Gillian West had been burned too many times by men to get caught up in any kind of romance that goes nowhere. Her life consists of selling high-end cars to those discerning men that have what she calls a midlife crisis. She is approached by three women that have an instant dislike for Marshall Peters. They explain how her reputation has gotten around as being the only woman willing to do what it takes to shame men. This is different. This man is not married and has no significant other. The man in question is a rich philanderer with no ring on his finger and only a good time in his heart. They convince her that he needs to be humiliated and knocked down a few pegs from his masochistic ways. At first, she thinks it’s going to be a cakewalk, but upon meeting Marshall she begins to doubt herself. He’s handsome, charming and if she’s not careful she might be his next hit and run victim with her panties on his floor. How can she remain professional and look into his brilliant blue eyes?

* * *

I could feel the rain bouncing off the camouflaged slicker that I was wearing. I could smell the flowers. It was that distinct aroma that always caused my allergies to act up. It was a good thing that I had taken some medication. The feeling of the mud sticking against my boots was a good reminder that what I was doing was not what most people would want to be doing at this time of night.

I didn’t even know how I got started doing this as a hobby. I did get a bit of a rush finding that unique shot that was going to be worth more than 1000 words. The damn fool had his curtain open and pressing up against the glass was this buxom blonde with breasts that defied gravity. I felt a little awkward seeing those melons and knowing that I didn’t hold a candle.

I waited for the precise time when the man’s head would appear over her shoulder biting her ear lobe and nipping at her neck. I took the shot, zooming in and getting the best possible angle to prove his shame and cheating ways.

It was obvious that the man was having a midlife crisis. His hair was thinning and he was blatantly trying to cover it up with a comb over. The only reason why this was brought to my attention in the first place was because the man’s wife started to see the signs that he was stepping out on her.

I saw her standing and looking at one of the expensive vehicles. It had my radar on high alert. I knew that she wasn’t there to buy a car and that my reputation for those things that I did in the dead of night had gotten around by word of mouth.

I pressed the button on my phone which was attached to a blue tooth in my ear. On the first ring, she was quite anxious to learn the truth. They always think that they are ready to hear it, but they’re never truly prepared for the evidence to be so damning.

“I know that you wouldn’t have called unless you had something to report. Miss West, I don’t know how you can do this work and feel good about yourself. I’m not one to cast stones and my marriage hasn’t been exactly beer and skittles. I like to think that I satisfy my man, but it has become painfully clear that he needs something that I can’t give him. I want to know if I have grounds for a divorce or if I can win him back by some insane and naughty act. I can hopefully make him see that what he has at home is better than he can get anyplace else.” Mrs. Sanders had me feeling a little bit guilty about my role in how their marriage was going to dissolve.

“If you must know, I’m just trying to be impartial and give women a fighting chance. We all have our suspicions and sometimes they pan out and sometimes they don’t. Guys are guilty of lying through their teeth and telling us what we need to hear with sweet nothings in our ear. I’m sending you some photos and I do believe that they will capture his likeness perfectly.” I had my eye on the prize. The money that Mrs. Sanders was paying was through the nose. I didn’t do this for the money. It was my way to get back at those that had burned me in the past.

I heard the gasp on the other end of the phone and I knew that the photos told the story. There was silence and it was that awkward moment that made me wonder if she was going to start screaming or crying. I could never stand to hear a woman crying. It was primarily the reason why I went into the sales of high-end vehicles for discerning men that really were trying to make up for some kind of shortcoming.

I was not opposed to using my sexuality and the curves that I was born with to my advantage. I liked to think that I was doing women a favor by selling them these cars. It was either that or they would slip the hard one to those girls that might give them the attention that they were looking for.

“You’ve done your job. I thought that it was going to be a stranger, but learning that it’s my sister puts things into perspective. I should have known something was going on between them, but I didn’t think that my own sister would stoop that low to sleep with my husband behind my back.” It didn’t appear that this had anything to do with a certain sexual act. The photos depicted both of them relieving that tension with a little more than lip service.

“You’ve already paid half the price and I will happily accept the rest whenever you get the chance to deposit it into my account. I’m sorry that you had to learn about your husband and your sister’s duplicitous ways. It’s better that you know and you can’t allow them to think that they are getting one over on you.” I was trying to be devil’s advocate and I didn’t want her to do anything that was going to cause more harm than good.

“It’s funny, but I’m not really all that angry. I kinda find it a little bit exciting but also galling at the same time. I always thought that it would be quite something to involve my sister in a threesome. Perhaps this is the way to get them to realize that three doesn’t necessarily have to be a crowd. I get the feeling that they are only doing it because it’s considered taboo. I think that you may have noticed that she’s my twin sister. She doesn’t have anybody and she just lost her husband a month ago to an unforeseen car accident.” I had no idea why she was telling me any of this and this was certainly not any of my business.

“I’m only paid to get the evidence and what you do with it after that is your concern. I don’t judge and I’m certainly not any kind of saint. I thought that monogamy was the right way to go, but it always seems to be too much for a man to commit to. I don’t mind telling you that I get my thrills out of finding some young piece of ass and giving him a few lessons in how to treat a woman right. I like to get them when they are young barely out of their teens when I can mold them and give them an experience that they will never forget.” I found myself reliving past transgressions and smiling at the way that I would leave them a husk of their former self.

“Miss West, I took the liberty of speaking to some of my girlfriends about you and I believe that you will be getting some more business. Your work is exemplary. I may not like what I have learned, but at least, I can sleep better knowing the truth. I thought that I would want to kill him, but since it is my sister, it seems fitting to confront them. I’ll send your final payment by morning and that is something that you can take to the bank literally and figuratively.” The line went dead and I packed up what I had but not before I took a few final shots of him spilling his excitement all over her pendulum breasts.

I was a voyeur and seeing behind closed doors what people did was my Christmas. I had learned many different techniques and positions by being the fly on the wall. I was that blonde creature of the night that stood at 5’9, 130lbs and I had long silky blond hair that was out of a bottle. The drapes certainly didn’t match the rug, although you wouldn’t know that when you got me naked and saw the way that I shaved completely bare.

I thought about my ex-boyfriend Henry and how I had found him cavorting with the dog walker. I might’ve been able to get over it, but the dog walker in question was a Latino man. I didn’t even know that he had those tendencies. They were living together. I was still friendly with the both of them and even showed up for Sunday dinner from time to time.

The money that I made from selling Ferraris and Corvettes not to mention a few Lamborghinis had afforded me quite a substantial paycheck. What I was getting from this unusual pastime was not only extra pocket money but a jolt that had me wanting to seek out the next available man. I had taken a break from being with a man. I thought about dabbling with the opposite sex, but that was only for an experimental moment in college that I liked to remember fondly.

I barely closed the door on my silver Jaguar when I was blasted by a text message. It requested that I be available to speak to three women that were going to show up at my work. I didn’t know what this was about, but I got this funny inkling that Mrs. Sanders was not exactly shy about my prowess with a camera.

* * *

“Gillian, you are the best saleswoman that I have ever had and I don’t know what I would do without you. You know exactly what a man wants and I think it goes without saying that the rest of you can learn something from her. I want everybody to look at the leader board and know that none of you have a chance of beating her.” My boss was a sleazy man that had a different woman on his arm every week. There was nothing that was wrong with that and it wasn’t like he was cheating on his wife.

It was distasteful and I’m sure that the girls felt used and abused like an old Kleenex. That was not my business and the blog that I wrote about cheating and the anonymous photos that went along with shaming those men was where I excelled.

“It’s really not that hard to figure out what a man wants. They feel neglected and they want something that will reaffirm their manhood.” I was wearing a little black dress that barely covered my red panties. They were the thong type and wedged into the crack of my ass. They were perfect for bending over and making men almost whimper like a little girl.

“I really don’t need to know your secrets. Just as long as you keep bringing in this kind of money, there’s always going to be a job here for you.” The meeting adjourned and I could see that some of the men were a little displeased that I was usurping their authority. I was good at emasculating them and also playing with them like a puppy on a leash.

I went to my office and sitting in the three chairs in front of my desk were three distinctively different women. Two of them didn’t look like socialites or the kind of women that spent their time with women gossiping about the latest fashion trend. The one on the end seemed more that type.

I sat down. I looked at each one and I knew that they were all here for the same thing. They looked at each other and I got the feeling like they were trying to figure out who was going to be the spokesperson.

It turned out that the old one with a bit more experience underneath her belt had decided to take the bullet for the rest of them. She took a folder out of her black bag and she placed it on my desk. I opened it and saw pictures of a man that was athletic, quite put together and had these very discerning dimples that were hard to ignore. He was dressed impeccably in each and every photo and it was as if he was trying to put his best foot forward.

I took a sip of my steaming hot coffee, black and extra strong to keep me alert and ready for just about anything.

“Marshall Peters is a piece of work and all of us have been in his bed. He doesn’t believe in commitment; he barely registers our name and yet we find ourselves splayed across his king size bed with our legs in the air. I don’t mind telling you that the sex was phenomenal. The way that he could play my body like a musical instrument was a testament to his manhood. He’s above average, knows that he’s god’s gift to women and has no problem finding somebody to spend their time in his bed.” This sounded like they were disgruntled and I wasn’t sure that this was my place.

The black-haired one, a little younger and more impressionable decided to chime in. “I thought that he was the man of my dreams. He was perfect on paper and then things changed. I can’t deny that the sex was something indescribable. The way that he could move had me at a loss for words too many times to count. One weekend and I thought that he was going to propose. I know how naive that sounds, but I felt that certain something in the air.” This girl made me almost burst out laughing.

“Tina doesn’t know any better, but what does that say for me. I’ve been around the block and I know the score better than anybody. I never thought anything about it when we went to his hotel room. It was supposed to be just physical, but he somehow managed to make me care for him. I think he gets more out of making us fall in love with him than he does actually from conquering us in the bedroom.” I found out that these three women had learned about each other through the very same dating site that they met Marshall.

Lillian, Julia, and Tina had all come together and shared stories that were remarkably similar. I still didn’t know where I came in or how I was going to help in any way. He was not cheating; he was not married and he did not have a girlfriend that was pining for him during late night encounters that he claimed that he was working at the office.

Tina was the youngest and I could see how easily she could get caught up in the romance. Lillian was the oldest and I would’ve thought that she would have known better, but maybe being jaded had made her the perfect target for this man.

“I’m sorry, but I might be blind, but I don’t see how I can help you. You must know that I only shame married man and those that consider themselves to be committed to the one that they are with. This is a little out of my wheelhouse. I am curious to understand the reason why you would come to me in the first place. What exactly do you think that I can do?” I wanted to know the answer and they were all sharing knowing glances that had me a little uncomfortable.

“I would think that it was obvious. We want you to make him fall in love with you and then give him a dose of his own medicine. Humiliate him in public and have it recorded for posterity so that we can use it against him when he tries to go hunting for suitable prey. We’ve decided that we don’t want something like this to happen to another woman. I’m married and I’ve never cheated until he gave me that come-hither stare and had my panties lying on his floor within hours of meeting him.” Lillian was the one that was twirling her wedding ring and looking at the floor.

“This is not what I usually do, but this man does sound like he needs to be taught a lesson. I can’t promise anything, but I think that I can use what god gave me to turn his head.” The yellow walls were a calming influence on those that sat here contemplating writing a very substantial check for something that they really didn’t need.

“I’m glad to hear you say that. We were afraid that you might think that we were angry and bitter. We are both of those things, but we still think that women should know what he’s about. I was the one that actually contacted Tina and told her that he was not what he appeared to be. She didn’t believe me and had some disparaging words that I won’t repeat. It was only after she was kicked to the curb that she finally saw the writing on the wall.” The three women were not the only ones that had felt the feeling of him pinning them to the mattress and letting their passions collide over and over again. Lillian seemed to be the ringleader of the lynch mob mentality.

“There is a matter of my payment. I don’t mean to be blunt, but I do insist on half up front. You wouldn’t be here unless you knew how much I charged. Take that amount and double that. This is not just a matter of finding him in a compromising position. This is going to take some work. Give me a month and if I can’t do what you want me to, then I will gladly refund your money. If you’re afraid that I’m going to fall into his trap, then you have nothing to worry about. I’ve been burned and I know that men like this are out there preying on the innocence.” I stood and gave them all a handshake and then escorted them from my office with two of the other salesman watching intently.

I had to learn everything that I could about Marshall Peters. I had to find out his habits and those things that he did in his pastime that didn’t involve high heels over his shoulders. He made other men look pale in comparison. This was a guy that could have any woman with an indifferent smile or a cocksure wink. He would have them melting in the very spot.

