Twice the Pleasure, an anthology edited by Rachel Kramer Bussel, is a collection of bisexual women’s erotica.

Reading this collection of twenty-two short stories, I’m carried away into my own fantasy world. Drawing me in, they allow me live vicariously though their words. Like a friend offering to show you the way, Rachel takes you by the hand and guides you on a celebration of bisexual exploration.

Who better to create this journey for you than Rachel Kramer Bussel, who is herself a bisexual woman. Not to be placed in a box Rachel opens the curtains and reveals the vast array of sexual identities within bisexuality. With stories of real women having fun and exploring their own sexual desires, Twice the Pleasure explores the intimacy of life through realistic short stories that truly draw you in.

Keeping me on the edge of my seat, The Wife by Kay Jaybee. Jade, who’s come to Karen’s work to she’s the mistress. Prepared to endure Karen’s wrath, Jade finds herself entrapped in a sinister plan. Intimidated Jade succumbs to Karen’s erotic and controlling touch. Suddenly stopped by Neil, the husband, Jade prepares to leave and finds out that her forbidden passion isn’t over. Quite the contrary, Karen reveals that Neil and herself will be over latter that night.   

 “The hand around her bare arm relaxed its grip a little, but Karen didn’t let go. Instead, she began to trail her neatly trimmed, black-painted fingernails up and down a square inch of Jade’s skin, sending electric waves of unexpected desire through Jade’s body. “So, let me look at you properly; let me see exactly what my husband sees in a little girl like you.”

 One of my favorite’s and an intriguing story is In the Mirror by Valerie Alexander. In this story, Will and Jamie are married. Yet, they are both bisexual. As each other’s soul mates she knows that Will is longing to for time with her lover Hannah. However all Jamie’s worried about is a moment alone with her. Meeting for drinks, Will tags along and Hannah brings her boyfriend Connor.  Now a couple’s night, they are off to a loft party. Unable to resist each other, Jamie pulls Hannah into the coat room. There atop of the coats they lie naked ravishing each other’s hot skin as Will kneels before Connor pleasing him. Will’s chance comes when Jamie gives Hannah to him. Surly a night that won’t be soon forgotten  the next day, Will and Jamie re-affirm their love and commitment as they head out for the wedding.

 They’d met last summer when I started dating her, but they hadn’t spent any real time together before she returned to art school. But now we were in her city, and she had picked us up today at the airport. She’d given a brief tour along the way to the hotel and Will had watched her face with a suspicious, slightly amazed expression, like he’d never seen her before. We always got to know each other’s lovers; it was part of our agreement and a way of signaling to them that there would be no shifting priorities or betrayals. Just like when he started sleeping with Toby two months ago, and we had him over for dinner. What wasn’t part of our official agreement was that we only slept with our own gender, but somehow it had worked out that way. None of the men who hit on me ever compared to my perfect husband. Or maybe it was that I enjoyed a chase, and women were always so much more elusive and therefore all the more alluring for the chance to experience that aching, tantalizing arc from falling for a woman to the first time I held her naked in my arms. 

Hanna, of course, was the sweetest ache of all, my doe-eyed little art student who looked so serious and dedicated while painting yet fucked with a feverish, half-sobbing passion that amazed and besotted me every time. People thought she was pretty but they rarely twigged to her carnal potential; watching my husband in the mirror now, I suspected he had.

Another great story that’s full of erotic surprises is A Little Fun, by Rachel Kramer Bussel herself. Dee had no idea what was in store for her when she stopped by a local bar of a few drinks to mourn the break up with her lover Hannah. Finding herself intrigued by the stranger who’d bought her a drink, she has a few more. Suddenly she’s kissing him. Dee, a full blown ‘dyke’ reaches out and covers his mouth with hers. Off to his house, she opens herself up in ways she never has before. Not wanting this to be a one-night stand, Dee decides to sleep in his arms to see what the morning held.

 “Are you trying to flirt with me?” The words burst out of Dee’s mouth before she realized quite how harsh they sounded. They weren’t a girl/woman’s words; there was no uptick at the end of the question, no accompanying flirtatious smile or toss of long, glossy hair—Dee didn’t have any of the latter, but if she did, it would be worn down her back in one long braid, like she had in junior high, when her mother insisted she keep it well past her shoulders. 

“So what if I am?” he asked, raising an eyebrow. He wasn’t laughing at her—he was challenging her. Dee’s face flushed—she had her tells, as well—and she was annoyed that she was, somewhere, somehow, getting just a little turned on. Had a male stranger who wasn’t overtly gay ever flirted with her like this? She’d have to ponder that one later. She was so used to being the one to make the first move, flirting with women, mostly femmes, the occasional androgynous type, a few trans guys who always made Dee feel old. She looked every bit of her forty years, and she didn’t mind; her body was strong and she’d packed a lot into her life so far. 

“Look, I really appreciate this”—Dee held up the cold, frosty glass—“but I’m gay. Into girls. Women. Queer. In case you couldn’t tell.” She gestured down at her outfit and willed herself not to blush when she saw that her nipples were hard beneath her white tank top and T-shirt. It was summer, and she hated wearing a bra and tried to avoid it whenever she could.

Reading Twice the Pleasure, I found myself drawn into its hot and steamy stories and feel like I’m experiencing it myself. With small glimpses into different aspects of bisexuality, the women are empowered to freely explore their own desires in their own way. Truly a great read, I find myself fantasizing about a few of the encounters within the pages.

Pick up your copy of Twice the Pleasure by Rachel Kramer Bussel at Cleis Press.

While you’re there check out other great reads by Rachel. I have several and we never out grow them. Believe me, there’s nothing like reading an erotic story to get your love in the mood.  

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