ebook $6.99
ISBN 9781885865892
25,040 words
ebook $6.99
ISBN 9781885865908
20,300 words
(Also see our snazzy new omnibus print edition!)
You don’t have to be an evil genius to figure that superheroes are hot, and not just because of the perfect bodies clad in spandex (or leather, or stylized body armor). Film adaptations of favorite superheroes remain on the rise and comic book conventions are among the best-attended gatherings in the world.
But as comic book creators and artists have been trumpeting for decades, comic books are not for kids. Although the battles of good versus evil and of archetypal iconic figures in struggle tug at our primal, childhood selves, these same primal urges lead us to exploring the erotic side of heroes–and villains. How could the stylized physiques and skin-tight costumes (think of the bodacious bosom of Wonder Woman or the Batman’s codpiece) common in the milieu NOT lead to erotic thoughts and explorations?
Like a Mask Removed, volume one: Erotic Tales of Superheroes presents seven stories ranging from vibrant and lively romps reminiscent of the colorful comic book pages they are inspired by to modern experimental literary styles.
Then, in the second volume of Like A Mask Removed, you will be treated with five new, previously unpublished, original stories of the smoldering dynamics found between noble, honorable, well-meaning superheroes and their provocative nemeses. Whether courted during a peace-keeping mission, a chance meeting while off duty, an abduction, or an infiltration into head-quarters, these superheroes find that they are all too human and the temptations offered by sexy supervillains are much too powerful to resist.
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Tables of Contents:
Volume One: Superheroes
Switch by Rae Flowers
Partners by Michael M. Jones
Star Crossed by David Hubbard
Times Square Alter Ego by Bianca Sinn
Merboy At Midnight by Tom Cardamone
Lawman by Angela Caperton
A Double-Edged Bomb by Lauren P. Burka
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Volume Two: Supervillains
Invisible Touch by Erin O’Riordan
Pow! Bash! Yes, Yes! by Sophie Mouette
Those Who Favor Fire by Layla Lawlor
Jetstream by Pencildragon
Bridge Over Shifter’s Chasm by Raven Kaldera
Continue to read a hot excerpt!
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Excerpt from “Pow! Bash! Yes, Yes!”
by Sophie Mouette
There she was, archvillainess Samhain Kiss, right in front of me on the dance floor at Sappho’s. Grinding her hips in a way that was undeniably sexual, even though she was dancing by herself.
Ah, the irony. I was dressed as Healing Fire, superheroine and Samhain Kiss’s arch-nemesis.
That gave me the perfect opening line. I summoned all my alter ego’s courage and crossed the dance floor to my sexy costumed stranger.
She was facing away from me when I got there, so I tapped her on her bare shoulder. When she turned, long black-and-electric-blue hair whipping dramatically, I said loudly, “Samhain Kiss, you’re under arrest for being too hot for your own good.”
She stopped moving, looked me up and down in a way that made me shiver with pleasant anticipation. “Oh,” she said, making a face of mock-alarm, eyebrows high and mouth forming a pouty, kissable O. “The horror! Whatever will I do?”
I put my hands on my PVC-clad hips and widened into a superheroine stance, legs apart. “The penalty is… dancing with me.”
“You’ve won this round, Healing Fire,” she said, tossing her hair again and crossing her arms under her leather bustier so her breasts plumped up beautifully. “But I’ll find a way to thwart you, just you wait.”
Some might have guessed it was luck that right then the DJ put on a slow song. I knew better. I knew it was wrong, but I used my power of telepathy for personal gain, just this once.
Because I am Healing Fire.
It’s all the outfit’s fault. The short, shiny white PVC “nurse’s uniform” with red flames– it looked like something you’d find in a high-end fetish boutique– was magic.
I don’t understand exactly how it works. All I know is that the uniform finds you, appears in your closet like it had in mine six months ago, and makes you more than you ever dreamed of being.