The door opened and Jason one of our newest salesmen was now motioning with his head towards a certain someone that had his eye on a black corvette. I had slept with the young upstart and cultivated a lucrative arrangement “If you promise to cut me in on the commission, I will gladly turn this one over to you. I only ask for 20% of the cut. I could make the sale myself, but I think that you can seal this deal quicker than I can.” Jason was one of the few that knew his limitations and was willing to stand aside. He really didn’t want to work and he counted on me wanting to put my obvious sexual charisma into action.

I took one last look at Marshall Peters. He had no idea that he was about to come up against something that he could never imagine. He didn’t appear to have a type unless you counted that he was not into those that were considerably heavier than most. I was happy with my curves and I knew how to use that extra weight to my advantage. My breasts were more than a mouthful and they were the natural kind without the necessity for augmentation.

I sauntered towards this man in a Brooks Brothers suit and I knew from just looking at him that he was fighting that 40-year bitch…I mean itch. I was almost 30, feeling like my life had only just started and I think that I was the female counterpart of Marshall. I really didn’t care if the young men had somebody special. I would take what I wanted and leave them with a smile and a memory that they could replay in their old age.

“That is a real beauty and it has a lot underneath the hood. I could open it up and show you what kind of horses is waiting for you to hit the open road with. Jason informs me that you are looking to add something to your collection. I have to say that you have a good eye for detail.” His back was towards me. He turned slowly and I couldn’t believe my eyes. The very photo that was in my office was now standing in front of me.

“I didn’t come here to buy a car. I followed Lillian, Tina, and the other one. I knew that they were up to something. I have to ask myself the reason why they would come here of all places. I don’t see either one of them wanting to buy any of these cars, so there has to be another reason why they would come here and go into your office for 20-minutes.” This was the first time that somebody had caught me in the act and I wasn’t sure how to deal with that. I had to think quickly.

“If you must know, they came here to warn me about you. I don’t even know how they found out that I was about to contact you on the dating site. I don’t think that they should have bothered and I can make up my own mind. I will say that they weren’t very kind in the way that they described you.” I was caught with my pants down, but I was able to adapt and come up with a way to turn the tables in my favor.

“I don’t know why they continue to do this. I’m not what they say I am. I like women and maybe I haven’t found the right one. I’m still searching for those butterflies in my stomach. I want that moment where I see somebody across a crowded room and know that she’s the one. I’m not that lucky in love.” He was making himself out to be the victim and I knew the truth like the nose on my face.

“I have to admit that you’re nothing like they described. I find your vulnerability and your willingness to admit your faults to be refreshing. The way that they made you out to be was like some philandering cad that only cared for his own pleasure. I do find it a little upsetting that you would feel the need to meet me like this. Tell me, why would I give you the time of day after you barge in here and give the impression that you are some sort of stalker?” I waited for an answer with my hands on the hood of the car, bending over slightly to give him a brief glimpse of the way that I had worked my body into the specimen that it was today.

The showroom was immaculate and the cars were centered on pedestals that moved with the switch that I had in my hand. I touched on that switch and I moved the vehicle so that my ass was practically up against his prominent region. I could feel it stretching and nestled in between my cheeks. I knew that the one thing that they had right was the size of his endowment.

“I’m fed up with their drama. They follow me everywhere and I am this close to getting a restraining order. I’m not doing anything wrong. I just need to feel something other than a physical connection. I want to believe in love at first sight with the violins playing in the background, but I’ve never witnessed it. I have to get to know the woman and find out if we are compatible in the bedroom. To me, chemistry is very important and a relationship doesn’t work unless the sex can bring a smile to both partner’s face.” He was shoveling it on pretty thick and had I not known what he was about, I might have felt a pang of something for him.

“I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt. Take me to dinner tonight and we’ll get to the truth one way or the other.” I was daring him to cross that line in the sand. He not only agreed to the date, but he also bought the car that I was bending over obscenely. I was quite the focus for those guys that were watching from their offices.

* * *

I was dressed in a sheer white flowing form fitting dress that had a slit up the side to show off my long and lean legs. They were muscular and formed into the kind that would look good in anything. I wanted to make a good first impression and the restaurant that I had chosen for this occasion was owned by my Uncle Antonio.

I arrived early and had him show me to a table in the back. “Please don’t tell me that this is another one of those young kids that don’t know any better. I see the way that they look at you. You can’t tell me that you don’t know that you’re a cougar. You may not be the age of one, but you certainly act the part. I can’t even look at your father and not think about the way that you flaunt your body.” Antonio was my only uncle and the one that I had a bit of a crush on when I was growing up.

“Don’t be jealous, Uncle Antonio. I like to spread the wealth, but don’t worry there’s always protection. I don’t do anything unless there’s a glove involved.” I could see that he was embarrassed and the flush in his cheeks made me slap his shoulder in a jovial nature.

“One of these days, you are going to bite off more than you can chew. There’s a man out there that is going to be your final undoing. I just hope that I’m alive when it happens. Do you want to tell me the name of your intended party, so that I can be a good host and bring him to your table upon arrival?” I told him his first name, leaving out the last, in case there was recognition in his eyes.

I was half Italian and I wore that heritage with pride. I even went into the kitchen from time to time with Antonio and let him teach me a few things about cooking. The way to a man’s heart was through his stomach. I had the statuesque figure and a body that just wouldn’t quit. That had the makings of an unstoppable combination.

The lighting was sparse and had the atmosphere of romance in the air. The candle that was lit on every table had that certain something. Couples looking longingly into each other’s eyes had me almost begging for someone that would give me that kind of love and devotion. The last guy that I took here gave me a reason to grip the tabletop. I still saw him on occasion when my hunger for a long and agile tongue was more than I could take. He might’ve been young, but his youthful enthusiasm more than made up for his inexperience.

I heard somebody clearing their throat and I looked up from my fantasy world to see that my wet dream had come true. Marshall was dressed in a black tuxedo that made him like a beacon to those women that were not happy in their relationship. I saw some of the girls at other tables using their compacts to get a look at what was a testament to his gender.

“I know that it’s a bit cheesy, but I took the liberty of buying you a rose.” Coming from anybody else, I would think that he was doing something sweet, but this had the earmarks of wanting to get into my pants. “I know and I should’ve splurged on the whole dozen, but I didn’t want them to be outshined by the beauty at the table. This one rose compliments your eyes.” I had a catch in my throat and I never felt like my heart had stopped until that moment.

“I know that it’s customary for the man to order, but I know the owner personally. I want you to experience Italy in the way that I did one summer when I visited some of my relatives. True Italian cooking comes from love.” I held the rose and pretended to smile and smell the fragrance of the petals. I wasn’t much for flowers, but for some reason, this really did send sparks down below my waist.

“It’s very progressive of you to order for the man. I think that I’m going to have to watch out for you. You might be more than I can handle, but I think that remains to be seen. Tell me, what made you so interested in meeting me from my profile?” He was trying to trip me up, but I had done my due diligence and read his profile word for word.

“I think it was the way that you talked about a past love that got away. It had me thinking that I wanted to save you. You appeared to be damaged and in desperate need of some tender loving care. Was any of that real or did you just come up with that to throw your line into the available pool of women circling like sharks?” There didn’t seem to be a reason to sugarcoat anything. He already knew that I was approached by the girls and his playbook was going to have to be revised.

The white dress had a plunging neckline and the gold chain around my neck gave him a reason to look in that general direction. I wasn’t wearing a bra and my dollar sized nipples were standing strong and proud.

I could see the way that he was licking his lips, probably envisioning the way that his mouth would feel when they encompassed both of them at the same time. I would moan and twist in his grasp, pushing my chest into his face and letting him devour me like I had just come hot from the oven.

“I hate to be that ‘guy’, but it was just a story. You already know that. I told you when I met you this morning that I never did find anything close to real love. I search and yet it remains elusive out of my grasp. I want that feeling that has me powerless to resist the eyes that are staring across from me at the table.” He had me mesmerized, as I was staring into those liquid blue pools. I knew the reason why women had a hard time restraining themselves.

He followed that up with a hand on my knee, squeezing lightly and not too forceful. It was enough to catch my attention and send a shiver down my spine. He didn’t try to move any further. This was where most men thought that they have a license to take things to the next level. He was actually waiting for my approval and the proper invitation to take the control out of my hands.

“I thought as much, but I wanted to hear it from you. Don’t you think that you are misrepresenting yourself by telling bold-faced lies to women that are only trying to find something that completes them? I don’t know why you can’t just be yourself. Would it be that bad to let down your guard and let somebody in? You’d be surprised at how easily a woman can get lost in the truth.” I couldn’t break his hold on my knee, no matter how much I wanted to chastise him for his behavior.

“I might come off as superficial, but the only way that I’m going to find what I’m looking for is by being a little dishonest. We all lie to protect ourselves. When we feel comfortable enough to reveal the truth is when there is commitment. I don’t think that it comes as any big surprise that men and women stack the deck when they go looking for love. They say whatever they need to, embellish their profession or leave out certain details like having kids or ex-boyfriends that are a bit more possessive than most.” He did make a valid point and one that had me thinking about my own actions.

“A man like you should have no problem getting somebody into bed. You obviously feel that there’s something missing in your life. Tell me what you see in the mirror every morning and be completely truthful for once in your life. Do you see the suave and debonair man or do you see something ugly?” I was putting him on the spot, but I didn’t see any reason to beat around the bush.

“I stand in front of the mirror every morning and I see the insecure little boy that I was in high school. The one that weighed less than 110 pounds; didn’t have any muscle tone and had to watch as those jocks and athletic types take their shot at every girl. I should’ve seen that I needed to be something that I wasn’t. It wasn’t until I got into college that I began to hit the weights. I actually slept with girls that didn’t give me the time of day in high school. It was kind of liberating to know that they had no idea that I was that meek and thin little kid that was more like wallpaper.” His story had a ring of truth and I looked for anything that would indicate that this was just another story and there was no sign to the contrary.

He took his hand away from my knee and placed both of them on the table just as the food arrived. The Alfredo with the cheese sauce was one of my favorites. It was steaming from the plate and the aroma caused me to close my eyes and be transported back to Italy.

“Doesn’t it feel better to get it off your chest? I know that it makes me see you in a different light. You have given me a chance to see underneath the bravado. That has proven to me that you can change. Maybe you were telling the truth about never finding love. I don’t know if we can build on the lies that you perpetrated on your profile. I’m willing to look past that, but only if you don’t try to fool me again. I’ve been once bitten and twice shy.” I took a forkful and I savored the moment, knowing that this dish was almost better than sex.

“I find myself at a loss for words. I would say that your beauty blinds me and makes me speechless, but that would only be just another line. I do find you sexy and you have this raw sexuality that oozes out of every pore. You can’t tell me that you didn’t wear a bra because you forgot. You obviously want men to look and crave you like the last piece of chocolate cake in the fridge.” He wasn’t wrong and like him, I was a wallflower in high school. I didn’t develop until I was out of high school.

“I’ll tell you a secret. I was exactly like you and I find myself guilty as charged. I found those certain guys that I liked in high school and I made them see me for the first time. I slept with them not because I wanted to, but to make a point.” I’d never mentioned this to anybody and for me to confess this sin had me feeling a little out of sorts.

“I didn’t know what to expect this evening, Gillian. I thought that I was barking up the wrong tree and that you were going to call me out for all the heartache that I caused. You seem so well put together and sane. I can’t say that for some of those dates that will remain nameless. I’ve had some disastrous ones. The one that comes to mind most recently is being set on fire. She was not what she claimed to be in her profile. She liked to set fires and I had to chase her around my home with a fire extinguisher.” The vivid image that came to mind made me cover my mouth with my hand to stop myself from laughing out loud.

“You poor thing, it must be quite the hardship to be you. Let’s cut all the nonsense and get down to the meat of the matter. It’s obvious that you want to sleep with me, but that’s not going to happen until I get to know you better. Patience is rewarded. Trust me; being with me is an experience that you will never forget. I leave them panting and wanting more. I am very well aware of kegel exercises. I’m doing them right now and I could probably break a walnut. I can see the way that you are looking at me. You’re thinking that I might be worth the effort of waiting.” The dessert came and the molten lava chocolate cake was something to die for.

I left there feeling like my body was on fire. We stopped in front of our two respective cars and he kissed me lightly on the lips. I pushed away from him, with one finger in the air and I wagged it back and forth like I was taking exception to his overly anxious ways.

