20 Sexy Book Recommendations at BuzzFeed Books

Over at BuzzFeed Books, I recommended 20 sexy books to heat up your winter. If you're looking for hot reads, I suggest checking out any that pique your interest. Photos of 16 of them below, but read the article for all 20 covers and to see what I had to say about them. I hope to write more listicls like this again, provided I carve out more reading time!

Sexy weekend sale: On Fire: Erotic Romance Stories is $1.99

If you follow me on BookBub, you already know that my anthology On Fire: Erotic Romance Stories is only $1.99 this weekend! If you don't follow me and you like ebook sales, you should! Here's where to get it:

Kindle

Nook

iBooks

Google Play

Kobo



Here's what On Fire is about:

In On Fire, today's top erotic romance authors don't skimp on love or lust¾they are entwined in tales that will make pulses pound and hearts race. Bestselling editor Rachel Kramer Bussel takes us inside the passions of couples who go above and beyond in their pursuit of sexual and romantic satisfaction, exploring the racy to the outrageous during their many arousing adventures. You'll treasure the sex toy exploration in "Every Second of It," find paranormal pleasure in "Masquerade," and be transported to "A Place As Beautiful As This." You'll go "Beyond the Blindfold," find out what lurks in the "Art of Darkness," and delight in discovering "The Sweetest Thing." These steamy stories by Kristina Wright, Delilah Devlin, Giselle Renarde, Kay Jaybee, Victoria Blisse, Jade A. Waters and others are perfect intimate reads to enjoy with your lover or for your own pleasure.

On Fire: Erotic Romance Stories is out today!

Happy release day to me and my authors! I'll keep this short and sweet: today, the ebook of On Fire: Erotic Romance Stories is out! You can 1-click and download it right now for Kindle, Nook, iBooks, Google Play and Kobo.



Want to read the introduction? Visit the On Fire Tumblr. I'm so thrilled that these super sexy stories about couples having erotic adventures, from BDSM and fetishes to swinging and orgies and anniversary celebrations and so much more, are available to the world. This book was three years in the making, due to my own delays, so I'm extra excited. It's also On Fire Week over at group blog Lady Smut so check us out for daily posts related to the themes of the book. Thank you again to Cleis Press for being amazing to work with! And if you want the audiobook or print edition, just wait a little while...audio is coming soon, narrated by Rose Caraway, and the print book publishes officially on August 8th but Amazon told me my copy will arrive by July 31st. And if you've read the book or plan to read it, a review on Amazon and/or Goodreads is MUCH appreciated and helps readers find out about the book and helps me fulfill my commitment to my authors to get their stories before as many people as possible. Good, bad, or indifferent, reviews help; right now there are three on Amazon, two praiseworthy, one who hated it, and to be honest, the one that didn't like it is the most compelling because it has details about what they liked and what they didn't. So all opinions are welcome and valuable and help guide me for future anthologies.

Sexy free read: Except from The Reward by Jade A. Waters

Today I'm bringing you a guest post from my friend Jade A. Waters, erotic novelist and frequent contributor to my anthologies, including The Big Book of Orgasms and Best Women's Erotica of the Year, Volume 1. This week, her third kinky erotic romance novel, The Reward, the final in her Lessons in Control series, was published, following Maya and Dean on their relationship journey.



Here's the official blurb:

What if the fantasy never had to stop?

It's been a year since Dean Sova turned Maya Clery's world inside out. There isn't a secret fantasy that Maya and Dean haven't explored—each one more tantalizing and mind-blowing than the last. But while their relationship may be stronger than ever, taking the next step pushes boundaries neither one of them is prepared to face.

Dean couldn't care less about Maya's background—all her choices made her the woman he wants to tie to his bed and never let go. But not even a Dom as strong as Dean can keep the past at bay. When a threat from Maya's old life surfaces, she'll have to choose once and for all: fight for freedom under Dean's command, or lose the reward she's worked so hard for—the chance to be happy with the man she loves.

From The Reward by Jade A. Waters, out now:

“Come see what I did.”

Dean winked, then shifted his body to rise from the couch. I arranged myself into a sit, entranced by the shimmer in his eyes once he reached his hand out for mine.

Curious, I followed him upstairs. I figured he’d spent the time I’d been at dinner unpacking things as promised, but when he led us toward the spare room, I didn’t suppress a chuckle.

“Did you spend all that time I was gone setting up something dirty?”

“Not all.” Dean spun to take both my hands, backing us through the doorway and into the center of the room before drawing me against his chest for a full-body embrace. “But I didn’t think you’d object to what I did do.”

He kissed me and I closed my eyes. I surrendered to the feel of his tongue and the strong rake of his palms down my back. It amazed me how this man could wow me with both sweet and sexy, the promise of something naughty dancing in his eyes when he caught my bottom lip in his teeth. Dean gave it a tug, and his hands curved down over my ass to grip me tight.

“What is it?” I asked.

“Wait.” He backed away, and my body drooped, but my blood started to churn harder in my veins. Dean opened the top drawer of the antique dresser he’d shown me the week before, and I kicked off my flip-flops as fast as I could. I didn’t think I’d need them. Dean pointed at the wall a few feet away from us and across from the window, the same one he’d backed me against the last time we were in here. I peered over. “Do you see?” he asked.

At first, I didn’t see anything. But I lifted my head and spotted two large eyelet screws extending from the wall up toward the corners. I turned back to Dean to find him holding a blindfold in his hands.

“This could be interesting,” I said. Aloof as I played it, my heart had kicked into a merciless pound and I cinched my knees together. Dean came over, his face serious before he circled me. I marveled at how fucking sexy he was—appraising me in his pajama pants, for God’s sake—and once he came back to press his chest against mine and lifted the blindfold over my eyes, I huffed out an excited breath.

“You know I hate not seeing your eyes,” he began, the husky murmur a tantalizing force when the satin of the blindfold met my face and he pulled the long ties behind my head to form a knot. “But I figure, with me going away for so long, we need a big send-off. Something sexy and dramatic.” His fingertips traced faint lines down my back that coaxed my nipples into stiff peaks, and then he cupped my ass again. “Something intense. I want it to be a sensation you savor while I’m gone, a memory you’ll keep playing back in that beautiful head of yours.”

My pussy clenched with Dean’s grasp of my shoulders to spin me in a slow circle. With his chest to my back and my view blocked, I hated not being able to see yet loved how hard it made me concentrate on his words and the shivers tripping along the surface of my skin. Dean brushed my hair aside to kiss the nape of my neck, then grabbed the hem of my shirt to whisk it up and off me, careful not to disrupt the blindfold he’d secured over my eyes.

“How do you feel?” he asked.

That question. Our question.

“Excited,” I whispered.

“Good.” Dean’s mouth covered my earlobe before he slid his palms up my belly and over my breasts, caressing me through my bra. I arched to rub my ass against him more, because I wanted to feel his arousal, too. The fabric of his pajama bottoms wasn’t leaving much to the imagination with him as hard as he was.

“Oh, Dean,” I growled.

“Yes, Maya?”

“I…” I tried to find the right words while he started to nudge me forward with the width of his body. He pinched my nipple in two fingers, and with his other hand, he drew the strap of my bra off my shoulder to kiss the spot it’d covered. “I love how you play with me.”

“That’s superb, because I love playing with you.” He bit my neck and we took one more step before he stopped me. The presence of the wall felt close by, and I lifted my hands to confirm it was directly in front of me. Dean said, “Tonight, I really want to play with you. Hard.”

He rocked up his hips, the move forceful enough to push me flush to the wall. I gasped, my pulse clattering. Dean unsnapped my bra fast, and after he pulled it off and tossed it aside, he trailed his mouth in hot kisses over my shoulders and down my sides before stripping away my jeans and panties.

