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 85 books, won the Anthony and Karel Awards and is a connoisseur of genre fiction in all its forms. His recent books include ten 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, On Tenderness Express, Confessions of a Romantic Pornographer and American Casanova. He lives in London.
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THE MAMMOTH BOOK OF
Best
New Erotica
Volume 5
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, 2006
Collection and editorial material copyright © Maxim Jakubowski, 2006
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 1-84529-260-X
Printed and bound in the EU
1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2
Contents
Acknowledgments
Maxim Jakubowski
INTRODUCTION
Martha Sterling
THE SALON
Bill Noble
ICELAND SUMMER
Marcelle Perks
THE SCARLESS
Tara Alton
PERILOUS PENNY, PART TIME PORNOGRAPHER
O’Neil De Noux
LONESOME LITTLE BLUE
Alison Tyler
FOUR ON THE FLOOR
Amanda Earl
UNRAVELING THE THREADS OF AN ORDINARY LIFE
Maxim Jakubowski
UTTERLY NUDE
Robert Buckley
OUTSOURCING
Cheyenne Blue
FIVE STATES
Thomas S. Roche
UNDER MY THUMB
Marie Lyn
MY MOTHER’S CHILD
J.Z. Sharpe
GIRL ON A SWING
Joshua Hoobler
NOT AT RISK
Lisette Ashton
A STOUT LENGTH OF BIRCH
Lisabet Sarai
HIGHER POWER
Misha Firer
UNORTHODOX GIGOLO
Mitzi Szereto
ODALISQUE
Inna Spice
THE PUSS HATER
Donna George Storey
PICTURE PERFECT
Mark Ramsden
DEATH POEMS
Kristina Wright
IN THE STACKS
Mike Kimera
I WANT TO WATCH YOU DO IT
Cervo
CHINCHILLA LACE
Rachel Kramer Bussel
TURNING THE TABLES
J.D. Smith
EXCEPTIONS
Elspeth Potter
WORSHIP
N.T. Morley
RESIGNATION
Jolan Sulinski
GUIDED TOURS
Teresa Lamai
CRACKED BUTTERFLY
Claude Lalumière
SECRETLY WISHING FOR RAIN
Dahlia Schweitzer
THE GIFT
M. Christian
BELLS ON HER TOES
Elizabeth Margery
TWO OF CUPS
A.F. Waddell
SCREEN PLAY
Richard V. Raiment
THIRD PERSON SINGULAR
Saskia Walker
RICHARD’S SECRET
Tom Piccirilli
MILEAGE
Riain Grey
PRIX FIXE
Tara Alton
ZOE CLARK
Sage Vivant
BEVERLY’S PASTIME
Helena Settimana
THE SPACE BETWEEN
O’Neil De Noux
THE HUMAN DRESS
Robert Buckley
COINS FOR THE FERRYMAN
Acknowledgments
Introduction and selection © 2005 by Maxim Jakubowski
THE SALON by Martha Sterling, © 2004 by Martha Sterling. First appeared in Ruthie’s Club. Reprinted by permission of the author.
ICELAND SUMMER by Bill Noble, © 2004 by Bill Noble. First appeared in Clean Sheets. Reprinted by permission of the author.
THE SCARLESS by Marcelle Perks, © 2004 by Marcelle Perks. First appeared in Three-Way, edited by Alison Tyler. Reprinted by permission of the author.
PERILOUS PENNY, PART TIME PORNOGRAPHER by Tara Alton, © 2004 by Tara Alton. First appeared in Scarlet Letters. Reprinted by permission of the author.
LONESOME LITTLE BLUE by O’Neil De Noux, © 2004 by O’Neil De Noux. First appeared in The Big Book of Erotic Ghost Stories, edited by Greg Wharton. Reprinted by permission of the author.
FOUR ON THE FLOOR by Alison Tyler, © 2004 by Alison Tyler. First appeared in Clean Sheets. Reprinted by permission of the author.
UNRAVELING THE THREADS OF AN ORDINARY LIFE by Amanda Earl, © 2004 by Amanda Earl. First appeared in Erotica Readers & Writers Association. Reprinted by permission of the author.
UTTERLY NUDE by Maxim Jakubowski, © 2004 by Maxim Jakubowski. First appeared in Naked Erotica, edited by Alison Tyler. Reprinted by permission of the author.
OUTSOURCING by Robert Buckley, © 2004 by Robert Buckley. First appeared in Erotica Readers & Writers Association. Reprinted by permission of the author.