“Let’s not start something that we won’t be able to finish tonight. I’m sure that you’re going to go home and put the palm sisters into motion. They never talk back and they always do what you say. Don’t look so shocked. I like to tell it the way that it is. Some women might keep things to themselves, but I know how men think. They will do anything and say anything to get pussy. A warm place to sink their cock for the night is what keeps them coming back to a bar over and over again.” His mouth was open.

“I have never heard any woman talk like you have. You have this sense of being and it doesn’t hurt that you have a body that probably could go all night. If this was any other date, I would probably cut my losses and turn my attention to somebody else. I think that I would like to see how far this goes. This time, let me choose the venue and I have a knack for coming up with unique things that give a girl the idea that I’m not just phoning it in.” He tried to reach for me and pull me in with his hand on the small of my back, but I put my hands on his chest to prevent him from going any further.

“You say one thing and you do another. I don’t know why, but I’m willing to give you a chance to play by my rules. Don’t call me. Girls might wait for your phone call, but this time you’re the one that’s going to be waiting.” I backed away from him. I got into my car and drove with one hand on the steering wheel and my eyes on him standing there like he didn’t know what to make of what happened. It didn’t go exactly as planned, but it was a good start.

* * *

Two days later and I wanted to see how he was faring. I decided to stop by using Jason’s car, considering that he did owe me a favor for landing the big fish of Marshall Peters. The commission check was quite something and gave me the chance to buy that new leather jacket that I had my eye on.

I sat there in the car at the crack of dawn on a Saturday morning thinking that I was going to catch him with his pants down. His car was on the road, but that didn’t mean that he didn’t pick up some strange piece of ass in the evening hours. I took out my high-powered binoculars and zoomed in on the house from overlooking the hill. I wanted to be out of the way, so that nobody would notice me, especially at this early hour.

I had my hair in a ponytail, wearing a pair of black jogging pants and a blue spandex top that had me looking like any other jogger that might find their respite by putting their feet on the pavement.

He finally emerged about an hour after I arrived. He was wearing this ratty old bathrobe that looked like it had seen better days. He picked up his paper, glanced in my general direction, but there was no way for him to know that I was there. He lived in one of those double duplexes that had a more conventional feel.

He didn’t look like I remembered. He was not shaved; his hair unruly and there were bags underneath his eyes like he hadn’t slept in days. I could hope that was due to my influence in his life. I was worried that some buxom young barmaid was going to step up behind him and wrap her arms around his waist.

I had the window down and I could feel the cool breeze. It made me know that I was alive. I hadn’t called him in two days and I wanted him to feel what it was like for the female gender. This did not look like an act. This was necessary to see him fall from grace. I had arranged for us to meet later that afternoon. Once I found out where he lived, I went to the small shops in the area and had discussions with the owners. I knew how to flirt information out of any man. It didn’t take long to find out that Marshall had a habit of going shopping for his supplies on Saturday afternoon at precisely 2:00 PM.

The door to his condo was wide open and his ears perked up like he was a dog trained to sniff out anything that would make his alarms go off. He rushed in and grabbed the phone with a look of anticipation on his face. Once he started to talk, his expression changed like it wasn’t exactly who he was hoping for. I could read lips a little bit and I could ascertain that he was talking to his mother. I wondered if they really did have a good relationship.

My phone began to buzz in my pocket. That initial vibration and looking at his handsome but disheveled face had turned me on something fierce. I let it buzz for a few seconds, closing my eyes and letting my mind drift with images of his naked body to fuel my fantasy.

I could’ve easily let my fingers do the walking, but I had already done that a couple of days ago. He wasn’t the only one that could use what god gave them to give themselves pleasure. I had the advantage with several interesting implements. I had an addiction and I would go to the local sex shop and get my thrill by buying things that I really didn’t need. I was exactly the same as those guys, but my habit didn’t cost more than the gross national product of Lebanon.

I finally sighed, shivered in place and let the excitement slowly diminish to a simmer. I turned on the speaker portion of my phone and the voice that greeted me was somebody that wasn’t very happy.

“I know that you said that you needed a month to complete this transaction. There might be a problem.” I didn’t like that word. Problems were made to find solutions. “I think that you may have noticed that there was one in our little group that wasn’t saying much when we met. Julia has misgivings and has been thinking about telling him what we are up to. I’ve tried to talk her out of it, but she won’t listen to me.” I could tell that Lillian was at her wit’s end. I was worried about Julia and the way that she kept looking away during our conversation in my office.

“It might be time for an intervention. Get her over to your house on some pretense. I’ll be there to confront her with you. I have some news of my own, but I think that it should wait until everybody is present. It’s nothing to worry about, but it does change things. I’ll explain when I see you. Send me a text message to confirm the time that I should show up at your place.” I hadn’t told them that he had caught me, but I didn’t want to make them think that all was lost.

“I hope that you have things handled. I haven’t been able to sleep since the moment that I met him. My husband knows that something’s wrong and it’s only lucky that he is an international salesman. He’s always on the road and right now he’s in Australia for a few weeks. I try to keep a stiff upper lip, but it’s hard when we talk almost every day and there’s this tension in the air. I’ll feel better when Marshall gets his comeuppance for making my life a living hell.” I could feel for her, but I also knew that it took two to tango. She was as much to blame for this indiscretion as Marshall was for seducing her with words and then actions. He needed to be held accountable and I was just the girl to do it.

“I’m a bit busy at the moment. I’ll be more than happy to discuss this in depth when I see you. I understand how hard it was for you to resist him. He knows how to read people and tell them exactly what they need to hear. His charm is unmeasured and those dimples and blue eyes really do set the stage for an erotic play.” In the last two days, I had vivid and very explicit dreams of him in various positions.

“Be careful and he has a funny way of making you think that everything is innocent and then it turns into an afternoon delight. He preys on weakness. He filters out what he doesn’t need to know and zeros in on the feeling of neglect or that desperate need for something more than a 5-minute wonder.” I could see through the picture window in his condo and I saw that he was drinking coffee alone.

I looked at the bedroom window and the curtains didn’t flutter like somebody was afraid to get caught taking that walk of shame.

“I have to go.” I looked in my rearview mirror and a police car was no more than a few feet away. It did not have its lights flashing, but it must have been informed that there was somebody suspicious lurking about. The man stepped from his vehicle. He was wearing a shiny badge that I could tell that he took pride in.

There was no point in denying why I was there. I had no idea how long he had been sitting there before I noticed him. I didn’t try to hide the binoculars and then his crotch was right in front of me.

“I don’t suppose that you want to tell me what you’re doing here young lady.” He knelt down by the window. I motioned for him to come closer like it was some sort of secret.

“If you must know, I have my suspicion that my boyfriend is cheating on me. I told him that I had an early morning and then I came up here to keep an eye on things. I am relieved. There doesn’t seem to be any proof of his cheating ways. I just got this feeling. I know how that sounds, but I’ve learned to trust those feelings. It could be that I’ve been in this position before and I really don’t want to go down that same road again.” He listened with a smirk on his face like he understood my reasons for being here.

“I figured that it was something like that. Nobody called me and I was just out on my rounds and I saw you sitting there. I wanted to make sure that everything was OK. I’m glad that he’s not cheating and I don’t see how any man could even fathom to think that they can get away with something like that. I would have to shake him and remind him that he’s lucky to have you in his life.” He was a man in uniform and that was a weakness of mine. I swallowed hard and felt my cheeks flush. That only led to him to touching my shoulder in a reassuring gesture.

“There are times that I just need to hear that from somebody else. It’s nice to know that I still have it. You probably think that I should have them beating down my door, but I think that I might intimidate them. I know that I scare my boyfriend. I can be quite a handful in the bedroom. I like to think that I satisfy my man. I’m always willing to entertain the idea of doing something out of the ordinary behind closed doors.” I saw that he was waiting for me to elaborate, but I felt that his imagination was better than anything that I could come up with.

“If I thought that I had a chance to lure you away from him, I would make a play for you myself. I’m not someone that goes around and uses my authority and uniform to drive girls wild with desire. I’m not opposed it. I could tell you a few stories, but I think that I need to get back to my rounds. Don’t stay here too long and the joggers will be showing up in less than ½ hour. If they see you, they will call and I’ll be out here again to have this talk all over again.” The weapon on his belt snapped into his holster reminded me of the one that was hidden behind the zipper of his pants. The unfortunate thing was that he didn’t fit the criteria of a young buck in the prime of his life.

“Not to worry, I’m practically done here anyway. I appreciate you looking in on me. I will say that I’m the kind of woman that loves a man in uniform. I even had my boyfriend dress up like a police officer. Let’s just say that we put good use to the handcuffs.” This time he was the one that was blushing and pointing at me like he was chastising me with one finger.

I heard the sound of his boots crushing against the pebbles underfoot. I looked into my side view mirror and got a damn good view of his backside. He knew that the way to a woman’s heart was in the gym. I could definitely think of a few ways to make those pants come down a little.

“Settle down girl or you are going to set off the smoke alarms.” I put my hands on the steering wheel, bowing my head and breathing deeply with thoughts that were enough to make a grown sailor blush.

* * *

I arrived at exactly 2:00 PM, pushing a cart and not really paying attention to where I was going. The other customers were in their own little world, dealing with kids yammering about some favorite cereal that they wanted or a husband that was grumbling about how he was missing the big game.

I was just doing some browsing and picking up some things that I would probably not buy otherwise. I reached for a bottle of pickles and out of my peripheral vision; I could see Marshall down by the produce manhandling a couple of melons in both hands. I could only imagine what was going on in his head. Those melons were remarkably similar to the size of my chest.

He was wearing this long black leather coat, a pair of casual blue jeans and a pullover green sweater that hugged his frame and had me drooling.

I turned the corner timing things perfectly so that I slammed into his cart. This irked him and he looked ready to take off my head. That anger died off when he saw my apologetic face.

“I can’t believe that you’re here. I was just thinking about you.” I was sure that he was thinking about putting his hands where he had them on those melons. “I guess it’s true about asking the universe and you will receive. What are you doing here? Don’t tell me that we live that close that you could come knocking on my door anytime for a cup of sugar.” This was a little out of my way, but they did have a unique international section that was above and beyond the big box stores.

“I come here from time to time, but I didn’t know that you frequented this place. I’m sure that you’re wondering why I haven’t called. If you think about it, it’s pretty damn obvious that I want you to suffer. I don’t know how many times I sat beside a phone and waited for a guy to call. Guys make us wait all the time and men have no idea how annoying that can be. If it helps, I was going to call you tonight and see what we couldn’t do about getting together.” I had just been given a confirmation from Lillian that Julia was going to be at her house for supper.

“I understand how it can be nerve-wracking for a woman to think that there was something between them and some guy only to have their hopes dashed when they don’t call. It’s even worse when they sleep with that guy. Sometimes that is all that someone of my obvious character flaw would want. Like you said, men will say and do anything to get a piece.” I couldn’t help but draw my eyes south. I hungered like what he had inside those pants was a raw piece of steak ready for me to tear into it with my teeth.

“I’m sorry that you had to walk a mile in my shoes.” I saw him in my mind’s eye wearing my high heels and trying his best to balance himself before he fell flat on his ass. “I am happy to see you.” I had also dressed casual, but that didn’t take away from the blood red lipstick that I was wearing. It was my favorite brand with a strawberry scent that had men coming to me like a moth to a flame.

I thrust out my chest and there was the telltale thump against his zipper in appreciation. If he had been a good boy for the past couple of days, then I made an impression on him.

“I’m glad to see you as well, Gillian. Since you are already here, I thought that I might give you a brief hint of what we will be doing. I’ve talked to a friend of mine and I do hope that you’re not afraid of heights. That’s all I’m going to say and the rest I will leave up to you to fill in the blanks. I’m going to give him a call and have everything prepared for this evening. We can meet there, or you can give me your address and I can show up to pick you up.” This was his way of trying to find out where my home field advantage was.

“It would be best that we meet there. I’ll give you a call. I have your number.” That last statement was my way of telling him that I was onto him, but not coming out and saying it blatantly and outright.

“I have to say that I did enjoy myself the other night. I was hoping that you would call earlier, but it wasn’t like I was hanging by my telephone. I’m not some silly little girl in high school that gossips to her friends and waits with girlish glee for the phone to ring. You really have no idea what kind of man I am. I like to take things to the extreme. It’s my way of shocking the woman that I’m with. That fear really does have a very profound effect on them. Scary movies or roller skating are some of the things that I have done to impress.” I kinda liked the way that he looked this morning like he had just rolled out of bed.

