Dirty Dates

by Rachel Kramer Bussel (Editor), Dorothy Freed (Contributor), Giselle Renarde (Contributor)

What happens when date night involves a blindfold, a corset, handcuffs, or a spanking? The couples in Dirty Dates combine kink and romance in this collection of erotic stories that provides plenty of ideas for your next sexy outing. Your 50th date can be even hotter than the first ones if you play by the rule of Rachel Kramer Bussel, which means NO rules at all except for an emphasis on pure pleasure. Rachel Kramer Bussel has quickly become America's favorite erotic writer with dozens of best-selling books, awards, and deeply satisfied readers to her credit. Dirty Dates is a delectable collection of stories redolent with romance featuring two people in lust. From first dates to long-term lovers to hook-ups and missed connections, the common theme is coming together in every sense of the word!Table of Kinky Is as Kinky Does
The Corset Dorothy Freed 
The Swap Jade A. Waters
Slow Burn Morgan Sierra 
The World in My Pants Valerie Alexander
Lying Down Kathleen Delaney-Adams 
The Rabbit Trap Nik Havert 
Closing Time Elise Hepner 
A Thousand Miles Apart Tilly Hunter 
Switch Mina Murray 
The Birds and the Bees Giselle Renarde 
Potluck Alva Rose 
Magic Words Emily Bingham 
Polka-Dot Dress Erzabet Bishop 
Baby Steps Justine Elyot 
On Location D. L. King 
Well Lit Sara Taylor Woods 
A Soundproof Room with a View Leigh Edward Gray 
Recipe for Punishment Jacqueline Brocker 
Cry to Me Skylar Kade 
Needles Kathleen Tudor
Admitting It Is the First Step Rachel Kramer Bussel

Genres: Erotica, Short Stories, BDSM, Anthologies

231 pages, Paperback

First published November 10, 2015

About the author

I'm the editor of the Best Women's Erotica of the Year series and over 70 anthologies including The Big Book of Orgasms and Come Again: Sex Toy Erotica. I've also written a wide range of erotica about everything from French fries to fishnets. I write about books, culture, sexuality and relationships, teach erotica writing workshops and consult with erotica authors and sex writers to help them advance their careers. I read a wide range of genres, from erotica to romance to mystery to memoir to graphic novels and anything that strikes my fancy. See my website for my newsletter with book giveaways and writing samples.

Reviews

[Dena Hankins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rachel Kramer Bussel puts together punchy stories every single time she edits an anthology. This one, as usual, weighed in firmly on the “hot” side, with only a few stories that left me cold, had me skimming the ends, or turned me off. Even some that had irritating aspects—like the heavy doses of womanly perfection, narrowly defined—were enjoyable in the main.

Common themes include obedience (far more D/s than strictly sensation play), public exhibition, name calling, and using kink as a mechanism for sexual pleasure. Fetish items and toys abound in pleasingly realistic use.

Whenever I read kinky erotica, I’m looking for stories that explore not just what we do, but why we do it, how we feel about it, and why we pant to do it again as soon as possible. Plenty of these stories go the distance. Among the stories I enjoyed:

"Slow Burn" by Morgan Sierra is lovely story about adoration and fear, the desire to please and the body’s limits. The lead is so sympathetic that I really want him to have his love returned.

My favorite aspect of "The Rabbit Trap" by Nik Havert was the nice turnaround where the sub does the scene planning. We s-types can get complacent, figuring the top is supposed to create the scene. This shows a really funny turn-about that surprises and pleases the top, without usurping the role they both want him to play.

Speaking of who plans the scene, "A Thousand Miles Apart" by Tilly Hunter is a great story from the top’s perspective, with everything planned out…almost perfectly…and real affection from both sides.

One of my favorite experiences reading erotica is grokking the heat of something that doesn’t turn me on at all. "Magic Words" by Emily Bingham lets me feel Daddy/girl play from the point of view of someone it works for, deep and real enough that I really think I get it…even if I’m not about to go looking for it myself.

"Baby Steps" by Justine Elyot got me too. I’m not a parent, but I’ve been through enough life changes during my nearly twenty-year relationship that I recognize this moment. The stakes are high, and I love how this shows the very real way we bring ourselves into the sex we have. This one is a favorite more for the story than the kink and/or sex, though.

"On Location" by D. L. King is fun and flirty, with an absolutely fabulous glimpse into the lives of lovers who don’t share a home. I very much enjoy erotica depicting warm, non-traditional relationships. And the set-up is hot!

