Liz Everly's Blog, page 16
October 6, 2017
Jason Isaacs and the Six-Dollar Seduction
He looks harmless enough from here, but in one hour, Jason Isaacs coaxed six dollars from my tight fist.
By Alexa Day
My longest, most functional relationship is with Star Trek. We’ve been together since I was a teenager. We got through the frosty cynicism of my college years together. I stood by it through the worst of the movies and the first unsteady steps of The Next Generation.
Star Trek is my heart. It’s my family.
So when I found out that we were getting a brand new Star Trek television series, I felt a deep, warming joy that sustained me through some pretty dark times. The rest of the world might be going to hell, but new Star Trek was coming, and it would be here every week. Constant production delays didn’t bother me. Weird staff changes didn’t bother me. I just thought of Sonequa Martin-Green and Michelle Yeoh together, on the bridge of a starship. How could this be wrong? How could anything ever be wrong again?
At or around the last minute, CBS said they were going to put the new Star Trek behind a paywall. We could have those first two episodes for free. After that, new Star Trek was going to cost six dollars a month.
I had a little mental argument with CBS.
Me: Six dollars?
CBS: Well, it’s not that much in the larger scheme of things.
Me: That isn’t the point. Six dollars might not be much, but it’s more than I’m used to paying for CBS, which is zero.
CBS: Look, Alexa, we think you’re going to be cool with giving us the six dollars.
Me: That isn’t really the point, either. Star Trek is my family. You know how Star Trek people are. We’re going to give you the six dollars.
CBS: Oh, good.
Me: But then we need to ride you about it. I can’t just give you six dollars on a silver platter. You need to work for it. Otherwise, you get things like Benedict Cumberbatch as Khan.
CBS: I thought we were done talking about that.
Me: I did, too, but now you want six dollars. What is my six dollars for? What are you doing to earn six dollars?
CBS: You get Sonequa Martin-Green for an hour a week for six dollars. Sonequa plus Star Trek. That’s good for six dollars, right?
Me: I’m not giving you six dollars for Sonequa. Look, I saw the first two episodes. Sonequa is turning it out as Michael Burnham. She’s a brilliant badass with a tough past and big trouble in her future. I’ve seen some of that before, with The Walking Dead. They didn’t want six dollars.
CBS: Right, but —
Me: Plus, I think you could put Sonequa and her brilliant badassery into any of those free shows. Seal Team 40. NCIS: Des Moines. Washington Crisis Mode. Whatever. So if I pay you six dollars for Sonequa, that’s like saying it’s okay that she’s not on the actual network for free. That’s not okay.
CBS: Okay. How about the effects? That stuff’s expensive.
Me: Dude, I’m not crowdfunding your special effects. Star Trek is about making more with less. Grab a salt shaker and make us use our imaginations. Seriously, what is the money for?
CBS: What do you want it to be for?
Me: Well, in an ideal world, I want you to surprise me. I want to be excited to give you six dollars. I want to do a giddy little dance when I give it to you. I want to lie awake in bed, wondering when I can give you six dollars. I want to be seduced. Seduce me into giving you six dollars.
I really did not think Star Trek: Discovery would seduce me into paying six dollars a month to watch a single television show. I didn’t think Star Trek could seduce me at all anymore. This is what happens in these long-term relationships. The fire dies, and it’s just familiarity and requests for six dollars.
But then something special happened. On Sunday, Star Trek seduced me.
It’s all spoilers from the music video to the end. Proceed with caution.
I was told that Jason Isaacs would be in Star Trek: Discovery quite some time ago. I admit, I was distracted by Sonequa and Michelle. I didn’t know any better. And those tiny photos on my phone make a lot of people look the same. So I was not really ready for Jason’s entrance as Captain Lorca toward the beginning of episode three, “Context Is For Kings.”
He has a way of occupying the darkened room. That voice is an invitation. And those eyes. Hmm.
Later, I took this question to my esteemed colleagues at Lady Smut: “Where has Jason Isaacs been hiding his fine self all this time? I know nothing.”
Madeline Iva responded that most people who have not been under a rock like me recognize Jason as Lucius Malfoy from the Harry Potter movies. So apparently, he’s spent part of this time hiding his fine self underneath that wig. I’m glad we rectified that. For six dollars, the absolute least I expect to see is a man’s face.
Kiersten Hallie Krum provided me with a syllabus. I cleared a Saturday on my calendar for tax-deductible research, so that I can better work FOR YOU. Then I returned to the man who is going to earn that six dollars.
[image error]Lady Smut.
October 3, 2017
I Vote October Sexiest Month of the Year
[image error]by Madeline Iva
I’m just orgasmic when it comes to October. I wish it was three months long. Seriously. October is the perfect time to dive into a hot, paranormal romance or to enfold oneself in an elegant, gothic thrillfest. It’s the home of fantastical fantasies–whether they take place on other worlds or with paranormal sexy beasts.
The season delights my senses. Between leaves crunching, the low angle of afternoon sunlight or the smell of apple cider on the stove, one is in an orgy of sensual delights. Wool sweaters come out. Your thinking turns all crispy with the cold. But more importantly, this is the time that we touch fingers with the otherworld. This is the time to let sensual urges begin to bubble, toil, and cause you trouble. The time to let primal passions ripen. The time to welcome an unexpected knock on the door. No one knows what you do in the dark; in October darkness begins to engulf daylight. Witches, vampires, along with other things unseen and only grasped in the shadows tease and taunt you to come out and play. Aren’t you already shivering with delight?
My Halloween pleasures come in a variety pack:
Creepy, Kookie, Mysterious & Spooky:
[image error]Over on Facebook, I’m part of a new, fun Halloween Romance FB group. Yesterday we were talking about what kind of Halloween movies we adore: Beetlejuice, The Adams Family (I like the old TV shows best), and all that other cute fun Halloween-y stuff. It’s all about the embrace of ‘the other’ isn’t it?
I have a feeling as the days roll by we’ll be shuffling through the leaves and into hotter, more forbidden Halloween topics. ; > But for now, I love the innocent, goofy “if-you’re-weird-and-ya-know-it-clap-your-hands” kind of vibe as much as I love anything else about Halloween.