“I have dinner plans, but I’ll be there.” It was a little odd for him to make plans at 9:00 PM in the evening, but he did have my curiosity piqued. He told me that what I was wearing was perfectly fine and that there was no reason to dress up. If I didn’t know any better, I would think that he was a serial killer about to take me to some desolate location to get rid of the body.

“You’re not the only one that has dinner plans.” My heart sank, thinking that he was two-timing and playing the field. “My mother called this morning and now I’m obligated to make her dinner while my father’s out of town. I know that she’s going to ask to stay over, but I’m not sure that it’s a good idea for us to be under the same roof. We really do tend to get on each other’s nerves. I never was able to please her growing up. Everything that I did had to be perfect.” I was getting a better understanding of his psychology and the hold that his mother had on him.

“It’s nice to see a man caring for his mother. It shows that he can be devoted to one woman. It’s always a good sign when a man that I’m dating is close to his family. I do want you to know that it was hard for me to keep you waiting on pins and needles. I came very close to calling you an hour after I left you at the restaurant. I just thought that I owed it to women everywhere to give you a small taste of what we go through.” I knew that guys were stuck in the position of asking girls out. Our gender really didn’t have to do much of anything, unless we felt that the man was disinterested and had no idea that we were throwing the signals out to get his attention. I had been known to break down and do the impossible by asking a man out. I could see how that could be hard when rejection was a distinct possibility.

“It’s a little petty, but I think that I can look past this indiscretion. You need me to give you a real reason to trust me. Those girls said things about me and it can’t be easy to get that out of your head. It’s not who I am, but you really don’t know that. Taking thing slow is a good idea and it’s not like we are limited in how much time we spend together. I’m willing to wait and leave things in dry dock for the time being. Don’t be surprised if I get overly amorous by kissing you and touching you. If you were me, wouldn’t you want to take the risk of getting your face slapped?” It was definitely an interesting way for him to look at things.

“I’ve taken more than enough of your time. Not sleeping together convinces me to give you a chance. I want to see what you have up that sleeve of yours. I have to pick up a few more things and maybe we can walk together.” He nodded his head and we did spend another 10 minutes in the store. We talked about nothing in particular and separated at the cashier.

I had retrieved my own car and I could see that he was driving the Corvette that he had just finished signing on the dotted line. It had that new car smell and the metal was gleaming and had a few younger guys staring at it in a dreamlike fashion.

He was parked directly across from me and I could feel his eyes from behind. I bent over with my ass the only thing that he could see. I knew what I had and wasn’t above working it. This was the kind of jeans that would need the Jaws of Life to get out of. There was no wiggle room, but Sergio Valente really did know how to make clothes for women.

“I know what you’re looking at. I can set my watch to how easily it is to get you to look at me.” I turned quickly to see him looking into the sky and whistling like he wasn’t undressing me with his eyes. “You are that bad boy that always gets women to think that they can fix him. I’m beginning to think that I’m going to need protection.” I didn’t know that it was the slip of the tongue until his eyes rolled up and his fingers began to stroke the day-old growth of hair on his chin.

“I’m sure that you meant that in a different way. I relate something like that sexually. If we ever do get that far, I can assure you that I have taken care of that. I do believe that I have said too much or maybe not enough. I suppose it depends on your point of view.” I was playing a dangerous game. It was meant to keep the home fires burning, but it was also having an undesirable side effect of making me want to leap into his arms.

“Damn it, you are doing that on purpose to make me want to see the inside of your bedroom. Once you get me in there, there’s no going back and that’s a pretty damn good ploy if I don’t say so myself. You would make a consummate salesperson. Come to think of it, I never did ask what you did for a living. You already know what I do and you’ve seen me in action. You actually bought a car from me.” He didn’t give me the courtesy of saying anything more and got into his car and drove away with me questioning his motives.

By saying nothing, he really did make it necessary for me to step up my game. He was the one that I was hired to turn into a gibbering idiot. Those girls wanted him to be castrated metaphorically and given that very distinctive letter A for adultery that hung around his neck like a noose. If they were thinking that he was going to fall into a pit of depression, then they really didn’t know this man. Women come and go and I had no doubt that I would find some very disturbing results if I were to use a black light on his sheets.

I could almost see the blue discoloration of where his bodily fluids would be found. It would be found in the sheets, the floor, against the wall, in the shower and even on the stairs. That thought alone made me bite on the tip of my index finger and sway back and forth with that image causing my legs to feel like they had turned to jelly.

I had to shake myself from that thought with a weekend warrior standing no more than a few feet away. I shrugged my shoulders, bounced up and down for his amusement and followed his eyes as he looked at those two beautiful round orbs that were in perfect symmetry to the rest of my body.

I drove away with him still standing there, stunned and the bag that he was carrying ripping in his hands. The contents fell to the ground and that was when he came out of that sexual trance that I had put him into. It was fun to play with his emotions. I was practicing and using this man in the place of Marshall.

I figured by the time that I had finished some errands that it would be time to let the girls know of my progress. They had paid me half up front. The money was my way to make sure that they were serious. I could tell that Lillian and Tina were not going to stand for his behavior. Julia was that dark horse that could throw a monkey wrench into my plans. I had to find a way to make her see that what this man was doing was wrong. That his time had to come or he would continue to act this way with other women.

* * *

When I got out of the car, I could hear raised voices coming from inside. It didn’t look like they had waited for me to play referee. I walked briskly up the driveway, looking at this house and knowing that it probably cost more than the studio apartment that I was renting. I could’ve easily bought something more permanent, but I had no interest in putting down roots. I had no idea when that nomadic spirit would come over me, but I was waiting for the call. That hadn’t happened in a couple of years. When it did, I would leave skid marks on the lives that I touched.

I found the door open and I barged in with everybody stopping what they were doing. They stared at me. I could tell that Julia was upset that she had been ambushed. Lillian had her hands on the back of her neck and she was looking at me for any kind of help that I could give them.

There was definitely a feminine touch to the living room with splashes of color that no man in their right mind would put together.

“If I had been any later, I’m sure that there would’ve been an audience at the window. You know how a man likes to see women fight amongst themselves. It’s a bit of an erotic charge. That is the reason why they watch women wrestling and cage fighting. All of you; take a seat and let’s calm down before we begin.” I passed Lillian my contribution to dinner which consisted of a very decadent chocolate cheesecake from Antonio’s restaurant.

“I’ve had just about enough of this and I’m leaving.” Julia tried to dodge around me, but I had played football with the guys and knew exactly what move she was going to make. “I don’t need this. I love him and I don’t think that I’ve ever stopped. He needs to know how I feel. I’m going to tell him everything and there’s nothing that any of you can do to stop me.” I saw a glass vase and I was tempted to smash it upside her head to knock some sense into her.

“Nobody’s telling you that you’re not entitled to your feelings. I do think that it would be good for you to hear us out before you do anything that you’re going to regret.” She had on a pair of black pants, skintight and it was obviously her way of getting Marshall to give her attention. The red shirt was covered by a long open white sweater.

“I’ve already been through this with the two of them and I don’t need you to get into the middle of this. You’re only doing this because you’re getting paid to. It makes me sick to my stomach and I can’t sleep knowing that you’re playing him for a fool.” Her emotions were tangled up and her heart was raging out of control for a man that probably didn’t even remember her name. Come to think of it, when he mentioned that the girls were following him, he couldn’t say her name. He said Lillian, Tina, and the other one.

This was not something that I could tell Julia. She would think that it was some sort of maneuver and I would lose any hope of convincing her that he wasn’t right for her.

“I’m not here to tell you that your feelings don’t matter. All of you have been in the same shoes. I get this feeling that you might have daddy issues. There’s no reason to get up in my face. I’m just telling you how I see things and you can obviously refute my claim. Let me tell you what I have learned about him so far and maybe that will change your mind.” I took her hand gently, showing no animosity and led her to where she was sitting shaking like a leaf.

“I know exactly what he’s like and I don’t need you to tell me. I’ve always been a good catholic girl. I’ve never strayed from the flock. I’ve done what I’ve been told and I’m through with it. If I want to be with him, then why should I listen to any of this?” It was a good question and one that I was prepared to answer because I had gone over it in my head a hundred times since talking to Lillian.

“I understand where you’re coming from. I’ve been there myself and it’s hard to see what is right in front of you. I have some insights that you might want to hear. Can you at least listen for the next 20 minutes? If after what I have to say nothing changes, then I will gladly give back the money and we can all go our separate ways.” She was fuming, but at least she wasn’t tearing out of here with the water works on display.

“I need to say something.” Tina was sitting in a gray chair with her legs folded wearing a summer dress which was a little unusual for this weather. “Marshall does have some good qualities. He shows compassion, but it’s only an act and I’m ashamed to think back on the things that I did with him. I have a boyfriend and after looking myself in the mirror, I realized that he was the devil in disguise. I told my boyfriend and he was understandably upset, but he reminded me that we weren’t married. We are still together, but it was a rocky road for a time. This man does not deserve your respect.” Tina was soft-spoken and there wasn’t an ounce of hatred that seeped into any words that came from her mouth.

“I don’t see what difference that makes. I doubt that he told you that he was looking for love and didn’t know how to recognize it until he met me.” Her voice was echoed as all three of them mimicked the very same sentence verbatim. I could tell that Julia was stunned. She thought that she was special enough for him to treat her differently than others.

“We’ve all heard that before and it’s his way of lowering our guard. I fell for it myself. I look back and I think how stupid I was to give him that kind of power over me. Don’t you see that he has learned to weasel his way into our lives? You can’t be that out of touch with reality that you don’t understand that he’s a loser. He only needs to give us one look and we follow him like he’s some sort of pied piper. I don’t blame you for feeling this deeply and I still do in some regard.” It was nice to see that they were talking and not screaming at each other. Lillian had now lowered her register and was touching Julia’s hand. She was giving her a reason to grieve for a relationship that never was.

“You all took a huge risk by coming to me for help. My plan was to meet him and then strike up a conversation, but things didn’t go exactly as I intended. He followed you and then confronted me where I worked.” I could tell that they were not happy with this new set of circumstances. “I convinced him that you were all there to warn me about him. I had to do some fancy footwork, but I let him know that I would be responsible for how I perceived him. I told him that I would not allow anybody to run his name through the mud.” They listened intently without saying one word.

“I knew that there was a reason why we came to you. There’s no way that either one of us could have done any better than what you did. I think that it goes without saying that we need to be united. If there is a weak link, then we need to either fix it or forget this whole thing.” It was obvious that her comments were meant for Julia.

We all turned and looked at her at the same time, putting her in our cross hairs and giving her a reason to throw her hands up in defeat. “I don’t see how you are going to make me forget about how nice he can be. There’s no way that you can take away how gentle a lover or how he brought the woman out of me too many times to count.” They had similar stories and I was running high with a temperature of 101 between my legs. I could see myself testing their theory and seeing if it held true.

I could smell the fragrance of Italian meatballs in the air. These were women after my own heart and had an affinity for Italian Food. I hadn’t told them anything about my heritage, but I was quite pleased that they had made something that would whet my appetite for the revenge that they were seeking.

“I don’t know how you can expect me to go along with this. All of you must know that it’s wrong to play with somebody’s life. Need I remind you that he didn’t force us to do anything against our will?” This was a woman of reason, but she was only making excuses for a man that was more dangerous than those that lurked outside of windows.

“The only thing that I want you to do, Julia is to let this play out for a little while longer. I’m sure that you can find something to occupy your time. The one thing that you can’t do is dwell on this or it’s going to drive you up the wall.” Lillian knew what she was talking about and she was suffering by keeping this from her husband.

I told them about how I had made him wait and then accidentally ran into him at the market. This was the first time that I saw Julia smile, but it didn’t last for any more than a fraction of a second. I could see that she was still on the fence. Her feelings for him had not gone away and it didn’t matter how he had literally cut her out of his life by not answering her phone calls. It should have been clear to her when the voice came back as out of service. It was obvious to me that he had to break his contract and get another phone and number to go along with it.

“I smell something good in the kitchen. We might be able to see things differently on a full stomach.” I was trying to keep things cordial and decided to change the subject.

Lillian motioned for us to follow and then we walked into a dining room that was perfectly placed. Everything was where it was supposed to be and we all sat down as Lillian came over and served us rigatoni with meatballs and a sauce that obviously came from the empty bottle of Catelli on the counter.

We all raised our glasses and toasted to a sisterhood and a bond that could not be broken by the mere presence of a pretty face and body to match. “I want to take this opportunity to make you a solemn vow that I will not give up. This has become just as important to me as it has to all of you.” What I wasn’t telling them was that I was actually looking forward to seeing him again.

