All four volumes of Don’t Read in the Closet (an M/M Romance Collection) are now available to download for free at Goodreads. Click the Goodreads button below for each book, then look for the “Download eBook” button at Goodreads.

Here’s an excerpt from my story in the collection,
SWEPT AWAY, a Gay Romance based on this photo:

(No source information. Photo was shared at the Goodreads M/M Group)

“Race you,” he said, then jumped off the deck and ran onto the beach stark naked, heading for the water’s edge.

“Asshole,” I called out as I kicked off my shorts and shoes. I chased after him, laughing all the way to the water. He’d already made it in waist-high by the time I got there. He splashed me as I ran in. I lunged at him, and he let out a huge-ass giggle as I wrapped my arms around his chest from behind. A fucking giggle.

Wait. That hadn’t come from him. It was from me. His laugh still sounded like a guy his size normally would. It sounded great. I sounded like a kid running to get to the dodgeball first at recess. Maybe it was the sound of pure joy.

I had every intention of dunking him under the water, but I gave up on that idea. I couldn’t bring myself to end his laughter. Better to cut off my own embarrassing sounds. I let go of him, dove under the surface, and basked in the cool water that surrounded my heated flesh from head to toe. The stickiness of the past twelve hours washed away, and every concern and worry went with it.

Maybe I had been under too long. His large hands grabbed my arms and yanked me up. “Come here.” He brought his lips to mine. The stubble on his face was wet, and the water dripped to my chest as we pressed closer together.

He grabbed the back of my head and parted his lips. So many times we’d done this, a caress of tongues, the intensity building, our cocks growing harder as our bodies surged together, as we shifted our hips and found the rhythm that drove us both to the edge. But we’d never done anything outside. We’d fucked year after year in front of forty guys, but not once had he given me a simple kiss on the lips outside of our place or a gay bar. Never outdoors where someone might see. Never standing naked in the ocean.

He backed up a few steps toward the cottage tugging me along with him, never stopping the touches or the kisses until we reached the water’s edge. He pulled me down to the sand until I was lying on top of him. I braced myself, hands in the wet sand on each side of his head, and lined up our bodies groin to groin. I stared down at him. The wet hair on his chest shone in the dim light of the moon. The muscles of his biceps flexed as he ran his palms down my arms. His eyes crinkled up again at the corners as he gave me a slow smile. God, he’d never looked better. The swell of the surf rolled in around us, the water shallow, barely an inch deep where he had decided to get horizontal. Such a smart man.

We moved together, creating friction that had my cock wet at the tip for reasons that had nothing to do with the ocean. I rocked faster, loving the groan he gave up as my shaft grazed the sensitive skin below the head of his dick. I didn’t want the moment to end. But I also wanted the wave of orgasm to crash into us both, like the surf washing over our tangled limbs. I wanted to watch his face in the moonlight as he came.

He must have had another idea. “Eddie, stop. Up. Inside.” Maybe those were all the words he could form right then.

– From Swept Away

The list of participating authors is huge, and the collection is a great way to try out some of the wonderful new and established writers in m/m romance. I’m honored my short story “Swept Away” was included in this collection.

Hopefully I didn’t miss listing any of the authors. Congratulations to all and a huge thanks to those in the M/M Romance Group at Goodreads who did all the formatting and hard work of putting the collection together as ebooks and making them available at Goodreads and All Romance eBooks.

If you pick up your own copy of these free reads, I hope you find some wonderful new authors to read.

This free ebook is a collection of 27 short stories celebrating love, sex and romance between men. It is a product of the Goodreads M/M Romance Group Hot Summer Days event and features authors attending the GayRomLit Retreat 2011 in New Orleans; if you like what you read, come join our group!