"Recipe for Punishment" by Jacqueline Brocker is a-fucking-dorable. The punishment is brutal and glorious, a quick and effective mid-scene check-in is heartwarming, the achievement is his to own, and the love fills them both.

In "Admitting It Is the First Step" by Rachel Kramer Bussel, Bussel focuses on the mental and emotional aspect of power play by having no graphic sex and little pain play. This is another one where it’s not my kink, but I enjoyed rolling with the emotional peaks created when trust lets the character fly.

[Tracey · Rating 4 out of 5]

a free copy of the novel was provided by the editor, Rachel Kramer Bussel, for an honest review

This was one of the most interesting and diverse collection of erotic BDSM stories I've read. Not diverse in way of race (though I wish it was), but in the focus points of the stories. This book has something for everyone, and maybe something you didn't even know you needed. Each author paints an intimate scenario between loving and trusting couples. I like how some of them were borderline romance. But with a lot of kink thrown in. It goes to show that someone's kink is someone else's normal. It's all about what floats your boat. There is no judgement, just exploration of self.

My favorite stories were:

The Swap by Jade A. Waters
Slow Burn by Morgan Sierra
The World in My Pants by Valerie Alexander
Lying Down by Kathleen Delaney-Adams
The Rabbit Trap by Nik Havert
Switch by Mina Murray
Well Lit by Sara Taylor Woods
A Soundproof Room with a View by Leigh Edward Gray
Cry to Me by Skylar Kade
Admitting It Is the First Step by Rachel Kramer Bussel

The other ones were still well written and interesting but just didn't grab my attention as much as the stories above. As always, I'll be looking forward to reading more of anything with Rachel Kramer Bussel attached to it.

[Kathy Kulig · Rating 5 out of 5]

A titillating indulgence of well-written erotic shorts by very talented erotic authors. I was pleasantly surprised by the unique and fresh storylines. Well, not so surprised. Ms. Bussel's collections always provide unique and entertaining stories and this collection exceeded my expectations. Here there are so many naughty, kinky ways couples turn up the heat. Although I enjoyed them all, I do have a number of favorites that stood out, but since we all have our own particular tastes in kink, I highly recommend you pick this one up and determine what your kink is. What heats you up? You'll find stories that are intense, edgy, playful, imaginative, filthy in a lovingly fun way, naughty and so satisfying. And maybe a few ideas to try on your next date!

[BobbyH · Rating 4 out of 5]

Probably 4 stars as those that love a smidgen of BDSM, will love these shorties. ME..not really into tying up etc although a bit of spanking goes a long way!! Decent book for those who like a bit of subbing.

[Dave Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dirty Dates – an NSFW anthology of 21 erotic, BDSM-themed short stories. Each story is about an intimate encounter a couple or, in some tales, a triad, has by using BDSM toward orgasm. The couples are straight, gay-male and lesbian. The BDSM is almost evenly split between Male-Dom and femdom. Here are a few examples:

The corset - Dorothy Freed

By the time Duncan stopped whipping me...--breasts aching, flesh flaming, pain and pleasure merging. Bathed in endorphins, every particle of me felt vibrant and alive with sensation....

The Swap - Jade Waters: "tingles still ran through her, since she hadn't expected to come so hard from taking control of him"

Slow Burn - Morgan Sierra

Sean: I want so much to please her, yet some part of me rebels against this instinct. I was raised to be the dominator, not the one who submits...[but] submitting is the more natural of the two

Mistress: why do you hide yourself when I take from you what pleases me most?...It's what you need.

Because I love my mistress, I will.

I am buzzed...the pain drives the euphoria, taking me places I've [never] ventured

Mistress: Now you won't try to hide yourself when I', disciplining you

Sean: that she doesn't push me away...is all the security in what we are--who we are together--that I need.

The world in my pants - Valerie alexander

He groaned with the delirious bliss of exhibitionism as the girls crowded around him

having his most sensitive part slapped was one of his most favorite punishments

I drew it out as long as I could, torturing him, taking him to the edge...no Mistress was ever going to fuck or love or collar him like I could

Lying down - Kathleen Delaney-Adams

when I lash out at her pussy, she opens her legs for me, rocking her hips forwars so I can better reach her clit, moving back and forth in time with the leather. This is a dance we have perfected over time, a dance not just of desire but of devotion.



The Rabbit Trap – Nik Havert



Him balls deep in her ass with her clit buzzing and unable to stop it (vibrator)



Closing Time – Elise Hepner



He had the look…his blue eyes honed in on me as if he could see my every desire and rip my clothes off with the intensity of his stare



These little teases only cracked open the door to something so much better, a new world of tantalizing pleasure that would be doled out at my husband’s whim.



