In Delfidian, a future world where homosexuality is the norm and heterosexuality is seen as a throwback to ancient times, two female lovers break the rules in order to be with males. Forbidden fruit has never tasted so good, but what will the consequences be?

Inspired by the eternal question: "what will sex and gender be like in the future?" AGAINST THE GRAIN is a voyage into a future world where sexuality has evolved. In Delfidian, sexuality is controlled by a society that governs whom its citizens should be attracted to. Sexual desire is a powerful force, one that will make us break down boundaries and flout norms when we are in its grip. Trying to control it can only spell trouble....

EXCERPT: (NB: Adult content)

Diva shook her head, licking her lips and smiling darkly, “I don’t want to hear about history.” She rested her hands on her hips, flashing her eyes suggestively. “Tell me what it’s like. Tell me what it feels like when you have intercourse with him.”

Aurora blushed. Her questioning was so intimate, and aside from anything those dark-eyed looks were making her hotter by the moment. Diva was a sexy female to be around and sharing outlandish thoughts about her strange coupling with a male was arousing.

“Do you mean how his cock feels?”

Diva shrugged. “There are adequate replacements for that in itself. I mean the male, his being, the whole being of a male connecting with you in that way.”

She really had thought about this a great deal, Aurora realized.

“Your Creslet logic will demand you answer my direct questions, Aurora. It makes you a slave to the truth.”

Aurora snatched at her drink, swallowing it fast, then put her glass down and focused on the floor. The truth rose inside her. She wants to know. She tried to blink it back, but failed. And I want to tell her. Lifting her head, she met Diva’s gaze. “I must tell you what happened from the beginning.”

Diva nodded, knowingly, and flicked a switch on her control panel. Low, ambient sound waves filtered up around them. The sounds were soothing, encouraging.

“When we met, formally, I was impressed by the breadth of his knowledge, his physique, his strength and his aura of curiosity about me. I admit I was flattered by his attention, which I hadn't expected. He had been trained well, prepared for his role…I assumed.”

Diva glanced up from her control panel. “Do they do that?”

Aurora shrugged. “I looked into it. There is some rudimentary preparation, but nothing that would explain his intimacy towards me.” Looking at Diva, she gave a wary smile. “I think it’s in his nature to be that way, but I was surprised he wasn’t put off by my gender.”

“It wasn’t just official duty?”

“I’m not sure, but I don’t think so. The first time we mated, I was rattled by the strange situation and the expectations of The System. He smiled and kissed me gently, an action that contradicted his sheer male strength. When he took me into his arms, I wasn’t afraid any more. I was too aroused. I forgot that it was freakish, unknown. I forgot everything, when he…” She shut her eyes tightly, denying it, but she could not. When he had claimed her, something more than a physical barrier had been transgressed, and it was good. Really good.

“Go on,” Diva urged.

Aurora nodded. Shifting the fabric draped over her, she let her mind travel back through the treasured memories of her few times with Sullivan. The datamachine clicked again, but Aurora barely noticed it anymore. In thinking of him, she almost made him real – it sent the universe spinning away, making her less self-conscious. “It’s incredible, because I sense he really wants me, not just to fulfill his role as procreator. I abandon myself to him, to his lust; I cannot deny that.”

“Is he a good lover?” Diva asked quietly.

“Oh, yes.” Her lips parted as she went through her favorite images, and her hands trailed up against the short pelt on the sides of her head. She was feeling his, his tousled mane of hair, very human hair, like Diva’s. “At times he is like one of those ancient priests of love that I wrote about in the last edition of Cultura. He is strong, powerful, asking me to show myself to him, to offer myself.” She paused, blushing as she realized Diva would know where her inspiration for that article had come from. Not simply textbooks. “It's probably just the hormones.” She breathed deeply. His presence was near, she had reached out for him – she had conjured him there. “He sometimes adores me. That is almost too much to bear...” Her voice descended to a whisper. “When his lust is fiercest, he is like a demon spirit that sweeps over me, leaving me hungry for more when he’s gone.”

She turned as if to look for his shadow and, as she moved on the cushions, the satin slid across her skin. It felt as if it was his hand on her. Her eyes closed as it slid from its place on her shoulder brushing a satin kiss on her nipple before it fell away. Her hands went to her pelt, pushing it up and back. The breeze from the fan suggested his touch on her neck. She twined in its path and let it brush over her.

“Tell me more.” Diva’s voice was low and husky.

Aurora lay back on the cushions. Her body arched up at their touch; it was unbearable. Her body was pounding with desire. “I want him, now,” she whispered, and her voice was pained.

“Poor Aurora, you have got it bad.”

Aurora opened her eyes. Diva crawled across the cushions, her eyes shining, her lips parted in a suggestive smile. Her breasts swelled up from her vest as she reached to kiss Aurora on the mouth, crouching over her like a wild cat scenting its prey. Their bodies rolled together, pressing Aurora back into the cushions. Diva followed, and ate the flavor of desire from her mouth. Her hands moved over Aurora’s body and captured the movement of desire on her flesh. Aurora gasped with pleasure; Diva was soft and warm, waves of heat coming off her, her scent high in the air. Aurora responded and shared that desire, offering Diva its delectable flavor, its succulent body. They tasted its strange male stimulant together.

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Please note: this novella contains m/f, f/f and group sex, a whole lot of loving.

A short story version of this novella was originally published in the SEXTOPIA anthology under the title ‘Delfidian,’ Circlet Press, Boston, 2001.