1 comments/ 11617 views/ 8 favorites In Hell By: emeralds75 She was in Hell...literally. The torture continued for a very long time. She lost track of it till she didn't know whether it'd been months or years, and during that time her torturer used a number of different tools and methods. He stabbed her with flaming swords, cut through her skin and flesh with scalpels, resorted to electric shocks, dropped acid all over her, boiled her in oil, filleted her -just to mention a few- and then, when he was done, he'd start all over again. He was vicious in his methods and yet, she wouldn't scream or beg him to stop. She just kept her eyes wide shut and didn't utter a word. He could tell she was in excruciating pain because every time he approached her she flinched and smelt of fear but that was her only response to his 'work'. He was growing increasingly curious about her and decided to resort to one of his best talents. His victims weren't aware of it, but he'd become exceedingly good at reading their minds. That was how he knew how to break them. He'd listen carefully and attentively to each and every one of their thoughts and then decide his course of action –his torture technique- based on the information he'd acquired from them. He started paying close attention to her mind and was even more surprised when he found out what her inner thoughts were. Whenever she was being tortured, she'd lose herself in memories of her past life: blue skies, walks on the beach, red and yellow sunrises, green forests, rainy days, chocolate; the list went on and on. It was kind of corny, but it was everything she'd enjoyed when alive and now missed. She'd always focus hard on those ideas as he cut through her flesh. Since his usual methods weren't working, he reconsidered what he'd done so far and thought of spicing things up a little. She was on the rack, again. It was the beginning of a new day and she wondered what he'd try this time. He was the worst torturer she'd ever faced and didn't know how much longer she'd be able to stand the pain. She lifted her head and saw him standing in front of her. He was leaning towards her holding a double-edged knife which he'd already used before and she remembered. "Ok, looks like he's running out of ideas. Here we go for another round!" she thought. Deep down she wanted to yell at him, tell him what a sick bastard he was, but she knew very well that it'd do no good. She'd reacted that way the first time she'd been tortured and back then her torturer, some hideous guy named Dash, had actually enjoyed it and retorted "how much he liked feisty girls." So, since then, she'd just kept her mouth shut and tried to hang on till the torture was over. He knew exactly what she was thinking and couldn't help smiling as he gently stroked her face. She took a deep breath and looked at him completely confused. Then, he brought the knife up to her neck and saw her flinching. He slowly and sensually slid the blade down her sides and proceeded to cut her clothes off. She felt the cold steel of the blade ghosting her body as he carefully cut through the fabric. He was done within minutes and she found herself naked and fully exposed to him. She couldn't help wondering why he'd been so careful and hadn't carved into her flesh yet. He just kept stroking her body with the knife as he gave her a playful smirk. After that, he took a few steps back and sat in an armchair. He looked up and down and stared at her for endless minutes. Then, he moved his hand in the air and the chains obeyed his command. Her arms were moved up above her head and her legs were spread farther apart. He gave her a lustful look and she saw bright green flames igniting at her feet. The flames soon grew bigger and started engulfing her body. She felt the fire burning through her skin and yet, her body remained intact. She was in great pain, she could almost feel her flesh sizzling, but she looked exactly the same. There was no visible damage; only the pain was she feeling. Despite her pain, she noticed that the fire was behaving strangely. It felt like a tongue and hands roaming her body. She felt fingers running through her hair and digging in her shoulders. Then, she sensed fingers going down her front to her breasts and felt a tongue circling her nipples. She looked up at the man and noticed the lust in his eyes and his increasing arousal. Next, she felt hands on her inner thighs moving all the way up to her butt as they started cupping it. She tried to move forward away from them but she felt something on her front caressing her sensitive core till it suddenly and forcefully thrust inside her. The pain was unbearable and she was about to scream, but when she opened her mouth, a fiery tongue darted inside it and plundered it. She almost choked as it kept pushing inside her mouth till it hit the back of her throat. The thrusts up her core kept increasing at the same time and she felt the fire going deeper and faster inside her while hands kneaded her breasts. The fire had filled her completely and she was shaking and fighting against the chains, but the more she fought, the stronger their hold on her was, and the more pleased her torturer seemed. Then, she finally understood it: he was the fire. It was the same bright green shade of his eyes. It was his hands, his tongue...it was him inside of her. He was raping her without even touching her. She felt sick and tried to shield herself in her mind and find shelter in the memories of her life but every time she tried to do it, the thrusts intensified and the increased pain brought her back to her current reality. This went on all day and she thought she was going to pass out, she even begged for it in her mind, but she stayed awake and fully aware of everything that he was doing to her. Then, when he was finally done with her, the fire went out and he released the restraints. She dropped down to the floor, unable to move from all the pain she was in and doing her best to hold her tears. As usual, he approached her, and then gently lifted her head as he repeated his offer. She felt tears running down her face and couldn't hold her sobs anymore. And yet, she looked away and remained silent. Realizing she wasn't going to break, he put her in her cage and walked away, but before leaving he looked back at her and said out loud "by the way, you looked so beautiful in my fire...and you felt and tasted even better. We'll have to do it again, sweetheart...real soon!" That said, her torturer left and she cried till she had no tears left. He'd almost broken her that day and that terrified her. She'd never be able to hurt anyone, but the pain, the helplessness she'd felt, had been almost unbearable and she didn't know if she'd be able to turn down his offer next time. She was rocking back and forth in her cage and didn't notice that he hadn't actually left. He was standing out of her sight, prying into her mind. He was fascinated by her endurance and wanted to know how to break her. He'd been very close today, though. She would've cried and screamed for help if he'd only let her and he felt pleased with himself "she's so close...so close" and it was intoxicating. She was curled up in her cage and kept repeating the same mantra in her head: "Mikey is okay. He's alive and well. Nothing else matters. You're strong, you can take it." She went on and on for hours on end, and he wondered who this Mikey was and what had happened with him and, above all, why he was so important to her. In Hell: New and Improved Techniques It was a new day and she was on the rack, again. She remembered the torture of the previous day and couldn't help trembling. Luckily, her torturer wasn't there yet and she felt somewhat relieved...at least she'd have a few moments of peace to herself. Thus, she took a few deep breaths, thought of Mikey, and tried to calm down. As usual, he was sitting in the dark, hiding from her sight, enjoying the smell of fear emanating from her. He loved the anticipation. He always took great pleasure from that instant previous to the actual torture when he could see the terror in his victim's eyes. He found it deliciously intoxicating and knew this time it'd be even better. He approached her slowly and saw her squirming against her restraints in response. This time he'd decided to use leather straps instead of chains and she could feel them burning against her skin as she fought. She was standing, spread-eagled, facing him. He stepped closer to her till they were only a few inches apart, and with a quick movement of his hand, he stripped her off her clothes. She remembered clearly their previous 'session' –as 'he' liked to call them- and felt terror taking over her. She froze and gasped for air wide-eyed as he ghosted his fingers on her naked flesh and smiled wickedly. He stared at her indulging in her terror and took a few steps back. Slowly, he took his own clothes off and approached her again till he was leaning against her. She felt heat radiating off of his body and tried to pull away but the straps strengthened their hold on her. And then, all of a sudden, the restraints on her ankles loosened their grip and she immediately felt an invisible force lifting her legs up and wrapping them around his waist. He looked into her eyes and felt lust building up inside him. He kissed her ravenously and bit her lower lip till it bled in his mouth as he pressed his body against hers, his hands all over her, fingers painfully digging in her flesh, nails leaving scratches everywhere he touched her. She squirmed trying to pull away but no matter how hard she tried, it was helpless, and then she felt his length sliding inside her. She gasped at the suddenness of the intrusion and threw her head back while he, seeing her response, smiled evilly and licked and bit her now exposed neck while his thrusts became increasingly violent. She kept fighting him, moving frantically trying to pull away from him but failing completely. And yet, the more she fought, the more pleased he appeared to be. She wished she'd pass out but that wasn't an option in Hell. After all, where was the fun in torture if your victim fainted? Her mantra was all she had: "Mikey is ok. He's alive and well. Nothing else matters. You're strong, you can take it." She endlessly repeated those words in her head and kept her eyes squeezed shut. She felt his length painfully shoving up inside her and she thought "okay, the dude is really big and he won't play nice...at all! Gosh, this is really gonna hurt!" He smirked, secretly flattered by her thoughts, while he dug one hand deep into her skin leaving an imprint of bruises on her hip and scratching her ribs with the other one. Their bodies were pressed together and she felt his heavy breath on her cheek and neck. She was writhing in agony and hearing his moans in her ear while he went deeper and harder inside of her. She soon lost track of time as he ravished her till she no longer knew how long it'd been. Finally, he was done with her and stepped away. As usual, she was released and dropped to the floor. He got dressed and looked at her: her body was covered with bruises and scratches, tears streaking her face, and a thin line of blood trickling between her legs down her sore thighs. He seemed pleased as he approached her and lifted her head. She was expecting the usual offer and was surprised when she heard him say "Say you're mine...say it!" She closed her eyes and turned her head away. "Fine. As you like it. We have all the time in the world, baby," he said angrily. He then flipped his hand and she was instantly healed and back in her small cage and she immediately curled up and cried bitterly while he walked away. Want to read more dark stories? Check out my bio and contact me as well...:-) Hope you enjoy this installment! In Hell: A Worse Kind Of Torture In Hell: A Worse Kind of Torture It was a new day and she found herself on the rack as usual. She was expecting to see her torturer but he was nowhere to be found. She trembled as she remembered the promise he'd made the previous day and felt her heart racing. She took deep breaths and tried to calm down. Suddenly, the restraints lost their hold on her and she fell to the ground. She looked around again and noticed that the rack and her cage were both gone. Instead, she was standing in a huge black room...naked. Nobody seemed to be around but her, and it was completely empty except for a chaise lounge. She approached it and felt the rich red velvet of the upholstery with her hand. It was soft and inviting. She was extremely tired and only wanted to sleep or rest but that was impossible. There was no sleep in Hell and resting was out of the question since most of the time she had to keep her guard up. However, seeing no one around, she took her chances and lay down on it. She felt the softness of the velvet on her bare skin and managed to relax. She was lying on her back and her chest was slowly rising and falling with her deep breaths. She'd finally managed to calm down...and didn't hear him approaching her. He looked at her with prying eyes for a long time. She was naked, her pearly skin and dark hair contrasting against the redness of the velvet. She looked peaceful and was almost smiling. Then, she opened her eyes slowly and saw him standing next to her. She panicked and jumped up and away from the chaise lounge. He was naked, too, and remembering their previous encounter she thought "Oh, no, this is bad". He slowly and sensually lay down and smiled at her saying "Hi, doll, come over here" patting the chaise lounge. She found herself walking mechanically straight towards him. She had no control over her own body. She wanted to scream and run away but no matter how hard she tried, it was useless. She was soon standing next to him as if waiting for further instructions. He looked up at her and began stroking her hips and waist. "I told you I had something special for today. How do you like this place? Quiet, private, and nice, right?" She felt her head nodding and realized she was nothing but his puppet. She then looked down and saw him growing hard already and thought "Oh, no, no, no!" He made her sit on his lap facing him, her legs spread to both sides, straddling him. Her arms were wrapped around his neck and his hands were resting on her hips. He gently stroked her and smiled at her. "Kiss me," he suddenly commanded. She pressed her lips against his and brushed gentle kisses on them. Next, she licked them and softly pushed her tongue inside his mouth. She slowly explored every inch of it and massaged his tongue with hers. He was on the receiving end this time, or so he wanted to pretend. She hated this. She hated what he was doing and the worst part was that she couldn't do a thing to stop him. When they parted the kiss, he said "I knew you were a good kisser, baby. That was really nice." He looked into her eyes and stroked her hair. He left a trail of soft kisses down her neck and licked her collarbone. Suddenly, she felt heat building inside her. Her body was betraying her, she felt her growing arousal and wanted to scream and run away. He noticed and smirked, whispering in her ear "Oh, no, honey, we're just getting started." He kept kissing her and roaming her body with his hands. He let his fingers explore every inch of her smooth skin. He cupped her breasts and slid lazy fingers down her back all the while looking into her eyes. He went on kissing and licking her front, and then started nibbling her earlobes and neck. He became increasingly aggressive and dug his fingers on her butt while he nibbled and then bit her nipples. She shook in pain and he seemed to be turned on by it as he began biting harder. She felt tears running down her face and blood trickling down her breasts. Then she realized what he was doing. He was actually drinking from her: he was licking her breasts and sucking the blood from her abused reddened nipples. She looked down at him and found him looking back at her, his lips crimson with her blood and his green eyes lustful and glowing. In that moment, she felt his erection against her thigh. He suddenly grabbed her hips, lifted her high up in the air and pushed her down in a single motion impaling her in him. She opened her eyes widely, screamed in pain, and pulled her head back as he thrust violently. She felt him tearing her apart and couldn't do a thing to stop him. Her back was arched and her arms were wrapped around him. He looked at her, licked his lips and said "I wanna go deeper inside you, princess" in a husky voice. Her arms immediately unhooked from him and fell back, hands resting on his thighs till she was almost lying on her back on top of him. Her legs were fully stretched out and her feet were resting on the ground as her body violently rocked back and forth farther down into him. She then realized what he'd done: he'd made her change the angle so that he could go deeper inside of her. He was filling her completely, he'd never been that deep inside of her and she felt waves of excruciating pain washing over her entire body. The worst part wasn't even the pain but that she couldn't do anything to stop him. It was far worse than being on the rack. To anyone looking at them, they would've seemed lovers having hot sex, when she was actually being raped. She rode him for what seemed to be hours and, when he was finally done with her, he pushed her back into his arms and held her still while he kissed her tenderly. He stroked her long mane and drew soothing circles on the small of her back. Then, he wrapped his arms around her tighter and she felt she was slowly regaining control of herself. She squirmed a little but he was still half hard inside of her and moving on top of him was making him grow hard again so she thought it wiser to stay still. He smiled and stroked her back as he said "Say you're mine, sweetheart. Say it." This time he didn't sound angry. He was sweetly whispering in her ear. She felt trapped in his arms. She couldn't move because it'd make things worse so she was choosing not to do it, and it was terrible because he knew it, and was enjoying it. She was lying on top of him, he was still inside her, and there were no restraints holding her there, she was choosing to lie still in his arms. He looked into her eyes and smiled. She couldn't believe it, he was acting as if they were lovers, as if she'd actually chosen to be with him...and she couldn't take it anymore. She closed her eyes and buried her head on the small of his neck. He felt her tears on his chiseled chest and whispered in her ear "It's ok, beautiful. You'll give in to me. It may take a little longer than I thought, but you will." He stroked her hair and brushed soft kisses on her head while she wept. Enjoying my story? Want to read more? Just contact me! In Hell: That Chaise Lounge...Again In Hell: That Chaise Lounge...Again The following day she found herself in the same room again, the same black walls and floor...and the same red chaise lounge. She looked around but he was out of sight and she couldn't help shaking in fear and wonder what his twisted mind had in store for her this time. She looked around once more and finally spotted him. He was standing in one corner silently staring at her, watching her every move. He slowly approached her, flipped his hand and stripped her off her clothes. She instinctively tried to cover her body with her hands and arms and he smiled thinking "Oh, so sweet...so shy...as if I hadn't seen all of her already". She took a few steps away but he immediately made her stand still. She had no control of her body, the way it'd happened during their last session together. He placed himself behind her and hooked his arms around her in order to tie her hands up with what seemed to be a silk scarf. She felt his careful touch and the softness of the material against her skin, and wondered why he was being so gentle this time. He rested his hands on her shoulders and led her towards the chaise lounge, where he made her stand on all fours. At this point, she was already breathing raggedly and trembling in fear. Her heart was racing and her eyes were filled with unshed tears. He noticed and smiled to himself as he stood behind her and stretched her legs out. He slowly knelt behind her and spread her legs even farther apart while he positioned himself between them and placed his hands on her hips. He tenderly caressed her hair and glided his fingers along her spine all the way down to the small of her back. He continued exploring her with his fingers and ghosted them between her thighs and then up her slit till they reached her stomach. He caressed her sweetly and, after a while, he softly removed his hand and placed it back on her hip. She then felt his length slowly sliding between her thighs and rubbing against her core. She heard his deep sighs and his breath growing heavy. She felt the tip of his manhood nudging against her and realized what he was doing: he wasn't being aggressive or violent this time, he was actually being...loving. That realization didn't make it any better, though. And when he finally entered her, she was terrified. She remembered everything he'd done to her so far, and the mere thought of what he'd do this time, kept her on edge. She was frightened, shaking and gasping when she felt him slowly making his way inside of her. "Honey, you're so tight," he said in a low husky voice while he bent down till he was leaning against her back and hooking his arms around her. She groaned in pain and squirmed under his weight, but deep down she knew she couldn't get away so she tried to calm down and hold her tears. She repeated her mantra in her head, trying to find some comfort. He realized what she was trying to do and he wasn't going to allow it. "Oh, that's not gonna happen, baby, I want you with me," he thought. So, he shifted his right hand from her hip to her core and started stroking her mound. He glided his fingers through her slit more firmly this time and started stimulating her clit. She soon felt her arousal building up. "Good, she's getting on with the program...finally!" he thought. "There, see?...it's gonna be so good...gonna make it real good for you...promise," he whispered in her ear and continued rubbing her clit until she was so wet his hand was slick with her juices. "Yeah...that's it, gorgeous...now we're talking." He intensified his thrusts and the pain she'd felt at first turned into a pleasant sensation and then, as he started hitting her g-spot, an amazing pleasure came over her. She felt waves of ecstasy washing all over her body, and she dug her nails on the chaise lounge as she bit her lower lip to stop herself from moaning. She bit it hard till the skin broke and started bleeding, that way she could focus on the pain and escape from him. She could close her eyes tightly and try to think of something else. There was no way she was going to let him know she was enjoying this, well, not really her, but her treacherous body. He lifted her wrists with his left hand and placed them around his neck so that they rested on his nape as he sensually slid his hand down her side. They were both kneeling now and their bodies were at a 90-degree angle from the chaise lounge. His chest was pressed against her back and her head was resting on his shoulder. He now had full access to her front so he went on to knead her breasts and tweak her nipples as he kept stimulating her clit while he pumped inside her. He noticed her bleeding lip and healed it immediately. Clearly, he wasn't interested in hurting her this time, on the contrary, he wanted her aroused, he wanted to make her agree to it, to enjoy it. She felt her body betraying her and unexpectedly heard herself moaning. She was completely aroused and her brain had shut down. Her back was fully arched and she was sitting on him now, slowly rocking into him, pushing him farther inside of her, her hands resting on the back of his neck for support, stroking his soft spiky hair. He was smiling and licking his lips as he thought "Yes, that's it, honey...you're almost there." Her eyes were half-closed and then he said "Open your eyes, baby, I want you to see me...I want you to see us". She complied and saw the dark walls around them moving closer towards them and turning into mirrors. Whichever way she looked, she saw herself completely wrapped around him, moaning and writhing in pleasure. "Don't we look great together? If you ask me, you look as good as you feel." They were both covered by a shiny film of sweat, eyes black with lust, bodies rhythmically moving as he penetrated her deeply. He then intensified his thrusts and when she was about to climax, he slowed down till he was almost still. It took all of him to control himself but the pleasure he was deriving from having her almost beg him to make her come was so overwhelming that it was totally worth it. He did this repeatedly and kept her on edge till her body became so sensitive that the smallest move made her react. She was fluttering her lashes, her mouth wide open for air and her heart racing. He tilted his head and kissed her deeply. He began by licking and sucking her lips, and then shoved his tongue into her mouth. He explored it slowly and was gladly surprised when he noticed that she was responding to him, her tongue intertwined with his. She moaned inside his mouth as his hands continued stimulating her body and then, she felt an incredibly powerful orgasm. She was gasping and panting trying to put herself together when it all started again. That went on for hours till she lost count of all the orgasms he'd given her. At the end of the day, she was exhausted, almost limp and boneless, and he gently helped her lie on her back as he laid still half his body on top of her. Finally, when he had his breath back, he looked into her eyes smiling and stroked her face. He kissed her softly and cupped her face caressing her cheek with his thumb. Then, it hit her: she became aware of what had happened and felt sick. Above all, she hated herself for what she'd done. He was acting as if they were lovers: they were cuddling after sex...what the hell was going on? And worse still, she was responding to it. She tried to free herself from him but he held her tight in his arms and wrapped himself around her. "Come on, sweetheart, let's stay like this a little longer...don't you like it? I sure do!" He was being sweet, caring, even loving, and she was totally confused. She frowned and locked her dizzy gaze with his. He grinned in turn, brushed his nose against hers, and said "See, I told you you'd be mine. Come on, beautiful, admit it, say you're mine...after all, you gave yourself to me today." She wept and looked away. He didn't hide his satisfaction and rested his forehead on her temple while he brushed his nose against her wet cheek and left a trail of tender kisses. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Thanks everyone for your comments. I'm glad you're enjoying my work and that you carry on reading. By the way, if you want to read all of my stories, just contact me, ok? ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ In Her Argent Embrace When you finally come to, your head is pounding. Around you, trees are hanging from the sky like stalagmites, and a small group of men is walking among them, upside down. You're hanging by your legs from a tree, strung up like a hunk of meat. Then you remember. You were riding your horse through the forest of Isil on the way to the capital when you were set upon by bandits. No wait, not bandits: the insignia on their worn-out leather armour showed them to be the remnants of Duke Gutizia's army of irregulars, probably eking out a living by waylaying travellers on the road. You wish now that you'd heeded the innkeeper's warning about taking a short-cut through the forest. "Hey! Get me down from here!" As soon as the words leave your mouth, you realise how ridiculous you sound. But in your current predicament, there's little else you can do. One of the upside-down men, a thin, pale man with stringy black hair, looks up from rifling through the saddlebags newly-stripped from your horse. "Sounds like he's had enough of hanging by the legs, boys!" Another of the men, a tall man with dirty sandy-blonde hair, chuckles. You guess he's the boss by the way he's lounging up against a tree and chewing on a wad of tobacco while he watches the thin man work. "Think he might prefer to hang by the neck instead?" Someone shoves you from behind and you yelp as you're sent swinging about, your surroundings spinning past your eyes: your meagre possessions laid out across the grass and the thin man pawing over them; the sandy-haired boss laughing fit to burst; the trunk of the tree you're hanging from; the grimacing, mirthful face of the man who pushed you, stout and fat like a butcher's son; your horse, tied to another tree. Your horse. If you can just someone slip your feet from their bonds... The stout man leaps up and grabs your dangling arms, righting you and slowing your swing. "Now then, lad," he says, "Where's the rest of your stuff?" "What are you talking about?" "There's nothing here. Just some rations and water and sundry coins. There's no way that's all you have. Where are your crowns?" There's nothing else, you say, telling the truth. You tell him that you're on your way to Hiria to take up a new job and that that you spent the last of your crowns on the horse. "That so?" The boss laughs from against the tree. "No, your face tells me you're an Easterner, from Elkiad most likely. The son of one of those rich banking families." His laughter stops suddenly. "You're lying to us." You protest, telling him that not everyone from the East is a banker, and even then not every banker is rich. They're barely listening at this point. The red-faced man looks over to the boss, who nods, then walks across to where the thin man is still sorting through your baggage and picks up your dagger. He returns to you, leering. With the dagger at your neck he takes your ear in his other greasy hand. "So tell me, lad, where should we start? Nose, ear? There's a lot to choose from. Better start talking before all you've got left to your name is your tongue." There's a hissing sound and the black flash of what can only be a crossbow bolt. The red-faced man jerks away from you as if he's been struck by lightning, the knife spinning from his hand. He collapses to the ground, but not before grabbing at you in an attempt to stay on his feet and sending you swinging again. The boss and the pale, lank man's eyes are drawn to something out of your field of vision - but you can hear what's startled them. Hooves. The rapid hoof-fall of a galloping horse. You're still twisting in the breeze and on the end of one revolution when you catch sight of the white horse and its rider, their plate armour flashing brilliant in the sunshine filtering into the grove, a sky-blue cloak fluttering around their shoulders. A knight? In the Forest of Isil? They're almost on top of you now and for a moment you wonder if they're going to ride right through you and finish the bandits' job for them. The red-faced man, clutching his wounded hand, has already broken into a run, his bulk crashing through the undergrowth at the edge of the clearing. The boss has drawn his own weapon, a long sword, and is sprinting for the cover of a tree, but the knight is on him before he reaches it. You see a flash of brightly polished steel as the knight strikes him across the side of his body, but only with the flat of the blade, the strength of the blow lifting him from his feet and sending him sprawling backwards. The knight reins his horse in and walks it over to you. The visor of the silver helmet regards you with its hidden eyes. "Are you injured?" It's a surprisingly youthful voice that echoes from within that visored helmet, so young as to almost sound like a woman's voice. You give a strangled reply, but it becomes a shout of warning when you notice the lank, pale man leap onto your horse and cut it loose with a thin blade. He turns and spurs the traitorous animal with kicks and shouts and it smashes its way out of the grove through the undergrowth in the direction of the road. It only takes a moment for the knight to react, and then he's spurring his own horse and plunging on after him. Their hoof-falls fade and silence reigns over the grove. You hang there, feeling the blood slowly flow to your head. What feels like an eternity later the knight returns. He brings his horse alongside you and grabs hold of the rope in one gauntleted hand. He says something to you, but all you can hear is the roaring in your head from the blood pooling there. You're about to black out when you see the knight swing their sword, sheering through the rope just above your feet. Then you're on the ground, your head and feet flooding with agony as blood flows back the direction that nature intended. The knight leaps down from their horse and after slipping off their gauntlets cuts the rope around your ankles. He takes your hands and pulls you onto your feet with surprising strength. The hands in your own are tan, honey-brown, slender and surprisingly soft. The nails are neat and even, as if they've been manicured. They're just like a woman's hands. You're still staring at them when the knight gently removes his hands from yours and begins to unstrap his helmet. "My horse," you mutter, still dazed. "He got away." the knight answers. "I'm sorry." It's devastating news, but you barely hear it. For far more arresting is the knight's voice, distinct now that the helmet is off: low and feminine, it's unmistakeably a woman's. You look up into blue-upon-blue eyes. It is a woman. And she's beautiful. Her skin, like her hands, is a gorgeous tanned caramel-brown. Her nose is small, her eyes large and an intensely deep blue. Free of her helmet, her hair is short and pale blonde, the colour of white gold. There's a dusting of freckles across her nose and beneath her eyes. She seems a few years older than you, but you're not sure just how much. She's also very tall, so tall she's actually quite imposing. Her cheeks take on a suddenly rosy hue and she drops her gaze. Wait. Is she blushing? You realise it's because you've been staring at her for a while now. You turn away, embarrassed, muttering an apology and thanking her for saving your life. Dull moaning comes from the edge of the grove and you suddenly recall that the third of your assailants, the boss, is still there. The knight turns and watches him as he tries to get to his feet. The blush is gone, her eyes impossibly cold and steely, her lips a thin line. She strides over and, grabbing him by the back collar of his jerkin, she lifts him, still groaning, up onto his feet. It's an unexpected display of strength, and you can't help but enjoy seeing one of your tormentors, at least, getting a taste of his own medicine. The knight pulls back his head so that they're face to face. "As you're no doubt aware, the punishment for banditry under Regency Law is the noose," she says. The man is still dazed and he stares at her, barely comprehending. The blonde-haired knight shakes him. "Did you hear me?" Shocked out of his daze he nods feverishly. "Go tell your men that the next time I meet any of you, you'll hang." She sends him sprawling with a kick to the torso. Scrambling as best he can with what seem to be broken ribs, he half-runs, half-stumbles away into the forest. The knight wipes her hands on her surcoat and then looks in your direction. She quickly averts her eyes and undoes the silver clasp of her sky-blue cloak, which she holds out to you at arm's length. "Here. Take this." Of course. You're still in your underwear. You take the cloak and wrap it around yourself. The knight turns back to find you covered and you see her visibly relax. There's still the ghost of a blush on her face, though. On one who just routed brigands without breaking a sweat it's as charming as it is unexpected. She lifts her eyes from where she's been looking at the crescent silver clasp in her hand. You jerk your eyes away, worried that she'll catch you staring at her again and look around the grove. The guy who escaped on your horse knew what he was doing: there are barely any of your possessions left. He must have shovelled them into the saddlebags while everything was in chaos. You kick the few items of rubbish lying on the ground and curse your stupidity for taking a short-cut through the woods. Now you've lost even the little you had. The knight looks at you with pity in her eyes. "My apologies. If only I'd been able to catch him..." You stop your muttering and shake your head. You apologise for your griping and thank her again for saving your life. "I guess the gods were smiling on me," you say to her. "No one usually comes this way. You must know this area well." A surprisingly shy smile appears on her face. "Actually, I'm lost. As you might have guessed, I'm not from around here." You nod. She's clearly Elurran, the first you've ever met close-up. You've seen them at a distance before, traders in the streets of Elkiad, but even in that hub of commerce they're a rare sight indeed, only occasionally coming to sell the fragrant amber for which desolate, snowy Elurra is famous. She's tall, her hair so blonde it's more silver than gold. It's a colour you've seen women in Elkiad try and replicate with dyes, but it's never come close to that spun-platinum look that true Elurrans have. The way she picked that bandit up one-handed, she must be well-built beneath all that armour, but it's hard to tell; the slenderness of her hands seems to indicate toned sleekness rather than brawn, though. Her form is eminently feminine, now that you see her walking around: even clad in armour, the flare of her hips, the narrowness of her waist and the curve of her bust is obvious. Her cheeks have grown rosy once more and you realise that your staring is making her blush again. Ashamed, you pull your gaze away and mutter an apology. You've never met an Elurran before, you tell her. She nods, seemingly even more embarrassed by your embarrassment. Then she holds out her hand to you. "My name Is Leuna Zilarresko Ilargiaren." Zilarresko Ilargiaren? Only Mendians have names like that. You're not used to shaking hands - in Elkiad you bow - and you take hers in your own and shake it in the manner you suppose it's done as you tell her your own name. Leuna appears amused by the way you shake her hand, and the awkwardness of the moment seems to lighten the mood. When you drop your hand you can't help but bow low to her, in the Eastern manner, and thank her again for saving your life. "So what do you do when you're not saving clueless merchant's sons?" you ask her. "I'm a knight errant," she says. "On my way to Hiria to swear fealty to the Regent. That is, I was until I got lost in this accursed forest." You tell her that Hiria is your destination as well. You're there to take up a new job with the papers of introduction your master has given you. "Then I must insist you ride with me," says Leuna. "After all, it's my fault that you find yourself in the unfortunate situation you're in." You want to argue with her, but in truth you're relieved with the offer. It's a long way to Hiria on foot, and there are far worse things than bandits lurking the plains and forests. After she retrieves the crossbow she threw aside earlier, Leuna vaults up onto her horse and pulls you up behind her like you weigh nothing at all. She rides bareback in the Mendian manner, so you're left to grasp the mane of her horse as she lets out the reins. A few clicks of her tongue and her horse breaks into an eager trot. You're not used to riding this way and you quickly find yourself holding on for dear life. Leuna notices this and with a laugh reaches back and places first one and then your other hand around her waist. Anchored to her statuesque proportions you feel far steadier, even if your heart is racing even faster. She smells very nice indeed, a mixture of clean linen, fresh perspiration and her own indefinable scent, a scent you recognise from the cloak wrapped around you. "That's better," she says. "I'd never forgive myself if you fell off after everything else that's befallen you today." You chuckle, a little bitterly. She's not wrong. You lost your horse, your crowns, your possessions and even your clothes. But even though you're little better than naked, your buttocks buffeted from below by the horse's spine, you can't help but feel somehow compensated for your earlier trials with your arms encircling the waist of your unexpected saviour and the delightful scent of her body in your nose. As you ride through the forest, the silence starts to pall and so you thank Leuna again for getting involved in a fight that wasn't hers. She laughs, a bright sound. "Well, like every knight, I've sworn an oath to protect the weak." You chuckle, a little ruefully. The weak, huh? Well, it's hard to argue with that. You were hanging upside down in your underwear when she first met you. Leuna looks over her shoulder, baffled by your reaction, and then she blushes. "Oh. I didn't mean to imply that..." You tell her it's okay. She's not the first person to ever call you that. Besides, you're just a humble merchant's son, and merchants are not known for their fighting prowess. A slightly awkward silence falls back over the two of you. You're exhausted after your ordeal, so you let the rocking of the horse's trotting send you into a strange half-waking sleep. - You jerk awake and there's a moment of terror as you feel the world shifting up and down. You grab onto the nearest steady thing you can find and hang on. There's a feminine gasp and then you remember you're on horseback, riding behind the Elurran knight called Leuna. You've didn't think you squeezed her that hard, but... You relax your grip and apologise profusely to the back that you're squeezed up against. There's gentle laughter from Leuna. "It's alright," she says. "The trotting makes me sleepy too." You look about with bleary eyes. The forest is thinner now, and you estimate that you're almost out of it. There are no longer those hanging profusions of vines and creepers and the trees that you pass by lack that primeval hugeness that surrounded you earlier. Light scatters down through gaps in the canopy off the road, while above you there's a long band of blue sky. You look up. The sky has that depth of blue that tells you that nightfall is not so very far away. "We'll have to start looking for a good campsite," says Leuna, reading your mind. You tell her that you should be reaching a tributary of the Bihurri soon, and that there's a secret little spot a short way upstream that you know of that should be comfortable. You reach the ford. The Bihurri in these autumnal months is quite low and sluggish: if you were here during spring, you'd find it impossible to cross given the swollen mass of waters from the melting snow of the mountains plunging down. As it is now, the river gurgles delightfully, its surface sparkling with the lazy fall sunlight as Leuna guides her horse carefully along its banks and across the numerous little pebbly beaches that spot its length. You soon see the outcropping of a ridge that tells you you've almost reached the spot you told her about. It's a little cave, set under the ridge, well-sheltered from the wind that often blows in from across the plains. There's a spring a little further along the river, with pure water bubbling up through layers of sand and rock, making it a perfect camping site. Leuna hops off her horse and encourages it with pats and clicks of her tongue as it struggles to keep its balance walking along a particularly uneven strip of the beach. She looks around at the tall beeches and the old willow that leans down, obscuring the cave, then turns to you and smiles. "A lovely spot," she murmurs. "I never would have found anything like this on my own." She frowns. "I've been setting up camp in some pretty uncomfortable places." You say you're not surprised. There's very little civilised habitation between Elurra and the Forest of Isil, after all, mostly just windswept tundra. You assume that it's the path she took, given that she's an Elurran. Leuna shakes her head. "Oh no, I haven't come from Elurra. I've never been there, actually. I'm from Mendia." Mendia? Well, her name did sound Mendian, but you're still surprised. It's a northern region of defiles and craggy ridges, an offshoot of the range that eventually becomes the Elurran mountains. A short and swarthy people live there, the dour and devout ex-refugees of religious conflict a hundred years ago. Their society is infamously strict, bound by the edicts of its council of elders. Leuna notes your confusion and sighs. "Everyone's always surprised by that. But it's a long story. Let's set up camp first." While Leuna sets up the camp and starts unloading things from her horse, you duck away with her water skins to fill them at the spring since it's a tricky spot to find if you don't know where to look. When you come back there's already a little fire going. You come past her horse and chuckle when you see that Leuna has built a little bivouac for him: a tarpaulin over a tree branch. He looks content as he grazes on the sweet meadow grasses and flowers of the riverbank. He's a fine animal, and there's a wildness about his face that you don't usually see on horses tamed by humans. He's clearly an elfin animal. But Leuna said that she isn't from Elurra... She's definitely mysterious, you decide. You hear sweeping from the cave and find her wielding a tree branch as an impromptu broom, sweeping the floor of dust and the remnants of campfires. She stops and smiles at you. She's taken off her armour and is wearing her under-tunic and gambison. Her cuirass and the rest of her plate is stacked neatly near the mouth of the cave. You tried to imagine how she looked under her armour when you first met her, and you weren't too far off your predictions, but it's another thing to see just how statuesque she is. Somehow, stripped of her armour she seems even taller. It's probably the length of her legs that does it, and her bare brown arms hint at just how toned they must be as well. Her hips are generously flared, her thighs broad but shapely. She's quite busty as well. The cuirass hid the shape of her chest, but since her breasts must still be bound underneath, her already ample gambison hints at a voluptuousness that you hadn't expected. Leuna catches you staring again. The smile becomes shy and her gaze drops down to the branch in her hands and she returns to her sweeping. "I'm sorry," she says. "My Academy upbringing. I like things being neat." In Her Argent Embrace You nod. What can you say? You've no doubt proven to her without a doubt that you're an utterly mannerless idiot. Gawking at her like a slack-jawed hick staring at travelling acrobats. You say you've got the water and groan inwardly at the fact that only an idiot wouldn't already know that, based on the still-dripping skins you're carrying. You put them down next to the rest of her equipment and duck off to collect more firewood. It gets cold here on the edge of the plain and beside, you need an excuse to get away and cover your embarrassment. You realise how you must look to her. Having to be saved from bandits, half-naked, continually staring at her. You're utterly mortified. After you regain your composure, you return to the camp with an armful of wood. You add it to the pile and sit down near the fire. It's getting colder, and being near-naked under the cloak, you're really starting to feel it. Leuna notices you shivering. She gets up and starts to rifle through her belongings. "What are you looking for?" you ask her. "My needle and thread," she says. "You need some proper clothes." - Having had no time to hunt, it's biscuit for dinner, and Leuna busies herself at her needlework as you eat. She's cannibalised one of her own tunics and is altering it, her deft fingers graceful and unerring with the needle and thread. Once it's finished she hands it to you and you excuse yourself from the ring of the campfire to put it on. The needlework is finely done. You unwrap the cloak and slip the tunic on. It feels good to be dressed properly again and not threatened by sudden slippage. You roll up the cloak carefully. The tunic smells just like the cloak did, infused as it is with the ghost of Leuna's scent. It can't just be your imagination. It's a very pleasant scent indeed, and for some reason you find it very comforting. When you return to the firelight you find Leuna holding the little crescent clasp you saw earlier and staring at it. Feeling like you're interrupting something, you sheepishly hand the rolled up cloak to her, but she shakes her head. "You'll need it to keep warm," she says. "I know how badly Easterners are affected by the cold." Well, she is from Mendia, after all. They're most at home in the rocky defiles of their mountain homeland, and her Elurran blood would make her unsusceptible to the cold. You sit down and take a drink of water. It's pure and refreshing. You wish you had something a little stronger, though. You sigh, thinking about how you'd be at the Sulphur Road Inn right now, eating beef and drinking ale if it wasn't for your streak of bad luck. Leuna looks at you, her head cocked. "Still not warm enough? Should I put some more wood on the fire?" You shake your head. No, you're warm enough. There's a short silence as you both eat your biscuit. You apologise for taking the food from Leuna's mouth. She just laughs and says, "If I was a better rider you wouldn't have lost your rations." Dreading a return of the silence, you quickly ask her why she's traveling to the capital to swear fealty to the Regent. "I'm tired of the life of a knight errant," she explains. "As a Knight of the Rose and vassal to the Regent I'll be able to have my own squire and perhaps one day a fief!" She sighs. "One day." There's an almost childlike excitement in her voice and it's incredibly charming in such a self-assured individual. Self-assured and mysterious. Something must have shown on your face as Leuna starts to tell you more about herself. She speaks quickly, seemingly as scared of the silence as you are. She was found wandering the mountains as a small child by Mendian trappers, who brought her back to their little community. Efforts were made to locate her family amongst the Elurrans, but to no avail. The only clue they had to her identity was the clasp that she had with her when she was found. "That crescent-moon clasp," you murmur, suddenly understanding her obsession with it. Leuna nods, her fingers tracing the edges of it. "No one seemed to know where I'd come from. No one among the Elurrans was missing a child. Or so they said." You ask her if she ever tried finding her family after she grew up. She nods, but the question seems to make her uncomfortable. "I couldn't find them," she says, leaving it at that. You don't press her. Luckily, the Mendians display little of the racism many of the other peoples of the West feel towards the Elurrans, due to their religious beliefs, and she was taken in by one of the major families of the settlement. She grew up just like a normal Mendian, hunting, fishing and praying. "I always knew I was different, though. I mean, look at me." She smiles awkwardly. "Black as a crow among Mendian swans. And then I grew tall and just kept on growing." When it came time for her to take up a trade, she tried her hand at everything, but it was only when an old ex-knight in the village saw her hunt and kill a leopard deep in the mountains that she was taken to the Academy in the Mendian capital of Gotorleku as an apprentice. "It was a strict life," she says. "But compared to my upbringing it actually tasted like freedom. I spent ten years there, and when I earned my sword I became a knight errant. But I have to admit, freedom has started to pall." She sighs. "You start to miss the company of others, and hot water... and food especially." She chews a hunk off the rations and chews it without pleasure. It's your turn to fill her in with your life story. It's nowhere near as interesting, being a pretty pedestrian account of the life of a merchant's son in peaceful, sunny, ocean-facing Elkiad, but she seems wrapt and asks you for explanations almost every step of the way. She seems especially amazed that men and women mingle freely in your little city-state. "But doesn't anything ever happen?" she asks. You ask her what she means. "You know. When a boy and... and a girl... I mean, if he likes her... and she likes him..." You smile at her blushing discomfort and say that in the East people are free to follow their heart if they meet someone they like, though of course richer and more powerful families tend to have arranged marriages. She nods in understanding. "Like our marriages." That's right. The Mendians have a tradition of betrothing their children while still very young. "So, I guess you're already betrothed, then," you say. The question seems to embarrass her. Leuna shakes her head. "But I thought..." You shut your stupid mouth. Of course there'd be a problem. Just because their religion requires that everyone be treated equally doesn't automatically mean that anyone would want her as a wife or daughter. It's easy to tolerate a fellow townsperson, after all, or act like you do, but to take someone into your family, someone who looks so different from everyone else... You throw a piece of wood on the fire. Sparks flick up and spin around the swirl of grey-blue smoke. Feeling a total fool, you sit there, not sure if you should try to start the conversation up again or stay silent. Leuna watches the sparks as they flicker and die mid-flight and after a while starts to talk again. "It's not that I don't want to get married," she says. "It's just...well." She sighs. "I suppose it doesn't matter. The life of a knight doesn't really leave much time for that sort of thing, anyway." Because of all that righting wrongs and protecting the weak? you suggest. Leuna laughs. "I'm sorry I called you weak." You let the subject die at this point. You're feeling guilty for having brought the whole thing up, but there's also a strange sense of relief that she's not betrothed to anyone. After a while you suggest that it's probably better that you both get some sleep. Leuna starts at the word and as you get up to find yourself a comfortable place by the fire, she looks increasingly nervous. You ask her what's wrong. "Oh, it's nothing. It's just..." She looks across at you with surprising shyness. "I've never, ever slept with a man before." You spit out the mouthful of water you were just about to swallow and start to choke. Leuna looks at you in alarm, but you wave her off and cough your lungs free. She blushes. "I think maybe I said something strange. I do that sometimes." She quickly explains that in the Academy, the male and female apprentices lived in separate quarters, only coming together occasionally for training. You nod. It's not an unusual situation. Leuna seems to have escaped a strict childhood to end up somewhere with just as little freedom, despite what she said. You take the cloak and find a nice, secluded corner of the cave. Leuna sets up her own bedding in a different corner, across the campfire from you. The fire burns down to embers as you lie there, staring up at the shifting shapes of grey, red and blackness that make up the cave's ceiling. Wrapped up in Leuna's cloak there in the dark you become even more aware of her scent and it seems to have a soporific effect on you. You hear Leuna shifting herself to find a comfortable spot and not long afterwards you're asleep. -- Your sleep is not a restful one. After your mistreatment at the hands of the bandits, you seem to be too alert to enter deep sleep and keep waking up. Leuna seems to be asleep, though. There's the occasional shifting of material on bare stone, the odd feminine murmur. You've almost struggled back to sleep when you hear Leuna stirring. She gets up and you hear her scrabbling around in the dark for a while. There's the sound of the cap of a water skin being popped and drinking. Then you hear the pad of her feet as she leaves the cave. When she returns a short while later, you've almost drifted off to sleep again. But the soft padding of her feet on stone grows louder. Maybe she wants to ask you something. She says nothing, and instead lies down not far from you, where your bedding has spread out during your tossing and turning. What is she doing? She sighs and murmurs, then, moments later, her gentle regular breathing tells you that she's fallen asleep. She must have still been half-asleep after she woke up before and mistaken your bedding for hers when she came back. You turn over and agonise over whether to wake her or not. It's probably the right thing to do, but you have a sudden image of a half-asleep knight mistaking you for an assassin and breaking your neck. It would be a particularly tragic end to your adventure. You've finally decided to get up and move to her bedding instead when you feel sleep finally getting its talons into you. You can barely lift a hand up off the floor. Maybe it's having Leuna so close to you that you feel safe and protected. Your thinking becomes stranger and stranger and before you realise it, you're asleep and dreaming. You dream that you're on horseback, riding through a vaulted forest. The horse's head is in front of you as you ride bareback, and you're holding onto its mane. One either side of you, long, skilled, feminine hands are holding the reins. You can feel the warmth of brown arms resting on top of yours, the softness of breasts