Wednesday Writing - Excerpt for 'Collared by Wolves'

‘Collared by Wolves’ is out next Monday available in a variety of ebook formats including PDF from Bookstrand! Below is an excerpt. The full first chapter will be available in a few weeks.

Check out Janine Ashbless’s blog on 1 February where I am guest blogging talking about how werewolf BDSM differs from human BDSM in this story and Michelle Graham’s blog on 3 February where I am taking part in her ‘Sinful Sunday’ blog with lots of ‘sinful’ titbits about ‘Collared by Wolves’!

A girl stood in the doorway. A human girl. Griff turned to look at her and saw her face was transfixed by the sight of the naked couple rolling around on the floor.

He took advantage of her distraction to study her, noting that she was reasonably pretty, if red-faced at this moment, as the couple pulled apart, swearing volubly, and the girl became aware of their private parts in their full glory. He smiled wryly as she clearly attempted to halt her shock from showing, but not achieving it.

It was illegal for sex acts to be performed in public, but this club, commonly known as “The Haunt,” managed to stay secret from the human authorities, partly because of the mysterious Shroud. No one knew where it came from other than it had been spoken about for generations. But also, due to the remote location in a forest a long way from human habitation, not even near any werewolf homes, it had been possible to stay secret. He chuckled to himself. “Deer Park” was a misnomer as there weren’t any deer there, not where wolves lived.

This venue was necessary as it was the only place he knew of where werewolves like he could act out their darker BDSM needs, ones that were frowned on even within the wolf community. Of course, they could go to a human club offering this lifestyle in a town or city, but none of them could turn into their animal selves there.

Shaking his head he chuckled at the image of human Doms peeing in their pants at the sight of a werewolf sub turning wolf as he whipped her. And, in any case, wolf BDSM sometimes differed from that practiced by humans, being more violent, more exposed. One big difference was that sex in public was not only allowed here, but expected. If someone wanted to be private, they went to their own homes.

He could never understand why the clubs he visited in the city had “private” rooms. If  one was into the lifestyle, that indicated a certain degree of exhibitionism, surely. It was only laws, human ones, which forced people with his type of sexual inclination to consummate their acts behind closed doors. Thankfully he wasn’t human.

Narrowing his eyes, Griff studied the girl more closely now that her shock was dissipating. At first she looked like she was going to turn tail and run out of there. In fact, the few humans that had ventured over the threshold had done just that, and she was obviously human. Apart from the warning of the Shroud, he could smell her from here. Like wolves, he could smell another animal a mile away, and she had an almost alien scent. It was amazing to him that humans didn’t have stronger olfactory senses or they would have realized centuries ago that werewolves really existed. He may be part human, but Griff was very much aware that all werewolves had a unique scent like every other animal.

Looking at the girl, he deemed that she was average height and figure for a human. Lupine women were generally taller and leaner than their human counterparts. But what stood out was her glorious red hair, dark red, not the pale, wishy-washy blonde red that he personally disliked. It fell over her shoulders, gently curling at the ends.

His cock surged up in desire. “Down boy,” he growled softly. There was no way he was getting involved with a human. In fact, most wolves stayed clear of the human species. Apart from the threat of exposure, it was too much trouble as couplings of this nature generally split up, the human being unable to accept the animal side of a werewolf’s nature. Not that these sorts of relationships happened very often. The Shroud made sure of that.

The girl still hesitated in the doorway. He could tell from her expression that she was undecided about entering. Not surprisingly considering the hostile vibes that were being emitted from around the room in her direction. He was stunned when she steeled herself and came forward. Admittedly she walked slowly, but she did step into the lion’s den, or more appropriately, the wolves’. Griff mentally sent a nod of applause in her direction. It took guts to come into a venue like this, even more so if one was a different species. Not that she knew that.

He watched curiously as she glanced around. He wondered if she was looking for someone specifically but decided probably not when the first person she approached gave her the cold shoulder turning his back on her. Her shock was evident, and she vacillated, looking down at something she held. Griff shifted on his feet to see what it was, and noted it seemed to be a piece of paper. Lifting her head, she tried another person. He didn’t reject her, just glared at her, and Griff saw her step back. Her expression was getting anxious.

Uh-oh.