It gives you firestrikes and secret martial-arts techniques to fight archvillains, healing powers to protect you and save crime victims. It makes you a superheroine, in short. And when you’re ready to retire from Superherodom, you wake up one day and the uniform is gone, moved on to the next Healing Fire.
So why was I wearing it at the Halloween party at Sappho’s? I’d just come off a long shift helping Ceridwen and Technomage fight some of Samhain Kiss’s minions, who’d been trying to do something complicated and evil involving nanotechnology and the spirits of the dead. I was fried, I really wanted a beer, and I’d forgotten to bring regular clothes with me when I’d gone flying out the door to the crime scene. So I put my Distraction Glasses on, and went to my favorite bar as Maya-Simkin-in-a-costume.
The Distraction Glasses came with the outfit. Some secret technology made you look subtly different when you put them on, so no one connected you with your alter-ego, even though your mundane and super faces were identical. That explains Clark Kent and Superman, right? Pre–Healing Fire I’d worn glasses, so no one would think anything of it.
Samhain Kiss’s outfit was pretty damn good, too: all black leather and silver lace and fishnets and boots. I’d never met the real Samhain Kiss, and she’d never been photographed because one of her powers fried cameras, but this lady had done an awesome job creating a costume that looked like the police composite sketches.
Only under the stark white makeup and the lipstick so dark red it was almost black, she was a lot prettier than the police sketches. Her curves, shown off by the leather bustier and long, artfully tattered lace skirt, were more impressive than any of the eyewitnesses had reported.
Then again, would you notice her figure while you were fleeing her flesh-eating technozombies?
Enough of that. This was far, far better than the beer I’d planned to use to wind down. Especially when, in reaction to the slow song, she put her arms around my waist and snuggled up against me.
Curves against curves. Leather against PVC. Skin against skin. We moved together through the slow song, just dancing at first, but gradually slipping into a more grinding-together sort of movement. And when the music changed and the other slow-dancing couples moved apart, we didn’t.
Let me tell you, it takes determination to slow-dance to German techno.
Determination or small, strong, skilful hands gripping my ass through PVC while I stroked hers through lace. Her leg slid between mine, teasing against my PVC-clad pussy. Yes, the outfit came with matching flame-patterned undies. The Superheroes’ Union told me they were very important, even if cotton seemed more practical. For the first time ever I was glad I’d listened. The PVC made me extra aware of how wet I was getting, and made the teasing seem kinkier.
The combined smells of leather, PVC, and two sweaty, aroused females rose between us. She was wearing some exotic perfume, like Stargazer lilies and myrrh and spices, and it went right to my clit.
I’m not sure how many songs crashed over us as we stayed like that, swaying and clutching and reveling in each other’s nearness. I know we only stopped when the DJ cut the music to announce something.
We stopped and looked into each other’s eyes.
Hers were dark, dark as the grave, pupil-less with a hint of red.
I almost pulled away, but remembered that I’d seen ads all over for special Halloween contacts. Devil eyes, kitty-cat eyes, superhero or villain eyes– you name the look. For a small fee and a visit to your eye doctor, it could be yours.
“You have such pretty eyes,” my raven-haired beauty whispered. “Would you take off your glasses so I can see them better?”
Take off the Distraction Glasses? So not a good idea! “I’m blind as a bat,” I lied. “Makes me nervous.”
“I’ll take good care of you,” she promised.
Then she raised her little hand, with its short black Gothy nails, and slipped them off me. “They’re not pretty,” she breathed. “They’re beautiful.”
And before I could protest, she covered my mouth with a kiss.
She tasted of cheap lipstick and Chardonnay and something else, something I couldn’t place.
I forgot all about my glasses and clung to her, as her kiss lit a fire in my belly.
I was dizzy from arousal and the power of her kiss.
Literally dizzy.
The room began to swirl and spiral, and the air jangled in a way that meant I was about to be teleported.
Oh shit. She wasn’t wearing a costume, either.
Then I blacked out in the arms of Samhain Kiss.
( Read the complete story in Like A Mask Removed, Volume Two!)
Also available in paperback!
Also available in paperback!