Thanks to everyone who is reading or has read Bad Girls, Grumpy Bosses.
One note on the first book, Simon Says: it was my debut novel in this genre. Now, with the benefit of five years’ experience, I know it could have been much better.
I love Simon and Sadie, but I should have shown more of Simon's better side because he does have one. He just keeps it well hidden.
I only started to begin to understand Simon in book two, Winning Sadie..
At the start of my writing life, I was told it I’d have to commit myself to a lifetime of learning. I took that advice to heart and work on craft constantly.
I hope you will see the improvement between my first book in this collection, Simon Says, and Trusting Ingrid, which I wrote two years later.
I also hope people will remember that these books are fantasies. They shouldn’t be confused with instruction manuals, nor are they intended to be ‘how to’ lifestyle guides.
Dark Melodies, book 1 in The Black Combe Dom series by Ashe Barker
Hang onto your hats! Ashe Barker has a new series out. Dark Melodies is super-length book 1 (over 600 pages!) in The Black Combe Doms series.
Blurb
Who knows where pain ends, and pleasure begins?
The chance of a new life out in the wilds of the Yorkshire moors sounds too good to be true to shy musician Eva Byrne. Stifled and smothered within the cocoon of her brilliant academic career, Eva yearns for something different. Something real and exciting. Something she can feel
Excitement. Passion. Pleasure. She finds that sexy, enigmatic Nathan Darke can provide all these and more when she moves into his home as violin tutor to his young daughter. But Eva’s sensual encounters with her demanding, domineering new employer quickly evoke her deepest fears, as he introduces her to the trauma of submission and marks her with his particularly dark brand of love.
But will Eva’s natural curiosity and thirst for new experiences be enough to withstand the sting of Nathan Darke’s exquisite touch? Will simple surrender be enough as he challenges her every inhibition, taking her on an erotic journey of self-discovery and liberation?
Disclaimers:
Dark Melodies is intended for mature readers. 18 and over only! Scenes include power exchanges, spanking adult women, and explicitly sexual situations. These scenes are fantasies only, suitable for discerning readers. If such content may offend, please do not buy this book.
Dark Melodies was previously released as three separate books, Darkening, Darker and Darkest, in the series The Dark Side. In this volume the three books in The Dark Side trilogy are published as one combined novel, under a new title, Dark Melodies with new cover art, no cliffhangers and a HEA.
Buy Link: mybook.to/DarkMelodies
Available in paperback or read for free with Kindle Unlimited.
Excerpt:
Slipping his hand out of my bra, he pulls me to my feet and quickly turns me to face the table. His hand in the small of my back, he pushes me face down across the hardwood surface, sliding the iPad and my coffee cup to one side.
I start in surprise as he lifts the hem of my dress—surely he just said…
Then I moan out loud as he again slips his hand into my clothing, this time down the back of my lovely red lacy briefs, down the hollow between my buttocks, slowing slightly to circle my anus with one gentle fingertip. I stiffen, waiting…
“So sweet and tight. We’ll come back to this,” he murmurs softly, leaning close to kiss my neck before continuing on between the wet, swollen lips of my pussy. He slips one finger inside my moist entrance, working gently in and out, circling the outer lips, spreading my juices all around. I moan faintly, lifting my bum up in welcome. He slides a second finger inside, whilst with his other hand he attacks from the front to take my swollen clitoris between his thumb and finger, gently rubbing.
The combined pleasure is so intense, so sudden, it overwhelms me, and I come immediately. I scream, unable to contain any of the fabulous sensation of internal fragmentation now shooting out through my outstretched fingers—white-knuckled, still gripping the edge of the table—and my toes, still encased in my lovely, red fuck-me shoes. I whimper, almost in frustration that my climax has hit me before I even saw it coming.
“I’m not finished with you yet. Stay there.”
More? How wonderful.
His voice is low, seductive and commanding. I stay still. Waiting. He straightens, steps away from me, goes over to his desk. He returns a moment later, gently pulling my underwear down to my ankles. “Step out.” His command is clear. I obey.
“You have a beautiful bottom, Miss Byrne,” he observes, trailing his fingertips lightly down the furrow between my buttocks, then tracing the line of each lower curve before bringing something down on me—hard, sharp, fierce. I scream out loud, with shock more than pain, though the sting is real enough. Instinctively I start to stand up, but his hand goes to the small of my back, pressing me back down.
“We agreed on five strokes for every frown. I counted at least four frowns since we came into this room, and that’s me being generous, Miss Byrne. So that’s twenty strokes. Agreed?”
I don’t answer, still reeling from the sudden assault. He strikes me again, and I scream again, louder. “Agreed, Miss Byrne?”
“Yes, yes. Please don’t…”
“Eighteen to go, then. Grit your teeth, Miss Byrne.”
I do, flinching with every blow, my fingers curled desperately around the opposite edge of the table. Counting slowly. He takes his time, waiting between each blow for me to settle again, to be ready. After ten strokes he stops, places a ruler beside my face on the table, and steps away again. I know not to move. He comes back after a few moments and I feel something cool, soothing, being smoothed into my red-hot and extremely sore buttocks. He gently massages me, kneading my tender skin where his ruler has done its work.
“You’re new to this, Miss Byrne, so I’m really being very gentle with you. Next time it will be harder.” He taps my buttock lightly with his palm. “Relax—we’ll soon be done.” He stands, picks up the ruler again. “Are you ready to continue, Miss Byrne?”
I know he will demand an answer, so I whisper my consent, and he starts again. The next ten blows are excruciating. He alternates between bringing his ruler down hard on first one side of my bottom, then the other, always hitting the same spot on each cheek and now not even waiting for me to collect myself between blows. Each new blow builds on the sting left by the one before it. I lie there in my world of pain, biting my lip to keep from sobbing, waiting for him to finish.
After the twentieth stroke he straightens, stands still behind me. I can imagine his eyes on my abused bottom, and just hope he’s satisfied. I know better than to say as much, though, and I wait, desperate for him to give me permission to get up. I lie there, frozen with dread at what might be coming next.
“Open your legs, Eva.”
The other books in The Black Combe Dom series:
mybook.to/DarkMelodies
mybook.to/SureMastery
mybook.to/HardLimits
viewbook.at/LaidBare
all four are FREE to read on Kindle Unlimited. Available in paperback too
Getting to know the amazing Ashe Barker
USA Today Bestselling author Ashe Barker writes erotic romance and spanking romance in a variety of genres including contemporary, BDSM, paranormal, historical. ménage, gay romance and time travel. She is a #1 Amazon Bestseller and all her stories feature hot alpha males and sassy submissives, often with a lot to learn. Kink abounds, and there’s enough dirty talk to satisfy the most demanding smut lover. However dark and dirty the setting, love always emerges triumphant, and her stories never fail to deliver a satisfying happy ever after.
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