Naked for him, I quivered. He took my earlobe in his teeth again, the sensation making me cock my head with a wisp of a sigh. In the press of his body along my back there was such a contrast between his hot, muscular form and the soft cotton of his T-shirt compared to the cold, unyielding wall before me. Smashed between them, every nerve in my body ached for more, for touch. I moaned at the slip of Dean’s tongue in my ear to taunt me, and once I turned my head, he guided my arms out to the sides. I stayed in place when he backed away, leaving my palms, cheek and chest pressed to the wall. The lack of his contact felt abrupt and cold.

“Come back.”

“I will. But I have to look at you right now. You’re always gorgeous—but waiting, naked, knowing you can’t see what comes next… It’s so sexy, Maya. Fuck.” He clapped his fingertips against my ass cheek in a sudden burst, and I jumped. “Spread your legs.”

Intrigued? You can get The Reward for Kindle U.S., Kindle UK, Nook, Google Play, iBooks, Kobo or directly from publisher Carina Press.

On Fire has a hot cover and even hotter stories and you can review it early!

I'm thrilled that on July 18, the ebook edition of my latest Cleis Press anthology, On Fire: Erotic Romance Stories, will be out (the print edition hits stores August 8). This book is super hot, as befitting an anthology titled On Fire. It's also one that I got delayed on, so I'm extra excited that it's almost out in the world and determined to have these wonderful authors read as widely as possible, because they are seriously hot. Many of them are different from what I've published before; I've got a vampire story here ("Masquerade") and a femdom story ("Dreams Made Flesh") and sexy swingers (my story "The Dance") and so much more..

While most of my books are in bookstores across the country (and occasionally outside the U.S.), the vast majority of you read them as ebooks or listen to them as audiobooks. I love this, both as a price conscious shopper, because people can buy more ebooks since they tend to be cheaper, hence they get to read more, and because I have always had a vision of my books being as accessible as possible. When I took a vacation in Honolulu, I was overjoyed that some of my books were on the shelves at Barnes & Noble. It was like I'd visited Hawaii before I even got there! So I want them out in as many formats as they can possibly be. The On Fire audiobook, narrated by my favorite narrator in the world, Rose Caraway, who I've worked with on 10 other audio titles, will be out at the end of July.

Getting back to accessibility...here's the scoop: Some of the books I've edited since I started this journey way back when are out of print, most likely never to return to bookstore shelves, and lots of those never got an ebook or audiobook edition because they were published before that was so common. Some publishers I've worked with have folded, some books quietly didn't sell and have pretty much vanished. It happens, but these days I work far harder to get my books "out there" and am determined that the ones I put out now stay in print/as ebooks and audiobooks for a long, long time, ideally throughout my lifetime. To that end, I want to spread the word to as many readers and potential readers as possible. This is both my livelihood and my passion, but that means that if my books don't sell, out of financial necessity, I'll have to stop editing them and move on to something else to sustain myself, because I believe equal pay also means, Work only for what you're worth. That's a discussion for another time, but my point is, I both want and need my books to reach lots of readers. My personal goal is always to have each new book outsell the last. Of course I can't control that, but I can set it as my goal to push myself to try harder with each release and explore new avenues of reaching readers in this vast world of endless books available to you at the click of a button 24/7. It's a world I love and indulge in myself as a consumer, but it also makes it more challenging to make any single title stand out.

All of this is to say that the #1 way I promote my books and drive sales is through readers like you leaving reviews on sites like Amazon and Goodreads. Yes, over the years I've tried ads on book-related websites, I've paid to fly myself here, there and everywhere, I've made postcards and bookmarks and buttons. I won't say I've tried everything, but of all the methods of book promotion I've tried, having honest reviews on the main sites where readers congregate has been what gets other people interested. This is partly because of how the algorithms on those sites work, so the books of mine with the most reviews, such as The Big Book of Orgasms, almost always sell better than the ones with fewer reviews.



So until June 18, one month before the ebook release, I'm offering all of you a free e-copy of On Fire, with the request that you leave an honest review of at least one sentence on Amazon (U.S.) and/or Goodreads. To comply with FTC rules, your review should state a version of, "I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review." And that's it! Read one story, or two, or all 20. Share the one you loved the most, the one you liked least, what turned you on, what intrigued you...that part is up to you. I can't tell you what to write, I can only tell you that I am so proud of this book and all the sexiness contained in it. It's filed under "erotic romance" but I think it's safe to say if you like erotica, you'll like much of it, and if you like romance, you'll like much of it. Here's the official blurb about it and endorsements by two authors whose writing I adore (thank you, Charlotte and Elizabeth!):

"Every story is a sinfully sexy yet always romantic delight." Charlotte Stein, author of Never Sweeter

“On Fire is a delicious collection of sensual, luxurious erotic shorts, like bites of the finest chocolate that linger on your tongue.” Elizabeth SaFleur, author of the Elite Doms of Washington series

In On Fire, today’s top erotic romance authors don’t skimp on love or lust--they are entwined in tales that will make pulses pound and hearts race. Bestselling editor Rachel Kramer Bussel takes us inside the passions of couples who go above and beyond in their pursuit of sexual and romantic satisfaction, exploring the racy to the outrageous during their many arousing adventures. You’ll treasure the sex toy exploration in “Every Second of It,” find paranormal pleasure in “Masquerade,” and be transported to “A Place As Beautiful As This.” You’ll go “Beyond the Blindfold,” find out what lurks in the “Art of Darkness,” and delight in discovering “The Sweetest Thing.” These steamy stories by Kristina Wright, Delilah Devlin, Giselle Renarde, Kay Jaybee, Victoria Blisse, Jade A. Waters and others are perfect intimate reads to enjoy with your lover or for your own pleasure.

You can see the full table of contents and my introduction on the book's Tumblr.

That's my spiel. If you want to review the book, leave your name and email address in this form by June 18, 2017 at 11:59 pm EST. I'll send you the PDF and then you can post your review any time at Goodreads and starting July 18, 2017 on Amazon. Of course if you want to review it elsewhere, such as on a blog, other book retailer, etc., that is wonderful, but all I am asking is for you review on either Goodreads and/or Amazon.com (U.S.), which are the sites most of my readers use. If you want to do an extra erotica good deed, you can add the book to your "want to read list" on Goodreads (you'll see the button when you click the Goodreads link above). Again, I'm not an expert, but I believe Goodreads factors in which books have the most people listing them as want to read and promotes/showcases those books more widely. My hope is a) you'll find something, or many things, that entertains you and b) you'll discover a new author whose work you'll want to keep on reading. Thank you in advance and here's to On Fire and a sexy summer!

And if you're sitting there thinking, But I really want a free print copy of On Fire, I'll be giving those away in my monthly newsletter in July, so subscribe on the left-hand side of my Lusty Lady blog or at rachelkramerbussel.com. June's newsletter giveaway will be to win a copy of my femdom anthology She's on Top!

My erotic romance anthology Irresistible is $1.99 this week with stories by Tiffany Reisz,

I'm thrilled to share that my anthology Irresistible: Erotic Romance for Couples is only $1.99 on Kindle, Nook, Google Play, iBooks and Kobo this week. I hope you'll check it out if you missed it the first time. It's a very special collection that really pushes the boundaries of hotness and says something broader, in my opinion, about women's sexual desires. Happy reading!