Griff saw her looking in his direction. Breaking eye contact, he leaned his head back to tip some more of his vodka down his throat hoping to show his disinterest.

It didn’t work. She walked up to him.

Hell!

“Um, excuse me, s–sir. Can you tell me where I am supposed to go?” Her voice was surprisingly deep—and husky. She sound almost wolf-like. His cock throbbed in his tight jeans at the alluring sound, and he had to alter his stance to relieve some of the ache. He tried to concentrate on what she had said instead.

Go? What did she mean?

He must have been showing his confusion on his face because she thrust her piece of paper toward him. Frowning, he reluctantly took possession of it, scanning it quickly wanting to get rid of her, despite his arousal.

“Submissive Trials,” it said.

What on earth?

It wasn’t the suggestion that submissive trials would take place in this venue. In fact, they often did as wolves as much as humans had their Masters, Doms, subs, and switches, but how on earth had she got a copy of the notice?

He rested an elbow on the bar as he glanced at her face again. Her green eyes showed her earnestness. He smiled as a wicked thought came over him, and he couldn’t resist the temptation to set the cat among the pigeons. Talk about throwing the poor girl to the wolves. Oh, he was going to enjoy this.

Jen

Inspirational Mondays - 'Collared by Wolves' - blurb and titbits

‘Collared by Wolves’ is now available for pre-order. Here is the blurb:

Natasha Talbot, an ordinary human wanting more out of life, ventures into a forest where a club is holding submissive trials, not knowing this is where werewolves practice BDSM.

While at the club Natasha is fought over by two lots of men. Griff Seamer is an alpha werewolf with a reputation for being a rogue. He doesn’t hesitate taking on Ford Chaplin, Max Holman and Callum Lane, three beta wolves who formed a pack as a way of getting the submissive women at the club who normally prefer the alpha men.

During the fight Natasha becomes aware of their shifter natures and runs away. But is she more frightened by the BDSM or their animal aspects? Determined to try again she returns a few nights later, but when she is kidnapped by a pack who like the darker side of BDSM her four men realize they have to work together to rescue her. 

And here are some titbits about my story:

·       Why did I come up with this concept? In all honesty it is to hit the three bestselling genres of BDSM, werewolves and ménage in one story!!!

• I chose the title because I like the idea of a human being the one to have a collar and not the ‘animal’!

• I liked making the heroine consider which scares her the most – the BDSM or the fact that they have an animal self to their personalities.

• I had great fun considering what makes werewolf BDSM different from human BDSM including biting and clawing, being chained up is much more of a punishment as they find it humiliating, sex is allowed in public, they prefer to have sex in their wolf forms.

• Something else I love to do with my werewolf stories is to include lots of wolf behaviours but this time I also considered how werewolf women may differ from human ones. This includes their bodies being taller and leaner and with thicker skin and while in wolf form they have no breasts (unless pregnant or suckling their young). This means the heroes were particularly attracted to my (human) heroine’s lovely breasts!

• My first werewolf story ‘The Last Werewolf’ was written with fellow writer Susan Laine, which came out last October. It was good, therefore to take it one step further and write a werewolf story by myself.

See Wednesday’s blog for an extract.

Jen

Friday First Chapters 'Submissive Training'

Here is the next First Chapter - number 2 in the 'Doms & Acquaintances' series which has cross over characters and timeline with the 'Friends' series.

If you like what you read and want to buy the full book you can do so from the publisher's website in a variety of e-book formats including PDF or from Amazon.

Alternatively the entire 'Doms' series can be purchased from Amazon in paperback.

Here's a review from Guilty Pleasures Book Reviews: "I kept imagining myself in Kat's place as I read this story. What an adrenaline rush being blindfolded for the first time in a room full of potential subs and Doms looking for new trainees. If only I knew where to find clinics like the one in this story, I would be all over it! The author gives a great take on what it is like to be vulnerable when you are newly introduced to the lifestyle and how overwhelming it can be for some. The jealously and possessive instincts Ben feels for Kat are fun to imagine as he tries to be harsh and she constantly shows her determination. Even when he tries to say no to her, he simply melts when she embraces her place. While it is a quick read, you will not be disappointed! Spankings, threesomes, subspace, oh my! I can't wait to read more as this series continues!"

Enjoy!!