pressing against your back. They belong to Leuna. You're riding more-or-less in her lap. You lean forward, worried that she'll get the wrong idea, and try to put a little respectful space between the two of you. But then she takes a hand off the reins and you feel it slip across your chest. "Stop squirming, my cute squire," says Leuna from behind you. "You'll fall off the horse." She presses you closer to her with her arm in a half-hug. Your struggling achieves nothing, since her strength is inexorable. Those breasts are squeezed against you again. Fighting at this point seems stupid. You feel your desire to do so ebbing away as the warmth of her body spreads through you. Then she drops the other rein and her arm closes around you, completing the embrace. You feel the warm sweetness of her breath against the stop of your head. What's the horse doing? He doesn't seem to need direction anymore. You look up. There's no horse's neck there, no mane, no reins: just shadows and a warm orange glow. You realise you're awake. You're in the cave where Leuna and you set up a campsite. And she got confused and came over to your bedding and... And now she's hugging you from behind. You stiffen, wondering what the hell you should do. You try and lift one of her arms away, but it's like struggling with a length of iron chain that's wrapped around you. Leuna stirs and hugs you to her more closely. You can feel her face nuzzling into your hair. You decide not to fight against her. Escape seems impossible, and anyway, being held by her is far from worst thing in the world. She's warm and smells really good, and the firmness of her arms and stomach contrasted with the ample softness of her chest is starting to make you excited. You flush hot, ashamed at your reaction. But even that is not enough to stop sleep reclaiming you. Being crushed in Leuna's arms, you quickly begin to feel relaxed and safe and before you know it, you're asleep again. -- You wake up before Leuna does. Sometime during the night she must have finally released you from her embrace, since she's lying on her back, her arms and legs splayed out, snoring lustily. You lift the single arm that's lying on your chest and gingerly place it on the bedding. She stirs a little but doesn't wake up. You pad outside and stretch in the early morning air. It's fresh and delicious. Here at the edge of the forest a great patch of sky is visible and the deep blue fills you with good cheer. You're in a surprisingly good mood, you realise. You haven't slept so soundly in years, even in your own bed back home. It must have been having Leuna beside you that did it. Maybe it's just the way she smells so good... You sniff yourself, expecting her delicious scent, but instead you just smell yourself. You grimace. If you're travelling on your own, it doesn't matter, but with her with you... Stupid, she's a knight. Like she cares whether you smell like sweat or not. Still... She looked like she was going to sleep for a little while longer. You're probably going to be on horseback all day so this'll likely be the only real chance you'll get. You walk down to the little river and follow it upstream a short way. There's a spot there where under the shade of a willow the water has eaten the bank away and created a deep eddy outside of the main flow of the river. It's the perfect spot to wash. You soon find it. The first sign is a quillaja tree, not native to the area, planted there by a foresighted traveller from the hot south long, long ago. You strip a piece of bark from it and take it with you. You peel off your tunic, wash some of the more offending parts with a quick scoop of water and then hang it in the branches of the willow to air. Then you slip gasping into the cold water and quickly duck your head under. If you weren't awake before, you certainly are now. You splash yourself with water and scrub under your arms, then snap the bit of bark that you stripped from the tree into two and rub it together. It's an old traveller's trick: there's something in the wood that soaps up and creates a thick, scented foam in water, and you apply it quickly to your hair and offending parts of your body. Then you dive back under and rinse yourself. You pull yourself partway out of the water and lie against the slab of yellow rock beneath the willow. The sun has been on it for a while and so it's warm. You put your underwear on it as well to hasten the drying process. It's then that you see her. If you hadn't chanced to look in that direction at that precise moment, you probably never would have seen her. Leuna, watching you bathe. You let your eyes slip off her without acknowledging that you saw her. She came looking for you, obviously, but why isn't she making herself known? Maybe too embarrassed. Then why is she still there, watching you? You're filled with an odd mixture of shame and excitement. It's a strange feeling. You lie back against the stone and close your eyes. Is she still looking at you? You're sure you can feel her gaze. Is she having a joke at your expense? You're not exactly the best example of male physical perfection after all. Then you realise she may have never seen a naked man before, even a half-naked one. The thought is so utterly adorable that you're glad for the coldness of the water about you. It's the only thing keeping you from getting so excited you'll be unable to get out of the water. You decide that your underwear and clothes are probably as dry as they're going to get and so you slip out of the water. You're careful to keep your back to her. She might be curious, but better not to shock her all at once. She can probably deal with a bare butt no problem. You retrieve your clothes and underwear as nonchalantly as you can and then secrete yourself behind the willow and give yourself a quick dry down. Then you dress yourself and make your way back to the cave. Leuna is there when you get back. She's stoked up the fire and has a little pot over it, boiling water. She glances up at you, but just as quickly her eyes return to the task in front of her. "I'm sorry," she says. "I sometimes sleep a bit heavily. The other girls at the Academy always used to tease me about it." You say something in reply, but you've forgotten it as soon as you say it. You're too distracted by the blush you spotted on her face when she looked at you. So instead you remark about how good something smells. "Oh, it's just the tea," she says. Tea? You had it once. You come over and she opens the pot for you. There are green leaves in there, swirling about in the steaming water. You say that the tea you had was black. "Oh, yes, that's the way most people drink it I suppose. But it's just as nice green as well. It's very invigorating." It's soon ready and after a mouthful of rations you sit and enjoy the tea. It's as delicious as Leuna says, although a little bitter. You sit and drink in silence. After a while you mention to Leuna that there's a good spot to wash if she wants a little upstream, and that she can't miss it. She's flushing redder than usual, and she stammers a bit when she thanks you. But then she says, "Oh, do I smell bad?" You swallow the hot tea already in your mouth and almost scald yourself as you stumble over your words saying that no, she doesn't smell bad at all. In fact, she smells very nice. It's just that you thought, maybe, after sleeping in a cave she might feel a bit more refreshed if... You're babbling and so you stop. Leuna seems amused by your outburst. But she shakes her head. "We'll reach the inn by this evening, right? And I'll be able to get some proper hot water there." You nod. You feel pretty awkward all of a sudden, the feeling exacerbated by your sudden realisation why Leuna didn't take up your offer. She's worried you'll spy on her like she did on you. The thought is distractingly exciting. Those long legs of hers, and those breasts you had pressed against your back last night. They must be pretty big. After breakfast you get ready to depart. Leuna splashes some cold water on her face and make does with that. Then you're on horseback again. The day is as gorgeous as the early morning predicted. The forest behind you now, you proceed out onto the grasslands. Around you patches of the yellow prairie grasses are stroked by the breeze, like an invisible giant running his hand across them. Overhead, clouds like great white fairy castles march along the horizon. "Beautiful," says Leuna. You agree. But they also make you nervous. The plains are well-known for flash flooding, and even when it's not raining here there's still a danger if the highlands are suddenly inundated with a downpour. In Her Argent Embrace Leuna nods and spurs her horse into a gallop. You make good time, but it's hell on your butt and you feel like you might be thrown off at any moment. "Are you alright back there?" asks Leuna. You say that you are, but then the horse stumbles for a moment over some clayey soil and you yelp and grab onto Leuna, who yelps as well. You apologise, but when you begin to remove your arms from around her waist, she reaches back with one hand and stops you. "It's safer if you hold on tight," she says. You're glad she can't see your blush. As the day passes the grasslands give way to rocky tors and sandy defiles, the edges of the badlands that follow the meandering path of the Bihurri river. Deep and uncrossable and infested with swamp drakes, it's an unavoidable part of the journey from the underpopulated northeast to the capital for those who want to avoid a long and circuitous, although safer, journey through the tiny hamlets of the valley of Motela. "Is there really an inn around here?" asks Leuna as for hour after hour you only see eroded plateaus and the scattered stone rocky outcrops like precipitous mountains in miniature. You laugh and tell her you don't blame her for not believing you. The area seems desolate here, but you'll soon reach the main road that comes down from the foothills of the mountains. There are many sulphur mines there, the precious substance that smells like rotten eggs but which is an essential part of alchemical magic. "So it's true that Hiria has lights that stay on even during the night? Lights powered by alchemy?" It's hard to believe, but it's true, you say. You've never seen it before, but you've heard many stories from journeyman merchants who make the journey between Ekiald and Hiria regularly. "I can't wait to see it," she murmurs. Soon a dark rectangle appears in the dying light of sunset at the side of the road before you: the Inn. After so many days in the wilderness, such a regular shape seems out of place. The horse picks up speed. "He can smell the other horses," says Leuna patting the side of his neck. "And other horses means hay and water and all the creature comforts of home." You laugh. You feel the same way. The inn means hot water, and meat, and best of all ale. "And we might be able to get you some new clothes," says Leuna. It reminds you that you're wearing the tunic she sewed for you from her own clothes. It gives you a warm feeling inside and you don't know if you want to part with it. Leuna pats the pouch at her waist. "There should be enough here to cover the both of us for the night." You put your hand on hers and tell her that she won't need to spend any of her money. The owner of the inn is a friend of your family, and as merchants you often survive on this network of guest-friendship to avoid carrying around large sums of money unnecessarily. "Oh," says Leuna. You realise then that's she staring at your hand on hers. It was an instinctive gesture, but you quickly take it away. She doesn't seem offended, though. Soon you arrive at the inn and you both dismount to walk. It's a low building, built of coastal oak, designed after the Hirian style, the façade decorated with a carved relief of a lion hunt. You run your fingers across the face of one of the lions, remembering the times you travelled here as a child. It's as close as you ever got to Hiria and you start to wonder about your future A servant you've met before comes out of the attached stables and stops and stares at the two of you. You stare back, wondering just what the problem is, but then you remember your own reaction to seeing Leuna for the first time. You glance at her. In her armour, she really is a tall and imposing figure. The servant quickly remembers his manners and bows. "Young master," he says, recognising you. "It's been a while." Leuna gets off the horse and he quickly bows to her, quite a bit lower you can't help noticing. "Lady knight," he says, his voice thick with respect. "You honour our humble establishment with your presence." Leuna seems startled by the effusiveness of his greeting and she inclines her head, blushing. She lets him take the reins and lead the horse to the stables. "They don't often see knights around here," you tell her. She nods. It's so strange that a knight who showed no fear dealing with bandits now seems awkward and unsure of herself. You ask her what's wrong. "I... I'm not used to meeting strangers," she admits. "But I'm a stranger," you say. "You're different," says Leuna. Different. You're about to ask her what she means by it when the door flies open and a big, buxom, red-faced woman bursts out and crushes you in a giant perfumed hug. Leuna's hand slips to her sword-hilt instinctively, but when she hears the woman call you by your name and sees the smile on your face she lets it slide off. "This is Kalbasa," you say, your voice strained by the lack of air: her hug has managed to squeeze the majority of it from your lungs. "She's the innkeeper." Kalbasa laughs and releases you. "Such a flatterer. Calling this tiny watering hole an inn!" She looks at the knight and laughs again, elbowing you in the ribs. "And you've brought a girl, I see. I knew you'd find one eventually." She looks Leuna up and down and whistles. "It's a good one, too." Leuna blushes fiercely under Kalbasa's gaze. You babble a protest but Kalbasa just laughs. "You haven't changed. Still can't take a joke?" She grins at Leuna. "Am I right?" Leuna smiles but doesn't say anything. She's still blushing. Kalbasa leads you inside the inn and has another servant take your belongings to a room. She casts a critical eye over the two of you. "I'm betting you both need a hot bath. I'll have one prepared for you." Leuna's eyes immediately light up. "Oh, yes please!" "I think I have a tub big enough to fit the two of you." Leuna's smile falls from her face. "Oh! Together? But... but..." Kalbasa laughs and you can't help but smile a little at how flustered Leuna had become. It's another of her jokes, you explain. "So, who want to get in first?" You of course chivalrously allow Leuna to use the water first. When the knight protests, you remind her that you had a chance to wash in the morning while she didn't. Leuna goes an even deeper red and she ceases her protests and nods, defeated. -- You're sitting on a chair and looking out the window when Leuna returns from her bath. She's got dressed in her clothes again, you notice, but her hair is wet and she's still drying it as she walks into the room. She's shocked to see you there. "Oh, but... are we going to sleep together again?" Then she remembers what that means and she adds, "In the same room, I mean." You tell her that the inn is usually full all year round, given the busyness of the sulphur road, but that Kalbasa keeps a room free for the exclusive use of guest-friends, who generally travel alone. Leuna nods. "I'm lucky you have such good friends." She sits down on the cot and busies herself with drying her hair. With her hair wet, her eyes seem somehow even larger than before, that glacial blue even deeper. With her small nose and that little sprinkling of freckles across her face she seems suddenly childish despite the years she has on you. And yet, there's her exquisitely toned body beneath her tunic. Her long, bare arms and legs remind you of how tall she is. She'll barely fit on the bed, you muse. You feel a certain heat start in your body and so you quickly start talking about Kalbasa, since that was the last thing Leuna mentioned, acting as though you've been staring into space and composing your words. She's an old friend of your family, you explain, a retired warrior and despite her appearance she's still lightening quick with a halberd. Leuna nods. "I thought she might be. She walks like a trained fighter." She turns to you, smiling. "She acts like she's your mother, doesn't she?" You nod, embarrassed. She's always poking fun at you, you say. A surprisingly mischievous smile flickers onto Leuna's lips and she lowers the towel from her hair. "About women?" You chuckle and nod ruefully. Ever since you were a little kid she's been trying to set you up. She says it's not normal for a man not to be married. "So you're not married," says Leuna. She says it like someone repeating a fact that they guessed at before. You tell her that you guess you've never met the right person. Leuna says nothing, but is clearly weighing something up in her head. "But men and women can meet each other freely in Elkiad, you said." You laugh. Meeting freely is one thing, but finding someone you like enough to marry is a lot more difficult. Leuna seems surprised by this. "But isn't it just a case of meeting as many women as you can? I mean, sooner or later you'll have to come upon your true love and then your eyes will meet and 'by that glance alone love will be kindled in both your hearts'." She sighs. "That's how it works, isn't it?" You wonder if she's joking, but then you remember her sheltered upbringing. You ask her where she learned that. She blinks at you. "From books, of course." You don't need to ask what kind of books. The scenario is already playing out in your head: Leuna or a friend of hers smuggling a romance into their dormitory, the girls reading it under the candlelight, the artificial world within it strange and free and exciting. The image makes your heart melt. You manage to stammer something about love being a bit more complicated than books make out but your words can't help but sound unconvincing even to your own ears. Leuna sits forward on the bed, eager to hear more. "Complicated? Oh yes, of course. The furtive glances and blushes, the confession of love, the suffering of lovers divided, the trials that must be undergone before they're reunited, the wedding, the wedding-night..." She stops, blushing. Then she looks up at you, her huge eyes alight. "Have you ever been in love?" You stare across at the beautiful woman sitting on the bed, wondering just how you should respond to such a question, when the servant knocks on the door to your room, announcing that Kalbasa has meat and ale ready for you. -- As soon as you return to the main room of the inn, Kalbasa sits you both down and slams two mugs of ale in front of you. The inn is not what you'd call crowded: it's mostly the usual mix of trappers, sulphur miners and farmers that are the source of Kalbasa's livelihood on top of the merchants that pass by along the coastal road to and from the capital. She sees you looking around. "As you can see, business is booming." She sighs. "It's all down to that unpleasant business on the border. Like they say, war is bad for business." "But we're not at war," says Leuna. She's been staring down at her drink the whole time. You've already attacked yours, the bitter soapy liquor restoring feeling back into your buffeted things and backside and smoothing over the lingering awkwardness of your conversation with Luena. "The treaty between the Regency and the Duchy..." Kalbasa looks at Leuna with a motherly indulgence. "Dear, there may be treaties and all that, but when it comes to being at the pointy end, pieces of paper and expensive ink and fancy seals don't count for much, unfortunately." She turns to you. "There've been attacks along the road." "Bandits?" you ask. "Do bandits want to cut down penniless sulphur-miners?" She shakes her head. "It's just the Duke sowing terror through mercenaries since his army was routed." "But we haven't heard anything about this at the Academy," protests Leuna. "Someone needs to put a stop to it!" The fierce look of determination on her face is both impressive and adorable. Kalbasa smiles at Leuna and then turns to you. "An idealist, too. That's certainly a breath of fresh air around these parts. A few more like her and we might actually win this war." Leuna looks uncomfortable, but Kalbasa places a hammy hand on the knight's delicate one and pats it. "Don't mind me, dear. I'm just old and crotchety. I don't mean any offence. And I agree with you. Something has to be done. But I'm afraid we're pretty far down the Regent's list of priorities...Well, enjoy your drinks." She winks at you. "I guess this should all go on the family tab?" You nod. Leuna is still staring down at her drink. "I feel bad having you pay for me. As soon as we reach the capital, I'll pay you back for all this." You laugh and say she can if she wants, but it's really not necessary. You owe her your life, after all, and while it's not a particularly important one, it's worth more than a few mugs of ale and rooms for the night. Leuna nods. She's still looking at her drink, so you tell her not to feel guilty and to drink it. It's very good. "But it's alcohol," she says. Then she blushes. "I... I've never drunk it before. It makes you act funny, doesn't it?" Funny? Well, if you drink too much it can certainly have that effect, but in moderation... You're a bit taken aback that she's never drunk before. You say that you never knew there was a rule in the Knightly Protocols that forbade it. "Oh, there isn't," says Leuna. "It's just I guess that... well, maybe I just never got the opportunity to try it." She glances across at you. "This is another first for me, I guess." She lifts the mug to her lips and takes a sip. She grimaces. "It's bitter!" she says. You can't help but laugh. "Ale is usually bitter," you tell her. "It's because of the hops in it." Leuna lifts the mug again, a little more tentatively this time, and takes a deeper drink. She coughs a little and she doesn't seem to notice the white suds on her lip until you point them out. "It doesn't taste bad," she says as she wipes the foam from her top lip. She still seems a little unsure, though. It's then that Kalbasa appears with a little glass of a deep brown liquid. "Here," she says, putting it in front of Leuna. "We don't often have girls here, but this is more the sort of thing I like to drink." Leuna lifts it to her mouth and downs it in one go. "It's delicious!" she cries. Kalbasa, laughing, takes the glass from her. "Hey, hey. Take it a little easy there. That's patsharan. It's made from wild plums, and it might be sweet, but it's very potent. That little glass was the same as two ales." Leuna lifts a hand to her lips. "Oh!" Kalbasa slides Leuna's ale across to you. "You look like you need another." She glances at the knight. "You too. But sip it this time!" Leuna watches her go, then turns and beams at you. "She's very nice, isn't she?" You nod. You're distracted, though, by the mug in front of you. The edge of mug where Leuna's lips touched it is glistening. Can you really just take it and drink it? Isn't it almost like sharing a kiss with her? Leuna is staring at you, her smile slipping, and you panic that she thinks you're hesitating over her mug because you're concerned that it's somehow dirty. You snatch it up and take a long draught. Somehow, it's far more delicious than your first one was. Kalbasa brings you more drinks and some food as well, and you're soon enjoying yourselves. Leuna follows Kalbasa's advice and sips at the powerful little drink, but soon her cheeks are flushed and you realise she's already a bit tipsy. "Oh, why did I leave it this long to try drinking?" she mutters. "It's so wonderful!" She throws out her arms and almost knocks over your ale in the process. You laugh and take her arm, trying to get her to settle down. She stares at your hand pressing against her bare skin. "You have very soft hands," she says suddenly. You blink, self-consciously taking your hand away. Then you chuckle. Merchants are often accused of having soft hands, you say, since a lot of their business revolves around accounting and reading and not so much physical labour. Leuna frowns. "Oh, I hope I didn't offend you. I wasn't trying to criticise. I... I like it." Then she seems to realise what she's said, and she hurriedly adds, "I mean, I don't hate it or anything. I mean, it's fine. I mean, I'm a bit jealous, actually." She lifts up her own hands and waves them at you. "Mine are all calloused." You look at her hands. They're such delicate, slender hands. You can't see the callouses that she seems to think are there. Such pretty hands, you muse. They were the first part of her you ever saw. Leuna lowers her gaze to her drink and you see the rosiness of her cheeks spreading out in a blush. You don't quite know how to take her outburst, so you return to your drink. A short while later, the awkwardness seems to pass and you start to discuss the remainder of your journey. Despite Kalbasa's warnings, the coastal road is probably your only option. Otherwise, you end up having to travel through the badlands you skirted the edge of yesterday which is something neither of you wants to do. Waterless and rough, they're the home of scorpions and venomous sand-drakes and other unpleasant creatures. Taking the coastal road you should be in Hiria in about two days, you say. For some reason, discussing the end of your journey makes you unhappy. Well, of course it does. Once you arrive there, you'll have to say goodbye to Leuna. She'll swear fealty to the regent and live in the castle, while you'll go on to your new job in the merchant's quarter. You suddenly don't relish the idea. You push such negative thoughts out of your head. You're just enjoying the freedom of the road, that's all. It's always like this at the end of a journey... And yet... You glance across at Leuna as she sips her drink. Out of her armour, she seems like a normal woman. Well, not normal exactly. Every other time you've been with a woman in this kind of situation, it's felt hideously awkward. Every time you've met potential matches, there's been nothing to talk about. Women in the East seem like a breed apart from men, only coming together really for romantic assignations and marriage. Strange, given how free everyone is to mingle, so different from how Leuna was brought up. You guess it's really just segregation under a different name. Leuna. She's so pretty, and yet she doesn't even seem to realise it. She'd never drunk alcohol before tonight, or seen a man naked until you, and her ideas of love are those of a child, and yet the masterful way she saw those bandits off, her courage and her graceful skill with the sword and crossbow... You finish your drink and wait for another, suddenly gripped by the desire to drink yourself stupid. But Kalbasa seems busy. While you've been drinking, a small group of men has come into the Inn. They're wearing mismatching leather armour and their unshaven and dust-streaked faces indicate they've been on the road for a while. There seems to be a bit of an argument going on, but it's soon resolved as they take off their swords and hand them to the innkeeper. They take a table not far from yours, laughing. They're words are tinged with the accent of border-men, and you wonder what they're doing so far south. "So much for the famous southern hospitality," says their leader, a surprisingly young looking man, even despite the weeks of unruly beard and the stringiness of his black hair. He sits down with the others and starts speaking in a distinct brogue that you can't understand a word of. The others laugh. "Milady, ale!" he cries out. On his lips even the honorific lady sounds like the vilest of insults. Kalbasa brings them their drinks and after serving them with stoic dignity despite their jests she brings your drinks over. "Who are they?" whispers Leuna. It's not really that soft a whisper and you realise that Leuna seems more than a little tipsy. In Her Argent Embrace Kalbasa pats the air with her hand, indicating that Leuna shouldn't talk so loud. "Mercenaries, I'm guessing. There's been more and more of them around lately, since the attacks on the sulphur mines." "Are the on our side or the duke's?" you say. Kalbasa shrugs. "Who can tell? Trouble, regardless. Still, their money is honest, as the saying goes." She returns to busying herself cleaning behind the bar while you and Leuna get to work on your fresh drinks. The men on the other table are increasingly boisterous and it's hard to talk. You're in the middle of discussing your plans for tomorrow when one of them gets up and walks over to your table. It's the man you took to be their leader. "Excuse me milady," he says. His bow to Leuna is just short enough to be insolent, while you receive a grin and an incline of the head. "I couldn't help but overhear you earlier, inquiring as to who we are. My name is Lazgarri and these worthies are my companions." There's a drunken cheer from the other two men as they lift their mugs. "Like you, we are keepers of the peace. Perhaps you would like to join us later and discuss matters of mutual interest? Swordplay, perhaps?" On the other table his men start to laugh, although only a thin, mocking smile appears on his own face. "You will find me and my men more than capable in that regard." He finally glances at you. "I suspect your young companion here knows very little about 'swordplay'." You start to say something but Leuna interrupts you. "Thank you for your kind offer, but I'm afraid we have our journey to discuss. If you'll excuse us..." Lazgarri's smile deepens. "Oh, but it won't take but a moment. And your friend can watch. He might learn a thing or two about the best way to fit a sword in a scabbard..." You stand up, livid, but Leuna puts her hand on yours. You're so surprised by her touch that you forget your angry retort and stare down at her hand. Lazgarri looks at the two of you and chuckles. "Ah, so that's how it is." With an insolent bow he returns to his table. The men's conversation starts up again, punctuated by even louder laughter. Leuna has taken her hand from yours, and as you sit down you feel yourself gnawed by shame. You ask Leuna why she was so polite to him. As a knight, surely she takes insults to her honour even more seriously than ordinary people? Leuna sighs. "It's against the protocols for a knight to fight anyone other than another knight over a matter of honour." She glances across at the mercenaries. "Although it would be a pleasure to teach him to keep a civil tongue in his head." After a while Leuna excuses herself from the table to talk to Kalbasa, who gives her directions and indicates the front door. You sit there and nurse your drink and your anger, feeling worthless. Not long after Leuna gets up, Lazgarri joins you at the table. This time he sits across from you. He's wearing that same insolent smile. "Well, my hat's off to you, son," he says. "She's a juicy little piglet. But I guess you wouldn't know about that, would you?" He laughs and shouts out to Kalbasa. "Another drink for my friend here!" You mutter something noncommittal. "She looks to me to be a virgin," he says suddenly. "Ah, you don't want a virgin. Not for your first time. You should let us teach her a thing or two about pleasing a man. It's a service we offer to young Easterners as yourself. Warming up frigid bitches." His use of that word to refer to Leuna sends you over the edge. You slowly stand up, your hands trembling, and demand that he take it back. "No need to take it personally," the man says, standing up. His smile is gone. "You should watch your step. We're far out of the capital here, son, and as far as the Regent is concerned, we're the law out here. Your little friend might play at being a knight, with her crescent brooch and her shiny armour, but around here she's just another whore." You smash your fist into his face. It's a wild punch but there's a satisfying crunch as your fist strikes his jaw. It's a glancing blow, though, weak due to your lack of training and drunkenness, and Lazgarri grabs your arm, capitalising on your overreach, and pulls you over the table. Your feet skitter across its surface as you try to regain your footing, then you're flung to the ground. You swing to face him and he grabs you by the collar and jerks your head forward to where a glinting blade has appeared in his other hand. "Not a smart move, son," he says, a trickle of blood in the corner of his mouth. "No one draws my blood and lives. But I guess it's probably kinder this way. You won't have to watch us rape your girl." There's a sharp whizz and a sudden splash of blood across your neck. You cry out, thinking that he's just stabbed you. But there's no pain. It's not your blood. Lazgarri stumbles back clutching his hand. There's a bolt sticking clear through it. Leuna is in the doorway, leaning against the doorpost and steadying her crossbow. She doesn't seem very sure on her feet. She points the weapon at the ground and is still fumbling to reload when Lazgarri's two companions push themselves from their seats. They're going to rush her, you realise, and before you consciously make any decision you've already flung yourself across the floor at them. You pull one to the ground and the two of you, struggling, kick the feet out from under the other. They're far stronger than you. The one you grabbed knees you in the stomach and gets on top of you and starts to give your face a painful drubbing with his drunken fists. But he stops when the blade of a halberd appears at his neck and you scramble out from underneath him and get to your feet, rubbing at the blood pouring from your nose. Kalbasa is holding the halberd's shaft. "It's been a few years and a few pounds since I've used this," she says quietly. "But you never forget how to split a man's skull in half." Leuna has managed to reload the crossbow and is pointing it at Lazgarri, although he doesn't seem much of a threat anymore, sitting back against a table and clutching his dripping hand. You decide it's prudent to get out of the way and join her. With her free arm she draws you behind her, placing herself between you and the others. Your hand staunching the blood from your nose, you tell her you thought she wasn't allowed to get involved in matters of honour with commoners. Leuna glances back at you and laughs. "As soon as you punched him it became a matter of public order." With Kalbasa's help, Leuna binds the arms of the two men behind their backs and herds them out the door. Lazgarri, not needing to be bound, nurses the dripping bolt in his hand and says nothing as he follows up behind. Once outside, one of the men says something about their horses. Kalbasa roars with laughter. "What's the penalty for public disorder under Regency law?" she asks, turning to Leuna. "A fine of a hundred crowns," says the knight, grim-faced. "You three don't look you have any money on you, so your weapons and horses will do," she says. "Unless you prefer the gentle delights of the debtor's prison." The men mutter and make no move to leave but then Lazgarri comes up behind them and starts to kick them and shove them with his uninjured hand. To the accompaniment of the vilest of curses they start moving on down the road. "They'll be back," you say as you take the rag Kalbasa hands you and apply it to your nose. Kalbasa just laughs again. "I'll send word around. There'll be a dozen miners with pickaxes here tomorrow morning. If they want to get themselves killed, they're welcome to try." She busies herself throwing sand on the trail of blood and the few other guests at the inn go back to what they were doing. You sit down with Leuna at a different table. She gingerly unloads the bolt from her crossbow and places it on the table. She notices you looking at it and smiles. "I always keep a weapon with my horse, just in case." You remove the rag from your nose. The bleeding seems to have slowed somewhat. Leuna takes the rag from your hand despite your protests. "Put your head back," she says, forcing you to do it even as she gives you advice. She applies the rag to your nose, dabbing at the blood still there. Embarrassed by her attentions, you distract yourself from the gentle strength of her hand cradling your head and tell her she's an amazing shot. Even tipsy she only just missed shooting the knife out of Lazgarri's hand. "Oh no," says Leuna. "I was aiming for his hand this time." Then she blushes. "I'm just lucky they didn't spot me there in the doorway while I was getting my hand steady. Otherwise it might have been your hand I shot." She places her hand on yours. "It'd be a dreadful crime to have hurt this pretty hand." Your hand, 'pretty'? You're not sure how you feel about that. "I guess he must have said something pretty insulting to you to make you punch him," says Leuna. You shake your head and explain that it was something he said about her that made you punch him. Leuna frowns. "About me? What did he say?" You blush and tell her that you can't repeat it. Leuna looks at you, a strange expression on her face. Is she disappointed at you? Does she feel insulted that you took it upon yourself to defend her honour? "You didn't need to do that," she says. "He could have killed you." You say there was no way you were going to let him insult you and get away with it. A shy smile breaks onto the lady knight's face. She dabs your nose a last few times then lets you put your head forward again. The bleeding seems to have stopped. Kalbasa comes and brings you some new drinks and after all the excitement of the fight the two of you quickly find yourself drinking one after the other. Something seems to be on Leuna's mind. In a lull in the conversation she suddenly bursts out with: "I have a confession to make!" You almost spit out your drink. A confession? "This morning," she begins, then hesitates before the rest of the sentence comes out in a whispered rush. "When I woke up, you weren't there and I was worried something had happened to you, so I went looking for you and found you in the river and I saw you bathing and you were, uh, naked and..." She sighs. "...and I'm sorry." You laugh and tell her not to be work herself up about it. You're not offended. Lots of people have seen you naked before. "Really?" Leuna's voice is scandalised, and you realise she has the wrong idea. You quickly explain to her about the public baths in the East. "Oh," says Leuna. "Of course. I've heard of them. Do... do men and women really bathe naked in the East? I mean, together?" Yes, you say. But not in the public baths, since they're usually segregated. "Oh," she says. Somehow she sounds disappointed. Soon it gets late, and Leuna sighs. "We'll have to sleep. I mean, get some sleep, since we're riding tomorrow." She stands up and almost trips over, but you're out of your seat in a second and supporting her. "Thanks," she says. "I must be really sleepy." You tell her she's probably just drunk. "Oh," she says. "So this is what being drunk feels like?" She didn't really drink that much, but not being used to it it's gone to her head. You help her up the stairs as Kalbasa leads you to your room. You imagine you look ridiculous beside someone so much taller and imposing than you are, but the warmth of her body, the mixture of softness and firmness as she leans against you more than makes up for it. "Why does your hair smell so good?" she suddenly murmurs. It's a question that doesn't really expect an answer, you decide, your heart skipping a beat. Kalbasa opens the door for you. You guide Leuna inside and sit her on the bed, then turn to the innkeeper and thank her. "Goodnight," she says with a wink, closing the door. -- You lie on the bed, staring up at the darkened ceiling while Leuna lays out her cloak and baggage preparing her own makeshift bed on the floor. Unlike the other night, it's only a foot away from you. There was an argument about who would get the bed, and Leuna won. "I've been sleeping rough for years now," she told you. "And anyway, I've never really liked beds. Too soft. They make me toss and turn." You continued to protest that there was no way a man could let a woman sleep on the floor while he took a bed, but Leuna just picked you up bodily and tossed you onto it, laughing. Mortified, you gave up at that point. She grabbed you and lifted you almost as if you weighed nothing. You feel like your masculine pride should be hurt. And yet... There was something awfully nice about being carried in her arms, if only for a second. As she makes herself comfortable, memories of the previous night come flood back, how she came to your bedding and spooned you from behind, how good she'd smelled, how warm her embrace had been, her breasts pressed against your back... Despite everything that happened today and all the ale you've drunk, you just can't seem to get to sleep. Maybe your raging erection has something to do with it. "Can't sleep either?" comes Leuna's voice from the floor. You mutter in the affirmative, your face growing hot even though there's no way Leuna can tell your present condition in the dark. "I'm glad you're here," she says. "I... I'm not really used to sleeping on my own." She explains that she mostly slept in dormitories, both at school in her little hometown and at the Academy. "But never with a boy, right?" You remember her earlier words. There's an embarrassed silence, and you imagine you can almost hear her face turning red. "So, you usually sleep alone, then?" she asks at last. You're a little taken aback by the question, but you realise she's asking it literally. You laugh and tell her that although you'd prefer not to, it's the way things usually turn out, even when you're not traveling out on the road. Silence. You turn over, thinking that the conversation is over. Then you hear Leuna say your name. You murmur sleepily. You hear the rustling of material and the soft pad of a footstep. You open your eyes and Leuna is standing beside the bed, a tall shadow in the starlight. "Move over," she says. "I hate talking to the ceiling." You think you've misheard her, but when she stays standing there you move aside. There's not really enough room and you're squeezed up against the wall as she gets into the bed, but your heart is beating so rapidly that you wouldn't have cared if you were left clinging to the edge. Leuna is lying on her side, her face flush with yours. You move your legs in an attempt to keep her from noticing your erection and your toes touch her shins. She really is tall. "You punched him really hard," she says. Her breath is sweetly fragrant. She must have brushed her teeth with some herb or other while she was taking a bath. "What?" "Lazgarri. It wasn't a bad punch. A bit wild, but there was a lot of strength behind it." Why is she talking about that all of a sudden? It's hard to concentrate with her body so close to yours. You're familiar with her back, her wide shoulders and hips and her narrow waist, since you've been riding behind her, but with her front within touching distance... You feel the warmth of her body bleeding off her, the cotton of her undertunic brushing against the bare skin of your legs and arms. "Why were you so angry?" she asks. It takes you a moment to realise she's still talking about the fight with Lazgarri. You tell her that you were couldn't stand the thought of someone talking about her that way. She moves herself closer. The softness of her breasts press against your chest. "So you were defending my honour, then?" You swallow and say that you guess you were. "No man has ever done that for me before," she says. "I guess since I'm a knight they think I can look after myself." It sounds like she's offended, and you mutter an apology. In the East, you say, it's expected for a man to stand up for... Her arms wrap around you, then, and she hugs you to her. "Silly," she says, nuzzling her face into your neck, your face covered by her soft, fragrant hair. "I'm not angry. I'm happy. Really happy." You feel hot wetness against your skin and at first you think she's crying. But then you feel the hardness of teeth and light suction as she kisses your neck. You go stiff, barely believing what's happening. Leuna's kisses are wet, awkward but eager. Her hands slip down your back to your butt and she squeezes it. She sighs. "I wondered what that would feel like." Then her hands slip under the hem of your shirt. She draws her fingertips across your bare back and you swallow, hard. "Your skin is really soft," she murmurs. "Just like your hands." Leuna explores your body, running her fingers over your ribs and then splaying them out across your chest. All the while she's breathing heavily against your neck, peppering it with clumsy kisses that are really more like licking bites. Tiring of this, she rolls you bodily onto your back and straddles you. She's heavy and the weight of her pushes the air from your lungs. Leuna chuckles and leans forward, taking the majority of her weight off you and at the same time bringing her face flush with yours again. "Sorry," she says. Her breathing caresses your lips, the scent of her breath maddeningly delicious. "I... I can't stop myself. Does alcohol have this effect too?" You're really in no position to give her a comprehensible answer. All you can feel is the gorgeous weight of her body covering yours, her knees squeezing your legs together, her stomach flush against your own, her large breasts with the nipples hard behind the cotton brushing against your chest as she starts to lick your neck again. You wonder why she hasn't tried to kiss you yet, and you realise she probably has no idea how. You lean down and intercept her mouth with your own and she sighs as you take first her bottom lip and then the top and mouth them, touching them gently with the tip of your tongue. She soon realises she's supposed to do the same and she kisses you back, hard, bruising your lips and slipping her hot tongue across your teeth. She's clearly never kissed before. The thought makes your heart melt and you grow even more excited. You pull her body down closer onto your own as you continue to ward off her more dangerously enthusiastic kisses. You need to feel her on top of you, like before. Her breasts squash up against your chest and you feel the heat between her legs as her pelvis weighs down on your hardness. Leuna gasps and stops kissing you. You feel her move her pelvis against you. "Oh. That's it, isn't it? Your..." Her voice drops to a whisper. "Your thing." She moves her hips again. "It's really hard," she mutters, to herself more than anyone else. The pressure sends a delicious shiver up your spine. You pant as she begins to rub against you. The warmth and weight of her on top of you while she rubs herself against you sends spears of delight exploding in your head. Leuna's voice is heavy with tipsy desire as she, too, pants against your mouth. She's too distracted by what's happening elsewhere in her body to try and kiss you anymore, and so you take the chance to attack her chin and neck with your lips. Leuna starts moaning and you feel yourself getting close. You slip your hands down her back, your fingers tracing her musculature under the soft cotton, delighting in the superb toning of her body, until you reach her hips. You grab them and pull her down closer as she rolls her pelvis against yours, moaning and arching her back. Her face is too far away now for you to reach it with your kisses, so you lay back, focussed on the incredible waves of pleasure flowing through you. In Her Argent Embrace You don't have far to go, but you grit your teeth, desperately trying to hold on until Leuna reaches her peak of pleasure as well. Luckily, you don't have long to wait. Her humping becomes feverish and she starts crying out with short, sharp, desperate panting gasps. Then her body starts to shudder and she gives out a strangled cry, muffled by her bitten lip. The shuddering of her exquisite body against yours does the trick. You let yourself go and you come, every ounce of strength transmuted into divine pleasure as you feel your hardness spasming between the two of you. Leuna collapses on top of you, her breasts flattening against your neck and shoulders. You're completely covered by her warm body, the weight of her on top of you somehow making the ebbing waves of pleasure all the more delicious. The thought of what a waste it is to come inside your underclothes rather than inside her keeps running through your head. But you're glad you were able to make her climax as well, at least. You hear Leuna murmur something, but it's too hard to make it out, since her voice is muffled by your pillow. The sound that soon follows it is unmistakeable, though. Snoring. The loud snoring of someone who's plunged straight down into drunken sleep. You try and squirm yourself out from under her, but she's too heavy. You finally give up and make do with finding a spot where you at least you can breathe freely. - You wake to find that Leuna is no longer on top of you. She's nowhere to be seen. Alarmed, you leap out of bed, throw your clothes on and go looking for her. It's well past dawn, daylight pouring in through every window. Kalbasa spots you as you run down the stairs. "She's outside getting her gear ready," she tells you. There's a lewd grin on her lips. "She was blushing like a schoolgirl when she came downstairs earlier. Did you have anything to do with that?" You mutter something intelligible as you feel your face growing hot again. You step past her out into the cold, mist-laden air and hop your way to the stables. Leuna is there, just as Kalbasa said. She's just finished packing a saddlebag and is checking how it's sitting on her horse's back when she hears you and turns. "Oh, you're awake." She doesn't seem to want to meet your eyes. You apologise to her for sleeping in. "It's my fault," she says. "I saw you sleeping there and you looked so peaceful I didn't want to wake you." With the words a deep blush settles onto her face. She glances at you then, and when she sees you share her embarrassment a shy smile appears on her lips. "You should go and get your things ready," she says. "But I don't have anything," you reply. The knight shakes her head. "Kalbasa left you some new clothes in the room, so you won't need to wear that silly thing I made for you anymore." She looks across at you. "She's a very kind woman, isn't she?" You agree. An awkward silence settles over the two of you then, and so you tell Leuna you'll go get ready and hurry back to the inn. Like Leuna said, there's stuff waiting for you in the corner of the room. In your haste you hadn't noticed it. You take up the clothes and stare at them. You're not thrilled with the thought to having to part with the tunic you're wearing. It's thick with Leuna's scent and as you smell it you heart skips a beat. Regretfully you strip it off, put on the new clothes and hurry down the stairs. Leuna is there at the front door, thanking Kalbasa profusely. The round woman shakes her head. "It was a pleasure having such a well-bred young woman patronise my little watering hole," she says. "Especially one who's such a good shot with the crossbow." She glances at you and her smile takes on a conspiratorial look. "Just promise me that you'll keep this guy out of trouble. As you can see, he's not that great at looking after himself. He needs a strong woman to protect him." You start to protest, but you really don't have anything you can say in your defence. Your silence just makes Kalbasa laugh and even Leuna can't hide an amused smile. You say your goodbyes and then you're on the road again. Leuna's horse is rested and champs at the bit, eager to continue the journey. The saddlebags behind your legs are full. Kalbasa has been more than generous in her provisioning and you resolve to make sure she's well compensated for all of the help she's shown you. For a long while you ride in silence. The new clothes make you itch and you again regret having to change out of the tunic that served you so well. Missing Leuna's scent, you lean forward, hugging her to you. The smell of her, the feeling of her toned waist against your forearms sends you straight back to last night, when her delightful weight was covering you. You sigh and can't resist resting your head against her back. Leuna stiffens. "Please," she says. "You're holding on too tight." Her voice is as tense as her body is and so you stop squeezing her and lift your head from her back. "Thank you," she says. After that you ride in silence along the coastal road. The sea has come into sight and you want to mention it, but the silence has become so heavy between you that you have no idea how to bring it up. Instead you just stare out across the white-tufted breakers scouring the long crescent of grey beach in the distance and wonder what has happened between the two of you. She must be regretting last night, you decide. Well, she is a virgin, after all. Doing something like that is a pretty big deal. And your first time doing stuff like that can be awkward. The way she kissed you clumsily, the eager, hungry way she took her pleasure from you. Maybe she's a bit ashamed of how strongly she felt. But you know you're deluding yourself. The answer is obvious, and painful. She just regrets doing it with you. You feel a dark weight press down on your heart as you go over everything Leuna has said to you since then. The more you think about it, the more it seems the only explanation. Even with her body next to yours, she feels like she's a thousand leagues away. You berate yourself for not having dealt with the situation better. Of course she wouldn't do anything with you unless she was drunk. When was the last time a woman slipped herself into your bed and started kissing you and squeezing your butt? As you wrestle with such thoughts the coastal road curves inland to avoid a series of impassable rocky promontories, bringing it close along the border of the same badlands it skirted earlier. The scent of stone and dust replaces the fresh salty air of the ocean and soon craggy outcrops and narrow ravines become the only landscape. You feel the silence of the place all the more heavy because of the silence between you and Leuna. You want more than anything else to squeeze yourself close to her, to feel safe, but now you're just alone again and the loneliness is far worse than it ever was before. The horse stumbles. Leuna reins him in and then turns to you. "The road seems really rough from here. We'll have to walk, I think." You nod. She leaps off the horse and takes your hand. The feeling of her hand in yours is tormenting, now. You remember how she ran her fingers across your chest, how adorably shy they were despite her drunken eagerness. You glance at her as she helps you down off the horse. She's not really looking at you. So that's how it is. You drop her hand and she takes the reins and leads her horse. You bring up the rear. As you walk, Leuna leads the horse around the worst of the fallen scree and you look up at the ridges on either side of you. The defile is becoming narrower. There's little or no vegetation. Somehow, the bleakness is appropriate. It looks just like you feel right now: empty, windswept. You smile bitterly. The situation is making you think like an angsty poet. It's not a good look for you, you decide. To your left, rocks slide down the slope of the ravine to clatter onto its stony floor. Probably just some animal. The stone here is brittle and the slightest touch makes it sheer off. The track turns around an outcropping of stone and suddenly Leuna stops. You come up beside her. There's been a huge rock-fall. The track is completely blocked by great slabs of stone that have collapsed from the ridges almost meeting above your head. A single rock clatters down from above. Leuna moves closer to you, bringing her arm against your chest. A flicker. A whispering hiss and something skitters and snaps on the rock in front of you. It's a crossbow bolt. Leuna picks you up bodily and throws you onto the horse and then leaps on behind you. Her arms circle around you as she grips the reins and a heartbeat later the horse turns and breaks into a gallop. Then the air is alive with hissing. As the horse negotiates the uneven ground, Leuna leans down over you, covering you with her body. There's hissing and snapping as quarrel after quarrel glances off her armour. The horse gallops headlong back through the ravine. There must be crossbowmen stationed all the way along as the bolts don't let up. You're rocked back and forth as the horse tries to keep its feet on the scree-covered floor, but Leuna keeps you held tightly to her. She guides the horse through the maze of rocks and broken stone, where a single wrong hoof-fall means a broken leg for the horse and death for the two of you. There's more hissing. A bolt glances off Leuna's shoulder, the broken head landing on the horse's mane in front of you. You throw it off. It's barbed. You can see the end of the ravine in sight. Near it there are horsemen milling around. It takes them a long while to notice you; you're appearance seems to have caught them totally off-guard. Leuna twists the reins and the horse goes climbing up the gentler slope of the start of the ravine. The horsemen waiting for you don't seem to have expected this either. Foam sprays from the horse's mouth and it whinnies in terror as its hooves send dust and rock flying, then it breaches the top of the ridge and starts half-sliding, half-galloping down the other side. Farther along