Blurb:

This Irresistible read features stories of couples turning their deepest fantasies into reality for uninhibited and imaginative sex. You'll delight in discovering all the exciting erotic possibilities, and ways of getting and staying turned on. It all starts with a little sexting in A.M. Hartnett's sizzling "Safe for Work" office tryst and Cole Riley's moving "Same As It Ever Was" shows that makeup sex can be the start of something new and better. Dirty talk leads to lustful surprises and inspiration for the neighbors in "The Mitzvah" by Tiffany Reisz. Editor Rachel Kramer Bussel notes that the lovers in this daringly romantic anthology are "able to open up in the ways they do is precisely because they have another person to rely on, coax them, challenge them, tease them and seduce them into traveling down a new sexual path. Whether that means outdoor sex, kink, a trip to a strip club or a very sensual massage, we get to see how the layers of trust that have been built up get used to stoke the fire that burns between them."

Table of contents:

Introduction
Twice Shy Heidi Champa
Safe for Work A. M. Hartnett
Repaint the Night Janine Ashbless
Same As It Ever Was Cole Riley
Out of Control Karenna Colcroft
Warrior Kate Pearce
Hypocrites Alyssa Turner
The Pact Elizabeth Coldwell
Exposing Calvin Rachel Kramer Bussel
Six Eyes, Two Ears Kris Adams
Renewal Delilah Night
The Netherlands Justine Elyot
Predatory Tree Craig J. Sorensen
The Mitzvah Tiffany Reisz
After The Massage Kay Jaybee
Pink Satin Purse Donna George Storey

Introduction

A lot of the erotica that comes across my desk focuses on the spark of attraction when strangers meet, the cataclysmic sensation of falling, hard, for someone new and exciting. That makes sense, because there's built-in drama and erotic tension when two people discover there's intense chemistry between them. With this anthology, though, I wanted to explore what happens after that, once those people have been together a while (even a short while). I wanted to see what sparks fictional couples could produce on the page, and the results are, well, scorching.

The couples in this book explore all sorts of exciting sexual possibilities, and one of the main reasons they're able to open up in the ways they do is precisely because they have another person to rely on, coax them, challenge them, tease them and seduce them into traveling down a new sexual path. Whether that means outdoor sex, kink, a trip to a strip club or a very sensual massage, we get to see the ways the layers of trust that have been built up get used to stoke the fire that burns between them.

In addition to enjoying naughty, wild adventures, the couples here also work out differences between one another and handle issues like infidelity in ways that ultimately strengthen, rather than destroy, their relationships' longevity. In Cole Riley's "Same As It Ever Was," Joanne suspects her husband of cheating, but with a little help from her best friend, manages to recapture the sensual spirit and passion that's been missing as both husband and wife make amends and move on, knowing what it was they almost lost. Rekindling a romance that's threatened to go stale is also the theme of "Renewal" by Delilah Night, where she writes, "That touch sent a long-missing ripple through my body. I hesitated, hoping he'd remember what I love."

In "The Pact" by Elizabeth Coldwell, a woman rediscovers a man she'd once passed over, only to find that the years they've spent apart have made him someone she's sorry she overlooked. How a couple deals with a death in the family, as well as religious tradition, is the subject of "The Mitzvah" by Tiffany Reisz, as Grace and Zachary find that embracing desire can be healing. Kris Adams takes us into an African village and some complicated relationship dynamics, along with a lot of voyeurism, in "Six Eyes, Two Ears." Kay Jaybee takes a common fantasy, that of a man watching two women make love, and breathes new life into it by showing both halves of a couple as they live out this dream. Individual characters work through their own issues with the help of their partners, getting support, love and, of course, very hot sex. "Repaint the Night," by Janine Ashbless, is about public sex, but, even more, a woman who is conquering a fear of the dark after being mugged ten years before. The erotic power of that story is heightened by Leah's awe at being able to enjoy what she and Callum are sharing, as she recovers a part of herself she lost and deepens the level of trust between them. For those who likes things a bit spicier, there's "The Netherlands" by Justine Elyot, in which a nude Loveday serves guests tea and takes orders, while fulfilling a longtime fantasy of being "used," with her true love there to watch. Make no mistake: though these are stories about couples, they are not light or fluffy. They are full of joy, lust and kink, as well as realistic elements of mistrust, uncertainty and confusion, which the couples work through in ways that don't gloss over or ignore their differences. These couples, however long they've been a team, push the envelope by pushing themselves to try something new, even when they're not sure where it will lead them. They go to those exotic, erotic places, to those recurring fantasies, because they know they have someone who will travel there with them. I hope this book will inspire nighttime reading--out loud--and erotic adventures, as well as conversations that have been bubbling under the surface, waiting to be exposed, just like the fantasies in the tales you're about to read.

Rachel Kramer Bussel
New York City

Erotic romance anthology Hungry for More is only $1.99 today and tomorrow!

Flash sale: my erotic romance anthology Hungry for More: Romantic Fantasies for Women is only $1.99 today and tomorrow in ebook form! It has some of my very favorite stories I've published, such as sports and voyeurism themed "Bringing the Heat" by Tiffany Reisz and the very edgy and amazing "Jailbait Torch Song" by Valerie Alexander and many others. I'm thrilled because this is a book I loved editing and was super excited about but never quite found its audience, so if you missed it the first time, grab it now (the iBooks version is not for sale).



Buying links:

Kindle

Nook

Google Play

Kobo

Introduction: Getting Explicit

Submissive Jacqueline Applebee
Happy Endings Giselle Renarde
Craig’s List Greta Christina
Bringing the Heat Tiffany Reisz
Madam Secretary Jaye Markham
Kitchen Slut Olivia Archer
Just Once Jocelyn Dex
Boat Rocking D. L. King
The Sleeper’s Beauty Jade A. Waters
Upstairs at the Ava DelovelyOlive
Organically Grown Brandy Fox
The Room of Guarantees Jessica Lennox
Redrawing the Lines Bren Emile
Tickle Day Jeremy Edwards
Relief Katya Harris
Jailbait Torch Song Valerie Alexander
Red Lipstick Erzabet Bishop
Something Sleazy Elizabeth Coldwell
The Instructor Rose de Fer
My Pillar-Box Red Cock Tilly Hunter
A First Time for Everything Rachel Kramer Bussel

Last day for $1.99 erotic romance sale plus watch the sexy kissing book trailer and read hot stories

Today is the final day of the Passion erotic romance $1.99 sale so if you want 20 sexy stories, get them now for Kindle, Nook, Google Play or Kobo (it's already back to regular price on iTunes though, sorry!).



Since the sale is ending shortly, make sure to check the price before buying and I will post when there's another sale up on my books! (In other sale news, sometimes my print book prices drop drastically and then change quickly. It's hard to tell when or why this happens so I do try to spread the word and right now, as of this posting, you can get Best Bondage Erotica 2011 in print for under $6, if either of those are your cup of tea or you want to get someone a kinky gift.)

Whether you take advantage of the sale or not, I wanted to share the book trailer and five sexy passages from the book. It is National Masturbation Month, after all!

The kissing-filled book trailer. So many memories!



Here's a few sexy passages I particularly enjoyed:

From "My Dark Knight" by Jacqueline Applebee

“You must think I’m weird, but I’m really into the whole reenactment scene.”

“I don’t think you’re weird, it’s just a bit unexpected,” I explained, but Omar looked at me warily. “I just never believed I’d meet a knight in shining armor.” It was true, I’d heard of reenactment fans, but I’d always pictured them as geeky white boys running around a field, hitting each other with wooden swords. “Hey, are you a black knight?” I asked jokingly.