SUBMISSIVE TRAINING

Doms and Acquaintances 2

JENNIFER DENYS

Copyright © 2012

Prologue

She saw him across the room. Her whole body knew it was Him—tall, handsome, masculine. As her heart beat faster, desire rose in her body. Suddenly he turned and looked in her direction. Their eyes met, and she shivered as she felt an instant connection. He moved slowly toward her as the crowds parted, the noise around them becoming muted as if they were in a world of their own. Finally he reached her and raised a hand to firmly cup the back of her head while his other hand snaked across her butt to pull her to his body. Held tightly as she was, she could feel his erection nudging her stomach. Then his mouth came down hard on hers, his tongue parting her lips insistently, dipping into her mouth and causing flashes of arousal to ripple through her body as their tongues clashed. As he kissed her, his hand pulled her skirt up and dipped into her panties, clasping her butt firmly.

After what seemed like hours of delicious kissing and decadent touching, he lifted his head, and looking intently into her eyes, he stated, “You’re mine.”

Kat shook her head to dispel her daydream and glanced over at the object her thoughts.

If only things happened in real life like they did in West Side Story, but in this instance, Ben wasn’t going to notice her across a crowded room as he already had a woman in tow, a beautiful girl with long hair. Straight hair, not unruly curls like hers, and blonde, not red. She cursed her parents. Kat wondered why they had to give her sister Rebecca the lovely, straight black hair of their father while she got her mother’s vivid, riotous tresses.

She glanced again at Ben. He was now talking to her sister, being the best man at this, her sister’s, wedding. Ben was a good friend of the groom, and Kat had met him on several occasions before this as it was six months since her sister had got engaged. The first time she met him, she had drooled over his piercing green eyes, his hair a medium shade of brown cut really short like she preferred on a man, and his shirt stretched across a muscular chest. But most of all he had exuded such sexual magnetism she had nearly launched herself into his arms and said “Take me!” Instead, she had said “Hello, I’m Kat” and gabbled on about the forthcoming wedding.

All he had done was look her up and down, his eyes lingering in several places causing her to blush. He then raised an eyebrow, and after nodding his head in acknowledgement, he moved away to speak to Jon.

Rebecca enlightened her later. Kat knew that Jon, her new brother-in-law, was a sexual Dominant, and was still astonished to this day that he had managed to persuade her independent, strong-willed sister to take up the submissive lifestyle. While both she and her sister were fairly self-assured women, Kat was the one who melted under the attention of dominant men while they usually got Rebecca’s back up. That was until she had fallen in love with Jon.

What Kat learned was that Ben was also a Dominant, but much more rigid in his beliefs than Jon as he expected submissive women to be exactly that, submissive, doing exactly what he told them with no opinions of their own, which clearly left Kat out in the cold.

She smiled as she looked over at Rebecca. Few people knew the choker necklace she was wearing, a wedding present from Jon, was actually a submissive collar.

A voice disturbed her thoughts. “Hey I won’t say ‘a penny for them’ because I know exactly who you are thinking about,” said Ellie, her sister’s longtime friend and business partner, and sister to the groom.

“Hey yourself.”

“You know you could just go up and ask him out.”

“Apart from the fact that is the last thing he would want from a woman, have you seen who he brought with him?”

“Ah yes. A nice, biddable, but boring girl.”

“The key word there is biddable. She is a submissive, of the type of submissive he likes, which isn’t me.”

“How do you know?”

“Well, it could be he is put off by the hair,” declared Kat, while Ellie snorted in disbelief at her friend’s comment. “But he has never shown any sort of interest in me any time we have met.”

“Hm, that could be a problem. Okay, forget him. I can’t believe you’re still alone with your looks. You’re just too choosy,” she said, looking around the room for likely targets. “How about Nick?”

Kat looked in the direction Ellie was indicating. She was gesturing to the person who was the photographer at the wedding. Nick was blond, medium height, reasonably good-looking, the right age, but he didn’t do a thing for her.

Nick must have noticed them looking at him as he came over. “Lovely ladies. What can I do for you?”

Ellie lifted an arm to pull Kat toward her. “I don’t believe you’ve taken our photo yet.”

Nick smiled. He did have a very nice smile. His face always appeared open and friendly. Too friendly and nice, Kat thought. She was attracted to dominant men.