the ridge the way you came you see a number of men in leather armour on foot carrying crossbows. There's shouting and a frenzy of activity as they kneel and fire. Leuna jerks the reins and the horse skids sideways. Hissing bolts strike her armour. If she hadn't turned they probably would have all ended up in you. Leuna spurs the horse to get you out of range as you're enveloped in a seemingly endless rain of bolts. The hissing is incessant, and then Leuna screams and the reins on your left fall slack. You turn in panic to see a quarrel sticking out of her shoulder. It's a lucky shot, striking her at the point where her cuirass is tied to her bracer. There's blood everywhere, her arm lying limply at her side. You cry out her name but she just shakes her head and hisses at you to keep your head down as she pushes you flatter against the horse's neck. "Take the other rein!" she cries. You do as she says. The hissing continues for a short while and then it stops. But you can still hear the rumbling of hoof-falls behind you. "It's Lazgarri," says Leuna. "Damn. Walked into that ambush like a clueless acolyte." She slaps the reins and you do the same. She grimaces with the pain of her exertion. "We've one chance. The badlands." You're about to protest, but you know she's right. There's no way you'll outrun the others with no-doubt fresh horses waiting for you along the coastal road. In the badlands at least you have a chance. A stray shot skitters on the rocks just ahead of you. At least the sand-drakes don't have crossbows, you decide. With her you pull the horse to the right and press out across the broken stony and sandy landscape. You gallop for what feels like an eternity, but soon the sound of the hoof-falls fall away behind you. There's the half-hearted thrum of a crossbow being fired, but the quarrel doesn't make it anywhere near you. Leuna, as soon as it seems safe, lets go of the rein and slumps over you. Her face is a rictus of pain as she clutches the end of the quarrel with her good hand. Of course. The quarrel is barbed. Every jolt of the horse, every move of her arm is lacerating the wound. She must be in agony, and yet she managed to bear it until you were safe. You grab hold of the reins and lead the horse at a walk down a hundred little gullies and tracks. It's a maze, and even if Lazgarri and his men wanted to keep pursuing you, there's no way they'd be able to find you. Not even the best tracker can track across stone. Over your shoulder you ask Leuna if she's okay. It's a stupid question. "Yes," she says, through agony-gritted teeth. "Not poisoned, at least. Stuck in the muscle. Lucky shot." You glance down at the saddlebags, remembering that you saw Leuna pack some medical supplies from Kalbasa in them. You rein in the horse and dismount. You have Leuna lie down across the horse's back, holding the bolt steady while you lead the horse as slowly as you can. You soon find a rocky outcropping with a cave beneath it. It's nothing like the beautiful little grotto you stayed in in the forest, but right now it looks like paradise. You tie the horse up against the trunk of a straggling tree next to a steep slope and help Leuna down off its back. She's heavy, especially in her armour, but pulling her across onto the slope at the same height as the horse's back minimises the pain and damage you cause. With her leaning against you, you take her under the overhanging. "Help me take off my armour," says Leuna in a hiss. She's obviously in even more pain now. You do as she says, following her instructions. Removing armour is no easy business but you manage to do it, even with fumbling fingers. Now out of danger, you feel your nerves catching up with you. You start shivering uncontrollably. Leuna. Without her protecting you with her body, you would have been slain for sure. It would be your body that was pierced by those cruel bolts rather than hers. Having stripped her of her armour you stand there, staring at the bolt sticking out of her. You can clearly see now that it's pierced her between her armpit and her left breast. There's so much blood, some of it already dry and caked on her caramel-brown skin. Leuna looks up at you. "You're going to have to cut the tunic off me. The blood is sticking it to the wound." You blink at her, but then you realise the sense of her order. Clearly she can't do it herself. Taking a knife from the saddlebag of equipment Kalbasa left you, you cut the tunic from her shoulder and begin to peel it off. It's stuck with some blood, and so you use some water to help. Leuna grimaces at the stinging cold of it and at the rawness of the wound. Peeled back, her left arm and shoulder are bare. Her breasts are bound with a cotton wrapping which has been partly torn by the entry of the bolt. It, too, is caked thick with blood. "That will need to go too," she says, manages a weak smile. You do as she says. Your hands are trembling as you touch her, half worried that you'll hurt her, half ashamed of how the touch of her bare skin makes you feel. You cut through the layers of cotton and strip it back, baring her breast in the process. She's just as busty as you expected. You respectfully keep your eyes averted and apply some more water to the now-clear wound. You move to put down the knife, but Leuna stops you with her able hand. "Just one more thing needs to be cut," she says. You look at her in confusion, but as she smiles at you wanly you realise what she's talking about. The bolt. Sticking between the muscles of her arm and shoulder, there's no way she can remove it herself. And the barbs mean it will need to be cut out. And you're the only one that can do it. You pick up the knife, your hand shaking. It was hard enough cutting her out of her clothes, and now she expects you to cut into her body as well? But you have to. You've seen what happens to wounds where a foreign body has remained in the body to fester and poison the blood. At the thought, your hand starts shaking even more. Leuna takes hold of it with her good hand, but even that movement makes her wince. She struggles to smile as she says, "Hey. If you keep shaking like that, you're likely to cut my arm off." Her touch calms you. You feel hot with shame that in her time of need you're behaving like this, so you grit your teeth and get to work. - By the end of it, your hands are red with her blood, but on the scrap of bandage before you is the barbed head of the bolt: you managed to get it out. Leuna looks up at you as she spits the stick from her mouth and pushes a wad of bandages up against the freely-bleeding wound. "You did a great job," she whispers. "I barely felt anything." You look across at her wanly smiling face and you wonder how one person can have so much strength. You want to throw your arms around her and hug her, but your hands are wet with her blood, and she's wounded... ...and then there's that distance between you since last night. Leuna notices the confusion on your face and she sighs. "Can you help me with bandaging this up?" You nod. There's no time to be mooning around. You quickly wash your hands, douse her wound with water, apply some medicinal herbs to help fight infection and then bind it with fresh bandages. At last you're done. Leuna touches your hand with her good one and holds it against her chest. Her skin feels cool for some reason, possibly from the blood loss. "Your hands," she whispers. "They're not just pretty, are they? They're healing hands as well." She lays back, still clutching your hand in hers. You sit down beside her and help her to get comfortable. "I'm going to pass out for a little while," she says. "Don't go anywhere, okay?" You tell her there's no way you'll ever leave her side. The words come out so heartfelt that you groan inwardly at your how pathetic you must sound... but Leuna is grinning at you. "My, my. Is that a proposal?" She closes her eyes. "You know, if you weren't a merchant, I think you'd make an excellent squire. But a knight can't have a squire of the opposite sex. We always used to joke about it in the Academy. That we'd find some cute boy and make him our squire so we could boss him around. But it's impossible... impossible..." Her hand goes limp in yours and she slips away into unconsciousness. - You sit there with her for a long time, until it starts to get dark. With nightfall comes the sort of deep chill that can only be felt in the desert after the heat of the day bleeds out into the sky, leaving the landscape so cold that it's as if the rock has transformed to ice, especially under the light of the recently risen moon. But with your enemies looking for you to light a fire would be tantamount to suicide. Leuna shivers even despite the layers of bedding you've laid on top of her. You're worried it might be shock, and so you strip off the outer layers of your own clothing and add them to the pile. It doesn't seem to help, and you start to shiver yourself. Stupid. There's only one thing you can do. You slip in beside her under the layers of blankets, on her right side so that you won't accidentally touch her wound during the night. You squeeze up flush against her, giving her the gift of your own body heat. After a while he stops shivering and she murmurs and turns her head. Her eyes open and she smiles weakly at you. Under the moonlight, her pale face seems like it's been carved from marble. "My warm little squire," she murmurs, then falls back asleep. You breathe a sigh of relief. So it wasn't shock, just the cold. As you look at her face, you notice a trail of silver slip down one cheek. In Her Argent Embrace A tear. You turn over, your heart breaking, and it's a long time until you fall asleep. - You're having a nightmare. There's something else in the cave with you and Leuna. It smells like brimstone, its breath like hot, sour milk in your face. When it moves, it's the scraping of sandpaper against stone. It lets out a long, sibilant hiss. You try to open your eyes, but they're already open. You didn't fall asleep at all. It isn't a nightmare. Leaning over the two of you is a long wedge-shaped head. Narrow dark eyes glisten deep in gouges on either side of it. You watch, petrified, as it moves its head back and forth, opening its mouth to reveal row upon row of needle-sharp teeth as a forked tongue slips out to taste the air. A sand-drake. There's no mistaking it. About the size of a human, it's related to the dragon: a smaller, dumber, more aggressive relative. You say small, but relative to a dragon everything is small. This drake is about human size. It turns its head again and licks at Leuna's face with its tongue. Then it nuzzles the bedding over her wound and starts to hiss. You don't hesitate. You take hold of the edge of the blanket that's on top of all the bedding and you toss it over the creature at the same time as you throw yourself against it. it's taken by surprise as you knock it clear over, and in its confusion you manage to lock your arms around its scaly neck and pull it over on top of you and away from Leuna. You're left on your back on the ice-cold stone with the drake on top of you, crushing you, its claws digging at the air as it tries to find traction. You hold onto it for dear life, knowing that if you let go it will most likely bite your face off, or worse attack Leuna as she sleeps. "Leuna!" you cry. The drake starts to thrash around, the sharp spines along its back lacerating your clothes and skin and you cry out in pain. Its neck is too thick to choke it, and so you gouge it in the eyes with your fingers. It lashes its head back, smashing you in the face and you taste blood. You struggle to hold onto it, blinded with pain, but your arms slip from around its neck and you land on your back on the cave's stone floor. Then the dull pain in your head is replaced by needles of fire as the drake swings around and clamps its jaws down on your forearm. You scream in agony. The needles withdraw and you're enveloped in the stink of sour milk and brimstone. The drake is leaning over you, its mouth wide. You wait for the inevitable. There's a sickening crunch and you expect further searing agony. It doesn't come. The drake rolls off you, and in your pain-filled confusion you wonder why it would suddenly do that. But then you see Leuna. She's flung the bedding aside and one of her long legs is sticking out. She's kicked the drake clean off you. The drake scrambles to regain its footing but Leuna is on top of it in a heartbeat, locking her good arm around its neck and wrapping her legs around its serpentine body like a wrestler. With a twist of her hips she pulls the creature onto its side. The drake thrashes back and forth but Leuna is glued to it, hooking her feet together around its back and squeezing tighter and tighter with her thighs. She grunts and the drake opens its mouth, emitting a strident hiss. There's a sharp crack and the hiss terminates in a single, strangled shriek. Leuna has broken its back. While it lies there twitching, Leuna grabs the knife lying near you and once, twice, three times she drives the blade straight up into the creature's thrashing head. Shuddering, the drake's limbs go limp, its tongue lolling from its mouth as a death rattle escapes its gurgling throat. The entire fight has lasted maybe ten seconds, and you've watched it through a misty haze, almost as if you're drunk. You press your hand against the wound the drake's teeth made. It feels strange, now. The pain has been replaced by a weird sensation of spreading coldness. Of course. Venom. Sand-drakes are venomous. It's the reason they're teeth are so long and thin. They wait until their prey's heart stop from it and then dine on them at their leisure. Leuna has extricated herself from under the dead creature and is at your side now. You see her desperate face in the moonlight flooding into the cave, hear her calling your name from a thousand years and a thousand miles away. She goes away. Sharp pain in your arm, then warm wetness. Not blood, Leuna's mouth, sucking the venom from your wound, spitting it to the ground. You're rising up. Leuna's beautiful face, grimacing in pain as she lifts you. You smell her horse, and her. You're in her arms, seated in front of her, enveloped by her like when the two of you were escaping the ambush. The world is bounding up and down now like an earthquake. You're on horseback. You feel hideously cold inside, but around you there is warmth. The world about looks all white. Has it snowed while you were in the cave, fighting the drake? No, it's the moonlight. The landscape is drenched in it. Moonlight. You turn your head. The moon is staring down at you, flooding the world with her pure light. She's so beautiful, with her hair like pale yellow star-shine whipping about her face in an interstellar wind. "Hold on!" whispers the moon. She's dressed all in glowing silver, like an angel. "Hold on! Don't die on me! Hold on!" There's rain falling now. Warm rain on your face and neck. You ride out across the surface of the moon, over its snowy hills and through its icy ravines and across its fields of frost. Then all of that goes and you feel yourself slipping away. You wish you could have seen the moon's face one more time. Your heart is filled with love for her. But if she can't be yours, what's the point in living anyway? "Don't go," says the moon. "Please. Stay with me. Don't go!" She doesn't want you to go. You pull back. It feels so warm here, where you are. It smells so good, too. And that other place is so cold, cold and dark. You decide to stay here. But then everything grows darker and darker. Shadows spill over you, a deeper nightfall. You can't see her face anymore, but the moon's voice is ringing in your ears. "Please. Please. Don't leave me. I love you!" She loves you. The moon loves you. Your frozen body is filled to overflowing with sadness and happiness all at once. But you fall anyway, fall deep down into nightmare dreams of stone and scale and pain and sour milk. ---- Something is crushing your hand. You jerk awake in a panic, remembering your desperate fight with the sand-drake. But you're no longer in that cold cave of stone. You're lying on a smooth, cool bed, a sheet draped over you, and someone is calling your name. It's Leuna. She's holding your hand. That explains the crushing, then. It's your body's turn to be crushed as Leuna throws her arms around you and hugs you to her. She's saying something, something fast and incomprehensible between the sobs as she nuzzles her teary face into your neck. After a while you can make out what she's saying. "I thought I'd lost you, I'd thought I lost you," over and over again. You hear a cough and over Leuna's spun-platinum hair you catch sight of a young man dressed in a monk's habit standing there with a small tray of medicines. He's trying to hide a smile and failing, but then he shakes his head and his expression becomes professionally stern. "Now then," he says, trying to make his voice lower than it is. "Please don't mistreat the patient, milady. He's still as weak as a kitten after all the trials his body has undergone." You feel Leuna nod and then she sits back down on the chair beside your bed. Her blue eyes are swollen red and still streaming with tears which she wipes at with the back of one hand. You notice then that she's wearing a dress, azure with a deeply cut bodice embroidered with gold. You can't help but stare at her. It's the first time you've seen her wearing something other than her armour or her tunic and your heart races at just how beautiful she looks. The monk makes a tutting sound as he places the tray of medicine on a little table on the other side of the bed. "Welcome to Hiria," says the monk. He hands you a vial. "Drink this." You do as he says. It tastes vile and you start coughing. The monk shakes his head. "Of course it tastes terrible. It's tincture of lycoris root, the only known antidote for the bite of the sand-drake. The freezing element of the venom that brought you to the edge of death needs to be counteracted with heat and bitterness." He takes the vial from you and gives you another to drink. "You're extremely lucky. A few more hours without treatment and you would have died. Luckily, your friend rode through the day and night to get you here. You owe her your life." You look across at Leuna. At the monk's words she's turned away, blushing, and it's then that you notice the fresh scar on the side of her face. You lift your hand to it, asking whether the drake did it, but she shakes her head. "We ran into a few problems on the way," she says and explains that some of Lazgarri's men were waiting for you further down the coastal road. You gape at her. She risked the coastal road even when she knew it was going to be full of Lazgarri's men? "Of course I did," she replies, frowning at what she obviously thinks is a ridiculous question. "There was no time. No time to fight them properly, either. I cut down a few and broke through, but one of them got a lucky swing on me." She lifts her hand to yours. "Don't make that face. It's only a scratch." Your hand feels suddenly heavy and you take it from her face with great reluctance. You start to feel your eyes closing and you turn in panic to the monk. He grins at you, breaking his professional sternness. "Don't worry, it's just a soporific. You need your sleep. It's the only way your body will heal itself." You turn back then to Leuna. She still has your hand in hers, but she's holding it more gently now. Her eyes glisten as she looks at you and a single tear falls from one of them. She places your hand by your side, then, and takes hold of your shoulders as you start to sink back onto the bed, the air itself weighing you down with the weight of a mountain range. Struggle as you might, your eyes close. You feel the soft warmth of Leuna's lips against your own, the gentleness of her fingers as she strokes your hair, and hear her whisper "I love you." Or are you already dreaming? Who knows? All you know is that you love her too. - You wake again. The room is dark, but then a light springs into life nearby, glowing with the buttery yellow of alchemical power. The monk walks past it towards your bed, that accursed tray in his hands again. With the flickering light casting a chiaroscuro on his face, he looks somehow devilish. As he puts down the tray, you look about you, but there's no sign of Leuna. He pulls up the chair that she had used and hands you the vial. You drink it. Somehow, the second time it tastes even worse. You're about to ask him where Leuna is when he says, "She's gone." There's a surprising pity in his eyes and you feel your heart sink. Gone? "She asked me to give you this." He hands you a leather envelope and something that glitters with silver in the alchemical light. You take it and turn it over in your hands. Her clasp, the one in the shape of the crescent moon. "She stayed with you all day and night, you know. A whole week she kept vigil at your bedside before you woke." A week? "The struggle against the venom of the sand drake is no small business," says the monk. "For a long time we feared we'd lose you to it. When you regained consciousness yesterday, we knew the fight had been won, thank the Lord." He clasps his hand and raises his eyes to the ceiling then turns back to you. "She wept such tears after you returned to sleep as I've never seen before." He sighs. "I've been a monk all my life, so I know nothing of love, and sometimes I'm glad of it." The monk stands up. "I'll leave you to your thoughts," he says. "But be sure to get some rest. You're still very weak." He walks away, but then stops and over his shoulder he adds, "Just remember that old adage. 'Tis better to have loved...'" He falls silent and leaving the glow of the alchemical torch walks out into the darkness, leaving you alone. You put the clasp down on the bed and with trembling fingers you open the envelope. There's a letter inside, written on delicate paper in an exquisite, tiny hand. My dearest, I love you. Oh, why is it that I am only able to write those sweet words, only able to utter them when you cannot hear them? Would that I had been strong enough to say them to your face, but I am the basest coward. I feared that my voice would break mid-sentence and the words die half-spoken from my lips. Why am I no longer at your side? I have fled from you, wretch that I am, fled from love into the arms of duty. I fear you must forget me, my darling, forget what transpired between us. I was wrong to dally with your heart, full knowing that this time would come, that we would be separated by those cruel walls of the castle, you to go to your life as a merchant and I as a knight of the Regency. And yet, I cannot regret those embraces we shared, those embraces that I will never forget. And so take for yourself my clasp, that which before you was the one most precious thing to me in all the world. Now that thing is your name, the sweet name that will pass my lips with sighs and groans as I endure the torments of loneliness, remembering the soft gentleness of your hands, the warmth of your arms and the sweetness of your kisses. My heart is yours forever. Leuna. The letter slips from your trembling hand. Before you met Leuna you would have laughed at such flowery words and overwrought emotion, thinking them ironic, but you know her too well. It's the only language of romance Leuna knows. Every word of it is true, and it breaks your heart. You crush the letter to your chest, clutching her clasp in your other hand. Tears come hot to your eyes and you lie there, cursing fate and wishing that you'd been given the chance to see her one last time, if only to say goodbye. -- When you request to be discharged, the young monk tries to convince you to stay, but with little enthusiasm. The look on his face is knowing, the pity in his eyes unconcealed. You take out the money that Kalbasa left you, seeking to give a donation for your care, but the monk shakes his head. "The lady has already given one on your behalf," he says. Your face must have fallen, for the monk places his hand on your shoulder, wanting to say something, but in the end he just smiles at you. "May God walk with you and protect you," he says as you leave. It's afternoon and you walk out into the busy streets of Hiria. You're in the inner city, the cobblestone streets between the high marble buildings filled with people. For once you're happy for the crowds and you disappear among them, anonymous and alone in your sadness. You walk the streets aimlessly for hours. The famed street lights have just started bursting into glowing life when you finally decide to make for the merchant quarter to locate the contact your master gave you. And yet you quickly find your feet carrying you away from the port and towards the inner city again. Over the aisles of spitting lanterns the dark shape of the Regent's castle looms before you. You soon reach the nearest gate, wrought in iron and emblazoned with the sunburst of the Regency. A guard is leaning up against the wall, his halberd at his side and his helmet down over his eyes, but if you thought he was sleeping, you're soon disabused of the fact as one hand slips to the hilt of his weapon and the other pushes his helmet back. He glances at you then sighs and leans back up against the wall. "It's past curfew, friend," he says. "If you've business in the castle it'll have to wait for tomorrow. No need to spend the night in pursuit of gold when there are so much ale and so many eager wenches waiting out there in the sulphur-lit city." You tell him that the business you seek is of a personal nature, but beyond that you've no idea how you're supposed to explain yourself. You stand there feeling lost, but you know you have to try. Your words spark the guard's interest and he opens his eyes again. "A personal nature? Do you have papers, perhaps?" You shake your head. The guard sighs again. "I take it, then, that you're not expected." You shake your head a second time. The lady, you say, beginning to explain... At the word 'lady' the guard pushes himself up off the wall, looking at you as if seeing you for the first time. A smile spreads onto his face, but there's more sympathy than mockery in it. "Who is it?" he asks you. "A maid? One of the ladies-in-waiting?" A knight, you say. The guard's eyes go wide and he whistles. "You have a taste for silver, then, I take it. I guess it shouldn't be surprising, since you're a merchant." He chuckles at his joke. Then he sighs again and leans back up against the wall. "I feel for you, brother. I really do. But take this advice from a fellow who's been in love before. Try and forget her. See these?" He waves his hands up at the great beetling walls before you. "The walls aren't just there in case of enemy siege, you know. They're there to keep the city and the castle apart. You need to have a good reason to pass under them, and even then, they'll only let you stay there for as long as they need you. Then you'll be thrown back here with the rest of us great unwashed. Why, all my years as a guard at this gate I've only ever been inside the castle proper once." You stand there, knowing the truth of what he says. You stare up at the great dark walls of the castle. Loving hearts divided. Wasn't that what Leuna had said that night at the inn? But unlike a romance, there's no secret door or magic spell or friendly giant to help you. The guard watches you. "Don't even think it, brother. I saw a guy try and climb the walls once. He fell halfway up. It wasn't pretty." He places the helmet back over his face. "But there is a cure for love, my friend, beyond the embraces of the one you love, I mean..." And what's that, you ask. "Ale." -- The night is almost done. You've lost count of how many drinks you've downed in this little inn on the edge of the inner city and you curse the guard's advice. If anything, the ale has just made your heart more querulous and you sit there in your shaded booth, nursing your tankard and wondering how many more you have to drink to send you into the oblivion of sleep. The inn is quiet, with few people talking. Everyone seems there to drink and be alone with their thoughts. But all that changes when the front door crashes open and a tall, black-bearded knight bursts through, a young woman dressed in a leather jerkin crushed to his side. "Ale!" cries the knight. "Ale for a knight of the Regency!" You look up, hating him immediately, hating him for his noisy interruption, for the silver cuirass that reminds you of Leuna, and for the pretty girl at his side. Your bad luck continues as the knight seats himself at the booth next to yours. He pulls the girl onto his lap and she squeals, struggling to escape his eager kisses. "Ale!" cries out the knight again, thumping a first on the table. "Our throats are parched from defending you worthless whoresons out in the northern dales. Ale, I say, for a loyal knight of the Regency and his faithful squire!" You almost spill your drink. You stare across at the two, wondering if you heard right. The girl has removed herself from the knight's lap and has draped herself against him, stroking his beard and whispering into his ear. In Her Argent Embrace The smile on the knight's face drops away as his eyes fall on you. He gets up, leaning over the table. "What are you looking at, son?" The girl makes mollifying noises at him as you start to babble an apology. You were just surprised, you say, to hear him call the lady his squire. The knight's eyes harden. "She doesn't look like a squire to you? Son, she could unman you with her bare hands if she wished it." No, it's not that, you say. It's just that you've heard... The knight bursts into uproarious laughter, his beard shaking, and the girl joins in as well. "What? Men and women, kept separate? Where do you think you are? This isn't thrice-accursed Mendia, you know!" This isn't Mendia. You shove your hand into your purse and scatter more than enough coins on the table to pay for your drinks, and then you're out of your seat and running into the dawn-bright streets. - Six months later... "...they're not the worst batch of recruits I've ever been lumped with, but they're also far from the best." Recognising the voice of the drill sergeant, you look up from reloading your crossbow and almost take your finger off as the string flies back. There's laughter from your fellow trainee-squire beside you, but he quickly falls quiet. "Hey," he says, grabbing your arm as you suck on your smarting finger. "Hope you brushed your hair this morning. We've got another shopper." Shopping. It's what the trainees call it when a knight comes to look you all over in advance of choosing their own squire. You pick up your crossbow, load it and prepare to fire another wild shot at the target. Over the past six months you've become a more-than-decent shot, but you always make sure to forget everything you've learned whenever a knight is watching you. Because of that you've been here longer than everyone else, watching others who started the program after you get chosen by a knight and leave for their new posts throughout the Regency. It's earned you a constant stream of abuse from the drill sergeant and some pretty unflattering nicknames among the other trainees, but none of it has dampened your enthusiasm for your training. You fall asleep with her name on your lips, and its the first thing on your lips when you awake. Leuna. That beautiful name. You lift the crossbow's sight to your eye and left your hand lazily list to the right, ensuring the shot will miss the target completely. But then you feel someone come up behind you and rest their hand on yours, drawing the crossbow back to the left. It's a soft, warm hand, and the person it belongs to leans close to your ear and says, "Here. Let me help you." As you move the target back into your sights you suddenly recognise the scent of the person behind you and your hand starts to shake. The crossbow goes off, the quarrel whizzing across the field to miss the target and bury itself in the grassy slope behind it. Behind you, the drill sergeant snorts, half from anger and half from amusement. It's a sound you've some to know well. "Premature ejaculation every single time," he mutters. "You see what I have to work with?" But you barely hear him. The crossbow slips from your hands as you turn to look into the blue-on-blue eyes of the one you love. Leuna. Her hair's a little longer, tied back in a small ponytail, the scar she received at the hands of Lazgarri's men now just a pale line. But there's no change in the bright smile on her face, nor the way she starts to blush as you stare at her, barely believing it's her. "I don't think I have to look at anyone else," Leuna says to the drill sergeant behind her. "I've made up my mind." "This one?" His voice is thick with disbelief. "You must be joking. He couldn't fight his way out of a tightly-buttoned doublet. The only thing he's any good at is bandaging and healing." "Oh, I don't know," says Leuna, your hand still in hers as her eyes begin to glisten. "These pretty hands look like they're good at a lot more than that." The End In Her Bed "Hey, wanna sleep over tonight? My dad said it's ok, Heather went home." Jessica asked her best friend Sara. Sara and Jessica had been friends for what seemed forever, but what was really years. They met in the 7th grade, and were practically inseparable since then. Freshman year of college had just ended, and since Jessica would be away for most of the summer, she wanted to hang out with Sara. Her 5 year old sister had gone home, dad had gone out, and her brother agreed to leave them alone; leaving the house for the two of them to hang out. "Sure thing! I just have to wait for my sister's graduation from Elementary school to end. How pathetic! I mean seriously, who graduates from Elementary school?" Sara showed up around 9:30. The two of them decided to watch a movie for a little while, then just do whatever. When it ended, the two of them played Candy Land. Realizing how pathetic that seemed, they went online and chatted with people. "I'm getting tired," Sara said "Lets go to sleep." It was 1:45 in the morning, so Jessica agreed, and they went into her room. "Do you have a pair of shorts I can borrow? I didn't think to bring any." "Sure thing, I have a brand new pair I haven't worn yet." After much debate, Jessica persuaded Sara to sleep in her bed. She was being polite, and didn't want Sara to think of her as a bad host. They talked for a little while, and finally seemed to doze off. Jessica had been taking medication that kept her up at night, so she didn't fall asleep. Suddenly, she heard squishing noises emitting from her bed. The clock read 2:30, as she thought 'oh no, this isn't happening'. Sara was fingering herself on her bed! 'Oh my,' Jessica thought, 'I can't believe this is happening.' The idea of her best friend doing that on her own bed seemed disgusting at first, but as time went on, Jessica became very turned on. "Oh yea, feel my wrath." Sara had said at one point. This was driving Jessica crazy! How can she just sit here and let this happen? 'Please come over here, please.' Thoughts like this ran through Jessica's head. Finally, she got up and went over to the bed. She leaned over to Sara, and gave her a long, passionate kiss. "Oh wow, what's this all about?" Sara asked. "You've been sitting here making me horny beyond belief. You're on my bed, in my shorts fingering yourself. What do you expect me to do!?" Sara sat up and said "Listen, I'm sorry. I feel bad now. I really shouldn't have done that. But hey, you have to admit, you've done it before." "Yea! But not in someone else's house! I'm sorry, I shouldn't have kissed you. That was way out of line." "No, it wasn't. I actually enjoyed that." She leaned over and kissed Jessica again, and reached a hand up her shirt. She slowly ran circles around her nipples, and pulled up her shirt, removing it from Jessica's body. "Jess, you have no idea how long I've wanted to do this. I don't know why, but I have. If you don't want to, tell me now and I'll stop." "No, no. Keep going, I've always thought the same way." And with that, Sara leaned down and began to suck on Jessica's chest; leaving little red marks on each breast. Slowly, yet surely, she moved down her torso. Once she reached her shorts, Jessica pushed them off. "Oh my." Sara said as she saw the wetness on Jessica's panties. She pulled off her own shirt, and ripped off the shorts that she had borrowed. The two of them sat there, in just their panties, staring at each other. Neither of them had ever realized how beautiful the other was. Sara leaned over and kissed Jessica once again. They intertwined legs, and began to explore each other's bodies. This went on for about 10 minutes when Jessica decided to take it a step further. She slipped her hand down into Sara's panties, and slid it up and down her juicy twat. Sara moaned, and pushed off her panties. She had a perfect pussy; shaved, and nice plump lips. Jessica kissed and licked her way down, and stopped right above her clit. Then, all of a sudden, she pushed two fingers into Sara's awaiting hole. Moans escaped from her mouth as Jessica slid her moist fingers in and out. She gradually moved faster and harder, and brought her lips to Sara's clit. It seemed to be begging for release, so she poked out a long, hot tongue. And the touch of her mouth, Sara came all over Jessica's hand. Jessica removed her two fingers and licked them clean. She continued to suck on her clit, and licked her pussy clean. Sara pulled Jessica up, and kissed her. She wanted to taste herself, and her saliva made it all the better. "Give, and you shall receive." Sara said in a very erotic voice as she moved down. She stopped at her breasts, and sucked on each nipple until they stood firm and erect. Once she was finished with that, she pulled Jessica's panties off, revealing yet another perfect pussy. Jessica had her hair shaved into a spiral design, with the lips silky soft. She was wet and ready. Sara reached into her back and pulled out a shiny silver vibrator. 'Why would she be carrying this around?' Jessica thought. Sara turned it on low, and slowly inserted it into Jessica's awaiting hole. She slowly pumped it in and out, the humming sound getting louder then softer. She moved up and kissed Jessica as she fucked her. When Jessica began to beg for more, she turned up the intensity gradually. While she was doing so, she began to suck Jessica's clit. What a wonderful feeling it was, having your best friend fucking and sucking you at the same time! Moments later Jessica came all over the shiny toy. Sara licked it clean, and spun herself around so her now again wet hole was in Jessica's face. In this 69 position, the ate each other out until the other came at least twice. Once they agreed to stop and rest for a while, the phone rang. Jessica looked at the clock and saw that it was now 6 a.m. She had a blanket over the window, so her room remained dark. Her brother answered the phone and called for Jessica. Throwing on a robe, she ran into the other room and picked up the awaiting phone. "Are you there?" a familiar voice asked. "Yea, hey Ryan, what's up?" Jessica said, in shock that he would call this early. "Nothing really, I was wondering if I could...um...come over today. You know." They had been planning to get together and one point and fool around, so this almost seemed perfect. She explained the situation she was in at that point to him, and he quickly agreed to come over and take part. Sara came into the living room and asked what was going on. Jessica explained that Ryan was going to be over around 8, after her brother had gotten on the bus for school. They had breakfast and watched "Dazed and Confused" while waiting for Ryan to arrive. Sure enough, he did. He walked in and gave Jessica a kiss. She introduced him to Sara, and he shook her hand. For a while they talked, getting to know each other. Jessica walked into the kitchen and came out with a bottle of champagne that she had hidden from her dad. She poured each a glass and they went into her room. After a little bit of chatting, Jessica and Ryan started feeling each other's legs up and down; going higher each stroke up. Ryan leaned over and gave Jessica a kiss, and laid her down. Sara sat there watching. He stripped himself naked, and removed her robe. He kissed all around her body. She reached down, and began to stroke his ever-hardening cock. He moaned, and pushed himself hard into her now wet pussy. He started off slowly, for she was very tight and he didn't want to hurt her. Little did he know, she was still a virgin. He continued rocking back and forth. The moans coming from the both of them became louder as the grew close to cumming. Ryan started to go much faster, slamming is rock hard shaft in and out of Jessica's hole. She started to shake violently and with one final scream of ecstasy, she let go; her inner walls contracting. Ryan tried to put out, but once the feeling of her walls pulling him in started, he just had to let go. He let his creamy white fluid shoot into her insides, splashing the walls of her silky passage. He collapsed atop of her, and regained his breath; letting his dick go limp in her pussy. Throughout this whole ordeal, Sara had been fingering herself to her best friend being fucked. She got up, and went over to the two of them. She laid down, and licked up the spunk that was oozing from Jessica's twat. Ryan turned Sara around, and began eating her from behind, in turn positioning his cock right above Jessica's face. She began sucking him lightly at first, tasting their juices combined. She eventually moved faster, getting him hard once again. He pulled his now hard dick out of her mouth, and pulled Sara hard on top of him. His hardness filling her virgin ass. She let out a scream, for it hurt slightly; but she eventually became accustom to it, moving up and down. He stroked Jessica's pussy while fucking her best friend in the ass. Each of Sara's downstrokes were met by an opposite push up from Ryan. Jessica eventually got up, and kneeled above Ryan's mouth. He shoved his tongue into her hot, dripping hole. Both tongue and dick were pushing in perfect unison. The thought of getting with two girls always crossed his mind, and he was now living out almost every teenage boys dream. The best part about it is that they were best friends, so they'd most likely be willing to do it again with him. He began to pump faster into Sara's ass, and reached a hand around to her pussy. He shoved two fingers into her dripping hole, and twisted them around. She was now being double fucked, something the never deemed possible in her mind. Moments later, by some coincidence, they all came at the same time. Jessica in Ryan's mouth, Sara on Ryan's hand, and Ryan in Sara's hot ass. They were all sweaty and covered in cream, so they all decided to take a shower. All together they cleaned every inch of their bodies, massaging and licking in the warm water. Once finished, they dried off and laid on Jessica's bed, falling asleep with in each other's arms. In Her Brother's Arms NOTE: The sister in the story is 18, the brother about 20-21. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Teak woke up slowly, and got dressed for school. She wasn't fond of school, but she didn't hate it either. But she did stick out like a sore thumb there. It didn't matter to her though, she was an artist in the musical field, her guitar playing was far superior than most of her teachers. This school she was going to now was the only one that could challenge her to new heights in her guitar playing. After she got dressed in her torn jeans and short tank top, baring her stomach, she pulled on her single hand only glove and her full length glove that went up to her shoulder, then pulled on her tennis shoes. Heading downstairs, she stopped in the living room and picked up her guitar and started playing softly, knowing her older brother liked to be woken up like this. Her eyes closed as she played her guitar, losing herself in the music once again. Hearing footsteps over her music, she smiled, knowing her brother was awake, but not willing to get pulled from the music. She finished the song, her own creation, and then slowly opened her eyes to look up at her brother. "Morning." He glanced at her. Sort of. It was hard to tell, as his eyes were barely open. He groaned a bit, and shuffled into the kitchen to get some coffee. He was NOT a morning person. He mumbled something unintelligible in response to her greeting, then shuffled over to, sat down, and began to drink his coffee, sitting with his head near her guitar. This was a usual thing. He was useless till he fully woke up, so he'd drink coffee with her music playing right near his head. It normally worked, as it did today. Before long, he seemed more bored than tired. It was then that he looked up at her and smiled. "You are too good to your brother, you know that? I'm half tempted to lock you up in this house so you can't leave me." He chuckled a bit at that. Teak smiled down at her brother, her eyes saying without words how much she loved him. "Hiro, you know that I love to play for you. It's our morning ritual. I don't know how you'd be able to move into an apartment without my music to slowly, gently wake you, along with your coffee. Besides, you were the one who got me my guitar, and started teaching me." She wouldn't say no if he did decide to keep her with him that way, but she wanted it to be something he really wanted. She loved her brother, more than anything else in the world, wanted to be with him forever, but she knew that no one would understand how she felt about him. She knew that he was the one that hung the moon outside her window, making sure that the dark inside her room at night couldn't harm her. She had believed that since she was a baby, since he was just a couple years older than she was. Her hand slid from her guitar to rest lightly over his chest, as she looked down at him, still unhappy that he had left his band, though she understood why he did. They had been assholes towards her, and trying to make him feel like he couldn't do anything right. She knew better, and when she told Hiro about what one of them had said about her, that had been it for him. He left the band fast. He'd been even more protective over her since their parents had died, not wanting anyone insulting her, or being rude towards her or anything like that. His attitude towards her was like she was his girlfriend when it came down to anyone messing with his baby sister. And she loved her brother. He was the sun to her moon, the other half of her soul. Hiro placed a hand gently over hers, smiling up at her. "You have a very good point there, sis." He finished his coffee, and then stood up. "So, tell me what's going on at school today. Any tests, projects, big lectures, what?" He always asked this on his days off from work. If there was nothing she needed to be in school for, he'd let her stay home. He could always tell when she was lying about it though. She hadn't lied to him, except once. Apparently, his disappointment in her over the incident convinced her not to lie again. Teak thought about her classes, and shook her head. "Nothing today, but I have a big English test next week. And you know how good I am in that class. I'm miles beyond what they have us doing in the AP class. Other than that, I'm supposed to practice my guitar for music class, and in two weeks, there's a test in biology. Those are the only things I know about coming up." Carefully setting her guitar down, she stood up and grinned at Hiro. "What do you want for breakfast this morning, Hiro?" The second part of their morning ritual was she would cook him breakfast while he showered or called the school saying that she was not going to be in today, and every morning, she asked him what he wanted, and she would make it for them both. It was the one way to get her to try things she hadn't tried before, and sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn't. He thought for a moment. "Hmm...Surprise me." He grinned, and pulled out his phone, dialing the school. After explaining that she was sick, he promised to pick up any important work she missed, and hung up. "You are lucky I'm able to come up with a new excuse every time. I'll be taking a shower. As always." He then went back upstairs. When Hiro came back downstairs, he had a towel wrapped around his waist, tied, and his hair was still a bit wet. He always did this. Came down naked, aside from the towel, to eat breakfast. He had no idea that Teak would actually like that. Teak slipped over to her brother, and gave him a kiss on the cheek, a soft, "Thank you, Hiro," slipping from her before he headed upstairs, then turned to the kitchen, deciding to spoil her brother today. Pulling out the pans first, she started them heating up as she looked over the waffle maker and the two frying pans she had out. Reaching into the cabinet first, she pulled out the batter mix for waffles, and read the back to make sure what needed to be added to it, then added it, and went into the fridge to pull out the blueberries and set them to the side to be added them to the mix after she made Hiro's waffle. Putting the blueberries back, she pulled out the bacon, eggs, ham, shredded cheese, onions and peppers. She pulled down a bowl and cracked the eggs into it, adding her own set of spices to it and mixing the eggs up to get them omelet ready. She diced up the ham into cubes, and the onions and peppers into smaller pieces. She put some bacon into one frying pan, poured some of the eggs into the other, and then mixed up the batter again before pouring it into the waffle maker. She pulled out some plates and placed paper towels on one for the bacon to go onto so she could take some of the grease from the pieces. She added the ham, cheese, onions and peppers to the eggs, and then flipped one half over the middle, and sliding his omelet onto one plate, then adding his bacon to it. On another plate, she added his waffle, and then carried his food to the table, seeing him coming into the kitchen in just his towel wrapped around his waist. Her brother's lean body stirred up a heat inside her that she was familiar with from all the times he showed up for breakfast in just his towel. Her eyes drank in the sight of his chest before she turned away, heading back to the stove, trying to get herself under control. She wanted her brother badly, and while she knew he loved her, it seemed more like an overprotective brotherly love than anything else. She put her bacon in the frying pan for it, poured her eggs into the other, and, after adding the blueberries to the remaining waffle batter, poured it into the waffle maker. When her eggs were almost ready to be folded, she added the ham, cheese and onions, leaving out the peppers since she knew she didn't like them. She flipped half of the eggs over, letting them cook a few more seconds, then slid her omelet onto her plate, and turned off that burner of the stove, then put the bacon onto the paper towel, degreasing them before moving them to the plate with her eggs and turning off that burner. Looking over her shoulder at Hiro, she smiled and said, "Can you get us drinks, Hiro?" When her waffle was done, she slid it to her other plate, and unplugged the waffle maker, letting it cool down before she cleaned it. Grabbing the silverware from the drawer for both of them, she carried her plates to the table, and sat down across from Hiro. Hiro nodded lightly, getting up, and walking past her to the fridge. "What do you want to drink? Milk, orange juice, soda, beer?" The soda comment seemed like a joke, and the beer definitely was. He himself rarely even touched alcohol, and there was no way he'd let her. He looked back at her, and raised an eyebrow. "Why are you staring at me? Am I doing something odd?" Teak grinned at Hiro. "Beer? Hah. As if either of us drinks that stuff. As for the soda, while I love to drink soda, I think either coffee or milk for both of us, Hiro. And a small glass of orange juice for me, though I still think you need to drink some too." She waited for him to join her, slipping her shoes off and under her chair. She was going to tease him when he sat back down. He chuckled softly in response, and soon returned, sitting down with two glasses of orange juice, setting hers next to her plate. "If that's what you want, Teak." He started to eat, paused, and grinned. "Delicious, as always..." Teak blushed as Hiro complimented her cooking, a soft, "Thank you, Hiro," slipping from her as she started to eat. She gave him a few minutes to eat in peace, and then slid her foot up his leg, teasing him. But as soon as she caught him either looking at her or starting to look down, she moved her foot back with her other one. She tilted her head as she caught a look of confusion on his face, asking him innocently, "What's up, Hiro?" He just looked at her for a minute, and then shook his head. "Nothing. Just my imagination." He yawned a bit, shifting a little, and stretching. If he'd had any idea of how she felt about him, he'd be aware that he was just going to drive her nuts, doing this. Teak shifted a bit in her seat as she clenched her legs together, watching her brother yawn and stretch, wanting to feel his mouth against her wet pussy, his lean body against hers. She suddenly got wet between her thighs, an ache building inside her to feel him taking her, making her his girl. Since he had teased her, she knew she was going to get him back, deciding to wait on her full revenge for his teasing actions. But for now, she could continue what she had done before, and let her foot stroke his leg again, pulling her foot back before he caught sight of her foot at his leg, teasing him. This time, however, he knew he hadn't imagined it. He glanced down, saw nothing there, and then looked up at her. He didn't let her know he knew though. He went back to eating, a look of confusion on his face. He was actually preparing. If she did it again, he'd be able to catch her foot, trapping it between his legs. Teak knew Hiro was a smart guy, and had probably figured out that she was the one teasing him with her foot running up the inside of his legs, so she waited until they both were almost done eating, then while he was distracted by his food, she ran both her feet against the outer part of his legs, teasing him again, pulling back moments before he looked down at his legs again. "Is something wrong, Hiro?" He glanced up at her. Now that was annoying. She'd managed to trick him into thinking she was done. "You are WAY too sneaky. Too devious. I may have to detain you, for the safety and comfort of the world at large." He finished his food, and got up, taking his dishes to the sink. His towel, unknown to him, had come undone a bit. One good tug would pull it from him, and Teak could see that, as he always tucked the towel at his back. He bent over a bit to put his dish in the dishwasher after rinsing it, and paused. "I wonder...these almost look clean...when was the last time I unloaded this thing?" He was talking to himself, but as always, it was loud enough to hear. Teak would know he was talking to himself though. She'd heard it enough times, after all. Teak gave him an innocent look when he called her sneaky. "What do you mean, Hiro? I have yet to do anything sneaky. Or devious. But if you want to detain me, you'll have to catch me first." She really wouldn't mind being detained by him, as long as he detained her in his room, on his bed with him over her, sliding his hard cock into her soaking wet pussy. She loved her brother, but she had yet to even have gotten a first kiss from any guy. She didn't want anyone else to even come close to her. Spotting that Hiro's towel was about to come off him, she grinned, being the mischievous little sister that she was, and finished her food, taking her plate over to Hiro, and handed it to him. "Here's my plate, Hiro," she said before her hand pulled the lower part of the towel, and running from the room as it fell to the floor around his feet. She glanced over her shoulder at him, and her eyes widened as she saw his thick shaft that was semi-hard. She wanted to feel that part of him inside her, but was slightly scared. She was a virgin after all. Heading upstairs, she slipped into her room and changed into something a little more revealing. Today was the day she was going to try to get her brother to fuck her, and take her virginity. He was the only male worthy enough of it. He took her plate when she handed it to him, then blinked, pausing as she undid the towel. Had he imagined that? He straightened, and turned toward her a bit, looking utterly confused. Then he looked down, and turned red. Had she seen that? Had she actually seen him semi-hard? He wouldn't want her to see that part of him at all, let alone in that state. He quickly covered himself, and reached for the towel, retying it. He then went upstairs as well, to his own room. He figured he should probably get dressed now. He came back downstairs in his usual "day off" look. White t-shirt and blue jeans. He also brought his guitar, since Teak usually asked him to play something, so he came prepared, so he wouldn't have to go back for it. Since it was now a day off from school for her, Teak quickly changed into a pair of short shorts that just barely covered her assets, and a figure hugging tank top that always accented her chest, pushing her breasts up and making them bigger than they were. She left off any socks or shoes, since they weren't planning on heading out anywhere, and she hurried back down the stairs, a mischievous smile