Omar rolled his eyes, although he still smiled. “Sure I am. Why do you think they called it the Dark Ages?” I hit his arm playfully as he continued. “The armor is European, but there were plenty of knights in Africa; the ancient kingdom of Bornu and Sokoto had armored soldiers on horseback who were feared throughout the land.” He closed the distance between us as his voice dropped. “But I like the whole age of chivalry, the romance and the adventure that English knights embodied,” he murmured against me. “My fair princess,” he whispered, and then no more words were said as we kissed. Everything I had ever dreamt about Omar was eclipsed as his adventurous mouth pressed against mine. His tongue touched me, swept over my teeth and sucked on my lips. I found myself making contented noises as he held me tight. This was better than any fantasy I could have.

I felt the heat of the evening as Omar’s hands stroked my back. I felt sweaty, a little disheveled but completely wonderful. I pulled off my top and stepped out of my shoes. Omar looked lovingly at my breasts before he kissed first one and then the other through the lace of my bra. He then dragged his T-shirt off, messing up his short hair as he did. I wondered briefly what he must look like wearing the armor.

“Bed,” he whispered urgently. I nodded my head.

Omar held me about the waist, and then he shocked the life out of me as he lifted me up and put me over his shoulder. The whole room seemed to tip upside down as I was carried bodily to the bedroom.

Omar carefully let me down, and I lay giggling and panting on top of the bed. I shuffled out of my skirt and watched as Omar pulled down his trousers. I’ve seen a naked man before, but as Omar disrobed, I suddenly felt incredibly shy. He was so visibly turned on that I couldn’t tear my eyes away from his cock.

“I’ve got some protection,” he said shyly. “I didn’t want to assume, but I thought it best.” Omar opened his hand and produced a little foil packet. He may have enjoyed being a knight of old, but he was a thoroughly modern man.

Omar clutched at my backside. “I’ve been longing to feel this,” he said, giving my bum a squeeze. “I’ve wanted to stroke it, lick it and spank it,” he said with a hoarse voice. I was completely surprised at his admission; I’d never thought my backside was anything special. I’d certainly never had anyone want to spank it before.

“You can, if you like,” I whispered, nervously looking up at him. “You can spank me.”

From "The Silver Belt" by Lana Fox

Now here she was in the silver belt that both kept her and frustrated her. The cord around her wrists dug blissfully deep and as she rolled onto her back, the silver belt groaned, its weight like a metal collar, its links gripping her through the open dress. She raised a leg, which burst more buttons, and flexed her foot inside the stiletto. Candlelight danced across her body as Art returned to her side, half-undressed, his chest now dark and bare. Kneeling, he circled her ankle with the whole of his hand and drew it away, opening her thighs. He knelt between her knees, his eyes flicking across her body, and, in a soft growl, explained that he would fuck her until she could take no more: “…until you’ve had your fill.”

Then, in sudden frenzy and without touching the belt, he began to tear the dress from her, his swelling biceps tightening as he worked, his skin gleaming as the candlelight swept across him. Soon she was half-bare in black silk lingerie edged with lace, and stockings teamed with garter belt and stilettos. He raised her bound wrists high above her head and, rubbing her nipple beneath the black silk so it pressed against the pad of his thumb, he fell on her, biting her shoulder, her neck and the cleavage that swelled from the delicate lace. He unzipped himself and fell on her wildly, entering her so swiftly that she cried out, pleading for his frenzy. Suddenly he was rutting with the power of a lion, telling her through shuddery breath that he’d often seen her in the store and had dreamed of possessing her many times but he’d held back because of the ring on her finger, glinting there, like a trap. “What changed your mind?” she asked.

“I couldn’t bear how sad you looked.”

The silver belt leapt on her waist as his body lunged against it, again and again, and with her bound wrists raised above her head, he pulled out of her, groaning and fell on her breasts, peeling back the lacy cups of her bra. “You’re exquisite,” he whispered, licking her nipple with the flat of his tongue. She glanced down at his dark, muscular back, where the skin was glossed with perspiration, then at her saliva-streaked breast, and she felt a wonderful burn in her pussy.

“Take me,” she pleaded. She strained at her ropes, longing to touch her clit, but this only caused them to dig more deeply.

From "Lingua Franca" by Justine Elyot

Instantly I am caught up in his embrace once more, my legs held up by his in case they give way, which is not unlikely. He walks me backward, painstakingly, until I fall onto one of the red plush sofas, and then he is looming over me, one hand next to my head, preventing my escape, and the other takes hold of my white uniform blouse and rips it open. A pearl button pings onto a nearby table and I gasp, part thrilled and part outraged. “Karel!”

“I sew it,” he grins, then his head is down there, his hair brushing my throat while he explores my cleavage with the full force of his lips and tongue. His hand works busily at my other buttons, undoing them in a less destructive way, until my lace bra is exposed to him, and his stubble prickles downward, seeking out the overspill of my breasts.

He lures my nipples out of the cups using the tip of his tongue, licking and sucking, taking his time, savoring the flavor. I plant my fingers in his hair, which is reddish-brown and falls over his brow, plentiful and sometimes a little lank. I stroke and knead automatically, my wits absent, all of me concentrated at my nerve endings, especially those between my legs.

He seems to understand instinctively that attention is needed there. He lays me down along the length of the sofa, pulling off my skirt and burying his face in my belly while his fingers stray down beyond the elastic waistband of my knickers. They almost dance, they are so light and nimble. I arch my back and squirm, inviting him to increase the pressure and move on downward, but he loves to tease me and watch my expression as it grows more frantic with need, laughing softly, looking up at me through the valley of my breasts. “Touch me,” I gasp.

Read these stories in full plus 17 more sexy tales in Passion: Erotic Romance for Women (of course male readers are more than welcome!). Right now it's only $1.99 for Kindle, Nook, Google Play or Kobo but you can also get Passion in print and audiobook form.

Erotic romance anthology Passion is only $1.99 on sale this week!

I know I've neglected my blog - a lot has been going on as I strategize about what I want to do with my life and how to improve the things that aren't working so well, and expand on the ones that are going well. So I'm taking some time away from blogging and social media to some degree to ponder and plan and assess and sort of get my bearings. But I wanted to share this sale, because it's a great price and because while I love erotica, I also love erotic romance. I read both, though I've written less of the latter, and Passion is a book I think has a broad appeal that may have been lost in the shuffle of putting out a lot of books at once so the sale is a chance for me and, hopefully, some of you to visit or revisit it.



It's got a lot of wonderful authors whose novels you may have read, and others who may be new to you. It's $1.99 on Kindle, Nook, Google Play, iBooks and Kobo for the next week or so, I believe through Friday, March 6th. Enjoy!

Passion Table of Contents and introduction

Introduction: Getting Passionate

Big-Bed Sex by Donna George Storey
My Dark Knight Jacqueline Applebee
Dear in the Headlights Angela Caperton
The Cherry Orchard Wickham Boyle
Autumn Suite Suzanne V. Slate
Contentions Isabelle Gray
The Silver Belt Lana Fox
Five Senses Rachel Kramer Bussel
The Arch of Triumph Monica Day
Crave You Close A. M. Hartnett
An Easy Guy to Fall On Annabeth Leong
Lingua Franca Justine Elyot
Third Time’s the Charm Charlene Teglia
Riding Wild Things Lizzy Chambers
No Risk, No Reward Saskia Walker
If Emerald
Getting It Right Teresa Noelle Roberts
The Morning Ride Delilah Devlin
The Efficiency Expert Portia Da Costa
Rekindle Kathleen Bradean

Introduction: Getting Passionate

Passion. It can mean greed, desire, affection, love or simply, emotion. You will find all of those and more in the stories contained herein. As you read these twenty stories, you too will be swept away by passion as you travel to Paris and Greece (and Beverly Hills). You’ll get stuck in an elevator, take a bubble bath and a bus ride (not to mention some subway foreplay and flirting) and explore nature in some very intimate ways. You’ll find couples, and couplings by men and women looking (whether they know it or not) to spice things up in the bedroom.