We’re having a THE CRAFT movie watching party on facebook Wednesday night, October 4th. Join us! It’s at 8:30pm CDT.
Fantastical & Romantic:
October is the perfect time of year for one’s over-the-top urges, whether it’s dressing up, or more fully exploring your pagan side. For me there are many movies & TV shows that are so flawed, and yet…they feature the kind of fantastical costuming & majestic vibe I lurv so hard. Here are a few:
Bram Stoker’s Dracula (directed by Francis Ford Coppola) — This movie is flawed, but this side story where poor Lucy is mesmerized, ravished, and then succumbs to Dracula–and how her relationship plays out with her bestie Mina–is to me the most evocative and best part of the movie.
[image error]
#sowrongsoright —
Lucy having erotic-no-holds-barred sex w dracula inmonster form. On one hand: ew. On the other hand, she’s clearly getting off big time.
[image error]
Have I got a tale to tell you. Hands down best part of Bram Stoker’s Dracula was the homoerotic/innocent scenes between Lucy n Mina. Thus a thousand fan fic stories were born….
[image error]
Lucy gets the best and worst of it, clearly. But her costumes were definitely the best part.
Penny Dreadful — I’ll confess I couldn’t make it through this TV show. Slow pacing and just unorganized weirdness. But on the other hand, I slobberingly adore Eva Green–esp in her “we’re all doomed” kind of mind-set.
[image error]
Crimson Peak — didn’t care for the bloody slithering spooky parts of this film that tried to add a dash of horror in what otherwise was a perfect gothic set piece. The costumes and the set were to die. I worship it in this Lady Smut blog post and again talking about women in Gothic romances & movies.
[image error]
[image error]
What are those things hanging down from the ceiling? I wants them.
Sleepy Hollow — Just watched this the other night. There’s a complicated backstory that’s hard to follow–and we just don’t care. There’s a complicated mystery that Johnny Depp must piece together, but it’s hard to stay focussed with all the over-the-top mayhem and Christopher Walken magnificently chewing the scenery. The story just gets lost, people. BUT — Christina Ricci (though her role is dumb) is so angelic and yummy and delicate you just want to strangle her to death.
[image error]
A+ costumes for Sleepy Hollow!
Underworld — the styling of the first movie is as good as any of the rest of it. The vamps are cool as f*ck. Just sayin’.[image error]
A Sense of Wit & Humor:
If Halloween were a hero, he’d be the one quietly laughing at himself. I love humor in all Halloween movies & TV shows. Have you seen all of these?
Crazy Head (British, TV)
Santa Clarita Diet (Netflix)
iZombie (TV)
Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV)
Warm Bodies (Movie, Romance)
Shawn of the Dead (Movie, Zombies, Satire)
Scream (Horror Movie)
Ghostbusters (Movie, Humor)
An American Werewolf in London (Old 80’s Horror Movie)
Gothic, Perverse, & Grotesque:
Something about fall gives me an almost manic sense of possibility. A go-to-hell attitude that spurs my imagination, allowing me to uphold my true love for all things a wee bit twisted. In fact, my Pinterest board Halloween Smexy is a document of my favorite Halloween cultural delights.
Today I’m fixated (again) on AMERICAN HORROR STORY: COVEN. There’s such a dark-girl-power theme, I can’t f***ing get enough. Shivers.
Speaking of dark-girl-power! I’m going to be at this Barnes & Nobel event in Charlottesville, VA on Saturday October 28th, from 12 to 3pm. (singing) It’s gonna be freaking awesome…We’re talking about the world of genre fic — specifically the world of SFF–and ‘what it feels like for a girl‘ in this genre, whether we’re attending cons or being someone with a vagina amongst all the writer-men.
[image error]
In summation, because of the ebullient change of seasons, the dark embrace of Halloween, and all it’s fantastical, twisted, grotesque excellence–I vote October sexiest month of the year.
But Wait! There’s More!!!!
Here are two other events I’ll be attending this season:
This Sunday, Oct 8th, 2017, I’ll be at the HEARTS TO YOU, WRW Luncheon for bloggers and readers. You want to sign up? It’s not too late. Click the link for the registration form.
[image error]
Click on this photo to go to the registration page…
The other event on Nov 4th is at the LOUDEN COUNTY Library. I’ll be talking plot and how character is king! Click on the link:
BASICS OF THE ROMANCE FICTION GENRE
And if that’s not enough of me, you know you can always subscribe to my newsletter or find me on fb.
Witchy kisses & hugs to you! XOXO, Mads
The post I Vote October Sexiest Month of the Year appeared first on Lady Smut.
October 1, 2017
Want Military Romance? SEAL’d With A Twist Theme Week
We celebrated Kiersten Hallie KrumSEAL’d With A Twist last week. But we know Lady Smut readers lurv military romance…and we aim to please. So in case you missed it–or crave more posts about hot military romance–here are some links below.
Like Soldiers? My Obsession with Matthias Schoenaerts Continues!
I Want A Hot, Devoted, Skilled Soldier Lover and It's All Susan Stoker's Fault
The post Want Military Romance? SEAL’d With A Twist Theme Week appeared first on Lady Smut.
September 30, 2017
Joey W. Hill’s latest M/M Paranormal: Sexy Sunday Snippet
Joey W. Hill has an excerpt today from her latest release–VAMPIRE’S SOUL just for you Lady Smut readers out there. It’s M/M paranormal! Check it out—
A vampire who wants no one…not even a servant.
A wolf shifter without a pack…
[image error]
You know you want it — click to buy.
EXCERPT FROM VAMPIRE’S SOUL by Joey W. Hil:l
Background: In this excerpt, Cai and Rand are camping in the forest, where Cai has been watching over Rand while the wolf shifter is healing from a hunter’s bullet. At the beginning of this excerpt, Rand is in his wolf form.
“Been doing a little reading,” the vampire said conversationally, though his gaze was on the chained Rand, tracking his every movement. Cai squatted on his heels a short distance away, forearms loosely braced on his knees, thumb and middle finger of one hand flicking in idle, unconscious movement. Rand changed position, four feet braced as he faced off with the vampire.
