Reading Erotica Together: The Dirtiest Book Club You'll Ever Join

Your partner's gone suspiciously quiet with their book. They've read the same page twice. Then they look over at you, a bit flushed, and pass it across with one finger marking a paragraph. "Read that." You read it. You look up. Neither of you finishes the chapter.

Reading erotic fiction together is a great excuse to flirt, compare tastes and find out what your partner's been thinking about. Maybe you'll read aloud. Maybe you'll sit side by side, pretending to concentrate while asking what page they're up to. There's no homework, and you'll never need to discuss the themes.

Choose something you both enjoy

One of you wants slow flirting, a ridiculous amount of tension and characters who take four hundred pages to touch. The other wants someone bent over a desk by chapter two. That's a useful thing to know. "Something spicy" could be a romance with a few sex scenes, a straight-up collection of filth or anything between. A sample chapter tells you much more than a cover featuring an impressively shirtless duke. Skip any theme that either of you doesn't want to read. There are plenty of other fictional adults to choose from.

Read side by side or read aloud

You can each read the same story quietly, or take turns reading to each other. If you're reading aloud, start with something short, and use your normal voice. Reading something filthy in a calm, steady voice, while they try to sit still, is hotter than any accent. Try having them read to you while your hand wanders. See how far they get before they lose their place.

And if one of you keeps racing ahead, hold the spoilers.

Talk about what turned you on

Maybe it's the confidence, or the bossy dialogue, or the fact the characters have spent 200 pages not touching each other. "That part was hot" is a useful opinion, and you can go into detail if you want. Sometimes a line sounds great in your head and completely daft when said aloud. Have a laugh and keep going. If you love the dialogue, our dirty talk guide helps you find words that sound like you.

Liking a scene doesn't mean wanting to try it

Your partner enjoying a bossy character doesn't automatically mean they want orders at bedtime. A story lets you enjoy an idea without arranging the real thing, as our guide to sexual fantasies explains. If something does sound fun, talk about that one idea separately.

After the book

You might put the book down and keep flirting. You might put the kettle on and spend twenty minutes arguing about the duke. If that scene with the blindfold got you both going, the Twilight Tease Blackout Blindfold is ready when you are.

Neither is a failed evening, as reading something sexy doesn't make sex compulsory. Pick another chapter if you're both keen. And next time they give you that look over the top of their book, you'll know exactly what page they're on.