The Mammoth Book of Best New Erotica 10 Read online

  THE MAMMOTH BOOK OF

  Best

  New Erotica

  Volume 10

  Edited and with an introduction

  by Maxim Jakubowski

  Contents

  Title Page

  Acknowledgements

  INTRODUCTION

  Maxim Jakubowski

  THE CAVERN

  Valerie Grey

  HONEYMOON WITH SHANNON

  Thom Gautier

  BEING BOBBY

  Donna George Storey

  ADVANCED CORSETRY

  Justine Elyot

  ROYAL

  Adam Berlin

  THE STRANGLER FIG

  J. D. Munro

  IN THE ABSENCE OF MOTION

  Peter Baltensperger

  ON MY KNEES IN BARCELONA

  Kristina Lloyd

  CHEMISTRY

  Velvet Moore

  WHEN LACY LeTUSH WENT BLUE, BLUE, BLUE!

  Thomas S. Roche

  BLIND TASTING

  EllaRegina

  WING WALKER

  Cheyenne Blue

  THE DEAD END JOB

  Laurence Klavan

  PERFECT TIMING

  Kristina Wright

  DOUBLE TAKE

  Madeline Moore

  THE ESCAPE

  Jett Zandersen

  PALADINS

  Robert Buckley

  DUCKS

  Elizabeth Coldwell

  A CRUEL HEARTLESS BITCH

  Severin Rossetti

  PIERCED

  Alison Tyler

  THE TINKLING OF TINY SILVER BELLS

  M. Christian

  SIMON SAYS

  Alice Gray

  RAIN AND THE LIBRARY

  Kris Saknussemm

  PARK LARKS

  C. Margery Kempe

  SHE GLEEKED ME

  O’Neil De Noux

  SLUT

  Charlotte Stein

  REUNION

  Lisabet Sarai

  AN INVERTED HEART. GLOWING RUBY RED

  Marissa Moon

  STRIPPERS

  Greg Jenkins

  ONLY WHEN IT RAINS

  Rose B. Thorny

  CANVAS BACK

  Craig J. Sorensen

  THE WITCH OF JEROME AVENUE

  Tsaurah Litzky

  ONCE MORE BENEATH THE EXIT SIGN

  Stephen Elliott

  PLASTICITY

  Salome Wilde

  THE SPANKING MACHINE

  Rachel Kramer Bussel

  RAW

  Adam Berlin

  CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR

  D. L. King

  THE COMMUNION OF BLOOD AND SEMEN

  Maxim Jakubowski

  THE WOMAN IN HIS ROOM

  Saskia Walker

  KISS MY ASS

  Jax Baynard

  LADIES GO FIRST

  Alex Gross

  CALENDAR GIRL

  Angela Caperton

  THE HAMPER AFFAIR

  Mel Bosworth

  THE LADY AND THE UNICORN

  C. Sanchez-Garcia

  About the Author

  Copyright

  Acknowledgements

  “The Cavern” © 2010 Valerie Grey. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  “Honeymoon with Shannon” © 2009 Thom Gautier. First published in Sliptongue.com. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  “Being Bobby” © 2009 Donna George Storey. First published in Clean Sheets. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  “Advanced Corsetry” © 2009 Justine Elyot. First published in Liaisons, edited by Lindsay Gordon. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  “Royal” © 2009 Adam Berlin. First published in Clean Sheets. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  “The Strangler Fig” © 2009 J. D. Munro. First published in Crossed Genres. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  “In the Absence of Motion” © 2009 Peter Baltensperger. First published in Clean Sheets. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  “On my Knees in Barcelona” © 2009 Kristina Lloyd. First published in Best Women’s Erotica 2010, edited by Violet Blue. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  “Chemistry” © 2009 Velvet Moore. First published in Clean Sheets. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  “When Lacy LeTush Went Blue, Blue, Blue!” © 2009 Thomas S. Roche. First published in Fishnet.com. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  “Blind Tasting” © 2009 EllaRegina. First published in Sliptongue. com. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  “Wing Walker” © 2009 Cheyenne Blue. First published in The Mile High Club, edited by Rachel Kramer Bussel. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  “The Dead End Job” © 2009 Laurence Klavan. First published in Sliptongue.com. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  “Perfect Timing” © 2009 Kristina Wright. First published in Liaisons, edited by Lindsay Gordon. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  “Double Take” © 2009 Madeline Moore. First published in Ultimate Decadence, edited by Sarah Berry, Emily Dubberley and Alyson Fixter. Reprinted by permission of the author and Accent Press.

  “The Escape” © 2009 Jett Zandersen. First published in Lucrezia Magazine. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  “Paladins” © 2009 Robert Buckley. First published by Erotica Readers & Writers Association. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  “Ducks” © 2009 Elizabeth Coldwell. First published in Oysters & Chocolate. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  “A Cruel Heartless Bitch” © 2009 Severin Rossetti. First published in Lucrezia Magazine. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  “Pierced” © 2009 Alison Tyler. First published in BastardLife. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  “The Tinkling of Tiny Silver Bells” © 2009 M. Christian. First published in Rude Mechanicals. Reprinted by permission of theauthor.