He raised his camera and took a few shots then melted away with a wink at Ellie, who didn’t appear to have noticed. Now that was something to think about. Maybe he would be good for Ellie.

She didn’t have long to consider that thought when Jessie came over. Jessie was one of a group of six women who met up for Champagne Fridays organized by their mutual friend, Gina—it was girls-only because they spent much of the time talking about men. Men and sex.

Kat hugged Jessie. She liked her despite the fact that she was rather shy. She always felt protective toward her. “How’s you? You look excited about something.”

“That’s because I have news!”

The two women waited.

“Well, for God’s sake, tell us, woman!” barked Ellie. Kat laughed, Ellie had no patience.

“I’m pregnant!”

“Oh. My. God,” intoned Ellie while Kat yelled. They both reached out to hug Jessie at the same time and then giggled.

“I am so happy for you, but it’s all happened so quickly, hasn’t it?”

“You’re telling me. A year ago I was spending most of my evenings alone reading erotic romances with an occasional visit from Sam to discuss sci-fi with no hope that Mr. Right would come along and father my children, and now I am not only married to Sam but knocked up.”

Kat chuckled. “And he was right under your nose all this time.” She knew how much in love Jessie and Sam were.

“And now Rebecca has married her ‘man under her nose.’”

That gave Kat some food for thought. Particularly as Lissa, one of the other Champagne Friday gang, had not long ago moved in with her love, who was also someone she had known for a while.

Glancing again at Ben, Kat noticed he had his arm possessively around the blonde and was stroking her back sensuously. She sighed deeply as she watched, jealousy and desire making her tense. Okay, who else am I acquainted with that might do? Unfortunately, she just couldn’t think of anyone else.

* * * *

It was the end of the evening. Ellie had been dancing for hours and was now flaked out in a chair. Kat came over and slumped into the chair next to hers. “My feet are killing me.”

Ellie giggled. “You should have taken your shoes off like me.” She held up a bare foot to demonstrate and wiggled her toes.

“But surely you run the risk of being stepped on?”

“Ah yes, there is that danger.”

Kat reached into her bag to get a tissue to mop her perspiring face. “What is it they say, men sweat, but ladies just perspire?”

Laughing along with her, Ellie noticed something had fallen out of Kat’s bag. It was a folded leaflet. “What’s this?”

Frowning, Kat reached out to grab it back. “Oh nothing.”

Ellie pulled it out of her reach before Kat could retrieve it. “Uh-uh. Tell me! You’re looking very guilty.” Kat flushed. Very intrigued, Ellie opened it up. There was a picture of a semi-naked woman kneeling before a leather-clad man holding a whip, and underneath were the words,

BEGINNERS’ SUBMISSIVE AND BDSM TRAINING WEEK

For ladies only (there will be male trainers)

9-15 March

Further details contact…

Sitting up straight, her mouth opened in surprise, eyes wide with shock. “Holy shit, Kat. What on earth? And why do you have it?” Kat ducked her head in embarrassment, but Ellie was too fascinated to let this one go. She leaned closer to avoid anyone else overhearing. “Come on, girl. I want to know more.”

Kat looked up and shook her head. “You would. You are easily excited.”

“Yeah, so?”

She groaned before responding. “Okay. You know Jon got Rebecca into the Dominant/submissive lifestyle?” Ellie nodded eagerly. She was instrumental in getting them back together after a misunderstanding. “Well, I found this leaflet in their home when I was over there for a wedding planning. Rebecca told me Jon had been invited to attend as a trainer but had turned it down. Partly because it is in a few weeks and they will only just be back from honeymoon but also because he didn’t want to be away from Rebecca.”

“Couldn’t she go, too? She’s fairly new to this.”

“I understand that Jon didn’t want her to as it would mean she’d have to be intimate around other people. He is too possessive.”

“Wow. And she never said a thing to me.”

“Well, she wouldn’t have said anything to me if I hadn’t found the leaflet by accident.”

Ellie was silent for a moment biting her lip as she studied the leaflet again. “You know, just because Jon won’t let Rebecca go there is no reason we couldn’t. Well, as long as we don’t tell either of them where we are going.”

“Whaaat! What’s with the ‘we’?”