“Went into town to snag the chain and collar, and raided the local library for the shifter stuff. Figured a lot of it was going to be complete bullshit, same as it is for vampires, though they do get some things right, like the darkness and blood.” Cai lifted a book that was on the ground by his side. Rand flattened his ears in response, not sure of the intent of the movement until Cai laid it down again.
*It’s a damn book. Think.* He could shift his mind to think like a human while in wolf form, if he focused. He just usually preferred not to do so.
“A few stories say if a shifter stays in his animal form for too long, he’ll be stuck that way forever,” Cai continued in that same annoying, persistent tone. “I expect most shifters would consider that a warning, something to be avoided. For someone who seeks oblivion and to forget the human side of things, I expect it would be really damn appealing. So I was thinking…”
Cai rose and sauntered over to a nearby tree, taking a seat beneath it. “The best way to combat that kind of urge is to remind the shifter what’s appealing about the human form. And I don’t know a male in the world who won’t act in the best interest of his dick.”
With deceptive casualness, he unbuckled his belt, left it dangling as he pulled open the top button of his jeans. Working the zipper down with the pressure of his fist, he curled it around the cock he revealed, since he wore no underwear. “I think you’re up to the reminder, and I’m done waiting. I’ll be gentle, but I want that ass.”
Rand fought his human side, tried to push it back, but his eyes locked onto the vampire’s movements as he settled in to jack himself off. One knee was bent, the other rocked out wide as he slowly pumped his member and considered Rand. He wasn’t wearing a shirt, and Rand’s attention was all over him, the vampire’s scent filling his nose, fueling his hunger. The vampire was right. His body was healed enough for his cock to be stupid.
Vampire arrogance was even farther off the charts than he’d heard. Rand told himself that, even as his eyes clung to what Cai’s hand was doing, and his body trembled on that precipice, the human male inside the wolf wanting, and wanting badly. It had been so long…
“All you have to do to get it, and to get out of that collar, is come back to human form.” Cai lifted his free hand and waggled the thumb. “Useful for unfastening buckles. Or unhooking chains, if you like the feel of the collar I put on you enough to keep wearing it.”
That outrageous statement came with an infuriating, quick grin. It showed the tip of the vampire’s fangs, both the real and the metal one. Rand had never heard of a vampire missing one fang. He didn’t want to be curious. Didn’t want to care.
Cai’s gaze slid down as he fingered his belt with his free hand. “If you shift to human, I could strip this off and use it on your fine ass, punish you for causing me so much work.”
Rand backed up, moved sideways, fought the chain again. He let the rage have him. The chain creaked enough to have the vampire’s brow rising, which was gratifying, but it still held. The pain in his side built to fire. Rand would embrace it until he passed out, taking him away from a decision he couldn’t afford. He didn’t want to feel. Why wouldn’t the vampire leave it alone?
He snarled as the vampire was suddenly on his feet and behind him, arms banded around his throat and the barrel of Rand’s chest, holding him up on his hind legs.
“You aggravate that wound again, and I will fucking tie all your feet together,” Cai breathed against his ear. The threat sent a shiver of sensation through Rand’s body. “I’m glad I assumed you were at least as strong as I am. I’ve reinforced that chain with something you can’t fight. It’s cheating, yeah, but I want a level playing field. Come fight me, man to man. Shift.”
Rand snapped at him, but the vampire stayed out of reach, his hold tightening. “If you don’t,” the vampire promised, “I’ll prove how little of a moral code I’ve got. I’ll shove my dick up your wolf’s ass.”
The idea was so repellent to Rand, he almost shifted then and there, but he pushed back the reaction for another few minutes to prove the vampire couldn’t order him around or threaten him into doing his will. The problem was his human part wanted what the vampire was offering. The lust, strong and heated, surprised him, but the vampire had kept that need kindled over these past few days, hadn’t he? Rand recalled it in quick flashes; a hand passing over his face, his chest, a wet cloth bathing his genitals…
He shifted, fur becoming flesh. The vampire moved with him, more smoothly than seemed possible with the quick, snapping convulsions that accompanied a swift shift. However, when Rand was done, he was still securely in the vampire’s hold. He fought him to be free and this time he won, twisting out of the vampire’s grip and backpedaling away, catching himself before he tripped. He had a momentary impression of the vampire’s hands slipping away, and realized the male had had one palm molded over the wound in Rand’s side to protect it.
The collar was loose on his neck now, but as Rand reached for it, he hit a field he couldn’t get through. He couldn’t even curl his fingers over the darn thing and try to pull it over his head, which he should have been able to do, since the wolf’s neck and ruff was far thicker than his own.
Magic. He couldn’t read the shape of it, but it was obvious that was what it was. He hadn’t imagined that healing wash of heat after all. The damn male was a magic user and a vampire. Something Rand had never heard of, but his knowledge of vampires was far from complete.
Regardless, it made the vampire double the trouble and annoyance.
Cai’s fangs flashed in a grim smile. But as he moved in on Rand, Rand closed his hand over the chain, and realized he could touch that, even if he couldn’t unhook it from the collar. The flash of *oh shit* in the vampire’s eyes was mildly gratifying as Rand dodged past him and employed the chain as a weapon.
He just about clotheslined him. Cai ducked under the chain. He’d had the presence of mind to refasten his jeans so vulnerable things weren’t hanging in the breeze, but Rand’s body was still torqued by the erotic display of rippling muscle and grace as the vampire entered a warrior’s dance with him, up and forward, around. Near pins, missed punches. Twisting, grappling, the chain clanking and the vampire dodging away and out of range before Rand could get Cai tangled in it. Then he closed back in again.
They were like a mirror, anticipating one another too well. Twisting. It occurred to Rand that, thanks to the second mark, Cai was in his head, and if he could follow Rand’s thoughts that fast, he’d stay ahead of Rand, get the advantage. Except Rand used instinct, not thought, and that leveled the playing field.
Then Cai got him pinned against a tree. Rand plunged a fist into his gut that knocked him back. It made the vampire swear, and emit an odd half chuckle. Then the fight got serious.