A Thousand Miles apart – Tilly Hunter



I like it when he comes for me. Often..it’s the Friday night beatings with our favorite paddle and the way I tie him up and leave him to squirm…his love to submit does things to my pussy.



I’ve grown to love gagging him myself…It’s another way of penetrating him, filling him all up.



Switch – Mina Murray



I’m coming, holding Grady’s gaze as I contract around his best friend’s cock. This is wrong, I think. It’s wrong. But that just makes it better.



The Birds & the Bees – Giselle Renarde



The raging dildo pounded a percussive beat against Becky’s mound…she could feel the buzz in her nipples and when Walker pinched there, she felt it in her clit. Oh god, rhis was it.



Potluck – Alva Rose



He released a long cry of surrended, his cock throbbing in my mouth, and I sucked him hard and fast, my finger just barely inside him and pulling forward



Magic Words – Emily Bingham



The moment his cock touches my lips I realize how warm and inviting he feels. I can’t contain myself another second as I slide down the length of him in a rush.



Polka-Dot Dress – Elizabet Bishop



Ameliah cried out, her body shuddering in Justine’s arms as she herself was flung far into the electrical charges of liquid ecstasy.



Baby Steps – Justine Elyot



She: I need a spanking…badly

He: You’re sure?



What I cared about was my husband getting his dominant confidence back and ripping off the “fragile” sticker he’d…mentally stamped all over me



This fuck…took us back to what we had been, and changed what we had become.



On Location – D. L. King



I knew this combination well from past experience: her in my ass, my own hand pulling steadily down on my balls while she played with my nipples. This would push me over the edge in no time. A quick jack of the cock and…



Well Lit – Sara Taylor Woods



I grab her hands and pull them behind her back, hold her wrists with one hand…That knowledge ---that I can mold her…---is intoxicating



Thirty seconds in, her ass is pink and red…and she’s squirming…the noises she makes launch straight from my brain to my dick.



I want to fuck her…and spend the rest of our lives in bed



A Soundproof Room with a View – Leigh Edward Gray



Never forget the mixture of gut-churning humiliation…the heat in her cheeks, …the burn driving her on, stoked by every spot of drool, every mark, every slap…That was how someone was changed forever.



Recipe for Punishment – Jacqueline Brocker

Katie’s body was on the edge of something glorious, and part of her wanted to…grab him and fuck him until he screamed.



Katie opened the tongs…took his nipple between the ends and squeezed. Will made a sound like a shivering puppy, fearful and unsure. All it took to make him howl was a sharp twist of Katie’s wrist. Katie twisted the nipple the other way…making him cry out again.

Katie’s own nipples hardened beneath her jumper, and she exhaled to stop herself from just fucking him senseless.



Cry to Me – Skylar Kade



She bit down on that sensitive nub, exactly what I craved. Pleasure, relief, jolted through my body. I arched off the bed, which Master saw as an invitation. He sank his teeth into the upper curve of my breast, marking me as I came.



Needles – Kathleen Tudor



Each thrust of his cock sent a new wash of sensation through my body as the needles shifted and bumped.



Admitting it is the First Step – Rachel Kramer Bussel



You tell anyone you encounter when you’re with me that you’re my sub. I want you to own it, be proud of it, say it out loud. Admit it --- because it’s such a big part of who you are.



You’re going to get used to saying it, if you want what comes with me owning you.







What you don’t find in this anthology are the usual bdsm tropes such as the 50-shades type of Masters, the cruel Mistresses, etc. Instead, the stories are about couples who have been together and have developed a taste of bdsm to add to their love-making.

With the wide range of couplings and bdsm activity it’s easy for the reader to start first with the story they prefer. Over time you may venture into the other stories. This is the advantage of such a range in this anthology: you’ll expand your appreciation to other forms of bdsm and sex.



Reviewer received an ARC.

[R 21 · Rating 5 out of 5]

As always, Rachel Kramer Bussel selected quite the variety of erotic stories about couples on "dirty dates." Hard to find a bad story in this bunch.

[Laurie Rockenbeck · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rachel Kramer Bussell has put together another fine anthology. I can picture couples reading these stories to each other for a little bit of fore-play, but it is a fine solo-read. I read each story one at a time, enjoying them over a period of almost three weeks. I found myself curiously sated after each story but more than ready to pick up the book again the next evening, knowing some new treat was waiting within the pages for me.

