Sunday, May 20, 2018

Charity Sunday: ALS Association - #LouGehrigsDisease #StephenHawking #CharitySunday



Welcome to another Charity Sunday at Beyond Romance. Once a month, I post about some cause or charity that I believe deserves our support. I also include an excerpt from one of my books. I invite visitors to leave comments. For every comment I receive, I donate one dollar to the charity of the month.

This month, I’m shining my light on the ALS Association. ALS stands for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord. ALS is more popularly known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease, after the famous baseball player whose career it ended. Brilliant theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking, who died this past March, suffered from ALS for most of his life. It left him almost completely paralyzed. 

 

For me, though, Hawking is a figure of hope and inspiration. Despite his severe handicap, he managed to live a fuller and more productive life than many of us. I’m dedicating this post to him.

Hawking lived as long as he did at least partly due to continuing research on the mechanisms and management of ALS. That is the purpose of the ALS Association: to finance scientific investigation of both causes and therapies, and to support individuals suffering from the disease.

I often try to connect my Charity Sunday excerpts to the charity in question, but I don’t have any published stories with severely disabled heroes or heroines. The closest I can think of is my BDSM short story “Stroke”, which was published Please Sir: Erotic Stories of Female Submission (Cleis, 2010). Here’s a bit from that tale, about a half-paralyzed Dom who still has the ability to thrill a submissive.



"Look at me." His tone was softer but no less firm. I raised my eyes to his, which were the startling blue of glacial ice. I shivered and burned. "You're new, aren't you?"

"Yes."

"Yes, Sir," he corrected me. My nipples tightened inside my bra.

"Yes, Sir." Just his voice was enough to make me ache.

"What's your name?"

"Cassie, Sir. Cassie Leonard."

"Don't look away, Cassie. Look at me. Do you know who I am?"

"No, Sir. I just started at Lindenwood this week. Before that I was in the rehab department at Miriam Hospital."

"My slaves call me Master Jonathan."

My earlobes, my nipples, my fingertips, all seemed to catch fire. I wanted to sink through the floor. I didn't want him to see how his words excited me.

But he did see. I stared at my hands, knuckles white from gripping the rail.

"You have a boyfriend, don't you?"

"Yes, Sir, I do." An image of Ryan rose in my mind, his brown curls and uneven grin, muscled chest and hard thighs. I did love him, truly I did, with his quirky humor, his gentle fingers and his boyish ardor. He was a fine young man. My mother approved of him.

"He doesn't satisfy you." It was a statement, not a question. Tears of remembered frustration pricked the corners of my eyes. "Why not, Cassie? Is his cock too small?"

I couldn't believe I was having this conversation with a stranger, a patient, a half-paralyzed man forty years older than I was. I stole a glance at Dr. Carver. His mouth was firm but his eyes sparkled with suppressed mirth.

"No, Sir. His cock is fine." Ryan was justifiably proud of his meaty hard-ons.

"What is it then? Is he a selfish lover? Does he come too quickly for you?"

Guilt washed over me. Ryan would happily spend hours licking my pussy and fingering me, trying to get me off. The only way I could manage it was to think about scenes from the kinky porn I hid from him. Whippings and spankings, gags and handcuffs, all the clichés that I couldn't stop myself from wanting.

"Well? Tell me, Cassie. What do you need that he doesn't provide? What do you want?"

My mouth filled with cotton. I couldn't speak. I was acutely aware of my rigid nipples pressing against the starched fabric of my uniform. My clit pulsed like a sore tooth inside my sodden panties.

"Cassie, I'm waiting." His sternness sent electricity shimmering through my limbs. "Don't disappoint me."

I dared a glance at his face. His left eyelid drooped slightly. His eyes snared mine. I couldn't look away. One eyebrow arched in an unspoken question.

"I—um—I want him to, uh, to do things to me. That he doesn't want to do.” I tried to break away from his gaze, but the force of his will held me.

Things?” He sounded amused. A fresh wave of hot, wet shame swamped my body. “What sort of things?”

