Exotic Desires

Avianna Kennedy returns to her small hometown of East Briar broken and burned out, convinced she's either too much or not enough—she can never quite figure out which. After three years with Marcus, a man who slowly convinced her that her needs were unreasonable and her feelings exhausting, she's lost touch with who she used to be. The vibrant woman who once filled rooms with laughter has learned to make herself small, to apologize for existing, to flinch at raised noises.

Then she walks into a coffee shop and comes face-to-face with Callum Yates, her childhood best friend. Six years have transformed him into someone grounded, intentional, and impossibly calm—a man who notices everything she tries to hide. He sees the way she braces for criticism, the reflexive apologies, the careful way she takes up space. And he recognizes it for what it is: the aftermath of someone who was made to feel like loving them was a burden.

What Ava doesn't know is that Callum has spent years learning about structure, communication, and trust through the BDSM community. When she confides that she doesn't know how to trust anyone anymore—least of all herself—he makes her an unexpected offer: a consensual, non-sexual D/s dynamic designed purely to help her rebuild her boundaries, reclaim her voice, and remember what safety feels like.

Slowly, carefully, Ava begins to heal. In Callum's presence, she learns that submission isn't about being controlled—it's about choosing to trust. She discovers that her needs aren't too much, that her feelings aren't a burden, that she deserves to be heard even when she's quiet. Their sessions become the anchor of her week, grounding her in ways she never expected.

But Callum presents this arrangement carefully, telling her he has a friend—someone experienced in the lifestyle—who would be willing to work with her. He frames himself as merely the facilitator, the trusted connection between her and this anonymous guide. In reality, it's Callum himself who will be guiding her through every session, every boundary, every moment of healing. He disguises his own involvement to protect her from feeling pressured by their history, by the weight of their childhood friendship, by any sense of obligation. He wants her to choose this freely, without the complication of their past influencing her decision. This deception, born of care rather than manipulation, becomes a significant revelation later—when their carefully maintained boundaries begin to blur and Avianna discovers that the patient, careful hands that have been teaching her to trust again have been Callum's all along.

But somewhere between learning to trust him and learning to trust herself, the line between healing and loving begins to blur. The safety she feels in his presence transforms into something deeper, more dangerous. And when she finally confesses that she's fallen in love with him, Callum reveals the truth he's been holding back: he's loved her for years, waiting until she felt safe enough to hear it. The discovery that he was her guide all along—that every careful touch, every grounding word, every moment of patience came from him—adds another profound layer to her understanding of how deeply he's cared for her, how long he's been willing to wait, and how much he's risked to help her heal.

Together, they navigate integrating their dynamic into a romantic relationship built on the same principles that brought them together—communication, consent, and unwavering trust. But when Ava's past threatens to pull her back into old patterns of self-doubt, she must make a choice: retreat into the safety of being small, or step fully into a love that asks her to be exactly who she is - who she has been all along.

Synful Sanctuary is a story about the courage it takes to be vulnerable, the power of choosing trust, and the transformative nature of love that sees you—all of you—and never asks you to be less.

Genre:

Romantic Drama • Slow Burn • Childhood Friends to Lovers • Emotional Healing • Consensual BDSM (Dom/Sub)