Whispering at the Hotspot

Hi everyone,

I'm over on Hitting the hotspot today, talking about Whispers.

Do stop by if you get the chance.

On a side note what the hell happened to February. I know it's the shortest month, but really, it should have lasted more than five minutes, shouldn't it?

A bit of silver lining

Hi everyone,

I'm over on Oh, Get a Grip today. The topic is The new explicitness. I'm focusing on the GOOD news.

Do stop by and let me know if you agree - or if you don't agree. I'd like to know either way :)

Safeword

I'd say about half my characters approve of safe words and half of them don't. Now, that doesn't mean what a lot of people would assume. The half that don't agree with the use of safewords play out scenes where no still means no.

Okay. What is a safe word to start with - it's a word that means no. In it's basic form it's a simple withdrawal of consent. It means stop.

There are variations. Some people play with more than one safe word. For example, for those people who like traffic lights, RED means stop. If they say GREEN when their dom checks in with them, it means go. If they say AMBER it means could mean slow down, or back off a little bit or, I need a break - it's not a full out no, just a request for the play to change a little.

And what some people don't realise is that dom's can use safewords too. They are human too. Sometimes they need a way to exit a scene, just like subs. It's not easy for someone who likes to be in control to admit that they've gone too far or there's something that's freaked them on. A dom using a safeword can tell their submissive that they aren't stopping because they are angry with them, it's something else.

Lets have a look at the characters now - those who do and don't use a safe word. I think the easiest way to do that is to put them in a situation where they want to say no. There are a few different reasons why people say the word.

Big one first. The character wants what's happening to stop - they are withdrawing consent.

The character who uses a safeword say their safe word. The character who doesn't use a safeword says no. In each case their dominant stops what's happening. All nice and simple.

Let's look at another example. The submissive is trying something new, they are nervous, they panic a little, they say no.

For the character who uses a safe word, saying no doesn't mean they are withdrawing consent. Their dominant might stop, or they might back off a little, or they might change tack a little, or they could pause to discuss the problem without breaking out of the scene. Depending on how the sub reacts once that moment of panic passes, the scene may continue as if the word was never said.

For the character who doesn't use a safeword, no stops play. The dominant displays a different reaction. They can't keep going.

There are advantages to both. For example, in the second way the sub has to completely accept and commit to what they are doing on every level. If an instinctive protest stops play, they have to deal with that instinct before they can move on.

Another situation. There are times when the sub may gain something from pushing through the bit they don't enjoy as much. For example, they might get the best orgasm of their life after being teased for several hours without being allowed to come. Knowing that really doesn't help those hours pass any more quickly.

A sub without a safe word could say no they didn't want to be teased any more and their dom could keep on teasing them until they said their safe word. They are free to express any emotion and say any word bar their safe word without worrying the dom will actually stop too soon.

A sub without a safe word might say no - but that could result in the dom actually not teasing them any more. In that way, you could say their dom was pushing them to exert more control over their own reaction - forcing them to face what they really wanted before they could have it.

As I said at the start there's no right way or wrong way to use a safe word - as long as everyone involved in the scene knows what's going on and everyone has a way to exit the scene if they really want to, it's all good as far as I'm concerned.

One last thing I want to address before I cut off and try to stop this post growing into a novella in it's own right - using a safe word doesn't mean someone failed. Having a safe word someone doesn't feel safe using is no use at all. It exists for a reason.

And that's it for me for tonight.

Sleep well everyone :)

Chasing Rainbows

I'm on Writer's Evolution today. The topic of the week is Interrupts.

I'm talking about Chasing Rainbows.

Do stop by if you get the chance :-)

Night of the Senses - On Sale Now!

My new vampire novella, Whispers, is now on sale as part of Total-e-bound’s BDSM anthology Night of the Senses. Each story in the collection focuses on a different sense - sight, smell, taste, touch, hearing, and extra-sensory!

It's my first anthology, as well as my first male/female title. Really excited about both those things.

I’m so excited to be part of this project with so many fantastic writers. The anthology features: Voyeur by Sierra Cartwright, Carnal Caresses by Desiree Holt, Welcome to Paradise by Ashley Ladd, Spiced Vanilla by Victoria Blisse, Sweet Urges by Jessica Jarman and my own story – Whispers, as the extrasensory contribution.