“I don’t know how you can be that close to him and not feel something. You must have ice water running through your veins.” Julia had made the table dinner conversation become more of a bashing of my character. “Can you honestly sit there and say that you wouldn’t want to sleep with him? That if you get the chance that you wouldn’t give him the benefit of your company in his bed.” I wasn’t sure how to respond so I decided to give her a political answer.

“I’m attracted to him, but this wouldn’t work unless there was something between us. I’m going to do everything and anything to get him to fall for me. I’m already on the right track and having him wait for me by the phone was a good test.” I told her something and nothing. It appeased her without her realizing that I had tap-danced around the subject.

The meal was fantastic and I knew that there was no way that I was going to have room for the cheesecake that I had brought along. Lillian must’ve had a high metabolism and she could really put away the food and not show it on her figure.

After dinner, Lillian and Tina were doing the dishes and Julia managed to corner me. “You have put my mind at ease, but I still don’t think this is right. I don’t know how long it’s going to take for me to break down and call him and tell him everything. The only thing that you have accomplished is to give you a little bit more time. You may not think that a month is that long, but it feels like forever in my opinion.” I could see the reason why she was affected more than the other two.

Lillian and Tina had their lives turned upside down by this man. Lillian had a husband and Tina had a committed boyfriend. They were using that lifeline to pull them back from the abyss before they found themselves crawling on hands and knees for another go around with Marshall. That was the one thing that Julia didn’t have. Her lifeline came from her two new friends and me. I was taking care of business and I didn’t need the hassle of some lovelorn bitch standing in my way.

I left them as they converged in the living room to watch old movies on the television. I was going to have to push my timetable up. Tonight, was the night that I was going to break him down. I would rebuild his self-esteem only to tear it down again in front of the world.

* * *

The wind was amazingly strong and the plane had only the pilot and both Marshall and I strapped into parachutes. I’d never done anything quite like this and my adrenaline was pumping like never before.

“I have to say that your expression was priceless when you arrived at the airfield and realized that we were going nighttime skydiving. You will not believe the feeling that you will have or the sights that you will see. The first time that I did this over the city was something that I can never forget.” I was sitting there on the bench trying to bolster the courage to step into the unknown.

He was wearing a black diving suit and I was wearing a blue diving suit. I had my hand on the cord of the parachute. I wanted to reestablish my control with gravity. Once I stepped out into the night, there was really no telling if I was going to freeze up and become like a deer in the headlights.

I finally took a deep breath, stood up and went to where he was standing at the open door. “I know that I said that I was up for anything, but this was not what I was expecting. I’ve never been very good with heights. There’s no time like the present to face my fear.” If I wasn’t careful, I was going to need a paper bag to breathe into.

He got behind me and I could feel his lips touching my ear upon contact. “I’ll be with you every step of the way. I won’t let anything happen to you. You have become more important to me than you can ever know. Put yourself in my hands and I promise that you won’t regret it.” He gave me a nudge. I needed him to push me through this and that was exactly what he was doing.

The rush of air and the feeling of weightlessness terrified me, but then something amazing happened. There was this sense of freedom and the lights that he spoke of really had to be experienced to know what he was talking about. I was floored and I knew without a shadow of a doubt that this was not the first and last time that I was going to do this.

I saw him coming up from beside me and then we were holding hands and looking into each other’s eyes. The goggles did nothing to prevent me from seeing that he really did care for me. He could’ve easily left me and made me face this on my own, but he didn’t do that.

Over the sound of the air displacement around me and the blood pumping between my ears, he managed to keep me calm and not feel overwhelmed to the point of panicking or being paralyzed.

“I’m so damn proud of you. I’ve never seen anybody be so open with their body that they were willing to throw it outside of an airplane. Add to that fact that you are terrified of heights and I think that I am beginning to understand who you are. We’re practically at the altitude that we are going to have to deploy our chutes.” He pulled the cord and was pulled back into the sky with me following not more than a few seconds later.

The jarring impact of being pulled from my comfort zone wrenched my neck. I floated aimlessly over the city. I followed my 2-minute training lesson from Marshall to the letter. When my feet landed on the hard-packed earth, I just wanted to run back to the plane and do it all over again. My excitement for what was obviously a death-defying act surprised me.

I couldn’t help myself and I ran into his arms. I knocked him down with me on top of him. “I can’t believe that I haven’t done this before. I’ve let my fears hold me hostage and I’m not going to do that anymore. You’re going to see a new woman. I always thought that I was fearless, but this was something that I didn’t want to share with anybody.” My body was pressed up against him with his hands around my waist and my eyes alight with a fire that could only be extinguished one way.

The big hose between his legs was the only thing that I had on my mind. I could feel him quite engorged and ready to take this to whatever venue we might have found to express ourselves physically.

He moved my hair behind my ears. He grazed my cheek with his fingertips which was only compounding the issue. He touched me so delicately that it was like he was dealing with a fragile doll that would break with too much force.

“I know exactly what you’re feeling. Normally, I would take advantage of that. For some reason, I can’t do that with you. I won’t be able to look at myself in the mirror and respect myself in the morning. It’s not you. I’m fighting my natural instinct to kiss you with a passion that will cause you nothing but heartache. I want something different from this. I can’t play by the same rules when you have thrown the rule book out the window.” I could see that it was taking a lot for him to push me away.

I lie there looking up at him with his back towards me. He was obviously struggling and fighting the urge to be the man that I thought that he was. I would’ve taken one for the team just so that I could hold this over him and give him a reason to think that I was better than all the rest. I could seal the deal like I did with any transaction by using my sexuality. Getting him emotionally attached could only be accomplished by throwing caution to the wind. I tried to convince myself that I was only doing this as part of the job, but I knew deep down that there was more to it than that.

“You are a damn fool, but I think that it would be best not to take things too far. Just so you know; I would have done just about anything to please you. I don’t care what kind of act or depraved thought that you might have in your head. I would gladly strap on a pair of cuffs, put on a blindfold and let you ride me around the room like the pony express. You could put me into any position, treat me like I’m just a piece of ass and I would come back for more. Are you sure that you want to take this stand?” He looked over his shoulder and he shook his head like he couldn’t quite believe that he didn’t just grab the bull by the horns.

“It’s not fair and I’ve never felt this way before. I couldn’t eat and I couldn’t sleep the entire time that I was waiting for you to call. I know that I’m in deep. I’ve put on a brave face, but I’m powerless against you. I could just have my way with you and be done with it. It’s a pattern that I have to break. I don’t know why this is so hard. It’s always been easy and those girls that have come before you were merely misadventures.”

My heart was pumping with my palms sweaty and my eyes as big as saucers. I had to find a way to get rid of this pent-up energy and he was doing everything he could to push me away. I had only one other card to play.

“Make sure that you are doing the right thing. This could be all yours.” I proved to him that I was naughty by unzipping that dive suit and showing that I was wearing very little underneath. This was not my average underwear. This was something that I had pulled out as my big guns. I saw the way that he seductively lusted after me. The bra that I was wearing was the peek-a-boo variety with a gloss of strawberry to make me more of a sumptuous feast. The panties were made of some sort of gelatin.

“You can’t do this to me and you don’t know what you’re asking.” His words only fueled me into taking a hold of those rip away panties and tearing very slowly with his eyes never leaving my body the entire time. He paid particular attention to the landing strip that I had left. I began to think about how I had prepared for this evening. I loved his reaction and wanted him to show me the good soldier at full attention.

I don’t know how he did it, but he turned away and walked back to the hangar. I got into a sitting position. I looked after him and I couldn’t believe that he had the fortitude to step away from a sure thing. It was then that I knew that I was in trouble. This was not the same man that those girls had sent me after. I had gotten caught in a trap of my own making. I had no idea what love felt like, but I didn’t want to be away from him. I could only think about the next time that I would see him. I was hurting bad and I couldn’t do what I normally did. I wanted to, but I felt that sleeping with another would be cheating.

I got up and this time I tried to kiss him and he was the one to put his hands out to prevent me from doing so. “I need some time to think. Don’t take this the wrong way, but you are the devil’s spawn.” He got into his car and he drove away with me standing there while he looked at me in the side view mirror. This wasn’t a position that I was accustomed to. If I wasn’t careful, I was going to commit the cardinal sin of falling for one of my subjects.

* * *

Gillian West was a woman that knew how to play with a man’s feelings like a cat does with a mouse. She was confident in her abilities and had translated that talent into a lucrative career in sales. Being approached by three women to take down a suave and sophisticated man with no scruples was going to be her crowning achievement. She thought that she had all the answers, but Marshall had a way to change the questions. This was supposed to be an easy job, but being close to Marshall made her realize that she had been missing out on what love really was. She didn’t want to admit it and now she was in the inevitable task of trying to keep your feelings in check and doing what she was required to do by her clients. Can she really hurt him this way, or will she fall on her sword looking for redemption?

* * *

I’d given my word to give Marshall a dose of his own medicine, but now I was rethinking my situation. I thought of the way that we had left things a few days ago and I still couldn’t believe that he walked away without doing anything. I underplayed that significance with the girls. I told them that it was the other way around and that I wanted him to want me so badly that he wouldn’t be able to stand it any longer.

“I don’t know where you’re at, but you’re certainly not here with me. I’m sure that you have a lot on your plate, but don’t you think that for just this once that you can give me your undivided attention?” My best friend Jeremy was the one that gave me the insight into the male mind. I was sure that he was regretting it right about now. He was the one that helped me to learn how to navigate those choppy waters.

“I don’t know what has gotten into me. You came here looking for some advice and I haven’t even listened to what you have to say.” I wasn’t sure if I should tell him the truth, but he was the only one that I had never lied to in my life. I knew that he had a crush on me, but he really wasn’t my type. He had that intellectual look and I was looking for something more masculine with the very idea of getting them out of their clothes to be a presentation in itself.

“I thought that we were friends. I tell you that my girlfriend is seeing an ex-boyfriend that she hasn’t even thought about since high school and you don’t even say anything.” He was wearing his heart on his sleeve and I’d done nothing to encourage him or give him any kind of direction

He showed up quite unexpectedly. Seeing him with that downtrodden expression was a dead giveaway that things weren’t going exactly as planned with Stephanie. I thought that they were a mismatch. She was this gorgeous fashion runway model that flew around the globe jet setting with the rich and famous on the red carpet. He was a fairly good-looking guy, maybe 140 pounds, 5’7 and I had to admit that his eyes were the dictionary meaning of the windows to the soul.

“You know as well as I do that Stephanie can do better than you. I don’t mean that to be a slight against your manhood. I’m just saying that your jealousy has manifested into a paranoia that is going to get old quick for Stephanie. Don’t you think that she has had men fawning over her most of her life? She thought that you were different, less intimidated by her good looks and fame and here you are acting like a little bitch.” The one thing that we could count on from each other was that we would always shoot from the hip.

We were sitting in my kitchen and I was touching my lips wondering how I was going to think about the job. I had told the girls that I was going to let him stew for a few days, but that was not entirely true. I needed that time to give myself breathing room. I could barely sleep and I woke in a cold sweat with my hands running down over my body. I had visions of him dancing in front of me and fantasies so vivid that they almost felt like they were alive.

“The one thing that I don’t need you to tell me is that she can do better. I know that I’m just being stupid, but I can’t help to feel that I’m losing her. I’m just lucky that I don’t speak about this in front of her. She has already told me that it was refreshing that I was secure about myself.” He did put on a good façade, but underneath, he was still that insecure little boy that I had taken a liking to in high school.

“I implore you not to do anything that is going to ruin this. I just got you to stop sniffing around my door and I really don’t want to continue to metaphorically slap you with a newspaper like a scalded dog. It’s so much better that you are in a committed relationship.” I had my cup of coffee in both hands and I could see Marshall’s reflection in the swirl of the creamer that I had used to make it more palatable.

“I hated those days. We would go shopping and you would put on this display in frilly little things. I would pine like a lovesick teenager.” He had on his glasses making him look like Clark Kent, but there was really no superman underneath the exterior. I did notice since he had gotten with Stephanie that he was filling out.

“Stephanie won’t leave you and you have nothing to worry about. The only reason why you came over here is for me to pat you on the back and tell you that everything’s going to be OK.” I reached over and did that very thing. I could see the distaste in his eyes and it almost made me burst out laughing.