  “Simon Says” © 2009 Alice Gray. First published by Erotica Readers & Writers Association. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  “Rain and the Library” © 2009 Kris Saknussemm. First published in Sliptongue.com. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  “Park Larks” © 2009 C. Margery Kempe. First published in Bunnie. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  “She Gleeked Me” © 2010 O’Neil De Noux. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  “Slut” © 2009 Charlotte Stein. First published in Sexy Little Numbers, edited by Lindsay Gordon. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  “Reunion” © 2009 Lisabet Sarai. First published in Do Not Disturb, edited by Rachel Kramer Bussel. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  “An Inverted Heart. Glowing Ruby Red” © 2010 Mark Ramsden. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  “Strippers” © 2009 Greg Jenkins. First published in Sliptongue. com. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  “Only When it Rains” © 2009 Rose B. Thorny. First published by Erotica Readers & Writers Association. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  “Canvas Back” © 2009 Craig J. Sorensen. First published in The Erotic Woman. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  “The Witch of Jerome Avenue” © 2009 Tsaurah Litzky. First published in Bitten, edited by Susie Bright. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  “Once More Beneath the Exit Sign” © 2009 Stephen Elliott. First published in Pleasure Bound, edited by Alison Tyler. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  “Plasticity” © 2009 Salome Wilde. First published in Clean Sheets. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  “The Spanking Machine” © 2009 Rachel Kramer Bussel. Fir
st published in Bottoms Up, edited by Rachel Kramer Bussel. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  “Raw” © 2009 Adam Berlin. First published in Clean Sheets. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  “Careful What You Wish For” © 2009 D. L. King. First published in Swing!, edited by Jolie du Pré. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  “The Communion of Blood and Semen” © 2009 Maxim Jakubowski. First published in The Sweetest Kiss, edited by D. L. King. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  “The Woman in His Room” © 2009 Saskia Walker. First published in Girls on Top, edited by Violet Blue. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  “Kiss My Ass” © 2009 Jax Baynard. First published in Kiss My Ass, edited by Alison Tyler. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  “Ladies Go First” © 2009 Alex Gross. First published in Clean Sheets. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  “Calendar Girl” © 2009 Angela Caperton. First published in Peep Show, edited by Rachel Kramer Bussel. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  “The Hamper Affair” © 2009 Mel Bosworth. First published in Clean Sheets. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  “The Lady and the Unicorn” © 2009 C. Sanchez-Garcia. First published by Erotica Readers & Writers Association. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  Introduction

  Maxim Jakubowski

  The swirling tides of erotica continue to sweep in and caress our sensual shores in this new volume of our annual anthology selecting the best erotic stories published during the course of the previous years.

  Even though this is technically our tenth volume, we have actually been going for 15 years now as the initial years of our project went unnumbered (respectively the Mammoth Book of Erotica, New Erotica, International Erotica, Historical Erotica and Short Erotic Novels, for the completists and collectors out there).

  As ever, writers the width and breadth of the English-speaking world (and occasionally further afield), continue to fire up their wild imaginations and deliver stories that amaze me, tickle my senses and more and delight readers in myriad ways.

  The explosion of erotica writing and publishing marches on, despite the closure of some noted imprints, and 2009 saw a veritable florilege of new anthologies on specific themes (which made my selection tougher in so far as it would have been awkward to feature too many stories about, say, voyeurism, spanking, hotel rooms, vampires, swinging, BDSM, etc….) to which an avalanche of eBooks and further web magazines was added to complicate my editorial choices.

  There was truly an embarrassment of sexy possibilities, and I finally read almost 1,800 stories to reach the forty or so featured inside these pages.

  A personal sense of satisfaction this year comes from the fact that for the very first time there are almost as many male authors as there are female in the book, a rare occurrence in the world of erotica but one which I feel does better reflect the profile of readers from my own past observations. Sex, in all its manifestations, is an equal opportunity temptation and looking at it from both sides of the gender divide proves a fascinating experience, which reflects real life and not just editorial presumptions. In addition, there are a couple of handfuls of new names, which I hope we will keep on seeing in contents pages, as well as a marked increase in the number of British authors. A milestone year indeed.

  So, why waste my time any longer praising the stories and their imaginative variations on a subject too many have always assumed was limited? Jump straight into the book and enjoy the luscious spread of erotic delights that lies in store, and keep your prejudices (and your clothes?) at the door.

  Savour, one story at a time!

  Maxim Jakubowski

  The Cavern

  Valerie Grey

  I.

  The Hotel Arensen sits atop a spacious island planted with formal gardens and hedgerow mazes, tall poplars and tangled strands of ancient oak. One view is more beautiful than the next, and the whole is a symphony of light and form and shadow.

  The island is connected to the shore of the lake by a macadam drive; when the sun slants low like this and the water burns red, the hotel and the island appear to be consumed by a lake of fire, attached to the mainland by a road of smoke.