J. P. Barnaby – IT’S THE END OF THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT (First Love)
L.C. Chase – OPEN TACKLE (Friends to Lovers)
Jaya Christopher – CODY AND THE HERMIT (BDSM/Cowboys)
Poppy Dennison – BLINDSIDED (Hurt/Comfort)
Taylor V. Donovan – HEATSTROKE (Angst)
Rachel Haimowitz – JUNGLE HEAT (Military)
Jambrea Jo Jones – WILD BLUE YONDER (Military)
Lissa Kasey and Xara X. Xanakas – SINK OR SWIM (Established Couple)
K-lee Klein – OUTFOXED (Rock Stars)
Marguerite Labbe – TEARS OF THE SEA (Paranormal/Fairytales)
Clare London – SAY A LITTLE PRAYER (Paranormal/Angels)
Belinda McBride – FREE TO FLY (BDSM)
Michele L. Montgomery – TEARS FROM ABOVE (Paranormal/Angels)
Cherie Noel – KISS AND TELL (Mild Kink)
Lydia Nyx – MOON OVER MONTANA (Shifter/Cowboys)
M.J. O’Shea – BRIDGES (First Love)
S.J.D. Peterson – INNOCENCE TO THE MAX (Paranormal/BDSM)
Devon Rhodes – HIS LAST RESORT (Coming Out)
Jaime Samms – MOURNING (Hurt/Comfort)
P.D. Singer – THE BOY NEXT DOOR (Friends to Lovers)
Andrea Speed – MY BLOODY VALENTINE (Paranormal/Sorcerer)
Damon Suede – SEEDY BUSINESS (Sci-Fi)
V.J. Summers – LIAR, LIAR (Friends to Lovers)
Bryl R. Tyne – ALIPIO (Fantasy)
Piper Vaughn – WANTING (First Love)
Missy Welsh – YOU AND BILLION BLUE TILES (First Love)
Eden Winters – SWEET DREAMS (Coming Out)

Volume Two
Blaine D. Arden – COLOR ME (Paranormal)
Mandy Beyers – THE PRESENT IN ROOM FOUR (Rent Boy/Hurt-comfort)
JR Boyd – LABOR OF LOVE (Blue Collar)
JM Cartwright – APPEARING KNIGHTLY (Superhero)
Jaya Christopher – CODY AND THE HERMIT (BDSM/Cowboys)*
Casey Cox – BE MY BOY (D/S Slave)
Nicole Dennis – HIDDEN AMONGST STARS (1950’s Hollywood)
Megan Derr – DELIVERY WITH A SMILE (Comedy)
Taylor V. Donovan – HEATSTROKE (Angst)*
Haven Fellows – HIDDEN NEEDS (BDSM)
Kerry Freeman – KEEP ME (Angst, D/s)
Kari Gregg – THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING DENNY (Angst)
Kaje Harper – LIKE THE TASTE OF SUMMER (First-Love/1980’s)
Jason Huffman-Black – I AM THE HIGHWAY (BDSM)
Marguerite Labbe – TEARS OF THE SEA (Paranormal/Fairytales)*
Amy Lane – SUPER SOCK MAN (College/Solo-action)
Cleon Lee – BENEATH YOUR WINGS (Angel/Demon)
Jordan Sophia Lombard – FINDING HOME (Sci-fi/Military)
Sarah Madison – SURF’S UP (Role-Playing)
Angel Martinez – IF ONE DREAM SHOULD FALL AND BREAK (Sci-fi)
NJ Nielsen – SHADOWS ON THE HEART (Paranormal)
Elizabeth Noble – TAKE WHAT’S YOURS (Futuristic Sci-fi)
Adara O’Hare – CHASING THE PRICK (Hurt/Comfort)
SJD Peterson – INNOCENCE TO THE MAX (Paranormal/BDSM)*
Lily Sawyer – LAWN MOWER BOYS (Summer Love)
Andrea Speed – MY BLOODY VALENTINE (Paranormal/Sorcerer)*
DH Starr – TLC (Recovery)
Em Woods – BETWEEN FRIENDS (Action)