Damn it, Rand was tiring out. But he wasn’t going to stop fighting. Maybe the vampire figured that out, because suddenly he was outside the ring of combat, just beyond the chain’s length. He stood there, studying Rand, arms crossed over his bare chest.
“Fucking hell,” he murmured. “That was fun.”
It had been…stimulating. Rand’s hands closed into fists. He didn’t want to feel that way. Didn’t want to think about his cock being hard and stiff against his belly, and the vampire noticing it with avid eyes. Cai was just as worked up under his jeans, ready to go.
“Let me go,” Rand growled.
Cai considered, then dipped his head, a short nod. He walked toward Rand, easy, casual, as if they hadn’t just been grappling like enemy combatants. His clear blue eyes were intent on Rand’s, yet seeming to cover every inch of skin at the same time, lingering on Rand’s mouth as he arrived toe-to-toe with him.
“Promise not to run. Let yourself have this, wolf. You want me, I want you. It can be that simple.”
Rand closed his eyes. He wasn’t promising anything, but he wasn’t moving, either. As he stood there for several dozen heartbeats, everything seemed to move in the forest except the air around them, a silent cocoon.
The vampire’s palm rested on his chest, molded over his pectoral, stroked his biceps, the taut nipple. Rand drew in a breath. It had been so damn long…
Cai lifted his touch to the collar. Rand felt a tingle, a release of energy that he recognized as the light coating of heat he’d felt over his shoulders and upper chest when he roused to eat. He’d thought it was a lingering symptom of his injuries.
As the magic dissipated, Cai’s hands closed over the collar. He unbuckled it, the attached chain clinking, his fingertips whispering over Rand’s throat. The leather smell, the stroke of the strap leaving his flesh and replaced by the vampire’s fingers, made Rand’s body tighten. The collar and chain dropped to the ground with a louder clank. Cai’s palm covered the healing scar on his side, one of the knife wounds.
“If you’d stayed human more than a minute at a time,” the vampire said, “I could have kept a bandage on your wounds with some topical that would have helped them heal faster.”
“Didn’t need a nurse.” Rand opened his eyes and flashed an angry look at him.
The vampire slid a rough palm down the center of his back, slow, exploring. Rand closed his eyes again. Fine. Cai wasn’t Dylef, Rand’s former mate, but Rand wasn’t that maudlin. He wasn’t betraying Dylef. It was sex. Just sex, and he could enjoy it without giving it more significance than that. The vampire sure as hell wouldn’t.
“Sex done right doesn’t need a lot of sentiment attached to it, wolf,” Cai said. “The value of a thing for what it is, not what we think it should be.”
*Or wish it could be.* Rand let out a sigh that was half wolf, half man. He couldn’t do anything about the vampire being in his mind, either. Might as well enjoy pure sensation. The vampire was good at this. Creatures of the night, seductive and mesmerizing. He caressed, stroked, learned the lines of Rand’s body, brought every inch of flesh to life. Doing no more than stroking Rand’s shoulders, back, hips. When he reached Rand’s ass, Cai turned his hand over so his knuckles glided over his buttocks, the seam between them.
“You could bounce rocks off this work of art. All that running, I expect. Do you like to run, Rand? It’s an animal thing, stretching out over the ground, going faster and faster, connecting to the elements as you do it. Feeling the wind, the earth beneath you, the sky above.”
He wanted to do it right now, merely from the images Cai was planting, but Cai’s hand closed over his buttock, a hard grip that snagged Rand’s attention fully again.
“Stay with me. I’ll give you a different way to feel like you’re flying.”
He didn’t say it like a boast. A simple assertion of fact. Cai nudged his knee. “Spread these apart.”
It was a command, which raised Rand’s hackles, but as Cai’s hand slid down between his legs from behind, he complied, and swallowed a growl as the vampire captured his testicles in a strong, kneading grip. His fingertips whispered over the base of Rand’s hardening cock.
“There you are. Fuck, you are a treasure.” Cai clasped Rand’s hip with the other hand. The vampire’s possessive hold on his balls resulted in a surge of further desire.
“Do you like pain and restraint, wolf? Are shifters more conservative and vanilla, or do you like taking that animal dominance and submission into darker waters, same as vampires do?”
Whereas vampires stayed in the shadows, wolf shifters were the shadows. But they kept tabs on their non-human brethren, like vampires. Wolves learned about their competitors in the predator world as much as they could. In addition to the information about their speed and strength had come other rumors. How deep and brutal their sexual tastes ran.
And that they were insatiable.
“No,” Rand said, to cover all angles of the question. But he needn’t have said anything, since he suspected his mind revealed some of it. He hadn’t thought of such things, and it hadn’t been part of his life before. Well, not beyond how they manifested in a wolf’s normal makeup, as Cai had pointed out. But the things that woke to life when the vampire threatened to mark his ass, or drove him to his knees, were confusing but undeniable. Darker, deeper parts of what was already in Rand’s mind. A desire for pain, punishment and pleasure, so strong everything else would be swept away. Every agony of the heart too great too bear.
He pushed that away, too, put it back on a physical footing. It was likely the vampire allure, opening their prey’s minds to possibilities they wouldn’t normally entertain.
“No, you don’t do pain and restraints, and no, wolves aren’t more conservative.” Cai chuckled, a sound that cinched around Rand’s cock like a leash, jerking it to attention. “Or simply no, to tell me we’re not having that conversation.”
“Wolves don’t talk this much during fucking.”
“No, I don’t expect they do.” Cai gripped Rand’s buttocks, spreading them, and rubbed his cock in the channel. Rand’s muscles tightened, a ripple going through his arms and shoulders. He was standing there, rigid, but like a tree, he was starting to sway.
“You’re tiring, and I don’t want to wear you out,” the vampire said mildly. “So how about we make this one straightforward. But I like all the directions your mind goes when I touch you, wolf. We’ll have to explore that.”
“I’m not hanging around long enough for a guided tour.”
Cai made a noncommittal noise, and then his grip tightened, his body pressed flush against Rand’s, shoulders to cock to knees. “Go down for me, wolf. All fours. Your favorite position.”