Uh—tie me up. Spank me. Use me. Treat me like his slave.” It all came out in a rush, the desires I'd never shared with anyone except Ryan. Even then, I'd only shown him the tip of the iceberg, the least perverted of my needs. “He wouldn't, though. He was shocked when I told him. Disgusted. Said that I had a filthy mind.” The tears that had gathered earlier spilled out over my cheeks.

I imagine that you do, little one, delightfully filthy.” His voice was a caress, soothing and seductive. “I knew that right away, just from your reactions to my voice. Your deepest desire is to submit to a strong master, isn't it?”

Yes—Sir.” I felt relief, now that I'd admitted my secret. He at least didn't seem to condemn me.

You want to be beaten and buggered, shackled to the bed and split open by a huge cock. You want to bath in your master's come, maybe even his piss. To be forced to service his friends.”

It was thrilling and horrible, listening to him enumerating my darkest fantasies out loud. My clit felt the size of a ripe plum, swollen and juicy, ready to burst. I nodded, still finding it difficult to expose myself so completely.

I will do those things for you, if you'd like.”

You?” The suggestion startled me enough that I forgot the honorific, but he seemed to forgive my lapse. I searched his handsome, ravaged face. “How...?”

Don't underestimate me, girl. I may not be the Dom I once was, but I can still make you burn for my touch. I can still make you beg.”

~ ~ ~

Don’t forget to leave me a comment. Every one strikes a blow against the scourge of ALS.

18 comments:

Larry Archer said...

Lisabet,

Thanks so much for supporting such a worthy cause. And your excerpt sounds delicious, I need to read that story.

Sacchi Green said...

My grandfather died of ALS, Long before I was born. My father had to drop out of college after one year to help support the family. Luckily (for me) he'd met my mother in college, and she kept in contact from far away and eventually tracked him down and married him. He and his brother were always afraid that the disease was genetic and they might get it, but they never did; my uncle lived to be 95, my father is now 98, and no one else in the family has had ALS. Many thanks, Lisabet, for helping to fund research.

Tina Donahue said...

Good for you. A great charity.

Anonymous said...

That was a good collection. I remember reading it. Thanks for all you do with your charity Sundays.

Any

Author H K Carlton said...

Another worthy cause, Lisabet, and another fabulous tease!
Thank you.

Anonymous said...

My mom and I were just talking about Hawking last night, oddly enough...

--Trix

deloresswallows.blog said...

A great cause, and a nice excerpt. Well done Lisabet.

Colleen C. said...

Happy Sunday... a wonderful cause!

orelukjp0 said...

Thank you for choosing a truly worthy cause this week.

Kris Bock said...

Thanks for supporting the cause and letting others know more about the charity!

Reviews By Crystal said...

Great cause! I love your charity Sundays :)

H.B. said...

Sounds like a great cause to support. Thank you for the excerpt!

Cheyenne Blue said...

Hi Lisabet, Once again, you've come through with a most excellent cause and a most excellent excerpt. I love your charity Sundays.

Lucy Felthouse said...

Well done on supporting such a great cause, Lisabet.

Fiona McGier said...

IN one of my books, Love Therapy, I have the heroine's soon-to-be-ex-husband getting diagnosed with ALS. A friend of mine's husband experienced it in much the same way that I portray in the book. I don't have personal experience with it, but she did. Though there are few ways to die that can be described as "good" (other than dying in mid-orgasm, while in your 90's) ALS is definitely NOT a good death. Anything that can be done to help eliminate this scourge is a good thing.
And might I add, very hot excerpt! But then, it's yours, so I expected it to be!

Lindsey R. Loucks said...

Oh, this sounds hot! Great cause, too!

Chuck Barksdale said...

As a huge baseball fan, I've included ALS as on the charities I support through my United Way donation. Good choice.

Lisabet Sarai said...

Thanks so much to everyone who left a comment. You've earned a $20 donation for the ALS Association.

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