wanting to leave? And will Tristan still want to go back to his peaceful, predictable life without fear of getting his heart broken?

All I Want


Stella Starling - 2016
    Especially since he gets to work at Chicago’s prestigious Ashby’s department store in “the North Pole,” doing his part to make the magic of Christmas come alive for others.All Bennett “Ash” Ashby wants for Christmas is to forget about it. Unfortunately, his father is forcing him to pay penance for the media frenzy caused by his latest public sex scandal. The Ashby heir, working as a lowly department store Santa? Only the fact that no one will know it’s really him can save Ash the embarrassment of being stuck in a fat suit instead of partying with his friends.But when Elliott catches Ash’s eye, Christmas starts to look a whole lot brighter. And even though Elliott would never have the guts to say yes if he knew who Ash really was, falling for “Ben,” the new Santa, is another story all together…

Building Forever


Kelly Jensen - 2018
    Sure, he’s a widower raising a teenage daughter who just got her first boyfriend, his book series isn’t writing itself, and he has a crush on his new neighbor — the guy next door. But everything’s just fine.Simon Lynley is doing better. He moved to Bethlehem to fall out of love and rebuild his career. An affair with his neighbor isn’t part of the plan, but the attraction between them is too hard to ignore.But when Simon’s ex follows him to Pennsylvania seeking reconciliation, and Charlie’s life starts to feel like a video on repeat, everything comes apart. Charlie worries that he’s failing as a father, and Simon is a distraction he can’t afford. Meanwhile Simon doesn’t know if he could survive being left again, and he hasn’t come all this way to make the same mistakes. But despite their fears, it’s only together that they’ll find the strength to slay old foes and build the forever they’ve been waiting for.

Christmas Delights


Diane AdamsS.A. Garcia - 2013
    Weaver - Josh's Christmas Angel Valynda King - Christmas in Hawaii Christopher John - Two for Hooking Francis Gideon - Mistletoe and YouTube Allan Jay - Christmas Angel Aisling Mancy - Joyeux Noel Gary Hendrickson - Our Best Christmas Hollis Shiloh - The Christmas Mansion Tom Alexander - Ivy Park AJ Henderson - Christmas Reunion Abigail Winters - Love Delayed JC Wallace - Waiting for Snow

Unwrapping Hank


Eli Easton - 2014
    He grew up as the son of two psychiatrists, so he finds most people tediously easy to figure out. He finds his way to Pennsylvania State University, longing for a rural experience, and ends up being lured into joining a frat by Micah Springfield, the hippest guy on campus.Nothing in Sloane’s classes is as intriguing as Hank Springfield, Micah’s brother and fellow frat house member. Hank looks like a tough guy—big muscles, tatts, and a beard—but his eyes are soft and sweet. He acts dumb, but he’s a philosophy major. He’s presumably straight, but then why does Sloane feel such crazy chemistry whenever Hank is around? And why does Hank hate Sloane so much?When Sloane ends up stuck on campus over Christmas, Micah invites him to spend the holidays at their family farm in Amish country. It’s a chance to experience a true Americana Christmas--and further investigate the mystery that is Hank Springfield. Can Sloane unlock the secrets of this family and unwrap the heart hidden inside the beefcake?

The Castle


May Archer - 2020
    He's been that way since we were kids, and no matter how many times it all goes wrong, Brian's never given up hope of finding his one true love.It's beautiful. Adorable. Charming.It's also annoying as hell, because I've spent decades standing on the sidelines while guy after guy crushed my best friend's heart, leaving me to pick up his pieces.The truth is, for as long as Brian has dreamed of fairy tales... I have dreamed of Brian. But if he's waiting for some dude on a white horse to wander into O'Leary, there's no way he's gonna notice the guy who's been by his side all along.

Regret


Christina Lee - 2017
    The last thing he expects is for his friend’s roommate to be the one guy he despises the most. The same guy who stomped on his heart senior year of high school. And by the looks of the girl on his arm, the same man who’s still deep inside the closet. Nicholas Dell never predicted that eleven years later, one of his greatest regrets would show up on his doorstep down on his luck. Nick has made some terrible mistakes—story of his life—and he’s been paying for them ever since. And if the guilt and shame aren’t enough, his first crush had to turn into one of the sexiest men he’s ever laid eyes on. Nick and Brin have weeks to steer clear of each other. Weeks to avoid strangling each other. But when stubbornness leads to skyrocketing sexual tension, hate-sex doesn’t seem like such an awful way to work through their frustration. Except hate is a powerful emotion, especially when it’s turned inward. And in Nick’s case he’s been drowning in a sea of self-loathing for so long, he can’t see his way out. As Brin reconnects with Nick, his perception of what really happened in their past begins to change. He’s finally ready to forgive him and take a second chance on the one guy who stirs him like no other. But Nick’s demons are complicated, heart-wrenching…demanding. So devastating, he might never allow himself true happiness—even with the one man who’s always owned his heart.