Rand would have locked his knees, but Cai didn’t force it. He nudged, with one knee and the temptation of his cock teasing against Rand’s ass, and another quiet whisper. The words were almost unintelligible, but the meaning clear enough, especially since he let Rand hear it in his head.
*I’ll make it feel good. Simple and easy.*
Rand let his knees give, and when he was on them, dropping to his palms, the vampire delivered. He used his saliva to lube Rand’s opening and his cock, too, he expected, since he felt the vampire working his shaft in his hand as he rubbed against Rand’s ass.
*I’ll bet you have something else to ease my way, coming out of that hard cock of yours. Let me have it.*
Rand gripped himself, slipping his curled fist over his cockhead and finding the pre-come there that Cai had anticipated. His erection was substantial, so he didn’t know why his own response surprised him. Mixed emotions held him as he reached back, palm open and up, and Cai’s strong grip closed over his wrist.
He held Rand’s palm steady as he rubbed his cock over Rand’s damp palm and fingers. It really didn’t add a lot, but it shoved the arousal factor up another two or three notches. Then Cai released him to guide his cock, slippery enough from the combined lubrication, into Rand’s opening. He nudged, playing, teasing, until Rand was pushing back against Cai, frustrated.
“Be still, wolf,” Cai said mildly. “Or I’ll put you on your elbows and show you who’s boss.”
Rand snorted, and Cai answered with one of those sensual chuckles. But the moment of humor disappeared, swallowed by darker, needier things. *Do it. Just do it.* Cai’s hands were all over him, kneading and squeezing his ass, running along his back, his sides, learning him, appreciating him. Enjoying more than just his cock.
Too close to intimacy. Things were growing too hard to manage inside of Rand, making it hard to breathe. He was about to throw the vampire off, start that battle once again…
Cai thrust through both sets of ass muscles, seating himself with a hum of satisfaction. Rand bit back a groan at his traitorous cock’s leap of satisfaction. Maybe because he wasn’t a hundred percent healed, maybe because the vampire put pressure on him he didn’t recognize until it happened, Rand found himself on his elbows. But as they dug into the ground, the anchor and angle took the other male deeper, filling him up. Cai set both hands to his hips.
“Nice,” he purred. He bent close over Rand’s back, his breath caressing Rand’s spine, and fangs scraped over his flesh. The wound in Rand’s side was starting to burn again, and Cai noticed.
“Does it hurt, wolf? Hurt too much?”
From the rumors Rand had heard, that would only turn the vampire on more. Cai chuckled.
“Sometimes,” the vampire acknowledged. “But that’s not the right kind. That’s the type that causes me more work and makes you a one-time fuck, and I want far more out of this fine ass than that.”
Rand snarled and pushed back against him, a message itself. Cai chuckled. “Long as I don’t take too long about things, you don’t care, right? You won’t get to shorten things between us in the future, wolf. But today, I’ll be merciful.”
Mercy had a different definition to vampires, apparently. Cai started thrusting again, but he paced himself, making Rand ride that edge of pain from his injuries while building him up to a mind-boggling arousal. Cai was taking Rand toward orgasm, but at his own pace, until Rand was held away from it by little more than a breath. If this was shortening things, an actual full health fuck with a vampire might be life-threatening.
Cai teased him, spoke to him in that low, sensual voice, saying things that Rand should have ignored, shouldn’t have affected him at all. But his body responded to the words as much as he did to the fucking. The male had a way with words, and a substantial cock, and he knew what to do with both. He could wield the latter like a damn blunt instrument or a precision tool. A power tool, for damn sure.
Cai’s additional chuckle made Rand’s ears burn. Fuck, he needed to remember the vampire was in his head.
“Think any thought you wish, wolf,” Cai said, covering his body, dropping his hand on the ground behind Rand’s braced elbow. “It just makes me want you more.”
Want to read Chapter One of Vampire’s Soul? Or have the author read it to you? Find Chapter One, blurb and buy links at Joey W. Hill’s website.
But you probably already know you want to buy it — so here’s a link: AMAZON. And if you’re craving more Sexy Snippets — you know to check back here at Lady Smut every Sunday. ; >
The post Joey W. Hill’s latest M/M Paranormal: Sexy Sunday Snippet appeared first on Lady Smut.
September 29, 2017
Sexy Saturday Round Up
[image error]It’s sunny outside and Sexy Saturday Round Up inside! Curl up with these links about women, gender, sex, & romance news. Buckled in? Here we go–
From Madeline:
Who says women ruin chances at marriage by having a lot of sex right away?
Hiddlesbottom says he’s kinda surprised he’s still playing Loki.
Kinky requests for a male escort.
Your egg as a ‘hitching post’ and other new versions of conceptualizations for how sex really works according to less sexist conceptions of science.
Bitch Podcast: Why we love sports–even though they’re so problematic for feminism.
From Elizabeth Shore:
Why it’s a really, really bad idea to get an eyeball tattoo.
And then there are the vagina piercings.
Thinking about getting high on psychodelic honey? You might want to rethink that.
The secret to great sex? Lots o’ lube.
XOXOAfter Dark lists the 100 romances you must read before you die.
The post Sexy Saturday Round Up appeared first on Lady Smut.
September 28, 2017
The Real Story Behind BIG SICK *was* More Romantic
People who read my article on THE BIG SICK will be happy to check out this other website, —a fact checking story about the real life romance of Kumail and Emily vs. the rom-com version.
I just wanted to add the following notes based off this article:
When you know, you know. And it happens fast, removing all obstacles around it, because romance is a mighty force. So on one hand, YES, I like the true life story better than the on screen version. It’s more romantic, more forgiving and generous. More speedy. However, I sympathize with the writers, etc. because rom-coms would be over so fast if romances happened on screen like they do in real life. True love swiftly quashes almost all obstacles in our modern times.
Kamail is so much hotter in all his photos with real life Emily. You can just feel the sizzle between them. Just sayin’. Irresistible chemistry cannot be denied.
The guy I’m looking for –the one that the movie disappointed me about–is there in real life. I quote:
“Was the real Emily upset and angry when she came out of the coma?
