The Mammoth Book of Best New Erotica 2 Read online

  MAXIM JAKUBOWSKI was born in England but educated in France. Following a career in publishing, he opened London’s famous MURDER ONE bookshop. He has published over 60 books, won the Anthony and Karel Awards, and is a connoisseur of genre fiction in all its forms. His recent books include seven volumes in the Mammoth Book of Erotica series, as well as The Mammoth Book of Pulp Fiction and more recently The Mammoth Book of Pulp Action. Other well-received anthologies include: London Noir, three volumes of Fresh Blood, Past Poisons, Chronicles of Crime and Murder Through the Ages. A regular broadcaster, he is the crime columnist for the Guardian. His fiction includes Life in the World of Women, It’s You that I want to Kiss, Because She Thought She Loved Me, The State of Montana and On Tenderness Express. He lives in London.

  Also available

  The Mammoth Book of Awesome Comic Fantasy

  The Mammoth Book of Best New Erotica

  The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror 2000

  The Mammoth Book of Best New Science Fiction 14

  The Mammoth Book of British Kings & Queens

  The Mammoth Book of Comic Fantasy

  The Mammoth Book of Endurance and Adventure

  The Mammoth Book of Erotica (New Edition)

  The Mammoth Book of Erotic Photography

  The Mammoth Book of Fantasy

  The Mammoth Book of Gay Erotica

  The Mammoth Book of Great Detective Stories

  The Mammoth Book of Gay Short Stories

  The Mammoth Book of Haunted House Stories

  The Mammoth Book of Hearts of Oak

  The Mammoth Book of Historical Erotica

  The Mammoth Book of Historical Whodunnits

  The Mammoth Book of How It Happened

  The Mammoth Book of How It Happened in Britain

  The Mammoth Book of How it Happened Titanic

  The Mammoth Book of International Erotica

  The Mammoth Book of Jack the Ripper

  The Mammoth Book of Jokes

  The Mammoth Book of Legal Thrillers

  The Mammoth Book of Lesbian Erotica

  The Mammoth Book of Lesbian Short Stories

  The Mammoth Book of Life Before the Mast

  The Mammoth Book of Locked-Room Mysteries and Impossible Crimes

  The Mammoth Book of Men O’War

  The Mammoth Book of Murder

  The Mammoth Book of Murder and Science

  The Mammoth Book of New Erotica

  The Mammoth Book of New Sherlock Holmes Adventures

  The Mammoth Book of Private Lives

  The Mammoth Book of Pulp Action

  The Mammoth Book of Puzzles

  The Mammoth Book of SAS & Elite Forces

  The Mammoth Book of Science Fiction

  The Mammoth Book of Seriously Comic Fantasy

  The Mammoth Book of Sex, Drugs & Rock ’n’ Roll

  The Mammoth Book of Short Erotic Novels

  The Mammoth Book of Soldiers at War

  The Mammoth Book of Sword & Honour

  The Mammoth Book of the Edge

  The Mammoth Book of The West

  The Mammoth Book of True Crime (New Edition)

  The Mammoth Book of True War Stories

  The Mammoth Book of UFOs

  The Mammoth Book of Unsolved Crimes

  The Mammoth Book of Vampire Stories by Women

  The Mammoth Book of War Correspondents

  The Mammoth Book of Women Who Kill

  The Mammoth Book of the World’s Greatest Chess Games

  The Mammoth Encyclopedia of Science Fiction

  The Mammoth Encyclopedia of Unsolved Mysteries

  THE MAMMOTH BOOK OF

  Best

  New Erotica

  Volume 2

  Edited by Maxim Jakubowski

  ROBINSON

  London

  Constable & Robinson Ltd

  55–56 Russell Square

  London WC1B 4HP

  www.constablerobinson.com

  First published in the UK by Robinson, an imprint of Constable & Robinson Ltd 2002

  Collection and editorial material copyright © Maxim Jakubowski 2002

  All rights reserved. This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, hired out or otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

  A copy of the British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data is available from the British Library.

