Spicy Bites - Denim: 2021 Romance Writers of Australia Erotic Romance Anthology

By Nicki Burns, Fiona Marsden and Shannon Slique

As a fabric, denim has been popular since 1873, but it wasn't until the 1950's that James Dean and Marilyn Monroe gave it sex appeal.

And now, some of the best erotic romance writers in Australia are bringing sexy back with their 2021 SPICY BITES.

Open the cover of this book and sink into twelve short, but rac

• Language: English
• Publisher: Romance Writers of Australia, Inc.
• Release date: Aug 14, 2021
• ISBN: 9780645217704

Book preview

SPICY BITES

___________________

DENIM

2021

Copyright © Tracey Rosen: Foreword

Copyright © Individual stories: Individual authors

The moral rights of the authors have been asserted.

All rights reserved. This publication (or any part of it) may not be reproduced or transmitted, copied, stored, distributed or otherwise made available by any person or entity (including Google, Amazon or similar organizations), in any form (electronic, digital, optical, mechanical) or by any means (photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise) without prior written permission from the publisher.

The characters and incidents portrayed herein are fictitious. Any similarity to a name, character, or history of any actual person, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Denim 2021 Spicy Bites Anthology

Anthology of Short Stories published by Romance Writers of Australia

Inc © 2021

eBook format: 978-0-6452177-0-4

Print format: 978-0-9872809-9-2

Spicy Bites Coordinator: Annette M Laarakkers

Cover design by Louisa West - Bookcoverology

Edited by Anne Erskine

Formatting by Kim Lambert

OTHER SPICY BITES ANTHOLOGIES

Tattoo - 2017

Chains - 2018

Masks - 2019

Leather - 2020

SPICY BITES

DENIM

Short Story Anthology

2021

NICKI BURNS                                FIONA MARSDEN

SHANNON SLIQUE         ALEXANDRA ALMOND

NATHALIE DUPRE                            CORDELIA FOX

TEGAN LEE                                      KAREN LIEVERSZ

J A MACNALLY                                        KRISTIN SILK

JENNY WESTGARTH

CONTENTS

OTHER SPICY BITES ANTHOLOGIES

CONTENTS

FOREWORD

1 THE INTERLUDE

2 REBELLION

3 THE DENIM BALL

4 GOTHIC

5 LOST

6 A CHANGE OF STYLE

7 AN UNSUITABLE PAIR

8 WAREHOUSE

9 THE DENIM OUTLAWS

10 BABY, ONE MORE TIME

11 A KIND OF MAGIC

12 BLACK DENIM

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Nicki Burns

Fiona Marsden

Shannon Slique

Alexandra Almond

Nathalie DuPre

Cordelia Fox

Tegan Lee

Karen Lieversz

J A MacNally

Kristin Silk

Jenny Westgarth

FOREWORD

Who can resist a set of well-worn denim jeans on a fine form? Or a denim jacket that falls just so?

Here we have twelve stories, with sexy characters that just wouldn’t be the same in anything else.

From forbidden love, to rekindling relationships.

Unexpected encounters, to secret crushes.

Rural adventures, to inner city explorations.

New lovers, old lovers, same sex relationships, even menage, the love and the passion leap off the page.

Settle in and be prepared to get a little hot under the collar with this collection of captivating, clever, and above all sizzling stories.

I know you’ll love these as much I did, and I’m proud to present this year’s Spicy Bites Anthology – Denim.

Tracey Rosen

1

THE INTERLUDE

NICKI BURNS

N

adia stomped through the bush, crossly swiping at low-hanging branches and crunching dry leaves and brown grass underfoot. It had taken a lot of cajoling to get her boss to let her take time off to visit her friend Rachel’s house in the country, two hours out of the city. She’d been looking forward to swapping her suits, the daily uniform of a lawyer, for jeans and T-shirts for a whole week. It was her first proper break in ages, and it was already ruined because Rachel and her boyfriend, Franco, had sprung an unpleasant surprise on her when she arrived. They’d invited Franco’s best mate, who Nadia had yet to meet, along as well. ‘Four is much better for a board game or a round of cards’, Franco had said. But Nadia knew it had nothing to do with that. Rachel was clearly trying to set her up with this guy, and she wasn’t having it.

Nadia was sick of blah relationships. Sick of men. Her ex-fiancé, Dominic, had been content to just occasionally roll on and roll off her of a night, as though that was all there was to a healthy sex life. The only time she’d raised it with him he got defensive and mean, saying he’d never had any complaints before and that maybe she was the problem. They never discussed it again. Part of her worried that maybe he was right; maybe her expectations were too high. It wasn’t like she was asking for chains and whips (not that she was necessarily averse to trying those!). She just wanted more connection. More desire. Just… more. Dominic’s list of good qualities rolled off the tongue: intelligent, good looking, well educated, successful. But each time he treated her body so peremptorily a little piece of her soul died.