on her lips as she figured what she would ask her brother to play today. Maybe she should give him a challenge, or maybe, she should just ask him to play her body. She was sure she could make more music than just the guitar by itself. He glanced up as she entered the room, and felt himself get completely hard. Had she always looked like that? He shook his head to clear it. She was his sister. Such things should not enter his mind. Still, it was hard to avoid it. She looked beautiful. Very sexy. If she wasn't his sister, he'd eagerly go after her. "Isn't that a bit of an odd outfit for sitting at home, Teak? You are dressed like you're going clubbing. And by the way, if you ever try to go anywhere dressed like that, I will not allow you to leave the house." Teak smirked at her brother, shaking her head. "I wouldn't wear this to go clubbing, Hiro. It's not like I could even get into a club anyway. There's not much here for teenagers to do on Friday or Saturday nights. The movies or the bowling alley. That's it. As for this being odd for sitting around the house, no, it's what I usually wear on Saturdays or Sundays when you're working, otherwise you would have seen it on me before now. But if you want, I can go change into something else." He held up a hand to stop her there. "No, no. Stay in those clothes, if that's what's comfortable for you." He didn't want to inconvenience her. On top of that, he had to admit he liked the way she looked, sister or not. Looking was okay, after all. It was like art at a museum. Just because he couldn't touch, didn't mean he couldn't appreciate the beauty of it. "So, what would you like to do today, sis?" Teak blushed as she thought of many things she wanted to do, most of them involving the two of them in bed, naked and sweaty. But she didn't know if her brother would be all that interested in that. Then she heard the voices of the boys who had teased her for so long at school, telling everyone that the reason she wouldn't go out with anyone is because she wouldn't kiss a guy, let alone put out for them, and they had given her a new nickname. The Ice Princess. Little did they know that she was not bothered one bit by their words, since she knew why she never gave those that spoke like that the time of day. She had friends that knew she wanted to wait for the right guy. But even her friends didn't know who the right guy was. "Hiro, I... never mind. It was a silly idea." Hiro smiled kindly. "No, tell me Teak. What is it? I'll decide if it's a silly idea or not." He chuckled a bit, watching her, always eager to make her happy. "Besides, I wanna hear your idea." He set his guitar aside, his hands on his knees as he waited for her response. He was still enjoying how she looked; already having convinced himself that it was fine, so long as he didn't get any ideas. "Well, I.... I want.... to go to the beach, or something. I'm getting too pale, and I need some kind of tan, but I hate just sitting in the back yard." It was almost obvious that she had changed her mind about what she wanted to say, hiding it in her confusion. She wanted him to teach her how to kiss. But she didn't know how to bring it up to him yet. Something needed to happen to make her ask him. He raised an eyebrow, knowing that wasn't what she'd first meant to say, but he'd let it go for now. "Well, if that's what you want to do, then we will go to the beach." He smiled lightly, and stood. "Go get your bathing suit." He went upstairs himself, and simply changed his pants to a bathing suit. He'd take his shirt off at the beach. He came back downstairs, and called upstairs, knowing she'd already gone up to get her stuff. "I'll meet you in the car." He grabbed his keys, and went out to his car, a black convertible. Starting the engine and putting the top down. He started moving through radio stations, trying to pick a good one. Teak grinned at her brother and raced upstairs; pulling her clothes off the second she entered her room, her door still wide open. Then she dug through her drawer, pulling out her newest bathing suit, a black bikini, and pulling it on, the pulled on another pair of shorts and a t-shirt. The last time they had gone to the beach together, and Hiro had seen her in a bathing suit had been before their parents had died, and she had worn a one piece back then. Now she was developing into a young woman, and she had a bikini this time. A mischievous smile crossed her lips as she thought about what his reaction might be when he saw her in her bikini. She raced down the stairs, grabbing a couple of large towels for them to lie on, and slipped her feet into a pair of flip flops before slipping out of the house. She grinned as she slid into his car, putting her sunglasses on as she turned to pull on her seatbelt. "I'm ready, Hiro." Hiro smiled, finally setting the radio where he wanted it, and put his own seatbelt on. He backed the car out of the driveway, and headed down the road. He glanced over at her briefly, managing to not take his eyes off the road. "You look so excited. You must have wanted to go to the beach for awhile. Should have told me earlier." Teak smiled at him, shaking her head slightly, feeling the wind blowing through her long hair, making it stream out behind her. "But I liked our movie days, and music days, and mall days, and everything else we've done. And I just thought about the beach." In Her Brother's Arms He nodded lightly. "Gotcha. And you're right; we do have a lot of fun together. I wonder if that's a normal sibling thing, or just us." He smirked, and continued toward the beach, turning the radio up a bit. Teak grinned at Hiro, thinking about it, and then piped up, "I think it's just us, Hiro. From what I've heard from my friends with siblings, they can't stand each other. But then again, they haven't gone through what we have that pulled us closer together. We were always close, but now, we're tight." As soon as she finished speaking, one of her favorite songs came on, and she sang along with it, giving the masculine vocals a damn good feminine compliment. Soon, though, she saw the beach approaching, and she seemed to straighten up in her seat, eager to strip off her clothes and reveal her bikini to her brother. She was anticipating his reaction to the sight of her in it. Hiro watched her, as much as he could with out taking his focus off the road, and enjoyed her singing. When she stopped, straightening up, he smirked. "Really excited, I see...well, here we are..." He pulled his car into a spot near the beach, and cut the engine, reaching over and slipping the car keys into the back pocket of her shorts. "No pockets on me, sorry." He got out of the car, then went around and opened her door. He bowed, joking around. "After you, ma'am." Teak bit back a moan as she felt her brother's fingers brushing her ass as he slid his keys into her pocket. She forced her reaction back as he walked around the car, giving him a bright smile as he opened the door for her with a sweeping bow. She gave him a light slap on the arm, a chuckle slipping from her as she looked at her brother, saying, "You're incorrigible, Hiro." She grinned up at him, and then grabbed the towels and other things they had brought from the house. "Lead the way, Hiro, to where you want to set up our towels at." He nodded, closed the car door, and started down toward the beach. After only a moment of looking around, he found a good place, and stood there. "Here is good. Now hurry up and set them up, and strip to that cute bathing suit of yours." He stuck out his tongue then. He figured she still had a one piece, and was being a goof. He had no idea what he was in for. Teak laid out the towels, and took her shorts off, showing Hiro her long legs, her ass hidden by a piece of black fabric with little sparkles of color throughout it. Then she gathered the hem of her t-shirt, and slowly pulled it up, revealing her trim tummy and slender back, then the small bikini top covering most of her breasts. She bent over to place her clothes in one pile, giving her brother a good view of her ass. Hiro's eyes widened with shock. He had not expected a bikini. She looked absolutely beautiful. He had never seen so much exposed skin on Teak before. He swallowed a bit, and immediately sat down on the towel, hoping she would not notice his hardening cock. If he'd stayed standing, she definitely would, since his bathing suit was not good for hiding such things. Teak laid down on her stomach, propping her head up on her hands, her elbows digging into the sand below the blanket. She sat up quickly, remembering her suntan lotion, and rummaged through the rest of the things she'd grabbed and groaned softly as she realized she had forgotten it. Sighing, she mentally shrugged it off, mentally saying she would just have to remember to turn over occasionally so she didn't burn. Laying back down, she undid the straps on the top, not wanting tan lines on her back. She would just have to remember to tie them again before she moved onto her back. Hiro was very good at looking at something, without anyone knowing he was looking. He appeared to be looking around, admiring the beauty of the beach, when he was actually focused on Teak. He couldn't help it. Sister or not, she was absolutely beautiful. He got a bit red as she undid the straps of her top, but managed to hide it. He could only imagine what she'd do if she knew what he was thinking. Probably drown him. Teak snuck a peek at Hiro, wondering what would happen if when she turned over she 'accidentally' flashed him her breasts. Would he get mad at her, or would he get turned on? That was the question that ran through her mind. She figured she would do fifteen minutes or so per side, not wanting to get sunburn too fast. So she waited until she felt like fifteen minutes had passed, and flipped over, forgetting to fix her straps first. Hiro's jaw dropped, his eyes widening, as Teak turned over, her exposed breasts in full view. After a moment of blatant staring, unable to help himself, he turned away, covering his eyes. "Um, Teak, you, uh...you're, uh, not covered." If she were to look, she'd see that sitting down was no longer an effective way of hiding his now rock hard cock. He hadn't noticed yet. "Huh? Wha..?" She looked down and blushed, seeing that she had forgotten to tie up her bikini top, and quickly pulled the straps around her neck, tying them, then grabbed the lower straps, and tied them. While she was tying them, she turned to look at Hiro, and noticed that he had apparently seen something he liked, because he was sporting a decent sized hard on under his swim shorts, and she wanted that hard on. Since his eyes were covered, and his hard on hadn't subsided any when he'd noticed her, she guessed that it was for her. She softly whispered, "Thank you, Hiro. I forgot to tie it back up after I turned over." He nodded quickly in response. "You, uh, covered now?" His hand covering his eyes was also covering the blush, and also kept him from noticing just how noticeable his hard on had become. Teak got a wicked idea, and grabbed his free hand, bringing it to her breasts, so he could feel the fabric covering her soft swells. She bit her lower lip at the feel of her brother's hand on her breasts, loving how her breasts fit into his hand. She wanted her brother so much, and was more than half tempted to put her hand over his hard on, and massage him. Hiro tensed a bit, resisting the very strong urge to squeeze her breasts. "Point made..." He pulled his hand away, trying not to let her know he didn't want to. He uncovered his eyes, glancing at her. "So, you just are going to lay there in the sun the whole time? Not going to swim, build sand castles, nothing?" He grinned, knowing that, while she'd used to love building sandcastles when she was younger, she probably didn't have the same interest. Teak chuckled at her brother's words, watching his eyes glance at her. "Nope. I'm gonna get some sun, and check out the guys on the beach." It was only one guy she was going to be checking out, but he didn't know that. There was only one guy that held her interest at all, and that was Hiro. He felt a pang of jealousy at that last comment, and was shocked by that. He couldn't believe he was even attracted to his sister, let alone jealous about her looking at guys. What he did next just shocked him more, only because he did it for her. He pulled off his shirt, and lay down on his back, now that his hard-on had faded, and closed his eyes. "Well, if you are just going to lie there, I have no reason to keep an eye on you." He was silent for a moment, and then sat up. "Shit, sunscreen." He dug in the small sports bag he had, and pulled out the sunscreen that he, unlike Teak, had remembered to bring. He quickly put some on, then set it down, stretching a bit. Teak gave her brother a small glare, angrier with herself for forgetting than him for remembering. "Umm, Hiro. Can you put some of that on me? I forgot mine." She was touched that her brother was gonna lay out in the sun with her, knowing that he usually loved to head out into the water, and with the waves they were having today, he was probably kicking himself in the ass, since he could be out there, on a board, surfing and having fun. But she knew if she said anything about it, he'd stalk off, going to head into the waves, but it wouldn't be as much fun for him, because he'd be pissed in the first place. He looked over at her, and nodded. "Alright..." He picked the sunscreen back up, shifting closer, getting it into his hands, and waiting for her to either lie down or sit up, however she was to be positioned as he applied the sunscreen. Teak stretched back out on her back, giving her brother her front side to put the lotion on. "Thanks, Hiro," she said softly, her violet eyes shining with happiness. She closed her eyes only when she felt her brother applying the lotion to her exposed skin. Hiro paused, his eyes traveling over her body for a moment. "There's not much I can do here, Teak. I don't think you want me rubbing this lotion on your chest and such. Anyway, where you want this stuff?" Teak pouted at her brother, saying, "Would you rather I get cancer, Hiro? Or would you rather I call Rick to come out here and put it on me?" Rick was her best friend, and treated her more like a sister than anything else. Unknown to Hiro, Rick was gay, but he never let on to anyone other than Teak. There were times that she felt guilty that she couldn't confide in Rick about how she felt about Hiro, but no one would understand her feelings for her brother. "I promise, Hiro, I won't bite." She grabbed his hands and pulled them to her chest, biting back a moan of pleasure at the feel of her brother's hands on her. "I already flipped from my back, Hiro, so I really need it here, and sunscreen always makes my hands too oily. So I really need you to do this for me, Hiro. And next time, I'll remember my stuff and then you can just spray me with it." He hesitated, and then sighed. He couldn't really fight her logic at the moment. He began to gently rub the lotion into her skin, ignoring her chest at the beginning, instead working on her arms and shoulders. He then moved to her stomach, and once done there, her legs, though he didn't go near her thighs, or anywhere that was close to her pussy. Teak sighed softly, "Hiro, do you want me to be splotchy? If I wanted that I could have stayed home under the trees, and gotten that effect from the leaves. And I could have sunbathed naked. It's not like you haven't seen breasts before, Hiro." She grabbed his hands and pulled him up to her thighs, resting his hands just above her knees as she said softly, "Please, Hiro?" He paused again, and sighed, gently massaging the lotion into her skin at her thighs, all the way up to the lining of her bikini bottoms. She was right, after all. His hands moved back to her chest, applying the lotion to every bit of exposed skin, trying hard not to blush, and even harder to keep his renewed erection hidden. Teak barely held back another moan of pleasure at the feel of Hiro's hands on her again. She was totally in love with, not just crushing on, her brother, and right now he had his hands on her body. She felt like she was in heaven, and never wanted this to stop. But she knew her brother wasn't comfortable with having his hands on her, putting on her lotion. "Thank you, Hiro." He smiled lightly, continuing to rub in the lotion. He was starting to get used to get used to it, and certainly liked having his hands on her. Besides, it was best to get the lotion properly applied. "You're welcome. And you were right; it is a question of your health, after all." Teak hesitated in asking, and then smiled at Hiro, saying softly, "Hiro, can you get the lotion just under my swimsuit edges as well? I mean, I don't want to burn along them, or have a darker tan around the edges of my bikini." A deep blush crossed her face as she asked her brother this, he might think she was embarrassed, but she really wanted to feel his hands on her more. Hiro hesitated, and then nodded, blushing as well. It was almost like she knew what thoughts had crossed his mind, and wanted to mess with him. He got the lotion on the tips of his fingers, and just barely slid them under the edge of her bikini top, running his fingers along her skin there. Because he was using only his fingertips, the touch was more delicate, and probably felt good to her. He knew this, but didn't think she'd like it, considering it was him doing it. He really had no idea how she felt about him. Teak barely held back her moan as Hiro's fingertips slid so lightly over her breasts just under the edges of her bikini top, so close to her nipples. The knowledge that his fingers would be doing the same thing so very close to her core sent a thrill of awareness through her, and she started aching between her legs, wanting so much more from her brother. But she didn't know how to get him to do anything with her. He'd probably be disgusted with her if he knew what she was thinking, how much she wanted to make love to her brother. When he'd finished, he shifted down toward her legs, and hesitated. He then put more of the lotion on his fingers, and began to apply it to her skin under the edges of the bottom part of her bikini, at the waist first. When he'd finished, her went to the part at her legs, starting on the outside, moving slowly toward her inner thighs. He knew that if he slid his fingers just a little bit further under the fabric here, he'd be touching her pussy. Just a bit further from there and he'd be crossing a serious line. He managed to do it without fail, though knew he'd brushed her pussy at one point. He pulled away, wiping the excess lotion on his own bathing suit, still red. "There...done." Teak tried not to squirm as her brother put the lotion on just under the fabric of her bikini bottom, a faint blush still on her face. Leaning over to him, she kissed his cheek, saying, "Thanks, Hiro. I still can't believe I forgot to bring my suntan lotion. You are such a sweetheart." She lay back on the towel, closing her eyes as she let herself soak in the rays of the sun. He nodded, smiling weakly. He watched her lay down, then just sat there, looking around. He would have lain down, but if she looked over and saw his hard on, he'd never live it down. After a little while she flipped to her stomach, looking over at Hiro, a smile on her lips. "Hiro, can you put some lotion on my back? And please get under the straps of my top, ok?" He looked over at her, and shrugged. "And I suppose the edge of the bottom as well again." He again got the lotion on his hands, and began to rub it into her back gently, going under her straps without hesitation this time. It was only her back, after all. When he got to her ass, however, he was less comfortable, again putting the lotion under the edges. Teak grinned as she looked over her shoulder at Hiro, replying, "If you don't mind, Hiro." As he massaged the lotion into her back, she did let out a low moan, saying in a soft voice, "God, Hiro, this feels like you're giving me a damn good back massage." She held her moans back, though, as he moved down, sliding the lotion under her bikini bottoms again. He raised an eyebrow. "You sound like you want one, Teak." He stretched again, looking at her. He then looked away, having imagined those beautiful lips of hers in a very naughty place. It disturbed him that such thoughts could enter his mind at all. Teak smiled at Hiro, not knowing where his mind had gone and settled down, laying her head on the towel. After a couple of minutes, she looked at him, and said, "You know, Hiro, it's kinda hot out here today. Can you get me a drink?" He smiled softly, nodding. "Sure thing, Teak. I'll be right back." He got up, and walked off to get her a drink, still trying to shake certain thoughts from his mind, yet trying to cling to them at the same time. Teak watched her brother head to get them both something to drink, her eyes glued to his ass, then laid her head back down. She hadn't seen some of the guys from school show up, but she soon heard them. "Hey, there's the Ice Princess." "Yeah, no one can get near her." "She's stuck up." "Do you know she won't even kiss a guy?" "Do you think she even knows how to kiss a guy?" "Nah, she's too stuck up her own ass to have ever tried to kiss a guy. Besides, there's no guy in the school that would give her the time of day, let alone a kiss." She barely held back tears as she heard their words, and quickly slipped her sunglasses on. Standing up, she pulled on her shirt, then her shorts, and gathered everything together. Slipping the towels over her arm, she held Hiro's shirt, and waited for him to return. When Hiro returned, seeing that everything was gathered up, he was more than a bit startled. "Teak, what's up? Why did you-" He cut himself off as he looked at her. Her sunglasses may hide her eyes, but not the tears slowly traveling down her cheeks, He moved closer, seeming concerned, then just changed. The soda can in his hands seemed to explode as he squeezed so hard it burst, and looked around, eyes narrowed. "Where the hell....where is the person who....Teak, where are they!?" She would know this mood. Whenever anyone upset Teak, Hiro was likely to cause them severe bodily harm. Restraining orders and assault charges were never filed, because they were always too scared of what he might do to them. He was a very kind man, but if anyone ever hurt Teak, he made sure they paid for it. Teak grabbed her brother's arm and shook her head. "Hiro, I just want to go home. Please?" She headed for the car, dragging Hiro behind her, determined to put those boys out of her mind. So what if none of the boys at school liked her enough to kiss her? She only wanted kisses from Hiro. She wanted to feel Hiro inside her, she wanted him to make her his in every sense of the word. He struggled at first when she dragged him toward the car, wanting badly to hurt the people who made her cry, but eventually relented, putting a gentle arm around her till they reached the car. He got into the drivers seat, starting the engine. He'd take her home as she asked, and try to salvage the day. He wanted her to be happy, no matter what. Teak leaned into his arm, trying not to make the day worse for them by crying more. She just wanted to go home, maybe watch a movie with Hiro, and somehow, get him to kiss her. She moved as close to her brother as she could in the seat, still upset, but trying to hide it. It wasn't long before they were home, Hiro having rushed, and he got out, helping her out as well. He locked the car again, taking his keys inside with him, and shut the front door. He just hugged her then, holding her close. "I don't know what happened, Teak, but I'm sorry. Let's just try to forget about it, yeah?" Teak leaned into Hiro's arms, hiding her face against his chest as he held her. After a few minutes, she looked up at him, taking her sunglasses off. "Hiro... Will you teach me to kiss?" Hiro could only blink, startled by her request. "Wait, what?" He seemed confused. Had he heard her right? "Did you just ask me to teach you to...kiss? Or did I imagine that?" Such a comment was not something he had ever expected from her. Teak gave Hiro a watery smile as she looked up at him. "You didn't imagine it, Hiro." Her smile trembled as she waited for him. "Or are they right? Am I too stuck up for any guy to give the time of day to, let alone kiss me?" His eyes narrowed at her words. "Don't you ever think such things about yourself, Teak." He sighed, pulling away from her. "What kind of kiss are you talking about? How serious are we talking here? Just lip contact? Or are you talking, like...making out kind of kissing?" Teak slipped her hands into Hiro's, her bottom lip trembling as she looked up at him. "A real kiss, Hiro. Not just a peck. I want to learn how to kiss right. Please, Hiro? Will you teach me how to kiss?" He hesitated, aware that this could be crossing some sort of line. But he could not refuse her request, not when it seemed to mean so much to her. "Alright...if that's what you want, Teak..." He gently took her face in his hands, his eyes searching her face, as if wondering if she was really serious about this. His thumb stroked her cheek lightly, and he smiled nervously. After just another brief moment of hesitation, he brought his lips to hers; kissing her like she wanted, like he would a girlfriend, his lips moving against hers, his tongue against hers. In Her Brother's Arms Teak slid her arms around his neck, her lips parting gently under his, letting his tongue slide into her mouth, stroking hers, and drawing her tongue into a dance with his. A low moan of pleasure slipped from her as her eyes closed and her body pressed closer to his. When she moaned, he was at first thinking he should stop, since she seemed to be enjoying the kiss a bit too much, but he couldn't do it. His hands slid from her face, one to her neck, and one into her hair, his fingers twining there as he kissed her more deeply. He knew it was wrong, but he couldn't help it. It really just felt amazing. Teak felt his hands sliding from her face, one slipping around the back of her neck, the other tangling deep into her hair as the kiss deepened. She felt herself wanting more than just this kiss from Hiro, wanting Hiro to take her to her room, to take her virginity and teach her about making love to a male. He continued to kiss her more passionately, pulling her closer, until his hand slid down to her breasts, squeezing softly. He instantly broke the kiss, pulling away, and put his hands on the back of his head, looking a bit wide-eyed and just plain off. "Okay, that...was not right...uh, okay, sorry, that was, uh, heheh..." He seemed a bit hysterical, and left the room, flopping down on the couch, and turning on the TV, trying to clear his head. He wasn't aware of his hard-on. Teak slid herself deeper into the kiss, moaning softly as she felt Hiro's hand slip to her breast and squeeze it softly. As soon as she moaned, he pulled away; seemingly embarrassed by where his hand had gone to, thought it seemed perfectly natural to her. He practically ran into the living room and flopped down on the couch while she stood there, her fingertips barely touching her lips. When she had the mental capacity to once again walk, she walked into the living room and the first thing she could see was Hiro's hard-on. She giggled softly as she asked, "Is that because of me?" He looked up, confused, and then followed her gaze. "Shi..!" He immediately grabbed one of the throw pillows, and covered himself. "Jesus..." He didn't answer her question. It didn't need answering, anyway. He'd prefer she assumed it had nothing to do with her, but he wouldn't lie to her. So he just didn't answer. Teak knelt beside Hiro, a small smile on her lips as she said, "Hiro... that kiss was amazing. And..." Her face turned a brilliant shade of red as she looked at him, unsure of how to continue what she wanted to day. How does one tell their brother that she has been in love with him for years? What she said made him a bit uncomfortable, in many ways, one of them causing pain in his pants. Still, he listened, and could tell she had something important to say. "What is it, Teak? What's wrong? You can tell me...I mean, hell, I just kissed you, simply because you asked me to. Obviously, I'm an understanding guy..." Teak ducked her head, the brilliant blush still visible on her face, finally deciding to just tell him flat out how she felt. "Hiro, I love you. I always have, and I don't mean it in a sisterly way. You are the reason I'm not interested in other guys. When I said I was gonna be looking at guys at the beach, there was only one guy worth my full undivided attention, and that's you." He was silent for a long moment, just staring at her with wide eyes. He had not expected this. Finally, he cleared his throat. "Umm...Teak... do you think maybe you...are mistaking some feelings, here?" He knew she wasn't. She'd always been very intuitive about the emotions of others and herself. And she knew that he knew. "Teak, I...I really don't know what to say or do here...I mean, I'm not at all upset about this, cause, well, you can't control your feelings, it's just...I just don't know what to do..." Teak just shook her head as she listened to her brother's words, and then smiled as she though about what she truly wanted. Leaning down, she kissed him again, gently bringing his hand back to her breast. Against his lips, she whispered, "Touch me, Hiro. Please." He was frozen with shock at first, trying to sort through everything that was happening. And then he gave her breast a light squeeze, massaging gently. He couldn't help it. Partly because she had asked him to, partly because he wanted to. Teak moaned softly, enjoying the feel of her brother's hand on her breast, softly squeezing her. Her back arched slightly, pushing her breast into his hand. She kissed him again, pouring her heart into the kiss. As much as he knew how wrong it was, he returned her kiss passionately, after only a moment's hesitation. As he kissed her, his hand still massaging her breast, the other arm having hooked around her waist, he found himself realizing that he'd been wanting to do this, been wanting to be with her in this way. How strong that was, however, he did not know. Teak finally broke the kiss, trying to catch her breath as she stared at him, her love showing in her eyes. She flipped them over on the couch, now lying underneath him as she whispered, "Hiro, I want you. Since I started masturbating, I've fantasized that it was you I was doing it for. Will you... will you make love to me, Hiro?" He froze, tensing up, as he heard her words. Images flooded his mind after certain comments, like the fact of her pleasuring herself. More than that though, when she asked him to make love to her. He had no idea how to respond to such a request. Except...except that he wanted her to be happy. "Teak...what you are asking...it's wrong; you know that...I mean, we are brother and sister...." He was silent for a moment. "Is that...is that what you really want, Teak? For me to...make love to you?" Teak laid her finger gently on Hiro's lips, stopping him from continuing on with his words. "Hiro, it's what I've wanted for years, but didn't know how to tell you. And if you look at nature, the animals of the world, brothers and sisters, fathers and daughters, mothers and sons, all of them going at it together, fucking, mating, breeding. It's natural, not wrong. Only humans made up the morals that made how I feel for you to be wrong. But I know it's not. It's a pure, innocent love. I just want my brother to make love to me. I want to lose my virginity to you, Hiro. There's no one else I think is worth giving myself to like this." He didn't say anything for a very long while, seeming to think things over. Sometimes he watched her, others he watched the floor. Finally, after a lot of thought, he sighed, and smiled weakly. "Teak, if... if that's what you truly want...alright. I just want you to be happy, and...." He sighed again. "I can't pretend I've never had...well, thoughts..." Teak smiled up at him and pulled him down to her, kissing him deeply. She didn't want him to change his mind about making love to her and she ached for him. Whispering softly to him, she pulled back slightly and said, "My room or yours, Hiro? Or right where we are?" He returned her kiss just as deeply, unable to help himself. At her question, he wasn't sure what to say. "One of our rooms...which is up to you. I just know that the couch is not very comfortable for something like this. It's too small..." He got off of her, helping her up as well. He led her upstairs, then stopped, his nerve failing him. Teak slipped her hand into Hiro's as he stopped in the upstairs hallway. "Hiro, my love, it's not going to be that bad." I hope, she thought to herself as she pulled him into her room, then turned and kissed him. He seemed to have really gotten into kissing her earlier; maybe it would help this time too. Hiro smiled lightly at her words, startled as she kissed him again. He doubted he'd ever get used to how things were changing. Still, he found himself, diving headlong into the kiss, loving it. When the kiss was broken, he laughed slightly, nervously. "I'm not thinking it's going to be bad, Teak...it's just a very big change from the way things were..." Teak grinned at him. "Let me guess... You never pictured your baby sister growing up on you like this? Well, I had to grow up, Hiro, but I'm always gonna be your baby sister, but I also hope I can become your baby girl." Her hands slid to his waist and then under his shirt, pushing it up his chest and quickly pulled it over his head then pulled her shirt off, her bikini top still on, covering the nipples on her breasts, and some of her breasts, but not all of them. She pulled his hands up to her breasts, letting him play with her breasts as she reached behind her and untied the strings. Only his hands were keeping the fabric between his palms and her breasts. Swallowing hard, he simply watched her actions, not doing much else. He shifted a little with his hands on her breasts, becoming increasingly aware of just how hard he was. It was painful. And, of course, there was something he couldn't help but do, despite everything. He lifted his hands, letting her bikini top fall, and just stared at her absolutely beautiful breasts. He sighed, and lightly massaged her breasts, unable to really help it. As much as he'd try to deny it, he wanted this. Teak moaned softly as Hiro's hands covered her bare breasts as he massaged them. As he caressed her breasts, her hands slid down to her shorts and unfastened the button, then unzipped them, letting them slide down her legs, leaving her clad only in her bikini bottom and flip flops. She slipped her feet from her flip flops and hooked her thumbs under the waist band of her bottoms. He seemed to get a little dizzy when she was left in nothing but her bottoms, but was fine. His breath caught, and his eyes met hers tentatively. This was a completely new threshold. He wanted this, he honestly did, but he wasn't sure...he couldn't tell whether he should stop it or not. He was confused, highly, but braced himself against those thoughts. This is what Teak wanted, and it would make her happy. Therefore, he would do it. Teak groaned in pleasure as she met Hiro's eyes, letting her body move closer to his as she lifted her lips to his, kissing him deeply. Her thumbs pulled at the waistband of her bikini bottoms slightly, slipping them over her hips, letting them fall down her legs until they landed in a pool around her feet. Daintily, she stepped from them, closer to him, her body completely nude in front of him know, her arms slipping around him as she continued to kiss him deeply. This was it. They were approaching the point of no return. Teak was completely naked in front of him, and he was only wearing his bathing suit, since she'd removed his shirt. If anyone had ever suggested in the past that he'd be in this situation with her, he'd have thought them crazy. Now, it almost seemed...right, in an odd way. It felt so good just to kiss her, to feel her skin against his. He held her close, and in his mind, he'd accepted what was happening, wanting it. Admitting to himself that he'd had these thoughts for a long time now was hard, but he did it. He wanted Teak just as badly as she wanted him, it seemed. Teak slid her hands down to his waist, pushing down his bathing suit from his waist; her fingers skimming his waist and hips. Her body pressed against his, her bare breasts pressing against his bare chest, soft, low moans of pleasure slipping from her as she leaned back, falling onto the bed and pulling him down on top of her. The movement unnerved him a bit, but he went with it. He hadn't been wearing anything under the bathing suit. He was highly aware of the fact that his hard length was pressed against her inner thigh. He was quite sure he'd never been this hard before. Her moans were driving him a bit crazy; he loved the sound. He looked into her eyes, breathing a bit heavily. He wanted to say something, anything. But his mind was blank, except of a rush of thoughts about her body, how it felt, how her lips tasted, how badly he wanted inside her... Teak looked up at Hiro, her love for him shining in her eyes. Her own thoughts were following along similar lines as his, her hands tangling in his hair, pulling him down to her, kissing him deeply, her lips parting against his, a low whimper of need urging him on. The feel of his hard length against her thigh was almost more than she could bear, so close to her core, yet so far. She wanted him, needed him, and yearned to feel him inside her. He sank into the kiss, subconsciously shifting, and the tip of his length resting at her entrance now. He shivered a bit, the feeling quite amazing. "I...never thought I would do something like this with you, ever...but...I want to..." His hands were running slowly over her body as he tried to prepare himself for what was about to happen. He couldn't yet bring himself to actually enter her. Teak shivered in desire as Hiro ran his hands over her body, stroking the fire inside her. "Hiro, I never imagined myself with anyone other than you. You are the only one I want. I love you, Hiro." She shifted under him, trying to get him to enter her. He hesitated for a moment longer, and then gave her a soft, loving smile. "I love you too, Teak..." Slowly, gently, he slid into her until he reached her barrier. After another pause, he pushed through, sliding his full length into her, filling her. Teak moaned softly as Hiro slid into her, stopping as he found her barrier, then cried out in pain as he pushed through it, taking what she had offered him, her virginity. He felt so good inside her, right up until he broke through her barrier. She felt herself relaxing around his hard cock, her body adjusting to having him inside her. He waited then, stroking her cheek lovingly to distract her from the pain. When he could see the pain leave her, he began to move slowly, pulling out a little over half-way, then pushing back in, pumping into her slowly. Teak smiled up at Hiro as he gently, lovingly caressed her cheek, her mind quickly going from the pain of loosing her maidenhead and turning to the love she felt for him, and he for her, the thrill of him deep inside her, filling her body with his hard length. A low moan slipped from her as he started to slide out of her, then back in, slowly pumping into her, each gentle thrust designed to bring more pleasure to her. He watched her reactions, gradually moving faster, giving her the time she needed to get used to him. Still, he wouldn't go very fast. He'd take this slow, savor it. He kissed her lovingly, his hands still caressing her body. Teak returned Hiro's kiss, her legs wrapping around his waist as he started moving faster into her, still slow enough to gradually bring her pleasure higher, his hands fanning the fire of passion even more as he caressed her body. She moaned into the kiss, her lips parting under his, giving him access to her mouth. The kiss grew more passionate, yet Hiro was still being incredibly gentle in every movement he made. He was treating her as if she was a precious, fragile thing, which needed to be treated carefully. Delicately. He reached a steady pace, and stayed there, though made sure to plunge as deep as he could into her body, loving how it felt. He kept on kissing her, his hands focusing more on her breasts now, massaging them, his fingers teasing her nipples lightly. Teak groaned as she felt Hiro plunging deep into her with every stroke of his hard cock. She writhed under him, loving how he felt inside her, never wanting him to stop loving her like this. His hands settled in on her breasts, massaging the firm round globes as his fingers teased her nipples, making her cry out softly in pleasure. Her hips bucked up into his, wordlessly begging for more. Without warning, he suddenly shifted his body, and lifted her up a bit so she was a little bent. The result was that he was reaching even deeper into her with each thrust. He began to kiss her right breast, and then took her nipple between his lips, suckling softly, his left hand giving her other breast attention. Teak cried out softly as Hiro lifted her, changing the angle of his thrusts into her, going deeper into her. Moans slipped from her as he kissed her right breast, her head thrashing on the bed when he took her nipple into his mouth, sucking on it, a low cry of delight ripping from her, while his hand continued to massage and tease her other breast, making it ache for his mouth's attention as well. Almost as if he had sensed it, he switched breasts, now suckling on the left one, his hand massaging the right. He was thrusting a bit faster now, but was still being incredibly gentle with her. Teak whimpered for more, as her pleasure built up inside her, bringing her to the brink of her first orgasm. Her hands came up, her fingers sliding into his hair as she held him to her as he sucked on her breasts. Her head pressed into the bed, lifting her up to meet him as she screamed out in pleasure as she climaxed. "Hiro!!!!" Her orgasm, her scream of pleasure, her juices coating his cock, and her walls clamping down on him, pushed him to the edge, and he groaned loudly in pleasure as he came, filling her womb with his cum. He continued thrusting even as he came, but slowly stopped as his cum finally stopped pumping into her. It had been a long time since he'd had sex, and the backed up semen had finally come out, and it felt wonderful. Though it was still mostly because of Teak herself. Teak kept her arms and legs wrapped around Hiro, holding him to her as he filled her with his cum, and even afterwards, just enjoying holding her brother close to her. "I love you, Hiro," she whispered between pants of breath as she held him and snuggled close to him. He smiled lightly, kissing her softly. "I love you too, Teak...though I still can't believe we did that....God I wanted it though..." Teak kissed Hiro back, holding him closer to her. "I guess you like the way I got you to make love to me, Hiro. I've wanted you since I first learned about the differences between men and women. You're the only one that's good enough for me, big brother. No one else could ever live up to you." He raised an eyebrow, and smirked. "I think you took the concept of looking up to your older sibling a little too far, Teak. But again, can't really complain. Though people are sure to get at least a little suspicious over time. I know the way you work, Teak. People will start to wonder, simply because of the way you'll look at me. On top of that, won't people notice the fact that we don't date and we are unusually close to each other? How could an actual relationship work, seriously?" Teak tilted her head on the bed as she looked up at Hiro, thinking. Slowly a devilish smile crossed her face as she said, "After I graduate, Hiro, we can move somewhere else, somewhere no one knows us, and then we can behave however we want to. Until then, you can tell people who get nosy that you don't want to date until I'm done with school, and I'll tell people who get pushy and nosy that I want to concentrate on my schooling and I don't want to get distracted by guys until after college. Then when we move, we can move into a place, already a couple." He blinked, and chuckled. "You've been planning this for a long time, haven't you?" He shook his head, obviously amused. "Another problem though. What if you got pregnant, hmm? If it happened before we move, since I'm assuming you are not going to let things stop here, there will be that problem, of people wondering. If it happens at all...well, considering we are brother and sister, if you got pregnant, the kid would have all sots of birth defects, unless there was some sort of huge miracle." Teak nuzzled Hiro, softly saying, "Baby, I won't get pregnant. At least, not while we're here. Mom had me on the pill to regulate my period. I just got my prescription renewed last week at my doctor's appointment, so I have it for the next year. By the time I need a new prescription, we'll be getting settled into a new place. And they say the babies of closely related people have birth defects, but if you actually look at nature, animals interbreed with their own family, and they don't create babies with birth defects. Instead, it strengthens their bloodline. But I wouldn't create problems, even mental ones, which have not happened yet. Let's just take it one day at a time, Hiro." In Her Daddy's Bed Author's Note: Welcome to my latest story! Well at the end of Sharing Mom...with dad I asked readers to vote on what they wanted next. Mother/son or Father/Daughter. Between public comments and private feedback the winner by one vote was father/daughter. So here we are! Father daughter is not really my forte, but the few that I have done are all for a friend of mine, one of the few who know what I write and who has had some serious daddy fantasies. She said her favorite was a very simple one. Slipping into her daddy's bed and seducing him. As an added challenge I was asked to do this from "daddy's" pov. So this is for a very naughty woman who knows who she is. I hope you enjoy. LC "Daddy?" I opened my eyes to see Heather sitting on the edge of the bed. "You okay hon?" I asked, trying to clear my head. "I had another bad dream about Mom." She put her head down, "Can I sleep with you, daddy?" I didn't answer right away. Heather had been doing this a lot lately and although the first few times I didn't have any issues with it, I was starting to wonder if it were a good idea. Daughter or not, the idea of an eighteen year old girl sleeping with a forty two year old man wasn't exactly appropriate. Speaking of the word appropriate, Heather's attire was far from it. The skimpy white tank top that left her smooth flat stomach exposed and was so tight it was obvious she wasn't wearing a bra. Heather's tits were small, but the top was clinging to them and I could see her nipples were hard. Speaking of hard, I felt my cock stirring between my legs and quickly lowered my eyes. There was no relief to be found when I saw she was wearing a pair of tiny red shorts with lace around the edges. She had one of her long legs stretched out on the bed and I found myself staring at her inner thigh. The shorts had ridden up and were bunching between her legs. "Can I daddy?" "I...I don't think that's a good idea, Heather." I said, trying to keep my voice steady. "Please?" She was staring at me with those big blue eyes and I felt myself waver. Her mother had gotten anything she wanted with those eyes and her daughter had learned to use them as well. My aching cock reminded me of the other ways Heather's mother had gotten what she wanted. Linda had been a bitch and at the end a cheat, but damn she was hot and Heather took right after her. That throbbing between my legs caused me to shake my head, "Really Heather, I think you need to get over this and stay in your own room." "You...you don't want to be close to me?" I started to answer, but stopped when she began to pout. I swallowed hard as her lower lip started to tremble and I had the overwhelming desire to lean forward and kiss her. "Heather, I think that's the thing, I uh..." I paused and shrugged. "I think you're getting a little too close to me." "But you like me close to you daddy." She smiled. "What do you....?" "You like your little girl next to you, that's why you're hard every night I'm in your bed." "Heather!" I exclaimed, trying not to sound nervous, because she was right. "That's not true I...hey!" I cried out in surprise when Heather reached out and yanked the sheet away from me. I was only wearing a pair of boxers and my hard cock was standing at attention in them. "See daddy," she giggled, "He wants me in your bed!" "Heather..." "And that's where I want to be," she said, sliding closer to me. "In my daddy's bed, and," placing her lips to my ear she whispered; "With my daddy inside me." "Honey please, you're my..." "I'm your little girl," she purred in my ear causing my cock to twitch, "your good little girl." She sighed, "Mom was mean to you. I want to be good to you." I gasped as she slid her hand into the waistband of my boxers and grabbed my cock. I tried to protest, but catching me by surprise, Heather pushed me, causing me to lie back on the bed. I tried to sit up, but stopped when she rolled over on top of me and slid down between my legs. She was still holding my cock and licking her lips said softly, "You're so hard for your little girl!" I fought back a moan at the sight of her small hand with its slender fingers wrapped around my cock. I lost the fight when she started pumping it in her hand. I placed my hand on her shoulder and started to try to push her away. Heather resisted and before I could sit up, opened her mouth and took my cock deep inside it. "Oh God!" I moaned as she began quickly bobbing her head. Heather moaned as she sucked my hard into her warm wet mouth. Her big blue eyes were looking into mine and her long blond hair looked amazing fanned across my thighs. I tried to tell myself this was my daughter, but somewhere the sick and horny part of my mind called out she's also a hot little thing and wants this and who would know? Heather was sucking faster now and her other hand was rubbing my balls. I let my body relax and leaned back on the pillow to watch my barely legal daughter suck my cock. Seeing I was no longer resisting, Heather giggled around my cock and slowed her sucking. I watched amazed at the sight of her beautiful young face surrounding my dick and began breathing hard. I hadn't had anything, but my hand since Linda left four months ago and Christ her mouth felt good! I started to wonder how much experience she had sucking cock, but my thoughts were interrupted when she removed my cock from between those luscious lips and standing up on the bed between my legs, pulled her shorts down. My eyes widened at the sight of her bald pink pussy and as I lied there, too stunned to move, Heather dropped back to the bed, straddling my hips and reaching back, guided my cock to the entrance of her pussy. "Oh, I've wanted this so bad!" she moaned and with no hesitation, impaled herself on my.... I jerked awake with my heart pounding and my cock throbbing. I closed my eyes and forced myself to take slow deep breaths until my body calmed down then sighed disgustedly. You're a sick bastard Jim, thinking about fucking your daughter. As it had in my dream that sick voice which had been becoming louder and louder lately started up again. Fact was the girl was hot as all get out! No red blooded male could look at Heather and not immediately imagine what it would be like to fuck her. I pushed those thoughts from my head. I was horny and thinking with my dick. I hadn't gotten any since Heather's whore of a mother had announced she'd been fucking boss for the last year and had decided to move to Florida with him; immediately. The second half of that bitch's shocking declaration was that she'd spent enough of her life as a parent and that Heather could stay with me, seeing I loved playing house more than having fun. As devastated as I was, my pain turned to rage and as far as I was concerned Linda could contract syphilis and die an agonizing death. Heather on the other hand, my heart went out to. She was as sweet as she was beautiful and an honor student who had just earned a scholarship to Providence College. She was far better than her mother deserved and despite the fact Linda had never exactly been a great mother, Heather was still heartbroken. That heartache and feeling of abandonment had been causing her to have nightmares of her mother either dying-not exactly my idea of a nightmare- or telling Heather she'd left because of her. Those dreams had led to Heather asking if she could sleep in my bed on the nights she was afraid to go back to sleep. I probably shouldn't have let her, but felt sorry for her and had no idea what else to do. Heather and I had always been close, as Linda was never very affectionate with her and I loved her being "Daddy's girl". Since Linda screwed, Heather had grown even closer to me. When I was home she was by my side and seemed upset whenever I went out. She seemed obsessed with whether or not I was going to move on, always asking if there was a woman I thought was going to take her mother's place. Lately I had been getting the eerie feeling Heather was looking to be that girl. Always affectionate, she was now all but hanging on me and there were times her kisses on my cheek were coming dangerously close to my lips. Anytime I looked at her she was staring at me and I was starting to wonder if she were really having nightmares and wasn't just looking to come into my bed. As I had dreamt, Heather was beginning to dress rather scantily around me now. In the beginning if she came into my bed, she would be wearing baggy shorts and t-shirts, but lately, she'd been wearing very little. Those skimpy outfits weren't limited to her nighttime attire lately either. Although she dressed modestly when she went to school or her part time job at Target, when she was home Heather was dressing like a cast off from a bad porn movie. Skirts so short I could almost see her ass cheeks, tight tops that showed off her tits and lately the pony tail she always favored had given was to her wearing her long blonde hair down. She'd also been wearing a lot of make-up and in general seemed to be trying to make herself look older. I kept telling myself not to look. For all intensive purposes, Heather had lost her mom and was putting more affection on me than was healthy. By looking, and worse, by fantasizing about her, I was doing the same. I was a decent looking guy and had no issues with women. I could get out there and meet someone, but instead was staying home and admittedly enjoying Heather's extra attention. I was obviously giving her more than enough attention, to the point I was having not just dreams, but day time fantasies of her as well. Just yesterday I'd come home to find her by the pool in a red bikini that was so revealing my initial reaction was to tell her to get her ass into the house and change. Six months ago I'm sure I would have done that. Instead I simply tried to go into the house, because I didn't feel comfortable going near her. That's what I told myself anyway. Fact was I couldn't stop staring at her. I'd gone straight into the bathroom where the window looked out over the pool and as Heather lied there on her stomach sunning herself, her sick father pulled his cock out and jerked off to the sight of her perfect little ass in the string bikini bottom. My cock, which had been shriveling as I thought of Linda, began to swell while I envisioned the thin strip of material that had barely covered my daughter's pussy. I wondered what that pussy would look like. I imagined it would be pink and smooth. It would also be tight as hell. As far as I knew Heather had only had sex with one guy that she'd dated for almost a year. That was another arousing thought. She would not only be tight, but not very experienced. I would be able to make her cum harder than she'd ever imagined. I shook my head and sighed; I'd never really thought of young girls before, but when you spent a few nights lying next to one it was hard not to. My cock was now throbbing again and knowing I wouldn't be able to go back to sleep unless I took care of it, I slid my hand down my stomach and reaching into my boxers, grabbed it. As I began stroking my cock, I rolled my eyes at the thought that here I was in my early forties spanking it like a teenager. On the note of teenagers, my mind again became filled with images of my sexy little daughter. I went back to my dream and moaned softly at the memory of her lips around my cock and the way she'd looked at me while she blew me. There was a part of me that told me to stop, Heather loved me as a daughter loves her father, not the way she would a boyfriend. But my cock was hard and I'd be lying if I said the idea of fucking her wasn't a hot one. Just thinking of how sweet she would taste and what she would sound like when she came on the tip of her father's tongue....I gasped and started to pump my cock harder as I imagined her little squeals. I had my legs closed and as I furiously stroked myself, I spread them open to take the pressure off my balls. I jumped as my leg hit something and jerking my head to the side, my eyes widened; Heather was sleeping next to me. When my leg bumped