The Darker Side of Love (A Dark Erotica Boxed Set) Read online

  THE EROTIC COLLECTIVE

  presents

  THE DARKER SIDE OF LOVE

  (A Dark Erotica Boxed Set)

  All Rights Reserved

  This book is copyright material and must not be copied, translated, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any form without prior written permission of the publisher, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorized distribution, circulation or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights, and those responsible maybe liable in law accordingly.

  Copyright © Tara Crescent, Anne A. Lois, Jennifer Bene, Eris Adderly, Justine Hollander, Alice Schermer and Christine Hart, 2015. The right of the above authors to be identified as the authors of the works in this anthology has been asserted by them under the Copyright Amendment (Moral Rights) 2000

  Kindle Edition

  The books in this anthology are works of fiction. Names, places, characters and incidents are either a product of the authors’ imaginations or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Edited by Jim the Brit. (He insists on being known as Jim the Ruggedly Handsome Brit.)

  Cover Design by Rochelle Cooper, https://www.behance.net/RochelleCooper

  Table of Contents

  Boxed Set Contents

  The Watcher

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Epilogue: The top keeps spinning…

  Epilogue: The top stops spinning…

  About Tara Crescent

  Books by Tara Crescent

  Cookin’ Up a Storm

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  About Anne A. Lois

  Books by Anne A. Lois

  The Rite

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Epilogue

  About Jennifer Bene

  Books by Jennifer Bene

  As Flame to Smoke

  About Eris Adderly

  Something in Her Eyes

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  About Justine Hollander

  Wide Open

  About Alice Schermer

  What if…?

  Chapter One ~ Ascending

  Chapter Two ~ Descending

  Chapter Three ~ Landing

  Chapter Four ~ Dark

  Chapter Five ~ Darker

  Chapter Six ~ Darkest

  Chapter Seven ~ Despair

  Chapter Eight ~ A Glimmer

  Chapter Nine ~ Chasing the Light

  Chapter Ten ~ Radiant Illumination

  About Christine Hart

  Also by Christine Hart

  End Notes

  Have you checked out our other release?

  The More the Merrier is another Erotic Collective boxed set, containing SEVEN Brand New Scorching Hot Standalone Stories. No Cliff-hangers! Over 500 pages of incredibly hot, erotic ménage action.

  Boxed Set Contents

  The Watcher by Tara Crescent

  Her mother is seriously ill. Her job is tiring and stressful. There is darkness within her, a craving for pain and raw, hard sex. The mysterious Club Phoenix offers Kelly Mitchell all these things.

  But surrendering control at the doors of the dungeon is an addictive feeling and with each visit, she falls further and further into oblivion.

  All she has to protect her are her safe words and the carefully intent eyes of the Watcher. He is Kelly’s lifeline. But will he catch her before she loses herself completely? Will he keep her safe?

  Will she even want him to?

  NOTE: This is a dark read. Happy endings are optional. While all scenes are consensual, they are filled with harsh sadomasochism, rough sex, anal play, and humiliation.

  Cooking Up a Storm by Anne A. Lois

  Although Nadya could never forget the horrific events that had shattered her world as a teenager, Yan had helped her heal. Their love story spanned decades. They fell in love in college, got married and had children. In the bedroom, she was his sub. In their restaurant - and everywhere else - she was his equal partner. They had the perfect, loving relationship.

  Now, for Yan's upcoming birthday, she got him a special gift: something that he'd always wanted, but had so far been on her hard-limits list. Faced with old ghosts, will Nadya really be ready?

  NOTE: In this darker-than-my-usual story, my leading lady remembers past trauma in some detail, which may be a trigger (Trigger: Rape) for some survivors. There is also a fully consensual (and very loving) BDSM scene, including bondage and erotic pain. Reader discretion is advised.

  The Rite by Jennifer Bene

  Heather isn’t a witch — yet. She’s a woman with a complicated love life and an even more complicated family who are pushing her to complete the rite that they have guarded for generations. A rite that will give her unimaginable power at the cost of someone else’s life. All she has to do is choose someone, take them to bed, and curse them to die.

  After her cousin pressures her to go to a speed dating event and just pick someone, she meets Neil. Ex-army, ex-foster kid, who just moved to Cambridge. He’s blond, dimpled, and gorgeous. He’s the perfect choice, and her only choice if she wants to survive her family.

  But can she choose him, and take him to bed, knowing that he’ll die for her to gain her power? To be one of the Pritchett witches? And can she live with herself, can she have the life she wants, if she does?

  NOTE: This is a dark story that involves some delightful BDSM, heavy decisions and themes, and scenes of dubious consent and torture aided by magic.