Nadia took a lot of criticism from family and friends when, two months ago, she finally summoned up the courage to cancel the wedding and walk away from a five-year relationship. They all thought he was perfect. And maybe he was, on paper. But, in bed, he was a dud. Not that she could tell anyone that, except Rachel. ‘You’re a red-blooded woman, Nads!’ her best friend had said. ‘There’s nothing wrong with wanting good sex.’ Nadia had appreciated hearing it, but she wasn’t sure too many other people would agree that she hadn’t treated Dominic shabbily. Anyway, she was single now and knew one thing for sure: no sex was infinitely preferable to bad sex. Too bad she couldn’t stop thinking about it. Obsessing, really. That’s why the idea of retreating to the serene isolation of the bush for a while had appealed to her. Whatever Rachel had hoped would happen between her and this friend of Franco’s was not going to happen. She wasn’t ready.

When she reached the flowing river marking the boundary of Rachel’s property, she sat down on a flat rock in the shade to think about how to handle this guy who was interloping on her nice, quiet holiday. But then she looked down sharply as something unexpected rubbed at her exposed skin. She silently prayed she hadn’t sat on a spider or something. But no. She’d plonked her butt down on an abandoned pair of faded black jeans, the worn denim rough beneath her thighs and silver buttons pressing against her.

Water splashed nearby. Someone — a man — was swimming naked in the river. From Nadia's vantage point, he appeared to be an Adonis, all carved muscles and sexy arm tattoos. She couldn’t stop staring. Then he turned and saw her. Their eyes met and they both froze. Leaping up, mortified to be caught ogling, Nadia sprinted off into the brush. She paused for a second behind a large rock formation, taller than her, leaning against it to catch her breath. Embarrassingly, her breathlessness wasn’t solely due to her mad dash. The beautiful naked man had turned her on. Her nipples were hard and straining against her T-shirt, and there was a throb between her legs keeping time with her fast-beating heart. God, maybe her ex was right about her being sex-crazed! She couldn’t go back to the house like this and meet some stranger while looking desperate for sex. She moved her hand between her legs to relieve the pressure, the metal buttons of her jeans shorts pressing against her now swollen mound.

Crack!

A twig snapped under heavy footfall. Nadia’s eyelids flew open. When had she closed them? To her shock, the Adonis was standing there, staring at her, wearing a pair of hastily pulled on, untied RM Williams boots — and nothing else. It never occurred to her that he would follow her. But he had. Bloody hell, he was gorgeous. A little voice in the back of her head told her to leave immediately, but she couldn’t stop herself from drinking in the sight of him. From his curious eyes, down to his stubbled jaw (she shivered imagining how it would feel grazing her bare thighs), down his muscled arms, broad chest and impressive abs and then down to the vee that led to his, frankly, enormous erection. She licked her lips. Well, now. He didn’t move, his gaze seemingly permanently attached to where her hand still lay, brazenly, between her legs. Why hadn’t she moved it? She knew the answer, of course. The whole scene was just like something out of one of her fantasies, one that her ex could never make come true. She wasn’t ready for it to end yet. His expression was that of a man who can’t quite believe his good fortune.

Do… do you need help with that?

Nadia choked a little on a laugh at the polite way he asked the question. A gentleman. His voice was deep, reverberating with sin, but also hopeful. He stalked over to her, slowly, as though afraid if he moved too fast the bubble they were both inside would burst and evaporate. He stopped when he was so close they were almost touching and braced one arm against the rock face above her head. His eyes darkening, he looked up and down her entire body as if trying to commit every part to memory. Her breath grew ragged under his scorching gaze, burning into her flesh even more than the white sun above them in the stark blue sky. Would he do no more than look? What did she want him to do? Her touch-starved body had only one answer to that.

Knowing somehow that he would go no further without encouragement from her, she took a deep breath and reached out to replace her hand in its resting place with his. He grunted in surprise and she thought he might snatch his hand away, but he didn’t. Instead, he gently squeezed. There was no stopping the yelp that erupted from her. He watched her carefully as he undid her top button, then paused, clearly waiting for her to tell him to stop or to go ahead. She bit her lip and nodded. He unbuttoned the second and then the third. Then, without further hesitation, he slipped his hand inside not just her denim shorts but her underwear. He slid a finger inside her and Nadia gasped. Leaning into her, his breath hot against her ear, he growled, You’re wet, even wetter than me.

God, she’d have gone on holiday ages ago if she’d known this was a possibility — completely anonymous and totally hot finger-fucking in the bush with a Hemsworth brother lookalike. The naked god, water still dripping from his glistening muscles, rubbed his thumb over the nub of her aching sex. He pitched his voice dangerously low, like a warning: Did I make you this wet? Then he flicked her clit and Nadia went flat against the rock, his fingers sending a shockwave zinging through her. At first she wasn’t sure if it was one of pain or pleasure. But, as the feeling subsided, she decided it was definitely pleasure. It occurred to her that, despite the fact that she was fully clothed and not much had really happened yet (a fact which needed to change soon), this was easily the most erotic moment of her life. She bucked her hips a little against his hand, hoping to persuade him to put it to further use.

Yes, she moaned.

