Lust Bites

by Madelynne Ellis

A long time ago, back before wi-fi, in the days when I had an office, a friend suggested I write an erotic novel for Black Lace, so I sent off for the guidelines and after having laughed myself silly at them, proceeded to write.

Quite a bit later, after so many rewrites I lost count and several trees worth of shredded paper, A Gentleman's Wager was born. Leastways, I sent it to Black Lace, thoroughly expecting to get a form rejection letter. I mean, they weren't really going to want a Georgian historical set in Yorkshire featuring a bisexual rakehell competing with a woman for the man of her dreams, or were they?

I got a postcard confirming the receipt then nothing...

I got pregnant... time drifted on... I started writing another book set in Saqqara, Egypt. I pretty much forgot about the novel sitting at the bottom of the Black Lace slush pile...

THEN

'Hello, this is Kerri Sharp the editor for Black Lace Books, can I speak to ---.'

Me (currently dripping wet, and clinging to a towel having just got out of the bath): OMG!

KS: I have A Gentleman's Wager in front of me. Is it still available?

Me: Meep! Yes.

KS: I'd like to commission it. How much of it is written?

Me: All of it.

KS: Great. I'll send you a contract.

Now, there may actually have been slightly more of a conversation than that, but I think this gets across the pertinent points, and it's frankly all that I remember, as I thought I was about to have a baby there and then. Naturally, the first thing I did was phone Mr Madelynne and start gushing.

Anyway, a few dramas later, A Gentleman's Wager was indeed published, and it came with a lovely note from Kerri Sharp, which reads: Think this reads really well. Like a lavish BBC costume drama.

Although I actually prefer the description later ascribed to it by a manager of Waterstones book store. "Jane Austen with bumming!'

And so, after years of being out of print, A Gentleman's Wager is being reprinted with a lovely new cover on 7th Feb UK & 1st April US. Just in time for the long awaited sequel (but that's another story ;-))

I'll leave you with a teaser:

[Vaughan] leant close to her as he spoke, so that she could feel the warmth of his breath and watch his mouth descend. He grazed her bottom lip and held it. The taste of him released her memory and she answered his kiss, while her arms moved to pull him closer. She clawed at him urgently, then slipped her hands under his coat as he drew her deep into his kiss. Nobody had ever kissed her the way Vaughan did. He made her lips burn with a heat that washed straight to her cunt.

He grasped her shoulders and thrust her against the blackened oak panelling with enough force to make a thump. She didn’t notice the pain, feeling only a rush of desire and vertigo, like a foretaste of orgasm. His teeth met her neck and nipped the delicate skin, while he loosened her stays enough for him to slide his fingers between fabric and flesh. Her nipples sprang to attention, then stiffened a little more as he teased her.

Bella hooked her thumbs into his waistband and tugged him closer. All her instincts craved penetration. She was ready for him now, but he was holding himself back. To her surprise, he suddenly sank gracefully to his knees. He lifted the hem of her skirt, bunched up the swathes of velvet and hoisted it to her waist. He brushed his cheek against her stockings, pressed a kiss to the skin above her garter then cupped her buttocks. His hands were hot against her cool cheeks, and warmed the soft skin as he pulled her forwards. She felt his tongue on her labia and the desire for penetration grew stronger. He dabbed at her clitoris with the tip of his tongue, teasing but never quite delivering. Even now, he toyed with her.

‘A gentleman should use his tongue fairly in the presence of a lady,’ she said.

He snorted, and pulled back long enough to give her a reproving glance. ‘A lady has two essential attributes: modesty and underwear.’

Bella almost kneed him on the chin. She’d never known a man who could swing her between desire and anger with such ease, and she wasn’t sure she appreciated the ability in him. How dare he! Yet the lapping of his tongue at her sensitive bud sapped the anger from her, taking away all her desire to hurt him.

'Do you like that, my nightingale?’

Bella shook her head, stifling the purrs that rose in her throat. She didn’t want him to know how much she was enjoying this. He didn’t deserve that.

‘You’re a harlot,’ he said. ‘Perhaps I should use you like one. I could throw your skirt over your face, ride you hard against the stone and leave you a crown for you trouble.’

‘Bastard,’ she hissed. ‘Do it then.’

Vaughan laughed and returned to his feet. ‘Maybe I will.’

Bella’s heart skittered over several beats. She whimpered as he began to massage her, fingers moving slickly in her wetness. If he entered her now, he would slide into her all at once. She tugged at the buttons on his waistband, then touched the head of his cock. She needed him now, this instant, inside her.

