For I Have Sinned
First Published in the Shatter Me anthology, September 2023; Republished February 8, 2024
Losing something so pure far too early in life has a way of tearing you down.
Left in ruin, I’ve thrown myself into my work with the church, my only focus on fulfilling a last request.
There’s only one problem - I don’t believe in God. How can I when He says ‘my kind’ are sinful?
An abomination. Unrighteous.
But with a loss of this magnitude hanging over me, I don’t need to believe in what I preach. My existence is a shadow of what it once was, and the most I’m able to manage is surviving another day—uncaring if it’s my last.
Unexpectedly, I meet someone new—someone who believes in me—and my life dramatically shifts once again. But I’m still barely existing, and not sure I can survive another fall from grace.
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This is a LGBT+ story with content not intended for those under 18 years of age due to graphic scenes and situations.
Content/triggers: Forbidden, religious doctrine, priest x real estate agent, instant love, second chance, hurt/comfort, friendship, can’t live without you
The Room I Paid For
First Published in the Snowed In charity anthology, Winter 2024; Republished December 18, 2025
Can he somehow bring magic back to Christmas?
Gabe
Pining after a man and stood up by another, I leave for a holiday retreat for two alone. Maybe solitude will drown away my sorrows. The storm raging outside matches my dreary mood. However, I’m somehow sharing my cabin in the blizzard-covered mountain with a stranger.
Edries
I’ve been making headlines as an eccentric billionaire for as long as I can remember. I’m not used to making headlines because my wife announces she wants a divorce, that she never loved me, and she’s taking our kids for the holidays. My first holiday alone will be on a beautiful mountain, to which I make it just in time to beat the storm.
But someone is already inside the room I paid for and now I’m stormed in with a stranger.
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This is a LGBT+ story with content not intended for those under 18 years of age due to graphic scenes and situations.
Content/triggers: stormed in, forced proximity, one bed, age gap, second chance, broken heart, first times
