Monday, August 14, 2017

The Allure of the Nerd (#bdsm #nerd #alphamale)

Eye glasses
By Lisabet Sarai

Okay, I admit it. I've got a thing for nerds. When The Man from U.N.C.L.E. was popular, I had the hots for skinny, intense Ilya Kuryakin, not the dashing alpha guy Napoleon Solo. I was hopelessly in love with Mr. Spock. (After all, think about making love while in the throes of a Vulcan mind-meld!) Near the top of my sexy, romantic movie list is "Earth Girls are Easy", featuring gangly, geeky Jeff Goldblum as a brilliant alien. A more recent example of a romantic nerd is Clive Owen's short, unshaven, and amazingly ingenious character in the bank robbery thriller "Inside Man".

It's fairly easy to understand why I feel this way. Growing up, I was the egghead, the bookworm, the too-smart girl whom everyone made fun of. The only guys who could deal with me were the ones who were at least as smart as I was. They weren't on the football squad; they weren't voted Best Looking or Most Popular. But they had that something that could start my motors. It was intoxicatingyes, arousingto have a conversation with some of these guys, especially when I got out of high school and into college. We understood each other, and I began to discover that despite their definite nerdish qualities, they were enthusiastic and innovative when it came to sex.

Since I joined the romance authors community, I've heard a lot about alpha heroes. It's critically important, I've been led to believe, that the protagonist in an erotic romance be tall, beautiful and buff. Rugged but handsome features, broad shoulders, chiseled pectorals, powerful, muscular thighs that naturally invite musings about what lies sheltered between themattributes like these apparently constitute the romance ideal. Our hero should also be physically strong, courageous, and generally the dominant type, though some sensitivity or a shameful secret will not be taken amiss.

Well, I don't completely buy it. I mean, a nice bod and a pretty face are not to be sneezed at. But they're not enough. Call me perverse (many people have), but I find intelligence to be the most essential aspect of a sexy hero. Furthermore, I'm willing to accept less than stellar physical qualities if my hero is a clever, imaginative, horny genius who can figure out how to get himself and his heroine out of sticky situations, and who's smart enough to understand what will truly turn her on.

Theo Moore, the hero of my BDSM erotic romance The Gazillionaire and the Virgin, is perhaps the most thorough nerd Ive ever written. Hes a brilliant computer scientist, a professor at a top university and the inventor of a revolutionary artificial intelligence program. Hes also shy and socially awkward, a borderline autistic with mild symptoms of obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). How could this sort of guy possibly be sexy? you might be thinking. He is, thoughso much so that my editor told me she had to take breaks to relieve her tension while she was working on the book!

As it turns out, Theo’s the “virgin” of the book’s title. (Ever met an alpha male virgin? Nah!) Though he’s in his late twenties, he’s far too uncomfortable in social situations to have ever had a girlfriend. On the other hand, as befits the brilliant academic that he is, he has done a lot of research. Theos a natural dominant whos made a thorough study of sexual and BDSM techniques. When he meets billionaire CEO and closet submissive Rachel Zelinsky, he finally gets the opportunity to put all his researchand his Doms intuitioninto practice. He gives Rachel what shes been looking for her entire life, the opportunity for complete surrender. Not to mention quite a few orgasms along the way!

Just for fun, here’s a bit from the book that illustrates my hero’s decidedly non-alpha tendencies.



The smell tells me Im home, long before I open my eyesa mixture of black tea, sandalwood incense, and a hint of the glue I use for my models. The air conditioner hums and in the background, I hear the soft, sedate progress of some Bach harpsichord sonata. The music sets up echoes inside my head, which feels swollen and fragile as a Fabergé egg.

The firmness molding my back and butt suggests Im stretched out on the bed. Have I been asleep? I dont recall lying down, indeed, dont remember anything for the space of several breaths. Then it all comes crashing back, a tsunami of embarrassment, fear and regret. The fund raiser. Rachel. Oh, my God!

Theo? Are you awake?