Vaughan stepped back and Bella’s eyes snapped open in surprise. ‘Vaughan,’ she sighed. He turned his back on her and she watched in disbelief as he strode to the door. ‘My lord?’ In the doorway he stopped and glanced over his shoulder from beneath his dark eyelashes. Bella reached out a hand, desire for him still coursing through her veins. He shook his head, watched her expression change from ecstasy to anguish, then blew her a kiss and left.

Alone and a hair’s breadth from orgasm, Bella slumped to the floor, devastated. She couldn’t believe he’d walked out on her. Blinking back tears of shame, she reached down with one trembling hand to give herself the relief he had denied her.

Madelynne Ellis
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by Madelynne Ellis



















It's Monday already! How come these things always sneak up on me? The weekend that brought us Captain Jack Harkness in chains (once more with feeling: CAPTAIN JACK HARKNESS IN CHAINS) has flown away, and now without any warning it's my turn to post.

Ahem! Well, the purpose of this post is not just to admire men with muck on their faces, or in fact men in eyeliner. (If you haven't already voted in our sidebar poll, drift that mouse sideways right now and do so.)




It is in fact to let you know that myself (Madelynne Ellis), Portia da Costa, and any other lusties we manage to shanghai will be holding a Mocha Monday chat session over at the Romance Galleria at 9pm EST tonight, although we'll probably be there early. The official chat lasts for a couple of hours, but as the Galleria is a bit different to a normal chatroom. It's a virtual world where you get to walk and 'talk' with other visitors via your personal avatar, and explore a whole host of rooms. A bit like Doom, only without the demons...ish. To take part you'll need to download the Galleria software, and it'll take a little while... but it's easy to install and is perfectly safe and secure. I'm always cautious about downloading new software, but I haven't had any problems in 4 months. Fair warning though, to date it doesn't support Mac users.



Once you've downloaded the Galleria, you simply choose yourself an avatar and then enter the 'world'. Navigating is achieved using your keyboard's arrow keys. There's a chat window, and you can choose to have private conversations, or join in on debates with whole groups of people. Portia and I often hang out in the hallways, or our own PLUG private suite UNPLUG. The chat will take place in the cafe, so grab yourself an espresso (or something stronger) and stop by.

Oh, and did I mention that there'll be prizes? Including one very hard to get hold of first printing of my novel, A Gentleman's Wager, sadly out-of-print, leastways until February 2008. Meanwhile, I thought I'd leave you with a couple of teasers from two of the books we'll be discussing this evening.

From 'Eyes of Desire' by Portia da Costa.

Megan can't quite see properly at the moment... but she still knows what she wants when she hears and feels it.

Okay, no questions, she thought, turning off all rationality and reason and surrendering to "Guy" and the predication of her senses. His kiss became more demanding, almost ferocious, and she found herself answering in kind, her tongue fighting, duelling, twining with his, as her hand clutched at his shoulders, his back, and his hard, muscular buttocks through the lightweight cloth of what she was certain now was a pair of combat trousers. As he moved against her, his massive body both dominant and protective, the solid bulge at his groin brushed her thigh.

Oh God! Oh God! I think I'm going to fuck this man and I have absolutely no idea who he is and I don't even want to ask him. Feeling like a slut, yet not in the slightest ashamed of the fact, she surged against him, twisting beneath him and rubbing herself rudely against his magnificent erection.

"Hell, yes!" he murmured indistinctly against her mouth, rocking her against him with one hand while the other traversed quickly down her flank and her thigh, questing and exploring. He plucked at her light summer skirt, and wafted it quickly upwards. A second later, his fingers were stroking the edge of her panties, and then slipping under the elastic in search of her core.

The first touch induced a high, silvery, singing sensation between her thighs. His fingertip was huge, like the rest of him, but he flicked at her clitoris with a delicate and exquisite precision.

Read more here.
Buy 'Eyes of Desire' from Phaze, here.

From 'Broken Angel', by Madelynne Ellis.
(One of three novellas featured in 'Possession'.)

Blaze Makaresh is being patched up having been attacked by demons.

Asha was tempted to slap him again, except she knew it was the poison talking. And considering his wounds and the amount of blood he'd lost, it was no wonder he was succumbing so easily.

She tentatively pressed her tongue to the first of the ten long gashes and licked. The mix of blood and poison tingled on her tongue. It tasted bitter, like Blood Rain, though the ripple of pleasure that flowed down her throat was sweet. She licked again, her tongue delving into the wound, and the taste became acrid. She spat it out, then returned to the wound again and began to suck.

Beneath her, she felt him tremble and his spine stiffen. 'Shh! she soothed. Her eyes closed. her nipples rasped against the inside of her bodice. Desire quickened between her thighs...

Pre-order 'Broken Angel' from Amazon