He smirked at that, she noticed, pleased with himself. But he had a right to be, didn’t he? Look at how she had reacted to the mere sight of him. He stroked his thumb over her clit again, soft and feathery this time, back and forth. She gave a low moan and sagged a little. Did he mean to torture her? A laugh rumbled in his broad and tanned chest.

You like that, huh?

Nadia could now feel his cock pressing insistently against her thigh, hard as the rock face behind her back. The phrase ‘between a rock and a hard place’ had never struck her as particularly sexy before, but she’d clearly been wrong about that! He noticed her noticing and flashed her a hopeful grin. She felt a sudden wave of affection. She reached down and lightly stroked and then tugged harder at his shaft. Now he was the one who moaned. That sent warm feelings all through her. She knew it wouldn’t take much for her to come now. Her insides were as taut as a guitar string. She just needed a few more thrums…

He seemed to understand and changed the position of his hand, slipping two fingers inside her while the rest of his hand covered the top of her pussy. Then he pressed the base of his palm flat against her clit, grinding against it, hard and fast. She nearly sobbed in relief and her grip on his cock tightened.

He came first, spilling over her bare legs. The realisation sent smugness radiating through her, that she had had such an effect on him. But it was almost immediately dissipated by her own orgasm, an explosion of long-delayed desire that sent her flying apart, all thought wiped from her mind.

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Will pulled on his clothes in a daze. It had been a sudden impulse that had driven him to swim naked in the river. What an incredible decision it had turned out to be. He’d just been going for a walk, his swimmers still in his suitcase back at the house. But the weather had turned hot and he’d figured screw it. He was in the middle of nowhere. Nobody here but the trees and the birds. Who was to see him if he stripped down to his birthday suit? Who, indeed.

When he’d spotted the figure by his folded clothes, handling his jeans, his first thought was that he was being robbed and so he’d dashed after them. Nothing could have prepared him for the hammer-blow of longing to his cock when he’d discovered a lovely nymph of a woman behind a rock, touching herself, aroused to such desperate action by the mere sight of him. At first he thought she must be a mirage, a product of his sex-starved brain and body.

Will had been divorced for almost a year. His wife, it turned out, didn’t much like sex. Whether she didn’t like it at all or just didn’t like it with him had never really been answered satisfactorily. They’d gone to couple’s counselling. The therapist had encouraged them to try meeting each other halfway. She probably hadn’t intended it, but her suggestion left Will feeling like a sleaze with unnatural desires his wife would need to force herself to meet. And he would never ask her to do that. The very idea of it caused all sexual desire inside him to shrivel up and fade away. His confidence had been shaken and the few dates he’d been on over the last few months at the urging of his mates had all ended in disaster as his insecurities ruined the mood.

But during his interlude with the woman by the river all of that had been forgotten. It had been like an out-of-body experience. He’d felt like a sex god doling out pleasure only he was capable of giving. Afterwards, as Will was still recovering, she had dashed off again. He’d considered chasing after her, clothes be damned. But his hosts had very kindly invited him to spend the week at their house; it wouldn’t do to be running around their property naked, like some crazed wild man.

As he trudged back to the house, he wondered if the sun had affected him more than he thought. Was it possible he had dreamed the whole encounter? The whole thing had certainly played out like one of his fantasies. But no. They were never that vivid. He rubbed at his temples. God, the sounds he’d coaxed from her — little whimpers and whines, gasps and moans — would haunt his dreams. Damn it! He should have run after her. But maybe his hosts would know who she was.

He stepped through the front door to the sound of, Will, come and meet my friend Nadia. And then he saw her and his body lit up, all fire and hope. But — uh-oh — she looked mad. At him?

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Fantasy and reality collided with a thud for Nadia when the fantasy man from the river turned out to be Franco’s friend Will. He’d looked so happy to see her, but he followed her lead and pretended they hadn’t met before. Overwhelmed by what she'd done and the base instincts she'd given into so shamelessly, she gave him short shrift over dinner. But the way his happiness dwindled into disappointment and then resignation caused her stomach to twist.

Why won’t you give him a chance, Nads? Rachel asked later, while the two men washed dishes in the kitchen. Don’t you think he’s hot?

Sure, but—

Is it because he’s an electrician? Sparkies make good money these days, you know.

Nadia frowned. I don’t care about that.

Oh, really? When have you ever dated anyone who wasn’t a lawyer? And law student doesn’t count.

Nadia fell silent. The answer was never. But that was just how you met people, wasn’t it? At uni or through work? It wasn’t because she was a snob. Despite what happened at the river, she wasn’t yet ready to put herself out there again.

You’re the one who said that just because two people look good together on paper doesn’t necessarily mean they’re on the same page, Rachel continued. Haven’t you heard of yin and yang?

Nadia blinked at the twisted metaphor. But what would we even talk about?

Who said you have to talk? I’m sure you can think of other things to do together. Rachel gave an evil chuckle.

Rach! What kind of relationship would that be?

Rachel shrugged. A whole lot more fun than the ones you’ve been having.

Before Nadia could respond, Rachel went on. Besides, maybe you don’t have much in common professionally, but there’s a whole world outside of work. You remember that, don’t you?

Nadia frowned a bit