She keeps her voice low, as though she understands the pain bouncing around in the hollows of my skull. Memory flutters back in bits and pieces. A dizzy, endless journey. Struggling not to vomit on Rachels upholstery. I crack open my eyelids, squinting into the welcome dimness.

Rachel?I rasp, my mouth dry as the Santa Anas. All I can see is the featureless ceiling.What happened?

When I raise my head, seeking her, the room spins and my stomach objects strenuously. Shes there, though, leaning toward me, seated on one of my dining room chairs, which shes dragged to the side of the bed. Her curls have come loose from the glittering clips she used to tame them, and her make-up is smudged. Shes unspeakably gorgeous.

Despite my sorry state, the headache and the cotton mouth and the dizziness, my cock stirs inside the monkey suit Im apparently still wearing. Ah, the tenaciousness of lust!

How are you feeling?The concern I hear in her tone has an immediate healing effect.

Pretty rocky, but I suppose Im all right.I ease myself into a half-sit, propped against my pillow.

Here, drink this.She hands me a glass full of fizzing liquid.

I swallow it down, ignoring the protests from my gut. Despite the medicinal taste, I feel slightly more human after consuming it.

Rachel leans back and contemplates me, eyebrows drawn together into a frown. My dick hardens further while a blush climbs into my cheeks. I feel like a naughty schoolboy. The sensation is not entirely unpleasant.

I told you to go easy on the champagne.

I should have listened to you,I admit.But I was so nervous.

I know,she says.I know. I think the stress had as much to do with your collapse as the alcohol.

I nod.I used to faint, back when I was at schoolwhen things got really bad. When I couldnt handle a situation, that was my final escape. Finally my parents pulled me out and got me a tutor. It hasnt happened since.

Im sorry I pushed you so hard, Theo. I should have known better.

Her hand claims mine, in a gesture so casual and natural it seems unconscious. Does she have any idea what shes doing to me? Still, remarkably, I have no urge to pull away.

You were doing so well, though. I was so proud of you.She gives my fingers a squeeze. I squeeze back, amazed that I can be so comfortable with her touching me.

But now Ive disappointed you, I imagine.I try sitting up straighter. Its awkward with only one hand free. I want to adjust the swollen lump pressing against my zipper, but of course I dont dare.And the donorstheyre probably all laughing their millionaire heads off at poor, pathetic Theo Moore.

Not at all. Everyone was quite worried about you. Roger Varley wanted to call an ambulance, but I thought youd really rather go home.

You were right. Thank you. But how did you get me up to the second floor and into bed?

It wasnt easy.Her whole face lights up when she laughs.Youre a big guy. The gardener helped me bundle you up the stairs. I fished the key out of your trouser pocket.

