**Reviews ~ Bend Anthology ~ These Men & Still ~ Andrea Smith & Alessandra Torre**

Eight mistresses of the erotic bring you eight original, never before published stories to excite and arouse, including USA Today Bestsellers Alessandra Torre and CD Reiss, and NY Times Bestseller K. Bromberg.

**FYI** Bend was pulled from all retailers. Until it is made available again as an anthology, you can purchase most of the novellas separately.

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These Men by Andrea Smith
from the Bend Anthology
Release Date: May 5, 2014
Genre: Erotic Romance
Source: Purchased from Amazon for Kindle
Rating: 4 Bookworms

Synopsis

Paige Matthews has a lot to learn, and more than just about being an intern with the F.B.I. 

Inexperience with all types of relationships leaves her looking for a new place to live. Eli Chambers and his partner, Cain Maddox, are looking for a roommate. It's the perfect arrangement, but one that will change all their lives forever.

These Men are was a pleasure to read!

I'm gonna admit I didn't connect with Paige right off the bat. She seemed rather bratty and immature. But as the story unfolded, she began to grow, mature and I found myself liking her more and more. Besides, that is one things I most enjoy in a character - watching them grow and change, reaching their potential.

Paige makes some less than stellar decisions when it comes to men. She justifies it but it's becoming increasingly difficult for even her to believe. When she finds herself in need of new living conditions, Eli and Cain seem perfect. As they all get acquainted and become closer and closer, things change. These men change her life, really. They demand that she expect more of herself and from herself.

Both Cain and Eli are compassionate and yummy! ;) I felt as thought I got to know Cain a bit better than Eli, but I delighted in watching them, and Paige, figure out what they wanted and how they all fit together.

These Men is a spinoff of Ms. Smith's G-Man series and I will certainly be going back to read those. I liked Ms. Smith's storytelling and I'm interested in getting the whole story.

He interrupted, pulling me closer to him on the bed. "Baby," he said softly. "It's because I see that chemistry going back and forth between you and Maddox…and, I guess I'm just not sure if there's enough of that same chemistry—in you—left over for me. Because I know that there's plenty in me left for you—if you want it, I mean."

And I think he might've just blushed right then, like a guy that was wearing his heart on his sleeve—just putting it right out there and so worried that it might not be enough.

But it was enough. 

It was more than enough.

"Oh Eli," I sighed, "I can't believe you've told me all of this, but I am so fucking glad that you have."

Our eyes met and locked. In that moment, everything that Cain Maddox had assured me of since we'd given in to our feelings was coming true.

I leaned over and brushed my lips softly against his, waiting for him to snake his arms around me and pull me against to him.

I didn't wait long until that was exactly what he did.

We kissed and it was unfamiliar, but it was sweet. And every second, it became sweeter. I felt myself warm to his touch; my belly tingled with anticipation of where he might touch me next and I wanted him to touch me in different places.

He turned and pulled me into his lap, his fingers tilted my chin back so that his eyes could study mine and I saw the warmth fill them.

"God, baby. We're going to do this."

He lifted me up into his strong arms, carried me to their room, and gently deposited me on their bed. The same bed that I had shared with Cain, I was now going to share with Eli and I wanted it. I wanted it more than I thought I ever could.

"Get undressed," he ordered, "We'll do the sensual shit another time, but for right this second, I need to be inside of you and claim you as mine, too."

God, his words made me wet and yeah, that surprised the hell out of me as well. I scrambled to do as he ordered, shedding my clothes quickly; leaving my thong on so that he would be the one to relieve me of it when it was time…

He was standing there naked and he was every bit as beautiful as Cain. His body was well-muscled and his belly flat. He had a lighter complexion than Cain, but God he was beautiful in a "golden-boy" sort of way. I felt myself getting wet just in anticipation of what would happen next.

He opened the bedside table drawer, and pulled out a handful of condoms.

Holy shit.

He pushed me back against the pillows on the bed, his eyes taking in all of my nakedness with a hunger. He straddled me with his strong, muscular thighs, leaning forward to capture my lips with his.

I laced my arms around his strong neck, pulling him in closer. I felt his fingertips lightly caressing my breasts, slowly and methodically tugging at my nipples until they grew hard for him. He moved his mouth to one, his tongue circling the soft peaks, and his fingers gently kneading my breast so that he could begin suckling.

