Best Lesbian Romance 2009, edited by the award-winning author of such books as When Dreams Tremble and Turn Back Time, presents the juiciest, most seductive love stories written today. Putting a new spin on the subject, these stories explore the underlying emotions and complex relationships that help define love between women. From a shy glance across a crowded room, to a casual meeting at a dinner party, to an accidental encounter on a street corner, this collection of romantic interludes showcases the many ways love can be both lost and found. Contributors include Jennifer Fulton, Karin Kallmaker, Radclyffe, Rakelle Valencia, and Alison Tyler.

    She has more important things on her mind, like maintaining her perfect GPA. No matter how much she can't stand the idea of the cliques and the matching colors, there's something about the girls of Alpha Beta Omega—their beauty, confidence, and unapologetic sexuality—that draws Ginger in. But once initiation begins, Ginger finds that her pledge is more than a bond of sisterhood, it’s a lifelong pact to serve six bloodthirsty demons with a lot more than nutritional needs.Despite her fears, Ginger falls hard for the immortal queen of this nest, and as the semester draws to a close, she sees that protecting her family from the secret of her forbidden love is much harder than studying for finals.

    Imogene wants to seduce her. Imogene Hale is a lowly parlourmaid with a soul-crushing secret. Seeking solace, she takes work at a local vampire hive, only to fall desperately in love with the amazing lady inventor imprisoned there.Genevieve Lefoux is heartsick, lonely, and French.With culture, class, and the lady herself set against the match, can Imogene and her duster overcome all odds and win Genevieve’s heart, or will the vampires suck both of them dry?New York Times bestselling author Gail Carriger presents this stand-alone lesbian romance is set in her popular steampunk Parasolverse, full of class prejudice, elusive equations, and paranormal creatures taking tea.Supernatural Society stories can be read in any order. Look for surprise appearances from popular Parasol Protectorate characters and the occasional strategic application of cognac.Delicate Sensibilities?This story contains women pleasing women and ladies who know what they want and pursue it, sometimes in exquisite detail.

    Also, love. ***

    Oh, and is as human as they come. Torn between her duty and her feelings, Adrianna struggles to find a place for the human girl in vampire society. In a cage or in her heart? — My Own Human is the first book in the completed Lesbian My Own Human Duology.

    Fist of the Spider Woman is a revelatory anthology of horror stories by queer and transgressive women and others that disrupts reality as queer women know it, instilling both fear and arousal while turning traditional horror iconography on its head.In this collection, horror (including gothic, noir, and speculative writing) is defined as that which both titillates and terrorizes, forcing readers to confront who they are. Kristya Dunnion's "Homeland" reveals the horrors that lurk on your average night in a lesbian bar; Elizabeth Bachinsky’s “Postulation on the Violent Works of the Marquis de Sade” is a response to Sade from a feminist (yet kinky) perspective; and Amber Dawn’s “Here Lies the Last Lesbian Rental” is a paranormal fantasia about urban gentrification, set in a house rented by lesbians on the eve that it is sold to new owners.Subversive, witty, sexy—and scary—Fist of the Spider Woman poses two questions: “What do queer women fear the most?” and “What do queer women desire the most?”Amber Dawn is a writer, performance artist, and radical sex/gender activist who co-edited With a Rough Tongue: Femmes Write Porn.

    A spur-of-the-moment decision to attend an Anti-Valentine’s Day party leads to an unexpected encounter. She wakes up to a hangover and a surprising complication...Length: 10,230 wordsNote: Previously published in the anthology "Connected Hearts. Four Lesbian Romance Stories".

    She hates her fae coworker - but that’s no surprise. Not when Pye’s tattoos and easy-going attitude clash with her pencil skirts and rigid expectations. Those strict rules help her maintain a corporate appearance so no one catches onto the truth of what she is...A succubus, secretly scheduling the feedings she needs to survive. Imagine her shock to find Pye on her doorstep offering their services.Avirin should refuse, but the need to feed is growing stronger...and once she gets a taste of him, she’s not sure her hunger will be sated by anything less than his body against hers.Feed is a 14k-word novelette in the Fangs With Benefits universe. For Pye and Avirin's full-length story, read Yours, Insatiably.Warning: This is a kinky erotic romance between a genderqueer death’s-head hawkmoth fairy and a succubus. It is intended only for adult audiences and is not meant to depict realistic expectations of BDSM or sex work.This book contains monster anatomy involved in sex acts. Reader discretion is advised. Content warnings are listed in the book's front matter and on the author's website.

    As ghosts and witches, aliens and vampires, the characters in this extensive and varied collection battle monsters and inner demons, stand up to bullies, wield magic, fall in love, and take action to claim their lives--and their stories--as their own.Written by wife-and-wife authors Jennifer Diemer and Sarah Diemer, this volume of stories, with genres ranging from science fiction and fantasy to the paranormal, is part of Project Unicorn, a fiction project that seeks to address the near nonexistence of lesbian main characters in young adult fiction by giving them their own stories. PROJECT UNICORN, VOLUME ONE contains the full first three collections of Project Unicorn stories: The Dark Woods, The Monstrous Sea and Uncharted Sky.

