Lip gloss, eyeliner, eye shadow, nail polish? Back in the small town where I grew up, a boy would have never dared to dress like him. When an assignment to create a video news segment from one of our professors places us both in the same group, personalities clash, and what started as fascination on my part turns into instant dislike, which he seems to immediately return. He's smart, quick-thinking, creative…but also snarky, moody, defensive, and basically the complete physical opposite of every guy I've ever been attracted to. And yet, despite the fact that I think he needs an attitude adjustment, and he thinks I'm just a backward country hick, I've quickly come to realize that sometimes the line between love and hate really is paper thin.P.S. An HEA would definitely be preferred to an HFN ending. Photo Description: Two young men stare at each other through a chain-link fence. They are holding hands through it; one has nail polish and lip gloss.This story was written as a part of the M/M Romance Group's "Love is Always Write" 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.Read it online or find it in Love Is Always Write: Volume 11 - Bonus Volume.__________Genre: contemporaryTags: first love; college; coming out; gay-for-you; enemies to loversWarnings: noneWord Count: 68,123

    Now he’s the unwitting father of a newborn named Alice. Between bartending and cosmetology school, Rue doesn’t have time for babies, but he can’t give her up. What Rue needs is a babysitter, and he’s running out of options. He’s on the verge of quitting school to watch Alice himself when he remembers his reclusive new neighbor, Erik.Erik Van Nuys is a sci-fi novelist with anxiety issues to spare. He doesn’t like people in general, and he likes babies even less. Still, with his royalties dwindling, he could use the extra cash. Reluctantly, he takes on the role of manny—and even more reluctantly, he finds himself falling for Alice and her flamboyant father.Rue and Erik are as different as two people can be, and Alice is the unlikeliest of babies, but Rue has never been happier than when Alice and Erik are by his side. At least, not until he receives an offer that puts all his dreams within reach and he’s forced to choose: the future he’s always wanted, or the family he thought he never did.

    Tom is there to adopt another service dog into the Canine Comrade Corps, but it’s Jamie his heart goes out to. But each man turns away, walks away, from the potential pain, the rejection, the knowledge that it’ll all end in tears…Jamie knows damn well that the HIV he contracted from an unfaithful lover has put him out of the dating game forever in the small town of Santa Vera. Tom lost his legs in Afghanistan, and got new ones, yeah, but with a side order of PTSD to go, he thought grimly. The real problem is that only now does he realize he’s gay, now that the revelation would be just one too many things to put his family through, after everything else they’ve had to deal with. So both men grin and bear the loneliness, put their feelings on a shelf, even as Jamie’s volunteer stint at CCC turns into friendship and, despite their resolve, something more…

    Leland isn’t just his boss, though. He’s the son of the company’s CEO. And Brian has fallen in love. Hurt by too many stolen kisses and nooners at seedy hotels, Brian finally broke off their secret affair two weeks ago. Leland isn’t ready to let Brian go and he isn’t above seducing Brian — again — to give them both what they really want for Christmas: each other.This free short story was originally written for the Goodreads M/M Romance Group's 2010 holiday event and appears in the event's Stuff My Stocking: M/M Romance Stories that are Nice and… Naughty anthology.

    I wasn’t looking for Derek Wolfe.I wasn’t looking for anybody. All I wanted was to start a new life in America. But when I found myself stranded here with no place to go, he came to my rescue, offering me a place to stay.He’s smart, successful, and sexy as hell—I can barely sleep knowing he’s right down the hall. And when the chemistry between us explodes one night with fierce, fiery passion, it’s hard to deny there’s something real there.But he does.He says he was drunk. He says it was a one-time thing. He says he’s not into guys and what we did meant nothing.He’s lying. Because it happened again, and again, and again. And it’s better every time. I know we could be good together, and I want the chance to try, but I’m done hiding. If he’s not strong enough to admit the truth, I’ll have to be strong enough to walk away.

    Their easy camaraderie continues with no problems until David discovers an undercurrent of heat and tension flowing between them. Despite knowing his best friend is straight, David is slowly falling in love. What he doesn't know is that Trace is struggling with a similar discovery.Trace has never desired another man before. He's a ladies' man with quite the reputation, considered a top prize around town. But his close, treasured friendship with David makes the emotion and arousal growing between them irresistible. Soothing David's doubts, Trace makes it clear that he wants to know if they can make it work. Because Trace is sure he wouldn't love another man -- that's not the issue. He just loves David.