  ISBN 1-84119-537-5

  Printed and bound in the EU

  10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

  Contents

  Acknowledgments

  Maxim Jakubowski

  INTRODUCTION

  Matt Thorne

  PAYING MY FRIENDS FOR SEX

  Daniel James Cabrillo

  FULFILLMENT

  Sarah Veitch

  SITTING UNCOMFORTABLY

  Anne Tourney

  GREEK FEVER

  Thomas S. Roche

  DIRTY POOL

  Marilyn Jaye Lewis

  NIGHT ON TWELFTH STREET

  J. D. Sampson

  THE HILL

  Justine Dubois

  SOHO SQUARE

  Conrad Williams

  EDGE

  Poppy Z. Brite

  ESSENCE OF ROSE

  Bill Noble

  RAREBIT AND OTHER FOODS

  Lucy Taylor

  EMBRACING

  Andrew L. Wilson

  THE AFTERNOON OF A VENETIAN CHAMBERMAID

  Emma Kaufmann

  THE DINNER PARTY

  O’Neil De Noux

  DIVE INN

  Susannah Indigo

  TELL ME A STORY

  Lawrence Schimel

  THE MINYAN

  Rebecca Ray

  PORNOGRAPHIC STORY

  Marc Levy

  WHEN HE WAS GOOD

  Maxim Jakubowski

  69 LOVE SONGS

  Lisa Montanarelli

  SURRENDER DOROTHY

  A. J. Horlick

  AMONG THE BEKS

  M. Christian

  BOB & CAROL & TED (BUT NOT ALICE)

  Nola Summers

  THE BACK OF THE STORE

  Hubert Selby Jr.

  FIRST LOVE

  Helena Settimana

  TRIPTYCH

  Graham Joyce

  PINKLAND

  Heather Corinna

  CLOSER TO GOD

  Larry Tritten

  THE NOTEBOOKS OF GATLING WESSEX

  Cheyenne Blue

  SAM

  Mark Ramsden

  MADAM PETRA

  Mari Ness

  STAGE

  Dominic Santi

  PERSONA NON GRATA

  Kathryn Ptacek

  PLEASURE DOMES

  Simon Sheppard

  GLYPH

  E. M. Arthur

  SEDUCING STORMS

  Cara Bruce

  THE PERFECT O

  Rich Denis

  THE BEACH BOY

  Jazz Lloyd

  THE BOSS

  Ian Philips

  THE DEVIL AND MRS FAUST

  Mitzi Szereto

  MELINDA

  Alison Tyler

  THE LINDY SHARK

  M. Nason

  RAYBAN

  Christopher Hart

  THE MERMAID’S SACRIFICE

  Vicki Hendricks

  GATORS

  Acknowledgments

  PAYING MY FRIENDS FOR SEX by Matt Thorne, © 2001 by Matt Thorne. First appeared in PIECE OF FLESH, edited by Zadie Smith. Reproduced by permission of the
author.

  FULFILLMENT by Daniel James Cabrillo, © 2001 by Daniel James Cabrillo. First appeared in CLEAN SHEETS, 2001. Reproduced by permission of the author.

  SITTING UNCOMFORTABLY by Sarah Veitch, © 2001 by Sarah Veitch. First appeared in CORRECTIVE MEASURES. Reproduced by permission of the author.

  GREEK FEVER by Anne Tourney, © 2001 by Anne Tourney. First appeared in SCARLET LETTERS, 2001. Reproduced by permission of the author.

  DIRTY POOL by Thomas S. Roche, © 2001 by Thomas S. Roche. First appeared in FLESH AND BLOOD, edited by Max Allan Collins and Jeff Gelb. Reproduced by permission of the author.

  NIGHT ON TWELFTH STREET by Marilyn Jaye Lewis, © 2001 by Marilyn Jaye-Lewis. First appeared in AROUSED, edited by Karen Finley. Reproduced by permission of the author.

  THE HILL by J. D. Sampson, © 2001 by J. D. Sampson. First appeared in VENUSORV1XEN, 2001. Author’s permission sought.

  SOHO SQUARE by Justine Dubois, © 2002 by Justine Dubois. Reproduced by permission of the author.

  EDGE by Conrad Williams, © 2001 by Conrad Williams. First appeared in SUSPECT THOUGHTS, 2001. Reproduced by permission of the author.

  ESSENCE OF ROSE by Poppy Z. Brite, © 1998 by Poppy Z. Brite. First appeared in NERVE. Reproduced by permission of the author.

  RAREBIT AND OTHER FOODS by Bill Noble, © 2001 by Bill Noble. First appeared in CLEAN SHEETS, 2001. Reproduced by permission of the author.

  EMBRACING by Lucy Taylor, © 2001 by Lucy Taylor. First appeared in EROTIC NEW ORLEANS, edited by Debra Gray De Noux. Reproduced by permission of the author.

  THE AFTERNOON OF A VENETIAN CHAMBERMAID by Andrew L. Wilson, © 2001 by Andrew L. Wilson. First appeared in SCARLET LETTERS, 2001. Reproduced by permission of the author.