My fluffy white robe was wide open and the only thing that I was wearing was a sheer negligee that really didn’t leave much to the imagination. I was quite impressed that he wasn’t ogling me like a piece of meat. He had more on his mind than seeing me in my unmentionables. It was a bit of a slap in the face. I could always count on him to show me that my beauty had not waned and that my sexuality was still as hot as ever. It was kinda nice to have him stroking my ego, even though he was never going to get any further than watching me.

“I’m really glad that you’re here for me. I had no place to go. I couldn’t stay in that mansion all alone knowing that she was spending time with her ex-boyfriend. I made it sound like I was perfectly fine and that she didn’t have to worry about me going off half-cocked.” I needed somebody to ground me and make me realize how lucky I am.” I was slightly stunned by what I didn’t recognize upon him entering into my home. He was making an effort to be that pretty package for Stephanie. His body was becoming something that I might take an interest in.

She was that statuesque blonde with the kind of curves that had guys wanting to walk over hot coals to be with her. I knew the day that she took a shine to Jeremy that there had to be something wrong with her. It finally dawned on me that she saw him as the genuine article without being fake or trying desperately to get into her pants.

“I’m glad that you’re feeling better. You’re not the only one that has to deal with their love life. I haven’t been in this position in a long time. I don’t even want to mention his name and I promised myself that his memory would be expunged. All photographs have been destroyed and yet I find myself repeating old habits. I thought that part of me was dead, completely numb and that no man could ever break through the wall that I built.” One good turn deserved another. If he was going to cry in his beer for Stephanie, then I had every right to see how he felt about what was going on with me.

“I know that you’re only dangling the bait because you want me to take it. I’ll play along; even though I think that you’re being a bit more dramatic than necessary. Tell me what’s going on that has you in your own little world.” Since he had broached the topic, I figured that it was best to let the chips fall where they may.

“I’m not over exaggerating anything. I was hired to do a job. There is a secret that I have been hiding from you.” I turned to my laptop on the counter. I brought up the anonymous blog with the indiscriminate photos that I had taken of men in various states of undress. They did not show them in a good light unless you were looking for a cheap thrill at their expense. The captions were quite scalding. “I write this blog and my reputation for shaming men have got me in over my head.”

Jeremy was staring at the screen, pushing his glasses down, so that he could make out every single disgusting act that was being perpetrated. His eyes darted from me and then back to the screen again like he couldn’t quite believe that I was the woman responsible for destroying marriages.

“I don’t even want to begin to tell you how wrong this is. Butting into other people’s business will never end well. With that being said, I can see that something is bothering you and I would really like you to tell me what it is.” He was the most compassionate and caring man that I had ever met. I thought that he was above reproach and yet I knew that he was still a man and capable of being seduced by the opposite sex.

“I usually go after those that are married or involved, but this one is different. He’s none of those things, but he sleeps with just about anybody. He doesn’t care if they are married, but now I have been tasked to make him fall in love with me. Unfortunately, it backfired and I have feelings for him. I thought that I could overcome that obstacle by sleeping with him, but he…he…denied me.” Jeremy’s mouth was wide open in shock.

“You have to stop seeing this man. I’m not telling you anything that you don’t already know yourself. He has turned you into the very woman that you swore that you would never be again. I can only give you sound advice and it’s up to you to take it. I know that this is short and sweet, but I really do need to get to work. My boss is on a tirade and even though I do most of the work, he expects me to bend over backward to please him and the board of directors. Do yourself a favor, get some distance, find some perspective and give this man his walking papers. You’ve already said that you don’t do this for the money, so what exactly is stopping you from kicking him to the curb?” He didn’t give me a chance to answer and grabbed his brown suede coat. He put it on and went to the door.

I didn’t like the way that he spoke to me harshly and that only made me want him to sweat a little. I purposely bent over at the sink, my breasts announcing their presence and then I had what most would call a wardrobe malfunction.

His eyes bugged out of his skull as my breasts popped clear of the negligee. He turned and left almost tripping over his own feet and tongue. It made me smile to think that I still had that power to make a man feel like a little boy all over again.

* * *

I figured that I would take some of what Jeremy said and take it to heart. I did need to break free of the monotony of thinking about him every second of the day. He hadn’t tried to call me and I was not going to be the one to reach out first. I took myself shopping, doing some window browsing and seeing some interesting things that caught my eye.

I stopped on the sidewalk for a moment. I felt like somebody was watching me. I took off my sunglasses very slowly and turned quickly to catch who it was that was playing spy. I didn’t see anybody that was making a spectacle of themselves or standing out from the crowd. It really did feel like somebody was walking over my grave and the little hairs on the back of my neck were standing on end.

I started to use some of the training that I had gotten the courtesy of an online course in private investigation. For something that only cost me a few hundred dollars, it was entertaining and had a lot of good techniques to use in the field. The one that I had instituted was using the reflection of the glass of the shops to see if anything caught my attention.

I stood in front of this lingerie shop that I knew too well. I admired the mannequins and how delectable they looked in various pieces that would have most men standing at attention. I thought that I saw someone duck down an alleyway. I was letting my imagination run wild and it was getting the best of me. I was jittery and feeling like the only thing that was going to make me feel better was to give Marshall my body on a silver platter. I’d tried that already and he was purposely keeping me at arm’s length.

I went into the shop, fingered the merchandise and found myself gravitating to the dressing room with a few pieces that was going to make me feel like a supermodel in front of the mirror.

“It’s been a long time since you’ve come to see me. I was beginning to think that you forgot about me. Those pieces that you have are from a very private collection. They are one of a kind. I’m just saying that I’m giving you first right to buy them. You have the kind of body that would be perfect. Any guy in their right mind would feel weak at the knees. If you want to make an interesting impression and have them at your mercy, then I would go with the red one.” Tonya was the proprietor and she really did have a good eye for detail.

“I don’t know if I’m in the mood to buy, but I’m a sucker for something that makes me feel sexy. Every girl needs to feel like this. Give me a few minutes.” I saw her high heeled shoes underneath the door. I took off my clothes, stood naked and looked at myself from every angle to see any imperfections that I would have to work on. I had a bit more hip than most girls, but I saw no man pushing me out of bed because of it.

“Take all the time that you need, Gillian. You are one of my best customers. Don’t think for a second that I don’t know that you have been talking me up to the neighborhood. I’ve had some interesting customers as of late. They come in looking so shy, but they leave knowing that their husbands or significant other are going to rise to the occasion. I like giving women that empowerment and I think that is the main reason why I decided to open up the shop. I want to cater to women that want to feel sexy and know quality when they see it. I’ll be out front and I see that a few customers have come in. By all means, take your time and when you’re ready I’ll be more than happy to take your money.” I had several different play outfits, but I knew that I could never have enough.

I had on this black mesh teddy that would’ve made it so easy for Marshall to rip it off my nubile body with just his fingers. The mirror in the dressing room was biased and I needed to see myself without being tricked by the light or how the mirror perceived me. I could see my nipples as plain as day and the mesh was perfect for that teasing gesture, but also quite blatant in its simplicity.

I opened up the door and I came face to face with the man that had caused me all of this angst. Marshall was slapping his forehead. He was looking at me and then turning away. What I was wearing was making it difficult for him to contain his excitement.

“I hope to god that you haven’t been following me. I know that we haven’t seen each other in a few days, but that doesn’t mean that you can go around stalking me.” I remembered the way that I felt out on the street and now seeing him here seemed like a huge coincidence. I didn’t believe in coincidences.

“I’m not stalking you. I just happened to be in the area and I saw you go in here. I was going to wait for you to come out, but I need to get to a meeting in 20 minutes.” I did nothing to cover up and he was doing everything that he could not to stare directly into the sun. I had a feeling that he probably thought that he was going to burn alive if he were to give me any kind of attention.

“I thought that you made yourself very clear the other night. You don’t want me. Do you have any idea how that makes me feel? I was throwing myself at you and you did nothing. I was contemplating getting elective cosmetic surgery.” It was a fleeting thought about using collagen in my lips and eyebrows to give me a more youthful look.

“I can’t believe that you would be so dense to think that I didn’t want you. It’s precisely the reason why I had to keep you away. I feel like there’s no escape from reality. I see you everywhere I go and even had an awkward moment with a girl that I pursued down the street only to realize that it wasn’t you. I’m lucky that she didn’t take any offense and call the authorities on me.” He still looked damn good and I had to do something to give myself that fighting edge. The only thing that I could think about was grabbing him by the hand, seeing that stunned look on his face and dragging him into the enclosure of the dressing room.

I closed it behind him, letting him smell the fragrance of my Chanel perfume. He was my captive audience. I could see that he was thinking that I was a sexual carnivore about to devour him whole.

“This is highly inappropriate, Gillian. I have a public image that I need to keep. If anybody were to get wind of what I’m doing here, then I might lose some lucrative contracts worth millions. Some of those companies are family friendly.” He had his hands to his side and most likely feeling like he didn’t know what to do with them without getting into trouble. He had no earthly idea about how far I was willing to go.

He tried to reach for the lock, but I used my high heel to stop him. My long and supple leg was now stretching the material of the mesh and giving him something more to look at than he bargained for.

“I have been aching for you ever since that night. I hunger for the taste of your lips and for the feel of your body pressed up against me. Nothing even matters anymore. The only thing that I can think about is that moment where you hover above me. To see you riding the wave of your own desire and letting the mattress take the blunt end of our bodies slamming up and down on top of it. You can’t tell me that what you see doesn’t give you ideas. Don’t you want to take a chance and be with a woman that knows you inside and out?” My high heeled shoe was against his hand and I ran my fingers lightly down that starched white shirt.

“This is not what I came in here for. I just wanted to apologize for the way that I acted. It felt like my chest was tightening and I thought for a moment that I was having some sort of attack.” His words were rushed and I could tell that his lip was quivering. My fingers were dancing along his body through his clothing.

“I find that it’s a very interesting predicament that we’re here together at this time. I know the owner personally. She wouldn’t even give us a raised eyebrow if we were to do something. I know that you can feel the temperature in this room rise dramatically.” I pulled on his power red tie and made him lean forward despite his misgivings.

I was only about an inch away from kissing him and I could tell that he wanted it in the worst way possible. Instead, I stuck out my pink tongue and licked the outer edge of his top lip. I could taste him and I could see down below his waist that something else had awakened.

“I can’t do this. It’s too much and I’ve never met anybody quite like you.” I wasn’t sure if that was a compliment or an insult. He leaned back against the door, his hands plastered up against it with his eyes closed and thinking that this was going to be enough to deter me from touching him. Seeing him vulnerable and quite tense made me linger a little bit longer with my hands suddenly cupping his manhood.

“This is something that you want and it’s something that you need. It burns in you that you didn’t do something that night. You probably slept in your bed, looking over at that empty cold spot and knowing that I could’ve warmed up your nights.” His eyes were wide open, staring straight ahead and not moving to the caress of my fingers down the length of him through his pants.

“Oh, god…it was a mistake for me to come in here. I was only playing with fire and you are the kind of girl that doesn’t know the meaning of the word no.” He thought that he was the one that was falling, but I felt that fire brighter and hotter than before.

I dropped to my knees, looking up into his eyes and begging him without saying a word to give me what I wanted. I reached out for the object of my affection. I got his hand up against my forehead.

In a knee-jerk reaction, I scratched his hand to give him the proper incentives to let me bask in the stick of dynamite between his legs. I wanted to let him know that I wasn’t going to let him stop me.

“Don’t even think about leaving if you know what’s good for you. You are at a crossroads and what you do right now is going to change everything. Do you take a chance, or do you throw away what could possibly be the best thing in your life?” He panicked, pushed me back a little harder than he was intending and made me land heavily on the cushion of my ass. I hated myself for liking the dominant side of his personality.

“I can’t do this right now. You won’t listen to reason and I’m this close to doing something.” He flipped open the latch on the door and ran away like his pants were on fire. He kept looking back at me. He stumbled and crashed into a display of women’s panties. They went everywhere. He stood there with hangers clinging to his clothes and even a pair landing on his head.

Tonya came rushing over to give her assistance. “That must be embarrassing. You must not have been watching where you were going.” She tried to take those panties off of him gently, but he went into hysterics and shook himself free of the garments that were making things worse for him down below the belt.

“Leave me alone. Why won’t everybody just leave me alone? I can’t stand it and being here is making a part of me feel like it has a mind of its own. I have to get out.” I stood there with my arms crossed, as he went out that door and sprinted down the sidewalk before flagging down a nearby taxi.

Tonya turned towards me with your eyes glued to the very item that I was wearing. I don’t know what got into him, but I think you do. Do you have something to tell me?” The only thing that she got for a response was a shrug off my shoulders. I did buy that outfit, especially after seeing his reaction from me wearing it. I had to have it as a reminder of seeing him lose what was left of his mind.