Giving the younger woman her best “I am older than you and I know best” look, Ellie responded, “You’re the one who kept the leaflet, so there must have been some part of you that is interested.”

Kat pouted. “I just forgot it was there.”

“Nice try, but it’s not washing with me. I think you are as fascinated by this as I am. What have we to lose? And we’ll have a clearer understanding of what drives Jon and Rebecca.”

She still looked uncertain but was weakening. It didn’t take Ellie long before she got agreement out of Kat to attend this conference with her. Leaning back in her chair, she saw Kat glance over to Ben again. Maybe it would also help in that relationship, too.

Wednesday writing - writing werewolf stories

Following on from Monday’s blog in preparation for the release of ‘Collared by Wolves’ on 4 February, the topic today is ‘Why do people like writing werewolf stories?’

I asked a few fellow writers that very question:

Lea Barrymire told me that the answer, for her, lies in her adventures throughout her teen years and the subsequent things she’s experienced as an adult.

‘When I was in high school a man, who was involved in environmental education and animal rescue asked for students willing to work with animals and do grunt work around his compound. My then boyfriend, now husband, and I jumped at the chance. Our first job, and something we did for the three years we were involved with the organization, was butchering roadkill to feed to the animals. Now, for those squeamish folks reading this I won’t go into details, but let me just tell you that there are things I saw and smelled that I will NEVER forget. 

Shortly after we started working for him, he acquired a pair of female wolves. They were pups when they were first brought to his compound. We were two of the first humans introduced as pack. I can't put into words the wondrous awe I felt the first time I held a squirming pup in my arms. To know that I held a wolf pup that would grow into a 80 pound grey wolf was just so inspiring and humbling. Let me tell you, if you have never experienced the power and absolute majestic qualities of wolves you are surely missing something. Even as pups they were strong and dominant. We were constantly being challenged. We took classes from some of the most educated wolf folks in the country. We learned how to be dominant, how to become Alpha within our little pack. I still have scars on my arms and legs from the dominance plays the one female used to pull on me.’  Lea's books are available to buy on Bookstrand.

Stacey Espino. 'I love to read paranormal romance, so it was only natural for me to start my writing career in the paranormal genre. Since my first book, I've written many types of shifters, but werewolves are one of my favorite. Take a hot, dominant male and add inhuman strength, power, and protectiveness—you can't beat that.

A wolf shifter has unique qualities of loyalty, usually mating for life. They are possessive with a feral, rugged appeal. I find werewolves a fantasy many women can get lost in. 

If you've ever been scared at night or traversed a lonely forest, it's easy to dream of a fearless protector.' Stacey's books are available to buy on Bookstrand.

Susan Laine says what attracts her to werewolf stories is the world building. 'The fantasy genre allows for endless variations of a theme, and there are a lot of ways to depict lycanthropes. They can be the heroes or the villains. They can be mortal or live forever. They can have predestined mates or not. They can shift fully to wolves or only half and half. And when you have all the answers to these questions, that is only the beginning as you build your mythos and the rest of the world around it.

I have written several stories about werewolves, and they are different from each other, exploring a multitude of possible avenues of plot construction and characterization. The Wolfing Way is my first werewolf novella available by Dreamspinner Press, while The Last Werewolf is a collaboration novel done with Jennifer Denys, available by Evernight Publishing. In the former, werewolves are immortal and shift only half way, while in the latter a werewolf is mortal and changes fully into a wolf. So, as you can see: The possibilities are endless. Creativity and imagination are only your first stepping stones.’ Susan Laine's books are available to buy on Bookstrand.

Lori King, however, says there isn’t a specific answer for her but ‘There is just something about a man that embraces his animalistic side that makes me quiver. I never really planned on writing a paranormal story, but I’ve always loved reading them. So, when Devon and Damon Gray (Fire of the Wolf) started visiting my head, and whispering sweet nothings in my ear, I couldn’t ignore them. 

Werewolves are uniquely over the top masculine…let's be real, a man who is so turned on he is physically growling-now that’s a panty dropper! In my mind, and in my stories, werewolves are real men. They are cocky, and sometimes slightly caveman-like. I see them as having a soft teddy bear center, inside their gruff wolf exterior.’ Lori's books are available to buy on Bookstrand.