Here, couples at all stages of their relationships (including the very beginning) kindle their passion in various ways, from exes who reunite to young marrieds on a naughty nature walk to first timers mixing business with pleasure. When Krista in “Crave You Close” by A. M. Hartnett tells Nicky, “I’m so used to having to hold my breath,” she is saying so much about their usual erotic m.o. At night, outdoors, she is free to make as much noise as she wants to.

These couples explore getting kinky, precisely because they feel intimately connected to each other. They go places, literally and figuratively, they wouldn’t dare without the other. They revisit old flames and nurture new ones; indeed, sometimes the men these women crave, such as Maya does in “The Silver Belt,” are not their husbands at all, but someone else, someone special, someone who is seeing them in an entirely new light. Those stories mingle with other tales of longtime liovers ignited to fiery scenes within these pages.

Passion can mean so many things, from the sexual submission of a caning to exploring new bodily territory⎯sexual experimentation, trying something you’ve fantasized about. It can mean makeup sex or role-play, a change of scenery or simply a change of thinking. It can mean looking at a lover, a husband, a boyfriend or a new boy toy with fresh eyes, sizing him up, baring yourself, daring him to come and get you.

Just as in real life, there are lovers’ quarrels within these pages, slights real and imagined, as couples find tender, erotic ways to heal their hurts and become even closer. There is an element of real, raw emotion in the way love and desire can as easily tear us down as build us up, that makes us appreciate each expression of romance all the more, because we know how truly special it is. I’m grateful these authors skip from playful romps to relationship-saving sex to tender memories to scorching sex scenes, together creating a book that will likely make you blush and make your heart swell. As the narrator in one of my favorite pieces, “My Dark Knight” by Jacqueline Applebee, says, “I’m a not-so-hopeless romantic. I believe that chivalry still exists, I hope to find quiet nobility in the most random of places, and I believe that people who love each other can live happily ever after.” She finds a dark, very sexy knight who she rescues, seduces, and then… But you’ll have to read the story to find out.

Rachel Kramer Bussel
New York City

If that intrigues you, I hope you'll check out Passion, and a reminder that if you buy the Kindle edition, you can also get the Audible audiobook for just an additional $3.99 (that's also available on its own for a credit if you prefer audiobooks).

When a book gets a second chance makeover, or, erotic romance anthology I Want You Bad is just $1.99 this week

To cut to the chase, my anthology I Want You Bad: Obsessed Erotic Romance for Women (formerly titled Obsessed), is only $1.99 this week on Kindle, Nook, Google Play, iBooks and Kobo. I don't know exactly how long the sale lasts, but probably until Friday, so if you're interested, grab it now for a cheap and sexy download!



Longer version: Sometimes, despite my best efforts, my books just fail to reach a wide audience. It could be the timing, the cover, the competition. Who knows? Sometimes it's that a major chain like Borders is closing right then the book comes out. I've edited over 60 anthologies and some of them are major sellers, and some, not so much. One of the latter was my erotic romance anthology Obsessed, despite the book cover cupcakes I had made for the book launch party and the usual attention to promotion I put into it. But what's very cool is that this book I could have considered a failure for not selling well got new life last year with a new cover and title: I Want You Bad: Obsessed Erotic Romance for Women. So if you read Obsessed, you don't need this one because the content is the same. But if you didn't, now's the perfect time to do so at a bargain price.

Many of my non-Cleis Press books were published with publishers like Alyson that have since closed up shop, and are no longer available. Those early titles never came out in ebook form so they don't get to live on in any way that helps me make a living (yes, you can buy used copies, but I get no royalties). That's a shame to me, because I love those books just as much as the newer ones, although I'd like to think my skills as an anthology editor have improved over the 12 years I've been doing it. My point is, getting a do-over on a book feels like a wonderful gift. How often in life have we bombed and would love to get the chance to start afresh? I know I have countless moments where that would be extremely welcome. In the rest of my life, I don't get those chances very often, but with this book, I did, and I treasure that because I believe in the stories and my authors and the collection.

I Want You Bad table of contents:

Foreword: Behind the Mask of Obsession Caridad Piñeiro
Introduction Rachel Kramer Bussel

Silent Treatment Donna George Storey
One Night in Paris Kayla Perrin
Concubine Portia Da Costa
Love and Demotion Logan Belle
Mephisto Waltz Justine Elyot
Then Emerald
It’s Gotta Be Fate Jennifer Peters
Hooked Ariel Graham
Aftershocks Bella Andre
Secret Places Adele Haze
Loser Charlotte Stein
Here In Between Kristina Wright
Spellbound by Garnell Wallace
Raven’s Flight Andrea Dale
Raindrops and Rooftops Elizabeth Coldwell
Topiary K. D. Grace
I Want to Hold Your Hand Rachel Kramer Bussel
(this one is my free erotic romance story gift to you, part of my Big Handsome Man stories and from a period where I was naming stories after songs) Storm Surge Teresa Noelle Roberts
Undercover Kink Louisa Harte

Sex on #CyberMonday - 5 of my erotica titles on sale now for Kindle!

Happy Cyber Monday! Most of these sales I just found out about via Amazon, and I have no idea how long they'll last. All these ebooks are under $5, a major bargain. The Twice the Pleasure sale of $1.99 on Kindle (and Nook, Google Play, iBooks and Kobo) is on through November 4th. I'm just including Kindle links below since they are the most common, I believe, but I encourage you to check them out if you are in the mood to sex up your Cyber Monday! Also: today is the final day for my buy one, get one free kinky erotica ebook promotion for Dirty Dates: Erotic Fantasies for Couples. Happy e-reading!

Irresistible: Erotic Romance for Couples



The Big Book of Orgasms: 69 Sexy Stories



Serving Him: Sexy Stories of Submission



Tasting Him: Oral Sex Stories



Twice the Pleasure: Bisexual Women's Erotica

Win a copy of my erotic romance anthology I Want You Bad

To celebrate it being November and as a thank you for reading my blog and my work, I'm hosting a giveaway this week on my Facebook page to win a copy of my Cleis Press erotic romance anthology I Want You Bad, which is a reissue of my previous book Obsessed (everything is the same except the cover and title). Just go there, comment on the photo of the cover of I Want You Bad with your email address (which you can post in the format myname at myprovider.com) by Thursday, November 5th at 11:59 p.m. EST and I'll select 10 winners on Friday morning. This is open to anyone with a U.S. mailing address; winners will get a print copy of the book sent to you by me via Amazon. To recap, the only way to enter is by commenting on this post on my Facebook page.

So Sweet by Rebekah Weatherspoon is a sexy sugar baby read

In my Amazon review of the new sugar baby novella So Sweet by Rebekah Weatherspoon, I called it "a new twist on the billionaire romance," which I think is a valid description. I don't tend to read a lot of billionaire stories because the very word, "billionaire" can feel off-putting to me. But this one's different. Why? Here's what I wrote after I read this novella:

I was intrigued by So Sweet because it looks at love, lust and money in a way that's different from other billionaire books. Kayla isn't an wide-eyed ingenue; she's a cute, chubby single black woman who's on the broke side, and reluctantly agrees to try sugar baby/sugar daddy site Arrangements. She's still skeptical when she goes to her first party, but quickly becomes intrigued by a hot billionaire, Michael, who doesn't quite fit the stereotype she has of sugar daddies. He's sexy, although pushing 50, and he's refreshingly candid about his money and his motives. Watching their romance unfold, as well as drama with her roommate and family as they adjust to this new twist in Kayla's life, is fun. Kayla is a realistic character, and Weatherspoon has her be a voice of reason, rather than simply getting swept away by the mere prospect of a cute guy with money. She knows the value of money, but falls for Michael for who he is inside, not what he can provide for her. This is a sexy twist on the modern billionaire romance, and I look forward to the next installment in February.