    We were totally wrong for each other, so why does this feel so right? Lisa was the good girl. Prom queen. Captain of the cheer squad. Geeky games weren't her thing, but she was home from college and bored. And when she heard Kylie was going to be there she knew she had to at least check things out. Kylie was a proud geek who didn't care what the world thought. Kylie figured it was game night as normal until Lisa stepped into the game room reigniting old feelings she never thought she'd nave to deal with again after going to college. Two girls who've spent years hiding who they truly were. Two girls afraid to admit how much they need each other. Two girls who are tired of denying who they really are. Especially to each other. What was supposed to be a simple game quickly becomes a game of love that will change both of their lives! But will they be able to let go and finally let it happen?

    She is consumed—both by a craving for human blood, and by an obsession to find her attacker and bring him to justice. Alexa is determined to be everything that Valentine needs, but when Val's appetite outstrips Alexa's ability to nourish her, Alexa risks her life to save her lover. Will Valentine be able to control her thirst—for blood and for vengeance? And can Valentine and Alexa's relationship endure against seemingly impossible odds?

    A human. One drop of blood changed their lives forever.Vampires had taken everything from Quinn Hogan during the war. She had spent her entire life hiding from them. The last thing Quinn wanted in life was to be matched to one. Each human was required by law to enter the draft. Her name was randomly picked for submitting her blood sample.Chances of being chosen? A million to one.Luck had never been on her side.Quinn matched with a vampire.Now she was being shipped off to some random vampire who would probably bleed her dry.Velika Riskel didn't want a mate. As the warden of Northwest America, there was no time for her to take a mate. When the human arrived, she had planned to release her, but one look into Quinn's hazel eyes and all of that changed.Velika and Quinn's relationship was doomed from the start. Velika was a seasoned warrior who wasn't afraid of challenges. The vampire princess was determined to win Quinn's heart, defend her against a rival, and then claim her.

    The dark and mysterious Saxon Montague is Hollywood’s most sought after movie director. Savvy and brilliant, she is a rising talent—and secretly a two-hundred-year-old vampire. When circumstances force her to fulfill her studio contract and make one more film, she is not happy with the script. In fact, a vampire thriller is the last thing she wants to direct. At thirty-eight, Faye Stapleton knows her movie career is at a crossroads. Quickly becoming too old to be America’s rom-com sweetheart, she yearns to play a serious role. When the opportunity to star in the next Saxon Montague movie comes, she jumps at it. When the two women meet, their chemistry is electric. Tensions mount as each woman struggles to control their mutual desires. When their passions and secrets collide, both quickly realize not everything is as it appears and that following their hearts could lead them into disaster.

    At a time when she is unsure about all things romantic, she encounters 5th grade teacher Regina Baker at yoga class, a free-spirited single mom who is beautiful, playful, and impossibly intriguing. What starts as friendship turns sharply toward something more as they learn they each share a love for very dark and unconventional sensual expression. Despite significant differences in lifestyle, each woman is desperate to get close to the other to explore the depths of devotion.Shocked, yet thrilled by the intense level of Regina’s erotic desire, Meg turns apprehensive. She had never been with a woman— never had to be in society with a woman, never had to wonder what labels may be placed upon her relationship, never considered herself anything but obsessed with men. Regina, also enchanted by a woman for the first time, finds freedom from the pressures of daily life by committing herself to Meg. Compelled by the need for a balance between worlds, the two embark on a daring, passionately physical role-playing game. Welcoming Regina’s darkest needs, Meg explores her own deep-seated desires that have been locked away in the shadows her whole life.Erotic, amusing, and profoundly romantic, Owning Regina is a tale that will awaken you, possess you, and transport you to an alternate universe that steams with passion and danger.This book, featuring elements of BDSM, is intended for mature audiences.The Author:Lorelei Elstrom is an office executive and blossoming writer based out of the San Francisco Bay Area. She never considered a career in writing until coming upon the idea of working in a fictionalized diary format, which provides absolute freedom to truly express one’s most private thoughts in the first person. Discovering this format helped her gain the courage to pick up the pen to write her first novel, Owning Regina.

    Evocative. Romantic. Enter the sensual world of modern day fairy tales with three novellas by USA Today bestselling author Sierra Simone.Music Box GirlA Twelve Dancing Princesses StoryEvery night they dance. Every night he follows.Ex-soldier private investigator Cal Dugan has been hired to follow Tamsin and her ballerinas to find out where they go at night. He didn’t count on Tamsin’s courage or her passion. He didn’t count on the way she twists him up inside.He solves the riddle of their disappearing act, but he’ll never reveal Tamsin’s secrets, no matter the cost.American WitchA Princess and the Pea StoryMorgan wants to start fresh, but a mystery man at the masked ball lights her up from the inside. His hands, his touch, his scent--they're all too familiar, all too real. He’s always been her weakness, but can she deny him when every part of her is on fire for him and only him?Red & WhiteA Snow-White and Rose-Red StoryAll that art student Scarlett wants to do is wait out a howling snowstorm and kiss her best friend senseless, but all her careful plans fall apart the minute a near-frozen bear stumbles through the door.Except he's not a bear—he's very much a man—and there's only one way to warm him up from the cold...