FIVE STATES by Cheyenne Blue, © 2004 by Cheyenne Blue. First appeared in Clean Sheets. Reprinted by permission of the author.
UNDER MY THUMB by Thomas S. Roche, © 2004 by Thomas S. Roche. First appeared in Naughty Stories From A to Z, Volume 3, edited by Alison Tyler. Reprinted by permission of the author.
MY MOTHER’S CHILD by Marie Lyn, © 2004 by Marie Lyn. First appeared in Clean Sheets. Reprinted by permission of the author.
GIRL ON A SWING by J.Z. Sharpe, © 2004 by J.Z. Sharpe. First appeared in Erotica Readers & Writers Association. Reprinted by permission of the author.
NOT AT RISK by Joshua Hoobler, © 2004 by Joshua Hoobler. First appeared in Suspect Thoughts. Reprinted by permission of the author.
A STOUT LENGTH OF BIRCH by Lisette Ashton, © 2004 by Lisette Ashton. First appeared in The Hot Spot. Reprinted by permission of the author.
HIGHER POWER by Lisabet Sarai, © 2004 by Lisabet Sarai. First appeared in Best S/M Erotica, volume 2, edited by M. Christian. Reprinted by permission of the author.
UNORTHODOX GIGOLO by Misha Firer, © 2004 by Misha Firer. First appeared in Scarlet Letters. Reprinted by permission of the author.
ODALISQUE by Mitzi Szereto, © 2004 by Mitzi Szereto. First appeared in Foreign Affairs, edited by Mitzi Szereto. Reprinted by permission of the author.
THE PUSS HATER by Inna Spice, © 2004 by Inna Spice. First appeared in Erotica Readers & Writers Association. Reprinted by permission of the author.
PICTURE PERFECT by Donna George Storey, © 2004 by Donna George Storey. First appeared in Taboo, edited by Violet Blue. Reprinted by permission of the author.
DEATH POEMS by Mark Ramsden, © 2005 by Mark Ramsden. Reprinted by permission of the author.
IN THE STACKS by Kristina Wright, © 2004 by Kristina Wright. First appeared in Master/Slave, edited by N.T. Morley. Reprinted by permission of the author.
I WANT TO WATCH YOU DO IT by Mike Kimera, © 2004 by Mike Kimera. First appeared in Clean Sheets. Reprinted by permission of the author.
CHINCHILLA LACE by Cervo, © 2004 by Cervo. First appeared in Erotica Readers & Writers Association. Reprinted by permission of the author.
TURNING THE TABLES by Rachel Kramer Bussel, © 2004 by Rachel Kramer Bussel. First appeared in Penthouse. Reprinted by permission of the author.
EXCEPTIONS by J.D. Smith, © 2004 by J.D. Smith. First appeared in Clean Sheets. Reprinted by permission of the author.
WORSHIP by Elspeth Potter, © 2004 by Elspeth Potter. First appeared in Best Women’s Erotica 2004, edited by Marcy Sheiner. Reprinted by permission of the author.
RESIGNATION by N.T. Morley, © 2004 by N.T. Morley. First appeared in Naughty Stories From A to Z, volume 3, edited by Alison Tyler. Reprinted by permission of the author.
GUIDED TOURS by Jolan Sulinski, © 2004 by Jolan Sulinski. First appeared in Scarlet Letters. Reprinted by permission of the author.
CRACKED BUTTERFLY by Teresa Lamai, © 2004 by Teresa Lamai. First appeared in Clean Sheets. Reprinted by permission of the author.
SECRETLY WISHING FOR RAIN by Claude Lalumière, © 2004 by Claude Lalumière. First appeared in Fishnet. Reprinted by permission of the author.
THE GIFT by Dahlia Schweitzer, © 2004 by Dahlia Schweitzer. First appeared in The Mammoth Book of Women’s Sexual Fantasies, edited by Sonia Florens. Reprinted by permission of the author.
BELLS ON HER TOES by M. Christian, © 2004 by M. Christian. First appeared in Naughty Fairy Tales From A to Z, edited by Alison Tyler. Reprinted by permission of the author.
TWO OF CUPS by Elizabeth Margery, © 2004 by Elizabeth Margery. First appeared in Clean Sheets. Reprinted by permission of the author.
SCREEN PLAY by A.F. Waddell, © 2004 by A.F. Waddell. First appeared in slightly different format in Erotica Readers & Writers Association. Reprinted by permission of the author.