I'm a fan of Rebekah Weatherspoon, who spoke on my panel last year at CatalystCon on erotica, and who's one of the authors I interview in my LitReactor writing class. This novella captures a world I know very little about, sugar baby dating, and brings it to life. It also treats money realistically, especially from Kayla's perspective. If you've ever dated while broke, I think you'll especially appreciate it. You can get the ebook on Amazon, Kobo, Inktera or Nook.



Official description:

Desperate times call for desperate measures…

And desperate is the only way to describe Kayla Davis’s current situation. Out of work and almost out of money to cover her bills, Kayla finally caves to her roommate’s nagging and follows her to Arrangements, an online dating site that matches pretty young women with older men of a certain tax bracket.

Convinced this “make-rent-quick” scheme will surely fail—or saddle her with an 80 year old boyfriend—Kayla is shocked when Michael Bradbury, Internet billionaire and stone-cold salt and pepper fox, offers her a solution to all her financial troubles.
It’s hard enough for Kayla to accept his generosity, but what’s a girl to do when the wealthiest man she’s ever met is a dream in and outside of the bedroom?

Sale this week: Obsessed: Erotic Romance for Women is only $1.99 on Kindle, Nook and Google Play

This week, I've got Obsessed: Erotic Romance for Women on sale for $1.99 on Kindle! And of course it's not just "for women" but that's how book marketing goes. You can get it now through October 5th for the sale price for Kindle, Nook and Google Play.



Just want to take a moment to appreciate the mighty ebook. Many of the publishers I worked with early on in my career are no more, which means my books are out of print, because they were never issued as ebooks. Yes, I could take the time to have them scanned in or typed (because I created them many computers ago and don't have the original files, because I never thought that would be an issue when I was young and new at this), and make ebooks and audiobooks out of them. Maybe someday I will, but I don't have time at the moment. My point is, though, that I love that these books do exist as ebooks, and that many exist as print, ebook and audiobooks because different people want to listen in different ways. My personal preference is print, because I think it's easier on my middle-aged eyes, but I admit that my instant gratification extreme impatience side adores the way you can simply click and presto, a book is available for you to read in seconds. So with these sales, I just wanted to give my personal two cents. I of course wish every anthology I'd ever edited were available as an ebook, but since they're not, I'll focus on the ones that are (hint: the ones published by Cleis Press!).

Flashback to the beautiful Obsessed cupcakes served at the book party. I know it looks almost too beautiful to be real, but I was there, and it was indeed real!



Want a 100% free read? Check out my Big Handsome Man story from the book, "I Want To Hold Your Hand." I originally wrote that when I was on a "name erotica stories after songs" kick, which I plan to revisit. Enjoy!

Here's the full table of contents:

Foreword: Behind the Mask of Obsession Caridad Piñeiro
Introduction Rachel Kramer Bussel
Silent Treatment Donna George Storey
One Night in Paris Kayla Perrin
Concubine Portia Da Costa
Love and Demotion Logan Belle
Mephisto Waltz Justine Elyot
Then Emerald
It’s Gotta Be Fate Jennifer Peters
Hooked Ariel Graham
Aftershocks Bella Andre
Secret Places Adele Haze
Loser Charlotte Stein
Here In Between Kristina Wright
Spellbound by Garnell Wallace
Raven’s Flight Andrea Dale
Raindrops and Rooftops Elizabeth Coldwell
Topiary K. D. Grace
I Want to Hold Your Hand Rachel Kramer Bussel
Storm Surge Teresa Noelle Roberts
Undercover Kink Louisa Harte

Sale alert! Women in Lust and I Want You Bad are cheap right now on Amazon

Updated September 27 with new prices Double happiness for those of you who like erotica and erotic romance: the print and ebook versions of my anthologies Women in Lust and I Want You Bad, the latter a re-issue of the erotic romance book formerly titled Obsessed, are on sale for very cheap prices! The Kindle edition of Women in Lust is $1.99 through this Sunday, September 27th, and the other prices are subject to change any second. As of this post, Women in Lust is $5.63 in print on Amazon, and I Want You Bad is $3.80 for Kindle and $4.00 in print. Also: You can read my free story "I Want to Hold Your Hand" from I Want You Bad. Happy reading!





I Want You Bad table of contents:

Foreword: Behind the Mask of Obsession Caridad Piñeiro
Introduction Rachel Kramer Bussel

Silent Treatment Donna George Storey
One Night in Paris Kayla Perrin
Concubine Portia Da Costa
Love and Demotion Logan Belle
Mephisto Waltz Justine Elyot
Then Emerald
It’s Gotta Be Fate Jennifer Peters
Hooked Ariel Graham
Aftershocks Bella Andre
Secret Places Adele Haze
Loser Charlotte Stein
Here In Between Kristina Wright
Spellbound by Garnell Wallace
Raven’s Flight Andrea Dale
Raindrops and Rooftops Elizabeth Coldwell
Topiary K. D. Grace
I Want to Hold Your Hand Rachel Kramer Bussel
Storm Surge Teresa Noelle Roberts
Undercover Kink Louisa Harte

Free sexy deflowering erotic romance short story from my book Only You, which is on sale today for $1.99!

It's been such a busy week I haven't had a chance to post here that my anthology Only You: Erotic Romance for Women (though of course, as always, any reader of any gender can appreciate this book!) is only $1.99 on Kindle (US).



To make up for that, here's most of my story "For the Very First Time" below. I post links to all my sales and writings on Twitter and Facebook and you can also sign up for my newsletter at left or at rachelkramerbussel.com for contests and the latest news. I've updated my website with most of my events (it'll be fully caught up soon), and am gearing up for my September 11th Los Angeles erotica and nonfiction sex writing workshops which are open to anyone, followed by attending and moderating an amazing panel on sharing our sex lives on the page and the stage at CatalystCon, then teaching erotica September 20th at SHE (Sexual Health Expo) in New York and teaching again at Nomia in Portland, Maine on October 21st from 7:30 pm-9 pm - the Maine workshop is limited to 20 people and you can sign up by calling the store at 207-773-4774. Plus stay tuned for a Washington, DC erotica workshop!

Table of Contents

Introduction: Very Happy Endings

Driven Angela Caperton
Overcome Alyssa Turner
Forgotten Bodies Giselle Renarde
In the Doghouse Hanna Martine
Autumn Rain Michael A. Gonzales
The Love We Make Kristina Wright
In-Flight Entertainment Catherine Paulssen
Republicans Don’t Like Kate Dominic
Mom’s Night Out Lolita Lopez
Slow Fire Donna George Storey
The Nude, Stripped Naked Jeremy Edwards
Edge Skylar Kade
Unfolding K D Grace
Married Abigail Grey
Cook’s Treat Elizabeth Coldwell
Hollywood Romance Veronica Wilde
Matters of the Heart Tenille Brown
September Song Anna Watson
Saved Cassandra Carr
For the Very First Time Rachel Kramer Bussel

From "For the Very First Time" by Rachel Kramer Bussel

Dean and I are snuggled on my couch, half watching TV, half feeling each other up. We’ve been dating for two months, a long time for me to go without sex, but I’m comfortable with the way the night is going. We’ve already decided that he’ll sleep over and spend the weekend. He’s done it before, and I’ve stayed at his place, but this night feels more momentous. I know something is going to change, and I feel that charge of something new and thrilling, of anticipation, in the air.

