It Takes Two: Couples Erotica is out now!
My new anthology of erotic short stories is very queer and hot
Happy release day to It Takes Two: Couples Erotica! With the pace of book publishing, there’s a long lag between when I edit the stories for an anthology and when it’s released in the world, so much so that sometimes I forget all the sensual, juicy details of the erotic stories by the time the book is out.
For this one, I can tell you a few highlights:
The first print run is hardcover! It’s my first hardcover. I’m not sure if I’m supposed to say this or not but that wasn’t intentional. When I got my author copies in the mail, I was surprised. But I asked, and was told that it was an error, which means that the first print run will be in hardcover, but once those sell out, the rest will be in paperback. So if you want a special edition that looks a little fancier and makes a gorgeous gift, I’d order now (buy links below).
It Takes Two has many queer erotica stories. Due to the nature of the book being about couples and many of those couples getting it on with one or more other people, there’s a lot of queer sex of various kinds in the book.
These stories are perfect to read along with a partner or partners. While “two” is in the title, they’re not necessarily about monogamy, though some are. They’re about passion and connection and what happens over time to sex as a couple. My hope is these stories offer insights into how to keep sex hot or just offer an erotic escape.
There’s a sand fetish! Specifically, getting submerged in sand and feeling it rub up against a character’s body, in “Sinking in the Summer” by Leah Sage. This is one of the most unusual erotic stories I’ve ever published and I really enjoyed learning about a new-to-me fetish.
Here’s my introduction to It Takes Two: Couples Erotica:
When I came up with the idea for It Takes Two, I was inspired in part by being in a long-term relationship, and by knowing that many erotica readers are themselves coupled up and looking to see characters like them reflected on the page. The couples you’ll meet within these stories are adventurous, wild, and ready to go there, whether that means a hotel room where they ogle another couple, a kink camp, or outer space.
They’re also willing to go there in a more intimate sense, with each partner allowing their other half to see them at their most naked, raw, and vulnerable. These characters let down their barriers and pursue their sexual passions alongside the person who knows them best. They trust that their partner will treasure the gift of their desires, honoring them while sometimes spurring them on to be even naughtier, saying the filthy thing that’s lurking in their minds that they’ve never spoken aloud.
In these stories, we see that the shared history of these couples is what allows them to do things they might not otherwise agree to. In “Skin Deep” by Angela Addams, in which the narrator’s naked body gets painted in the most sensual way, she writes, “I let my mind wander as you coat me with your ideas, remembering the first time you brought me to orgasm with your brilliance.” That history plays a role in each of these stories, but it’s what’s happening right now that’s sure to turn you on.
You’ll find everything from fetishes to BDSM to sex toys, dirty talk, role-playing, threesomes, and more in these pansexual stories. The erotic takes a science fiction turn in “Out of Orbit” by R. Magdalen, where special suits help a couple separated in space feel each other’s bodies and get each other off. I hope the nineteen tales in It Takes Two transport and arouse you, and show you just some of the ways those in couples can make passion take center stage.
Rachel Kramer Bussel
Don’t just take my word for why you should read it. Here’s part of what Publishers Weekly wrote in their glowing review:
Bussel, the editor of Cleis’s Best Women’s Erotica series, brings together 19 sizzling stories of committed couples trying new things…Standouts include Jodie Griffin’s BDSM-infused “Little Red Goes to Kink Camp”; Christina Berry’s “Getaway from the Everyday,” featuring hotel sex between a long-married couple; and Quenby’s “Welcome Home,” a red-hot sapphic tale. Katrina Jackson makes a threesome bittersweet in “The Last Night,” while D. Fostalove brings some grit to the steamy gay male encounter at the center of “Small Change.” Birch Rosen’s sexy “The Pink Lady,” which stars a trans woman, and the queer sci-fi tale “Out of Orbit” by R. Magdalen, which includes enticing futuristic ways to connect sexually, round things out. This inclusive, bighearted anthology offers something from nearly every genre enjoyed by erotica lovers.
About It Takes Two: Couples Erotica:
In It Takes Two, couples take their passion in new directions, giving free reign to their filthiest sexual fantasies. Sometimes, they pretend to be someone else, engaging in erotic role-playing that allows them to embody their most sensual side and say and do things they wouldn’t in their everyday life. From BDSM encounters at Kink Camp to trying out new sex toys to outrageously filthy fetishes, glorious exhibitionism and voyeurism and sex in space, these couples find inventive ways to go wild with the one they love. No matter how well you think you know your partner, there’s always something new to discover about what turns them on, as these characters find out. The erotic stories in It Takes Two are all about rekindling that intimacy and seeking out total ecstasy. Edited by the award-winning Rachel Kramer Bussel, with contributions by popular authors including Rae Shawn, Christina Berry, and Katrina Jackson, It Takes Two is the perfect read alongside a special someone (or someones).
Table of Contents
Introduction: Lust for Life
All is Fair by Rae Shawn
Getaway from the Everyday by Christina Berry
Little Red Goes to Kink Camp by Jodie Griffin
Ovation by Lin Devon
Once More unto the Breach by Kelvin Sparks
Only Prop Weapons Allowed by Melanie Anton
Small Change by D. Fostalove
Sinking in the Summer by Leah Sage
The Pink Lady by Birch Rosen
Skin Deep by Angela Addams
Eviction Notice by Vix Hille
Lavendar Tea Bread by SJ Sweet Bread
Out of Orbit by R. Magdalen
Rekindling by Austin Worley
Miriam, Undone by Lou Morgan
Welcome Home by Quenby
Dirndl Darling by Noel Stevens
The Last Night by Katrina Jackson
On Display by Pandora Parker
Where to buy It Takes Two: Couples Erotica:
Amazon (all available countries)
Chapters (Canada):
Waterstones (UK)
Ebook
Kindle (all available countries)
Curious about my other 70+ erotica anthologies? Visit my website for links to some of my favorites. Some of my more recent titles haven’t been added yet but will be as soon as possible.
Want to pen your own smutty stories? Check out my nonfiction writing craft guide How to Write Erotica.
What’s next (pre-order links where available)
Crowded House: Threesome and Group Sex Erotica audiobook (out May 16)
Best Women’s Erotica of the Year, Volume 8 audiobook (out May 23)
Sexy Strangers: Erotic Stories (out September 12)
Best Women’s Erotica of the Year, Volume 9 (December 2023)
My solo erotic short story collection (2024)