The concept of her hand wriggling into my pants, her heat warming my bodyits too much. My cock surges, threatening a premature explosion. Ive got to get Rachel Zelinsky out of here, before I really embarrass myself.

~~~

To be honest, I’m deeply in love with Theo myself. He represents every geeky, horny guy I’ve ever had the pleasure to know—and I mean that in the Biblical sense! No alpha male could ever turn me on the way he does.


20 comments:

  1. As you probably know, you and Charlotte Stein are on the same team as far as appreciating the sexy potential of awkward, inhibited, nerdy men. (And any team with Sarai and Stein on it sounds like a winner!)

    By the way, I see that you've updated the topics schedule. It's looking really interesting!

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    1. I love Charlotte's work. Haven't heard much from her in a long time, though. She was on the Grip for a while, if you remember.

      Glad you like the new schedule. We aim to please!

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  2. I wish I knew what I know now when in high school. I wouldn't have been a virgin until 18. Not that I wasn't able to assume a tough exterior; it was the way to 'get' girls, after all. But I think I was too desperate, and the young ladies must have picked up on that. I managed to get a rep as a guy to be wary of before I had even played stink finger.

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    1. You and I probably would have gotten along well...!

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  3. My older sister always used to attract the nerdy types. I admit, I was a shallow little hussy myself and could never resist a decent, jeans-clad arse. I love the sound of your Theo

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    1. I've known plenty of nerds with nice, jeans-clad arses...

      ;^)

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  4. I love this book! Theo is one of my favorite hotties, despite my not being much into bondage scenes. Somehow when he's the one tying the knots, I have to go to my private place to finish reading the scene!

    All of my heroes are intelligent. Most are not wealthy, and all are sensitive lovers. That's what I find a turn-on in real life, so that's what I write about. Yes, like Ashe, I went through my "alpha-hole" phase, but I quickly realized how futile and disappointing that was. Most alphas don't give any shits about whether or not you enjoy the experience...they just want to add another notch to their belts. When that was all I wanted too, I didn't care.

    But really, when a guy tells his girlfriend she's his number one girl, and she asks, "Who's your number two girl?" and he answers, "Anyone I'm with." that lets you know that he's not going to be someone to depend on. I had a "thing" for a guy who actually said that to his girlfriend. I was one of his many "number two" girls. Until I decided that he could take his massive, indefatigable dick and stick it in his ear, for all I cared. I wanted a real orgasm, with a guy who didn't expect me to fall on the floor in paroxysms of multiple orgasms just looking at the size of what a quirk of fate had chosen to give him. I wanted a man who would work with me in that glorious quest for multiple orgasms together. Now THAT'S a real man!

    Oh, and I've told my husband that the sexiest part of his body is his brain. That's where he comes up with all of the ideas to please us both.

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    1. I guess I'm spoiled. I can probably count on one hand the number of guys I've had sex with who had IQs less than 130...!

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  5. Great post! I'm also far more turned on by an alpha mind than an alpha body. It's a matter of preferences, priorities, and compatibility. Of course, I myself have more to offer intellectually than in the popular conception of physical perfection, so it all works out!

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    1. Yes, I've noticed this about your stories...!

      Thanks for dropping by.

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  6. Nerdy twinks -- especially those with glasses and a smooth butt -- are a particular fetish of mind!

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    1. Hi, Cameron,

      Actually, I've written a couple of gay nerds. And glasses, yeah--maybe it's because I wear them, but I think they're sexy!

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    2. As you've probably noticed, glasses became officially "sexy" in the culture at large starting in the 1990s, and have remained so. You were ahead of your time!

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  7. I'm not sure "Nerd" is necessarily congruent with "Beta", but I've always found men (and women) most sexy when they had more intelligent thoughts and aims than just how sexy they themselves were and how many transitory partners they could fuck.

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    1. Hi, Sacchi! I don't think all betas are nerds, or vice versa. But nerd is one variant of beta that really appeals to me.

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  8. Lisabet, your pairing of Theo and Rachel looks brilliant, especially since her wealth shows that she doesn't have to submit to him for any reason except that she wants to. (BDSM plots in which the Dom/me holds all the power, including physical strength, social status, and money, set off alarm bells in my head.) I also wondered if "beta" always means "nerd," but I suspect each of us will have our own take on the subject.

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    1. Thanks, Jean. My whole goal in this book was to turn the readers' expectations (based on what normally happens in romance) upside down. What I personally love about G&V (yes, I love my own book!) is that Theo and Rachel learn from each other. Despite being a "nerd" and a "beta", Theo is actually quite a strong, opinionated character. He's just not traditionally "alpha".

      BTW it occurs to me that one characteristic of "alpha" men (nicely highlighted by Cameron's post) is the fact that they're not comfortable with showing their emotions. That can make a relationship pure hell. (Theo does not have this problem...!)

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  9. I think we're coming into a kind of different time, when intelligence or being interesting is coming into vogue. It's moving into popular culture as well, as even alpha male types come across as family men awkward and sincere around their own children. You see this a lot in super hero movies especially.

    Garce

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    1. Tell that to the guys in Charlottesville. On the other hand, that shift may be part of what motivated them.

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  10. What's going on these days is just crazy. I don't know where it's going. Maybe these are things that need to come out and be confronted.

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