This work contains themes and scenes intended for mature readers (18+). It explores intimacy, emotional complexity, and adult relationships through contemporary romance and erotic realism. Reader discretion is advised.
Light Duty
Daylight Intimacy
In their honeymoon phase, Claire and Adriana share stolen afternoons. During one, Claire asks Adriana not to close the blinds, wanting to be fully seen in daylight.
An Excerpt from this Chapter...
In the bedroom, afternoon sun streamed through the window, painting stripes of warm, liquid gold across the duvet. In her marriage, intimacy had almost always been a creature of the dark, a rushed, fumbling act shrouded by night. Shame and self-consciousness thrived in shadows.
As Adriana began to unbutton her jeans, Claire’s hand stopped her.
“Wait,” Claire said, heart thumping a steady, heavy rhythm.
Adriana paused, eyes questioning.
“Don’t close the blinds,” Claire said. The words felt huge, a vulnerable, terrifying confession. I want you to see me. All of me. In the light.
Adriana’s expression softened into profound tenderness that made Claire’s chest ache. She leaned down and kissed Claire softly, a kiss of pure, radical acceptance. “Claire,” she whispered against her lips. “I want to see all of you.”
And she did. In unforgiving, beautiful daylight, Adriana’s gaze was a celebration. She looked at Claire not as a collection of flaws, but as a landscape she was privileged to explore. Her hands and mouth were no longer just discovering; they were knowing. She knew the exact spot on Claire’s hip most sensitive to light touch. She knew the way Claire’s breath would catch when she kissed the soft skin of her inner thigh. She knew the pattern to trace on her back that would make her shiver.
This was the new cartography. A map they had drawn together, full of private landmarks and secret, joyful places. Claire, for the first time, was not a passive participant in her own pleasure. She was an active guide, her body arching into a touch, her hands guiding Adriana’s, her own lips and fingers exploring with bold curiosity still thrillingly new.
She was finally learning to own her desire, to give it voice. And Adriana answered not just with reciprocity, but with reverence.
After, they lay tangled in sun-drenched sheets, bodies slick with sweat, air peaceful. Adriana’s arm was a heavy, comforting weight across her waist. Her fingers traced the faint, silvery stretch marks on Claire’s stomach, not with pity, but with gentle, absentminded fascination, as if they were rivers on a map.
“What are you thinking about?” Claire murmured, voice thick with sleep.
Adriana pressed a soft kiss to her shoulder. “Just learning the terrain,” she whispered. “Finding my true north.”