Janine Ashbless came at her werewolf story from a folkloric/historical standpoint. ‘My first werewolf story, Renaissance,  appeared in my fantasy/erotica collection Cruel Enchantment way back in 2000, which is, I believe, way before shapeshifters became ubiquitous in erotic romance. It’s the story of a Frenchwoman [set in Medieval times] suffering from what appears to be a recurring mental disorder, who is sent off alone, and on foot, to pray for a “cure” at the shrine of an obscure saint. On the way she meets many different people … not by accident … and then they all turn up at the end to take part in her, ahem, “miraculous transformation”. I got a huge kick out of interweaving folklore, medieval Christianity and no-holds-barred group sex into one story! 

Lycanthropy is perfect to write about from an erotic point of view, I think, because the primal urges and appetites of the werewolf function as a larger-than-life metaphor for SEX. Okay … for the overwhelming and irresistible drives of sexual desire. It’s the whole “I know I shouldn’t but I can’t help myself!” thing.’ Janine's books are available to buy on Amazon.

Thank you, everyone. That was really interesting – we’ve had real life experience, an intrigue of the wolf-like qualities such as loyalty and protectiveness, a love of world building, being drawn to the alpha-male/masculine side of their personalities, and folklore. All of which are prime breeding ground for us writers to exploit for our erotic stories!! 

What is my reason? A big part of it is the fact that since werewolves are only folklore I can invent whatever qualities I like! I also think wolves are beautiful creatures and love to bring real wolf behaviours into my stories. And, of course, I LOVE an alpha male..........

If you want to know more about those writers, click on their names and it will take you to their website or blog. Links to their books are also available within each paragraph.


So I wonder what turns you on as a reader? Leave a comment accordingly with your email and the most interesting one will win a copy of my latest book, 'Collared by Wolves'. Competition ends on Saturday 26 January.

‘Collared by Wolves’ is out for pre-order after tomorrow. Learn more about my story on Monday.

Jen

Inspirational Mondays - writing werewolf stories

My latest story, ‘Collared by Wolves’ is out for pre-orders in the next ten days on www.bookstrand.com/jennifer-denys . In the next couple of weeks I am going to have series of posts on my Monday & Wednesday blogs about writing werewolf stories.

When I told a friend I had written a werewolf story her comment was, “How do you research werewolves?” They are, after all, a mythical/unreal creature. This is a very good question!

It is interesting, though, to research the myths/stories around werewolves and what qualities we associate with werewolves which include greater strength than human or wolf, transformation to take place at full moon, vulnerable to silver bullets, a human can become a werewolf if bitten by one. Now many of these are modern developments invented for works of fiction!!

Historical methods of identifying a werewolf are intriguing: eyebrows meeting over the bridge of the nose, low set ears, swinging gait, curved fingernails, if you cut the flesh of a werewolf in human form you can expose fur, bristles under the tongue (that last is a Russian superstition), while in wolf form no tail (not heard that one before!), retaining human eyes and voice in wolf form, a person who devours recently buried corpses (a trait going back to medieval Europe!)

So how does one become a werewolf other than being bitten by one? Apparently by wearing a belt made of wolfskin, rubbing a magic salve onto your skin, drinking rainwater out of the footprint of a werewolf, being born with epilepsy(!), making a pact with the devil, being targeted by a malicious sorcerer, and – I love this one – in Italy, France or Germany a man or woman could turn into a werewolf by sleeping outside on a Summer night (but only on certain Wednesdays or Fridays) with the light of the full moon shining directly on their face!!!!

Now supposed you have been unlucky enough to become a werewolf, methods to remove the curse include: wolfsbane, exorcism, being struck on the forehead with a knife, piercing your hands with a nail, being addressed it three times by your Christian name.

I finish with a quote going back to 1628 from Richard Verstegan (Restitution of Decayed Intelligence, 1628) (via Wikipedia)

“There are certayne sorcerers, who having annoynted their bodies with an ointment which they make by the instinct of the devil, and putting on a certayne inchaunted girdle, does not only unto the view of others seem as wolves, but to their own thinking have both the shape and nature of wolves, so long as they wear the said girdle. And they do dispose themselves as very wolves, in worrying and killing, and most of humane creatures.”

See Wednesday’s blog where I invite other writers to tell me why they have chosen to write about werewolves.