  As Flame to Smoke by Eris Adderly

  Newly-ordained Father David Kent has his heart in the right place. He devotes every day to helping and guiding others through the Word. If only he could keep his thoughts chaste, as he promised. But women are everywhere, eyes beckoning, curves taunting. And then this woman, this Serah. From the moment she stumbles into his church she takes hold of his fantasies and won’t let go, testing his resolve as it’s never been tested before. Just how far is he willing to be provoked?

  The Fallen has issued Serah her final challenge: tempt a priest to break his vows. The reward? Immortality. Seduction has always been a walk in the park for the Initiate, and at first, with this priest, it seems no different. But then he has to go and start being kind to her. Loving. And when did she start feeling guilt? Serah needs to get her head in the game before weakness costs her everything.

  NOTE: This story contains religious themes and language combined with scenes of erotica in a way that may be offensive to some reade
rs.

  Something in Her Eyes by Justine Hollander

  What happens when your most exciting and pivotal sexual experience occurs in college, and you’ve been searching ever since for someone to ignite the same wild, erotic passion - the same intensity - only to be disappointed over and over again?

  For Ben Lewis and Margaret Monaghan, one night of brutal and life-changing sex sets the bar for every relationship to follow. No woman since has yielded to the extreme torment Ben desires to inflict - nor has any man given Margaret the exquisite erotic pain that she craves. As the years pass, both flourish in their professional lives, while leaving a string of failed love affairs behind them.

  Yet fate has other plans for them. After fourteen years their worlds collide once more and memories from that night propel their mutual attraction to obsessive peaks - but will both real and imagined barriers prevent them from being with the one person who can not only fulfill their wildest fantasies, but also their hearts?

  NOTE: Please be aware that this story includes a gangbang (mmmmf), sadomasochism, anal play and humiliation. All consensual, and all very exciting!

  Wide Open by Alice Schermer

  Rose Wright isn't the sort of girl that expects much from life. She certainly didn't expect to stumble on a murder scene one night. That the man responsible would decide to meet her again in her dreams is something she expected even less.

  He doesn't have a name that she knows of. He is dangerous, she doesn't doubt that for a moment. He refuses to stop haunting her even when she asks very nicely. He wants to show her dark pleasures beyond her wildest dreams.

  As Rose's will to resist him wavers, she learns to welcome that darkness. But the dark can hide many things, and one of them is a choice that will decide both her future and his.

  NOTE: This story contains elements of dubious consent, auto-erotic asphyxiation, knife-play, blood-play, organ removal, rough sex, and at least one dead body. But in a really fun way!

  What if…? A Continuation of The Prince of Darkness vs. the Prom Queen: Descent into Darkness, Cherishing Luminescence by Christine Hart

  The name ‘Donovan’ means dark so in this installment of The Prince of Darkness vs. The Prom Queen it seemed appropriate to take Donovan Corbett, The Prince of Darkness himself, on a puzzling journey into his own life — a life without Laci.

  Donovan has been at a special training session and away from his family for nearly a month. Now he’s back but why is nothing the way it was before he left? What if the darkest thing Donovan could possibly imagine, actually happened? What if his life didn’t include Laci? What if………?

  Donovan finds himself falling into darkness before rediscovering and forever cherishing his light.

  The Watcher

  by

  Tara Crescent

  Text copyright © 2015 Tara Crescent

  All Rights Reserved

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer, who may quote short excerpts in a review.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  My editor Jim takes the comma-filled words that emerge from my keyboard and shapes it into a story worth reading. As always, my undying gratitude.

  Special thanks to Paul vonKarmann who also edited this story, and whose comments in the margins provided many a chuckle.

  Both Jennifer Bene and Richard North generously took time from of their own writing to beta-read Watcher for me. Their suggestions were infinitely helpful and this is a much stronger story for their efforts. I cannot thank them enough.

  The Erotic Collective — I love you all to bits. I’m so glad to know each and every one of you.

  Prologue

  Do you know that scene in Inception, the one where the top spins so that Cobb can tell whether he’s in a dream or not? If the top keeps spinning, he’s still trapped in his dreams. If it stops, he’s drowning in reality.

  I have my own version of this.

  In the real world, I’m an aspiring young fashion designer who lives in New York and revels in every pulse-beat of the city that never sleeps. I never knew my father and my mother has early onset Alzheimer’s. She’s only fifty-three, goddammit. I can never say those words out aloud without being physically angry at how fucking unfair life is.

  She lives in a nursing home in my hometown, Akron, Ohio. I visit her religiously every other weekend, even though I have precious little money for the airfare and even though she doesn’t recognize her own daughter.

