Title: Yes, Sir – Erotic Stories of Female Submission
Editor: Rachel Kramer Bussel
Publisher: Cleis Press (2008)
ISBN: 978-1573443104
As a genre, I think erotica works amazingly well in short-story format. It doesn’t always require complex or convoluted expositions, lengthy character development or overly complicated plot twists. Because the best sexual material – long or short – always plays with the reader’s head, tapping into the wants and desires percolating within it. A good erotic writer, one who chooses their words and their scenario carefully, can get their audience wriggling in their seats and thinking of the bedroom in just a few short pages. And Yes, Sir is an excellent example of erotic short stories done well; they’re smart, stylish, and invariably conclude with fabulous sexual punch.
Yes, Sir has been on my shelf for nearly two years now, alongside its sister book Please, Sir (see cover below) and I pull it out fairly regularly to re-read my favourite stories. As you’ve probably gathered from the title, the pieces in this particular book focus on female submission – and I must say that the creativity of the various authors as they explore this D/s slant is inspiring and titillating in equal measure. Even the contents page is intriguing; how can anyone resist reading something that’s titled Dear Professor Pervert (Donna George Storey) or Pink is the Enemy (Jocelyn Bringas)?
‘Please, Sir’, sister book to ‘Yes, Sir’
While Yes, Sir’s stories all focus on female subs and their desire to submit to a firm hand, the content of throughout is quite unique. A range of tastes is catered for and each contributing author pulls a slightly different reaction from the reader though their tone of voice and the scenario they create. From masterful men in publishing (The Editor – Amanda Earl) to strict employers:
‘She felt the desk’s center drawer open against her thighs, a cool sliver of metal. She wished she could turn and press her burning thigh against its smooth, chilly surface. She knew she couldn’t and froze her body, uncomfortably spread and tilted, and felt warm breath on her thigh and hear the metallic rustle of hands rifling through the drawer’s contents
“You know,” the voice said, “your pussy is very wet.”’
- Stuck at Work and Late for a Date, Chelsea Summers
As Kramer Bussel says in her Introduction at the very beginning of Yes, Sir:
‘Here you’ll find all sorts of women for whom their own personal Sirs (or Masters or Daddies) hold the reins to their erotic pleasure. For them, saying yes (or a bratty, defiant no for which they’ll be duly punished) is as powerful as a good hard smack on the ass. They give up control in all kinds of ways, from letting their doms decide who they’ll fuck to when they’ll come, to which color panties are acceptable—and which aren’t.’
The joy of stories collected in this way is that if you find a particular offering isn’t pushing your buttons it’s very easy to move on to the others that do – and with nineteen different tales to choose from, chances are you’re going to find a few you adore. The ones I enjoyed most? Well, I did love the editor’s Make Me (I doubt I’ll ever look at a gyms and personal trainers the same way again) and Sommer Marsden’s In the Corner still gets me flustered no matter how many times I read it:
‘Richard yanked the back of my thong, hitching it high between my thighs and against my sex. It felt like I would split in half but the sopping wet fabric tickled my painfully swollen clit and I bucked against the dirty green wall.
“See, if I could get in the corner somewhere more private, I’d be spanking the merry hell out of you right now,” he growled.’
‘Bravo!’ to Cleis Press and Rachel Kramer Bussel for assembling such a wonderful, sexy collection of submissives. And can I just say that as far as hot covers go, this one actually makes me a bit weak at the knees. (I bought Yes, Sir in paperback – as opposed to an eBook – for the pure joy of the visual!)
Tickle your fancy? Click on the following links to buy this book from: Amazon.co.uk (Kindle ; Paperback), Amazon.com (Kindle ; Paperback).
