Steamy stories scratch an itch that other love stories just don’t, and there’s nothing sweeter than scratching said itch with something...shall we say, quick and dirty?
Some of the best sexy short stories never come close to approaching novel-length, but they are no less engrossing and immersive. Wattpad loves to call them “one-shots” for their direct and immediate approach to romance, and trust me, there are more to be found both in and out of the deep recesses of the internet.
Whether it’s a modern-day tryst between unlikely friends you’re after or if you’d prefer a dark romance full of scenes that would make Anaïs Nin herself blush, quick reads of the NSFW variety await you. Deep breath, now, and read at your own risk.
1. “Delta of Venus” by Anaïs Nin
I can hardly evoke the Queen of Erotica and not mention her most famous work, though even I will admit that this pick is not for everyone. Anaïs Nin’s “Delta of Venus” is cult reading. If you have any interest at all in having your sensibilities challenged and you haven’t picked up already, you owe it to yourself.
This collection of 15 short stories was published years after Nin passed and takes the reader through an utterly decadent series of settings, introducing them to an eye-popping and gut-wrenching cast of characters. One at a time, though, darling. Let’s not get too carried away.
2. “Beg” by C.D. Reiss
I will not begin to tell you how much it pains me that too few people have heard of the Songs of Submission series, but I’m here to do my part in fixing that.
Monica Faulkner is a musician dying for her big break as she bartends and waitresses her way through the life of an artist in LA. Jonathan Drazen is a hot, wealthy playboy who is supposedly still in love with his ex-wife but can’t seem to keep his eyes (or his hands) off Monica. What starts as a no-strings-attached escapade escalates as they begin to understand that what they want from each other goes a lot deeper than simple animal attraction.
Each book in this series is novella-length, and whew, do they fly.
3. “The Warlord Wants Forever” by Kresley Cole
As if I could keep a vampire novella off this list. Please.
A prequel to the Immortals After Dark series, this steamy story follows Nikolai, a general in a rebel vampire army who has waited centuries to find the one woman who can grant him access to his full vampiric power. I always was a sucker for the fated mates trope—I already have full-body chills.
Myst manages to escape Nikolai for years until he gets ahold of the magical jewel that can keep her under his command. What happens, though, when he loves her enough to let her go?
4. “The Highlander” on Dipsea
If the “Outlander” books seem intimidatingly big, start with this audiobook. You’ll get all the sexy Scottish accents without feeling like you’re lifting weights every time you start a new chapter.
Cassidy is exhausted and overworked. Ready to get away from her career-obsessed life in New York, she’s stunned when she inherits a bookshop from a late relative. Determined to bring new life to the shop and find a new life for herself on the Isle of Moray, her biggest challenge might be her budding attraction to local sailor Lachlan.
5. “Beauty and the Blacksmith” by Tessa Dare
A steamy bodice ripper in less than 200 pages? I’m so in. Yes, this takes place in the middle of the Spindle Cove series, but you don’t need to know a single thing about the other books to enjoy this one. Aaron Dawes stands all on his own, thank you very much.
Diana Highwood despises that it’s her duty to marry an esteemed gentleman of noble birth when it’s the local blacksmith she really wants. Clandestine meetings in his forge? I’m not sure how a historical romance gets any hotter...
6. “Lecture Me” on Dipsea
Ahh, the teacher-student dynamic. Decadently steamy and impossible to resist (in my humble opinion, at least). First time? You’ve picked an excellent starting point.
Jane slips into her favorite teacher’s lecture one last time, excited to share the news of her newly finished thesis. While there’s always been something between them, they’ve never had the freedom to act on their feelings until now. But even with undeniable heat brewing between them, going into a relationship has its dangers. What will everyone on campus say?
Ugh, the ever-delicious “will they won’t they” tension was enough to add this to my Favorites list in a hurry.
7. “The Exception to the Rule” by Christina Lauren
I really thought contemporary romance wasn’t my thing until I found Christina Lauren, and I’m changed for the better. Once you start reading romance stories about workplace drama, you’ll never go back.
“The Exception to the Rule” was originally part of a collection called “The Improbable Meet-Cute,” so you can imagine the circumstances under which our lovebirds find themselves.
With a sort of “You’ve Got Mail” premise, “T” and “C” accidentally exchange Valentine’s Day salutations (hey, sometimes typos are a good thing). They agree to make a tradition of it: wish each other well every Valentine’s Day, but no real names, no photos, and no personal specifics. Yeah, I didn’t think they’d stick to the rules either…
If you have Amazon Prime, the whole Improbable Meet-Cute series is free, including audio narration!
8. “Last Temptation” by Sloane Virago
Two couples in one steamy novella? My heart (and my Kindle) can hardly handle it.
It’s a love quadrangle that sounds far more complicated than it is, but go with me here. Jacob, Sara, and Jacob’s two childhood best friends, Peter and Esperanza, all fall under Daemon’s powerful orbit. Can Jacob trust that Sara is who she says she is? Can Peter handle supporting Esperanza through a tragic loss? Or will Daemon swoop in and care for her in all the ways Peter can’t?
I’ve read plenty a romance novel that wouldn’t be able to keep up with that kind of web, and this story packs a punch in half as many pages.
9. “Stone Heart” by Katee Robert
If you read “Neon Gods” and immediately thought to yourself, “I need a Medusa story,” you’ve found her.
In this modern take, Medusa is Athena’s on-call assassin, ready to take out the goddess’s enemies at her behest. But when Medusa is sent after Calypso, a woman who doesn’t seem to have done anything worthy of killing over, questions bubble to the surface. Why does Athena want this woman dead? And why is Medusa so drawn to her?
10. “Dark Fairy Tales” by various authors
Okay, okay. This might be cheating, adding an anthology of erotic short stories in here, but pretty please? It’s too good, and it has far too many of my favorites to leave off.
It’s exactly as twisted and sexy as it sounds, so for those of you who fell down a rabbit hole with Anne Rice’s Sleeping Beauty series once upon a time, these tales are for you.
Sierra Simone, author of “American Queen” and “Priest,” puts her spin on the Princess and the Pea. Karina Halle, weaver of erotic romance from “Blood Orange” to “River of Shadows,” takes on Little Red Riding Hood. CJ Roberts, famous for the dark romance duology “The Dark Duet,” even offers up an Ugly Duckling retelling.
This exclusive content is all just far too mouthwatering to pass up—and it’s free on Kindle, so you have no excuses!
Looking for more? Dipsea’s collection of steamy audiobooks has a wider array of short stories than you can handle. Or can you?
Or download the Dipsea app for the best listening experience.