We watch some cheesy sitcom, and then I move to sit on his lap. I don’t usually do that with guys, because I’m six feet tall, and even when they’re tall (Dean’s just two inches shorter than me), it quickly becomes clear I’m not some petite little thing who can fit cozily on their laps. They have to commit to it, to make an effort, to really want it. I’m not offended when guys prefer side-by-side cuddling, but this time it feels right to be sitting on Dean’s lap, feeling his hardness beneath me.

I’m getting so turned on I don’t even mind that it’s not, actually, the most comfortable position. I’m slowly sinking into him, our bodies merging. If I shift a little, his breath catches the back of my neck, making me tingle. Dean doesn’t seem to mind, and his hand lazily plays with the waistband of my new pink mesh panties through the silky fabric of my gray dress. I’m waiting, eager, practically climbing the walls. My desire is like that much of the time: content to lie dormant, until it makes itself known and won’t take no for an answer. Of course I’ve used my assortment of sex toys during the time we’ve been dating, and the four months before that when I was lazily single, not eager to seek out someone new, content to wait and see. But six months is a long time, and I’m horny and oh-so-ready. I’ve been trying to be the girl here, the one who waits to get seduced, the one who lets the man feel manly by making the first move, even though that’s not normally my style. I don’t know if I really believe in all that stuff, but it’s sort of like religion, to me; if there’s a chance that believing is worth it, I’m in, and I’ve found that even the most enlightened men can easily fall prey to being the macho man, the seducer. I’m always willing to try something new, and from the times I’ve felt Dean’s cock through his pants, it’s one worth waiting for, though by now I’ve waited long enough.

We met just when I’d been ready to consider looking up an ex for a roll in the hay. I saw Dean and simply couldn’t look away. He was so stunning that I couldn’t help but go over to him after hearing him sing at my local café, where we’re sometimes treated to the likes of a Shawn Colvin or John Prine, but more often get the up-and-comers. I don’t generally bother with younger men, but Dean’s voice and delivery said to me “old soul.” Too many guys in their twenties and even thirties are so cocky they think every woman, even those totally out of their league, was put on earth just to blow them. That type will hit on me, but shrink away when I demand a mere modicum of commitment.

But Dean was different. He was handsome, but not so perfect that he was arrogant, at least from what I could tell as I watched him strumming his guitar. So many performers have that ego thing down pat, but he had the shy, earnest look of a busker, one who was more comfortable in the bowels of a subway station than on a stage surrounded by drinks and laughter and flirting. It was almost like he was singing these soulful, tender, beautiful songs to himself, with his eyes closed, his body thrown into each song. He launched into a Richard Thompson cover, “Beeswing.” He didn’t try to do the accent, but he sang with all his heart. When he got to the end, the line, “Well I wouldn’t want her any other way,” I could tell he was thinking of his own version of that song’s eccentric heroine, and I found that I wasn’t jealous of his girl who got away, but curious. I wanted him to rest his head in my lap while I sat on the floor next to him and he told me all about her, and then I could kiss him and make it better. He was sitting back in his chair, legs clad in worn dark blue jeans spread slightly, foot tapping along, eyes intermittently lost in memory, in song, and there, present, with us. He was beautiful, and the crowd could tell he was someone to be silent for. He made me want to curl up next to him, on the ground, if need be, and I smiled in a way I don’t seem to do all that often in New York City.

I’d tried to play it cool after the show, but I’d still stammered my way through greeting him. Pushing forty, you’d think I’d have a clue how to talk to a man—or in this case, man-boy—but that ability had forsaken me. Thankfully, Dean agreed to dinner the next night, telling me he loved greasy spoons. I couldn’t remember the last time a guy had told a truth like that, rather than trying to impress me with the latest trendy boîte. Over burgers dripping with grease and fries with even more, we talked and talked and talked. The place is open twenty-four hours so they didn’t care that we stayed from nine ’til three in the morning, as long as we kept ordering coffee. He reached for the bill and I noted the twenty-dollar tip he left, impressed. He offered me a ride home, and even though I usually walk or take the subway, I agreed, wanting to spend more time with him, as much as I could get. I’d expected him to pin me to his car, even though our conversation was more cerebral than flirty. We’d made out, for another hour, and his hands had gone up my shirt but he hadn’t tried to get me to come home with him or to come home with me, just dropped me off like a gentleman. I soon discovered that’s exactly what he was—a gentle man—and I’d been trying to make him a little less gentle as the weeks turned into months.

I knew he was busy with shows most nights and trying to woo record label A&R types the rest of the time, so I didn’t push him. This was a weekend we’d set aside for ourselves, and instead of the hassle of going away, we’d settled on a staycation right at my apartment. Phones and computers off, our focus would be totally on each other, which I’d taken—or at least, hoped—to mean lots of blazing-hot sex. I’d gone to get waxed and while I usually leave a landing strip of hair in front, this time I told my waxer to take it all off. “Someone special going to see?” she asked.

Sometimes I get a little freaked out by too much conversation in the salon, but this time I was happy to wax on, if you will, about my new man. He was so sweet and sexy all in one, and I even gave her a postcard touting his next gig.

So as I’m sitting on his lap, I’m waiting for him to make his move, and then finally I just go for it. “Dean,” I say, sitting up, looking him directly in the eye, blocking his view of the TV. “I want you. By which I mean, I want your cock. In my mouth, in my pussy, everywhere. I thought you’d have figured that out by now. I dream about you. I touch myself and think about you. Don’t you want me?” I ask, noting a creeping edge of whiny neediness entering my voice.

“Oh, my god, of course I do. I can’t believe you’d think otherwise.” He pauses, and I settle into his lap again. He tries to look away, but I steer his gaze directly toward me. “Okay, I’m just gonna come right out and say this and if you don’t want to see me after this I totally understand, but I hope you will. I’ve never done this before. I’m a virgin. And I’m worried that someone like you will be disappointed.”

Whoa. I turn to look at him, but now his eyes are closed. I stroke his cheek tenderly, suddenly protective of him—not his virginity, which I very much plan to take, but his heart. I’d known right away this was “serious,” but not until this moment exactly how serious. “Look at me. Open your eyes.”

He does, his body trembling. “Dean, I want you—all of you. It’s okay. I’m not expecting you to be like anyone but yourself. Do you understand that?”

He nods, but his eyes seem cloudy still, like he doesn’t really get it. “Look, baby…do I want to sleep with you? I can’t lie—yes, yes I do. Am I going to push you to do it sooner than you’d want to? Of course not. I want you, not some random cock. I want the whole package.” I don’t say that I’d had plenty of other more experienced packages, and here I was, forty and single, and so over the guys who were cocky enough to think they owned the world, or at least, New York City.

He stares at me for a long time, and finally a small smile appears on his face. “The whole thing? Are you sure you can handle it?” His laugh is soft, but definitely a laugh, as he takes my hand and presses it tight against his hardness. Then neither of us speaks, and the enormity of what we are about to do washes over me. If I weren’t sure I wanted him—him, all of him, everything from his curls that seemed to melt through my fingers to the omnipresent stubble on his chin to the elaborate snake tattooed along his arm, every strum of his guitar and every brooding, beautiful look—I wouldn’t keep touching him. There’d been times in my life when I would have “fucked like a man,” as they say, taken what I could get, what I wanted, and then moved on. And while I desperately want him at that moment, his cock is just a part of what I want. I do want everything—I’m greedy like that—but I don’t want it by any means necessary. I wouldn’t want to use him for sex and move on, leaving him, shattered, to write a song or even an album about the bitch who broke his heart. I’m suddenly more hungry than horny, hungry for the look he is giving me, the heat that is penetrating through our clothes. If you can be hungry for a hint of forever, that’s what I am.

