Emma followed Jen down the hallway some time later, her clothes, cellphone, and other personal items locked away in a room that seemed too luxurious to call a locker room. It was more like a suite in an ultra-expensive hotel. Her hands shook as she pulled the edges of the robe closer together. A group of three men headed their way, each dressed like a Roman slave. Their feet were encased in ropy sandals that looked ridiculously uncomfortable, their bodies hairless from their foreheads down, their hips wrapped in thick, white lengths of cloth that barely contained what hid beneath. Each one winked as they passed.Emma thought she might fall over from the rush of blood to her face."Unbelievable, right?" Jen whispered in her ear."Definitely," she replied.Jen grabbed her hand and led her down another corridor. They walked into a small room where another of the pretty French maids was waiting."Ladies," she said with a smile, gesturing for them to take a seat on a long couch covere
It was like no massage cubicle she had ever seen. To begin with, it wasn't a cubicle. It was a full room. And there wasn't just a massage table in sight.The room was filled with an array of things, some Emma had never seen. There were shelves along one wall that held every possible sex toy one could imagine. Emma found herself staring at dildos and vibrators in every shape and size, most of them reflecting the blues and purples of the room. There was a rack that had every type of whip imaginable draped over the pegs like winter coats. There were steel rings attached to the opposite wall at multiple heights and a few braced to the ceiling above. Off to one side was a contraption that looked nothing like the swing that hung from a tree in Emma's backyard. And it had what looked like a series of belts, as though a person needed to be seat belted in to use it.There was a settee off to one side, not unlike the one in Mrs. Hartley's office. But this one was missing the back, had straps o
Her cheeks felt as though they were still burning as she walked into her house several hours later. Jen had tried to get her to talk about it, had even offered more detail about her encounter with Ares than Emma could ever have wanted to know. But she couldn't.How could she talk about something she didn't even understand?How could she let him touch her like that?Emma's body still ached from Dante's touch. She could still feel the probing of his fingers, the thrust of his tongue. She licked her lips and she could taste sweet and spicy. She ran her hands over her breasts and could still feel her nipples puckered in anticipation of his touch.What was wrong with her?"Where were you?"Emma jumped as Steve's voice suddenly exploded behind her. She pushed the door closed before she turned. And wished she hadn't.He was drunk.His eyes were glassed over, his face flushed. He was holding on to the door jamb between the kitchen and foyer, his grip nearly white knuckled, clearly unst
"I want to go back."Jen studied Emma over the top of her coffee cup. "Emma, I don't""I want to go back. I want to know more about the things they do there.""Why?"Emma took a sip of her own coffee before glancing over her shoulder for eavesdroppers, even though she knew Steve and the boys were safely on their way to their appropriate Wednesday morning destinations. Then her eyes moved to the tightly closed door that opened into her recently completed studio. No one to worry about over there, either. They guys had taken the day off to wait for more supplies. Or something like that.But, somehow, she still felt like she was revealing a secret that had the power to destroy her."I just-" she bit her lip, annoyed that yet another blush was burning across her cheeks. "I just want to try it one more time."Jen put down her cup and sat back, her eyes moving slowly over Emma's face. "Did you tell Steve?"She nearly laughed at the thought. They might coexist in the same house, but it
Emma shouldered her way through the growing crowd, her camera clutched tight against her chest to protect it from an accidental jab from someone's elbow. She caught her mother's eye and offered a slight smile, as though to say, what can you expect?The smile faltered when Steve moved up behind her mother, tapping her shoulder to let her know he was there. Of all the school programs he had ever made it to since Seth had started school, he had to make it to this one. She wanted to scream with frustration. The last thing she needed today was Steve.But he was their father.Emma found a blank spot against a far wall. She lifted the camera to her eye, focusing the lens on the stage where Justin's class would soon appear. They had worked on this play for weeks. Emma knew Justin's part better than she suspected he knew it. He was so nervous this morning that he almost talked her into letting him stay home. She hoped he was better now that he was around his friends. But she suspected not.
The glass of wine tasted like sweet nectar on her tongue. It wasn't even five o'clock in the afternoon. She had just picked up the boys from school, should be in the dining room helping them with their homework. But she so needed the oblivion the wine offered. She wasn't sure how much longer she could do this.It took so much more effort to pretend that everything was okay than it did to accept defeat. Her marriage was over. She could say it to herself. Why couldn't she say it to him?Speaking of the devil. Steve walked into the room, tugging at the tie around his neck as he spotted the bottle of wine on the table. He went to a cabinet and pulled down a glass. "What are you doing here?" she asked as he made his way to the table."I still live here," he said, helping himself to the wine.Emma let the comment slide, not really in the mood to argue with him. Instead, she swallowed the last of the wine in her glass and held it out for a refill. He obliged, filling it to the rim
Dante stood in the middle of the room, his wrists tied with a thick silk rope that ran through an eye in the ceiling and tied off on another eye attached to the wall. He was naked, his body fully exposed. Emma, dressed in a tight bustier and her a thong, walked slowly around him, a leather flogger with no less than thirty distinct lashes clutched too tightly in her hand."I don't want to hurt you.""You won't.""But this thing looks pretty solid."Dante smiled. "It'll sting, but it won't leave marks."Emma bit her lip. "I just don't want do something wrong.""You won't," he said again. "Trust me."She moved close to him and ran a hand along his chest. "I like this, I like the control," she said as she let her hand wander down the length of his abdomen. "I like touching you.""I can't say I mind it all that much," he said, stepping forward as far as the rope would allow him. "You can do that all you want."Emma looked up, attracted by the rough edge to his voice, but it was the
"You've been married twelve years, is that right?"Steve nodded. "Yes, twelve years this past November."The reporter nodded, looking at her phone where she had notes stored. "And you celebrated in the Turks and Caicos Islands, correct?"Emma couldn't help the tension that slid into her shoulders at the mention of that recently contentious location. Steve squeezed her hand, as though trying to remind her of the pact they had made."It was a gift from my in-laws."The reporter looked up, her blue eyes roving slowly over Steve's face as though looking for some sort of clue in his expression. She had been looking at him that way since she walked into the house. Emma looked away, trying to remind herself that she was no longer supposed to get jealous when women looked at Steve in a certain way. It was no longer any of her business.But some habits are hard to break.She shifted slightly on the couch, her eyes roaming the tidiness of the great room. It was perfect for this sort of th