hers, she made a soft sound in her sleep and rolled over towards me. I slid over quickly so that she didn't get close enough to press against me, especially my still hard cock. Heather nuzzled her face into the pillow before sighing softly and settling back into sleep. I wondered how long she'd been in the bed. Normally she woke me up and asked, but then again, last time I'd hesitated before saying yes, mainly because of the tiny little shorts and silky little top she'd been wearing. As always I'd caved. But after spending an hour with my cock hard, I'd slipped out of the bed and jerked off in the bathroom and the next morning told her maybe she should try to tough it out next time she'd had a nightmare. Now she just slipped in without giving me the chance. I told myself to roll over, put my back to her and go to sleep, but my window was open and I couldn't help but look at her in the moonlight. Heather really was nothing short of beautiful. Her soft features were peaceful and I smiled when I noticed her lips were pressed into a pout as she slept. I leaned closer and had the urge to gently press my lips to hers, to feel their softness. Heather's long blonde hair was fanned across her shoulders and back. I noticed all I could see on her shoulders was two thin black straps and wondered what the hell she was wearing now. "Go to sleep Jim." I whispered, "Do the right thing." Instead I succumbed to my sick desire to check out my daughter and grabbing the sheet slowly lifted it. Oh, goddamn I thought and my aching cock agreed. Heather was wearing a black silky top that left a good part of her upper back bare. I took in the smooth skin and resisted the urge to caress it. My eyes wandered down to see that the top didn't go all the way down, leaving her lower back exposed as well. I continued to let my gaze slide down and caught my breath at the sight of the lower half of her ensemble. Heather was wearing what looked like just a pair of black panties. They had bunched up; leaving her right ass cheek exposed and the sight of her soft curve of her firm little ass caused another surge to go through my now dripping cock. Heather's legs were stretched out and unable to help it, my eyes wandered down every inch of her well shaped thighs and calves. I returned to stare at that adorable ass and imagined spreading those cheeks and sliding my tongue down through her... "Can't sleep daddy?" I jerked my head up, to see Heather's blue eyes staring at me. I swallowed nervously, wondering if she had seen me gawking. "I...um...no." I said with a shrug. Heather smiled and said, "I couldn't either, until I came in here." Her smile widened, "I like being in your bed." "Yeah well..." "Daddy, why were you looking under the sheet?" she asked. Oh, you stupid shit! I'd been caught red handed. Thinking with surprising quickness, I shrugged. "I wanted to see what you were wearing." "Do you like it?" she smiled and sitting up, put her arms out. I was confronted with the sight of her barely concealed tits and tried not to stare at them as she continued, "I know you like black so I wore this for you!" Oh shit, I thought, there was getting to be no doubt that Heather was thinking about me as more than her father right now. "Yeah, well uh..." Ignoring my aching cock and the desire to just go ahead and give my little girl what she wanted, I made the effort to be a father, not a pervert. "That's the thing Heather; I told you last time you need to stop wearing things like that, it's not proper." "But you're my daddy, you're not supposed to look at me like that and I'm really comfy." I felt myself relax, that last remark sounded as if she might not be thinking anything more than what she'd just said, which would make me more of a perv, but at least.... "Besides," she shrugged, "When I'm alone I sleep naked, so these are my jammies." Naked. Oh goddamn I thought as my mind began conjuring up those images. "Do you want me to change Daddy?" she asked, "I'll go back to my room and put on something else." She gave me the pout. "Do you want me too?" "No," I said then yelled at myself for being weak, "That's okay, but let's just go back to sleep okay?" "Okay!" she smiled happily. Heather's big smiles never failed to make me smile back, and tonight was no exception. She'd been through a lot lately and I felt good I could make her happy. "Good night honey, sweet dreams." I said as staying on my back, I moved over a little more and closed my eyes. "Or not so sweet ones." she giggled, causing my eyes to pop open. She didn't speak again and risking a glance over to her I saw her eyes were closed. I also saw she was lying on her side with her tits were almost falling out of the top of her shirt. I licked my lips at the sight of the swelling of her smooth young breasts and had to turn away before I pulled her damn shirt down and started sucking on them. This would be it, tomorrow I would tell her no more and I would start locking my bedroom door. If her nightmares kept up I would take her to talk to someone. I closed my eyes and tried to ignore my throbbing cock. I'd been so worked up; I could feel my precum dripping on my thigh and thought about slipping out and jerking off. I forced myself to remain where I was. For one I didn't want to wake Heather up and risk anymore contact tonight. In addition to that I needed to get over this and stop stroking to my damn daughter. I began to take slow deep breaths and pushed my thoughts towards Kim, a pretty brunette at the office who was also recently divorced, we'd been talking more and more and maybe it was time to ask her to dinner. Kim had been giving me some signals and maybe spending a night with an attractive woman my age would make me forget about the hot teenage blonde next to me. I began to relax and eventually my thoughts faded into nothingness as I fell back to sleep. ***** I jumped at the feeling of something sliding across my chest and opening my eyes saw Heather's arm draped across me. As I blinked the sleep from my eyes and became more awake I noticed I had stretched my arm out and Heather had rolled right into me. Her head was resting on my shoulder and I could feel her long hair tickling my chest. I could also feel her warm breath on my neck. Knowing this was going to be a problem, I prepared to move. That's when I stopped and my eyes widened when it occurred to me that I could feel a lot more than her breath. I became aware of the fact that I could feel her tits pressing into my side. Her bare tits. Holy shit, she was naked! I lay there for a moment waiting to wake up, but when she lifted her leg and drape it over mine I knew this was no dream. I gasped out loud when she slid closer and I felt the heat of her pussy along my thigh. I stayed motionless unsure of what to do. Well I knew what I should do was get the hell out of that bed and go sleep on the damn couch. Yet I stayed there, my mind racing with the thought that she had stripped and was pressing her young tight body against me. My daughter wanted me. She was probably awake and waiting for me to react. I stayed where I was, feigning sleep and wondering if I didn't move if she'd go any further. It was everything I could do not to lift the sheet and look along the length of her nude form. My cock was hard within seconds and again I yelled at myself to get out of... My thoughts trailed off as Heather started rocking her hips, causing her pussy to slide along my leg. My heart started beating faster as her smooth hot skin rubbed along my thigh. I started breathing heavier as I could feel my leg getting wet beneath her and could now feel her very hard nipples poking into me. Her leg was across mine far enough that I could feel her soft foot on my other leg and she was sliding it up and down my calf. I caught my breath when her hand began to move along my stomach. She was only using her nails and feeling of them trailing across my skin caused a surge of excitement through my already hard dick. In Her Daddy's Bed "Do I feel good Daddy?" she asked in my ear. "H...Heather," I could hear my voice trembling; "You need to...to leave." "But I want you daddy." She had propped herself up on one elbow causing the sheet to fall away and my breath hissed from between my teeth at the sight of my daughters perfect tits. Perfect was the right word. Heather's tits were small, but round and firm and her tiny nipples were so pink I could barely see them. Those nipples were erect and each one turned up slightly. Oh God, did I want them in my mouth! "I..." "Don't you want me daddy?" she asked, her lips going into the pout and her blue eyes growing wide. "We...honey," I kept trying to do the right thing. "You're...my little girl." "I am!" she smiled, "You always say I'm you're good little girl and I want to show you what a good girl I am!" she emitted a cock stirring giggle, "By being a naughty girl!" "But Heather, I'm your...." "You're my daddy." She said softly and leaning over kissed my neck, "But you're more than that, I love you and I want to show you how much I love you!" A shiver went through me at the feeling of her soft lips on my neck. Her pussy was getting wetter by the minute and those tits! "Its...it's not the same." I forced myself to say "Why not?" she asked as she started running her nails further down my stomach towards my cock. I told my hands to move, to catch her wrist and stop her, but instead I lied there transfixed by the sight of my topless daughter staring longingly at me. "You've been so good to me Daddy, and I want to be good to you! In every way!" she put her head down. "Mommy was mean to us and left us alone. I don't think we should be alone anymore." She looked up and locking her baby blue eyes on mine whispered, "She wasn't good to you, I want to be good to you." "Heather, that's not what I need from you," I said even as the throbbing between my legs told me differently. "It can be!" she said, an air of desperation to her voice. "I...I know what you need daddy and I don't want you getting to from anyone but me! I want to be the girl you love," she gave me a sly smile and placing her lips to my ear added, "In every way." "You're,,,,too young." I said lamely. "I know I don't know a lot, but I'll try really hard daddy!" she purred in my ear as her pussy continued to grind into me. "I'll do anything you want; I'll make you happy daddy, you'll see, please let me!" She punctuated that last sentence by flicking her tongue across my ear and unable to contain it, a low moan escaped me. "Hmmm," she cooed as she kissed my neck again, "I like that. I want you to moan for me daddy, I want to moan for you! Please?" Before I could answer her hand darted down into my boxers and I groaned as her slender fingers wrapped around my cock. "Oh! You do want your little girl don't you!" "I....oh goddamn!" I groaned when she began slowly pumping my cock. "Let me make you happy daddy." She whispered. I turned my head and gasped as her lips immediately pressed into mine. I tried not to respond to the kiss, but as those incredibly soft lips began sliding back and forth over my mouth, I let my body relaxed and surrendered to my taboo desire. As my lips parted and began pressing into hers, Heather let out a soft whimper that caused my cock to twitch in her hand. I began kissing her more passionately and released a whimper of my own when her soft tongue slipped into my mouth and caressed mine. I brought my arm up around her shoulders and crushed her to me. Heather squealed delightedly as I wrapped my other arm around her thin waist and held her against me. I could feel her nipples pressing into my chest and although I yearned to taste them it could wait. Right now I was enjoying holding her naked body close mine and the feeling of her lips. Heather's hand released my cock and she slid bother her arms under my shoulders. As we continued to kiss I was amazed at how good it felt. I'd fantasized about fucking her, but the thought of how good something like this could feel hadn't occurred to me. Her tongue still teasing the inside of my mouth, Heather rolled over on top of me. I moaned as she straddled my leg and I could feel her slick pussy pressing into it. That wet pussy was throwing a lot of heat and the thought hit me that pretty soon I was going to find out just how hot my little girl's pussy was. That thought should have appalled me, but instead I moaned and started rocking my hips, pressing my hard cock into her soft stomach as we continued to kiss. I slid my hand up Heather's soft smooth back and up into her long hair to cradle the back of her head. I felt her body relax against mine and sliding her lips from mine she whispered, "You feel so good daddy!" Part of me wanted to tell her to call me Jim, but again that voice in my head that had been right all along about me wanting her, decided daddy was just fine. "So do you baby," I sighed in her ear as she began gently kissing my neck. Heather slipped her arms from underneath me and bracing them on my chest lifted herself over me and leaning down, brought her perfect little tits to my lips. I opened my mouth and eagerly sucked her pink nipple into it. "Oh, Daddy" she gasped as I swirled my tongue around her swollen flesh. I felt a shiver go through her as a fresh wave of moisture flooded my thigh between her legs. As I swirled my tongue around her nipple, Heather moaned and began grinding her hips hard into my leg. I smiled around her tit as she confirmed my fantasy that my inexperienced little girl had yet to be truly pleased and I was going to change that right here in the bed I'd shared with her mother. I switched to the other nipple and bringing my hand up, began rolling the other between my finger tips. Heather's fingers were digging into my shoulders and she was releasing soft whimpers as I began switching my tongue from one nipple to the other. While sucking one tit, I gave the other a squeeze and marveled at how firm her perky little tits were. Heather reached up and placed her hand over mine, pressing my palm to her tit. That move caused my cock to begin to ooze into her stomach. The look of pure desire on my daughter's face was one that I'd never seen on a woman before. Damn she really did want me! I started to try to sit up so I could roll her over and begin to take charge, but pushing against my chest. Heather held me down and sliding her nipple from between my lips smiled down at me. "You've always taken good care of me Daddy, let me take care of you first tonight," she gave me a big smile, "I want you to see how bad your good little girl will be for you!" "Oh." Was all I could come out with while watching my daughter slowly slide down my body towards my cock. I knew I should be disgusted with myself. Instead I felt a sense of anticipation run through me as Heather began placing soft kisses along my chest. After all we did love each other and we did need each other. Yes I thought as I watched Heather's little pink tongue dart out and tease my nipple; we deserved to make each other happy. With that thought all hesitation left me and despite my aroused state I let myself relax and sighed as Heather was now trailing her tongue down my flat hard stomach. Her wet pussy was leaving a wet streak down my leg and my cock was doing the same as when she slipped between my legs and rested herself on her elbows I could see her chest glistening with my cum. Heather grabbed my cock and after giving it a squeeze gently kissed the head. I groaned as she left her lips there and slid them across the sensitive skin of the head of my cock. When she pulled them back I swallowed hard at the sight of the trail of sticky fluid between her lips and my cock. Heather licked her lips and with a smile whispered, "Hmmm, that's good!" Heather kissed my cock affectionately then slid her tongue down the length of my shaft. I gasped as she continued and began licking my balls while still stroking my cock. I guess she'd had a little more fun with her boyfriend than I'd thought! I watched transfixed by the sight of my daughters tongue bathing my quivering balls and moaned as taking them in her mouth, she began sucking on them. "I...I think you've been a bad girl before this." I whispered as she began working her tongue back up my shaft. Heather giggled and I laughed as she turned red. "Just one guy daddy, but we had fun playing!" she giggled again as her tongue darted out across the head of my dripping prick. "And I really liked sucking his dick!" "Then be a good girl and show me how much you like sucking mine." I told her with a smile, oh I was going to burn for this for sure, but was going to enjoy myself in the meantime! "Okay." She smiled, "But yours is a lot bigger." She licked her lips then added, "I'll do my best daddy!" "I know you will, that's why you're my good....Oh Heather!" I cried out in surprise as quickly lowering her head, my daughter took me deep into her mouth and began slowly bobbing her head. I gasped at the feeling of her warm mouth as well as the sensation of her tongue pressed tightly to my shaft as her lips slid up and down. I was fairly well hung and she was taking me more than half way down. I moaned and reaching down brushed her blonde hair from her face so I could watch the show. And what a show it was! Heather wasn't lying, the girl loved to suck cock! Her big blue eyes were partially closed and had a glazed look in them as she repeatedly down her daddy's cock. Even more of a turn on was the wet slurping sounds and moans she was making deep in her throat while she blew me. Looking past the amazing sight of my daughter's mouth devouring my cock, my eyes wandered down her smooth back and focused on her bare ass. That ass was wiggling back and forth as she ground her hips into the bed, rubbing her pussy against the sheets. Her legs were bent at the knees and I watched her wiggling her feet back and forth playfully, goddamn, blowing me was really getting her going. I sighed at the thought that I was going to more than repay my little girls' kindness by sucking that sweet little pussy! In the meantime I returned to watching Heather consume my cock. To my surprise she was taking me even deeper and I gasped as with a gurgling sound, Heather forced my cock down until her lips were at the base of my shaft! "Oh fuck honey!" I groaned feeling her tongue slide out along my balls. "Oh Heather, you're making your Daddy very happy!" She giggled around my cock then caused me to cry out again when she began shaking her head back and forth. I could feel her tongue swirling around my shaft and she had brought her hand down between my legs and begun massaging my balls. I felt my thighs begin to tremble and realized I was moments away from cumming in my daughter's mouth. Heather worked my cock back out of her mouth and as I watched wide eyed, made s how of letting her spit drool out of her mouth and down my shaft. With a wink she slid her tongue down my shaft and made a show of licking it back up. "Bad girl." I whispered. "Your bad girl!" she laughed happily then eagerly took me back into her mouth. She began bobbing her head again and I started breathing through my mouth as I knew I wouldn't be able to hold back much longer. Heather wasn't taking me as deep, but was sucking faster and the feeling of those soft full lips caressing my hard flesh was driving me wild. My hand was still on her head and I started pushing and pulling on it. I wasn't being rough, but was simply guiding her head along the length of my shaft. Heather didn't mind, in fact she sighed softly around her mouthful of cock and closing her eyes began to suck me even faster. Unable to help it, I began thrusting my hips, pushing my cock into her descending mouth. Again Heather's response was a moan of pleasure and she slowed her mouth down, allowing me to shove my cock into her mouth as she played with my balls. Wanting to make her feel good for pleasing me so well, I slid my hands under her and began playing with her tiny nipples as she brought me closer to and closer with each bob of her pretty little head. Heather whimpered and I saw her hips grinding harder into the bed. My hips were beginning to move with a sense of urgency and sensing me getting close, Heather grabbed my cock and started following her mouth with it, jerking me off as she blew me. I gasped and began to moan continuously as Heather began sucking fast and hard, I could feel the cum building within me then as Heather gave my balls a gentle squeeze cried out loudly as my cock erupted in my little girls mouth. Heather squealed between my legs as I lost control and thrust my hips hard into her descending mouth. Each thrust ended with a spurt of cum and Heather gurgling as she fought to take it all. I moaned as she failed and I was treated to the sight of cum dribbling from her lips and down my shaft. Heather continued to prove herself a good girl as she immediately took my cock deep into her mouth and slurped at the spilled cum. I released a long pathetic sounding moan as my cock gave up the last of its cum and slumped back into the bed gasping. Heather caused me to moan again as she continued to suck my cock, but slowly and....lovingly. She had a look of pure ecstasy on her face as she slid my spent cock from her mouth and slowly licked up the last few drops of cum. Looking up at me she opened her mouth and showed me her cum coated tongue. She then closed her mouth and after making a show of swallowing, opened it again to show me it was empty. "All gone!" she giggled. Then asked, "Was I a good girl daddy, did I do a good job?" "Honey, that was...." I smiled at her as I fought to catch my breath, "The hottest blow job I can remember." "Really?" she asked as she sat up between my legs "Thank you daddy!" "Thank you." I whispered as I took in her sweet little body. "Fuck you're hot Heather." She laughed again, and then yelped in surprise as unable to wait any longer, I sat up and grabbing her shoulders practically threw her down on the bed beside me. Heather laughed, and then moaned as the second she was on her back; I fastened my lips to her gorgeous little titty. Heather reached up and began running her hand across my back as I eagerly devoured her tit. That was the word as I was trying to suck not just her nipple, but as much of her flesh as I could into my mouth. I reached across and began playing with her other nipple as her hand slid into my hair and pressed my face against her chest. "Yes daddy!" she moaned, "I'm so glad you want me! Please make me cum daddy!" Now how could I deny my little girl that request? While still sucking her tit, I slid my hand down her stomach and between her legs. I gasped around her nipple as my fingers slid through her extremely wet pussy lips. Heather groaned and began rocking her hips, shoving her hot flesh against my hand. I slowly slid my fingers up and down the length of her pussy and reaching the top pressed them into her swollen clit. 'Oh!" she moaned, "Oh daddy that feels soooo good!" Hearing her moan caused me to begin to rub my fingers in slow circles around her hard little button. Heather closed her thighs around my hand and started thrusting her hips hard into me. I played with her clit another moment then slid my fingers down. She whimpered in disappointment, but that was okay, I planned on making it up to her as there was no way she was going to come any other way the first time except by my tongue. The first time I thought as I gently slipped my fingers inside her. Yes the first time I thought as Heather groaned at the feeling of my fingers entering her incredibly fucking tight pussy. Oh, I was going to fuck her as many times as she'd let me! Screw right or wrong, she was young hot and oh so willing to be my good girl, hell no one needed to know! I started slowly pumping my fingers into her deliciously hot little box and she sighed in pleasure and let herself relax. I pressed my thumb to her clit, causing her to whimper again and as she had done, began making a show of sliding my tongue across her stomach as I eased myself down between her long legs. "Yes, oh please yes!" she moaned as I settled down between her thighs, "Lick your little girl daddy!" I paused between her legs and looked up at her. I could feel my hands trembling on her inner thighs as I took in just how sexy she really was. Her soft flat stomach and those long legs I was lying between along with those perky little tits, everything was perfect. Coupled with her blonde hair and baby blue eyes, Heather was truly a flawless beauty. At the moment however, the attribute that was demanding my attention was the smooth glistening pink little pussy inches from my face. Leaning in I took a breath and sighed at the sweet scent of my daughter's pussy. Sliding my hand up her smooth thighs I gently parted her lips and as she trembled in anticipation I blew lightly on her clit. "Don't tease me daddy," she begged, "I didn't tease you!" "You've been teasing your daddy." I whispered as, like she had done, I flicked my tongue teasingly across her clit. "Parading around the house showing off this hot little body, faking nightmares to sleep with me..." Heather giggled and said, "Got me! I just wanted to....Oh yes!" Heather groaned as I swirled my tongue around her clit several times. I then worked my tongue down through the wet folds of her lips and after a brief pause to again savor her scent, plunged my tongue inside her sopping wet slit. She cried out and I groaned as I swirled my tongue inside her, getting a mouthful of her forbidden juices. Heather moaned and started squirming as I took my time, sliding my tongue in and out of her hot pussy. She began thrusting her hips into my face and I had a brief feeling of the surreal, was I really laying here between my daughter's legs, tongue fucking her? Damn straight I was and figuring I'd teased her enough, I slid my tongue back up to her swollen button and began gently sucking on it. "Oh, right there daddy." She moaned. Heather reached down and began running her fingers across my shoulders then squealed as I slid two fingers inside her. I began to pump them in rhythm with my sucking and Heather sighed contentedly as she started to rock her hips, pushing my fingers deeper inside her. I released her clit and started sliding my tongue around it in slow circles. Heather made a sound that could best be described as a purr and again I found myself smiling as I committed the ultimate taboo. Her hands left my hair and a moment later I heard her gasp. I looked up and was treated to the sight of her long fingernails teasing her hard nipples as I pleasured her. Spurred on not only by that, but by my cock which was already hard at the thought of fucking this perfect pussy, I started to lick faster. Heather moaned ion appreciation and began rocking her hips faster. I pressed my tongue tightly against her clit and drove my fingers in as hard as I dared. Heather began to yelp and her thighs were starting to shake against my hands. As she had done I started grinding my hips into the bed sliding my hard cock against the soft sheets. Heather let out a sharp breath and her hips started rocking even faster as she moaned, "Yes daddy! Oh, just like that! Please don't stop daddy, please just ohhhh!" Heather threw her head back and screamed as her hips thrust into my face and her pussy contracted around my thrusting fingers. I began licking even faster and she squealed loudly and her hips started bucking wildly. Heather clamped her thighs around my head, pressing my face into her hot flesh and again screamed out her pleasure as she came in her daddy's face. I continued licking and fingering her, my cock throbbing at the high pitched sounds she was emitting as that hot tight pussy convulsed around my fingers. In Her Daddy's Bed Heather's back arched off the bed and with one last shuddering moan her pussy contracted and I felt a warm wave of fluid surround my fingers. She collapsed on the bed panting as I had done and whispered, "Oh daddy, that was so good!" My response was too slid up onto my knees between her legs and looking down I licked my pussy coated lips at the sight of my large cock positioned directly over her pussy. "Take me daddy." Heather said softly as she also stared at my cock hovering over her. "Just...easy, please go easy." Grabbing her ankles, I placed her soft feet on my chest and taking my throbbing cock in my hand teased us both by sliding it through her wet lips. Heather shuddered and whimpered as I slid my cock across her clit before placing it at the entrance of her pussy. Releasing my cock I placed my hand on her soft stomach and slowly pushed the head of my cock between her lips. "Oh." Heather groaned as I eased inside her. "Oh, daddy, you're....big." I moaned at how tight her pussy was. I could feel it squeezing my cock as I pushed further into her. Heather whimpered and began breathing hard as inch by inch I pushed my cock in until I was completely inside her. Heather moaned and lay still as I gently began to move within her. I was only sliding out a couple of inches before slowly pushing back in, but she was whimpering with each thrust. Those little sounds were driving me crazy and it was all I could do not to go faster. I looked down at her and lost that urge. Heather's eyes were closed and her lips parted, she was sweating and some of her hair as stuck to her cheek. Each time I pushed into her she emitted a soft whimper, but the look on her face was one of pure pleasure. As if she sensed me looking she opened her eyes and smiled, "I love having you inside me daddy." As she spoke she put her arms out to me and leaning down I entered her embrace. I slipped my arms under hers and started moving slowly within her. I was pulling further out and now when I pushed, her sounds were that of enjoyment. I sighed and let myself relax as I gently made love to my daughter. Again as I'd thought when I had been kissing her I had fantasized about the hard fucking, but not about how good it would feel to be sweet to her. Heather has her arms around me and was sighing softly in my ear each time I entered her. I could feel her nipples against my chest and even better was when she wrapped her long legs around my waist. I moaned at how tight she was as well as how good it felt to be this close to her. As wrong as this was, nothing had ever felt so right. I increased my speed slightly and Heather moaned and began moving her won slender hips in time with mine. We both sighed and a moment later she whispered, "Let me." Dropping her legs from me, Heather pushed my shoulders and I obediently rolled off her, Heather rolled with me and was now straddling my hips. Reaching back she guided my cock to her pussy and slowly eased herself down on it. I gasped as my cock plunged deep inside her and watched as Heather began slowly rocking back and forth, riding her daddy's cock. I reached up and began fondling her nipples and she moaned and began rocking her hips faster. Taking her lead I began to thrust my hips up into hers, driving my cock into her hot young pussy. Heather yelped, but began raising and lowering herself, plunging her pussy onto my rising cock. Her eyes were closed and she was moaning as I fucked her. Reaching down I pressed my thumb into her clit and started rubbing it in hard fast circles. "Oh fuck!" she moaned. "Oh Daddy!" She leaned over and bracing her hands on my chest caused me to cry out as she began pumping her hips, fucking me as hard as I was fucking her. I groaned as her unbelievably tight pussy worked my hard cock and raising my head, sucked her nipple into my mouth. Heather whimpered and began grinding her hips into me. My thumb was moving fast on her clit and I could feel her thighs shaking against mine. "There you go baby," I encouraged her, "Cum for daddy again, show me how much you like that dick." "Y...yes daddy." She whispered and started sliding her hips back and forth faster. Her entire body was trembling and pressing hard on her clit I took her nipple between my fingers and gave it a hard pinch. Heather tossed her head back and let out a sound best described as a howl as she began to cum on her daddy's cock. I gasped as that amazingly tight pussy clenched around my cock and she began slamming her hips into mine. She was certainly used to my cock now as she was crying out in pleasure as she drove her convulsing pussy down hard into my pumping cock. Heather let out another cry and I moaned as I felt a gush of hot sticky fluid squirt past my cock and onto my thighs. Heather moaned and letting herself go landed on my chest. Wrapping my arms around her waist I drew my legs up and began hammering into her, driving my hard cock into her gushing pussy. "Oh fuck Daddy!" she cried out as I began fucking the shit out of her. Whether she was ready for it or not, I couldn't hold back and pinning her to me was slamming my cock into her as hard as I could. Heather was yelping in my ear, but they were sounds of pleasure and I started fucking her even harder. I couldn't believe how tight and wet she was. As good as pounding her like this felt I knew what I wanted; I wanted my daughter's perfect little ass in the air while I fucked her doggy style. I rolled us both over and deciding I wanted to watch her before I put her on her knees, lifted her legs by her ankles and drove my cock into her. "Oh yes!" Heather cried out as spreading her legs as far as I could I began fucking her hard and fast. I looked down and smiled at the sight of her sweat covered tits bouncing as her father slammed the shit out of her. Her eyes were wide open and staring at me as I drilled her tight young pussy. She was yelping continuously and leaning forward I bent her legs back. Her ass came off the bed and she howled as I was now penetrating even deeper with my long hard thrusts. "That's it!" she moaned, "Take me daddy! Take your little girl, I'm all yours! All the time daddy! I want you to have me any time you...hey!" She yelped in surprise as withdrawing my cock from her I grabbed her hips and with a wrench of my shoulders, rolled her onto her stomach. Grabbing her hips, I pulled her onto her knees and with no hesitation began fucking her. "Oh my fucking god daddy!" She screamed as I repeatedly plunged my long thick cock into her tight young pussy. Heather was tried to speak again, but it turned into a high pitched squeal as I continued my relentless assault on her pussy. "You like that?" I asked her, "You like daddy fucking you nice and hard?" "Yes! I love daddy fucking me!" she moaned, "I love making you happy!" "Never been fucked like this before have you?" I asked as I reared back and started really tearing into her. "No!" she wailed, "I...I never, Oh daddy! Oh fuck me as hard as you want! Show me how bad you want me!" I was slamming her so hard her pussy was squirting onto my thighs every time I drove into her and she was howling as I tore into her, fucking her young pussy like it had never been fucked before. I gasped as I felt the cum building up inside and began moaning with each thrust "Cum for me daddy!" she cried out, "Let me feel it I....oh Daddy!" I let loose with a loud cry and felt my cock explode into her pussy. I'd gotten clipped years ago and took full enjoyment in the sensation of flooding her sweet young pussy with her daddy's cum. Heather loved it as well as she was moaning and squirming against me. "Give it to me daddy!" she squealed, "I want it all, oh right inside of me!" I slowed my pumping as my spurting cock continued to paint the inside of my daughter's pussy. I stopped moving and moaned as I felt the last cum trickle out. I then gasped as clenching her pussy around me; Heather milked a couple of more drops from my spent cock. "Hmmm," she purred. Sliding my cock from her pussy, Heather rolled over and I cried out in surprise as she quickly took my cock into my mouth and sucked it hard and fast. She was moaning and as good as it felt my head was sensitive from having just cum and I had to push her shoulders and whisper, "Stop honey, please." Heather released my cock from her mouth and licking her lips rolled her eyes. "We taste good daddy!" I nodded the let myself go and fell onto the bed. I rolled over onto my back breathing hard as my heart pounded and my mind spun with the thought that I had really just fucked my daughter. With a long sigh, Heather lay down next to me and as she had done before cuddled into me, resting her head on my chest and draping her arm and leg over me. "I love you daddy." She said, kissing my chest. "I love you to Heather." At that moment it hit me that I meant it, I really did love her and what was there not to love? She was beautiful, sweet, loving and a goddamn wild ride! As my breathing slowed I began to wonder if we could really get away with this. I mean who would even suspect it? That annoying voice came back with I was taking advantage of a confused young girl, but I brushed that off quickly. This confused young girl had known what she wanted and had done a damn good job of getting it. Besides, as I put my arm around her shoulders and pulled her close to me, she felt so damn good like this and making love to her had been one of the sweetest things I had ever.... "So daddy?" she broke into my thoughts. "What honey?" I asked. "Do you like having your little girl in your bed now?" "Nope, "I answered. "No?" she began to lift her head, "But Daddy I..." I stopped her by giving her a soft kiss and guiding her head back to my chest whispered, "I don't like the idea of having my little girl in my bed, but I love the idea of being with Heather in our bed!" Author's note: Hope you enjoyed this fairly short (for me anyway) and not so sweet tale. If you did, please take the time to vote and comment. This will be my last story for 2013 and it was another good year for me on lit including a contest win for "The Neighbor's naughty daughter" so thank you to all who supported me this year. I hope 2014 will be another fun sexy year here on lit and want to take a moment to wish all of you a Merry Christmas(or whatever holiday that you choose to celebrate) and a happy safe holiday season for you and your families. Be safe and I will see you all back here next year! Lovecraft68 In Her Dreams? Beth stood up from her prayers and moved gracefully to the bed in the sparsely furnished room. The room was one of many in the north wing which housed the convent accommodation. Beth was dressed in a long, simple, white cotton nightgown. She laid down and stretched out in the bed. Her hand reached to feel the cool crisp sheets in the empty bed beside her. "Well this was her lot in life," sighed the novice nun, no company for you. With that thought she reached over and turned off the lamp beside the bed. She lay in the dark and closed her eyes and her mind drifted. Her thoughts consistently returned to the man she had encountered, on numerous occasions. Not of her faith and known to her, now, as Nebru, the monk had always made a deep and lasting impression on her. There was something about the way he still looked at her that reached deep into her soul. Nebru hadn't always been a monk, just as Beth hadn't always lived in a convent. The thought of their shared past haunted her at times like this. He had been her lover, sensitive, caring and passionate her body had thrilled to his touch. She had looked forward to the stolen hours they had spent together, unable to show their relationship publicly, they had met in private and had both longed for more time in each others company. Beth's mind wandered as she thought about Nebru, he had the most beautiful sexy voice, and a body made for cuddling. She had always thought of him as her handsome prince, especially when he gave her those looks that made her feel special and appreciated. She knew she was still deeply attracted to him and created many opportunities to be in his presence. Beth enjoyed his company, just being with him, whether deep in conversation or a companionable quietness. Beth was aware of Nebru's routine and often felt his presence, late at night and early in the morning. As if they had a bond that transcended time and place. "Well, these days with that could be a concern," she thought as she drifted into a deep sleep. About 12 o'clock, Beth's mind started to fumble through the fog of sleep, her fingers again stretched to the edge of her bed. Instead of the cool crisp sheets, they encountered the warmth of another body. Slowly, tentatively her fingers ran up the side of a bare hip, the skin soft and warm. She moved her hand towards the stomach and felt hairs curling on her fingertips. Startled she withdrew her hand and held her breath. She drifted in that land of neither sleep nor wakefulness. Carefully she rolled onto her side and stretched out her right hand. This time her brain sought to urge her on. Her hand reached for the stomach she had touched, and she slowly slid her hand down, as she did, she gasped, as it met the base of a fully erect dick. She lay still without moving as a flush of warmth started in the pit of her stomach and slowly spread between her legs. Her hand was still holding the swollen dick, whilst her own body seemed to belong to someone else. Beth inched over on the bed and stretched her body full length beside the body next to hers. Without letting go of her handful she pushed her legs against those beside hers. The body turned to her and she could feel the length of him. Letting go of her handful, her arms went around his torso and she held him close. Pushing her pelvis forward, she rubbed her sex against his dick. Yes her mind thought, it is, it's really him. Her body responded to his as it always had, she knew the feel of him, the taste of him and immediately the closeness of his presence made her body go warm all over. All of her senses were aroused with his presence. Again she rubbed her mound against his dick. She had always loved the feel of him against her, it just felt so right. She sighed in sensual delight. Her mouth eagerly sought his in the dark. His lips closed on hers and parted. Hesitantly her tongue ran along his lips and then sought the warm soft interior of his mouth. Shyly she felt for his tongue, but as he gathered her body to him and held her close, her senses took over. Her mouth opened and she reached to feel his tongue and get closer. Her hands sought the outlines of his face and caressed him with her fingertips, tracing the contours of his face. Free at last to touch and be touched. His tongue explored the recesses of her mouth and twined with hers as she in turn teased his lips, licking, kissing, teasing and then joining in exploring a deep kiss that warmed her entire body. His kisses had always brought this response. She had never met a man that could kiss in this manner. He felt as if you were part of him, whilst he set your whole body on fire. He threw back the covers, and in the dim light he could see the outline of her nightgown. With one yank he ripped it from neck to knee and exposed her breasts. She lay back, and arched her back as he gently fondled each breast, teasing the nipples until they were erect and swollen. His mouth sought one then the other licking and sucking each in turn. She gazed down at him in the dim light her eyes communicated her need, the desire building in her body. Once again she reached for the throbbing shaft of his maleness timidly her fingers ran up and down the length of him exploring its shape and texture. She rubbed her fingers over the soft smooth end, and felt the softness altered by the smooth silky liquid, beading at the end. Her fingers moved down the shaft and felt for his balls, holding one she slowly massaged it then reached for the other, reveling in the hairy maleness of him. Meanwhile his fingers had traced the line of her body, slowly moving towards her sex. Lost in the sensation of him, she suddenly realized that her body was responding to his probing fingers. Her legs moved apart, as his fingers sought to move between her lips. Gently his fingers rubbed feeling the tightness of her. He fondled the small bud as it started to swell under his touch. Her body arched and she whimpered as she pushed herself towards him, stroking his dick at the same time. He rubbed her harder fingering the silken lips as slowly her moistness enveloped his hand. Gently he increased pressure innately knowing her needs. Her body responded moving as one with his fingers, urging him not to stop. With a cry she came in one long, pulsating orgasm pushing her body against his fingers as she did. Nebru spread her legs and knelt between them, leaning forward as he gently started to probe her opening with his dick. Initially meeting some resistance he ran his dick up and down the swollen lips, slowly plunging into the warmth and withdrawing. She thrust her body towards him as her hands clenched his buttocks, pulling him to her. He couldn't resist the warm promising, depths and pushing forward he felt her body surround him pulling him into the depths of her core. Slowly, he began to move as her body started to feel his rhythm. She felt the length of him moving inside her as the pleasure started to build, slowly her muscles tightened as the sensation increased. Beth could feel the tension increasing as she strained to part her legs wider so that she could take more of him into her. She held his buttocks and pulled him higher so she could feel the rubbing sensation against her clit. Her hands reached down to rub and caress his balls as she could feel his tension mounting. Pushing him deeper at the base of his shaft, she held him close as her body pulsed, rhythmically surrounding him. Deep within her body the muscles started to constrict as she pulled him deeper within. Slowly the tension built, she could feel it mounting and held him tightly to her as her body went into deep spasms. Bursting into a crescendo of sensation, she held him tight, so he could feel the passion throbbing through her. Nebru withdrew his dick, and rolled onto his back taking her with him. She climbed on top of him and moved aside her ripped nightie. He grabbed it in his hands and pulled it from her body, discarding it with a heave across the room. Taking her face between his hands he brought her down to him. His lips sought hers, whilst his fingertips caressed her face, gently tracing the contours and shape. Nebru raised her above him and parted her swollen lips, stroking her sensuously, feeling the swollen, wet heat of her. Holding his dick she felt him lower her onto him. Slowly he slid back into her warm, silken sheath. She gasped as she felt the length of him enter her. Her body took him in deeper and deeper. She could feel him inside, as she moved forward, he rubbed within her and a warm glowing spot internally started to build in sensation. Leaning forward Beth, opened her mouth to him, joining him in as many places as she could. Her mouth and body registered her mounting excitement as the sensation built within her. Her body responded to the sensation of his dick as it pulsed against that special place. As her tension mounted she could feel his body reacting to hers. His rhythm increased in urgency as he held her closer to him. He plumbed the depths of her body fitting and molding to her shape. He was her match, a perfect fit, in every respect, two bodies together as one. The pleasure was becoming almost unbearable as the exhilaration mounted. Moving together as muscles started to contract they could feel the tension building. His dick throbbed within her as her body started to pulse within, the contractions adding to his sensitivity. She grabbed hold of him as he reached for her and together they climaxed with a pulsating wave of pleasure that enveloped them both. Beth called his name as her body crescendoed looking deep into his eyes as her orgasm continued rippling through her and he responded grabbing her to him and echoing with her name. Holding tight the sensations rippled through them both. As their bodies calmed, she rolled off him and cuddled into his side. He held her close to him as the heat of their bodies cooled. They looked deep into each others eyes, telling what they had both always known but had never said. Then sought what they had never had, the opportunity to sleep in each others arms. Beth slowly woke, to the clanging of bells still befuddled by sleep whilst a warm languorous feeling pervaded her body. Smiling she sought to cuddle up to the warm body at her side. Roused from her dreamy torpor, her hand reached to search the sheets at her side. Empty. Swiftly her hand ran down her body, touching her breasts and moving towards her sex. Had she dreamt it, was it just imagination, but it was so real. Beth threw back the bed covers with one hand whilst the other felt between her legs. Feeling then her still swollen and engorged lips not recovered from their sexual excitement. She leapt out of bed and ran to her nightgown lying tousled in the corner of the room. When she picked it up and turned it round she could see the torn fabric where it was ripped from the neck to hem. Holding the nightgown clutched to her she returned to her bed. Was the man of her dreams, in her dreams, or had he really been with her? Beth thought through the midnight encounter. It was real, it had to be. One thing she knew for certain, she no longer wished to be celibate. Being with him again made her realise how empty life was without him. She had lost her vocation, no longer did she want to be a bride of Christ. She wanted to be his. In Her Dreams I seriously doubt Miss Watson has dreams like this, and if she does she's not telling. I, on the other hand, have dreams like this all the time. How else do I get strange ideas like this one? ****************************************** In Her Dreams I looked around, wondering where I was. I knew I was asleep and dreaming, but I usually dreamt of places I recognised and this wasn't one of them. It was a stark white room; a huge room, with no distinguishing features. Away at the other end was a figure in black. With nothing better to do, I wandered closer to see who it was. As I got closer I realised with a start that it was Emma Watson, wearing that short lacy black dress from one of the 'Harry Potter' premieres. That was unusual for a start: Usually if I dreamt of Emma she didn't have any clothes on at all. She turned around as I approached. "What are you doing in my dream?" She asked. "I thought it was my dream." I replied mildly. "Well, who are you then?" She conceded. "I'm Dave." I held out my hand. "And you're Emma, I know." "But why are you in my dream?" She seemed puzzled now and so was I. This wasn't how my dreams of Emma normally went. "Like I said, I thought it was my dream. Is it important whose dream it is?" "I think it is. If it's my dream I can change how I look, right?" "Probably." I replied. Emma closed her eyes and her appearance altered. Now she was wearing a t-shirt and jeans, just like most of us do most of the time. "There! I knew it was my dream." She declared. "But if it's my dream then I should be able to change how you look, right?" I asked. She nodded slowly. I closed my eyes and concentrated on the practically see-thru red dress she had worn to some cosmetic promotion. As I opened them she was as I had envisioned. Emma looked confused. In truth I was too. "So exactly whose dream is this?" Emma asked, almost plaintively. She was obviously used to being in control. "I think that somehow our dreams have become intertwined." I shrugged. I sounded more confident than I felt; something that often happened in my imagination. "It's a pretty boring kind of a dream though." Emma said, looking around at the blank walls. "Perhaps we have to make something happen?" I suggested. "Dreams just happen though. At least I thought they did." "Usually I suppose, but you can give them a nudge, give them a starting point." I shrugged. "At least that's what I do when I'm trying to write a story." "You're a writer?" Emma's interest had been piqued. "Not professionally." I said. "It's just a hobby." "Oh." She sounded disappointed. "I'll tell you what, Miss Watson. You decide what this dream's about. We'll do what you want shall we?" I offered. She looked at me in surprise. "Why?" "Let's just say I'm feeling generous. If you leave it to me it might not be much fun for you." "If you're sure." "I'm sure; if we ever meet here again, it'll be my turn then. Okay?" "And we'll do anything I want?" "Within reason. I don't want to be mowing your lawn all day, or find myself putting up shelves." I smiled. "Or eating salad for that matter." "What are you talking about?" She laughed. "Well I don't know what women dream about." I replied in embarrassment. "Much the same as men I expect." Emma grinned. "I find that hard to believe." "Well, you'd better start believing, because I went to sleep wanting a fuck." "WHAT!?" I exclaimed, a little shocked by her forthrightness and her use of the word 'fuck' so casually. "And I'm pretty sure you've wanted to fuck me from the moment we met." "Before that actually." I mumbled. "I've written more than one story I'm sure you wouldn't like." "So how about it?" "Just like that?" "Why not? It's not as if any actual intercourse is going to take place. In the real world I mean." She grinned again, her hazel eyes sparkling, enjoying my discomfort. "I suppose," I said slowly, still shell-shocked, "but usually I set up some scenario, some vaguely plausible way of meeting you." "Why?" "So that I can use it as a story." I said red-faced. "Is that all? It won't be a problem." She paused for a moment, a thoughtful look on her face. "How about this? You're the handyman working at a cottage I've rented and I'm watching you," she gave an evil little smirk, "mow the grass." "I knew it." I laughed. "All right, as long as there's no salad involved." "What about shelves?" She laughed back. "Let's see where it goes." ***** The sun was beating down as I finished mowing the grass; so much so that I'd taken off my t-shirt, a rare occurrence. As I thankfully rolled the mower back to the shed the young woman who had rented the cottage for the summer, and who incidentally bore a remarkable resemblance to Emma Watson the movie star from the glimpses I'd had of her, called out from the back door. "That looks like hot work. Care for a cold drink?" "That would be wonderful Miss. I'll just put this away first." I indicated the mower. "Okay. And you can call me Emma." She replied. Emma? No! It couldn't possibly be her. Could it? I wondered as I cleaned my hands and then headed back to the still open door, my t-shirt over my shoulder. I politely knocked. "Come in. Your drinks on the table." The young woman said from the kitchen sink, her back to me. She wore a white towelling bathrobe that even from behind didn't look properly fastened. I took a long refreshing pull from the glass, downing most of the cola in one. "Seems you needed that." She said, having turned around. I finished the drink and put the glass down, opening my mouth to thank the young woman. Instead I just stared, my mouth still open. Not only was it Emma Watson, but also the bathrobe was even more loosely tied than I'd thought. It hung open revealing, well, nothing really, just that it was unlikely she was wearing anything underneath. I finally got my reeling brain connected to my mouth. "Bloody hell! It is you. Emma Watson I mean." I suddenly realised how unimaginative that sounded. "Sorry, I expect you get that all the time?" I apologised. "Variations on that I suppose," she grinned, "but don't worry about it. I don't anymore." She made no attempt to pull the robe tighter around herself despite my obvious staring. "Is there anything else you want me to do around the place while I'm here?" I asked, somehow managing to shift my gaze from her partially exposed chest up to her face, which was sporting an amused smile. "Well, there is something I'd like." Emma said, trailing her finger down from her throat to between her barely concealed breasts. I watched mesmerised, but thinking 'Shelves. I bet it's shelves. It's always shelves.' "If you could, I'd like you to make love to me across that kitchen table." She said in what seemed to be a serious voice. My dick, which had been hardening for some time, became rock hard and tried to push its way out of my jeans. "I'll take that as a yes, shall I?" Emma said, noticing the growing bulge. Her finger travelled further down across her stomach until it reached the loosely knotted belt. The 'not-a-knot' came undone and the bathrobe parted to reveal that Emma Watson was indeed naked underneath. She walked slowly towards me, the robe opening further, a strange light in her eyes. I gulped and tried to step backwards but I was already up against the table. I briefly wondered if she was merely teasing me. I looked down into her beautiful eyes and knew she wasn't. This was confirmed as she unzipped my jeans and grabbed my cock through my boxers. "Come on. I know you want to, THIS is telling me so." She pulled my dick free from its cotton prison and waggled it a little. "Why me? Why now?" I managed to say. "Why? Because I'm turned on by the smell of a hard working man, the taste of his sweat." To illustrate this she ran her tongue down my torso, stopping just above where my now rampant cock was twitching in her face. Suddenly she jerked my jeans and boxers down to my thighs and then planted a kiss on my knob end. This broke my minor resistance and I picked her up, my hands in her armpits, and then laid her down on her back on the table. Emma lay back waiting, the bathrobe wide open, her legs spread and an expectant smirk on her face. To make up for my earlier indecision I leant forward and kissed her sweet lips. "Mmmm, I love your taste." She murmured. "So salty." I kissed her again and then kissed her nipples, trailing my tongue down her stomach