Romance focused on very deep emotional intimacy and vulnerability?

Hey there.

I’m looking for some romance or even lite erotica,, where the focus is mainly on a deep or deeply-growing connection between two characters. I really want to immerse myself in some really emotionally intimate relationship building with like, meaningful vulnerability. I’m a male in my 30s, so I’m not looking for stories about immature love but rather emotionally intelligent characters who are actually compatible and wanting to immerse themselves in each other.

A friend recently got me to try reading some smut. I thought erotica was a gentler term for it, but I guess smut is the preferred term where the sex is just a bonus to the story? I don’t know. Sex is nice, but I don’t like too much gratuity so it’s not a requirement. There’s only so many times I can read the word “seed”. Or “length”. Or “folds”.

For reference, I am het and would relate most to an MF story, but I don’t really mind as long as it satisfies the above. Same with settings, as I enjoy fantasy/medieval and modern day settings the most but will be happy with whatever.

Sorry if I’m being too specific. I started off with ‘Hate Notes’ which I couldn’t enjoy as >!the sex aspect overpowered the believability of the love story which felt entirely unearned!<, and then finished the first book of Ruby Dixon’s ‘Aspect and Anchor’ series (which I thoroughly enjoyed).

Also, and this might be a unicorn request: Bonus points if there’s something like this written from a male’s perspective.

Thanks. I’m very new to reading again as I struggle with severe attention problems, but these sorts of stories speak to me and seem to hold my attention.

Cheers.

by Dreamsoar