Volume Three
Mael Day – THREE MONTHS AND ELEVEN DAYS (First Time/College)
Astrid Detlefsen – THE MUSE (Established Relationship)
Sasha Devlin – STROKE OF MIDNIGHT (Werewolves/Vampires)
Ryssa Edwards – SPINNER (Military)
Tia Fielding – HAWK’S SPARROW (Werewolves)
Rachel Haimowitz – JUNGLE HEAT (Military)*
Julie Lynn Hayes – PAVANE FOR A PROUD PRINCE (Fantasy/Magic)
Valentina Heart – PLUG AND ENGAGE (BDSM/Friends to Lovers)
Lissa Kasey & Xara X.Xanakas – SINK OR SWIM (Established Couple)*
A.J. Llewellyn – CROCODILE UNDIE (M/M/M/M)
Clare London – SAY A LITTLE PRAYER (Paranormal/Angels)*
Belinda McBride – FREE TO FLY (BDSM)*
Summer Michaels – LUCKY BOY (Friends to Lovers)
Bran Mydwynter – FRIDAY I’M IN LOVE (Geeks-Nerds/Humor)
Cherie Noel – KISS AND TELL (Mild Kink)*
Lydia Nyx – MOON OVER MONTANA (Shifter/Cowboys)*
Devon Rhodes – HIS LAST RESORT (Coming Out) *
J. Rocci – JUST BREATHE OUT (First Time/College)
RJ Scott – GOT YOUR SIX (Military/ Friends to Lovers)
PD Singer – THE BOY NEXT DOOR (Friends to Lovers)*
Damon Suede – SEEDY BUSINESS (Sci-Fi)*
Ariel Tachna – YOU’RE IT (Friends to Lovers, M/M/M)
Bryl R. Tyne – ALIPIO (Fantasy) *
Missy Welsh – YOU AND BILLION BLUE TILES (First Love)*
Cooper West – HENRI’S WAR (Diesel-Punk/Film Remix)
Sara Winters – STARTING OVER (College/Athletes)
Serena Yates – ZEPH’S AWAKENING (Rescue/ Age Difference)

Volume Four
Mark Alders – PYROGASM (Paranormal/Firemen)
Rory Auden – BONDS AND BUBBLE RINGS (Shifters/BDSM)
Poppy Dennison – BLINDSIDED (Hurt/Comfort)
Megan Derr – PERMANENT EXHIBIT: THE GUARDIANS (Fantasy/Angels)
Charles Edward – HEROTICA: PHOTON’S STORY (Superheroes)
R L Ferguson – RIDING FOR A FALL (Cowboys/Friends-to-Lovers)
S.A. Garcia – BOUND TO BE SUITED (BDSM/Humor)
S.A. Garcia – A CURE FOR THE KING’S LUST (Wizards/Warriors)
David Greene – SNAKE BITE (Adventure/Coming of Age)
Kathleen Hayes – BROKEN (Hurt/Comfort)
Kayla Jameth – CONTROLLED FALL (Adventure/Nature)
K. Lee Klein – OUTFOXED (Rockstars/ Established-Couples)
Celia Kyle – JOY AND PAIN (BDSM/Voyeurism)
Taylor Law – WRONG TURN (Shape-shifter/Coming-out)
Elizabeth Lister – THE BEACH HOUSE (M/M/M)
Ryan Loveless – TWENTY YEARS LATER (WELCOME HOME TO THE CONQUERING HERO) (Military/Reunion)
Selah March – THE SATYR’S LAMENT (Post-Apocalyptic/ Mythology)
Michele L. Montgomery – TEARS FROM ABOVE (Angels/Light D/S)
Zahra Owens – TRUST (Organized Crime)
Sloan Parker – SWEPT AWAY (Established-Couples)
Jen Pinto – BLUE FLAMES (Sci-Fi/Masturbation)
KD Sarge – ROMEO AND JULIAN: A NEAR-TRAGEDY NEAR VERONA (Sweet-No Sex, In-the-Closet)
Kate Sherwood – TAKEN (Friends-to-Lovers, Hurt/Comfort)
K. Z. Snow – QUIET ERP (Fairies/ Non-Explicit Sex)
VJ Summers – LIAR, LIAR (Goth Club/Friends-to-Lovers)
Fae Sutherland – MORE THAN WORDS (Guy-liner/Public Sex)
Anne Tenino – WHITETAIL ROCK (Cops/Inter-Racial)
Pia Veleno – FREEDOM’S SOUVENIR (Vacation Romance)
Eden Winters – SWEET DREAMS (College/Coming-Out)

*These stories also appear in the GayRomLit Special Edition.

ETA 2015: An excerpt of Swept Away and updated links.