THIRD PERSON SINGULAR by Richard V. Raiment, © 2004 by Richard V. Raiment. First appeared in Clean Sheets. Reprinted by permission of the author.
RICHARD’S SECRET by Saskia Walker, © 2004 by Saskia Walker. First appeared in Taboo, edited by Violet Blue. Reprinted by permission of the author.
MILEAGE by Tom Piccirilli, © 2004 by Tom Piccirilli. First appeared in Down and Dirty, Volume 2, edited by Alison Tyler. Reprinted by permission of the author.
PRIX FIXE by Riain Grey, © 2004 by Riain Grey. First appeared in Clean Sheets. Reprinted by permission of the author.
ZOE CLARK by Tara Alton, © 2004 by Tara Alton. First appeared in Scarlet Letters. Reprinted by permission of the author.
BEVERLY’S PASTIME by Sage Vivant, © 2004 by Sage Vivant. First appeared in Wicked Words 9, edited by Kerri Sharp. Reprinted by permission of the author.
THE SPACE BETWEEN by Helena Settimana, © 2004 by Helena Settimana. First appeared in Three-Way, edited by Alison Tyler. Reprinted by permission of the author.
THE HUMAN DRESS by O’Neil De Noux, © 2005 by O’Neil De Noux. Reprinted by permission of the author.
COINS FOR THE FERRYMAN by Robert Buckley, © 2004 by Robert Buckley. First appeared in Erotica Readers & Writers Association. Reprinted by permission of the author.
All efforts have been made to contact the copyright holders, either through their last-known email address or care of the editors who published them. Should people who could not be reached thus wish to make themselves known, please contact Maxim Jakubowski c/o the publisher.
Introduction
Maxim Jakubowski
The years go by and still the fecund imagination of male and female writers of erotica continues to surprise and amaze me. This is the fifth instalment in our annual series in which I’ve attempted to select and present the best stories published worldwide during the course of the preceding calendar year; this in addition to five previous volumes in the series which paved the ground for our turning into a regular, annual event, as well as inspiring, dare I say it, an explosion in the quantity of original and reprint anthologies in our field which still sees no slowing down.
Yet again I was faced by a veritable mountain of submissions, originating in other collections, magazines, webzines and even e-books and I genuinely feel this volume genuinely represents some of the best writing in the genre. I am warmed by the fact that, once more, I am able to introduce a handful of brand new writers to our series. All of whom display a wicked imagination, sexy ideas and believable characters the reader can identify with.
Too many of the stories I have had to turn down, this time
around, are sadly no more than mood pieces, climaxing with a sexual scene and the occasional taboo or unusual variation on a theme – some better written than others, some more psychologically credible than others. Or just wild fantasies with little grounding in reality, wish fulfilment episodes with often a touch of vulgarity which for me is a definite turn-off, or lyrical and meaningful odes to bodies and mating lacking in the art of storytelling, and aspiring desperately for the status of poetry and of course not getting anywhere near that level of inspiration.
So stories with men and women of flesh and articulate thoughts have been at a premium, even more so those with an added healthy sense of humour, as I perversely insist on thinking that a smile on one’s lips when dealing with sex can often be a wonderful asset. . . Let’s not always be so serious and earnest about what is after all one of mankind’s oldest and favourite activities.
Alongside our Mammoth Erotica virgins, many of our most experienced and popular writers of erotica also make a welcome return to our pages, all tackling the thorny theme of sex between consenting adults in ever-more innovative ways which will have you frowning, wiping the sweat off your brow, smiling or even wide open-mouthed. Whoever thought one could conjure up so many situations and improvisations around the facts of life as we know it? But in fact, do we actually know it all? It seems we don’t and I am confident that next year, I will have learned more from the world of erotica and I look forward to the continuing education.
Good erotic writing can be sexy, provocative, intelligent, even educational, but always fascinating.
Welcome one more time to the playing fields of the Gods . . .
Savour.
Maxim Jakubowski
The Salon
Martha Sterling
I never thought I’d go into one of those salons to make a quick buck, but there comes a time in everyone’s life when all bets are off. It was that time for me. The hours of viewing at the videoport at home were starting to get on my nerves. I needed money to get the hell out of there, but Mom was out of the picture – gave all her money to some guy who looked like he just walked out of a wax museum. Dad, of course, would pass me a few if I asked him but I knew the price would be high – extended weekend visits with him and his henna-colored dog (yes, he does treat his dog’s fur with henna) plus lectures on the coming destruction of the planet. No. Thank. You.