Jen

Friday First Chapters 'Friendly Seduction'

Here is the next First Chapter - number 2 in the 'Friends & Acquaintances' series which has cross over characters and timeline with the 'Doms & Acquaintances' series.

If you like what you read and want to buy it you can do so from the publisher's website in a variety of e-book formats including PDF or from Amazon.

Alternatively you can buy the entire 'Friends' series on Amazon in paperback.

Here's a review from Coffee Time Romance: 'I loved, loved, LOVED Friendly Seduction! At times I found myself sighing because of the pure pleasure Matt took in discovering Lissa's body. Other times, Ms. Denys had me laughing so hard at the less-than-stellar sexy performances that the words seemed to be jumping around on my eBook Reader. Reading this book was such a pleasure and I enjoyed each erotic encounter, whether it was pure sexual or had the humorous scenarios that made me fall in love with this tale. I want to read more by this author and I can only hope that her other stories will grip me from the getgo like this one has.'

Enjoy!!

FRIENDLY SEDUCTION

Friends and Acquaintances 2

JENNIFER DENYS

Copyright © 2012

Prologue

The eight–foot-tall robot grabbed hold of the stunningly beautiful young woman, who screamed for her life as she tried in vain to escape its many undulating tentacles. Her long honey-blonde tresses floated behind her as the machine pulled her inexorably forward toward its hard, metal body. As she struggled fiercely, its hold on her tightened with an impenetrable grip from which she was unable to break free. Holding her fast, a tentacle suddenly snaked out, and without a second thought it tore her flimsy pink frock with one rip from her ravishing body. Ignoring her cry of dismay, it slowly studied her naked form. It had a steely unnerving look on its metallic face as it looked her up and down, pausing interminably at her chest as her sumptuous bosom heaved in terror. Then she could stand it no more, and raising a hand to her forehead, she swooned. The robot then lifted the limp naked woman and moved relentlessly into the spaceship. The door of the ship closed with a heavy resounding clunk, leaving the stunned man rising from the ground where he had been thrown some twenty feet away, unable to save his beloved…

“Ha, ha, ha, ha…” The laughter that started as the man began to read got louder and louder. Finally lifting a hand to wipe the tears from his face, he began to calm down. “Oh that’s a good one, Matt. Really good. Really awfully good.” And with that, he dropped the book back on his table with a thud.

“Not you as well! What sort of a friend do you call yourself?” Matt was getting annoyed with Sam. He crossed his arms in irritation. “I spent months on that manuscript, and it’s been panned by readers and critics and best friends alike.”

Sam leaned forward to rest his arms on his knees, his humor abating. “Oh come on, Matt. You’re a good writer, but do you really expect me to take this seriously?” He indicated toward the incriminating book on the table.

“Well, yes. Actually I did.”

“But it reads more like a cross between porn and a sci-fi spoof—unless that was your intention?”

Matt frowned. “No—o. But my editor told me to add romance into my stories. He said sex sells, and sells well, so I need to add some more into my books. He also said we need to get more women to read my stories, and they like some romance.”

Turning to his distressed friend, Sam clarified, “Yes, but you need erotic romance, not porn. If the robot had developed any emotional attachment to the heroine other than lust, it might have worked. And as for your language… Beloved? Swooned? Don’t make me throw up.” He picked up the book again to check something. “Hard, metal body—it’s a robot. It’s supposed to be hard and metallic. I thought you were a better writer than that.”

Ignoring Matt’s increasing frustration, Sam continued. “And another question. Why isn’t she wearing any underwear when the robot tears off her clothes? Her very insubstantial clothes I might add. Come on, man. Women will laugh this off the shelves.”

Matt was fuming. He hoped his so-called best friend would be more sympathetic but at the same time was annoyed with himself for the problems with this book. His four sci-fi stories had sold reasonably well—not best sellers, but they did okay. He was in his early thirties and had started writing professionally two years ago, having been intensely bored in his job for an ad company. Despite these good sales, his editor had told him a few months ago that he needed to spice them up more, had insisted on it actually. In fact, he had told Matt he needed to add some women to his stories in the first place as he had a tendency to just write about the adventures of his heroes and their enemies, all of whom were male.