Yes. The Big Sick true story confirms that the real Emily Gordon was miserable when she came out of the coma, despite those around her feeling very happy she was awake. “Yeah, a lot of the hospital people had invented a personality for me that did not match how I felt when I woke up,” says Emily. “Because I had, like, fun hair, and I just was mean, and scary, and very upset, and angry and would cry a lot, for like a while. And people were like, ‘Oh, we thought you were gonna be fun.’ And I was like, ‘I used to be.'” According to her now-husband Kumail, she needed time to deal with the fact that she had been betrayed by her own body. “It took me a few months to remember to be fun again,” says Emily.” -ScreenAnarchy.com
It’s a little thing — but the quote “According to her now-husband Kumail, she needed time to deal with the fact that she had been betrayed by her own body.” is the thing I’m talking about. First of all, we have the fact that she’s not at her best — like plucky cutie-pie Emily in the movie — when she comes out of the coma. And that he’s there through the thick and thin of that. They weren’t broken up. There was no distance.
Second of all — his quote indicates a forgiving gentleness with her and how she was at that time. He understands, he gets it.
This just gives me romance-y swoons all over. Okay, that’s all. See ya next week.
The post The Real Story Behind BIG SICK *was* More Romantic appeared first on Lady Smut.
The Author Witness Protection Program and Other Writerly Secrets
It’s Throwback Thursday, and we’re putting up popular posts for your enjoyment. Below is a blog post that first appeared on our LadySmut Romance Blog Facebook page. Give the page a “like” if you haven’t done so and never miss our shenanigans.
The Author Witness Protection Program and Other Writerly Secrets
Ever wonder what life is like for your favorite author? Not the stuff you see on Facebook or Twitter. Not the sunshine and roses or even ranty stuff. I mean the Stuff We Never Talk About. Here are secrets that might be just me. But then, again, who knows? For instance….
I have often put my life in danger in the name of research.
First, there is Death By Boredom. I watched three hours of Supreme Court documentary hell. I suffered through this for ONE LINE so it’d be accurate. Even my husband turned to me half way through and asked, “can we be done with this?” This question came from a man who gets a thrill when the new year’s Tax Code comes in the mail. (This two inch book makes him happy. It whispers “deductions.”)
As if that’s not enough I’m going to take a tour of the Supreme Court so I can describe the marble correctly. Honestly, this book cannot be published (The Supreme Spanking, the third Justice series novella) without this trip.
There also is death by Real Crazy Shit. Like I needed to know how it feels to get a fishing hook stuck in your hand for a book I’m writing right now. I asked my husband to do this to me. He refused. I felt unsupported. So, instead I’m YouTubing what it’s like to have a piece of metal pierce your flesh. Hey, marriage is all about compromise.
Since I have BDSM elements in many of my books I have also sampled some Other Wild Things. I can tell you this: Wax play is awesome. Fireplay isn’t so bad. The Violet Wand is evil incarnate. A whole other post could be about the BDSM Stuff I’ve Done. But let’s not let that topic hijack the other parts that are important to note, like ….
Pseudonyms are often critical to an author’s life.
We aren’t trying to keep ourselves from you, dear reader. Oh, no. For some of us, a pen name is like an Author Witness Protection Program (AWPP). It keeps the mortgage-paying clients in our day jobs from throwing our buttinskis on the street. If my uber-conservative clients knew what I wrote? They would have a heart attack. No matter they have s-e-x themselves, but my writing about the horizontal mambo? Heavens to Betsy and Holy Smokes!
For other writers, pen names are a safety thing. We don’t want crazed serial killers and mentally delusional people showing up at our house. I might write about a kidnapped girl falling in love with the guy (who turned out to have no choice and is really good underneath), but that doesn’t mean I want that to happen to me – with them! (Jason Momoa, if you are reading this post, I give you carte blanche to kidnap me. In fact, I’ll be sitting on my front porch in about 5 minutes. I’ll go quietly.)
[image error]
Book Butt clearly was inevitable.
Or call it Author Ass. It’s all the same poundage on the hippage. I gained 20 pounds in the last two years thanks to my books Lovely, Untouchable, Perfect and Lucky. That’s 5 pounds per story. It’s like the college Freshman Ten, except back then you didn’t have your current responsibilities and got to go home with the guy manning the keg. The current BB/AA syndrome is so prevalent that the #RomanceFit online group is a thing – like a very real, very necessary thing. I tried to join this online support group’s fun, but I kept forgetting to log in those 5 miles that I never ran. What can I say?
P.S. Don’t yell at me saying I just called a bunch of romance authors fat. I did not. I mean, have you SEEN J.R. Ward? I’m just sayin’ I didn’t realize MY 20 pounds came with publishing. That’s all. Lay down the sword—unless you can carve out those 20 pounds. If so, have at it.
I (sometimes/often/perhaps always) love my characters more than real people.
I love it when plans get cancelled. It means I can stay home and play with my fictional Doms. (Is that bad?) This last summer has been hellish with family invasions of all types – father, stepmother, cousins, children of cousins, stepsons and wives – who have taken me away from my characters! Do you think I’m horrible? No, don’t tell me because…
I care what you think.
MOST of us care what you think. Like really, really care. That’s why we read our reviews and check our rankings – some of us to obsessive levels. Sure, some writers do this more than others. Yet, I cringe a little when an author boasts on social media, “I never read reviews! They are for readers! I don’t need to see them!” Uh, huh. Right. You sneak a peek now and then, don’t you? Admit it. And, you know what’s worse? When we don’t have reviews at all. (Sniff. What’s wrong with my books?? No one loves me!!)
But we love you at Ladysmut, so please keep reading us, commenting, posting and click that like button if you liked being in on these secrets.
Speaking of love, have you checked out Kiersten Hallie Krum’s latest? SEALed with a Twist. In the follow-up to the wildly popular, Library Journal starred review, RONE award finalist, WILD ON THE ROCKS, a fan favorite returns to Barefoot Bay… One click today!
~~~~~
Elizabeth SaFleur is a contemporary erotic romance author and dying-to-retire public relations practitioner who writes, tweets and posts under a pseudonym since her business clients might be (WOULD be) shocked at her second career choice. Her books, the Elite Doms of Washington and Justice series, were inspired by her thirty-year career serving D.C. clients where she learned not all power in our nation’s capital is wielded by politicians. There’s way more interesting things happening there than politics.