I drew in a sharp breath as he took the nipple into his mouth and sucked hard on it, my pussy now fairly soaked in anticipation. I needed him inside of me every bit as much as he wanted to be there.

***THESE MEN PLAYLIST***

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

Cyndi Lauper

Sexual Thing

Poison

My Prerogative

Bobby Brown

I Want Your Sex

George Michaels

Losing My Religion

R.E.M.

Waiting On The World to Change

John Mayer

Something to Talk About

Bonnie Raitt

Who Says You Can't Go Home

Bon Jovi

All Through The Night

Cyndi Lauper

Dreams

The Cranberries

We Belong

Pat Benatar

I'll Stand By You

Pretenders

******

STILL by Alessandra Torre

from the Bend Anthology
Release Date: May 5, 2014
Genre: Erotic Romance
Source: Purchased from Amazon for Kindle
Rating: 5 Bookworms

I was raised right. To mind my manners, keep my knees together, to put my napkin in my lap. But somehow, with one look at the dark sexuality that is Brett Jacobs, I forgot my Southern graces. They may have gotten lost in the pushmeupagainstthewall and takemehere action that occurred. In the clothes-ripping ohmygod action that followed. They may have, along with my sanity and common sense, deserted me, leaving me with bruised lips, ripped panties, and multiple orgasms.

Holy hell! I'm a full-fledged Alessandra Torre fan now! I fell for Still hook, line, and sinker. It's a compelling story and Ms. Torre masterfully conveys it. The chemistry between Riley and Brett reaches spontaneous combustion levels. It's just...whoa!

Riley is in the Bahamas for a friend's bachelorette party. After an evening spent in crippling shoes, she's hobbling her way towards her room when a knight with fluffy slippers comes to her rescue. The spark between these two is unmistakable. And despite knowing one another for such a short period of time, they can't deny the pull. Riley is 31, in a stagnant job, and living in her hometown. She's tired of living her boring existence - or maybe it's Brett that makes her realize this. Brett is more of a mystery. But we do know he doesn't make it a habit of picking up women. He's looking for something - something he thinks might be Riley. They come from different places but they each seem determined to see where these new-found feelings take them. And you can rest assured I'll be along for the ride.

Midnight. Thirteen hours left in paradise, then our hungover selves will be strapped in and flying back to ATL. I hang an arm around twin necks, inhaling the scent of hairspray and feminine energy, leaning my head back, weight on their shoulders, and bellow the chorus of Sweet HomeAlabama, the club singing along, my mouth breaking into a grin too big too contain, the familiar tune never failing to raise my spirits. Never mind that,between the six of us, we’ve set foot on Alabama soil less than ten times. It is the anthem of the South, and seeing as it took Jena flashing the Bahamian DJ her breasts to get it played, we own every syllable of the damn thing.

The last chorus rings out, and I release the girls, spinning on the floor, my arms up, getting bumped by sweaty bodies, the dance floor getting tighter by the moment. A heavy bass begins, drowning out the country chorus and starting back into the hip-hop that had been dominating the speakers all night.

I slow my hips, glance at our table, seeing Beth and Tammy there,the rest of us sprinkled between the dance floor and the ladies room. I am pushed forward, hands settling on my waist as a stranger tries to pull me into his crotch-thrusting imitation of a dance. I yank at his wrists, shooting an annoyed look over my shoulder, and move to our table, snagging my purse off its surface and moving toward the neon lit exit sign. Air. I need air. Air and a moment to regroup,

focus. Come to terms with the fact that none of the men in this club will be taking care of my needs tonight. None of them seem worthy of a drink. Too young. Too immature. Too available. 

Too … not who I am looking for.

I bang through the exit door, the rush of cool night kissing my skin. I take two steps to the right and lean against the brick exterior wall, legs out, head flat against red brick. God yes. 

I almost wish I still smoke. I remember the escapes from life that it provided, the moment to take a pause from the world and do nothing but relax. Now, I don’t need the nicotine—just the combination of air and quiet are enough to ease my tension and take me one step closer to I-Can’t-Even-Remember-His-Name-Ville.