There was a very good reason for that—Matt had no idea how women’s psyche worked. Every time he attempted, he couldn’t get into the head of his female characters, so he had given up including any. Bringing his thoughts back to his friend, he asked, “So what do you propose?”

Sam stood, moving swiftly to his bookcase, and after a moment’s browsing, he brought back a couple of his paperbacks, which he handed over. Matt looked at them—they both had half-naked people entwined around each other in erotic poses on a background of deep space. The titles were The Pleasure Planet and Space Courtesan.

He frowned. “You want me to write one of these? I don’t write this sort of book,” he added, dismissively flinging the books down on the table to lie alongside his wretched offering.

With his hands on his hips, Sam continued, “That’s the problem. You need to add more elements of this sort to your story. I’m not saying write a romance. Just add more to your books.”

Glancing up at the man standing in front of him, Matt intoned in despair, “You know I can’t write romance. I’ve tried it before.” He dropped his head into his hands. “In fact, that’s what I tried to do with this one, and it clearly didn’t work.”

“Okay, so we need to find a way to help you,” Sam stated decisively, his chin in his hand. He mused for a moment as he sat down again.

Matt stared at him with disbelief. There was no way in a million years he was going to write an erotic romance.

“Why not talk to a few female friends and find out what they read, and if it’s romances—particularly erotic romances—then ascertain what works for them in those books.”

He goggled at his friend. “You’re kidding me! I have to talk about these things to women?” His voice rose to a squeak on the last word.

Sam chuckled. “Yup, got a problem with that? You do know some women, don’t you?” he asked patronizingly.

Glaring at him murderously, Matt declared, “If I don’t kill you before I leave here, it will be a miracle.”

His friend laughed louder. “I know you hate the whole dating game, but you must know some women.”

Matt rose to his feet and paced. “Of course. But I’m not going out with a girl just to take her to bed and then showing her out the door while saying, ‘What part of what I did worked for you?’”

The laughter got worse. He scowled and crossed his arms angrily.

Looking up at Matt’s clearly angry face, Sam calmed down and said, “You could try talking to Jessie.” He referred to his wife. “She adores reading erotic novels. It was these types of books that brought us together. She reads tons of them. In fact, why not talk to her group of friends which includes your cousin, Gina?”

He stumbled while pacing. “Gina! How did she get to know Jessie?”

“They met at the wedding. You brought Gina as your plus one, remember, to avoid having to ask any proper date to the wedding. Well, as it happens, they hit it off, so Gina invited her to join her Friday night champagne evenings, which is where she is tonight.”

“Her what?”

Sam chuckled. “They have what they call Champagne Fridays. Rebecca and Ellie are part of the group. You know them, don’t you? I believe Rebecca is an old friend of Gina’s. I dread to think what the group—about six or so—talk about. Us guys probably!”

Pushing a nervous hand through his already-ruffled light brown hair, Matt cried, “Oh God—I can’t confront all of them in one go! And not Rebecca—Jon might be able to handle her, but she scares me.”

Laughing even louder again, Sam responded, “Yes, you can. You write about guys getting into all sorts of adventures, fighting hostile aliens, dodging ray guns, stranded on jungle planets, running from giant reptiles. Be brave like them.”

Matt gave him another look—this time one of exasperation. “No.”

Sam chuckled again.

Shaking his head emphatically, Matt paced again while he thought through his problem. “I’ll just talk to Gina or maybe Jessie by themselves.”

He ruminated further to himself. He could cope with one woman but not all of them, or possibly just Gina and her flat mate, Lissa. Yes, Lissa. She was very sweet and pretty. Actually she was more than pretty. She had a lovely heart-shaped face and turned-up nose that he found adorable. He smiled to himself. Every time they crossed paths she blushed and often stammered. And yet he had heard her having perfectly normal conversations with other people. It was a shame because he wanted to get to know her better. He’d never understand women.

A groan left him—how on Earth was he going to write about them if he didn’t understand them? He was in deep shit. He blamed his editor, and he blamed Sam, who was sitting on the sofa with a huge evil grin on his face.

Once this book was done, he was definitely going back to the adventures of Jerry and his nice, safe, all-masculine adventures.

In the meantime, he snatched up the two books Sam had offered as examples and strode out of the apartment—with his friend’s laughter following him.