Friday, February 23, 2007

ASKING FOR TROUBLE: read it and win


It’s the last Friday of the month, time for our second Hot Slot of 2007, a regular feature in which we bring you a snippet of pure unadulterated filth, also known as an excerpt from one of our novels or stories. Today, I’m taking the floor with my award-winning, dark and sleazy, psychological thriller and all round dirty book, Asking for Trouble.

I’m also giving away one signed copy. Usual rules apply ie. we don’t really have any. Just add a name and a comment to this post some time before the end of February. Any old comment will do. A simple 'mmmm' is fine by me. Very fine, actually. I'm a big fan of 'mmmm's. The winner will be announced early March when we do the draw for our Valentine’s competition. And if you haven’t yet entered our Valentine’s comp, why the devil not?


ASKING FOR TROUBLE by Kristina Lloyd

Back cover (more or less)

‘I wasn’t too keen on baring my innermost fantasies. They weren’t exactly clean and sweet and besides, I didn’t know if I wanted them fulfilled. Ilya wanted me to confess all so he could make my bad dreams come true. If I’d realised how well-suited he was to do that – to drag my dangerous dirty fantasy down into his dangerous dirty reality – I might have kept my mouth shut. But I didn’t. I told him everything.’


When Beth Bradshaw – the manager of an arts bar in the seaside town of Brighton – starts flirting with the mysterious Ilya, she becomes a player in a game based purely on sexual brinkmanship. The boundaries between fantasy and reality start to blur as their relationship takes on an increasingly reckless, addictive element. When Ilya’s murky past catches up with him, he’s determined to involve Beth and she finds herself being drawn deeper into the seedy underbelly of Brighton where things, including Ilya, are far more dangerous than she bargained for.

Background

In this excerpt, Beth and Ilya haven’t even met. They are neighbours and have flirted in a slightly scary way from across the street. Ilya has somehow got Beth’s home phone number. Here, he’s encouraging her to tell him about the time she had sex on a rural train station platform. It’s starting to get a little heated.

The entire chapter, by the way, is written as a phone conversation. Yup, that’s around 20 pages of phone sex.

ASKING FOR TROUBLE: excerpt

'Go on, Beth,' he challenged gently. 'Just unzip. That's all. You're on the platform at Ford, pressed up against a wall, at the back of this waiting room. You're so horny, so hot. The sun's beating down, probably making the concrete white, hurting your eyes. Behind Ben – his body's up close to yours – you can see trees and bits of fields. The sky's blue, blue, blue. No one's around, so Ben unzips you. How did he do it, Beth? Was it slow and teasing? Or was he hungry for you? Was he desperate to slide his fingers inside your knickers?'

I swallowed hard. 'No,' I said. 'It was like this. Listen.'

I moved the receiver into position, holding it across my belly. Making sure the mouthpiece was close enough, I fumbled for the zip-tag with my left hand. The metal gave a light, tinny clink. Then I unzipped. As my fingers eased downwards, the teeth unlocked with a low, steady purr.

Congratulating myself, I released a gentle sigh. Then I cradled the receiver into my neck, hunching one shoulder to keep it wedged there.

Eager for his response, I let my fingers stroked mindlessly along the grinning lips of my fly.

'That was nice,' he said. 'Not too fast, not too slow. What happened next? Did he slip his hand into the gap? Did his fingers slide into your knickers? Did he touch you?'

'Yes,' I whispered.

There was silence. Then he said: 'How? What sort of knickers were you wearing?'

'I ... I don't know. Can't remember. I just remember – oh God, I was so horny – I remember his fingers running along the leg of my knickers, just a fraction inside. Then he kind of moved the gusset and he began ... he began touching me, fingering me. "God, you're wet," he said. His voice was all whispery and groggy, and his body was still close to mine, shielding me. I had to hold onto his shoulders. I felt weak. I was about to come.'

'Did you come then? Did you come with his fingers? Or was it later, when you fucked? Or both? Twice?'

'No, when we fucked,' I said. 'I came when we fucked. I really, really came. I was so – '

'So horny.'

'Yes.'

'And now? Are you horny now?'

'Yes.' I could scarcely hear my own words. My voice was like a breath catching in my throat.

'Where are your hands?'

'One's kind of here, readjusting the phone every now and then. And the other ... It's near my fly.'

'Are you masturbating?'

Oh, his voice. It was hypnotist-soft.

'No,' I said throatily. As I spoke one of my fingers stole past my open zip and into my knickers. I skimmed across my swollen vulva then withdrew. I felt as if he were watching me.

'Do you want to?' he asked. 'Are you ready to?'

'I don't know,' I said weakly. 'But I need to – '

'Touch yourself, Beth.'

It was what I craved. I ached to caress myself, and I don't know why, but I wanted his permission. Feeling freer, I edged into my knickers once again, via the zip of my skirt. With my index finger, I sawed along my cleft – it was so slippery and open – and my moist flesh pulsed in gratitude.

'Is it good?' he asked.

I dipped my fingertip into my entrance and stirred a lingering circle there, resisting the urge to penetrate myself fully. 'Yes,' I murmured. 'It's very good.'

'Keep doing whatever you're doing, Beth,' he said, 'and tell me about you and Ben. The train station, behind the red brick thing, and his hand is in your skirt, past your knickers. His fingers are all over you, inside you. Is that right?'

'Yes, yes. His fingers were so good. I was ... my cunt ... it was just melting into his fingers. I could hardly stand. He kept me pushed against the wall, holding me upright with his body. And his fingers worked. There was no one around. I was ready to come. I was groaning, trying to be quiet, just in case.'

'Did you tell him you were ready to come?'

'Yes.'

'What did Ben do?'

