{"id":235,"date":"2014-12-26T12:42:11","date_gmt":"2014-12-26T17:42:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/circlet.com\/?page_id=235"},"modified":"2014-12-26T12:42:11","modified_gmt":"2014-12-26T17:42:11","slug":"like-a-cunning-plan-edited-by-michael-m-jones","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/circlet.com\/?page_id=235","title":{"rendered":"Like A Cunning Plan edited by Michael M Jones"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>ebook $5.99
\nISBN 9781613900543
\n42,950 words<\/p>\n

[wp_eStore_add_to_cart id=44]<\/p>\n

The ebook edition is also available at: Amazon<\/a>, Barnes & Noble<\/a>, Smashwords<\/a>, Kobo <\/a>& AllRomanceEbooks<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In Like A Cunning Plan: Erotic Trickster Stories<\/strong><\/em>, gods and mortals alike interact in sexy, playful, sensual ways, and it\u2019s anyone\u2019s guess as to who comes out on top. A bounty hunter gets more than she bargained for when her mark shows up on her doorstep, a masked ball provides ample opportunity for an intimate encounter, a god on the prowl discovers a new side to his desires, and much more.<\/p>\n

Featuring stories by Nica Berry, N. Violett, Nadine Wilmot, Elizabeth Schecter, Gayle C. Straun, Kaysee Renee Robichaud, and Sunny Moraine, Like A Cunning Plan is sure to surprise and satisfy.<\/p>\n

Look under the cut for a hot excerpt!<\/span><\/p>\n

EXCERPT FROM \u201cWinter Spirit\u201d by Nica Berry<\/p>\n

The old man had come into the tea house every night this week. Aiko would have paid him no mind, since all he\u2019d ordered was a bottle of rice wine and didn\u2019t seem interested in sharing anyone\u2019s pillow, but whenever he was down in the main room serving food or soliciting customers, he watched Aiko.
\nStrange old man, Aiko thought as he took another pair of wine bottles to a table. He couldn\u2019t tell the man\u2019s age, but he was old with hair gone entirely white and wrinkles creasing his face. His hair had been pulled back into a ponytail and then separated into nine thick locks, which draped past his shoulders onto a faded gray kimono.
\nOn stage, one of the young men sang, his voice sweet as he warbled about the samurai who\u2019d fallen for a young, pretty boy and risked his livelihood to spirit the boy away.
\n\u201cBeautiful tune, is it not?\u201d
\nAiko jumped. It was the old man who\u2019d spoken.
\n\u201cCertainly, my lord,\u201d he said, even though the song roused feelings he\u2019d rather discard. No boy he\u2019d known had ever been spirited away by a lovelorn samurai. If anything, they were promised shelter and love by their patrons only to find themselves abused and abandoned a month later. He didn\u2019t intend on being one of the unlucky ones.
\n\u201cWhy don\u2019t you care for it?\u201d
\nThe old man must have seen his distaste. Aiko schooled his face into something more pleasant, chagrined that he\u2019d been so easily read. \u201cIt\u2019s a tale. Such things are pleasant on the surface but empty beneath.\u201d
\n\u201cRather like you?\u201d The old man set a palm against Aiko\u2019s chest and slid it down over the fine silk to rest on his groin. The squeeze between his legs elicited no response.
\nAiko\u2019s face burned. If he\u2019d had another means of earning a livelihood, he would have scolded the man and hurried back to the bar, uncaring of his keeper\u2019s ire. But he could not afford to alienate even the crudest customer, so he stayed.
\n\u201cYou\u2019re so pale and cold. No wonder the men call you Yuki-onna despite your fine cock. Will you freeze me with your breath if I displease you?\u201d The corner of the man\u2019s mouth drew up into a wrinkled smile.
\n\u201cI\u2019m no spirit,\u201d he said, though he\u2019d heard the whispers in the tea house. Several of the men placed bets to see if any of them would be able to melt Aiko\u2019s icy exterior. None had succeeded, but most enjoyed their attempts. \u201cPerhaps you\u2019d like to wager on that?\u201d
\nThe old man\u2019s smile didn\u2019t fade. \u201cI have no need to make bets.\u201d
\nHe dropped his hand. Annoyed, Aiko snatched the empty bottle and went to the bar. When he looked back, the old man was gone.<\/p>\n

