A Spicy Experiment

50 Shades of Grey, A Court of Thorns And Roses, Fourth Wing and anything Colleen Hoover; Demon, Werewolf, Vampire, Mermaid; Erotica, smut, ‘adult material’, X-rated, Spice. Hard or Soft Core. It doesn’t matter what it looks like or we call it, there is one overall definition for all of the above: Pornography.

The word that carries with it quite a stigma. For years, porn was the videos at the back of the store (for those young enough to remember video stores), magazines on racks with special sealed covers, books that were only sold in adult shops. Consuming pornography in any form was considered dirty, indecent and amoral, something to be ashamed of and hide under mattresses. But things are changing.

I am a member of a number of online reader’s communities and among the hot topics, besides which special edition coming out and how desperate we are to get it, are ‘Spicy’ books.

I can't say Spice is really my cup of tea. I have read a couple of books that fall into the category and I’ve found that the focus is often on sex scenes to the detriment of the story line (sometimes there really isn’t a story line, just a way to get from one sexual encounter to another). I also find the language used often quite jarring. I understand, dirty talk is used to excite and immerse the reader in the situation. But it gives me the same feeling as hearing someone shout obscenities or swearing in the street. I feel like it can be very confronting. And when I read, that is not what I am looking for.

But I do find it fascinating that the style of story is so immensely popular, crass language or not.

This got me contemplating: how difficult is Spice to write?

I have a long-term writing project has stalled a little for a couple of reasons. The story based on a real person’s life and I want to do her story justice. However, I am not confident in writing good dialogue. So, I’m researching and practising before really committing the story to paper, so to speak. Her story is a heart-breaking one of the ups and downs of love. I have plotted the story, I know all the twists and turns. And as is often the case, a love story between adults also involves sex.

I carefully considered the options for penning a sexual encounter between the main character and her love interest. I could go with a very out dated ‘that night, the girl became a woman’ style. But I felt that it does not fit with the tone of the story. Neither does the ‘Rooster and Kitty’ language that is popular at the moment.

I wondered, is it possible to write a really steamy sex scene without the crass language (roosters and kitties) and still achieve a similar (if not the same) level of entertainment?

To answer this question, I decided to experiment with scenes from another project that I've put less pressure on myself with.

So, I present for your consideration an excerpt from an early chapter of Hunters (a working title).

For some context, the story has two separate timelines.

One follows the quest of a treasure hunter and his friend, searching for the fabled lost treasure of a group of nine pirate captains.

The second timeline is set in the 1600’s and tells the story of the pirates who owned the treasure. It should be noted, I have no intention of being absolutely true to the language of the 1600’s.

My aim is to land somewhere between My-grandmother-would-be-horrified and Vanilla.

I would appreciate constructive feedback on this part of the chapter!

Staring at the ceiling with her legs entangled in his, she knew they didn’t have long left. The crew knew, of course. But no one would say anything to William, as long as neither she or Johnson gave him no cause to ask questions, such as 'what took you so long?'.

‘I wish we didn’t have to rush.’ Basking in the afterglow was not something she ever did with William Bailly. It wasn’t love with him. It was an alliance, a power arrangement. And he knew she took other men to her bed. That wasn’t a problem. But he would see his third-in-charge being the other man as a slight.

Johnson shifted his weight and rolled onto his side. He slipped the tip of her nipple between his lips and rolled it around with his tongue, causing her to inhale and close her eyes. His hand slid up her stomach to gently stroke the other breast before releasing the captive nipple from his mouth.

‘Is this not enough for you?’ He brushed her soft skin with his lips and then licked his way up to her mouth, a breeze deliciously caressing her wet nipple. He kissed her with passion, entwining his fingers in her blonde hair and pressing his opposite hand between her legs.

She pulled away from the kiss and breathed deeply, trying not to respond to his touch. ‘Do we have time?’

‘Bailly is at the tavern, probably with a wench, maybe two. He won’t be wondering where I am.’

In response, she slid her hand between their bodies to grasp him. He was already firm. They didn’t often have time for a second round.

He slipped his fingers between the wet folds and teased her, barely touching the spot he knew would make her arch her back before moving away again.

‘I want more of this, I want it all the time.’ Her voice was rough and she changed her grasp on him, laying her palm over the length, firmly pumping her hand to run from base to tip and back again.