  THE DINNER PARTY by Emma Kaufmann, © 2001 by Emma Kaufmann. First published on the Erotica Readers’ Association website, 2001. Reproduced by permission of the author.

  DIVE INN by O’Neil De Noux, © 2001 by O’Neil De Noux. First appeared in EROTIC NEW ORLEANS, edited by Debra Gray De Noux. Reproduced by permission of the author.

  TELL ME A STORY by Susannah Indigo, © 2001 by Susannah Indigo. First appeared in FROM PORN TO POETRY, edited by Susannah Indigo and Brian Peters. Reproduced by permission of the author.

  THE MINYAN by Lawrence Schimel, © 2001 by Lawrence Schimel. First appeared in KOSHER MEAT. Reproduced by permission of the author.

  PORNOGRAPHIC STORY by Rebecca Ray, © 2001 by Rebecca Ray. First appeared in PIECE OF FLESH, edited by Zadie Smith. Reproduced by permission of the author.

  WHEN HE WAS GOOD by Marc Levy, © 2001 by Marc Levy. First appeared in SUSPECT THOUGHTS, 2001. Reproduced by permission of the author.

  69 LOVE SONGS by Maxim Jakubowski, © 2001 by Maxim Jakubowski. First appeared in HANDHELD CRIME, 2001 and CRIME TIME 25, 2001. Reproduced by permission of the author.

  SURRENDER DOROTHY by Lisa Montanarelli, © 2001 by Lisa Montanarelli. First appeared in BEST BISEXUAL WOMEN’S EROTICA, edited by Cara Bruce, as by “Lisa Archer”. Reproduced by permission of the author.

  AMONG THE BEKS by A. J. Horlick, © 2001 by A. J. Horlick. First appeared in SUSPECT THOUGHTS, 2001. Reproduced by permission of the author.

  BOB & CAROL & TED (BUT NO ALICE) by M. Christian, © 2001 by M. Christian. First appeared in SWEET LIFE, edited by Violet Blue. Reproduced by permission of the author.

  THE BACK OF THE STORE by Nola Summers, © 2001 by Nola Summers. First appeared in CLEAN SHEETS, 2001. Reproduced by permission of the author.

  FIRST LOVE by Hubert Selby, Jr., © 2001 by Hubert Selby, Jr. First appeared in AROUSED, edited by Karen Finley. Reproduced by permission of the author.

  TRIPTYCH by Helena Settimana, © 2001 by Helena Settimana. First appeared in BEST BISEXUAL WOMEN’S EROTICA, edited by Cara Bruce. Reproduced by permission of the author.

  PINKLAND by Graham Joyce, © 1998, 2001 by Graham Joyce. First appeared in CROSSING THE BORDER, edited by Lisa Tuttle. Reproduced by permission of the author.

  CLOSER TO GOD by Heather Corinna, © 1998 by Heather Corinna. First appeared on the author’s own website. Reproduced by permission of the author.

  THE NOTEBOOKS OF GATLING WESSEX by Larry Tritten, © 2001 by Larry Tritten. First appeared in LIBIDO. Reproduced by permission of the author.

  SAM by Cheyenne Blue, © 2001 by Cheyenne Blue. First appeared in CLEAN SHEETS, 2001. Reproduced by permission of the author.

  MADAM PETRA by Mark Ramsden, © 2002 by Mark Ramsden. Reproduced by permission of the author.

  STAGE by Mari Ness, © 2001 by Mari Ness. First appeared in CLEAN SHEETS, 2001. Reproduced by permission of the author.

  PERSONA NON GRATA by Dominic Santi, © 2001 by Dominic Santi. First appeared in BEST BISEXUAL EROTICA 2, edited by Bill Brent and Carol Queen. Reproduced by permission of the author.

  PLEASURE DOMES by Kathryn Ptacek, © 2001 by Kathryn Ptacek. First appeared in CLEAN SHEETS, 2001. Reproduced by permission of the author.

  GLYPH by Simon Sheppard, © 2001 by Simon Sheppard. First appeared in HOTTER THAN HELL AND OTHER STORIES. Reproduced by permission of the author.

  SEDUCING STORMS by E. M. Arthur, © 2001 by E. M. Arthur. First appeared in CLEAN SHEETS, 2001. Reproduced by permission of the author.

  THE PERFECT O by Cara Bruce, © 2001 by Cara Bruce. Reproduced by permission of the author.