to her bellybutton and then lower, to the neatly trimmed thatch between her legs. "Yes! YES!! Lick my slit." If Emma had only been turned on before, now she was as horny as hell. I plunged my tongue into the folds of flesh at her most private place, surprised by how wet she was already. As I slipped my tongue in and out, and up and down, she got wetter and wetter; and when I moved my attentions to her clitoris she came explosively, wrapping her legs around my head to hold me there. As her waves of pleasure receded and her legs dropped down I was able to stand up. "Want some more Miss Watson?" I asked cheekily, sure that she did. "Yes, I want more. I want your stiff sweaty cock in my cunt." She breathed sexily. "Okay. Here I come." I placed my knob at the entrance to her pussy and then slowly, so slowly, penetrated her. As my shaft sank in Emma let out a long satisfied moan and wrapped her legs around my waist. I leant forward, putting my hands either side of her torso for a better thrust. As I began to pump my hips back and forth I looked down into a shining, excited face that smiled as I drove into her, running her hands up and down my straining forearms. As she whispered words of pleasure and desire I could feel myself beginning to sweat from my exertions. A bead of perspiration ran down my nose, hesitated for a moment, and then landed between Emma's eyes causing another huge grin. She began to writhe beneath me as she felt the pleasure build in her. And then she orgasmed again, her cunt clenching tightly around my cock. That took me to the edge too. "I'm gonna cum!" I panted. "In or out?" "Cum in me! Cum in me!!" She cried out as she felt my dick begin to spasm. She tightened the grip of her legs around me as I began to shoot my load into her pussy. ***** Emma and I were back in the white room. I was back the same as I was before; Emma was still wearing the untied bathrobe and nothing else. "That was fun." She grinned. "Not bad." I agreed. "Might be a bit short to make a story on it's own though." "Where can I find these stories of yours?" "Literotica. Under the name storm62." I replied. I could feel the dream state ending; the room, and Emma, were both starting to get hazy. "I'll look you up." She grinned. "All views are welcome." I smiled as we disappeared. ***** For the next ten nights I tried to recreate the circumstances of that shared dream, but to no avail. I began to wonder if it was somehow Emma's doing; if it was then there was no way I could replicate it and so was on the verge of stopping trying. However, just as I decided that this was the last attempt, we reconnected. Emma wore a t-shirt and jeans again but still managed to look devastatingly attractive. "Hello again." She said brightly. "Hi." I said distractedly. "What's up?" She asked. "I was just wondering how this connected dream thing worked. I've been trying for a week or more and nothing happened." "Perhaps we both have to be dreaming the same thing at the same time." Emma suggested, but her tone made me think she knew more than she was telling. I shrugged to myself. However it happened, it was happening now and I didn't want to miss it. "I suppose." I said non-commitedly. "Anyway, it's your turn." She ignored my lack of enthusiasm. "What?" I was confused all of a sudden, two trains of thought crashing into each other. "It's your turn to pick what happens next. Remember?" Emma seemed to be super-patient. "So what is your pleasure?" I gathered my racing thoughts. "Well, I wouldn't mind expanding on last time, it ended a bit suddenly." "That would be a waste wouldn't it?" "What do you mean?" I was a bit confused again. "Well, you can add to it yourself can't you? I'm offering you a whole new scenario." I paused, seeing what she was getting at, but unsure about what to suggest. "Erm, errr, how about...?" My mind seemed to have gone blank: and then the germ of an idea came to me. "How about I'm your driver, picking you up from some shindig or other." "Good choice." Emma exclaimed. "And you get to put me in one of those dresses you seem to be so fond of, as well as there being no chance of shelving or salads." She laughed. ***** "How was it Miss Watson?" I asked as Emma sat herself carefully into the back of the Limo. She was wearing a short white dress that didn't appear to have any sides to it. "The Gala? Fine I suppose. But a little boring." "Boring?" "Yes, boring. Not one hunky unattached male." She gave me a grin. "Sorry about that." "Nothing you could do about it. Can we take the long way back, through the park?" "As madam wishes." I said, mentally reprogramming our route back to her hotel. "What about you? Are you unattached?" Emma asked. I blinked at her in the mirror, a little taken aback. "Well?" "Yes. Yes, I'm unattached Miss Watson." "Oh good, the evening might not be a washout after all." She gave me a grin in the mirror. The blare of a car horn made me tear my eyes back onto the road. After I had pulled the car back into the correct lane I took another quick peek at Emma and saw she was practically laughing. "Are you teasing me Miss Watson?" I asked suspiciously. "Yes and no." "What?" "I mean I am teasing you, but I mean it as well. You are quite hunky. How come you're always my driver?" "After the first time I told all the others you were terrible to work for so they make sure they don't get this job; I do. I always volunteer." "Suppose somebody had asked me?" "I'd just say that it was a misunderstanding." I shrugged. That made her laugh again. We were going through the park now, the part where the trees were thickest. Emma leaned forward. "Isn't there a secluded little parking spot just up here?" "Yes Miss." "Are we going to stop?" "If you want Miss." "No. If YOU want. And stop with this 'Miss' rubbish, we're practically friends." "Okay Emma." I wasn't to sure what was happening. It SOUNDED like Emma was inviting me to 'park' as our American cousins put it, but I wasn't one hundred percent certain. The parking space came up and I pulled in, deciding it had to be worth the risk of losing my job to find out. I switched off the engine and turned around to look at Emma on the back seat. She made no protest but just looked at me expectantly. Taking my courage in both hands I got out and opened the rear door, and then sat beside her. Still she said nothing to stop me, just making room for me to sit next to her. Now I was unsure of my next move. Emma seemed to sense this. "Are you going to kiss me?" She asked in an inviting voice. In answer I leant across and delicately brushed her luscious lips with mine, still half expecting to be told to stop. When all I heard was her slightly increased breathing I turned it into a full-blown kiss, our lips crushed against each other. Emma opened her mouth a little so I pushed my tongue into the gap. She responded by doing the same to me. Our tongues danced around each other for a while until I had to pull back for a breath. Emma's brown eyes shone with excitement as I peered at her face, still expecting the worst. I moved in for another kiss only this time rested my hand on her breast. She didn't seem to notice even as I slowly fondled it through the thin material. By now emboldened I moved my hand under the material onto her naked flesh, still gently massaging her tit. I pulled my head back once more, but left my hand where it was. "Is this all right?" I asked a little tremulously. "Mmmm, it's fine." Emma said, her eyes closed. I pushed the dress aside so that I could see her nipple as I rolled the sweet bud between thumb and forefinger. "Ohh, nice." Emma opened her eyes. "My turn I think." She reached down to my zipper and deftly pulled it down, slipping her hand into my fly. She cupped my balls and then ran her fingers along my ever-growing cock through my boxers. "Oh god." I breathed as she slipped my dick out into the open. "Interesting." Emma said. "What is? My prick? Not what you were expecting? It's not too small is it?" I asked in a sudden panic. "It's... Well, it's about the length I usually see, but it looks wider." "It does? Is that a problem?" "Lets see shall we." With that Emma dropped her sweet mouth around my cock, initially the head. She teased with her tongue for a moment and then took more of the shaft in. She did this twice more until she'd swallowed my entire dick. I breathed in deeply. "Uuuuh, you seem to be, uuuh, coping all right." I muttered. "I'm dribbling." Emma said, ceasing her ministrations for a moment. "I think I'll take the dress off to keep it clean." Without waiting for a reply she deftly undid the garment and slipped it off, folding it neatly before putting it to one side. Now all she was wearing were her shoes and a pair of lacy white panties. That done, she slid off the seat and knelt between my legs, engulfing my cock with her mouth once more. Emma bobbed her head up and down for a while, not looking at me as she worked on my dick. I just lay back in the seat making appreciative moaning sounds, my hands tousling her hair. After a couple of minutes she stopped and smiled. "Are you ever going to cum?" She asked. "I've been trying to delay it." I gasped. "Why?" "In the hope you'll let me cum in your pussy instead." "Well, only if I get to cum as well. I don't want you shooting off and leaving me unsatisfied." Emma grinned. "In that case, I'd better do some preparation of my own." I grinned back. We exchanged positions and after removing her knickers I began to lap at Emma's cunt, running my tongue around her pussy lips before pushing it further into her love channel. It was her turn to make appreciative sounds now. It wasn't too long however before she began to groan even louder. "Now!" She cried out. "I want your cock now. Stick it in me! I want your throbbing meaty penis." "One of the rules of being a good driver, always go where you're asked." I panted, changing position slightly so I could slide my dick into her soaking wet cunt. Emma let out a long moan of satisfaction as I finally penetrated her. Wanting to make the most of it I took my time; making slow, deep strokes. Emma was in more of a hurry though; she soon flipped our positions and rode my cock fast until she came. As she slowed coming down from her orgasm, I flipped us back and began to pump her again. I felt my own orgasm begin to build. That increased as Emma began to push back against me once more. Finally I could hold back no more. "Miss Emma! I'm gonna cum soon." I managed to gasp out just before I began to shoot off into her. I had just enough self-control left to try to pull back but Emma stopped me by clenching her legs around my ass. "Well that was fun," Emma smirked, a little breathless, "but think of all the time we wasted before." "I suppose." I said, moving off her. "I think we ought to do this again." "If you want to. When are you going to need a driver again?" "Actually I was thinking of back at the hotel..." * * * * * Back in the white room Emma was still smiling. And still naked. She made no move to cover herself; presumably thinking it was rather pointless. "You do seem to like adding in lots of superfluous detail." She smiled without rancour. In Her Dreams "I told you: It helps with my writing, or to put it another way, it's a product of my creative processes." I grinned back. I looked at her. "Are we going to go back to our own dreams again?" "We don't have too." "No. Especially as I reckon this joined dreaming is more to do with you that me." I said it jovially, hoping to keep any accusing tone out of my voice. "I think you're right." She looked away for a moment and then back. "It only happens when I'm sleeping in one particular place. Other than not going to bed there I can't think of any way to control it." "Don't worry about it. I won't deny I'm enjoying it as much as you." "Thanks." She paused, her forefinger resting on her lip. "Would you like to try something?" "Depends on what it is I suppose." "Well, I've always wondered..." She stopped, embarrassed about what she was going to say. "Go on, it can't be any worse than some of the thing I've imagined you doing." "I can't help wondering what it feels like taking more than one cock at once." The words tumbled out quickly. "You mean a gang bang?" "Yes. Only I don't need all sorts of reasons or a scenario, just three or four horny dicks." She looked worried for some reason, possibly thinking I needed a storyline to follow. "Oh, I think we can manage that between us." I smiled. "Just anonymous cocks for you to play with?" She nodded. "Like these?" She smiled as three other bodies appeared in the white room. They were naked, obviously male, but had no other defining features; even their faces were covered by hoods. "Who is imagining them?" Emma asked. "You. But I'm controlling them." I told her as the three figures moved over to where she was stood. All three of them began to run their hands over her naked body; all over her body. Her bottom, the tops over her thighs, her calves, her stomach, her face and her breasts: Especially her breasts. Emma moaned as they tweaked her nipples and then one of them took her right tit in his mouth and she let out a long drawn out sigh. The three bodies surrounded her, their hands still busy. Emma's hands were not idle either; she was slowly jerking the three cocks in turn until they were all rock hard. One of the men lay on his back, his dick pointing skyward. Emma got the hint and squatted down astride him before carefully lowering herself onto his erection. She gave a sigh of satisfaction as it sank all the way into her cunt. Once she was settled the second man knelt behind her. He gently pushed her forward, exposing her asshole to him and then oh so slowly pushed his pre-lubed cock into her back passage. Emma grunted a little at first and then gave another satisfied sigh as the second dick went as far as it could. She looked up expectantly and was unsurprised to see the third dick waving in front of her eyes. She opened her mouth and took it into her throat, until that too was as deep as possible. For a moment they hardly moved, all of them making minute adjustments to their positions. When everyone was settled the three cocks began to pump into Emma's openings. She moved her head along the dick thrusting into her face and tried to push back against the other two which was a little problematical as they were pistoning in and out at different paces. The prick pounding in her tight ass soon began to twitch on the brink of orgasm and then shot its load into Emma's bowels. As soon as it had stopped twitching the anonymous body vanished. The remaining two carried on plunging into her body, Emma now more easily able to keep in rhythm with them. The penis ploughing her throat was the next one to cum, shooting spunk into her stomach initially, then over her face. As she sucked the last of the cum from his dick, the second man also vanished. Emma rolled over, the third cipher still powering into her pussy. She looked around but couldn't see me. A sudden inkling struck her and she reached up and tugged at the hood on the third man's head. She pulled it off and smiled as she saw that it was me. "Good trick." She panted. "It's only a dream; anything is possible." I grinned back, maintaining my stroke. Emma's pussy was clenching around my dick, moving me closer and closer to cumming. "That's it! Fuck me hard!" Emma growled. "Dirty talk from Emma Watson! Who'd have thought it?" I grunted, still ploughing away. "Stick it in my cunt." She grinned. "Give all you've got." "Your greedy little pussy is close to getting me off." I told her. "Close too." She panted, now short of breath. She juddered as her orgasm took her, the contracting of her muscles just enough to take me over the edge as well. I pulled back and shot my load over her heaving sweaty stomach before lying beside her. We lay side by side for a while, Emma absently rubbing my spunk into her skin, me just watching her. "This could develop into a useful partnership." I said. Emma looked at me quizzically. "I mean, I get some great stories, or scenes from stories, and you get to act out your darkest desires." "Sort of, I suppose." She said. "Maybe I do get more out of the deal than you do." I said thoughtfully. "Maybe, but I don't think so. It is liberating to be able to cut loose." "So I suggest we find a way of co-ordinating things. There's not much point in me coming here if you're away on location filming." "I see what you mean, especially as I do spend a lot of time travelling at the moment." She paused thoughtfully. "I suppose I could message you when I know I'm going to be sleeping here." "Well you could, but won't that mean you having to trust me with your e-mail address? And how do I know that it's really you?" I was playing devil's advocate here and I didn't know why. "I do trust you with my e-mail address, mainly because you have more to lose than me. As for the other...." She tailed off as an idea struck her. "I'm going to a premiere in a couple of days. If I wear a rubber band around my left wrist it'll mean nothing to anyone but you. How's that sound?" "Seems reasonable. What about the next couple of days?" "Sorry. Busy." She shrugged helplessly. "It might be a week or so before I see the pictures from the premiere." "I'll be in touch before then." "Looking forward to it Miss Watson." We both began to fade. Two days later I got a message via Literotica: Rubber band. Left wrist under bracelet. Back next week. Three days after that I finally saw some pictures from the premiere. Sure enough Emma Watson had a thin elastic band around her left wrist, barely visible beneath the jewellery, but there all the same. So now I knew. Tonight I'm visiting Emma Watson in her dream. From now on my stories will be a collaboration. Someone is helping me: Emma In Her Erotic Mind Author's Note: This is another story inspired by my Lit friend, Lucia (a.k.a. Gimme_Your_Load). I tried to imagine the psychodynamics of her desire for cum, and put it into story form. I gave her the chance to preview the story before I submitted it to Lit, and she gave it a definite thumbs up. In fact, she said she would be pleased if I would name her as the "willing sperm receptacle," that inspired the work, and I am happy to oblige. I want to mention that I always appreciate feedback (public comments and PMs), and votes from my readers, and if the story is a favorite, please click the appropriate button. Thanks! The story begins, below. * She has considered appearing in a porno. The thought of all those cocks spurting all that semen turns her on. That's because she gets it: She understands that an erection is among the highest compliments a man can offer a woman. We all say we want to be attractive. Well what does that mean, really? When you strip away the romantic claptrap, what's left is arousal. We want to arouse each other. So that throbbing, dripping hard-on proffered to her is a man's way of saying, without reservation, "I want you. Here is the proof. Please. Take it into your beautiful mouth." And if one erect phallus is a compliment, makes her feel attractive, feel desired, what does that say about two? Or twenty-two? For her, the excitement grows exponentially. The idea of a room full of men wanting her, craving her, who will do anything to feel their cocks slide into her mouth, or encircled by her hand, or pumping slippery between her breasts, or thrusting into her cunt, excites her almost beyond description. She wants all of it, all at once, over and over again. It makes her feel beautiful. It makes her feel like a goddess. But not some pristine and untouchable virgin statue. No, the iconography here is darker. Something else awakens in her: the desire to be used. The goddess is a slut, a thing to be penetrated, and marked with cum. She wants to melt into oblivion, into nothingness, as the spurting cocks splash load after load onto her face and hair, into and all over her body, and especially into her mouth. No longer a person, she becomes a mere accessory whose sole purpose is to induce orgasmic, warm, white, jets, from an endless gathering of men. She often watches videos that portray this now openly acknowledged desire that pulls at her thoughts. It's an undercurrent that can slip away with the routine tasks of daily living, only to suddenly bubble up again when she glances at any man on the street, or at the park or the grocery store, whom she might find attractive, wondering what it would be like, and would he mind, if she walked over to him and, with hardly a word, took his hands and pressed them to her breasts, her nipples hardening to his touch while she rubbed his crotch through his jeans, feeling his penis swelling, and straining to rise? Would it be alright if she took him to where no one (or hardly anyone) could see, so that she could unzip him, stroke his cock, watching it drip onto her hand, until it was time to drop to her knees, and slip him into her insatiable mouth? She would work him in and out, in and out, tasting his slight saltiness as it mixed with her saliva. Occasionally, she would slip him from her mouth, so that she could admire her work, see the phallus wet and shining, veins purplish, as it pulsated in her hand. She would see the gratitude in the man's eyes, and it would give her a sense of both love and power. She would return him to her mouth until she sensed he was near climax. Then she would pump the shaft furiously with one hand, and offer her now exposed breasts with the other, until the cock exploded with drenching shots of jizz on her face, and into her open mouth (tongue out, like a porn slut's), and on her breasts. Moments later, her own climax would wash over her, with the slightest touch of her clit by her own fingers. But there is another dynamic at work in her erotic mind. If she appears in a video, sucking and stroking a forest of erections, the ejaculate running down her face, her breasts, her hands, arms, belly, and cunt, there will be thousands more men viewing her, lusting for her, and there will be thousands more erections. The men will gaze upon her, dreaming of entering her mouth, as they spurt jet after jet of jism into the air, or, if they are among the fortunate, onto or into their own lovers. Around the clock, there will be men aroused, erect, ejaculating an endless river of cum. All of it because of her. A cumslut for thousands. She writes out these fantasies in story form for online magazines, and masturbates thinking of them, over and over, each climax becoming the foreplay for the next—that is when she's not actually sucking cock and getting fucked. And so it did not surprise me when today, she said to me, "I think it's time that I make this dream, this obsession of mine, a reality. I want a roomful of men surrounding me, all of us naked and aroused, with a few women there as fluffers, part of the scene. I will drop to my knees, I will take cocks into my mouth, pump cocks with my hands, get fucked and jerked off onto, endlessly. I want sperm to rain down on me until I am completely coated with it. I want men around the world to see this on webcam and video, stroking and cumming until the universe is an ocean of semen. You know I'd been dreaming of this, long before we met at the park, when I took you into my mouth, before I even knew your name. And so I'm asking you; I'm begging you. I need to be a total slut, drowning in cum. Will you help me? Will you make it happen?" And I said, "Yes, I will." In Her Eyes When I came downstairs this morning I was still completely pissed off. Through all our years together, I knew she had the capability to be a complete bitch at times but last night's performance, a moody really immature display in front our family and guests was the limit. It wasn't even as if she had been drunk or anything, in fact the opposite was true. She had simply gone off in an almighty sulk and ruined everyone's night. I had noticed a couple of them looking at me with an expression that said 'Why doesn't he take her in hand?' To a large extent it was my own fault. I have always been non-confrontational, and went out of my way to avoid a shouting match. Well no more. This morning I would address the problem and when she came down I would resist the inevitable apologies with downcast eyes and offers to make it up. I made a coffee and took it across the yard to my workshop which was in an outbuilding of our rural home. There was a wooden stool I often used when working. It was about three feet and length and 18 inches deep. I drilled a hole about half way along the length and a couple of inches in from the edge. I unlocked a cupboard and retrieved a conical object, and after drilling some smaller holes in its base, positioned it over the hole in the stool and used some small bolts to fasten it, pointing upwards, to the stool. I positioned the stool in the centre of the workspace and returned to the house. When I got into the kitchen she was up and dressed in her habitual fashion, a baggy sweater and a pair of old jeans I would have been ashamed to wear to fix the car. When she saw me she started the old 'let's make up' routine and I stopped her in her tracks by telling her that last night was completely unacceptable, that we had gone through this before and it was clear she needed some help in focussing on normal decent grown up behaviour. She started to speak and I silenced her by holding up my hand and insisting on her agreement or otherwise Barely audible she agreed, but I insisted that she say it loud and clear, which she did, albeit falteringly. I told her to get undressed and she looked at me as if I had slapped her. I should explain some things about my wife. For her age she is extremely shapely and good looking but for some reason she insists on dressing in the most unattractive and unrevealing clothes. I haven't seen her naked for years as even when we make love, she always gets into bed in her bra and panties and covers herself with the sheet before we can remove her things. Where this puritanical streak came from a few years after we married is a total mystery to me, and as for trying anything remotely risqué in the bedroom department, forget it. She gave a whimper which I knew translated exactly as 'do I have to?' and I told her in a stern voice to 'Get naked -- NOW!!' I could see her trying to decide how far she could push me and saw a look of resignation come across her face as it dawned on her that I was deadly serious. She peeled off her jumper and I saw that she was wearing her black lingerie. I wondered what the occasion was while registering that, whatever the reason, it pleased me. Next came the denims -- you couldn't really describe these shapeless things as jeans. With these removed, and standing before me in just her bra and panties, a sight rarely seen and always pleasing, she looked at me with pleading eyes. With a flick of my finger I indicated that she should remove them, and with a genuine sigh she did, first removing the bra to reveal her still attractive breasts and then her panties. She stood there before me buck naked with her eyes boring holes in the kitchen floor. I considered stopping there, as her humiliation was great and genuine and I am sure she would learn no greater lesson as a result of the additional indignities I had in mind. However, as they say in the quiz show, 'I've started -- so I'll finish.' I went to her and lifted her chin so she was looking at my face but still she kept her eyes downcast. I had brought a couple of things from the cupboard in the workshop. First I fitted a dog collar round her neck and secured it. It was stout, made from thick leather and was studded and fitted with three D rings. For the first time she met my eyes and her expression was first quizzical and then compliant. Next, I fitted leather cuffs to her wrists and when they were in place I told her to clasp her hands behind her head. She hesitated for a brief moment and then did as she was told and once in place I used a padlock to secure her cuffs to one of the collar rings. Finally I fitted leather ankle cuffs to her. She looked at me again and this time her expression was a mixture of sadness and fear. I picked up her clothes and told her to follow me to the workshop and again she looked totally shocked. It was something of an extreme for her to be naked at all but to venture outside in the nude was unthinkable. Worse than that, the way her hands were fixed, she had no means of covering her modesty. I told her to get her arse over there now and strode out ahead of her. On my way through the utility room I removed a garment from the clothes horse and set out across the yard. It was about fifty yards from the house door to the workshop and halfway across I turned and saw her cowering just inside the house door. I shouted that if she did not come this second it would be worse for her, and that seemed to convince her as she started to cross the yard, in all her glory, tentatively at first and then at a frantic pace. She had almost caught up with me by the time I reached the workshop and as I got there I opened one of the rubbish bins that stood outside and dumped her jumper and jeans in it. Again the symbolism of this act was not lost on her and she now displayed a great deal of apprehension. When we entered the workshop and she saw the stool with a large flared butt plug pointing skyward her apprehension turned to sheer terror. I was not about to waste any time. Secretly I was afraid I would lose my resolve so I got right into it. I told her to kneel before the stool and get the butt plug as wet as she could as that was all the lubrication she would be afforded. She stood motionless and trembling so I grabbed her by her collar and led her forward, pushing her to her knees as if praying to some weird religious artefact and finally bending her forward so her mouth was against the black silicone. This was of course mind games and humiliation. I did intent to lube it before it impaled her. I busied myself organising bits and pieces from my cupboard and then I returned to her. I explained that after last night's performance it was clear to me that we had failed to address her behaviour issues by dialogue and reason, and as such the only thing left to me was to enforce a standard of decent and social behaviour. And to aid me in enforcing it she would be subjected to a four part punishment and a set of rules that would set crystal clear boundaries on how she should conduct herself. I told her that she would first be tied up, and then I would explain in more detail what was in store for her. 'Tied up?' It sounds quite benign when you say it like that. I raised her to her feet and placed her with her back to the stool. I lubricated the butt plug without letting on and moving in front of her positioned her in front of it. The terror in her eyes was now mixed with pleading, but still she did not speak. I spread her legs as much as I could and encouraged her into a sitting position. You must understand of course that the thought of employing a sex toy in any way would never have crossed her mind, but the concept of having a foreign body invade her arse would have been bewildering and abhorrent in equal measures. For whatever reason, some form of compliant serenity seemed to have descended on her and to my amazement, she responding to my promptings to position herself. As she assumed a squatting position I guided her until the tip of the plug was touching the bud of her anus and them told her to lower herself. She tried to go down but a mixture of fear and tension was preventing her from lowering herself enough. Satisfied that they were lined up correctly I went in front of her and taking her collar in my left hand to steady her, I reached down with my right hand and lifted her ankle off the ground meaning she was only supported on one leg. With this she began to sink and I heard her gasp and saw her look of alarm as the plug started to penetrate her. Gradually she sunk lower and as the plug flared out it spread her further. As she travelled down to the thickest part of the plug she was whimpering with tears streaming from her eyes. I released the leg I was holding and placing my hands on her shoulders exerted firm yet gentle downwards pressure. She was moaning and crying loudly now and I was beginning to worry that her virgin arse might not be capable of taking the widest diameter of the plug, when with a loud plop, the widest part passed into her and her sphincter relaxed around the narrower, but still substantially stretching diameter of the base section. As she sighed with relief at being invaded by a lesser diameter I took a pump and lying under the stool, connected it to the valve in the inflatable plug. I pumped air into it causing it to expand inside her, meaning it could not come out without being deflated. Imagine the scene. My prudish, dowdy wife was naked, her hands locked behind her head, her breasts swinging free, her legs spread open to reveal her cunt. And she was going nowhere as she was bolted to a stool by her arsehole. I gave her a few minutes to consider her position. She told me that it hurt. I told her it was meant to. I worked quickly to consolidate her discomfort. I used a length of cord to secure each ankle cuff to the stool meaning her legs were off the ground and her entire weight was bearing down on the butt plug that impaled her. When I completed this she started to plead to be released but I simply told here to be silent, completely silent. When she continued whimpering, I fitted a head harness with a ball gag attached. When strapped up, the ball was behind her teeth and the harness prevented her from opening her mouth. I used another couple of lengths of cord and tied each tit tightly round its base. This made her tits firm up and become ultra-sensitive. Her nipples were rock hard and I decorated them with a cloverleaf clamp on each with three 200 gram weights attached. Of course when weight is attached to a cloverleaf the effect is that the clamps are forced even tighter together. So it stands to reason that when the weights are attached by elastic cord and dropped, they will bounce up and down for an extended period before coming to rest, and that the frequent descent to the bottom of the bounce cycle, will cause an exponential increase in the pain generated. Finally I attached a couple of clamps on each of her cunt lips. On each side a cord from the clamps draped over her suspended thigh and down behind it where a 1.5Kg weight pulled constantly on it. The effect of this was that her cunt lips were stretched to the limit of their elasticity and the inner workings of her cunt fully exposed. At this, I considered that she was suitably restrained and we could now proceed to have our little chat. ***** I pulled up another stool and sat in front of her, deliberately selecting one that was substantially lower than hers. With me seated below her I had a grandstand view of her spayed thighs and the focal point between them. Before we continued, I pointed to my video camera on its tripod at the back of the room and told her that everything that had happened so far had been recorded in HD and everything that was about to happen would also be kept for posterity, and I hoped she would enjoy being a porn star. When I saw the rage in her eyes, I thought she might break free of all the bonds that held her and choke the living daylights out of me. I asked her to confirm that she deserved to be punished. Of course she could not speak but simply gave an almost imperceptible nod of the head. I asked her if she thought that this level of punishment was extreme, and after a little hesitation she nodded again. I told her that this was not yet extreme but we were working gradually towards that goal. She shivered. I asked her if she was now ready to consider the wishes of other people and she nodded enthusiastically. I imagine she thought that if she agreed then I would just roll over and release her from her uncomfortable position. I told her that was good and that I wished her to maintain a completely shaved cunt for the rest of her life -- did she agree? I thought her eyes would explode. They widened so much in sheer shock at my demand. She gave no sign of acceptance or rejection for a full couple of minutes. I imaging she was working out the angles, the consequences of each possible response. The beauty of negotiating with someone who is gagged is that they are only capable of binary responses. Yes or No! There was no ability to negotiate a middle ground or try to chip away at the edges. There was only Yes or No. She nodded. With a song in my heart I removed the weights and clamps from her pussy and restored it to almost its original shape, with her gloriously unruly muff now restored to display. I heated some water in the kettle I used for coffee when working, and went back to her with my electric razor which I had brought out. A few careful passes with the beard trimmer and her long treasured muff was reduced to a stubble. Then I lathered her up and carefully set about her with my safety razor. When I was finished, I moisturised her and sat back to admire my handiwork. She craned forward to see what I had done and I'm sure would have she would have had her mouth hanging open if it had not been clamped shut by the head harness. I told her that it was her duty to shave at least every second day from now on -- did she understand? A slight nod. I told her that she had not yet been punished, only prepared for punishment. She watched me wide eyed. Her expression turned to incredulity when I stripped off before her and proceeded to get dressed.... In her panties, then her bra, and finally the short satin nighty I had lifted from the clothes horse. I told her about the new rules. Amongst them were that she was never again to wear trousers or shorts of any description and she was only permitted to wear a short skirt or dress. She looked thoroughly miserable. She was asked to confirm that she understood. A small shake of the head I repeated the rule enquiring if she had suddenly become a simpleton. Understood? A nod I asked her if she agreed. Hesitation and then a nod She was never again to wear panties, tights or socks of any kind. She was permitted only to wear stockings and suspenders. Understood? A small nod Agreed? A long hesitation, probably accompanied by wondering how she could get me sectioned. A tiny nod She was never again to wear a bra without my explicit permission on each and every occasion it was required. Understood? A tear squeezed out of her left eye. UNDERSTOOD? A nod Agreed? A nod I was free to wear any articles of clothing I pleased, as now. Understood? A nod Agreed? Tears out of both eyes AGREED? Tears flowing freely now And then a nod I re-attached her cunt clamps and the weights (damn they looked really sore) and sat before her again. I described how her punishment would be in four parts. I wandered over to my cupboard and selected three implements and returned placing them on the stool beside me. I had chosen a Cat o' Nine Tails, an old fashioned school tawse made from thick leather and split into three tails and a medium heavy cane. She had the good grace to provide her most terrified expression yet. The first part was her current bondage. It was part of her punishment except the clock had not yet started running. I produced a pack of cards and explained that it contained only the cards from 5 to King and one Joker. Each card was worth its face value and Jack was 11, Queen was 12, King was 13 and the only Joker was 25. In a moment I would shuffle then and cut the deck and then start dealing them out face down. She had to select two of them by grunting and I would put those two cards aside, still face down, and put the remainder of the pack back in my cupboard. I would then look at the cards she had selected and multiply the two values together. The result of that calculation would determine the severity of her punishment. The number of additional minutes she would remain in her current position, the number of minutes she would be locked in a cage and the number of strokes she must endure from my implements of pain, once released from these bondage scenes. There were a couple of extras and some points to clarify. At this point I thought she might faint. In choosing two cards we were both entrusting the severity of her punishment to chance. If she was lucky and drew two 5's she would only remain trussed up and caged for 25 minutes and only suffer a combined 25 strokes from the Cat, the Tawse and the Cane. However if she was unlucky and drew a Joker and a King she would be trussed up and caged for a further 625 minutes (5½ hours) each and would have to bear a combined 625 strokes from the Cat, the Tawse and the Cane. It was important to emphasise that while I would know the number she had drawn she would not and would not know the extent of her suffering until it was complete. The two cards would remain in view but still face down for the duration and would be available for her inspection when it was over, to ensure fair play. In the event of her drawing in excess of 100 strokes, I could at my sole discretion, spread the whipping over a number of days to minimise the chance of causing her real damage. I did not point out that a side effect of this would be to extend her terror and apprehension and that this was of course a pleasing prospect for me. In the event that she declined, for whatever reason, to select two cards, she would by default receive the maximum sentence of 625 minutes and strokes. Depending on the number drawn, the sequence would go something like this. Bondage for somewhere between half an hour and 5½ hours followed by removal of her head harness. She would then be treated to some Cock Sucking lessons. This was clearly the most loathsome thing she had heard yet while from my perspective, I drooled. Think about it. At my bloody age I've never had my cock sucked. Well in for a penny in for a pound. That would change today. Only when she had reached a satisfactory level of performance there, she would be released from her, by now excruciating bondage, and locked in a cage for the duration she had drawn. Then when that time had elapsed, and after she had hopefully had plenty of time to think about it, she would be tied with her hands high above her head, fixed to a beam in the roof and her legs placed in a spreader, ready to be whipped. Every part of her body below the neck would receive some blows, and for the avoidance of doubt, her tits and cunt would be especially targeted. I asked if she had any questions.... Oh sorry, I forgot. It all went as I had planned and when it was over I carried her to the house and placed her in a hot luxurious bath with lots of bubbles and lotions. She sobbed for a long time and lay even longer letting the waters soothe and heal her. When she called I wrapped her in soft towels and carried her through to the bedroom where I gently dried her off before applying a soothing balm all over to try to reduce the residual pain from her heavy spanking. As I rubbed the balm gently and steadily into her beautifully smooth cunt something happened. In Her Eyes It wasn't something that we ever planned or even discussed, just sort of a habit that we fell into. As our night was coming to a close we would settle in for a drink or a late night snack and basically review the day. "How was your day, Suze?" "Everything was OK, honey." That was the sum total of our most frequent end of evening discussion. Sometimes if there was a problem, we actually talked it out. But problems were so infrequent that I always looked forward to the last discussion of each day. I would look into my wife's beautiful eyes knowing that things had gone well and that she was truly happy. After that, it was always easy to drift off into a comfortable sleep. *** During the past three days, our early morning discussions were getting stranger and stranger. It wasn't necessarily the topics, we always talked about everything. No subject was ever off limits. It was the timing that bothered me. This was the third off the wall topic in as many days. I set the toast on my plate and swallowed the bite I had just taken. I was purposefully deliberate when I reached for my mug of coffee. "Do you know anyone who has a marriage like that?" she asked. I was curious about what led to this topic, but I wasn't all that worried. Yet. Or was I? I honestly don't know. "Yes, dear. I do know some people who claim to have an 'open' marriage." The expression on my wife's face barely changed. But after having lived with her for almost 15 years, I knew she wasn't done asking questions. I admit I was more than a bit curious about what she was thinking. "Do I know these friends of yours?" "Well, honey. I never said they were friends. I said I knew some people. I suppose you would recognize their names, if I told you. However, I imagine that you know some people who think they live like that, too." "Oh. OK. I suppose you're right." And there it was. It was at that moment that I felt the first pang of sorrow in my chest. I saw the indecision in her eyes. She was afraid to ask me something, tell me something, or she was just plain hiding something. I had no idea what 'it' was, but 'it' was something. Unfortunately, I had a bad feeling about what 'it' might be. The rest of my breakfast didn't taste the same as it had when I started. Barely a word was said between us before the kids tumbled down from their bedrooms and hopped into their chairs. Our children were so full of energy and enthusiasm and love, it was nearly impossible to be melancholy around them. So it was all giggles and smiles until it was time for me to leave for work. She was almost whispering as I walked out the door. "I love you, David." "I know." I was surprised at how calm I felt. I didn't know anything, really. And yet, I did know. She was feeling guilty about something and was afraid to tell me. We talked about everything. We disagreed about many things. We had discussions, never arguments. I was never angry with her, and I don't think I ever gave her a reason to be angry with me. But for the first time I could remember, I had left for work without giving my wife a kiss. I mean there had been other times, of course, when she was sick, or visiting her family or when I had been traveling for work. But for the most part, I started every day with a goodbye kiss and a promise to return home as quickly as possible. But not that day. It was the topic of our discussions that worried me and I knew it had the potential to get ugly. *** My wife was a little better looking than your average girl next door type. She had dark flowing hair that naturally curled at her shoulders and the most beautiful blue eyes. The dimples on her cheeks when she smiled were adorable, but she had a sultry gaze she could bring out to remind you that she was all woman. She looked just as good with her hair in a pony tail, a baseball cap and sweatshirt, as she did dressed for night on the town in an outfit that left little to the imagination and heels that said, 'yeah, you're getting lucky tonight'. She always looked younger than her years. Her figure had barely changed over fifteen years and three children. I had always known that she would retain her good looks and body. When we were dating and I met her mother for the first time, I thought I was meeting her older sister. And I wasn't just being kind. I was legitimately shocked when I learned the truth. Later on, as I seriously considered a long term commitment, it was one of the factors that weighed heavily in her favor. She was by no means model or movie star gorgeous. I suspect that at first glance most men wouldn't have labeled her the prettiest woman in the room. But to me she was perfect, from the very first time I saw her. It was her general attitude that sealed the deal for me. Everyone liked Susan. All of my friends, Maggie, everyone we ever met. She was comfortable and at ease in any situation, with any group of people and always maintained a positive attitude. She was lively and outgoing and just so much fun to be around. I was that exact same way, when I was with her. On my own I was more guarded and pragmatic. I would say that I would best be described as an introvert, but I was by no measure anti-social. I had maintained a large group of friends throughout my life. But Susan was almost the first person I ever told every secret. I hid nothing from her. I never even considered it. *** I strolled out of the elevator a few minutes late after taking some time to visit the department heads and say a quick hello. Pretty standard for a Friday morning. "Is everything OK, Mr. Stephen's?" my assistant asked as I entered my office suite. "As good as can be expected, Miss Davis," I replied thoughtfully. She stared at me briefly, then quickly went back to whatever she was doing before I arrived. Fifteen minutes later, Rebecca Davis, was in my office, diary in hand ready to review the day's schedule. "The sales team will be in the conference room in 30 minutes. You have a conference call with King Pharmaceutical at 10:00. And Mr. Sloan, from Kipling Manufacturing is expecting your call at 11:00." She looked at me almost sorrowfully, "Would you like to review this afternoon's schedule now, Mr. Stephens?" I sighed as I stared out of my office window at the plaza below. Miss Davis and I reviewed the afternoon schedule right after my noon workout as we ate lunch together in my office. The same routine every day I was in the office for the past 10 years. I clearly hadn't concealed my thoughts as well as I thought I had. But then again, Miss Davis had always proven to be invaluable at anticipating my every need. It was the reason she was paid as much as some of the senior staff. "Reschedule everything that is not urgent until next week, please." "Right away, sir." She stood like she was on a mission and briskly walked to the door. "Becky." She paused with her hand on the door knob. "Yes, sir." "I need to see Maggie. First thing this afternoon." I am sure that if she hadn't been facing the door the look on her face would have matched the shocked gasp that I heard. "I'll take care of it, Mr. Stephens." Then she was quickly out the door, leaving me alone with my thoughts. *** Margaret Peterson was my closest friend. Our families lived across the street from each other. From the 3rd grade on, when her family moved to our neighborhood, she was my study partner, my companion to nearly every school gathering and even my date for senior prom. She taught me the meaning of loyalty and friendship, and maybe unbeknownst to her, she taught me how to love unconditionally. I was unreasonably driven in high school. So was Maggie. She wanted to be a lawyer. So did I. Our common goal meant we had to get into great schools by graduating at the top of our class. She pushed me to be the best. I challenged her to achieve the great things I knew she was capable of. I wasn't interested in any type of high school romance. Maggie wasn't either. I didn't want to be distracted from my goals. She wasn't interested in dating boys. That didn't mean we didn't have any fun. There were sports and drama and choir and student council and clubs and committees. We wanted to experience everything, and we did. The time that other kids spent dating and partying, we spent on extra-curricular activities. We had a blast. I was the captain of the basketball team, president of the student council, salutatorian and prom king. Maggie was the class valedictorian, captain of the debate and soccer teams, and year book editor. I am certain she was the one who left the skateboard on the sidewalk at the bottom of the steps that tripped me during our freshman year. It was the day before our physical fitness testing. My swollen ankle slowed me down just enough to earn me a B+ in freshman physical education, a blemish I could have remedied in summer school but didn't, and left me .02 points from matching Maggie's perfect 4.0 GPA. But alas, I never could find any physical evidence to prove my case. Maggie never told me she was a lesbian. She never had to. But she had no interest in guys, I knew that for certain. We never talked about it or even hinted at it. I just knew, and she knew I knew, and our shared secret made us closer. If being closer than inseparable was possible. I always figured I was her cover story to get through high school without the taunting and teasing. It didn't bother me at all. She was my cover as well. I never had to answer ridiculous questions about why I wasn't dating or if I was gay. No one ever questioned why I only ever 'dated' Margaret Peterson, the drop dead gorgeous blond bombshell. And she was, too. Gorgeous I mean. My lifelong friend was the most beautiful girl I had ever seen. Perfect blond hair, perfect green eyes. As she grew into a young woman, everything else was perfect too. Feet, legs, ass, stomach, breasts, neck, lips, ears, brain. She had it all. No doubt about it. To everyone looking at us from the outside it would have appeared that we were a normal couple. We frequently held hands and hugged. We would sit close to each other, my arm around her or her head on my shoulder with her arms wrapped around me. We even kissed on the lips, though it was rare. The most meaningful time was the day I said goodbye to her as she left to go to Stanford. "Thank you for everything, David. No one will ever understand why or how much I love you. You will always be my closest friend," she whispered in my ear. Then she took my face in her hands and kissed me right on the lips. It would be 7 years before I saw her again. *** Before I go on, I hope I haven't left you with the wrong impression. I wasn't a geek growing up. Not even close. Sure, I had my awkward boy stage, but mine didn't last any longer than normal. Nope, I ended high school as your basic suburban hometown hero. By the time I left home, I was six foot four, 210 pounds of lean, good looking muscle with curly brown hair and brown eyes. I was confident, smart, charming and ready to take on the world. My parents were stable, supportive and successful people who had taught me the most important lessons in life. Work hard, be humble, be honest with yourself and others, and treat people with respect. It wasn't that I couldn't date in high school. I chose not to date. I guess that probably would have surprised some people, even my father. Before I left for college my dad sat me down for one of our 'man to man' discussions. "Davie, I am not sure I will ever be able to tell you how proud your mother and I are of you. You have become the young man that I always hoped you would be. I love you very much." "Thanks, pop." "Uhh...I do have one question for you though, son. Your mother has threatened me with a year on the couch if I fail to have this discussion with you before you head off to face the world. So here goes....are you a virgin?" "Yes, dad." I had long ago gotten over being uncomfortable during one of my father's discussions about drugs, alcohol and now apparently sex. I never had a warning about what the topic was going to be, although I usually could take an educated guess. I never got in trouble for answering his questions honestly. I quickly learned that he only wanted what was best for me, and wanted to help me anyway he could. He couldn't help me if he didn't know the truth and he never made me uncomfortable about my answers even if he didn't like them. He never judged me and always tried to guide me to find solutions to problems that I was comfortable with. It just worked for us. "OK, I have to admit I am surprised to hear that, even though your mother told me that was the case. With the amount of time you and Margaret spent together I was almost certain your answer would be different." For a second he seemed to be a little uncertain if he wanted to continue. "Can I ask wh..?" "I am not gay, dad." It was subtle, but there was a very small sigh of relief. "Can I ask you a question, Pop?" "You know you can ask me anything, Davie." "Do you consider Mom to be your equal?" "David, your mother is a far superior person to me in almost every way." "When you were in high school, did you ever meet any girl like her?" "No, David. There was no one at my high school like your mother. I honestly didn't think anyone that perfect for me existed, until I met her in college." "I know what you mean. I have done a lot of thinking about what I want my life to be like. I look at you and mom as the gold standard. I want to be as successful and content with my life as you are with yours. I want to share my life with someone as beautiful, smart and strong as mom." I honestly thought my dad was going to cry. Either that or he suddenly had something caught in his eye. "I met a person almost perfect for me, dad. I have never met anyone else as close to perfect as Mags." "Or as beautiful..." "I know dad, I know. She is a babe, no doubt about it. And she is my best friend. Always has been, always will be. I love her with all my heart, unconditionally, and without question. But we are never going to be in love with each other." "I guess I must have missed something there, son. You said that Margaret was perfect for...." "Almost perfect, dad. And our differences would have been insurmountable, pop. Margaret is a lesbian. She has no interest in guys." "Oh." "Mom and Maggie have forced me to set my standards incredibly high. I know that. But since no other girl in high school was ever going to meet that standard, having sex with one of them seemed to be risking a lot of trouble, like pregnancy or STDs, with no real upside. That was just too much risk for me to take for short term gratification. I am not saving myself for 'the one' either but, I will wait as long as it takes to find someone with