What I love most about this collection is that each story is about people already in relationship with each other—from a few months to many years. They know each other well enough to have established varying levels of trust. While hook-up and sex-with-stranger stories are titillating in their own way, I really appreciate seeing people who already know each other getting their kink on or exploring something new as an established couple.

Most of the stories are m/f couplings, but there is some variety with a couple of same-sex stories and one trio. There is a lot of power-play in the collection, with a nice balance of women taking control. The kink varies from almost gentle spanking to some BDSM (caning/gagging/orgasm control/bondage) and some humiliation play.

What makes the entire collection fun and super-hot is the level of clear consent between the parties involved. Even when things get rough, we know that everyone is aware of each other’s needs and desires and that everyone is having a good time.

I enjoyed almost every story in the collection. A few highlights for me? Justine Elyot’s Baby Steps is a story about a new mother who is determined to get her kink back on. Any parent can relate to this story about how relationship dynamics change once a baby comes along. Nik Havert’s The Rabbit Trap is playful and imaginative. Valerie Alexander’s The World in My Pants and D.L. King’s On Location are both super-hot pieces of Femdom.

[Ameliah Faith · Rating 4 out of 5]

NSFW
A very erotic anthology featuring 21 authors. Most of the stories are F/M but there is also a F/F and a M/M story too. There is LOTS and LOTS of sex in this book, too much for me to read the book through in one setting, but still really good. Most of the tales have some form of power play, bondage and submission. Sometimes the woman wielding the strap, sometimes the man.

Two of the stories stuck in my mind. One was Polka Dot Dress by Erzabet Bishop. Mostly I enjoyed it because it was F/F but also because Ms Bishop tells wonderful, descriptive and enchanting stories. Of course it doesn't hurt the lead has my name and I LOVED what happened to “me”. I even have the dresses to match lol.

The other story that captured my attention most is Baby Steps by Justine Elyot. This is a beautiful story of a new mom who is ready to be spanked again. I loved her assessment of her body, how real her feelings and fears are but she is brave enough to move past them. It is very sweet and tender in places and I do so love a good bit of mush with my naughtiness.

Another book well done Ms. Kramer Bussel. Thank you.

[August McLaughlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rachel Kramer Bussel has put together an enticing collection of stories that read to me like a thriller—only unlike the thriller genre, no one actually gets hurt. There's a thrust—pun embraced!—in every story, that keeps the reader curious and wanting for more. As someone who isn't drawn to BDSM in the bedroom (but sincerely respects it), I was really impressed with the focus on pleasure, anticipation and respect. I found these elements tantalizing, even when the actual events didn't appeal. I don't think any reader could help feeling turned on by the turn-on! "Dirty Dates" isn't merely for couples, but for anyone seeking more creativity and spice in their life or imagination.

[Jennifer Alison · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just finished reading Dirty Dates and I really liked it. My first plan had been to read a chapter each night but that soon was thrown under the bus as I wanted to read more of the book in one sitting. There is something for everyone in this book and it's steamy without being unrealistic. If you would like to get the taste and flavor of many different erotica authors this is my recommendation for reading. I plan to look for other works by the authors highlighted in this book.

[Janine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great collection edited by Rachel Kramer Bussel. Have read many anthologies edited by her and am never disappointed. A great collection of steamy, sexy short stories by some of my favourite authors and a few new to me.

[Piper · Rating 3 out of 5]

What a lovely smorgasbord of erotic snacks:)
Quite a few of them resonated with me - in fact and in fantasy.

[CrystalIsReading on StoryGraph · Rating 4 out of 5]

With any story collection, there will be some stories one likes more than others, and perhaps some one does not like at all. I was pleasantly surprised how many of the stories in Dirty Dates that I did enjoy. While many were not appealing to me personally, they were mostly well written and engaging stories, with characters who suited each other, and stories that showed how a kink I might not be interested in personally could be very meaningful and fulfilling to someone else, such as the characters in question. I appreciated the date element to the stories, since it changed the focus from simply sex to some sort of relationship, and gave the stories a little more meaning for me. Too often erotic shorts can end up feeling like they have no heart, but these stories had plenty of heart AND heat. An enjoyable collection that's worth a read if you fancy kinky erotic short stories.

[LaGina · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great collection of some really good reads from some new to me authors that I might not have heard about if it wasnt for Rachel and her anthology. The collection gives us a mix of stories that is sure to appeal to anyone who might read this.

[Vivian · Rating 3 out of 5]

2 were interesting. The rest not so much. Just okay reads.