  Where the drive connects with the island is a long causeway and at the end of this causeway are the statues of two angels, one on each side of the road; one looks towards the Hotel Arensen, the other looking away, so that one faces the traveller as he enters, and the other faces the guest as he leaves.

  Each angel holds a bronze sword, and in the light of the setting sun these swords appear to be aflame, just like the sword wielded by the angel who guarded the entrance to Eden.

  When entering the grounds, the one angel keeps the outside world at bay, and on leaving the hotel, the other angel keeps back all that has happened there.

  Within the hotel are hallways set with an infinity of doors, marble stairs leading to hidden verandas, and dimly lit corridors set with lush carpets and hung with faded and obscure paintings. There are ballrooms and dining halls, a spa and pools for taking the waters (in ancient times there were Roman baths here), and although the grounds and hotel are impeccably kept, there is a feeling that time has passed this place by; or rather that time has a different meaning here, measured not by the passage of the seasons, but by the continuity of human habitation.

  The hotel has assumed a kind of seamless grandeur within the landscape in which it sits, rather like a queen sitting in state over an empty kingdom.

  This is the sight that Dominique Béry sees as she alights in front of the hotel from the limousine that has brought her from the station: the marble steps that sweep up to the portico, the parade of Palladian windows gleaming in the dull light, punctuating the ancient façade of the building with a calm and stately rhythm, the ornamental statuary overgrown with spots of ancient moss.

  She is slim, with large brown eyes and blonde hair, impeccably dressed in a simple white suit; from her placid appearance there is nothing to suggest that she’s a fragile shell, that inside she’s still tender and bruised, wounded by the bitter finish of a marriage.

  She’s brought herself to Hotel Arensen to try to recover the person she used to be; to try to break through the icy scar that has grown around her heart.

  She is lost.

  She can hide here.

  She plans to return to the world fixed, healed.

  Right now, she feels her life is like a pretzel, twisted and going nowhere.

  The doorman has seen this all before, and takes her bags without a word. She’s brought quite a bit of luggage; most guests do. They arrive with the shards of their lives in tow; uncertain as to what to leave behind and what to take with, and so they all bring too much. He leads the way, and Dominique walks to the desk where her key is waiting.

  There’s an elaborate fountain in the lobby, the waters spilling softly into the pool below with a soothing sound, establishing a kind of tranquility, and Dominique stops to peer into the water. There are flowers within, and fish hang in the stillness. She can see her reflection, and thinks of Michael being there with her and what he would say. She hates the way she automatically invokes his presence whenever she sees or feels something remarkable, but she can’t stop it. His absence is like a sore tooth her tongue won’t leave alone but has to press at and worry until it hurts again, and then she’s satisfied.

  “So pleased to have you with us, Ms Béry. I hope you find your room satisfactory,” the clerk says as she signs the register. “Dinner is at seven. If there’s anything you need, please don’t hesitate to call.”

  Dominique takes her key and follows the handsome young bellman up to the second floor. She stands behind him in the elevator, so she can look at his behind in his tight trousers. It brings a rueful smile: what she’s heard is apparently true. Then down the long, quiet hall, the wheels of the luggage cart squeaking softly as he turns this way and that through the bewildering maze of corridors.
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br />   He stops outside room 331 and opens the door, and she walks into a large and spacious room, restored to all its rococo glory, dominated by an antique table and matching canopy bed. On the table an elaborate display of fresh-cut flowers perfumes the air and, as she crosses over to the French doors that overlook the lake and the formal gardens, she stops to run her hand over the ancient wood of the bed, trying to imagine things that had happened there.

  Dominique looks at the bellman. He is absurdly handsome in his tight burgundy uniform with yellow piping. His cheeks are pink, his eyes bright with youth and health, but he’s no more than a boy, and she hasn’t any interest in boys. She imagines that he’s quite experienced, working at the Hotel Arensen.

  Everyone is here, and everyone’s for hire, or so she’s heard.

  The bellman stands awkwardly, only for a moment.

  He opens the French doors.

  Dominique steps out on to the small terrace. She hears the call of a peacock and, looking down, sees the group on the shadowy lawn: a cock with three hens.

  A flight of little birds bursts from the ivy below her window and scatters into the gloom like an omen. She stands with her hands on the doors, inhaling the scent of the roses in the garden.

  Down and to the left, the light in a room is on. The shades are drawn but the drapes are open, and Dominique sees shadows passing by the window in the yellowish light.

  She tips the bellman and locks the door behind him. She takes off her jacket and shoes and walks into the bathroom. The floor and walls are of Italian marble, the fixtures harmonious with the eighteenth-century decor, but all apparently new.

  An enormous shower, a toilet, a sink and a bidet.

  She runs water into the enormous claw-foot tub, pouring in some lilac salts from the collection on the tub’s edge. While the bath fills, she unpacks some things, then undresses, carefully hanging up her clothes as if she’s aware of the symbolism of the act. She wants to remember this moment of arrival. She wants to remember what she feels like right now, before anything has happened.

  She wraps a robe around her and goes back into the bathroom, sits on the edge of the tub and watches the suds accumulate in the steaming water.