potential. I just hope I don't have to wait too much longer." My dad let out a huge belly laugh at that and seemed to regain his footing. "Well, then. I guess your mom was right. You may need my speech, which fortunately for you is short. And I think this goes without saying for you, but it never hurts to make sure. David, don't ever lie to a young lady just to get into her pants. I think if you are honest and considerate of a lady's feelings, you will have the opportunity to have many memorable experiences. If you don't, I think you will be very unhappy with the results." "It goes without saying, dad. But thanks for thinking of me." "Well, I suppose I had better go eat some crow. I don't know how your mother knows everything, but I will eventually learn to stop questioning it." "Someday soon, pop?" "Probably not soon enough, David." *** "How good is my pre-nup, Maggie?" "What are you talking abo.....oh, shit." "Well, maybe shit. Maybe not. But I think it would be best if you starting looking into it just the same. I imagine that you haven't looked at it for some time." "No, David. I haven't. Are you certain?" I turned away from the window I had been staring out of again to face her. She was looking directly into my eyes. "Do you think you can tell what someone is thinking just by looking into their eyes, Mags?" "Well, no. Not everyone. Just you, David." "Yeah, I know what you mean. It only works for me with you and Susan. Until this morning I thought that was one of the coolest things about my life. Now, I am not so certain." Maggie tilted her head ever so slightly to take one more look. "You're starting all of this because of something you saw in her eyes, David?" "Yep." "OK." *** College was everything that I expected it would be, several things I hoped it would be and took my life in a completely different direction than I had planned. Maggie and I spoke on the phone for at least an hour every week. For important events, I sent her a letter or a card. Even 2,600 miles away she was my best friend. I loved the east coast and I quickly made a new set of friends with diverse interests. I studied, and partied, and immersed myself in college life with a vengeance. Yep, Harvard was a good fit for me. On the sexual side, I could write an entire series on my adventures at Harvard. My virginity lasted for all of two and half weeks. Anyway, there were lots of women with potential there and I started my search for a lifelong companion almost immediately. There was hardly ever a weekend without some special event, and I rarely attended any event without a date. By no means was I 'banging chicks' every week. But I did have sex frequently, basically every time I was in the mood. One of my friends with benefits explained to me after our date at the Boston Pops Firework Spectacular that I had developed quite a reputation. I was intrigued and I wanted to hear more. "David, you make every woman feel unique and special. You never try to be someone you're not. And you don't force women to be something they're not either. And you are fucking hot!" she giggled. "Want to spend a romantic evening with someone and be treated like a princess? Go see David. Want to see a football game and be treated like one of the guys? David is your man. Have some crazy sexual fantasy that you have to try? Share it with David. No one will ever hear about it from him. Want to let out your inner slut? Make sure it's David in your bed. When it's time for that slut to go back into hiding in the morning, your friend David will be the one to kiss her on the cheek and let her know she is beautiful and will be missed. We girls like to talk." "I don't quite know how to respond to that Stacy. It's very flattering, but I think maybe that has all been a bit more luck than skill. I am not exactly Casanova here." "Oh, you have skills all right David. No one ever makes me come like you do," she blushed. "I just wanted you to know, on behalf of the female student body, that you give us hope that not every gorgeous man is gay or an arrogant prick. And that Mr. Perfect actually exists." "Well, thanks Stacy. That is quite the boost to my ego. But...you know I am only interested in one student's body right now." "And that, David, is exactly why I am going to fuck your brains out as soon as we get to my apartment." That basically sums up my sexual experiences in college. Finding a willing partner was never a problem. I was upfront and honest with all of my dates. I never spoke out of turn, or shared anyone's secrets. I treated women with respect and because of that it seemed I could do nothing wrong. I tried everything at least once with a variety of beautiful, smart and destined to be successful women. Oral, anal, role play? Check, check, check. Bondage? Sure, lightly. Threesomes? Twice. Once with twins. My dream of being a lawyer didn't fare as well. I dumped that dream, rather rudely, in favor of a new and sexier dream. Well maybe not sexy, but definitely new. Computers. I found out that I preferred problem solving to negotiating, coding to debate and discovering a use for the latest technology to almost anything. I admit I was a bit obsessed with the new love in my life...oh, the possibilities. In Her Eyes So after my four years at Harvard, I said goodbye to my dream of Yale Law and hello to MIT and an MBA. It was a bit unusual for someone to be admitted with such a limited amount of real world work experience. Giving up my summer vacations for internships certainly worked in my favor. I would like to say that it was my academic reputation and interview skills that earned my internships at four of the largest employers in Boston. But I honestly think it had more to do with the fact that I was going against the grain. Hundreds of students were competing for an opportunity to be the next financial 'whiz kid', partner, or big wig, but it often felt like it was only me that wanted a chance to learn about a company's IT department. A consulting firm, hospital, law firm and a multinational bank were all on my resume by the time I graduated from Harvard with honors. I spent the next two and a half years at MIT learning about innovation and emerging technologies, business and entrepreneurship. It was fast paced and fun and tiring. I didn't take breaks, I interned. But I knew what I wanted to do. I wanted my own company, to be in control of my own destiny. But I didn't know how to fund my brilliant plan and was certain I was about to wallow in the despair of my very own cubicle, pinching every penny so that shareholders could make a nice dividend, waiting for a chance to realize my dream. It didn't quite work out that way. *** I met Susan during my last summer internship after MIT, in the children's ward of a hospital. She was a nurse and she was beautiful. "Hi. I'm from IT. Someone called about a computer problem." Her smile lit the room. "Oh, thank god! I have no idea what I have done. But I am sure it is bad. I cannot access the patient files. It's like they have disappeared." "Well, let's take a look. Shall we?" I was trying not to stare, but it was difficult. She had a glow about her and very suddenly I had this surge of energy that I could barely contain. I needed to do a good job. I needed to impress her. Her name. I needed her name. "I am David Stephens, by the way. I'll be solving all of your problems today." She giggled, "Susan White, and I'll be the eternally grateful one watching over your shoulder." Her blue eyes sparkled as she spoke. I heard a quiet melody ringing in the air. I thought it was angels singing to announce that one of their own was in my presence. It was her pager. "Oh, that's for me. I am sorry. I have to check on a patient. I'll be right back." Fortunately, her problem was easy to diagnose. Someone had accidently deleted several files from her desktop making it impossible to for her to access the patient database. I didn't think it was her fault since the time stamp on the deleted files was from several hours earlier. I accessed the back-up server, restored the missing files and watched Susan. She was a vision. She moved around the patient's bed with a reassuring smile. She stopped to hold the little girl's hand before she left. She took time to explain her actions to the girl's seemingly distraught parents. You could almost feel the tension in the room ease as she completed her tasks. Then she was back. "Sorry about that. Duty calls." "What time did you start your shift?" "I'm sorry, what?" "When did you start working today?" "Umm...about 30 minutes ago." "Well, then, I am happy to report that your problem is fixed and that you weren't the cause." Then that smile again. Wow. I needed to remember to breathe. "Oh my god! Really!" She spun to her terminal and started typing. "YES! Oh, you are a life saver aren't you!" "No, Suze. I believe that is your job. I just help with the computers." This time as she slowly turned back to me she had an appreciative smirk on her face. I smiled back. "Thank you, David. You are very sweet." That ended the first meeting with my future wife. I returned to my department with a suggestion on changing access permissions to some of the more important network files and a heart brimming over with joy. *** Susan was normally a confident, caring and loving person. But when she knew she was in the wrong she couldn't muster the courage to be straight with me. It had only happened twice before on two inconsequential, minor issues. Once she had forgotten to make reservations at my favorite restaurant for my birthday. The other time, she had backed her anniversary present, a brand new convertible VW Beetle, into an SUV after a day of shopping at the mall. Her cover-ups were almost comical. There was a new restaurant she was dying to try. Didn't sushi sound exciting? She had forgotten to refill her gas tank and didn't want to risk getting stuck on the side of the road. Couldn't we just take my car to the parent-teacher conference? I suppose I could have taken these as warning signs of bigger problems to come. But would you have? Two minor issues in almost 15 years of marriage. Nah, I don't think so. *** I wasn't dreading returning to my home. But I wasn't sure quite what to expect. I had spent most of the afternoon alone with my thoughts, a luxury that comes with being the boss. I knew Susan would be ready to take another shot to tell me what was on her mind, without actually having to tell me what was on her mind. I also knew our next foray towards the truth awaited me at home. But I have to admit I was surprised by her tactics. I walked into a quiet home, which was completely out of the norm. No children, no dinner. Only the faintest sound of music coming from outside on the deck alerted me to anyone being home. I opened the sliding door leading to the deck to a surprise that let me know I would have to be the one to end this charade. Susan was going to keep upping the ante until she felt she could live with her guilt. "Good afternoon, Shannon." I said to my sister. "Well, hey there Dave. Long time no see." "Well, some parts I have never seen." "Oh come on, Dave! Seen one pair, you've seen them all." "Where are the kids, Susan?" With all the false bravado she could muster my topless wife set her margarita on the deck table. She did her best seductive turn my way clearly so that I could get the full effect of the thong bikini bottom that barely covered the lips of her pussy, and definitely didn't cover the rosebud in the back. "They are at my parents for the night, David. You see...Shannon and I were feeling a little naughty and definitely didn't want to be worrying about tan lines. Just a day for fun and sun by the pool for us girls." "Yeah, OK." I replied. I was trying to look into her eyes, but the mirrored Ray-Bans were trying very hard to block my gaze. This had gone on long enough. Three days. Do you ever fantasize about other women? Have you ever considered swinging? Do you know anyone with an open marriage? I sighed trying to steel my resolve. Having her sister flashing me with her naughty bits had tipped the scales. "Susan, do you love him?" Shannon almost shot out of her chaise lounge. Her breasts bouncing back and forth as she whipped her head around to look first at me and then her sister. Her mouth was hanging open in shock. On any normal day, I would be hard pressed to not think about shoving my cock in there to fill the void. But not today. Hey, don't judge. I had been a faithful and loving husband, but I was still a man. "Wh..what...are y...you talk...talking a..about, D..David?" my wife sputtered. I knew it was the worst case scenario. The beautiful, confident woman who was my wife had been replaced by the slut with a quivering lip. "Well, Susan. I can see you are not ready to tell me what has actually been bothering you for the past three days. So I guess I'll have to wait. But I don't want to be misunderstood. I will not be fucking your baby sister so that you feel better. Clear?" I had never been so angry or so sick to my stomach. I wanted to reach up and grab her the throat until all the pain in my gut had been choked out. But, I would just never do that. I couldn't. "Holy shit..." Shannon gasped. That mouth was still open, maybe....nah. "David, I...I...I..." There was a single tear dropping off her check now. But I really didn't give a fuck. I was close to losing control of this situation. It was time to get out of dodge, before I left myself in a position without any options. "I'll be back on Monday. Take all the 'fun and sun' time you need. But be ready to talk when I get back." It is amazing how a day's worth of tanning can turn into an ash white appearance with just a little bit of panic. "It was lovely to see you, Shannon. I am sorry I'll be leaving so soon. Oh, and nice tits. Thanks for sharing." Her mouth was closed now, but the blush was new. I stood to make my way back into the house, pausing at the door. I could hear Susan sniffling, in an attempt to stave off out and out crying. "By the way, Susan," I turned to her one more time. She didn't even try to look at me. "When I get even, it will be on my terms....not yours." I stepped into the house and started closing the door. "BITCH!" I think the first sound I heard was her puking up a day's worth of margaritas. It was hard to tell. I was fairly sure that the second sound I heard was her balling, gasping for breath between wails. I know for certain it was Shannon who said, "Jesus Christ, Susan! What the fuck have you done?!" *** I spent the better part of a week, trying to work up the nerve to ask Susan White for a date. It was quite unusual for me. I wasn't lacking in self confidence. I had asked many beautiful women for dates and had rarely been turned down. But I wanted this to be perfect for some reason, and I was deathly afraid of rejection. As it turned out, I had nothing to worry about. "Um, excuse me. David?" Her angelic voice broke me from my day dream. I gazed her smiling face for what had to be the better part of an hour. OK, maybe just a few seconds. "Hi." "David, I uh need a favor." "Anything for you, Suze." Then that smile again. I was hooked. No doubt about it. "One of the other pediatric nurses is getting married this weekend and I need a date. Would you be interested in being my escort?" "I would be honored." And that is how I found myself knocking on the door of the ground level apartment of my future wife. Our first date. I know it was crazy, even I would have told you that. But I just knew. "Hello, David." "Hello, beautiful. Shall we?" "Lead the way kind sir." The wedding was tasteful, but uneventful. I sat next to Susan holding her hand occasionally. I barely took my eyes off her. She would glance at me intermittently, always with a smile on her face. The reception at the restaurant was where Susan really shined. She was the heart of the party. She wasn't the center of attention and never sought the spotlight but she did move casually from group to group and left each of them smiling and laughing. I think the reception would have died a quick death had Susan not kept the blood flowing. Sometimes I followed her around like a lost puppy, other times I would hang out with a group of guys by the bar shooting the breeze. I turned down a dozen ladies requesting dances. "I am so sorry. I am just waiting for Susan to come back." I said over and over in my politest voice. As the evening wore on and the dance floor filled, Susan returned smiling up at me. "I am not certain I was prepared to defend my turf against so many ladies this evening, Mr. Stephens." "Whatever do you mean, Miss White?" "It seems that I have unknowingly taken the most eligible bachelor off the market and several of the young ladies in attendance are none too pleased." She lowered her head. "I am sorry I left you alone here, David. You didn't have to wait for me. And you certainly could have danced with anyone you liked." "I plan on dancing with the someone I like, Suze. And I'll wait to take you to that dance floor until you are ready." "Well, OK then." She gave me that little smirk and took my hand. I never let it go for the rest of the evening. Fast songs, slow songs. Not even during the last dance when her head was leaning against my chest and her breasts were pressed against me. I tried my best to keep my hard on away from her, but every time I attempted to move away she moved her hips back into me. Finally, I just gave up and enjoyed the feeling. We chose to walk back to her apartment. It wasn't that far. We chatted as we strolled. About everything. About nothing. It was wonderful. When the moment of truth arrived, she gave me a gentle kiss on the lips. It lingered for minute and then she stepped away and paused. "David, I..." she looked like she was contemplating something but she was just a little unsure. After an almost uncomfortable moment she steadied herself and continued. "David, I would like to invite you inside, because I know I don't want the evening to end. But I don't want to give you the wrong impression about me. I seem to be wrestling with my own thoughts at the moment." "Can I say something?" "Sure." "OK. I just want you to know that I am fully prepared to defend my turf against any gentlemen caller because I will definitely be taking you off the market permanently. And, if you invite me in, I promise to stop only for a brief moment of thanks before I start making sure that you never regret that you did." We started trading passionate kisses almost immediately. It was a good thing that she lived on the ground floor, because we would have been naked before we got inside her apartment had she lived any higher up. We had been dating non-stop for three months when my life was changed forever. And not in any way I was hoping. *** I went straight to the office from the airport. My flight from New York put me back in Chicago just before noon. I had spent the weekend with my favorite hobby: listening to the rock bands of Poughkeepsie at various venues. Miss Davis had me out of Chicago within the hour, after I left my wife and her sister on Friday night. It was a very nice turnaround time considering the short notice I had given her. Some people say that the pop punk sound of southern California is the best thing since sliced bread, and they have the record sale numbers to prove it. I say those people don't know shit. In my opinion the greatest bands of our generation have come from Poughkeepsie and I had a very relaxing time. It wasn't quite the same as my college days and I felt a little out of place being so much closer to 40 and not as close to 20. But I was there to listen to the music, not party. So the weekend had served its purpose. When I arrived at the office, Maggie was waiting at my conference table. Miss Davis had already ordered our lunch. Maggie was as beautiful as ever. I was glad she was my friend. I was even happier that she was my lawyer. I had changed my dream long ago, but Maggie hadn't. And she was the best of the best: detailed, dedicated and ruthless. Her firm handled all of our contracts, she handled my affairs personally. "I don't want to be a weekend dad, Maggie. At a minimum I want shared custody of the kids." "Right to the point, eh David?" "Well, Mags you've had almost 72 hours so I am sure you know more than me. Why don't you tell me?" She looked at me for long time before she spoke. "It has been a very short term affair, David." "Short enough to satisfy you, Maggie?" There must have been something very interesting on the table that Maggie needed to study. Finally she whispered. "No, David." "I know she is your friend, Maggie. I am sorry." "Jesus, David. Why in the hell would you be worried about my feelings?!" "Because, I love you, Mags. Always have. Always will." "She is such an idiot. She'll get nothing, David. What a stupid bitch. God, listen to me on my soap box. I'm sorry. " "Maggie?" "Yes, David?" "Who?" *** It was the third year of our marriage before we had our first big non-argument. Susan wanted to talk about something. As usual, she was calm and collected. Sitting across the table from me, sipping a glass of wine she began, "You know I will never be confused for a super model, right David?" "Only to those who aren't looking at you through my eyes, Suze. I have no doubt you are a super model." She blushed as she smiled. My God, she was beautiful. "What I mean, David, is that I will never be able to compete with the models and actresses that are around you every day. And to be honest, I wouldn't even want to try." ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ I knew where this was coming from. As my company's reputation began to take shape, I decided to make sure that we took a very active role in supporting any worthy charitable organization in the community. And I don't just mean sponsorships and checks. I mean active participation, most importantly volunteering time. I encouraged our employees to participate the best way I knew how. I demanded more of myself than anyone. Susan and I spent nearly all our free time volunteering for literacy groups, children's advocates, performing arts organizations and at nearly every community event. Our volunteer efforts kept our company front and center in the community and allowed me to make contacts from all over Chicago and beyond. Our employees felt more connected to our community and our customers benefited from improved understanding of what they needed to be successful in our region. Most importantly to me, I got to do my favorite thing. Spend time with my Susan. I got to share her with the world and let everyone see how lucky I really was. Every weekend was another opportunity for Susan and me to have an adventure, without ever leaving her newly adopted home town. It did have its drawbacks. The more we were in the public eye, the more I got hit on. Even with Susan right by my side, which she almost always was. Most were the subtle innuendos that I had been rejecting for most of my adult life. But more recently, many attempts would best be described as blatant propositions. One weekend for example when the hired spokes model, who had just come off the stage after presenting a deserving family with a check symbolizing free groceries for a year, turned to address me. She handed me her business card and said, "I think we would have incredible sex. Call me if you'd like to find out. Your wife can even watch if you want." Then she spun on her heels and left, exaggerating the sway of her hips as she departed. I turned to Susan and laughed as I threw the business card in the trash. "What do think she meant, Suze?" Susan smiled, but her giggle reflected the absolute shock that both she and I were feeling. "Oh, I think you know, dear." "Well, I am only a man, Suze. So forgive me if sometimes I have to ask for help when these things need clarification." I put my arm around her shoulder and held her to me as we made our way to the parking lot. I held her hand our entire car ride home. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ "There is no competition, darling. And there never will be. Everything I am is yours. Forever." "David, I don't mean to whine. But you have to know what a hunk you are. I mean, Jesus, Dave. You are a damn babe magnet. And well, shit, I am me. Don't you ever feel like you settled?" "No, honey. That thought has never crossed my mind." "David, I know I am being a bitch here. But make me understand. Make me believe you. Please." "With pleasure, sweetheart. Suze, I looked for you for years. From the minute I left home after high school until the day I met you, I was on a mission. Find the person who made me as happy as my mom made my dad. It was one of the final things he and I seriously spoke about, just after he was about to ask me if I was gay." I had to chuckle at that memory. In Her Eyes "I wanted a woman who would be my partner. Someone smart, and funny, and beautiful. I wanted a woman who would make me want to be a better person. And I stopped looking the day that I met you. I knew from the very first moment I saw you that you were the one. I had never felt that way about anyone before you, and certainly no one since I met you." "Suze, you are perfect for me. I adore absolutely everything about you." I stopped briefly for one gentle kiss on the back of her hand. "I know it has to be a bit unnerving for you to see the way that some women act around me. And I won't belittle you and tell you that I don't get propositioned on a daily basis, because I do. But maybe it would help you to know how I what I am thinking about as I go through each day." "I would really like to know, David." "Every day I wake up and look to make sure that you are still beside me. And when I have seen your face for the first time each day, I say a prayer thanking God for bringing you into my life and I ask him guide me in making sure that every day of your life is better than the last. And then I go out into the real world following my most important and only ironclad rule: to be completely devoted to you. Every action I take, every decision I make has to meet one simple threshold. Will this make Susan proud of me?" "I am not a saint, Suze. And I am definitely not a monk. I appreciate beautiful women as much as the next horny bastard. But I know this, no woman has ever turned me on the way that you do. Every conscious thought I have, that isn't distracted by the mundane tasks of day to day living, is about you, about your body, and my need to possess you. It is an act of will that allows me to break away from you each morning and another to not ravish you when I come home. I won't ever get enough of you, Suze, and I don't want, nor will I ever need, anyone else." "As my dad used to say, 'I think this goes without saying for you, but it never hurts to make sure.' Suze, I can make you this promise on my parent's graves: I will never cheat on you and I will never do anything that would embarrass you or make you feel ashamed of me. Ever. And someday when you honor me with children I promise to treat them with the same love, devotion and respect that I have for you. It's the only way I know how to live, Suze." "It goes without saying, David." Her eyes were on fire now. I had been watching them throughout my little speech. Her sparkling blue eyes had gone from concerned, to touched, to loving, to red hot, a sure sign I was about to get lucky. This fire in her eyes was a look I had never seen, but I liked it. The look stayed with her as she moved around the table and crossed the distance between us. She left her skirt and panties on the ground about half way through her journey. As she leapt into my lap and plastered her body to mine, she caught me off guard and almost sent us crashing to the ground. I could hear her begging. She had urgency in her voice that she let out between heart stopping kisses. "Give me your baby, David. Love me and make our child. Fuck me and take what's yours. Breed me, David. Use me. Please. Please, David. Give me what I need." I am not sure if it took that very first time or if our first child was conceived during one of the other dozen times we coupled that weekend. But, those 48 hours were filled with love and purpose, and some of the hottest fucking sex I have ever experienced. *** Maggie was the one who called me. She was in her first year of practice, back in Chicago. "David, you need to come home." "I miss you too, Maggie, but I wasn't planning on coming home until Christmas. It has been almost seven years, Mags. It will hold for a few more months." "Today, David. You need to come home. Today." It sounded like she was on the verge of tears. "Maggie, what's wrong?" "Oh, David! I'm so sorry!" She was crying for sure now. "Whatever it is Maggie. I'll take care of it. You tell me what's wrong and I will fix it for you. Anything at all. No secrets, no worries, Maggie." "Oh, David. I love you. So much. But it is not my problem, honey." She stopped talking for a long time. "David, your mom and dad were killed in a car accident last night." "What? Mags, I think I misunderstood." "They're gone, David. I am so sorry." I was a zombie from that moment on. Susan told me later that I hadn't said a word for almost two hours. And then I only mumbled, "Going home." In a panic, she dialed the number on the caller ID and had spoken to Maggie, whom she had never met. Then, she helped me pack and drove me two the airport. She said she didn't think I would make it to the gate on my own so she waited at the security check point for an hour after my plane was scheduled to depart just to make sure I didn't wander back out of the terminal. I don't remember much from that day. But I do remember seeing Maggie for the first time in seven years. She was still a gorgeous woman. I was sad that this was how we had to be reunited and relieved that I wasn't alone. Our initial hug near baggage claim lasted several minutes. Maggie told me later she held me until I stopped crying. The next four days were a blur. It seemed as though I signed a thousand documents. I met with the funeral home, cemetery, insurance agents, hospital personnel, police and lawyers. Oh, the lawyers. I was never so certain that Maggie had chosen the right career and I was grateful that I had chosen a different path. Maggie was fierce in her protection of my interests. Apparently, my interests had expanded a great deal. I always knew my mom and dad had money. We never spoke about it though. I never asked for much. I never needed my own car. I was too busy with activities to ever need much spending money but my parents always covered the occasional movie or concert. I cleaned the offices of my father's accounting firm Sunday morning after church to earn some extra cash, even though I never used it. During the summer, I stuffed envelopes, made copies and ran various errands for his firm. My spring break was the same time as my father's busiest time at the office. I always had plenty of work. By the time I finished high school I had worked for my father part-time for almost six years and never spent a penny. I never needed it. But it did come in handy during my four years at Harvard. Along with my summer internships, I always had enough spending money to keep any college student happy. And I was. My other clue should have been my parent's spending habits. We took two fantastic family vacations each and every year. One during Christmas beak and one the week before school started. The Great Barrier Reef, almost every country in Europe, New York, Los Angeles, and Disney World when I was a kid, of course. I traveled the world with my parents, but had never considered the cost. Finally, we never wanted for anything. If the family decided we had a need, we discussed our options, researched the best available solution and made a purchase. My family life was simple and predictable, so major purchases were few and far between. I just never knew. But it was clear to me now. My father owned his firm and was apparently a very good accountant. And my parents were rich. Unfortunately, that meant now I was loaded beyond my dreams. I asked God if I gave it all back would he let my parents come home. He never answered. My parents were buried on a Thursday. There is not much more I can say about that. After the funeral, I was mentally and physically spent. I needed a break. "Maggie, can you take care of the rest of this for me?" "I can and I will, David. Umm, one last question though. Are you planning on getting married any time soon?" "Yeah, Mags. I think I am. Is that important?" "Good for you, David. I hope she is as special as you. And, yes, it's important." "Thanks, Maggie. Have I told you lately that you are my best friend?" "At least once a week since we were eight, honey." "Well, it doesn't seem like enough. I love you, Mags." "I love you, too, David." *** The house seemed cold. It was completely quiet again for perhaps only the third or fourth time since we had moved in. I loved this house. It was the only home I had ever really known. But it was almost eerie walking in the door. Almost the same as the day I knew my parents were dead, only worse. The main floor looked like it hadn't been used in days. It was dark and felt empty. I almost missed her as was starting up the stairs. Susan was sitting quietly on the coach staring at our family portrait that was hanging above the fireplace. The picture was taken two years earlier, and if I can brag for just a minute: we looked good. My son took after me, and the twins looked just like their mother. It was such a fun day. Taking pictures in the park. "Hello, Susan." "Hi, honey." "Where are the kids?" "Still with my parents, David." Susan looked like death warmed over. She had huge bags under her eyes. Her cheeks were puffy and red. It looked like her hair hadn't been combed in days, and make up was forgotten long ago. She was dressed in my Harvard sweatshirt and my MIT pajama pants. They almost swallowed her whole. "Are you ready to talk to me now, Susan?" "I think I am." "OK, then. You have one shot Susan. The truth. All of it. No secrets. No excuses." "I know, David. I don't have any excuses anyway. David, I....uh....I cheated on you." It was seemingly emotionless for her. She barely moved. Her facial expression didn't change. She just looked sorrowful. A deep sorrow. I guess all cried out wasn't just expression. At least she wasn't sugarcoating it. Maybe, just maybe, there was hope. "How long?" "It's been two weeks, David. You were in Las Vegas for the convention. The steering committee was finishing the final plans for the new shelter ground breaking. We finished late one night and stopped for dinner at Great Street. I knew I shouldn't be drinking wine, but it didn't stop me. I knew when everyone else left, I should have gotten myself a cab. I made every wrong decision." "Did you bring him to the house, Susan?" "God, no, David. He got a room at the hotel." "Where were the kids?" "With my parents. I called and asked if they could stay when I realized shouldn't be driving." "Well that's one good thing." "Yeah, I know." She sighed. "So, was he better than me?" She finally moved, wincing at my question. "Did he have a big cock?" Another wince. This was taking too long. It was time to hear all of the details. "Did you blow him? Did you lick his ass? Did you ask him to spank you? Did he fuck your ass?" "OK, David, OK! Enough. I get it. Yes, I gave him a blow job. No his dick wasn't bigger than yours. I sucked him until came, and sucked him until he was hard again. And then he fucked me, missionary until he came again. A stupid, boring missionary fuck. My life is ruined because I let Mike Thomas give me the worst fuck of my life!" I stared at her for awhile. She was emotional now, flustered. Even beautiful, now that some of color had returned to her face. But I had my answer. Maybe she deserved one more chance. "Is that it, Susan?" "Yes, David. I am so sorry." Maybe there was no hope. "OK, Susan." "OK?" "Yep, OK. Nothing left but the details." "David, I am so sorry. It will never happen again. I will do anything to make this up to you." She was starting to ramble. "Don't worry about it." "Wait..what?" "I said don't worry about it Susan. I'll am going to stay out of the house for the rest of the week. I'll let the kids know where I am in case they need anything. I'll be back on Saturday." I stood to take another look at that portrait and smiled. It was such a good day. "Oh, David. That's great honey. It will be so nice to have you home. I've missed you." "Yeah. Say Susan, did you use a condom?" Her eyes flashed with surprise. I didn't think it was that strange of a question. "N..n...no, David." "OK, well I am going to get tested for STDs. You should probably decide about that, too. 'Big' Mike being a man-whore and all." "Jesus, David. I am really, really sorry. I wasn't thinking." I was making my way to the door when I remembered some other things she would need to know. Oh, well. I have always been more of a big picture guy. Those damn details always get in the way. "Yeah, Susan. I know. Anyway, Maggie will be in touch. The accounts are frozen but she'll make sure you have enough to get wherever you are going." "What do you mean going? Where am I going?" "Well, I don't really know Susan. I just know that Maggie said she'll have you out of the house by Friday. Where you go is probably one of those decisions you are so good at making." "No...NO...NO....NO!!! Noooo!!!" "Susan." I really wasn't sure if she was listening to me anymore. But she did stop her screaming long enough to look at me. "If you are going to have Mike help you move, you should have him bring Jason Smith by to help. Since you don't remember, you should probably have him fill you in on what he was doing while 'Big' Mike was giving you your terrible fuck." "No, David, no. Please wait. It wasn't my fault. Please!! Oh, God!! I am going to be sick." I don't really know if she ended up puking. I didn't stick around to find out. But it didn't look good as I closed the door. *** The restaurant was a pretty romantic setting. It was much quieter than it had been on our first date. But then again, there weren't 60 drunken wedding guests in the middle of a celebration. The DJ lights and sound system had been replaced with candles and a jazz pianist. Susan was the same though, radiating beauty and grace wherever she went. Dinner was a quiet affair, but hey, I was really nervous. I couldn't find an easy way to start, so I just jumped right in. "Suze, I think I should take over my father's business. I've been giving it a lot of thought, and even though it is an accounting firm now, I think it can be transformed in to the company I have been dreaming about. The current clientele will provide a steady stream of income while we diversify. And we can use our current relationships with clients to add a new line of services." I was having a hard time seeing what I had done wrong. I always wanted Susan's opinion about the big decisions that would affect our lives. Granted, we had only been together for six months and there hadn't been many big decisions. But I had declined the hospital's offer of a full time position in favor of starting a new position at the bank after speaking with her. I had let my lease expire and moved in with Susan after another one of our talks. But she looked devastated. "David, I thought we were getting along so well. I can work on whatever it is that is bothering you. I can change, I promise." "Suze, what are you talking about?" "Please, David. Don't leave me. I love you." "Wow, honey. Where did that come from? Why would you think I was leaving you?" "You said you were going back to Chicago." "No, honey. I said I was thinking that I should take over my father's company. I wanted your opinion. I would never make a decision this big without hearing your thoughts." She still looked like I had just kicked her in the stomach. But she was recovering. "Well, I think I may have done this out of order. I apologize, honey. This is my first time." This was not going as planned, but then again life never does. It was time to try and save the day. I waved my hand at the maitre de, and he signaled for the pianist to change the song. Slowly the wait staff stopped by our table, each leaving a single red rose for Susan. Finally, I stood reached for the box in my pocket and fell to my knee. "Suze, I have known from the first moment that we met that you were the one for me. Every day I get to spend with you just confirms what I have always known. I love you with all my heart. I will be a good husband to you, Suze, and I will show you every way I can just how special you are to me. Susan, will you marry me?" The kicked in the stomach look had been replaced by one of shock. I was beginning to wonder if I had made a giant mistake. But the camera flash saved me. Susan's eyes blinked trying to re-adjust to the dimly lit room. That was when she glanced in the direction of the flash and saw her family, her dad, mom and sister standing looking over the short partition trying to get a better look. Her mom was smiling and crying, holding her camera waiting to capture the big moment. It didn't take long. Susan tackled me. Right there in the middle of the restaurant. Now, I am a man and it has always been my contention that I could have held my ground if I wanted to put up a fight. Opinions vary. At least I held on to the ring. "YES! OH, David!! Yes. Yes, my love!" My pride would recover. I had my Susan. *** "Hi, Susan. Hello, Shannon. It is lovely to see you again. I am so sorry it is under these circumstances. May I come in?" "Please. Come in. Come in." my sister said as she ushered Maggie through the door. "May I have a moment alone with Susan, please?" "Of course, of course." Margaret Peterson was a stunningly beautiful woman even dressed in jeans and a t-shirt. She looked at me with a look that said it all: I am sorry, but there is nothing I can do to help you. "I am not here as a lawyer, Susan. I am here as your friend. I just came to make sure that you are OK." I didn't think it was possible for me to feel any worse. But I was starting to realize that there are in fact worse things than being a piece of shit. I had betrayed her very best friend and she had come to my sister's home, to make sure that I would be OK. It was just like her. I am not sure if she learned that trait from David, or if he had learned it from her. They probably learned it from each other. It was just one of the many things that they shared. My friend's initially told me that I should be cautious with Maggie, she would eventually try to steal my David. But it is hard to be jealous of someone who always has your best interests at heart. Whenever I needed a friend, Maggie had been solidly in my corner ready to take on the world to defend me. This was no exception, but there would be no fixing this one. "He doesn't love me anymore." "Oh, Susan. Of course he loves you. He has loved you with everything he has from the first moment you met. You can't just turn that off." "Well, he'll never forgive me. Not after the things I have done." "Oh, you silly woman. Of course he will forgive you. I am almost certain he already has. I am as certain of his forgiveness as I am that you haven't told him everything." I had to smile at that. She knew him best. She knew me, too. He would forgive me. She was right. "Susan, he'll forgive you. But he'll never forget." "I know, Maggie. I know." She held me as I cried. Long into the night, without judgment. "It will get better, honey. You'll be OK." *** My first foray with the sneakiness of women came soon after my proposal. Apparently, behind the scenes, wedding plans had been started about two months into our relationship. Susan, her mom and sister and several friends all had secret assignments and had been in attack mode for quite some time. Less than two months after my proposal it was time. Maggie came to Boston the week before the wedding to finalize the details of my parent's affairs and our new life in Chicago. I can honestly say that I had no idea what I was signing. I can also say that I trusted Maggie with my life, so I really didn't care. I did care about my hand hurting when we were done. Maggie and Susan spent an entire day together just two days before our wedding. They both said it was time for my soon to be wife and my best friend to get to know each other. Their day of bonding was very secretive. But at the end of the day, when they arrived back at the apartment, Susan simply kissed me on the lips, grabbed her overnight bag and said, "I love you, David. When you see me in two days, know that I will be yours forever." Then she was off to stay with her parents. In Her Eyes My bachelor party consisted of Maggie and me taking in a Celtic's game at the Garden and a short night at the pub relishing the victory. Maggie wouldn't tell me much about her day with Susan. She said she had explained our financial situation, and the pre-nuptial agreement, which was a surprise to me. I guess I had told her to take care of everything which did leave her with quite a lot of latitude. Susan had signed the necessary paperwork and then they spent the day learning everything they could about each other. Maggie said there weren't any secrets but she didn't really want to talk about it. The wedding was apparently a tasteful and fun affair. I am not the one to talk to about the details. I spent my day sharing excited smiles with Maggie and staring at my beautiful wife. No one seemed to be disturbed when Maggie stood her post next to me during the ceremony or when it was time for her to give her 'best man' speech. She had a lot of material to work with, but didn't embarrass me too bad. The room was deathly quiet and emotional as she finished. She promised, after knowing me and my family nearly all of her life, that my parents would have wholeheartedly supported our marriage and would have loved Susan. *** David and I never had a fight. Not one in 15 years of marriage. People might think that is unhealthy. But it wasn't. We had lots of disagreements and David never shied away from a discussion. Frequently, he thought an issue was one we had to agree upon to move forward as a couple. So we would argue our position, laying out all the facts as we saw them. And we would keep talking until someone came out on top. Sometimes, it would take months. But there were never harsh words and he never raised his voice. David adopted my position as often as I accepted his. It was never one sided. Sometimes, David said that people could have more than one solution to a problem, even if he preferred one way over another. In those cases, he would ask me questions and let me explain my reasoning. He would offer advice, but once he felt he understood my position, he was done. And he just lived with it. And those times when I realized much later that he had been right all along, he never said a word. He would just hug me and tell me how much he loved me. He was quick to remind me that he was the boss at the office, so people had to do what he said. But at home he was my partner and we needed to find solutions that worked for us, not him. It was very sweet, but a bunch of bull shit. Rebecca Davis and I met for lunch every time David was traveling on business. He had lunch with her every day he was home, and she was my office spy. She kept me abreast of any problems at the office, or if David wasn't acting like himself. David knew she was feeding me all the details, but he didn't care. "I have no secrets from you, Suze. It's probably a good idea for you to have a network of spies. I am getting pretty forgetful in my old age." Becky told me over lunch one day about how David made the department managers present any suggested changes in the senior staff meeting, saying that it would give everyone an equal opportunity to ask questions and identify any potential problems. But when he noticed that one of his best programmers wasn't suggesting any changes he did some recon. When he realized that the man was painfully shy and afraid of public speaking, he told him he should make his presentation from his office via conference call, so that he could have all his materials available at a moment's notice. David said it would be too disruptive to bring everything into the meeting room. After the man made his first successful presentation, from the safety of his office, David gave him a raise. Yeah, my David was a hard ass alright. There was only one area that David was completely unwilling to compromise: his complete devotion to me and our family. I told him frequently that he didn't have to come to every recital or game and that he didn't have to be home for every dinner when he wasn't traveling. If staying late at work late once in awhile meant that he didn't have to work late at night or be up before the sun in his home office, or if it just meant he could have some free time, we could manage without him. He would vehemently disagree. "Suze, you and the kids are my number one priority. How will the children know that they are the most important thing in my life if I am not there to show them? Nope. Work will have to take a back seat. And if I can't find a way to be with my family and work then I'll quit, sell the business and be a stay at home dad. If that happens though, you may still want to cook the meals. We wouldn't want my being around to become a punishment." He was trying to be funny. It was very charming. "Suze, the best part of my day is spending time with you and the kids. Please don't ask me to give it up." I imagine that the romance novel covers and advertisements with half naked men work because most women fantasize about having a stolen moment with the man of their dreams. But I woke up to that dream guy every day, and went to bed with him every night. My David made all those guys look like pussies. You see, my David is a hunk, a beefcake of a man. Soccer moms, coeds, models, movie stars. They all wanted a piece of my man and who could blame them. No one had dared to walk up to him completely naked yet, but I had been witness to my fair share lingerie covered boobs. I even had to mention to our babysitter once that a string bikini was not appropriate attire to wear around David and the kids. But David just laughed it off. He just shot down women left and right, breaking hearts on a daily basis. Displaying his wedding ring like it had super powers. Still, I worried about him. Not often, but enough. He always had a good answer. "Suze, why would I want her when I get to fuck you anytime I want?" Oh, he was so right. Anytime he wanted. *** I hated travelling for business. When the kids were toddlers, we could travel as a family. It was as if we took little mini vacations all though out the year. I tried to get my days started as early as possible with my staff's pre-meeting briefings over breakfast, scheduling presentations and meetings before noon, and shifting client dinners to lunches. Susan would spend the mornings with the children at the hotel, swimming or watching a movie. I tried my best to be home early in the afternoon. Then we would head off exploring our host city for the rest of the day. It didn't always go as planned. Sometimes meetings ran late, sometimes we had larger problems. But for the most part it was a great way to stay together as a family. When Michael started school our mini vacations together as a family were limited to summers and breaks. As the kids grew even older, they had their own interests and activities, so the mini vacations became a cherished memory. I found a compromise. Shorter trips, longer days, stacking meetings and clients back to back. It meant my staff hard to work harder, longer days, and prep for several clients at the same time. But when I explained my reasoning, they all seemed to understand and those with families of their own appreciated the compacted schedule. Booking travel and meetings was a logistics nightmare, but Miss Davis was my savior. I followed the itinerary that she always prepared for me to the letter and rarely had a problem. She monitored flight schedules and weather and traffic, made any necessary changes on the double and 99% of the time had me everywhere I needed to be, most importantly home, on time. When webcams were made available on most laptops, we made that part of our standard laptop configuration and I started having more room service dinners. With the webcam fired up at home and mine sitting in my hotel room, it was almost as though I was spending my evenings at home. We could do homework, play games, dine together. It almost made traveling alone bearable. Most importantly I could poor myself a drink have my evening chats with Susan and wait for my favorite words. "How was your day, Suze?" "Everything was OK, honey." *** "Dave, please forgive her and let her come home." I'll admit I wasn't surprised to be getting the full court press from all of Susan's family and friends. "You're a good sister, Shannon. Susan would be so thankful if she knew you were here defending her." "What will it take, Dave? She'll do anything you ask. I know she will." "I am sure she would, Shannon. But it would be an impossible task, so I wouldn't insult her by asking." Shannon wasn't about to give up. But she was scrambling to find any scrap of hope in a field of lost causes. "Jesus fucking Christ, Dave. One time. One mistake. Please, please let her come home." "It wasn't one time, Shannon." "What?!" "She wasn't honest with me, so I am not totally surprised she didn't tell you everything either. But it doesn't matter. Once would have been enough. It is her reasons, not her actions that brought us here." "Come on, Dave. Don't get all philosophical on me. Give it to me straight. I am not nearly as smart as you and I want to make my case. So be a gentleman and keep this on my level." I had to laugh at that but smiles were a lot more painful these days. "Well, I am not willing to tell you everything, Shannon. Some things just have to be between me and your sister. But, I will try to give you a little insight. I am not sure it will help you though." "Give it a shot, Dave. Maybe I am smarter than we both think." Before Shannon arrived I had been going through just about every picture taken during Susan and my 15 years together. They were stacked all around me. "Tell you what. I am going to get something to drink. Pick out some pictures of Susan. It would be better if they were taken when you were around, but it doesn't really matter. When you have chosen your pictures take a minute and cover everything in the picture but Susan's eyes. Would you care for a drink?" "Uh...white wine would be nice." Shannon was looking at me like I had lost my mind. Maybe I had. I sure wasn't feeling like myself lately. It took me about fifteen minutes. I brought Shannon a glass of wine. My drink was a 32 ounce cup of ice water. "Ready?" "Sure, Dave. What are you trying to show me?" "Just show me the first picture." Shannon held up the first picture. I had to admit this was a little strange. "Susan was celebrating her promotion to the ICU. She had worked so hard for that promotion. She was so proud of herself. Good choice. That was a fun night." OK, this was really weird. Like showing a complete stranger you have a third nipple or sixth toe. "Lucky guess," she cracked. Shannon was examining the picture trying to figure out how I determined all the details. She gave up and held up the 2nd picture. "The first picture of her holding Michael the day he was born. She was so tired, but that look of unconditional love was something else." Shannon pulled the picture away slower this time. I am not sure if she knew what she wanted to say. She held up the third in spite of herself. "Are you sure that is the picture you want to go with?" "Geesh, Dave. Just tell me about the picture." "Your 21st birthday. Susan is trying to appear confident and happy, but something threw her for a loop and she was trying to hide it. I didn't know what it was at the time. She told me later that you had just drunkenly confessed to making out with your girlfriend just before your arrival. Something about smeared lip stick." "Holy shit." "I have never lied to Susan. Ever. It just never seemed fair. She could never lie to me. Even if she wanted to." Shannon wanted to make her case, but she seemed to have lost her train of thought. "Shannon, do you think I am an arrogant prick?" "What?! Hell no Dave. You are the most kind and gentle and humble man I have ever known." "Thanks, Shannon. Your dad is a pretty nice guy too, though." "Well, that's true. Daddy runs a pretty close 2nd." "Do I act like I am God's gift to women?" "No, Dave." "Would it shock you if I told you that I get hit on by all measure of women at least once per day?" "No, it wouldn't shock me. That actually seems like a pretty conservative estimate from what I've seen." "Do you think I have ever cheated on your sister?" She paused for just a second. "No, Dave, I don't think you have." "Thank you, Shannon. That means a lot to me even if you had to give it some thought." She was giggling at that one. "Shannon, do you love your sister?" "More than she will ever know." "Would you ever do anything that would deliberately hurt her, even if she would never find out?" "God, no! I would never do anything to hurt her on purpose, Dave." "Can I fuck you?" Not surprisingly, they had a very similar change in their eyes. They were sisters after all. But Shannon wasn't Susan, so I wasn't 100% certain. "Wh...what are you asking?" "What I am asking is if I told you I would take you upstairs to the bedroom as long as you did anything and everything I wanted. Would you let me fuck you?" OK, now I was certain. However, women always seem to find something very interesting about tables right in the middle of conversations. I was never going to understand that. "Yes, Dave," she whispered. "Susan would be hurt if she knew." "She doesn't have to know..." "I am only going to use your body for my own pleasure. Like you're my own personal fuck toy. Doesn't that offend you?" "No, Dave. I am a big girl...." "And that is why I appreciate the fact that you have never hit on me, Shannon. That is how I have always known you are a good person and a good sister. Shannon, I asked your sister to share my life. In exchange she asked me to make a promise. She asked me to be faithful to her. I knew what I was giving up when I made that promise. Do you have a sense of what I gave up?" Shannon nodded slowly. "And now to the point! It was no contest. I would have given up a thousand sure things for one chance to be with your sister. In fact I think we both know that is what I actually gave up, maybe more. And I would do it again for the woman that I married. But your sister isn't that woman anymore. Also, I think we would both agree I would have a reasonable shot at anyone I wanted." She was nodding more now. "But I chose Susan and gave her everything I had to give. And it wasn't enough." I think she was beginning to understand. I stood and walked out of the room. "Thanks for stopping by Shannon. It was nice to talk to you. Let yourself out, OK?" I am not sure how long she stayed. I fell asleep almost as soon I hit the bed. But she was gone when I woke up the next morning. *** "So, how did it go?" "It was...interesting." "Does he know I asked you to see him?" "No. I don't think so." "So did you make any progress?" "No. I don't think so." "Jesus, Shannon, is that all you can say? Do you have anything that will help me?" "Well, Susan, can I ask you if you told him the truth?" "Well...everything I told him was true, but I didn't tell him everything." "Well, then. I can tell you this. You're fucked." *** Before we move forward, I feel that I should address the elephant in the room. I am not psychic and I can't read minds. I live in the real world, and even though my company had worked with some very interesting technology, this isn't a piece of science fiction. I didn't set out to try to develop any special skills that let me know what Susan was thinking or feeling. I didn't do it with Maggie either for that matter. I just loved them. That love made me hyper sensitive to their feelings. I do have a fantastic memory. I mean I can't tell you what page 26 of my senior high school yearbook, but the important things, like things that my two favorite women were involved with? I remembered every one of them. Every look, every feeling. After a very short time with each, I had developed a little database in my head of every facial reaction, most importantly their eyes. Hell, I was always staring into their eyes anytime they were around me. So remembering an event, their reaction to it and the look that was in their eyes was easy. Sometimes I wouldn't know all the details, but they would get filled in later. I would just add them to my list. After decades knowing Maggie and 15 years with Susan, there were no surprises. I just knew. With one look. It wasn't superhuman or anything, but it was kind of special. *** Maggie told me that counseling was the best option. Which, I have to say, kind of surprised me. During our initial meeting with Susan and her lawyer, I thought Maggie was dead set against counseling. She was making some great points about why I shouldn't agree to go. She said I had nothing to gain and everything to lose. "Emotion has no place in the practice of law, David. Emotional decisions are almost always bad decisions. Susan is distraught. She wants you back. Her lawyer is trying to give his client want she wants, not what she needs. We have no evidence, David. No video, no pictures, no receipts. Just some very good speculation based on hearsay. 