Agony/Ecstasy

Each Step Sublime

All new stories of punishing extremes and unbearable pleasure…

With historical, contemporary, and futuristic backdrops, this outrageously diverse collection of original stories explores every conceivable variation of BDSM erotica-from knitting circles to the Titanic to a retelling of The Little Mermaid. Featuring all-new stories by Meljean Brook, Jean Johnson, Bettie Sharpe, Jill Myles, Margaret Rowe, Sara Thorn, and more, this book has everything a reader could hope for in an erotic romance.

Scroll down for an excerpt…

Visit the official Agony/Ecstasy website
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ISBN-10: 0425243451     |     ISBN- 13: 978-0425243459
Available for pre-order now, and delivery or download on December 6, 2011.

Each Step Sublime

The first thing I see when my head breaks the waves is not the sun or the sky, but the human’s face, pained and streaked with blood. There is a menacing beauty to his features—that dark hair against pale skin; those full lips between a prominent nose and square chin.

Reluctantly, I turn my gaze to the world above the ocean. Here is all that I have heard described, but never understood. The sky is blue and endless as an infinite sea. The sunlight warms my skin, even as the air currents chill it. And far off on the horizon, a brown-green lump rises above the sea’s majestic blue. It must be land.

I take the human to a quiet cove beneath a white palace with red pennants flying from its highest tower, and white stone stairs leading from the gardens straight into the sea. He climbs the stairs weakly, pausing to rest when he is but partway from the water. His hand stays tangled in my hair. Our eyes meet. “If you knew what I am,” he says, “you’d have let me drown.”