The post The Author Witness Protection Program and Other Writerly Secrets appeared first on Lady Smut.
September 26, 2017
Sick, Sick, Sick: Men Who Take Care Of Others Are HOT
by Madeline Iva
[image error]We’re celebrating Kiersten Hallie Krum’s latest novel SEAL’d WITH A TWIST. SEAL’d… features a hot medic named Grant who was in the first book in the series. He takes care of others–and when in Book 1 he can’t heal a buddy and that buddy dies–he becomes totally tormented. So I wanna talk about THE BIG SICK and guys who care for those who hurt.
Which brings me to a new obsession of mine: the whole hurting/caring trope in fan fic. Lurv it so hard. I get the ovary spasms over it the way other other women almost die looking at a super hot guy holding a baby. This is why women go so crazy for doctors, of course. Nothing new here. But I’ve always felt a leetle removed from the doctor thing. After all, it’s usually the nurses who do the tending, isn’t it?
[image error]
Matthew Fox’s hotness on LOST was 95% the doc/healer thing.
I will confess to two exceptions to this rule. (They’re weird–don’t judge.) One is the doctor who removed my wisdom teeth. That guy was nothing super to write home about, but I’d delayed getting my wisdom teeth out because I didn’t have the money and then I got a massive infection. My obnoxious roommate at the time pointed out that having a really bad infection near your brain isn’t good. Ya think? My maxillofacial surgeon had this amazing bedside manner. “There there, it’s gonna be okay,” was the gist of his reassurances, but something about how he conveyed that to me in my distress just had me crushing out on him for about a week.
[image error]
I know it’s ridiculous–but Clemens would give this close attentive look at Ripley, and then give her a ‘tincture’ and my ovaries would implode.
The other doc was (wait for it) Charles Dance in Aliens 3. Yes…Charles Dance is a fabulous (now somewhat elderly) British Actor. in Aliens 3 he played Clemens a “medical officer” who treats Ripley. Basically he tends to her wonky health from all the deep space time and other issues she’s experienced. He gave her these little tinctures, and was just kind of attentive to how she was feeling. It’s really just a tiny break from all the alien biting mayhem, but he’s an amazing actor, and that bit of a role was very well written. The whole Ripley thing–a woman trying to save humanity when the other humans around her are most often just not being very helpful — and then suddenly someone actually cares about HER — not in some overt soppy way, but just kind of peering at her and then “making it better” — well, it really got to me.
Which brings me to THE BIG SICK. Omg, I was almost crying to death just hearing about the movie–just watching the previews. Why was so deeply affected? I think it goes so deep with me that it goes back to the trauma of watching my mom when she was 34 and just really ill. She needed someone to step in and just sure things were going to be okay. No one did–and she died. (I know, I know, it’s very sad.) The prospect of a romance hero stepping in to care for someone who’s sick and needs someone to ‘make it better’ just undoes me to the f*cking core.[image error]
So anyway–my sweetie and I go see THE BIG SICK and…while it was a good date night movie, for sure. But ultimately I was let down. I mean, there’s much to rejoice about in this based-on-a-true-story, and I enjoyed it as much as any other semi-rom com I’ve seen in a while. There are critics out there as well for the movie. All of their stuff has to do with race. I’m not talking about that.
I’m talking about my fav hurting/caring trope. There was much hurting…In the movie, Emily gets really sick really fast and is in a coma in less than 24 hours. But we don’t see a whole lot of tending to from the “hero” Kumail Nanjiani. He’s funny, he’s a good actor. It’s great to see someone raising themselves up by their own bootstraps vis-a-vis creating a movie that others aren’t writing with East Asian leads. Huzzah to all that. I think at one point before the coma, Emily’s ankle hurts and he’s solicitous. At one point when she’s in a coma, he urges the family to make one decision and not another. Like…that’s it. Other than that, he’s sitting around and waiting with her family. Which is what you do when someone you love is in a coma…true. But I guess I was expecting more after-care when she comes out of the coma…I mean, I can easily see there’s a kind of feminist “I can take care of myself” and “I don’t need a man to take care of me” kind of thing maybe going on. But come on–this is just basic humanity we’re talking about here. We’re not talking about opening a door. We’re talking about being on the cusp of death and it’s all hands on deck.
After the coma, Emily’s got PT, she’s not all together for a while. And he…anyway, he tries showing her his devotion and commitment–but as she points out–that’s all fine and good. “Only all that happened while I was asleep.” And in the audience I’m saying the next line I would have written, “But what have you done for me lately?”
Again, in the movie, he basically is forced to choose at one point between his family and his true love– and he chooses her. That’s romantic. That’s a big deal. But in my heart, I also would have preferred him to help her with the groceries. Because this is Chicago — groceries, a cane, and no car — these three things do not go well together. You know what I’m saying?
A caring partner to help you out just when you need help the most. The very idea makes my heart do intense crunches…We leave behind the realm of women who are afraid to take a big shit in a potential love interest’s apartment. We enter the world where you look like sh*t–and he doesn’t care. Because he loves you. You are not great company because you don’t feel well–and he feels badly–not because you’re not funny and charming at the moment–but because you’re hurting, because he loves you. For some reason we have accepted hand in hand the idea of not needing men and at the same time performing for them a lot — getting out of bed to put on make up before he wakes up. I find this appalling. Utterly appalling. I think women fear they’re not somehow worthy of being so deeply loved that their humanity and flaws don’t really matter. So maybe that’s why I’m all about this kind of a trope–because I think we need to march in the opposite direction. I think that a lot of good men out there who would excel at nurturing and caring–if given the chance.
I may have a write a story or two about this in the future. And because germs and feeling punky in general are not the hottest thing when it comes to sex–they may have to be on the sweeter side of the heat spectrum. They may have to live in the more squishy comforting side of romance.
In the meantime, Kiersten’s really got talent at portraying that heavy throb of hurting and the need for some deep romantic connection. In her book, I find that the scorching sex to make it all better–at least for me. Please go check out SEAL’d WITH A TWIST! (Don’t you lurv the cover? I think it’s crazy hot.)