'I saw it in her eyes' will not fare well in court. If we are going to enforce the infidelity clause of your pre-nup we need evidence. During your counseling sessions Susan is going to give us that evidence. And because medical records, including marriage counseling session notes, can be easily sealed by the court, Susan will be protected. I can't do anything about the rumor mill, but all her dirty laundry doesn't need to be part of the public record. So you see, counseling is good for you, David." "Two things, Mags. Remind me to never get on your bad side and thank you for taking care of Susan when I can't." *** When I first took over my father's firm, the staff treated me to a healthy dose of positive skepticism. I didn't blame them. I had the education, but I didn't have anywhere near the level of real world experience I needed to take on a project this size. When I spent the first three months learning about how my father's office was currently operating, the staff was mostly positive. When I handed out a detailed plan of my suggested operational changes and gave everyone a month to provide feedback. It got better. And when I spent the next two months reviewing that feedback with senior staff, seriously considered all of their suggestions and implemented those that were innovative, I had won the room. During the next six months, as I laid out my 10 year plan and vision of transforming the company from an accounting firm to a full blown management consulting firm, specializing in information management, the staff was excited, engaged and firing on all cylinders. Well, everyone was excited except Jason Smith, the head of the audit division. During my first six months, my initial evaluation of Jason Smith hadn't changed. He was a brilliant tax accountant and a giant asshole. My next six months confirmed my concerns. Jason was willing to protect his turf at all costs. Even at the expense of corporate progress. As the head of the tax audit department, Jason had been the big man on campus and my father's right hand man. Now, being in charge of only a small portion, of one third of our overall portfolio he would be obsolete. He didn't have the necessary skills to lead larger projects and honestly he was barely treading water. Dealing with his stall tactics was easy enough. Accounting was still our base of operations. So I left him in charge of his little kingdom. As his peers were promoted to other areas of operations he was simply left behind. After a year, he was not involved in any part of our company transformation and I never dealt with him as part of my day to day activities. A year after that, I had forgotten he existed. In Her Eyes When Susan brought his name up to me almost a decade later, saying he was one of my employees and a new volunteer for one the charities she was involved with, I didn't recognize his name. Miss Davis had to look him up for me in the company directory. I stopped by his office later that week to say thanks for volunteering his time to the charity and for helping maintain our company's partnership with the community. I still didn't remember who he was. It wasn't until our company picnic that I remembered. Jason had come over to briefly speak with Susan while we were filling squirt guns for the annual interdepartmental water fight. He basically said hello, made some small talk and left. It was after the water fight was over that he caught my attention. He and another large man (large round, not tall) were talking with one of our first year interns. I didn't remember her name. At first she seemed to be enjoying the casual flirting, but as Jason started moving closer and touching her arms she seemed to be a bit nervous. I asked Miss Davis who the intern was, and armed with her name I made my way through the crowd to where the trio was standing. I will say this. Jason Smith was a good looking guy. The rumor was that he had done some fitness modeling to help work his way through college. I didn't doubt that the rumor was true, he definitely looked the part. Stop thinking about me like that, I don't swing that way. Jesus, you're just like my father. "Hello, Jason. Nice to see you. Who is your friend?" I asked pointing to the man standing next to him. "Hello, Mr. Stephens. This is my friend Big Mike. I mean Mike Thomas." "Nice to meet you Mike, I hope you enjoyed the picnic. Say Molly, if now is a good time, we can go speak with my wife about that children's literacy group you were asking me about earlier." "Now is a perfect time, Mr. Stephens. Lead the way. See you around guys. It was nice meeting you both." I am pretty sure the dynamic duo was fuming as we walked away, but we didn't stop to check. Once we were out of sight, just on the other side of the carnival tent, I stopped and held out my hand. "David Stephens, Miss Stuart. It is very nice to meet you." "Please Mr. Stephens, it's Molly and believe me the pleasure is mine. Thanks for that." "No problem, Molly. Do you have a way home?" "Yes, sir, I do. But if it's not too much trouble I think I would like to speak to your wife about that literacy program. I know that volunteering is big on the list of company priorities." "Well, I am sure she is around here somewhere." Molly and Susan chatted for the rest of the afternoon while I said my goodbyes. On the drive home, Susan seemed to be a little annoyed. "Molly is a very nice woman, but a little young for you don't you think?" "Well, you know me, always looking to keep things fresh." She didn't laugh. "Anyway I was just getting her out of an uncomfortable situation. Speaking of which, do you work closely with Jason Smith at any of your charities?" "I run into him from time to time, but we don't really work together that often. Why do you ask?" "I just get a bad feeling about the guy, Suze. Nothing specific." "Oh, David, that is a bit too much paranoia don't you think?" "Probably." It seemed as though she wanted to say something more. I honestly have no idea what she would have actually said. But I did wonder, looking back, if that was the moment that our marriage was doomed. Did she want to ask me a question? Did she need reassurance? I love my life, but I sometimes wish she would have told me whatever was on her mind. But she let it drop, so I'll never really know. *** Susan and I had an above average sex life. We made love on our first date for goodness sakes. During the first six months of our courtship we rarely went a single day without giving each other pleasure. We christened every room in her apartment and mine and nearly every piece of furniture we owned. Our coupling was passionate and fun, but I always thought Susan was holding something back. Not that I was concerned. Sex with Susan was always fantastic, but was just this side of calm. She was noisy but not talkative, creative but not wild, naughty but never dirty. It was more than enough for me but I knew there was more and it was pretty clear so did she. Our lovemaking on our wedding night was slow and gentle. Champagne while in the bubble bath, rose petals on the bed with long tender kisses, staring at each other as we rocked back and forth together and caressed every part of each other until we climaxed together. But, it was a new woman that greeted me on the first day of our honeymoon. It was like the ring on her finger released all her inhibitions. Our early morning flight to Las Vegas was relatively short, but we were still in celebration mode, so we had a few drinks on the plane. Susan was constantly touching me, kissing me, rubbing her body against me. On the plane, waiting for our luggage, in the cab, checking into our room, and especially in the elevator. And she was constantly whispering things to me. "I love you so much, David. You make me so horny." "Are you going to pleasure me, David? Is that what you are thinking about?" "My pussy is dripping wet, David. I have never wanted anything as much as I want you." "You can do anything you want, David. I'll never say no to you." "I am going to fuck you so hard, honey. I need you to pound me, show me that I am yours." "I am going to be your personal whore, David. I'll be a lady in public. No one will know. But behind closed doors I am going to be a nasty slut. I hope you don't mind." Our plan was to check into the hotel and hit the pool. A day of nothing more than rest and relaxation. So that is what we did. She came out of the bathroom, ready to hit the pool in her new swim cover and off we went. Susan was never going to be confused for a runway model but to me she was perfect. She was beautiful but most people described her as cute. Cute hair, cute eyes, cute face. She was much shorter than me, somewhere between 5'5" and 5'7" depending on the height of her heels. In some areas she was almost tiny, especially her hands and feet. They were so small compared to mine. But where it mattered most she was voluptuous. Her 'D' cup breasts looked massive on her small frame. They defied gravity. When she was aroused her nipples hardened to just about the size of the tip of my pinkie finger. And that ass! Wow! Round and tight with dimples on the small of her back. Perfect. She would never have been considered fat and she was very healthy and active, but at the same time she was soft and sensual. Absolutely perfect. Susan didn't exactly dress conservatively, but she wasn't out to show off her goodies either. I would describe her attire as classy. Form fitting, but never tight. Maybe a hint of cleavage for a night on the town. Just enough to leave no doubt that she was all woman. The Susan that I escorted the pool was ready to give me my own private show, so what if the other hotel guests were around to see. She stood right in front of my lounger when she peeled off her swim cover to reveal one of the tiniest white bikinis I had ever seen. Her top wasn't a string bikini and she wasn't wearing a thong, but there wasn't much difference. And with the gold rings stretching to hold the fabric on her hips and baring her ample cleavage....well she looked...just hot. Very hot. With her gold choker necklace, gold hoop earrings and round tortoise shell sun glasses and pink pouty lips glistening with a shimmering gloss she may not have been ready for the runway, but she would have fit perfectly in the pages of Playboy. She looked right at me the entire time she was smoothing sun tan lotion all over her body. She had clearly been secretly working on her tan before we had arrived. She would turn directly to me and run her hand around her neck then lightly trace the line of her cleavage with her fingers. When no one was close, she would open her legs to show me that her outfit was barely keeping the lips of her pussy contained. Her new bikini must have been uncomfortable, because it seemed to be in constant need of adjustment. Gently pulling the fabric away from her body, showing just a little extra skin and then replacing in just the right position. It must have really been bothering her that one time, when she pulled her bikini bottoms into her crotch with both hands while straddling the end of my lounger. I knew because her eyelids were fluttering. And then there was her need to turn her back to me and re-adjust her bottoms so that they wouldn't ride up the crack of her ass. A single finger pulling the offending garment back into place was all it took. My personal favorite was the particular challenging adjustment that required her to lean over her chaise ever so slightly holding the top of her chair with one hand while turning her face to me over her shoulder with her teeth gently biting her bottom lip. That one took a long time. We weren't trying to get sloppy drunk, but we were sipping cold drinks the entire day. And the whispering. Susan didn't let up the entire day. "Is that hard cock for me, sweetheart? Are you going to let me play with him?" "I love your big, hard dick, David. It stretches me in all the right places." "I don't think I'll look for a job in Chicago, David. I think I'll just be your full-time sex slave. Doesn't that sound like fun?" "Honey, are you planning on shoving your cock down my throat when you fuck my face? I just want to know what I should be ready for." After an afternoon of swimming, sunning and drinking we wandered back up to our suite, and Susan told me to hop into the shower. After I rinsed myself off and re-dressed in a t-shirt and shorts, I wandered out of the bedroom, where I found Susan waiting for me with a cold beer and the remote. "Sit down and relax, honey. I am going to take a quick shower myself. Pick out a movie and when it's over, come join me in the bedroom." With a quick peck on the check she was off, leaving me alone with the hotel's adult movie PPV menu on the giant flat screen. Porn. This was new. I didn't think it was a coincidence that "Slutty Nurses #7"was the current selection, so that is the one I chose. After 55 minutes of cinematic genius I made my way to the bedroom. Again Susan was waiting for me, this time in a black cup-less corset, black thigh high stockings and black high heels. "It is time for you to use me, David. I am here as your own personal porn star. You should use me any way you want, for as long as you want. There is only one requirement. Before you are finished using me, you have to take this bottle, lube up your cock and fuck my ass. It has never been used before, David. Well except for my fingers and the dildo I have been using to prepare myself for your massive tool. But it is yours, and before we finish, I need you to fuck the shit out of my ass, claim that virgin territory, and let me know I am yours, forever." Our week in Las Vegas quickly fell into a routine. Gentle lovemaking first thing in the morning, a long afternoon of playful teasing, and wild uninhibited sex every night. Well except for the last day of our trip when we chose to live as nudists for 24 hours until it was time to take the cab to the airport. We continued our routine at home for several months. Gentle and slow, before heading to the office. Fast and hard before bed each night. We even kept up our nudist tradition on weekends every once in awhile. Outside the bedroom, my Susan was the same loving, caring, considerate friendly person that she was before we married. But in the bedroom, or any other time we were alone, she was a wild women. When we talked about the change, she said I had earned her complete trust and, as her husband, I was entitled to everything she had to offer both inside and outside the bedroom. It made a lot of sense. My favorite couplings were the times when it seemed we just couldn't get enough of each other. Looking into each other's eyes, passion blocking out everyone and everything but us and our time together. Just Susan and I together. Nothing else mattered. Those were special times. My wife's teasing ways continued. In public, she was always finding opportunities to flash me her goods. At home, she just let it all hang out, rubbing her body against me as if the only path across a wide open room was right next to me. Blatantly dropping whatever she was holding so she could bend over, legs straight and wiggle her ass in my face. She said she loved to get me so worked up that I couldn't control my lust. I frequently just stopped what I was doing, bent her over wherever she stood and fucked the shit out of her. She said her favorite time was when, after she had slowly brought my passion to boil over a long day of yard work, I picked her up and ripped her panties off. She was holding on for life with her arms and legs as I basically dropped the full weight her body onto my cock until she came. Then I finished by backing her into the wall of the house and pounded her pussy until my orgasm overtook my senses. By the time we were done, she said she felt like her pussy was leaking like a sieve. Everything else was great fun, too. As the years went on, we became more and more comfortable about sharing our fantasies. Really sharing, we would talk about them. Why they turned us on, where our thoughts had originated, the little details that would make them seem real. This was the one area where Susan made the ironclad rule. We could act out any role we wanted, Susan the high priced call girl or David the delivery boy, but we would never pretend to be someone else and never ever pretend to be another real person. That was fine with me. Susan was always my fantasy girl. And so every couple of months, one of our fantasies would come to life. Susan's fantasies seemed to focus on her as the seductress: her teaching a young inexperienced man how to make love to a woman, seducing the married business man at a hotel without exchanging names, the naughty school girl fucking her professor for a better grade. Mine were all over the map: being Susan's sex slave for the day, Susan as a French maid, Susan the slutty babysitter, Susan the harsh schoolteacher. Overall, a thorough exploration of all our fantasies led us to a mildly surprising conclusion: I was somewhat dominate, and Susan was a little submissive. Nothing over the top. Every once in a while Susan would let her submissive side come out and play. To an outsider it would have seemed that I was the overbearing master and Susan was submitting to my wrath. Nothing could have been further from the truth. Susan was always in charge of our bondage play. "I am sorry, master. I know you have to tie me to the bed for misbehaving. I'll accept my punishment." "I shouldn't have cried last time when you clamped my nipples, master. Please let me try again." "I know that I shouldn't have cum without permission, sir. Please spank me so that I remember the rules. The paddle is so painful, though, please cuff my hands so that I can accept my punishment properly." Overall, it is safe to say that there is no sexual experiment that Susan and I didn't try. If we both liked it we added to our permanent rotation of sexual activity, if we didn't we talked about the reasons why and sent it packing to the box of past sexual memories. It may have been extreme for some couples but to us it felt like a natural extension of our trust in one another. *** Amanda Skinner was an interesting woman. She looked like she would have been right at home somewhere in the woods, crouching quietly for days hoping to catch a glimpse of the mating habits of squirrels. But she had a Ph.D. in psychology and was a certified family therapist with 20 years experience. According to Maggie she was the best. As much as I appreciated Maggie's legal maneuvering, I also so knew she really wanted the counseling to work. She wanted me to be together with Susan. I didn't understand her thinking, mostly because we had never spoken about it, but I knew it was true. After the formal introductions, Mandy, the name she insisted that we use, took her place in an armchair directly across from the coffee table and opposite the large comfortable couch Susan and I were sitting on. It had a very homey feel, almost like coffee at a friend's house. Not like a counseling session at all. "OK, let's get started by measuring the differences in our expectations. What do you hope to gain from our time together? Susan, you first." "Well, I want to be able to come back to my husband. I want him to find it in his heart to forgive me and let me come home. And I want him to stop the divorce." "Very good, Susan. David?" "I want Susan to feel like she has been given every opportunity to change my mind so that she doesn't feel like she left anything in the locker room. I want her to come to a place where she can accept what is going to happen. And I want to move on with my life." "Interesting choices, David. OK, what do each of you see as the biggest problem in your marriage? Susan?" "I had sex with another man. I cheated on David. It's all my fault." Susan sounded as if she was about to cry, but for some reason that didn't bother me. "OK. David?" "Honesty." "OK. Thank you. I see no reason why we shouldn't see how much progress we can make meeting together. It may be necessary to meet with you individually at some point, but I think that joint sessions will work just fine for now. Can we meet each week at this time?" "This time works well for me, Mandy," Susan stated. "Whatever you say, Doc." I had already made my assessment of Dr. Skinner. She wasn't really going to listen to me. She was paying close attention to Susan but it appeared she already knew everything she needed to know about me. Since my presence was not necessary I felt like forcing pleasantries for a voluntary counseling session was asking too much. "I prefer, Mandy, or Dr. Skinner if you must, David." "Sure thing, Doc. See you next week." With that I was out the door. To my face, everyone kept telling me that I was handling things so well. Behind my back, they were saying that I was moving on so quickly that I must be getting a little action on the side. In reality, no matter how much you try you can't control the rumor mill. But like so many nights recently, I was heading home to cry. I knew it and there is really no embarrassment in sharing it with you. Being in the same room with Susan was very difficult, mostly because I wanted to hug her and take her home with me. A little bit because I wanted to kill her and hide the body. *** I may have gone insane if I didn't have the kids. They were very upset, but comforting them allowed me to remember the good things about Susan. "Why can't mom come home, Daddy?" "She loves you so much, Daddy. She is always crying." Ever heard the phrase wrapped around her little finger? Well make it two little fingers in my case. Fingers attached to my beautiful twin daughters. Twins who had a striking resemblance to the woman who owned me heart "What did she do, pop?" And there you have it. My boy. Straight to the point. Well, he is his father's son. "That, young man, is something that will remain between your mother and I." "It had to be something bad, pop. Luke Finch said his father told him that his mom was a crazy b-i-t-c-h when she moved out of his house." "We know how to spell bitch, Mikey!! We are not stupid." I heard in stereo. It always amazed me how much in sync they were. "That is enough with the language, guys. Michael, if you ever hear a harsh word about your mother from someone, I can promise you it won't be from me. And they better not say it if I am within listening distance." In Her Eyes "Guys I know this is hard for you to understand. But sometimes Mom's and Dad's find out they can't live together anymore. But it doesn't mean your mother loves you any less. It doesn't mean I love you any less. And it doesn't mean that we won't always be a family. It just means we are going to have to work very hard to work out a different set of logistics." "What kind of logistics, daddy?" "The kind that makes sure that you can see your mother or me anytime you want, angels." They were all very sad. It was hard for them to take. But they were kind enough to keep it to themselves. *** "I know what is bothering you, David." This was our fourth counseling session and it was becoming a bit tedious. We were no closer to Susan accepting what was going to happen. She was still in denial. I was beginning to worry about her. The longer this dragged on the bigger of a blow this was going to be. I knew she couldn't be my wife anymore, but the children were going to need their mother. Michael was about to be a teenager and the twins just celebrated their eleventh birthday. Susan's recovery was going to take some time. There was no way I could handle raising 3 teenagers on my own. I needed Susan's help, we needed to be co-parents. Yet the focus of our counseling seemed to be me and my ability to forgive. I just couldn't wrap my brain around the concept. "David, when the offended spouse learns all the details of their partner's affair it can be a tremendous blow to their ego. Your feelings of inadequacy are completely understandable. Your anger with Susan is understandable. But if you won't talk about your feelings I cannot help you deal with them and we will not make any progress." I didn't have much experience with therapists or any other doctor for that matter. I had led a pretty blessed life. But I couldn't help but think that this bitch didn't have a clue. I kept complaining to Maggie, but she kept telling me that Dr. Skinner was the best and that therapy was the best option. It had taken three sessions before Susan would admit that she had also had sex with Jason Smith. She cried and said she was sorry, blah, blah, blah. I believed her, but that wasn't the biggest problem. Oh that part hurt a lot, but it really wasn't the issue. "I am not angry with Susan, Doc. I am sad because my marriage to Susan is over. There are no magic words that will change that. Susan made mistakes. I have forgiven her. Our marriage is over, and that saddens me deeply, but I will heal in time. I need more time, not more discussions." "And Doc, I don't feel inadequate. I knew everything I needed to know about her affairs long before she admitted to them to you. She had sex with Jason Smith, blah, blah, blah. She gave Mike Thomas a blow job and he fucked her. OK, fine. The fat fucker gave her Chlamydia. All things considered I just don't give a shit. They weren't better lovers than me. Hell, Susan didn't even like having sex with either of them. Jason was just a convenient slime bag and 'Big' Mike was something different all together. But that isn't the point." "If Susan had simply gotten drunk, and had lowered inhibitions and had fallen prey to some womanizer and had sex, I promise you that whatever problems that would have arisen from that situation we would have never ended up in your office." "Mr. Stephen's you are making a lot of assumptions about issues we haven't even started to cover. I applaud your effort to mask you pain with your false bravado, but you can't possibly know how Susan is feeling about her affair with Mr. Smith. Last week, she barely admitted its existence and our session time was over. We haven't even begun to explore those topics" "Yes, I do know how she felt." "How?" "Susan told me." The room exploded in an uproar. I just needed a minute of peace to collect my thoughts. "I told you no such thing, David!" "Mr. Stephen's, please! This is not helpful." I tried to hold my hands up to calm the ladies down. That is when they caught my eye and I pointed to an item on the doctor's bookshelf. "Doc, what are those head phones for?" "They are sound dampening head phones. I use them to deal with children with behavioral problems. I use them so that I can better evaluate a child's reaction to visual stimuli." "Perfect. Doc can we agree that we are not making any progress?" "We are not making progress, Mr. Stephens. That is for certain." "OK, fine. I'll make you a deal. For the next 10 minutes we conduct therapy my way. Then I get 5 minutes to explain my actions. After that, I will do whatever you say, answer any question you ask for however many sessions it takes. Deal?" "It is a very unusual request. But I don't see the harm in breaking this log jam, by any means available." "Great. For the next 10 minutes you can talk to Susan about any topic you want. I am going to watch your discussion, and I am going to use the head phones so that I can't hear what you are talking about. All I ask from you is that you hold up your pen up when you are changing topics. It will help me keep track. And Susan, if you wouldn't mind hiding your mouth behind that magazine when you are speaking, it would be helpful. I don't want to be accused of reading lips. OK, let's get to it." And so I watched. For 10 minutes in silence. And I was sad. This was going to be the end. When the 10 minutes was up I got a very condescending glare from Dr. Skinner and a confused look from my soon to be ex-wife. "You have the floor, Mr. Stephens." "OK, topic one was me. She loves me. She is happy with our marriage. She wants to stay married. Topic two was the kids. Unconditional love for Michael and the twins. Man, a mother's love is awesome don't you think? Topic three. I have no idea, but whatever it was she told you the truth. What was that one by the way?" "I asked her who she thought was going to win the presidential election." "I see. We'll we don't really talk about politics much. It is not very interesting. OK, so she said that there was no way that American voters would elect a corrupt ex-Chicago city organizer to the presidency. Unfortunately, I said she told you the truth. Not that she was right. God help us all." To say that the two women were shocked would be an understatement. Outright disbelief, maybe? Stunned silence for sure. "OK, topic four. She lied. And topic five she desperately wants to believe is the truth because admitting the actual truth will be devastating." Susan still had tears forming in her eyes now, but she was doing a good job of holding herself together. Doc, was sitting there with her mouth open. No don't go there. No chance of that. Not my type. "Susan I have never lied to you. Ever. I have always told you that you have always deserved 100% honesty from me. That it would be unfair for me to not tell you the truth and that you would get it even if I knew the truth would hurt your feelings. And I told you that there would be no reason for you to ever lie to me. That I loved you unconditionally and that the truth would help us find the solution to any problem much faster. And I promised you that I would help you find those solutions, no matter what." "The car..." "I am sorry. What?" "The day of the parent-teacher conference. I wrecked my car. It was a gift from you and I was embarrassed. I didn't want to tell you that I wrecked the car. I wanted us to take your car so that I could have more time. I had been practicing my excuses for 30 minutes, but before even I started to explain you were giggling. You knew, and didn't care, before I even opened my mouth. That is why you were laughing." "Yeah, Susan. I did. I am sorry. I should have told you that you couldn't lie to me. But you never really did anyway so I didn't think it was important." "Shannon was right, I'm fucked," she whispered. "Susan, how did 'Big' Mike convince you to fuck him?" "He didn't." "What does Jason have? A video, pictures?" "He has it on video. All three minutes." "And why did you panic and try to find a way to get me to cheat on you?" "Rebecca Davis saw me leaving the hotel. We were supposed to have lunch. You were out of town, and she and I always have lunch. But I forgot, and she saw me. I knew it was a matter of time and I knew what it would mean." "Topic four, Doc. In the books." *** "He has her on video, Maggie. I want that video and I want him dealt with." "I'll take care of it, David." "I am serious, Maggie. I want it done soon or you will get the chance to recharge your defense lawyer chops. Because, if I have to handle it, I will kill that mother fucker." "I understand, David." The next day, two plain manila envelopes were on my desk when I arrived back from my work out. I just stared at them for a long time. Finally, after lunch, I relented. One envelope contained Jason Smith's resignation letter and a signed ten year non-compete agreement. The other was probably a DVD. The size and shape were right. "Anything else, Mr. Stephens." "Yes, Miss Davis, thank you. Will you please have this delivered to personnel, and have them post a position announcement for a senior tax accountant. And have the contents of this envelope destroyed." "I'll shred it personally, Mr. Stephens." "Thank you, Becky." *** "OK, David, you were right. You seem to have a very good grasp on the problems we are facing. But clearly Susan is sorry for her actions. She is willing to work hard at rebuilding your relationship. You clearly still love her. She is clearly completely and unashamedly in love with you. There is a lot to build on." "I believe all of those things are true, Doc. But none of that really matters." "OK, well what seems to holding you up? What can we do to move you towards possible reconciliation?" "An impossible task. I wouldn't even ask." Rhyming for God sakes. This was going downhill fast. I was really going to have to speak with Maggie about her judgment. Who in the hell certified Amanda Skinner as a therapist and where in the hell did she matriculate. Oh, there it was. University of Notre Dame. Fucking figured. "Susan, what made you finally give in?" "I am sorry, David. I don't understand." "I am wondering why it took so long for you to give in. I wouldn't imagine that slow of a drip would have been so convincing. I am wondering what changed your mind?" "David. I am not following." "I am sorry, Susan. What magic trick did Jason Smith perform that finally freed you from your vows?" "Uhh..." "I mean he had worked for five years to get into your panties. That is a lot of effort for any piece of ass. Even yours, Susan. You have to admire the jack ass's perseverance. I am wondering how he was finally able to shag you?" "Five years? Oh, David, it wasn't that long." "Sure it was, Susan. He caught your attention when he started volunteering for your charities. You even mentioned it to me. I even thanked your fuck buddy for his efforts. I remember it well. Are you saying that you don't?" "I remember, David." "Great. So what I am asking is after five years of 'Susan, you are so beautiful', 'Susan, we would be really good together.', 'Susan, you are so special', what made you change your mind? Unless, of course, you have been fucking for years." "No, David, it was only once. We only had sex once." "Right, for three minutes. My mistake. So what did he do? How did he win the fair princess?" "I don't know, David. I can't remember." "We are heading into the deep shit with topic five here, Doc. You might want to start paying attention." "Susan, is it possible you can't answer the question because he didn't do anything different?" "Yes, David. It's possible." "You see, Doc. Susan has only ever lied to me three times. Pretty impressive as far as relationships as long as ours go, but also the reason we are getting divorced." "Mr. Stephens, what are you talking about?" "Jesus Christ, Doc. Pay attention. Three lies. Once about a reservation. Once about a car accident. And once when she told me about one of her fuck buddies, but left out the other. Three lies in 15 years." "I still don't see what is holding you back, Mr. Stephens." "She told the truth, Doc. That's why. Why, Susan?" "I don't know, David. I honestly don't know." *** "She is not really a lesbian. You know that, right?" "What are you talking about now, Susan?" "I am talking about Maggie, David" "OK, Susan. I agreed to keep meeting with you because Dr. Skinner said it would be helpful but if you insist on pricking me with needles during every conversation I am going to have to stop coming to see you." "I know I did that before, David. I was just trying to get you to talk to me. Even arguing with you was better than sitting in silence. I am not doing that now. She's in love with you. She always has been." *** "She told the truth, Doc. That is why we are getting divorced." Susan was panicking now. It was brutal to witness. I had been able to hold my emotions in check while I had forced myself to sit through the four weeks of therapy bull shit. But this was real. The end. It was hard to watch, even harder to participate. Susan was devastated and so was I. "My father used to tell me, 'Put everything out on the table, son. Even if we can't solve the problem today, it is better that we all know we have a problem and what it is, so that we can start finding a solution. Two brains are better than one, and your mom's brain is better than both of ours put together. So tell us all about your problem, so your mom can tell us how to fix it'." "It may be kind of simplistic, but the 'Joy is multiplied, and sorrow is divided' philosophy just seemed to work really well for Susan and me. When Susan and I first started dating we talked for hours. I suppose just like everyone in their 'young love' days. But as we got more serious, we talked even more. And when we realized that we were both deeply committed to each other, we kept right on talking about everything. Always, no secrets. I always loved that I could look into my wife's eyes, ask her how her day was and know that she was truly happy with her life. I used to take great pride in knowing that I could make her that happy." "Clearly communication is not the problem in your relationship, Mr. Stephens. You should take that as a positive sign." "You would think, but my problem is she didn't lie. I was at a convention for 7 days. I asked my wife each day 'How was your day, Suze?' and every day she replied, 'Everything was OK, honey'. Susan had tears running down her cheeks, and she had the strangest look in her eyes. "Every. Single. Day. I could see her eyes. She was telling the truth. Even the day she fucked Jason Smith for three minutes, whichever day that was. Even on that day, everything was fine. There was no concern, no remorse. She wasn't worried about it. She didn't care. She fucked another man and didn't care." "I can live with a lot of things, Doc. But I won't live with a wife who decided it was ok to cheat on me. I won't live with a woman who believes that is ok. Every man wants a wife who acts a little slutty in the bedroom, no real man wants to be married to a slut. Well maybe some do, but I don't!" Since I knew the end was coming, I was prepared for what I thought was the worst. Screaming, begging and crying for sure. I wasn't prepared for catatonic. It was a bit unnerving. Dr. Skinner seemed calm but was closely monitoring Susan's reactions. After a moment she stood, took my hand and led me to the door. "Thank you, David. I think that will be all for now. Now, I understand why Maggie referred you and your wife to me. You shouldn't worry about her too much. I'll take very good care of Susan." "Thanks, Do....Thank you, Dr. Skinner. I'd appreciate it if you would let me know if there is anything I can do to help. Susan is the mother of my children and will always be very important to me." "I will do that, David. I think you should go now." *** I am not really a cocky asshole. I know it may appear that way, but I am really not. From the moment I met Susan, everything I did was for us. It was easy to stay on the straight and narrow. I was working for a higher power, for Susan and her love. During the last several weeks I had been researching one topic. Why do marriages fail? I was desperately looking for an answer to a very serious question. How had I failed Susan? What had I done to push her away from me? After twenty-seven books, I knew two things. I could have written a book on how to keep your marriage alive and healthy and I was never going to find my answer. There was nothing I had done. And it saddened me. Every suggestion in every book I had done. Communication, honesty, thoughtfulness. Placing her needs above my own, giving her space to be her own person. Flowers, notes, remembering the little things. Sharing responsibilities. Adapting to life's changes. Faithfulness. I had done them all. Again, I am not saying I am perfect, far from it. On my own, I am weak. It was Susan who gave me strength. I did all the little things because they made her happy, and when Susan was happy I was beyond amazing. I did everything for her, because she energized me. Naturally, this translated to our children. They were an extension of my love for Susan and deserved everything I had to offer. Some men may call all of this a great sacrifice, 'I gave up my dreams for my family'. Not me, I thought it was easy. Susan and my family were my dream, everything and anything I gave up was returned to me tenfold. My biggest problem was if I could find nothing that I had done wrong, I would have to change who I was to remain married to Susan. I was honest and faithful and loving and kind. I could not be a man with an open relationship...I would never be a...cuckold. Just thinking the word made me want to puke. I desperately needed to know how I failed, so I could reconcile with my wife. Forgive myself for my failure, forgive her for hers and move on together. My current depressed lifestyle was based on the knowledge that I would never find that failure. The other thing that bothered me was how every memory I had for our last five years together was tainted. It is amazing how things that seem so innocent when your eyes of full of love can seem so devious when you're staring at them through a prism of hurt, anger and betrayal. Susan and I were out a lot, dancing, parties and such. Things that had never bothered me before, were eating me up inside. The times she was maybe dancing a little too close with another man. The smiles and laughter and the touches on the arm with another. I never cared about the flirting before. It was harmless fun. But now I was wondering if my own apathy towards those things had cost me my marriage. Had I been my own worst enemy? *** It was Maggie who damn near forced me to continue with counseling. "You have to fight with everything you have, David. You have to try and make it work. When you have tried absolutely everything, then and only then can you give up. It has to be this way. I can nev...I mean you won't be able to live with yourself if you don't," she said. I reluctantly agreed. I stayed close by as Dr. Skinner worked with Susan to control her depression and come to terms with were our marriage stood. Susan and I visited from time to time. We kept things on a friendly level speaking about the children or family and friends. We never spoke about us. At first it seemed that Susan would say things to pick a fight with me. I know she was frustrated. Hell, I was. But my frustration manifested in short answers and silence and she didn't like it. The divorce proceedings continued, but were on hold for a final decree until Maggie was satisfied I had done all I could. Maggie and I would talk after every counseling session. She would listen to me complain that I was done and I wanted it to end. In Her Eyes "No, not today David. You are not ready." So once again I was in Dr. Skinner's office talking about reconciliation and forgiveness. "Jesus Christ, Susan! Give me something to work with! Why did you do it? WHY? For the love of God, give me a reason." I was on the verge of breaking down. It was almost too much. "It was too perfect, David. I couldn't keep going." "What?!" "I couldn't keep up with the standard. I am human. I have failings. I am a woman. I have temptations." Dr. Skinner was silent. She was going to let this play out. It was clear to me this was well covered territory between the two of them. This was going to give me closure, and not the kind I wanted. "Well, knowing what I know now. Knowing what it would cost I would never have done it. But at the time, I wasn't thinking that way. I was caught up in the excitement of what I thought it would be. Not the pathetic reality, but the results can't mitigate my intent." "I'll never truly understand why or how you did it. Hell, I would have had sex with half of the women who hit on you. And I don't play on that team. But you never did, did you? And because I was with you, men hit on me. What kind of woman must I be to keep a man like you? I had to be freakishly good in bed right? Some type of special..." "You are special.." I could hardly speak through my tears. "...kind of slut. At first it was cute, then it was draining...and then. Well, who knows? I just gave in." "My friends all thought you were too good to be true. From the very first time they met you. It just got worse over the years. 'My piece of shit husband got a little on the side and he's not half the man David is.' 'He's rich Susan, he's just extremely discrete. No man can stand up to that amount of pussy being thrown at him and not give in.'" "I did it for you." "Oh, I know that. I knew the moment that you confronted me. You can't fake being that devastated. I knew at that moment you really had NEVER cheated on me, never lied to me. You were angry. Very angry, and that type of pain only comes from true betrayal. Dr. Skinner has shown me that." "I don't know what to say..." "You don't have to say anything, honey. I cheated on you. I chose to do it. I wasn't pleased...I am not happy with the results, but it was my decision." Dr. Skinner spoke up for the first time. "We have to own our decisions and the consequences of our actions." The walls were closing in. It was getting hard to breath. "You are not to blame, David. Not directly. It was my failing, my obsession, my lack of faith. It's OK. You can let it go now. I'll understand." I had to move. "Susan, Dr. Skinner. I have to go. I am sorry. I can't stay. Goodbye, Susan." And I walked out the door and on to my new life. Alone. *** "That was very good, Susan. I am proud of you. I know that was difficult. But by fully accepting your responsibilities we have a foundation to build on. It will get easier next time. He is upset, but we can move forward now." "He won't be back, Dr. Skinner. That was it." "Don't lose hope now, Susan. We have come so far." "No, I didn't lose hope. Just David. She'll help him now. She loves him. He won't be back. She warned me not to hurt him. She told me she would help me. And she did. But he won't be back." "Who?" "Maggie." *** "She's in love with you. She always has been." "What in God's name are you rambling about now?!" "Just don't shut me out, David. She'll love you now. But we have the children. We will always be connected. I know I can't have you and I won't try to get you back. But, please, don't shut me out. I can't live like that. I won't." *** I didn't feel like reliving this last session. I didn't want to talk about it. Fortunately, I didn't have to. She just looked at me. "OK, David. It's over now. I'll finish it." "Oh, Mags..." She rushed to catch me and held me while I cried. And I did cry, a lot. And fuck off if you say you've never done it. *** From there my life settled into kind of a morbid normalcy. There were no long drawn out court battles. Maggie had the prenuptial agreement enforced. Then we sat down with Susan and her attorney. I was generous. I wanted to give her more, but Susan wouldn't accept it. She said as long as she could live comfortably and see the children everything else was extravagance and she didn't deserve it. She asked that I allow her to keep up the charitable arm of the company saying it would give her something to focus on. That, and the small salary she could draw there, would keep her content. Our marriage was over. Susan and I still met once or twice a month. To talk mostly about nothing. Then she dropped her bombshell. I drove home to my condo. It was more of an upscale bachelor pad. It was wasted on me. I never entertained anyone but Maggie and the children. Maggie, as always, was there when I got home. We looked at each other for a long time. She was very concerned and took a huge breath, letting out an even bigger sigh. "Let's talk about it. OK?" "Sure, Mags. Here?" "No, let's go to the living room." We walked in silence to the kitchen and grabbed drinks and snacks. We moved in harmony without speaking. She sat directly across from me in a huge armchair. She looked so small with her legs curled underneath her. "My uncle molested me when I was six years old." I was shocked. That was not where I expected the discussion to start. "It was four months of my life that changed me forever. I have never spoken about it to anyone but the prosecutor, my parents and my therapist. We tried to stay in San Francisco, in our family home. But that is where it happened most often, and I couldn't stop the nightmares. After a year of therapy, my father got a transfer to Chicago and that is when we moved to the house across the street from you." "I hadn't so much as spoken to a boy or man, other than my father, in more than a year. Then I met you. Your family came to welcome us to the neighborhood. I watched from the stairs for a long time. Staring at you. You were different. I couldn't explain it. I still can't. But I knew you were different." "I didn't know you had seen me until you slipped past my parents and up the stairs. 'Hi, I am David. I am so glad you're here. We are the only kids on this whole block. We can be friends and walk to school together. You are going to like it here. We can have so much fun. What is your name?'" "From that moment you have been my best friend. I had been scared and alone for more than a year and then there you were. My own guardian angel. I felt safe. I was surprised but my parents were stunned. Do you remember the looks on their faces when they saw us talking?" "Not really, I was too busy talking to you." I smiled. "I know. I remember. I never lied to you, David. I have always loved you, and you have always known that. I couldn't hide it from you. I just never told you I was in love with you. Honestly, it just never came up. You are and were my very best friend and the only man I ever really trusted. You helped me more than you will ever know. You were so kind and gentle and sweet. I never wanted to be apart from you. As we got older, and you grew in to such a handsome man, I knew I was in love with you. But I had too many unresolved issues." "Plus, you weren't interested in other girls. So I never worried about it. I had you all to myself and other boys left me alone. None of them were going to ever try to compete with you. Honestly, I think they felt relieved. You were always with me, so other girls went looking elsewhere and that made the guys happy." "I never told you I was a lesbian. What I said was the truth, I wasn't interested in dating guys. Well other guys anyway. I just never corrected your thinking. I can't have children David. My uncle saw to that. I know you better than anyone and I knew you wanted a family, especially after your parents died. I couldn't be the one to keep you from your dream. When you found Susan, I knew you were in love and I was so happy for you. I never would have done anything to come between you. Ever." "I told Susan before you got married that I was in love with you. I also told her that she never had to worry about me and I would help her hold on to you no matter what. But I also told her that if she ever hurt you, and you weren't together anymore, that I would take my shot. I would have waited forever without a single regret." She paused. "She told you about me, right?" "Yes, just this afternoon." I was stunned. I admit it. Margaret Peterson was my best friend. Always had been, always would be. She loved me and I always knew it. I had always loved her and she knew that. I would have done anything for her, she the same for me. She was stunningly beautiful. She had waited in silence so that I could have a shot at my dream. I had my children now. She had fought my every attempt to end my marriage until I was absolutely sure it couldn't be repaired. I was at peace with my divorce. She wanted me and I wanted her. Our first kiss, as more than friends, was truly magical; a culmination of years of friendship and caring and love. It took my breath away. Shortly thereafter we adjourned to the bedroom for the first time. That evening will always be special to me. Because it was Maggie's first time, it was as traumatic as it was loving. That is all I will say about it. Our couplings have grown in passion over the years, though. I will simply say that Maggie Stephens is the most beautiful woman in the world and I don't think that anyone who has ever seen her would argue with me. Fortunately for me, I will be the only one that ever knows that every inch of her body is perfect and that she has the skills of a goddess in the bedroom. I'm sorry, but I won't share that. Some things just have to remain private. Susan has remained a part of our lives. She and Mags work together on the many charities that our foundation supports. She shares all of the holidays with us and the children. True to her word, she never tried to win me back and I have never treated her as anything other than the loving mother of my children. Oh, don't worry, I can hear your angry shouts from here. My revenge was lame, I should have done more. You know, I think in the world of fantasy, everything always works out for the hero. But in the real world violent people go to jail. Jason was unemployed and without a career. That was all the revenge I needed. If Susan hadn't decided to cheat on me, I would have never had to worry about him. Mike, well he was always a loser, still is. You can't make someone feel more like a loser, when they have never been a winner. Susan, well, I love her. Always have, always will. That we cannot be together hurts me as much as it hurts her. Oh, having Maggie in my life certainly eased a lot of my troubles. But she had always been there for me and always would be. Nothing would have been gained from making Susan suffer any more than the simple loss of our marriage. That was enough. Pain is pain, and you can't focus its effects on one person and not get caught up in it yourself. It is best to try to move on and find as much happiness as you can. Anyway, Susan doesn't seem to date, but we have never spoken about it. For the most part she is happy and content with her life. Every once in awhile, I know she misses me and our life together. I know, because I can see it in her eyes. In Her Eyes She started, almost imperceptibly at first, to move with the direction of my rubbing, and then against it using my hand like a scratching post and pressing herself against me. I kept up my slow rhythm but her movement speeded up, becoming in turn urgent, demanding and frantic until finally she let out series of piercing shrieks, far more intense than any sound she had made under the lash, and exploded into a succession of wrenching orgasms. When it was over she just lay back on the bed and closed her eyes and said dreamily "I deserved that". Yes I thought, but which part did she mean?