* * * *<\/p>\n

The old man didn\u2019t return the next night or the one following. Aiko forgot about him in his steady rush of customers, several of whom shared his pillow as well as the rice wine. He didn\u2019t care for any of them, nor did he believe their plaintive proclamations of love and desire. He gave them his body because he had to eat but found no enjoyment in their coupling.
\nThen, on the third night, the old man was back at his usual table with his usual bottle. When Aiko went within earshot, the man waved. \u201cSit with me.\u201d
\nHe did, reluctant not because the man repulsed him but because he had other, more lucrative customers to attend to.
\n\u201cI\u2019ll make it worth your time,\u201d he promised. \u201cI want to touch you. Will you let me?\u201d
\nThe formality surprised Aiko. No one else bothered to ask; they simply took, figuring that everything inside the tea house was for their pleasure and consumption. He recalled the man\u2019s statement of making no bets, which implied the old man was certain of his success. Aiko resented the idea of being claimed or won and intended to prove him wrong. \u201cIf you\u2019d like, my lord.\u201d
\nHe expected the man to feel beneath his kimono to examine the merchandise before he bought. Instead, he gently cupped Aiko\u2019s chin and whispered in his ear.
\nAiko had no memory of what he said or how long they were together, but as the old man spoke, Aiko\u2019s thoughts turned to places he\u2019d never seen: a temple at the side of a lake as cherry blossoms drifted down, a forest silent save for birdsong, a rocky seaside with waves sending sprays of white crashing against the rocks. And through all these, Aiko wasn\u2019t alone. A man was with him, holding his hand, and finally bending down to kiss him. At first, Aiko reached for the coldness that protected him from physical awareness, but as the kiss grew more passionate, a sliver of heat traveled through his body and down to his groin. \u201cYou\u2019re beautiful,\u201d the man said, and kissed Aiko again and again until Aiko actually wanted him to.
\nBy the time Aiko came to his senses, the man was gone and his body was awhirl with sensations that he found both frightening and arousing. He hadn\u2019t let himself feel such things in years and hated the old man for causing them. \u201cBastard,\u201d he muttered, then caught the glint of metal.
\nOn the table was a pair of gold ryos. He was flipping them idly between his fingers and marveling at his good fortune when the keeper approached. \u201cThose aren\u2019t the sort of stones you ought to be playing with,\u201d the keeper said.
\n\u201cStones?\u201d he asked in confusion. \u201cThe old man paid me.\u201d
\n\u201cWhat old man?\u201d The keeper snorted. He snatched the ryos from Aiko\u2019s hand. Aiko blinked; the keeper held not coins but round, flat rocks. \u201cLazy brat. You\u2019ve been daydreaming the entire night. Alone.\u201d He yanked Aiko roughly to his feet. \u201cGet back to work.\u201d
\nHe went, still unsettled by both the old man\u2019s lurid tale and his hallucination about the money. The rest of the night passed in a daze. Somehow he managed to say the right words and to be the pleasant companion his customers wanted and expected but it wasn\u2019t enough. When he failed to bring in sufficient coins for the night, his keeper beat him. Aiko thought of a blank, icy nothingness as blow after blow landed upon him. He didn\u2019t come back to himself until long after his keeper shared his pillow.<\/p>\n

To read the rest, download the ebook today!<\/em><\/p>\n

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ebook $5.99 ISBN 9781613900543 42,950 words [wp_eStore_add_to_cart id=44] The ebook edition is also available at: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, Kobo & AllRomanceEbooks. In Like A Cunning Plan: Erotic Trickster Stories, gods and mortals alike interact in sexy, playful, sensual ways, and it\u2019s anyone\u2019s guess as to who comes out on top. A bounty hunter … Continue reading Like A Cunning Plan edited by Michael M Jones<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"parent":871,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-235","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/circlet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/235","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/circlet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/circlet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/circlet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/circlet.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=235"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/circlet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/235\/revisions"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/circlet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/871"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/circlet.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=235"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}