    He thinks things are only getting better when his erotic dreams indicate he’s about to meet his mate. His Beta and best friend invites him on a double date, and Corey agrees, hoping this woman will be his one. To his shock and disbelief, he’s attracted to her brother instead—the big, muscular, overbearing man with a southern drawl. Corey refuses to believe that this cowboy is the one meant to be his mate, but the way his body reacts to one touch is making it hard for him to deny. Devin is aggressive, combative, and he won’t listen to any of Corey’s commands. They butt heads constantly, that is when Corey’s not trying to resist Devin’s hard body. But when Devin gets into trouble with a rival pack, Corey will move heaven and earth to get him back and claim him for his own.

    He comes face-to-face with his doubts in the person of Danny Butler, a mid-level drug runner Miller hopes to use to catch a much larger fish: Roberto Hinestroza, a drug lord Miller has pursued for years. Danny has no interest in being a witness against his boss, both out of a sense of twisted loyalty and because he knows double-crossing Hinestroza is a sure death sentence. But he reluctantly agrees to cooperate, and as he suspects, it doesn't take long for Hinestroza to figure out the betrayal. Miller is surprised to discover Danny's not the career-criminal lowlife he expected; at the same time, Danny finds himself helplessly attracted to Miller's innate goodness. They barely begin to explore the sparking attraction between them when Hinestroza's hitman tracks them down, and then they're on the run, both for their lives and for any kind of love.

    The man who normally has a clear path to victory surrounded by brothers in combat is suddenly lost and alone. After meeting Beckett Ridge, a bearded tattoo artist, Dax’s journey begins winding down an unexpected path. Still reeling from events that shook his foundation, Beck has never been part of anything meaningful. Now faced with responsibilities foreign and daunting, Dax’s broken spirit mends Beck in ways he never even knew he was destroyed. As both struggle to find balance, they are healed by the comfort they find in one other. On the other side of chaos, they hope to find themselves On Solid Ground.

    One dilapidated cabin in need of renovation.Two stubborn men pretending to be a couple.Three summer months to get the job done.Four tangled legs in only one bed.Five cameras catching it all for YouTube.Six hundred thousand Instagram followers.Seven nosy family members with Opinions.Eight thousand reasons they should never fall in love.Nine million reasons why they will.Say You'll Be Nine is a standalone novel.

    But Brian has spent his whole life being the invisible man, and he's used to looking below the surface. What he sees in Talker is a fragile and lovable human being. Brian is outwardly straight, but Talker is desperate for love, and when Talker's behavior leads to some painful consequences, Brian is forced to come out of his closet-in dramatic fashion. He'll do anything to make sure Talker sees that he's the Prince Charming Talker has always needed.

    Check out the full feature article inside…** This book contains an M/M romance relationship. **

    Now raising his young nephew, he seeks a quieter place away from the paparazzi and all the vices of his old life. Lust and love in the form of an eccentric man weren’t even on his horizon.Yet.Francis Keen talks to his dog and his car. In his experience, people are less predictable and safe. His crippling anxiety keeps him anchored to his grandmother’s home. He wonders if he’ll ever find the courage to live—and to love. Two men, so different, on track for a romantic collision... can they survive the impact? “Let me start by saying that I loved this story - and all of its quirky, thoughtfully written characters. It's sweet, sexy, poignant - and, overall, one of the most unique M/M romance novels I've read.” ~Passionate ReadsRead the novel that inspired the bestselling series The Sin Bin.

    What he does have is a duffel bag, a lot of stories, and a junker car. Then one cold desert night he picks up a hitchhiker and ends up with something more: a letter from a dying man to the son he hasn’t seen in years. On a quest to deliver the letter, Jimmy travels to Rattlesnake, a small town nestled in the foothills of the California Sierras. The centerpiece of the town is the Rattlesnake Inn, where the bartender is handsome former cowboy Shane Little. Sparks fly, and when Jimmy’s car gives up the ghost, Shane gets him a job as handyman at the inn. Both within the community of Rattlesnake and in Shane’s arms, Jimmy finds an unaccustomed peace. But it can’t be a lasting thing. The open road continues to call, and surely Shane—a strong, proud man with a painful past and a difficult present—deserves better than a lying vagabond who can’t stay put for long.

    Cam can't hide his past – especially when his heart racing is a big risk, and boy, does his new boss's nephew make his heart race. Noah's exactly the kind of guy Cam needs after his hellish ex.“I want to do something new.”Art curator Noah Clark is glad his beekeeping uncle hired this hunk. Cameron is a sweet, smart bad boy. Noah works hard, like organizing a hockey-themed art exhibition, and he wants to let himself love hard. Noah's busy life would be perfect with Cameron, but what's his new lover hiding?“Tell me why you've been watching me.”Pitting Cam's budding relationship with sweet Noah against millions of bucks, Cam is offered a lot of money to abandon his new priorities: life, love, and family. The game of their lives is on the line. And after all's said and done, is it too late for Noah to forgive Cam for his partial truths?