  When Alzheimer’s strikes in a person as young as my mother, you know what they tell the children? Get tested. Alzheimer’s has a genetic component. This could be me. My mom’s memory started fragmenting when she was in her thirties. I have two years to go. So I bury myself in work, indulge in transient pleasure and don’t allow myself things like love. Because when your mother doesn’t remember her only child’s name, you are given an object lesson in how fleeting love is. How ephemeral. Filled with the potential to slash open your heart and expose your soul to the icy wind.

  To dwell on it would be to break under the weight of the pressure. Instead, I seek refuge in the other world I live in. A shadowy world. One with the dank brick walls of a dimly lit dungeon, the muffled clanking of rusty chains and the drip of a leaking tap in the corner. A world in which strange men use me for their pleasure, indifferent to my own desires. Yet I permit the violations each and every time. This world frightens me and arouses me and I can’t tell which emotion is the predominant one.

  These are my two worlds; my two divergent paths.

  I am clad in a black leather bra and black lace panties and I’m fairly confident neither garment is going to stay on for very long.

  Out of the shadows, two men emerge and move towards me. They are shirtless. They wear pants, though their flies are open, and their cocks stick out, erect, engorged and ready. Cruel lust gleams in their cold gazes. These men are perfect strangers, yet for the next two hours they have the right to use me as they will.

  My only safety comes from my own safe words and the ever-intent green eyes of the Watcher. He looks at me now as I fight the urge to panic and flee. Soon, I tell myself, the pain will turn to pleasure.

  That’s not perfectly true. Not anymore. The pain doesn’t turn into pleasure. It turns into numbness. My body responds to the stimulus, but my mind stays blank.

  “Do you submit?” The Watcher speaks the ritual words that will indicate my willingness to continue with the session.

  The top starts spinning.

  I kneel on the floor and lower my head, holding out my hands in a gesture of surrender. “I submit.”

  “Good.” This is the leaner of the two men. He has dark hair, and his face is covered with stubble. His voice is tinged with an Irish accent. “Let’s get you ready then, love.”

  The other man, the one with the short blond hair, doesn’t speak. He is broader and his physique is a lot more intimidating, all hard, bulging muscle. In his hands he holds a coil of black rope. The first man lifts me up easily, as if I were weightless, and sets me down on a vinyl-covered bench. A pair of scissors appear in one of their hands and both bra and panty are snipped away, the scraps of fabric tumbling to the floor.

  The men begin to wind the rope above and below my breasts, so that my flesh reddens and bulges towards them. My hands are tightly tied behind my back, my wrists somehow fastened together so I can’t pull them forward. A bright red ball gag is dangled near my lips and my mouth falls open automatically. I am so well-behaved.

  In his corner, the Watcher watches. When I can’t speak my safe words clearly, I can mumble them through the gag, and he will hear them. Or I will shake my head vigorously from side
to side and that’ll serve as my safety signal.

  I’ve never yet used a safe word. I’ve wanted to, but something has always kept me silent. Perhaps I keep quiet because I know the Watcher is watching. Perhaps I want to put on a show for him. Perhaps I want him to be as aroused by me as I am by him.

  The top keeps spinning.

  Once my breasts and arms are tied to his satisfaction, the blond man turns his attention to my legs. I’m kneeling with my ass resting on my heels and the blond man nudges my knees open till I’m spread wide, displayed for their pleasure.

  The two men crowd around me. The guy with black hair stands behind me and I feel the cold metal of his belt buckle at my right shoulder, an icy contrast to the heat that radiates from the erect cock grazing my neck. . His hand closes around my right breast, squeezing the orb and pinching the engorged nipple. His fingers trail down my abs, then find my pussy lips. His touch is sure and intent as he cups my mound.

  Behind the ball-gag I fight to quiet my moans.

  The blond guy is directly behind me. I can feel the heat emanate from his body as he grinds his cock against my back. Out of the corner of my eye I see a shiny chrome anal hook dangling from his fingers. The ball at the tip of the hook is the size of a table-tennis ball.

  I can’t help myself. I moan in anticipation.

  “You are such a little slut,” the man with the black hair says. “Aren’t you?”

  I don’t look at the Watcher; I nod my head at the man who has spoken. He’s right. I am a slut. I get off on being treated like a sex toy for the pleasure of these men. Already my body is betraying me. My pussy is slippery and wet with desire, and my nipples are erect nubs, begging to be played with and bitten.

  The fat head of a cock rubs on my nipples and precum trails from its tip onto my breasts. I can see the liquid glisten under the lights. I am so aroused by the idea of these men rubbing their precum into my skin.

  The man with the dark hair reaches out and his hand encircles the back of my neck. He pushes me onto his cock and I start to tip and fall forward. His hands are quickly around my shoulders, partly to steady me and partly to position me to his satisfaction. I am still balancing on my knees, but my shoulders make contact with the bench, and the vinyl is cool against my cheek.