* * *

“It’s been two weeks and I have to say that I’m quite happy with the progress that you’re making. There have been some developments that you should be aware of. I had no choice and Julia was becoming a problem.” The way Lillian had said that gave me the impression that she was some kind of mob princess and had decided to make her sleep with the fishes.

We had met at this country club and it was not a place that I was unaware of. I’d been there a few times doing my due diligence and learning about my subjects down to what their handicap on the green was.

“Are you sure that I need to know this. There’s something to say for plausible deniability. It might be best that you treat me like the president of United States. What I don’t know is something that I won’t be able to talk about. Be sure that you really want to say what is on your mind and I might be required to testify against you later in court.” She was dressed impeccably in an original brand name dress with the necessary accessories to give her the look of high society.

The blue fabric hugged her form nicely. The blood red heart ruby around her neck and the gold chain attached to it was the real deal.

“I’m sure that you’re right and that it would be best that I keep this to myself. I just can’t do that and I’m going to depend on your discretion. There’s no way that I can talk to the Tina about this and you already know that my husband is in the dark. I would really like to keep him that way. As for Julia, she will not be causing us any more headaches. I had a couple of guys pick her up and she’s being detained in a facility. I had her committed and you’d be surprised at what money can buy these days. She’ll be there for the next two weeks and I have been assured that she’s in no shape to try to escape.” I couldn’t believe that she had gone that far, but something told me that she was capable of a whole lot more.

“If you did that to Julia, then I have to wonder why you didn’t just use your considerable influence against Marshall. It’s obvious to me that you could have had him ‘taken’ care of. I don’t mean to be blunt, but you are one scary woman.” She smiled like that was the best possible outcome of this meeting. It was as if she was happy to hear that she still had that edge and could wield it with authority.

It was a Sunday morning and we were having brunch with eggs benedict and a delicious Mimosa. I drank mine after hearing her confession hoping that it would dull my senses.

“I like to think that I have my hand in just about everything. I lost a step when I got involved with Marshall. He made me feel worthless and not even my husband has been able to do that the entire time that we have been married these past five years. You were hired because I saw a little bit of me in you.” I was wearing a red leather skirt and a black blouse with just the hint of a cleavage. I could tell that the waiter would have gladly given his left nut to be with either one of us. He was spilling the water, not able to take his eyes off the beauties that presented themselves in front of his eyes.

“Joseph, you know that if you’re not careful that you will have to be punished.” I saw him cringe to Lillian’s comment, but I think I saw a glint of anticipation in his eyes to go along with it. “Try and do your job and bring us a couple of more waters that you spilled.” There was definitely something between them and I wondered what this punishment would entail. I almost envisioned him bending over her car and her slapping him repeatedly until his ass cheeks were as red as the color of my leather skirt.

He was young and impressionable. I could see how he could easily get caught up with an older woman with more experience. She had given me the impression that stepping out on her husband was not a common occurrence. The light bulb finally went off over my head. It wasn’t that she hadn’t cheated on her husband before. It was the way that Marshall made her feel. She was the one that was always in control and Marshall had changed that by giving her a reason to think that they had something more than what she had with other young men.

“I can see that I have you all wrong. You claim to be innocent, but I don’t think that you are even close to that. Marshall really did get to you and that’s the reason why you want to hurt him.” I took a bite of the eggs benedict with the hollandaise sauce and it was the best that I had ever had.

“It shouldn’t matter my reasons for doing this. It should only matter that the check clears for your payment. I don’t just want him humiliated. I want to ruin him. You have his head up in the clouds that he doesn’t even recognize his downfall. I’ve been there to circumvent several of his contracts. I just had to hint at his mental instability and I let you do the rest. He’s not acting like himself. He usually knows how to avoid those pitfalls, but he can’t think of anything but you. This is working out better than I could ever imagine.” She was an evil genius. She was the puppet master that knew which strings to pull to make her subjects dance for her amusement.

“I underestimated you. I thought that you were broken, but I see how wrong I was. You were just waiting patiently to strike and you used me to break his will. Like you said, he hasn’t been in his own right mind and doesn’t recognize a hostile takeover when he should see it coming from miles away.” I’d found out that Marshall liked to play fast and loose with business deals.

“What I do is of no concern to you. These next two weeks are very critical. I don’t care what you have to do, but you need to keep his mind occupied. Sleep with him or don’t and that’s entirely up to you. I just don’t want him to see it coming. I’ve already placed all the players on the board. It’s just a matter of sitting back and watching it play out. The only thing that is a bit of a wrinkle is if he is able to stop it before it happens. I’ve said too much and you really don’t need to know any of this. I thought that it was time for you to understand who you are dealing with. Cross me and he won’t be the one that I ruin. You can either take that as a threat or a promise. I really don’t care. If you would excuse me, I have some people that I want to discuss a few things with. Finish up your meal and then leave.” She had only brought me here to rub it in my nose and then to cause a chill to go down my spine with the tone of her voice.

“I don’t even want to think about what you would do to me for failure. Learning about who you are certainly puts a new fire underneath me to get this done as quickly as possible. I need to get you out of my life.” She really was a piece of work. That girl was a master of manipulation. She had me fooled and that was not an easy thing to do. I prided myself on knowing how to read people and she had pulled the wool over my eyes. I was blind. I could certainly see the writing on the wall after she had let me see who she really was.

I’d lost my appetite. It was a good thing that she had refrained from mentioning this until I was almost done. I felt a little sick to my stomach that I had gotten involved with any of this. I was in way too deep and going against her was like throwing chum into the water to attract the sharks.

I got up after drinking the last of my champagne and orange juice. I looked back to see that she was laughing like she didn’t have a care in the world. She was surrounded by a bunch of snobby friends that she would have gladly stabbed in the back. My head was swimming. I took one more glance to understand that I had been used in a campaign to take everything away from Marshall.

I went downstairs, feeling that anger welling up inside me and knowing that there was absolutely nothing that I could do about it. If I told Marshall about any of this, she would come after me. I wasn’t sure what her idea of revenge against me would be. I did know that it would be detrimental to my health. If I were to go through with this, then I would be taking what I felt for him and turning it into something ugly. I really didn’t have anybody to turn to. The only other person that knew about this was Tina.

I got into my car. I found myself spinning my tires and sending up a cloud of black smoke behind me. I needed to find some way to vent and the only thing that came to mind was ripping off Marshall’s clothing and showing him that he wasn’t the only one that could use his considerable charm to get what he wanted.

I knew where he was at all times courtesy of hacking his phone and making it into a GPS. I tapped into that with one eye on the road and one eye on the phone. It was a little dangerous and I’m sure that was how accidents happen all the time. I saw that he was home and he was about to get a rude awakening. When I became like this, I could be a force that nobody could withstand. I had lost count of how many times I would be lying there afterward and the guy would be left speechless with my claw marks all over his body.

* * *

The only thing that I could think about was Marshall. I was driving at a dangerous speed; barely missing pedestrians and having them raise their fists in anger. It didn’t matter. The only thing that I wanted was Marshall naked and at the mercy of my insidious and naughty ways.

I had what most people would call tunnel vision. I got that way when my anger was too much for me to handle. The feeling of being used grew like bile in my throat. I would’ve loved to get into a knockdown kind of fight with Lillian. It would’ve been so satisfying to wipe that smug look off of her face once and for all.

I didn’t even realize that I had my hand up underneath my red leather skirt or that I had my panties to the side. I was priming myself for the big event.

It didn’t hurt that the vibration from the engine underneath me was doing some of the work. That anger was now turning into a desire that had gone off the charts. I would be there within a couple of minutes barring any complications like a police officer pulling me over for driving recklessly and endangering others.

My finger traced those slick lips down to where the sucking maw of my sex was waiting to take me knuckle deep. I hung precariously on the edge of an orgasm that would have blurred my vision and possibly caused a four-car pileup. I leaned on the brakes, skidding to a stop and coming within 1-inch of the bumper of the car in front of me.

There was little girl staring at me and not even her innocence was going to quell the hunger deep in my heart.

The light turned green. My car lurched forward and caused my finger to drive into me all the way until my whole body was gyrating in the seat. It wasn’t enough to take me all the way there, but it certainly did keep me motivated for attacking Marshall in his own home.

That finger moved back and forth steadily and I was close to pressing my thumb on my little friend, but I saw that my destination was coming up in front of me. His car was sitting there. I parked behind him and got out on shaky legs. A bit of my love juice slid down the inside of my thigh and I had to wipe it away before it would be noticed.

I unbuttoned my blouse, showing off more than a hint of cleavage and knowing that this was going to happen. I walked with determination across the street, not even bothering to look both ways and almost willing anybody that was driving by to run me down like road kill on the side of the road. It was the only way that I was going to be stopped.

I climbed the stairs, not even bothering to knock and finding the door unlocked. I walked right in. I saw him standing there by the stairs. I threw one leg around his waist and planted my lips on his before he could even get a word in edgewise.

I slithered my tongue into his mouth, grinding up against him and seeing the way that he was looking past me. I looked at him and I saw the awkward expression like I had interrupted something.

“Does somebody want to tell me what’s going on here?” I heard the feminine voice with authority behind it and I remembered how he had mentioned that his mother was coming over for dinner the other night. I had left my mark with my lipstick making him look like he had been attacked by a zealous fan at a concert that had gotten out of hand.

“Um, Marilyn…I mean Gillian, I would like you to meet my mother…Marilyn.” I had a feeling that I would meet her sooner than later, but I certainly wasn’t expecting to give her a bad impression of me.

“I’m waiting for an answer. Do you normally have strange women coming in here unannounced and kissing you out of the blue? What kind of son have I raised that would have women throwing themselves at him? I don’t even want to think about what would have happened had I not been here to witness this disgusting display.” I turned with my lipstick smeared and my skirt almost around my waist.

“Mother…it’s not what you think.” It was an interesting way for him to tap dance around it, but the evidence was right in her face. “I’m doing… I mean I’m dating her and I would think that would afford her some of your respect.” His mother had him by the short hairs and her tone was eerily similar to Lillian’s. I thought that I just had one overbearing bitch to deal with, but apparently, his mother was of that same way.

“I think by now that you could come up with a better excuse than that. I shouldn’t be surprised. They say that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. I never thought that you would turn out like your father. He couldn’t keep it in his pants. It didn’t matter what I did to please him. I think that it’s time that we have a very frank discussion.” I tried to make a discreet exit, but she blocked my path. Her stern expression really did make me feel like I was being held accountable for something that I didn’t do.

“This is between you and your son. It has nothing to do with me and I would rather not get into the middle of a domestic dispute.” I stood my ground, but I could feel myself weakening underneath her mom stare. “Don’t say that I didn’t warn you. There’s no way that you can treat me the same way that you do your son.” She pointed towards the living room and I had no choice. I had to obey. It was almost like it was ingrained in me from the way that my mother could literally give me one look and have me at a loss for words.

Marshall leaned into me and whispered in private “I’m sorry that you have to be here for this. I was hoping that we were never going to have to have that talk. I do have to say that I’m quite surprised to see you here. Pleasantly so, but I still have to wonder what compelled you to come here.” It was an interesting question and one that I was hoping that we could get into it after I had him screaming obscenities and writhing on top of me.

She grabbed us both by the ear. I didn’t know how painful that could be until that very moment. “I will have no secrets when I’m standing right here. If you have something to say, then share it with the rest of the class.” It was obvious to me that her background was in teaching. She knew how to garner respect and when she didn’t get it, there was only one way that she could go to make her point abundantly clear.

“Mother, I’m a grown man and I don’t need you to police my life.” It was nice to see him stand up for himself, but it didn’t look like she was going to let him play the martyr. “I have every right to live the way that I see fit. I really don’t need your permission or acceptance. You might be right and maybe some of what dad did to you rubbed off on me. I never thought of it like that before.” I didn’t want to wait my whole life for a man that had mommy issues.

“I know that you’re old enough to know better. You’re definitely too old to put over my knee, but a good talking to never goes out of style. Maybe if you hear some harsh truths then you will finally realize that your actions have consequences.” She was only small in stature at 5 foot nothing. I could’ve easily taken her, but for some reason, her intimidation tactics were too much for me to bear.

“I watched my father play with your heart and each and every time you came back after he apologized profusely for his actions. I didn’t respect you for that. I understood that you were doing it because you wanted to make it work. I hated him and we’ve never been able to stay in the same room together for any length of time before angry words were spoken.” I sat down with them and the only thing that I could do was listen. I was still feeling this need to drape my leg over the top of him and take that necessary test drive.

