D is for Death

from Rebekah Loper’s book called The A-Zs of Worldbuilding: Building a Fictional World From Scratch

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There are retirement communities for those who need more help and can’t live independently anymore, but death happens in the regular communities as well. Bodies are cremated and taken out of the community, should that be the case. Each person may have their own religion or belief system, so there is no specific afterlife. Funerals are similarly individualized, but the community provides the means to carry out the deceased’s wishes. Everyone is required to set up a will and end of life plan at age 25.

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Above you see my description that I wrote based on the extensive questions in The A-Zs of Worldbuilding. #SpoilerAlert There’s no death in this book, so please enjoy a random excerpt from Chapter 15 of Exploration!

Remember this (and most) of my posts contain adult content!

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The door opened, and the man I had seen in pictures entered the room. He stepped confidently toward me.

“You must be Mara,” he said, and he smiled down at me.

“Hi,” I said, and my voice was light and breathy.

“I’m Marchand,” he said, and his name sounded even sexier on his lips.

He took my hand in his, and I thought he was going to shake it, but instead, he brought it to his lips and kissed it.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” he said.

He was so good at this. And here I was, practically mute. I licked my lips and swallowed, trying to get words to form. “T-thank you,” I finally got out, “it’s a pleasure to meet you,” I echoed his words.

“Would you like to sit down?” He didn’t wait for me to answer but started guiding me to one of the small couches in the room.

We sat down next to each other, and he slipped one arm around my shoulders. “Relax, Mara, I’m not going to hurt you.”

I smiled at him then. He was so easy going, so confident. “I didn’t think you would hurt me, Marchand,” I said almost at a whisper. I liked the way his name sounded from my lips, too. “You have such a beautiful name,” I blurted out.

He grinned, and I couldn’t help but be transfixed, looking at his full lips and perfect teeth. I wanted to know what those lips would feel like on mine. And…other places. “Thank you,” he said. “It was an old, old family name. Back when people had two names, it was a second name. Now it’s given to someone in my family every few generations.”

“I love it,” I said.

His fingers started playing with my braid, and he said, “Thank you,” again. Our eyes locked, and with his warm fingers playing with my hair, I felt a pull bringing us closer together. And then suddenly our lips met, and he was kissing me, his lips firm against mine, his tongue slipping between my lips.

I couldn’t help but compare it to the kisses I had shared with James. James and I had fumbled a lot, bumping noses, uncertain, but comfortable. Marchand was not fumbling. He knew exactly what he was doing, and he was doing it very well. His tongue explored my mouth until I was gasping for breath. His hand stopped playing with my hair and cupped the back of my head, keeping our mouths pressed together. I had to breathe through my nose before I passed out. Was that what I was supposed to do? I didn’t know, but I had no choice.

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What picture did she him in?

What do Marchand and Mara do next?

Will this be her first time?

Find out all that and in Exploration or come back Monday to learn more!