When He Held Her Steady
I want to tell you about the night everything shifted at The Crux, but I have to back up a bit first, because the whole mess starts with a…
Tender and slow stories
Tender and slow stories, from quick reads to long series. Most tender and slow stories here sit in bdsm and romance. Reads run 14 to 24 minutes. Writers to know: The Steel Highway, Groove of Twilight and Indigo Spiral. Readers usually start with “The Honey Pot at Dawn” and “The Cork Market Letters”. Ranked by how many readers finish them. Some are free to read in full; the rest open with a free preview.
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Tender and slow stories, ranked by readers
21 22 The Bore at Midnight
Evangeline Murphey had been cleaning floors at Laverton District Hospital for thirty-nine years, and in all that time she had never once…
23 Selling Shadows
I turned fifty-five on a Tuesday and nobody sent flowers.
24 The Glasses Between Us
Belinda Gonzales was fifty-two years old and she held views about tip jars.
25 The View from the Balcony
You'd think at your own family reunion somebody would notice when you arrive.
26 The Night Baker's View
Bradly Leeds climbed the ladder to the police station roof at midnight, same as he did three or four nights a week when the desk was slow…
27 The Wrong Table
Tanya Pratt was thirty-two years old and had been fixing pools for eleven years, and in all that time she had never once crashed a wedding…
28 Ink and Stone
I almost died in March, which is how this whole thing started, and I need to explain it from the beginning because if you found this tin…
29 Brass Pin Evening
The office closed at five, and by six I was sitting at the bar of The Peat & Fossil with a brass pin in my jacket pocket and news I…
30 A Second Chance at Us
Kali was chopping onions when the doorbell rang, which meant the doorbell rang at the exact moment she had onion juice on her fingers and…
31 The Second Trick
Cherie Gaines was twenty-eight years old and she could tell you the exact contents of her lunch cooler for the next eleven days without…
32 The Lantern Wreckers
I rolled into Bagdad on a Thursday with about forty dollars to my name and a plan to leave with more.
33 A practical arrangement
The risotto was supposed to be for a client consultation on Thursday, but I had made too much stock and the arborio was sitting there on…
34 When the Mailbag Drops
*This one came from wanting to write something tender and slow, about two adults who meet online and actually click.
35 The Harbor Master's Uniform
Kevin came to Saltmere two years ago.
36 The Pawnshop Line Switch
The rain was the kind that doesn't fall so much as hang there, and I'd been standing under the awning next to the diner for ten minutes.
37 The Weight of Watching
My name is Milo, I'm twenty-nine, and until eight months ago I was married.
38 The First Blow
Okay, so here's how my Tuesday went.
39 The Whisk at the Yard Sale
A month.
40 The Houseboat Secret
I lost my wallet at the church fair on a Saturday in June, which is the kind of thing that happens when you eat a funnel cake standing up…
Tender and slow, by genre
Tender and slow bdsmTender and slow romanceTender and slow fetishTender and slow analTender and slow erotic couplingsTender and slow matureTender and slow sci-fi & fantasyTender and slow crossdressingTender and slow lesbian sexTender and slow humor & satireTender and slow first timeTender and slow erotic horrorTender and slow letters & transcriptsTender and slow group sexTender and slow toys & masturbationTender and slow loving wivesTender and slow nonhumanTender and slow transgenderTender and slow gay maleTender and slow interracial loveBy length
10 to 30 minutesBest tender and slow stories of 2026Writers known for it
The Steel Highway, Groove of Twilight, Indigo Spiral, Moss Harbor
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Questions
What makes a story tender and slow?
Tender and slow stories, from quick reads to long series.
Can I read them for free?
Some stories are free to read in full, with no account. The rest open with a free preview; members read everything.
How long are tender and slow stories?
Most tender and slow stories take 14 to 24 minutes, and the average is 19. Sort by shortest to start small, or follow a series to get each part as it lands.