Three's the Charm

By Lisabet Sarai

Warning: this blog entry is frank and explicit. If you have any illusions about my innocence, do not read any further!

When I sat down to address Kim's topic, "The More, the Merrier", I wondered what perspective I should take. Should I put on my author's hat and talk about writing ménage? Or should I share my personal experiences with multi-partner sex?

I realized that the threesomes and foursomes that I've written are distinctly different from those in which I have participated. My books include quite a number of multi-partner episodes. There are two in Raw Silk (M/M/F/F and M/F/M/M) and three in Incognito (F/M/F, M/F/M, and M/F/M/F). (It's surprising to me to realize that there are not any ménages in Ruby's Rules. Although there's a full chapter BDSM scene featuring three women and one man, the only actual sex in that chapter is M/F.). I've also created several stand-alone ménage erotic romances for Total-E-Bound: "Monsoon Fever", in the anthology Brit Party, which includes an intense M/M/F triad, and my just released Truce of Trust, which is M/F/M.

With the exception of Truce of Trust, almost all my literary ménages involve individuals who are strangers, or at very least are meeting for the first time. This makes the multi-partner activity more extreme and transgressive. Having sex with a stranger breaks taboos. Sexual activity with multiple strangers raises the intensity. Fear and embarrassment can contribute to the heat level in such scenes. The characters may be asking themselves how they can possibly be doing such forbidden things, even as they cannot resist getting involved. Being anonymous frees them to behave in ways they'd never consider in their ordinary lives.

In the real world, in contrast, my most satisfying multi-partner experiences have included people I knew well and cared about: my husband and his or my close friends. I've occasionally gotten involved in group scenes with strangers, at sex clubs or swinger's parties, but I've generally found this disappointing. The reality—or at least my reality—is that I can't get very excited by just bodies, no matter what they are doing. I have to feel an emotional connection with my partner(s). I have to like them and trust them. I have to be comfortable, not feel a need to perform.

My first threesome involved my husband-to-be (I'll call him Ken) and a guy I'll call Phil, who had been Ken's friend for more than a decade. Phil was intelligent, funny, artistic, and attractive in a lanky, nerdy way that greatly appealed to me. Ken and I had discussed the possibility of a sexual interlude with Phil before we showed up at his door for our planned visit. Ken wasn't attracted to Phil himself, but he was sexually adventurous and knew that Phil was, too. The second night we stayed at Phil's apartment, the three of us ended up in bed together. The thrill of being the center of attention for two delicious men was incredible. Even more pleasurable, though, was the sense of connection and comfort the three of us shared. I couldn't believe how relaxed we were together. The next day, we all went to see the movie “Raiders of the Lost Ark”. (That will tell you how long ago this was!) As we strolled down the street, hand in hand in hand with me in the middle, I thought I'd never felt such a high. It wasn't just the excitement. It was pure joy, pride that we had dared to breach the barriers of convention, gratitude to the two men who'd given themselves to me.

I try to capture this same sort of emotion in my written ménages. The better the participants know each other, the easier that is, but group scenes among friends do not have the shock factor of more casual encounters. So it's a balancing act.

In Truce of Trust, I go beyond ménage to the concept of polyamory: a committed, long-term sexual and emotional relationship among three or more individuals. I talked about the delights and perils of polyamory recently at Hitting the Hot Spot. It's not something that I've experienced, but it seems very natural to me.

Leah lives with her husband and her dominant lover, who first introduced her to BDSM. She loves and desires them both, but each of the men feels threatened by and jealous of the other. When she can't stand their sniping any more, she takes off by herself, to try and understand her own heart. Left behind, the two men must find a way to share Leah, or they will lose her forever.

Of course, Truce of Trust is a romance, so it ends happily with all three characters in bed together. Here's a little taste, to whet your appetite.

---

The cabin felt crowded with all three of them inside. Greg’s head nearly touched the ceiling. Leah squirmed past them to stand near the bed. She kicked off her shoes. Her eyes locked with theirs as she unbuttoned her blouse and threw it into the corner, then unfastened her bra. She peeled off her jeans and her underwear in one motion. No one breathed.

She stretched out on the old-fashioned quilt, propped up on her elbows. The men’s eyes were wide, as though they’d never seen her naked before. Leah laughed. “Well? What are you waiting for?”

There was a mad scramble as her lovers struggled to remove their clothing. Daniel finished first. He threw himself onto the bed, landing with a bounce next to her. “Leah. Can I kiss you?”

She took him in her arms. “Hon, you can do anything you want!” His mouth fastened on hers, his mustache tickling her under the nose. Desire swept through her like a hurricane. She opened to his probing tongue. His palm settled on her breast, his thumb making gentle circles around the nipple. Sensation spiraled down to her pussy. Her clit tingled and throbbed, aching for its own massage. She spread her thighs in invitation.

A weight settled on her opposite side and then she felt the touch she craved, circling the taut nub at the apex of her sex. She knew the hand of her master. A new flood of moisture welled up and overflowed. He flicked her clit back and forth, driving her crazy. Meanwhile, other fingers sank deep into her. She twisted and bucked, grinding herself the hand working inside her folds. Sharp pleasure radiated from her clit; smoother, fuller sensations gathered in her depths, as her muscles clenched against the invading digits.

Wetness now, a hot mouth suckling one swollen nipple—Daniel?—and then the scream of the other, captured in an iron grip and twisted almost beyond endurance. Greg. Gentle fingers stroking along the slippery length of her sex, tickling and teasing, then a blunt digit plunged with delicious force into her rear passage. Daniel released her from his kiss and Greg claimed her mouth, sucking fiercely at her tongue as though he would swallow her whole.

She hovered on the edge of climax, suspended between them, gentleness and fury. Innumerable fingers stroked, pinched, probed her most private places. She writhed helplessly, trusting them to lead her where she needed to go.

Her hands were above her head, clenching at the coverlet. Now someone grasped her wrist and brought her hand down to an endless length of hard flesh, rooted in silky curls. Daniel’s body arched like a cat at her touch. He rubbed his cock against her hand, steel sheathed in satin. She wrapped her fingers around him, squeezing while stroking the underside, the way he liked. A shudder ran through him. Reflexively, his fingers pushed deeper into her pussy.

“Suck me, slut,” Greg whispered in her ear. She turned to find him kneeling next to her, his erection bobbing in her face. Eager for his taste, she swallowed as much of his length as she could. The bulb grazed the back of her throat. She lapped hungrily at the rigid column filling her mouth. “That’s good,” he groaned. “Now suck.”

She pursed her lips and worked her tongue, building up the suction until he groaned anew. She pumped at Daniel’s cock in the same rhythm. It was strange—the two cocks somehow seemed to belong to one man. As she brought them closer, she could feel their excitement, climbing in tandem. She sensed them both losing control.

---

What do you think? Strangers to remove the sense of responsibility? Or dear ones who are less outrageous, but more familiar? How would you like your ménage?