But we are here, now, and I can’t know what will happen, if I will break his heart or he mine. The best laid plans and all that, but still, I can’t worry about every possible eventuality. You can live in fear forever and never walk outside your door, never take even a baby step into the unknown. If he’s willing to take that first step with me, I’m ready, too. I know that when I stand and pull him up and toward my bedroom, I’m not doing so as some wise-woman courtesan intent on teaching a new young thing tricks he’ll use on other women. I’m not trying to teach him anything, but simply to share myself with and indulge and love him, for as long as we are able to.

Read the full story plus all the others in Only You, just $1.99 on Kindle today!

Why I picked it: "Jailbait Torch Song" by Valerie Alexander in Hungry for More

Welcome back to Why I Picked It Wednesday, a peek into my editorial decisions when selecting stories for my erotica anthologies, and a chance to highlight some favorites I've published over the years. Here I want to talk about "Jailbait Torch Song" by Valerie Alexander in Hungry for More: Romantic Fantasies for Women, whose title already pushes the envelope.



Jailbait. It's a taunting, teasing word. Are we supposed to be repulsed? Intrigued? Repulsed because we are intrigued? Yet it's the combination of the entire title that truly gives the story its meaning. As a reader, I often find it challenging to go toward the taboo, to not stop myself from enjoying it, to not think, In real life, would I be squicked or condemn these people? Powerful writing humanizes those society would deem sick or wrong, and in this case, even grapples with some of the ostracism the characters face for acting on their desires.

Dictionary.com defines torch song as "a popular song concerned with unhappiness or failure in love," with its origins coming from "the phrase to carry a torch for (someone)." That, far more than the taboo nature of a 29-year-old single mother having a torrid romance with an 18-year-old young man, is what this story is about, to my mind. Publishers Weekly called the story "unexpectedly poignant" and that captures part of what I loved about it, why I knew I wanted it in my book even though I also knew it would likely throw at least a few readers off with the way it employed its tenderness, its desire, its romance through an often socially unacceptable lens. What Alexander does is build both the tension and the taboo, weaving them, playing Tanner's teenage lust against Lyla's mix of propriety and hunger. The story starts off telling us exactly what she's strived to do for the last decade: "Lyla tried to be a good single mother." That principle guides her, yes, but she is also a woman, and has natural human desires, and the story forces the reader, and the characters, to question whether what we've been told about age differences is in fact correct. It doesn't give us an answer, but lets us decide, and pulls on our heartstrings in the process. Here's an excerpt of one of their earliest moments:

From "Jailbait Torch Song" by Valerie Alexander

He leaned into the car. “I just wanted to tell you that we have a home game tomorrow night. You should come.”

“Yeah, I can’t do that.”

“Why not?”

“Because I don’t have a reason to be there,” she said. “Because it would look weird.”

He walked away. Puzzled, she waited for him to return and say good-bye. Then the passenger door swung open and he climbed in the car.

Oh no. Quickly she elevated her window. “I have to pick up my son,” she said.

Then his hand was in her hair, hauling her across the seat and onto his long body as if she were weightless. He was shaking. His arms went around her, pulling her against his chest so hard she could feel his heart thumping. He kissed her with almost feverish desperation, his cold hands sliding up under her sweater and under her bra. “Don’t stop me,” he muttered into her mouth and then she was grinding all over the promise of his hard cock, humping him with abandon.

I don't want to give away the whole story, because it's a beautiful, tender, sexy, romantic one. It's one of the most memorable stories I've published, in my opinion, and one I could reread any time and find new nuances. I hope you'll check it out, and I hope I get to publish many more like this.

Buy Hungry for More from:

Amazon

Bn.com

Kindle ebook

Nook ebook 

Powells

Books-a-Million

iBooks

IndieBound (find your local independent bookstore)

Amazon UK

Amazon Canada

Amazon Germany

Cleis Press

Audible audiobook (click through to listen to a free sample)

Here's the other stories in the book:

Introduction: Getting Explicit

Submissive Jacqueline Applebee
Happy Endings Giselle Renarde
Craig’s List Greta Christina
Bringing the Heat Tiffany Reisz
Madam Secretary Jaye Markham
Kitchen Slut Olivia Archer
Just Once Jocelyn Dex
Boat Rocking D. L. King
The Sleeper’s Beauty Jade A. Waters
Upstairs at the Ava DelovelyOlive
Organically Grown Brandy Fox
The Room of Guarantees Jessica Lennox
Redrawing the Lines Bren Emile
Tickle Day Jeremy Edwards
Relief Katya Harris
Jailbait Torch Song Valerie Alexander
Red Lipstick Erzabet Bishop
Something Sleazy Elizabeth Coldwell
The Instructor Rose de Fer
My Pillar-Box Red Cock Tilly Hunter
A First Time for Everything Rachel Kramer Bussel

Win a copy of new erotic romance anthology The Lady Smut Book of Dark Desires

A sexy new erotic romance anthology, The Lady Smut Book of Dark Desires is out today from Harper Impulse, and can win a copy! Fittingly, authors Liz Everly, Madeline Iva, C. Margery Kempe, Elizabeth Shore all blog at Lady Smut, which you can also find on Facebook.

Here's the hot cover, and you can get the ebook for Kindle, Nook and Kobo.



What's in the book?

Four paranormal stories of erotic temptation & paranormal thrills!

THE IMMORTAL LONGING OF BRENNA BANG by Liz Everly

When a vampire materializes through her computer, successful vampire-romance romance author Brenna Bang finds herself marked for inescapable passion with a tech savvy bloodsucker.

THE LYING, THE WITCH & THE WARDROBE by C. Margery Kempe

Christina tries to figure out how to unlock her grandmother's wardrobe and uncover what happened all those years ago when the goblins came to offer their sensuous erotic fruits.

SEXSOMNIA by Madeline Iva

Jenny needs to unravel the mystery of what she does at night and who she does it with in order to subdue the sexual demon inside her.

DIVINE by Elizabeth Shore

Locked in an abandoned mental asylum, an ambitious filmmaker soon discovers she’s trapped with a Dionysian god. He offers her a glimpse of astounding future artistic success—but it will only come true if she’ll perform an erotic ritual to free him.

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Submit to this coffee erotic romance anthology from Frisky Feminist Press!

I've been researching and gathering info on as many current erotica writing calls for submissions as I can find, in addition to those found at mainstay Erotica Readers & Writers Association, for my upcoming erotica writing workshops, and here's one that I particularly love, because it's about something I imbibe every day: coffee! Click on the image below to get the guidelines, and act fast: the deadline is October 1st! This is not to be confused with Circlet Press's Coffee: Hot call, which has a sci fi/fantasy erotica bent and an even tighter deadline (September 15th).

Buy 2 books get 1 free sale from my publisher Cleis Press

My publisher Cleis Press is having a big summer buy 2 get 1 free sale (they've also got a contest to win some of their summer-themed titles. You can choose from any of their 400 titles and 49 of those are mine! All are linked below; my very favorite is The Big Book of Orgasms: 69 Sexy Stories, in case you're wondering. Looking at this list makes me hopeful and reminds me how far I've come in this career I'm still figuring out, one day at a time. I'm honored to edit anthologies for Cleis, to have gotten my erotica start in their Best Lesbian Erotica 2001 edited by Tristan Taormino with my Monica Lewinsky story "Monica and Me," and to continue to contribute to so many of their anthologies. These along with my ebook only title Between the Cheeks are the ones I've edited for them so far, with many more on the way in 2014 and 2015 and, if I'm lucky, far beyond that!