  THE BEACH BOY by Rich Denis, © 2001 by Rich Denis. First appeared in CLEAN SHEETS, 2001. Author’s permission sought.

  THE BOSS by Jazz Lloyd, © 2002 by Jazz Lloyd. Reproduced by permission of the author.

  THE DEVIL AND MRS FAUST by Ian Philips, © 2001 by Ian Philips. First appeared in SEE DICK DECONSTRUCT. Reproduced by permission of the author.

  MELINDA by Mitzi Szereto, © 2001 by Mitzi Szereto. First appeared in WICKED WORDS 4, edited by Kerri Sharp. Reproduced by permission of the author.

  THE LINDY SHARK by Alison Tyler, © 2001 by Alison Tyler. First appeared in BEST WOMEN’S EROTICA, edited by Marcy Sheiner. Reproduced by permission of the author.

  RAYBAN by M. Nason, © 2001 by M. Nason. First appeared in SUSPECT THOUGHTS, 2001. Reproduced by permission of the author.

  THE MERMAID’S SACRIFICE by Christopher Hart, © 2001 by Christopher Hart. First appeared in EROTIC TRAVEL TALES, edited by Mitzi Szereto. Reproduced by permission of the author.

  GATORS by Vicki Hendricks, © 2001 by Vicki Hendricks. First appeared in FLESH AND BLOOD, edited by Max Allan Collins and Jeff Gelb. Reproduced by permission of the author.

  Introduction

  With every new year that passes, erotic writing becomes more varied and exciting. A veritable explosion of talent and imagination has become a sheer torrent over the past decade since I began compiling erotic stories in the Mammoth series to a most gratifying response.

  While some of the best writers in our curious field continue to sustain high levels of fascinating readability, confirming the fact that an erotic story is not just a succession of pointless sex scenes or pretentious mood pieces evoking past couplings or emotions, new magazine pieces and anthologies continue to unveil great new talents and a dazzling repertory of sexual and psychological variations that talk to us most intimately and connect with our complicated psyche in ways that surprise and delight.

  Yet again this past year, erotic writing in web magazines has proven a great, fertile area of discovery, much of it progressing into print in collections here and elsewhere. Sadly, this is very much due to the scarcity of print magazines that might offer a showcase for erotic writing as opposed to an incredible flowering of themed anthologies. As in other popular culture genres, such as crime and mystery or science fiction and fantasy, it’s in the magazines that new talent can find its feet, experiment and establish itself, and one can only regret the fact that innovative projects like NERVE or LIBIDO have moved off the news-stands and returned to the sheltering harbour of the worldwide web.

  With every further volume in our series, I have effortlessly managed to uncover new voices in England, America, Aust
ralia, Canada and beyond. The present collection is no exception and unveils a handful of writers, all precious new voices who walk the delicate tightrope between the excesses of sheer titillation and the delights of sensuality with precocious assurance. I am confident we will see many more stories from most of them. My only regret, as ever, is the fact that I am unable to bring you voices from other languages in translation, due to financial imperatives; there is a goldmine of erotic writing in contemporary France right now which deserves a larger audience, and no doubt too in other countries (The Mammoth Book of International Erotica offered many such writers some years back but has since been overtaken by new generations of compelling foreign writers).

  At any rate, I hope you enjoy the 2001 vintage of erotic writing collected in these hefty pages. As vintages go, it’s a guaranteed classic. As ever, the combinations, characters, relationships and ideas defy taboos and the normal sexual smorgasbord with pleasure and elegance, as over 40 writers balance lust and sensibility with wonderfully innovative tales which leave little to the imagination and tease and please in exquisite ways. However sexually knowledgable the reader might think he or she is, I am convinced there will be some surprises and gentle shocks along the road, and maybe some of what you read here will change your life in subtle ways, leaving a germ in your heart or loins to linger and grow insidiously and improve your quality of life in curious ways.

  Here’s to the sexual imagination!

  Maxim Jakubowski

  Paying My Friends for Sex

  Matt Thorne

  Not having money was hard. But sometimes having money seems harder. It’s not as if I’m rich or anything, but having enough cash to get yourself in trouble, well, you’d be surprised how quickly that becomes a burden.

  I’ve never been an avaricious individual. Ever since I was a kid, my cash has gone on three things, and three things only: CDs, books, and the cinema. Most of my clothes were given to me; the rest come from second-hand shops. And although I spend more money on food than I used to, all this really means is these days I eat in expensive restaurants instead of McDonald’s. I always eat out, and will do so until the day I die.