Stories I've Enjoyed (Coming Together Edition): "Thank God It's Friday" by T. Highwayman

At some point, I realized that a lot of erotica skimps on describing male appearance and experience. My favorite erotic story (which I'll talk about another time) is m/m. For a while, I thought it was my favorite despite the m/m, because of its extreme bdsm. Recently, I re-evaluated. One reason I like it so much is that it contains extended, loving descriptions of cock.

I like cock. I like balls. I like men. (Women, too, but that is also a subject for another time). M/M erotica is obviously good at describing men sensually, but I wish I saw these kinds of descriptions in other places, too.

The story I'm featuring today, "Thank God It's Friday" by T. Highwayman, really aroused me with its focus on cock. I'm not always into masturbation stories (which this is), but this one really makes me understand the appeal of the genre. There's no one else in the picture. I get to be a voyeur. I don't have to compare myself to another person (male or female) playing the role of lover. I can admire, and identify.

The story appeared in Coming Together: By Hand, a collection of masturbation stories that benefits the Coalition for Positive Sexuality.

Here's an excerpt that's much shorter than all my going on:

He had learnt to keep this state going for hours on end. It was the closest a man could get to being multi-orgasmic. His penis would swell to atrocious proportions. He could feel the blood flow through its veins. In this state, he could maintain a perpetual hard-on. He loved it.

Notes:

In honor of the Coming Together Share the Love Blog Bash, I'm featuring Coming Together stories all month for "Stories I've Enjoyed."

Coming Together publishes erotic anthologies and standalone titles, and donates all proceeds to various charities.

For full disclosure, I've been published by Coming Together, but I bought Coming Together: By Hand and wrote this post entirely on my own.

Stories I've Enjoyed: "At the Crossroads" by Monique Poirier

Monique Poirier's "At the Crossroads" appeared in Like Heaven and Hell: Erotic Tales of Angels and Demons, which Circlet published in early 2011.

A half-blood angel infected with incubus venom plucks a demon from the gutters of the Gray City to satisfy his infernal craving. Neither of the two is able to treat this as just another encounter:

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry... next time, I promise... next time I'll make it so good for you..." he panted into my ear in counterpoint to thrusting hips. I closed my eyes and arched my head until the tips of my horns touched the firmness of hay behind me, my breath coming in quick gasps as I was filled again and again. He'd slicked the way with something, and the sensation was... novel. Nothing like the pain I was used to, and that spot inside me that turned my insides to liquid fire was touched intermittently. He was promising to make it good? This was as good as I'd ever known.

I really wanted these two to end up together, somehow, which is one of the best signs that a story is working. Also, I was reading it over breakfast, and it almost made me late. I loved the concept of the Gray City, where the two characters meet--a sort of no-fire zone between heaven and hell. I also liked that the story didn't shy away from the ethical questions it raised. This is a really strong story, and closed out the anthology on a great note.

I've previously posted about two other stories in this anthology, "Switch," and "Give and Take."

For full disclosure, I've published with Circlet before, but I bought and read this book entirely on my own.

Stories I've Enjoyed: "Give and Take" by Karen Cobb

Karen Cobb's "Give and Take" appeared in Like Heaven and Hell: Erotic Tales of Angels and Demons, which Circlet published in early 2011.

A demon and angel (who, in this world, aren't really different from each other) find in each other an outlet to deal with the ways that mortals' expections twist them:

I hold my breath, waiting. It feels as though every nerve ending in my body is protruding an inch from the skin and waving around like a little sea anemone. But the cry that explodes from me at the first strike is more due to astonishment than pain. I was expecting a whip, the whip, the one that cuts through skin and flesh. The whip which scourges away my shame and self-loathing, healing my essence while it flays this beautiful, ephemeral frame. Instead, the stripes being laid across my skin are from a strap. Painful, yes--but only a strap. Devious Othello is playing with me, teasing me with my own fears.

This story is well-titled--it clearly portrays how both parties in a bdsm encounter are giving to each other, and how both are receiving from each other. The emotion between the two main characters was palpable.

Last week, I blogged about "Switch," another story in this anthology, and I'll post about my favorite from the book next week.

For full disclosure, I've published with Circlet before, but I bought and read this book entirely on my own.

Stories I've Enjoyed: "Switch" by KJ Kabza

KJ Kabza's "Switch" appeared in Like Heaven and Hell: Erotic Tales of Angels and Demons, which Circlet published in early 2011.

An angel who enjoys slumming on Earth by pretending to be a demon becomes obsessed with another angel, who is much more innocent:

"What are you doing?" he whispered. But the whisper was dreamy and weak, and when I moved my mouth to his ear, his words became lost in a feverish sigh.

I slid my hand down. I expected to find his desire rising in answer to mine, but I hit nothing but soft hair.

Oh. A woman's place.

I felt myself smiling. "This is your first time. To Earth. You've never manifested before."
Head tipped back beside my mouth, transported, Nix could barely manage a sound.

"Human males don't..." I started to explain. But perhaps Nix had meant to manifest as a woman to begin with. Or maybe Nix wasn't quite clear on the differences?

I really enjoyed how genderqueer this story was. It played with the fluid boundaries between "him" and "her" in a sexy, satisfying way.

I liked several stories in this anthology, and plan to post about them in coming weeks.

For full disclosure, I've published with Circlet before, but I bought and read this book entirely on my own.

Stories I've Enjoyed: "Time On His Hands" by D. Mark Alderton

Circlet Press regularly puts up free speculative flash erotica. Case in point: D. Mark Alderton's "Time On His Hands." It's about a time-traveling professor who is looking for the perfect woman:

“I started out with the most famous women in history. But they were disappointing. Cleopatra was young and nubile, but too kinky for my tastes.”
“Kinky?”
“Yes, she was only interested in asp play."

"Asp play" totally cracked me up. The whole story is funny like that.

Stories I've Enjoyed

I'm starting a new weekly posting, in addition to Music Mondays. I'm planning to highlight erotic stories I've recently read and enjoyed. I'll post about whatever I've been reading, which may not always be the most recent stuff.

I'm not planning for these to be reviews per se. I don't intend to get into technical discussions of the merits or flaws of stories, and I'll only discuss stories I liked. My comments will likely be minimal.

That said, there's a lot of great erotica out there, and I want to do my part in spreading the word!

Begging

My story, "Begging," went up last night on Every Night Erotica:

“No,” Christine sobbed. “It’s– Karl, I need you.”

“Need me to do what?” He still sounded alarmed.

“I just need you. Inside me. It’s been so long.”

“Jesus. You’re crying.”

“I’m sorry. It’s stupid.” Shame filled Christine. Never in her wildest dreams had she pictured herself making a call like this, begging a man for sex.

Visit the site to read the rest of the story!