‘What if...’ his hot breath bathed her cheek, matching the warmth spreading through her groin. ‘What if... there was... a way?’ He dropped his mouth to her neck and sucked her skin. His fingers ran down, Dipping inside her, first one, then two and three. His thumb rubbed over the pulsing need, sending shock waves through her as he sank his fingers in up to the last knuckles.

Molly tried to focus on what he had said, but it was difficult. She let go of his hard length and pushed his hand away so she could concentrate. It was a battle. He chuckled as he fought to return his hand back to its place. Molly couldn’t help it and laughed too.

‘Stop it, I am serious, I want to know what you meant by that.’

He paused and licked her nipple to watch the tightening on the skin.

‘Bailly is planning the coup against Cuthbert.’ He paused and kissed her stomach, moving himself down towards her legs.

‘I know that! He plans to hit all of Cuthbert’s merchant ships, loot them for the cargo, legitimate and illegal, then split the takings. We will all be rich. Oh!’ Her head tipped back and she moaned as he spread her lips before sticking his tongue in, flicking back and forth. It took effort to try and move her hips back, but he leaned his weight against her, pinning her down. He pushed his mouth firmly against her smooth, pink skin and sucked.

‘Oh, God!’ She put her thumb in her mouth and sucked, running her tongue around her own skin, thinking all the while about his.

Then he stopped, letting her skin slide back from between his lips with a pop.

He chuckled again when she moaned. ‘Why’d you stop?!’

‘Don’t you want to know the part of his plan you are missing? You were so keen a minute ago.’

‘Fuc- OH!‘ He cut off her curse off before she could spit it out with another firm suck and pop.

‘He has no plans to share with everyone.’ He ran his fingers up the inside of her thigh, gently rolling out her leg as he did, to the patch of silky hair a few shades darker than the hair on her head. The action parted her lips again. His fingers worked in circles on the sensitive skin before sliding into her warm folds.

He talked over her sounds of pleasure as he worked his fingers in and out. The sight, sounds and feel had him hard as rock. He had to hurry up with his story or he wouldn’t finish telling it before the urge got too strong.

‘He plans on betraying the other Captains, taking the loot they plunder, killing them and burning their ships before running off with you.’ He didn’t give his words a chance to sink in, she would stop him if he did, distracted by the revelation.

He could move quickly when he had to. He picked her leg up and ducked under it before sliding her hips onto his thighs where he knelt between her’s. He guided himself into her and thrust hard while he placed his thumb at the top of her cleft. She was already tight and he could feel her peaking, hear it in her voice, see it in her face.

‘Oh, you... Oh you’re tight. Lift your hips... yes! Just like that.’ He groaned. He wasn’t far off either. He wrapped his free arm under her and gripped her butt. His fingertips pushed into her flesh and he could feel the muscles taught under his hand. His fingers flexed compulsively and released again. She bit her lip and threw one arm out to the headboard, using it to push back harder onto him and squeezing his sides with her knees. Her other hand slapped over his, her fingers sliding in to work herself along with his thumb.

The heat radiated from their bodies, burning away all other thought until she clenched harder still and her back arched, allowing him in deeper for that moment. Her body convulsed as her ecstasy hit its peak and his followed, feeling every pulse of her orgasm.

For a moment, they both stayed in position, chests heaving.

It was Molly who moved first, pulling herself away from him.

‘And when were you going to tell me all this?’

Johnson shrugged and moved off the bed, as much to stretch his legs as to retrieve a drink.

‘Now, I suppose. You distracted me.’

She fixed him with a withering stare that would have shrivelled a lesser man.

‘Before you start, I’ve only known for a short while and there is nothing we can do about it.’

‘But there has to be! He is going to kill everyone!’ Molly pulled herself into a sitting position and leaned over to retrieve her clothes from the floor.

‘And he will kill us too, if we get in his way. I don’t know about you, but I enjoy breathing, I’d like to keep doing it.’

She tugged her shirt over her head and frowned in thought. ‘Damn it! You are right. But what will he do to me when I tell him I do not want to stay with him? He won’t take it well.’

‘I have a plan, it isn’t ideal and we could both be dead if it goes wrong, but the alternative... I don’t want to live without you.’ His voice was tender as he fixed his gaze on her.

His balled-up clothes smacked him in the face in reply.

‘Alright, tell me your plan. And put some clothes on, it's distracting.’ She returned his smile.

‘We double cross him. We take from William what he stole from everyone else, and we run.’

Her brow furrowed and her eyes narrowed. ‘Go on, I’m listening.’

Thank you for taking the time to read and I would appreciate your feedback!