Here’s a little bit more about Whispers -

Blurb:

Charlotte is more than happy to offer her master her body, her blood and her submission. But her mind is her own, if he really is listening in on her thoughts, he has to stop – Right now!

As soon as Zachariah feeds from Charlotte’s blood, he begins to hear her thoughts whispering into his mind. A rare blood bond forms between them and Zachariah is thrilled. He’s sure the bond and his new insights into Charlotte’s mind will solve all their problems.

Charlotte was ready for her master’s bite to hurt – she was looking forward it. She thought she was ready for anything else too, but she wasn’t ready to let her master into her mind. The bond isn’t the solution to anything. The bond is the problem.

Zachariah has to solve a whole new set of problems if he’s going to prove he’s the master Charlotte’s always wanted, and Charlotte has to learn to do something she’s never done before – trust a master with her mind.

And a quick extract:

Zachariah Radcliff ran his fingertips over Charlotte’s throat, slowly tracing the line of her jugular. It took every ounce of his self control to keep his touch gentle. He’d waited far too long since his last feeding, but now…

He closed his eyes for a moment, forcing himself not to assume too soon. Everything still hung on Charlotte’s answer.

“Are you sure, my pet?” Zachariah asked softly.

“Yes, master.”

He brushed her hair away from her neck. The dark curls fell back over her shoulder. Charlotte shivered—a shudder so tiny, it required his heightened senses to perceive.

The room was warm. His armchair stood close to the fire. Although she was naked, her place kneeling at his feet put Charlotte directly in front of the blaze. There was only one reason for his pet to shiver, and it had nothing to do with the temperature.

She appeared perfectly serene, but he sensed her blood pounding, hard and fast through her veins. He knew it was impossible for him to truly understand how Charlotte felt about the imminent feeding, but he looked down at his pet and did his best.

Was the shiver a sign of fear? Desire? He couldn’t read her well enough to be certain. He’d never known a human who was quite so infuriatingly in control of her reactions as Charlotte.

Zachariah forced a deep breath into his lungs and held back a sigh. She’d known who he was, what he was, when she’d come under his protection. She’d been given time to become accustomed to the idea. If she said she was sure, he no longer had any choice but to trust her judgement. He couldn’t wait any longer.

“If you are truly ready for this, come to your master.”

Charlotte stood. Even with the desire for her blood scorching through his veins, he couldn’t fail to appreciate her curves the same way a human man might. Zachariah ran a hand down his pet’s back and caressed the soft swell of her hip as she sat on his lap.

He arranged Charlotte so her back rested against his chest. Her neck hovered temptingly close to his lips. He stroked his hands over her limbs, encouraging her to rest against him. Charlotte moulded herself to fit perfectly against the lines of his body, but she didn’t relax. Charlotte maintained the same tense reserve she always displayed in his presence.

“Bare your neck for me, pet.”

She took her hair and twisted the thick mass of curls together, bringing the rope of hair over her left shoulder to expose the right side of her neck. Her hands showed no sign of an anxious tremble.

Zachariah wished he could trust that to mean she really wasn’t nervous.
He tilted her head back and kissed her neck. Tracing the vein with the tip of his tongue, he pushed back the urge to bite, the way he had so many times over the last few weeks.

Charlotte turned her head to the side, giving her master better access to the vein. It was more than enough encouragement. Coming from a woman who never let her wants and desires show, it was a full orchestral symphony of invitation, with an extra encore thrown in for good measure.

The forms still needed to be properly observed. Zachariah forced the syllables past his lips. His mouth trembled with the effort of forming words when every instinct demanded he forget words existed and just bite. “Give me your answer, pet,” he whispered. “I will not take what is not freely given.”

“Yes, master.”

He couldn’t ignore the calm certainty in her voice. His teeth grazed her skin. Blood immediately seeped to the surface. Zachariah ran his tongue over the wound. He closed his eyes, savouring the first taste of hot, salty liquid on his lips.

He liked to think he would have been able to stop if Charlotte panicked, but the blood on his tongue called to him so strongly, nothing less than a display of real fear would stop him.

She gave no sign of distress.

Zachariah bit.

*End of Excerpt*

If you’d like to find out more about the other stories in the collection, or to buy a copy, just click here.

Thanks for reading!