I sense the presence before I see it. In the shadows to my right. I stiffen, lowering my chin and staring, confronting whoever it is with my gaze. Then he speaks, and I relax, need and heat and want flooding my body with just the scrape of my name. In that one word, that one growl, every lie I’ve told myself is exposed. I need him. My body needs him. Wants more. I had behaved in the hallway of the 8th floor. I had made a mistake. I don’t intend to make another.

“Come here.”

He stalks forward, in a suit, his hands leaving his pockets as he walks, his head level, stare direct, and eats me with his eyes as he moves without hesitation, not pausing until he is suddenly against me, his hand firm, gripping the side of my face, his mouth taking mine in a possessive kiss that has me back against the wall, his palm against my skin almost hurting me in its need. I gasp for breath when I can grab it, his kiss desperate, dipping,pulling me tighter. I love it.

“I need you,” he grunts, his free hand sliding up my thigh,pushing my dress inappropriately high, his fingers gripping, squeezing, the heat of his palm sliding over my skin like he owns it, his large hand ending on my ass, and he feels every inch of it as if he is memorizing, worshiping,taking it in his mind as his own.

“Yes,” I gasp, lifting my leg and hooking it around him, the shift in my body opening the place between my legs, his fingers finding and running reverently over the line of silk that keeps me tied to the edge of sanity.

The door next to me opens, shielding us for a moment, and I freeze behind it, my body tensing. His hand drops from my face, wrapping around my body, the other hand returning to my ass, both of them working in concert and lifting, carrying me into the dark shadows where he had just stood, a new wall replacing the brick, this one rough stucco, and I feel lines of it dig into my sunburned skin as sets me down, his mouth taking a break from the kiss and moving to my neck, the rough journey letting me know the level of his need. 

Further proof is against me, his pelvis pressed tighter than possible against my own, the hard ridge of it against my sex making my breath hitch with every twitch of him along me. God, I want this man. Am made weak from his touch yet have never felt this aggressive.

Feather soft brushes against silk. Teasing. Torturing. His hand keeping my leg in place, though there is no way I’m moving it. Not when it opens me up to him. Not when it keeps that iron against the place where I want it most. My panties are so wet it is embarrassing. I pant against the night air, struggling for silence, the murmurs of the couple who have stepped outside breaking the silence of the night, the orange embers of their smokes reminding me of their presence, their attention on each other, a giggle escaping from their conversation and sending a moment of intelligent thought to my head. Am I really being humped in the shadows against the side of a building? Is this beautiful man really running the pad of his fingers back and forth, lower and higher, finding the—oh my god. My head drops back, and I can’t stop the moan that escapes me when my silk-covered clit is brushed by his fingers.

Jesus. It’s not a curse. It is a thankful message sent upward. I have been lost and now, in that light brush against my most sensitive place, I am found.

He chuckles against my neck, his fingers moving back an inch or two, until they are back at my soaked opening, pushing on the indent there,the silk moving far enough inside for me to feel the brush of skin on skin, andI just about lift off the ground in my need for more.

“Don’t stop,” I gasp.

“Honey, I’m not going stop until you fall apart in my hands.I need that. I’m not releasing you until it happens.”

**TOP 10 TV SHOWS THAT DOMINATE ALESSANDRA'S TV**

1. Vikings (I'll take a threesome with the two brothers ANYTIME)

2. Black Sails (almost makes me want to be a wench)

3. The Good Wife

4. Scandal

5. NCIS: Los Angeles (LOVE me some LL)

6. Family Guy (Stewie just said that!)

7. Spongebob (I'd blame it on the 11 year old but... we love SB)

8. Seinfeld

9. Tosh.O

10. Nashville

Collective biography

Facebook Page

The Erotica Consortium was the brain child of CD Reiss. In December 2013 she asked JA Huss to help her pull together the hottest erotica writers to start a private Facebook group that would 

encourage support in all areas of bookish things. Members of The Erotica Consortium were personally invited by JA and CD and the group is complete with six additional authors: Shay Savage, Andrea Smith, KI Lynn, K Bromberg, Ella James, and Alessandra Torre. BEND is their first anthology together.

Andrea Smith's Links

Goodreads ~ Amazon ~ Facebook ~ Twitter

Alessandra Torre's Links

Goodreads ~ Amazon ~ Facebook ~ Twitter