September 23, 2017
Sexy Saturday Round Up
[image error]By Elizabeth Shore
Sexy statues, feminist authors, and really cool ways to live longer. All that and more is here for all you lovely readers this week. xoxo
Why it’s a really bad idea to have sex in a Domino’s Pizza.
And the #1 most Googled sex question is…
Giant penises shooting up from the ground? Nipple cookies? Statues of fornitcating couples? Welcome to Love Land.
Feminist romance author Alisha Rai on writing romance in a very rough year.
We can all relax. Scientists say we won’t be blasted by another planet on Saturday. Thank goodness we dodged that bullet.
Turns out, you don’t have to exercise your a** off in order to live longer. Just 2 1/2 hours a week will do it – and housecleaning counts!
Stoked about the menswear look but don’t want to look like a man? Or something. Here’s all you need to know.
From Madeline:
Would I let Kanye West dress me for 5 days? YES.
Julia Quinn opines on just what makes her heroes sexy…
Wanna git some? Here’s how some ladies signal their S.O. it’s time to boink.
Finally! Some awesome plus-size lingerie.
Quick love hacks to make your relationship better
Stop calling yourself an alpha male
So you gotta create a fake guy to get some respect?
You can’t fire her just ’cause Aunt Flo came to town unexpectedly.
http://redlipstickproject.com/self-awareness-new-sexy/
I up my career game—next think I know, hubby is upping his. What’s going on?
Surviving the Sadness
by Kiersten Hallie Krum
Welcome to Theme Week here at Lady Smut. This week we’re celebrating the release of my new book, SEALed With a Twist.
Look! A blurb!
In the follow-up to the wildly popular, Library Journal starred review, RONE award finalist, Wild on the Rocks, a fan favorite returns to Barefoot Bay…
Debutante. Heiress. Lady.
Skylar Thornquist has been called them all. But when her family insisted she stand as bridesmaid at her sister’s wedding to Skye’s ex-fiancé, she rebelled, drowning her public humiliation in tequila and a one-night stand of carnal debauchery with Grant Sisti. To escape her family’s iron grip, Skye now hides out cleaning toilets at the Casa Blanca Resort & Spa, masking her breeding and identity under a dye job, heavy makeup, and a smattering of fake tattoos while she tries to discover which label sticks to her best.
Doctor. Joker. Warrior.
Navy SEAL Grant “Twisted” Sisti has been them all. But since he failed to prevent the violent death of his teammate six months ago, Grant isn’t sure he can be any of those men anymore. He’s back at the Casa Blanca Resort & Spa for his best friend’s wedding, but Grant knows he’s reaching the end of his rope. A state that isn’t improved by finding the help swimming naked in his private villa’s pool.
Skye never thought she’d get caught skinny dipping by the man who got her through her worst night. But this Grant is a different man than the one who lit up her world back then. And though it takes him too long to remember her, Skye is drawn even more to the wounded warrior than she was to the charming lover.
Grant is fascinated by the puzzle Skye presents, the debutante who cleans toilets and speaks like a queen. She’s the first thing he’s had any interest in since his friend’s death, the first woman in a long time to see the man before the SEAL.
They never expected to find each other again on Barefoot Bay, both hiding from who there were, both wondering who they should be. Until Skye’s identity is compromised and the Thornquist iron grip gets a stranglehold on her new life…only this time there’s a Navy SEAL by her side.
There’s a lot about SEALed With a TWIST that is sexy and fun and it’s full of flirtatious banter. Grant and Skye are on similar journeys, but they’re at different locations on the path. They’ve both lost someone and that loss has rocked their foundations and made them question and reevaluate key components of their makeup. They’re both reconciling pieces of their past and learning to make peace with themselves about it.
[image error]
This book was very difficult for me to write. In the beginning of the SWAT, Skye learns about the death of her grandmother who raised her and that, because of the choices she made, Skye wasn’t with her at the end. My mother died rather suddenly in the beginning of this year. She had lived with me since 2003 and I had been her 24/7 primary caregiver since 2008, so her loss has had an enormous impact on every aspect of my life.
While I had already written the death of Skye’s grandmother before that happened, fleshing out those scenes in the months afterward became very personal for me, much more than I’d anticipated.
Anyone who deals with grief walks the five stages, but the way in which we take those steps is always unique. No one can tell another how to do it or when to stop or how long it will take or what it will entail. Every grief journey is different. One day, you’ll realize that last breath you took wasn’t quite as hard as the one before it. A few months or years later, you’ll realize that breath wasn’t as difficult as the other one. The only thing you have to do is keep breathing.
Skye’s grief journey is just beginning in SEALed With a Twist. She’s in the very early stages, before the full impact has had time to take root, but even now, she wonders how she’ll survive the sadness. Into these early moments. the man who was once the only good thing in a horrendous, publicly humiliating situation has suddenly show up in her life again. Not only that, but Grant is on his own grief journey and has been since just before he met Skye for the first time six months ago–and he isn’t handling it well at all.
I hope you’ll walk along with these strong and flawed and hurting people as they walk this journey together and discover any journey, however difficult and rocky, is easier to endure when the right person is by your side.
Kiersten Hallie Krum writes smart, sharp, and sexy romantic suspense. She is the author of the prestigious RONE award finalist, Wild on the Rocks, and its follow-up, SEALed With a Twist. She is also a past winner of the Emily Award for unpublished novelists.
A member of the Romance Writers of America, the New Jersey Romance Writers, and the Long Island Romance Writers, Kiersten has been working in book publishing for more than twenty years in marketing and promotion. At other times in her career, she’s worked back stage for a regional theater, managed advertorials for a commerce newspaper in the World Trade Center, and served as senior editor for a pharmaceutical advertising agency.
Writer, singer, editor, traveler, tequila drinker, and cat herder, Kiersten avoids pen names since keeping her multiple personalities straight is hard enough work. Born and bred in New Jersey (and accent free), Kiersten sings as easily, and as frequently, as she breathes, drives fast with the windows down and the music up, likes to randomly switch accents for kicks and giggles, and would be happy to spend all her money traveling for the rest of her life.