'He unzipped. He checked over his shoulders and he unzipped.'

'Sound effects?'

'What?'

'Listen.'

I held my breath, my fingers teasing. My clit was fat and tender, like a fruit about to burst with ripeness. I heard the sound of flies being unzipped. His flies. I could picture a crotch, bulging, and the zip unteething over it, gaping to expose underwear. I imagined an erect cock springing out: the erect cock of my faceless man whose name was Ilya. Ilya Travis.


If you want to find out what happens when Beth and Ilya meet, there's another excerpt here - which may make you think I'm obsessed with thoughts of sex and seduction up against a wall. And you're right. I am. Madly. If you want to find out even more, then head for Amazon UK or Amazon US and buy my lovely book. Or try one of those old-fashioned bookshop places. Thank you.


Kristina X

18 comments:

Anonymous said...

I love this book. It's one of my favourite BLs. And extract this is one of my favourite bits.

Also, because I am lazy, I shall just repost what I said in my Amazon review. (Where you will notice I sound much saner than I usually do on here.)


'This is a wonderful book. Very true about its Brighton location and with a real sense of place. The sex scenes are scorching, scary, and really make your heart beat faster.

The heroine, Beth, is instantly likeable and has a sure strong first person voice. Ilya, the hero, is rather mysterious, but his sexual magnetism and ability to lead Beth into places she really isn't sure she wants to go - despite what her heart might be telling her - never feels in doubt.

Excellent. A must read for all lovers of erotic romance who like their heroes extra dark and dangerous and the sex scenes right on the edge.'

May said...

When I go on a BL shopping spree when I go to the UK in the fall, this book will be at the top of my list to pick up.

Kristina Lloyd said...

Ah, thanks gals. You make me blush.

You do sound weird on Amazon, Tilly. Maybe it's the 3 paragraphs and nary a werewolf in sight. Not that I'm complaining. I LOVE that review. And May, I really hope you enjoy it.

Megan Kerr said...

OW that's good. Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm...

Anonymous said...

That is me doing my 'Amazon reviewer' voice. You should hear me when I am writing my proper book reviews for the properly serious Reflection's Edge.

I seem all grown up.

Nikki Magennis said...

I finished AFT last night! Loved it. Shocking, dirty, funny, sexy, intense. Kept me awake til 2 am.

I haven't fully assimilated it yet. Takes me a day or two before I can see the whole book clearly, if you know what I mean, but -

It's like one's very darkest fantasies made real and believable. The scene's great - AFT paints a lovely sleazy raucous picture of a seaside town. And the characters are vivid and warm, even when they're nasty. The writing's first rate. The plot's gripping.

I'm going to stop now before I get in a jealous huff.

Did you say you're doing a sequel, Kristina?

Anonymous said...

Yummy.

Alison Tyler said...

Absolutely delicious, Kristina. And I love that you posted this excerpt. The dialogue is intense. So much sexier than Vox, in my opinion.

I hope you inspire all of your readers to call up their partners and talk dirty to them. (Or to call up those they wish were their partners...) Hmmm. Shouldn't there be a national phone sex day?

Too fucking hot.
Five stars.

Alison

Anonymous said...

Wow. Count me in on the contest pleeeeease!

Kristina Lloyd said...

Nikki, I am SO glad you enjoyed it. I knew you were reading it and it always makes me a bit twitchy (because in some strange way I like to think that no one reads it, no one knows). Thank you for your fab words. Hope you didn't have bad dreams.

Alison, big thanks too. Sexier than Vox - yay! I love Nicholson Baker's stuff. In Vox, he only uses dialogue and speech tags. You don't get to see what the characters are doing or hear their thoughts. When I started writing that chapter, I thought maybe I should nick his idea - I mean, pay homage to his technique. But I soon realised it was very wrong for my book, too distancing.

I'm imagining national phone sex day where everyone's on their mobile phones, talking dirty on buses and trains, walking down the street, or poking at vegetables in the supermarket.

I think there'd be a lot of accidents though.

Unknown said...

Okay...
where did Mr Kate go?
After that excerpt I need him and email just isn't doing it for me.

lovely Kristina

Madeline Moore said...

Train sex fantasies! My favourite! How did you know? You've managed to make me change my mind about phone/letter/diary style writing. I sometimes consider it, but usually reject the idea as too 'distancing' as you put it. But this exerpt puts us in the middle of not one, but two hot sexual experiences. Suddenly, it's gone from 'avoid' to 'attempt' in my writer's aresenal. But don't worry, when I pay homage to your style (cop your concept) I'll be sure to credit you (not.) In all honesty, one of the very first sexual fantasies I committed to paper, (and it is as a consequence of those written fantasies that I'm an erotica writer now) took place on a train...with the climax(es) occuring in the tiny, faintly grubby little train bathroom. So your phone sex excerpt puts me in the middle of not one, or even two, but three sexual experiences - as I recall the one I wrote, all three is all...all I can handle without...reaching for my own zipper and...and...gotta go!

Keziah Hill said...

There's something about public sex... Big Mmmmmmmm from me too.

tetewa said...

Would love a copy of this YUMMY book!

Anonymous said...

Very hot. I'm dying to read the rest! Please enter me in the contest!

Thanks,

Elyse

Anonymous said...

Great stuff keep it coming. Thanks.

Vincent Copsey said...

It's a great story, Kristina. I really enjoyed the book. Ilya is a very bad boy!

Madelynne

Kristina Lloyd said...

Yay! I got the good bad-vote from Madelynne. Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it.

Thanks to everyone who entered and said nice things and made me feel good. On here, I mean. As part of the contest. Not, you know ...

Winner announced on Sunday along with the Valentine's comp results.

Good luck!

Kristina x