There was that awkward silence. This was obviously building up for a very long time. “I didn’t stay with your father because I wanted to make it work. I stayed with your father because I saw some redeeming qualities that I thought we could build on. It took several hours with a therapist before I finally realized that he just didn’t have it in him to be monogamous. I even gave him the benefit of the doubt. I tried to meet him halfway by spicing things up in the bedroom.” I looked at Marshall and he had his hands over his ears like a little child and whistling loudly so that he didn’t have to be subjected to this.

I put my hands on his wrists and I pulled them away. “I think that it is a good idea that we listen to her. She has been keeping this in for a long time and it’s not healthy. I’m starting to understand where the way that you treat women comes from. You’re damaged goods. You may not think so, but there’s something wrong inside you that needs to be fixed. I’m just not sure that I’m the woman that can do that for you. I would like to give it a try. I would feel stupid if I didn’t and you found somebody else.” I wasn’t looking at his mother, but I could hear her breathing like she was doing it over my shoulder.

“I don’t know you and I was really not impressed by the way you manhandled my son. You’re the type of girl that I wouldn’t want him to bring home to dinner. I get this feeling that there is a long line of broken hearts in your wake. That might be something that you have in common with my son.” I didn’t want to hear about my own faults and shortcomings. It didn’t look like I was going to be able to stop drop and roll from a moving vehicle metaphorically speaking. She had me where she wanted me and this was her time to say her peace.

“It was hard seeing you and father at odds. I screamed into my pillow every time that I heard you both arguing loudly. You didn’t take into consideration what that was going to do for a little boy’s self-esteem. I drew in on myself and never was one to make friends. It was only after I got out of school that my resentment turned into something that I don’t even recognize anymore. I actually enjoyed sleeping with women and then never seeing them again. I don’t want to admit this, but I think in some small way it was to get back at you.” This was a huge step and one that made me see the weight coming off his shoulders.

“That’s not something that a mother wants to hear. I’m leaving and I do hope that I have given you food for thought. It’s quite obvious what was going to happen. I can’t even look at you. You’re going to do whatever you want anyway and there’s nothing that I’m going to do to stop you. I think we need some time apart. There has been a lot said here that needed to be said. We both need time to absorb it.” She stepped to the front door and took off the red jacket by the door.

Marshall was about to get up and go after her, but I put my hand on his knee to signify that it was better to let sleeping dogs lie. He looked at me like I was crazy, but I knew enough about the female species to understand that it was not the time to get into it.

The door closed and Marshall was sitting there stunned staring out into space. This was neither the time nor the place to take our affection to the next level. I was just going to have to find some other outlet that didn’t include our sweaty bodies slamming against one another until we were both spent and had nothing left to give.

“I think that I’m going to leave and this wasn’t a very good idea. I see now that I was overreacting to something else and I was going to use you as a substitute. I’m sure that you wouldn’t have complained in the very least, but this would’ve been monumentally stupid on both of our parts. Don’t get me wrong, I still want you, but you are in no frame of mind to live for the moment. You need to take a cold hard look at yourself. It’s time that you realize that what you have been doing is wrong.” I got up and he latched onto my wrist with pleading eyes.

“I really don’t want you to go. Can you just sit here for a little while and be with me?” It was an odd feeling to sit there with him. I consoled him by touching his hand lightly and putting my head on his shoulder.

This whole thing had taken a lot out of him. It was only a few minutes before he was fast asleep. I very carefully and holding my breath took his arm away from over my shoulders. I laid him back down and I realized that what I was seeing was more than a feeling. The way that I was feeling was nothing like I felt for any man. It didn’t take money and it didn’t take fame. That was the power of the infatuation that I had for Marshall.

* * *

I had gone home and had some chamomile tea to calm myself down. My nerves were frayed and I still felt like somebody was watching me. There was a pair of headlights that stayed with me all the way home and then turned the other direction when I got to my road. It had to be just this whole situation and the way that Lillian had acted towards me that got me wired too tight. I wouldn’t have put it past her to have someone following me to make sure that I lived up to my part of the deal.

I lay there in bed not able to get a wink of sleep and then I heard what sounded like glass breaking. I bolted straight up, grabbing for the nearest thing that I could use as a weapon. The only thing that I had on hand was a hair dryer. It was heavy and using it like a weapon might be perfect for sending the right message.

I very slowly went out of my bedroom, standing there in the darkness trying to adjust my eyes and then I saw the shadow of somebody by the broken window. Whoever it was had come in from the fire escape and was now skulking in the darkness like a specter of the night.

I tiptoed very carefully, wearing only a pair of boy shorts and my long hair hanging over my breasts to hide my nudity. I wasn’t even concerned that he might be here for more than just stealing me blind. It hadn’t even occurred to me that I might be in danger.

I wanted to shock whoever it was. I turned on the lamp to illuminate a man that should’ve been home nursing a hangover.

“I followed you and now I know where you live.” He had the stink of alcohol on his breath. Marshall had obviously gotten into the bottle to wash away his sins. “I don’t think that it was very fair of you for leaving me in my state. I barely heard the door close. I wasn’t even sure how I was going to keep up with you. I saw you go into this building and I wanted to join you, but I thought better of it. I didn’t get very far before I found myself with cash in hand buying a bottle of cognac. I’m just one step up from those that panhandle on the street.” I still held the hair dryer in my fist turning my fingers white. I wasn’t sure what to expect.

“You must know that you’re drunk and you’re not acting in your right mind. You broke my window. What exactly did you expect was going to happen? Did you want me to run into your arms like a fairy tale character and give you my love and undying devotion? Did you want to sleep it off here, because you were afraid of what your mother might think if she came over and found you like this?” I was still a few feet away from him and this was not the way that I was going to cement our bond.

“It’s not fair and everything was perfectly fine before you came into my life. I enjoyed having sex with multiple partners and not even bothering to learn their name. There were a couple of girls that really left a lasting impression. There was this older girl, very appreciative and responsive to the point that I wasn’t able to hold her down. Lillian knows how to push my buttons, but I couldn’t allow her to find a place in my heart. It was sick and I began to see her as my mother. I know that any therapist would have had a field day with that one.” He was swaying on his feet and the putrid stench coming from his mouth made me cringe and want to be anyplace but here.

“I’ll tell you what I’m going to do for you, Marshall. I’m going to set you up out here on the couch. You can sleep it off and then we can talk about it in the morning. It’s very early and only roosters and farmers are up at this time of night or early morning. Take your pick. I’m not going to let you drive in your condition. You could have hurt somebody severely by driving here.” I wasn’t even sure that he was listening to me and it felt like he was staring right through me.

“I might be drunk, but I’m not as think as you drunk I am. Wait…did I say, that, right? I had enough sense not to drive here. I left my car in the liquor store parking lot most likely being stripped for parts as we speak. I got a taxi and I was on my way home, but I found myself telling him to drop me off here.” That at least gave me a feeling of relief that he wasn’t on the road becoming a menace to society.

“Don’t even think for one moment that you are going to get into my bed. It is a very comfy queen size. There’s more than enough for the both of us, but that’s not going to happen.” I went over to a hope chest and opened it to the smell of must assaulting my senses. There were a few blankets. I pulled a couple of them out and used them to get him ready for bed. It was making me feel like I was a nursemaid.

“I don’t know why you’re being so nice to me. I’ve given you no reason to and yet you keep coming back for more. What exactly does that say for you? I’ve been playing a game from the moment that I met you and you bought into it. I can’t be trusted and I’ve tried to stay away, but you’re a hard woman to forget.” He crashed against the table that had the lamp on it and sent it to the floor with a terrible crash. The only light had been extinguished. The room masked us both in darkness and shadows that danced on the wall.

I could see his shadow coming towards me in a lumbering fashion. He acted like his shoes were untied. He fell forward and was soon smothering me underneath him. We were on the couch and he was mauling me like some Neanderthal thinking that the right way to a woman’s heart was by clubbing them over the head.

That little boy smile really was enough to bring me to my knees. He had his hands on my breasts and I could feel him clumsily trying to tweak my nipples. I should have stopped him, but it felt so good that I didn’t want it to stop.

“I don’t think that you’re going to feel very good about this in the morning.” He lifted his head and smiled with his eyes half closed. He nuzzled my neck with his tongue touching on that very spot. “Oh, fuck it… It’s not like I don’t want you.” That tongue swirled and caused me to feel this certain wetness creeping from between my legs.

He bit my shoulder, causing me to jerk in his grasp with the moonlight shining through the window. I could see his tongue snaking out of his mouth. I felt the wetness contact with my skin and I shivered like a pubescent girl about to have her first time.

“I can’t see how you can know what you’re doing in this condition. The liquor that you consumed is running upstream against any good sense.” I found myself spreading my legs with one over the back of the couch and one planted firmly on the floor.

“You can’t tell me that this isn’t what you want. You’ve been flaunting your body every chance that you get. There’s just so much that a man can take before he reaches his limit. I’m just a man with needs, but I know that you’re a woman with your own needs. Let me prove to you that I can be the man that you want me to be.” His tongue moved down while igniting my body with spastic waves of pleasure that had me anxious to see what he was going to do next.

“I do appreciate that you are willing to go that extra mile. It says something about your character, especially when you are in no frame of mind to realize what you’re doing.” His hands were all over me and they were awkward. There was no pattern and he was all over the place. That made him unpredictable and had me literally in the palm of his hands.

“You are so…so fucking hot that it’s hard for me to think of anything other than your beautiful body.” It was a nice thing to say, but how he was able to string two sentences together was beyond me. “I can’t believe that I’m fortunate enough to touch you. It is a dream come true and one that I will remember forever.” I had my doubts that he was going to remember his own name in the morning.

I held my breath and I swallowed hard when he bit my eraser hard nipple. I felt him pull it away from my body and then turn his attention to the other one to do the same thing. He was chewing on the tips, licking in circles and giving me a reason to let this continue even if he was using the liquor as an excuse.

“You’re definitely…ahh…earning some brownie points that I’m sure that you’re going to have to use at some point to get out of the dog house. Fuck…you do know what you’re doing, even if you are drunk off your ass.” I held his head and moved my hand through his hair while pressing him tightly against my right breast. I was extra sensitive and only those that had been with me in the past would know that.

I cried out a couple of times and my legs bucked from underneath him. He finally gave me my space, but only enough to move into position. He was pulling my shorts to the side. When that wasn’t enough, he lifted my legs into the air and took them off and flung them into the air.

“I just want to make you feel as good as you have made me feel. Just having you in my life gives me hope that there is room for love in my heart.” He surprised me with that comment, but I wasn’t going to read too much into it. “Those lips demand to be kissed.” I thought for sure that he was going to come up with that breath of his and make me endure the sloppy way that he would kiss me.

It was when he penetrated the barrier between my legs that had me lifting my whole body off the couch. “Yes…deeper…fuck me with that tongue and make me cream down my legs. I want you and I have been fighting this feeling for too long. You can see how wet I am and how desperate I am to…to… Jesus…anymore of that and I won’t be responsible for my actions.” I don’t know how he managed, but he slowed down and gave me an agonizing tongue lashing.

I heard the sloppy way that he was licking me, but it didn’t matter. His technique might’ve been a little all over the place, but it was getting me there. I was humping my ass off the couch with my hands over my head holding onto the arms of the couch. I could feel it growing inside me like an alien presence that was going to burst from my stomach like in that movie.

I could feel his hands gripping my thighs and digging his fingernails in for good measure. I wasn’t going anywhere and I didn’t see that there was a place that I wanted to be other than right here and right now.

“You make me feel like I’m flying and that somehow I’m out of my body looking down and watching all of this happen. I feel like I’m floating in the ether of our desire for one another. You have no idea what you have started. The only thing that I know is that you better finish or I will have to take matters into my own hands.” His tongue was darting in and out of me with his two thumbs rubbing the pleasure center of my sex.

He was like a ravenous animal, completely unhinged and going after me like I was his last meal. I looked down and I could see the stain of my juices coating his lips like a very obscene milk mustache. He looked up, but he really wasn’t there. He was able to stay in the moment, but I had no idea how.

“You…definitely know how to touch me in just the right way.” This was so much better than my fingers and he was putting to shame the young man that I had gone to for this specific act of debauchery.

I had no idea if his love was going to save me. The only thing that was going through my mind was the electric charge that was ready to implode from the inside out. I felt it coming, but I wasn’t prepared for the duration of the scream that echoed in my apartment and most likely woke up my neighbors.

“YES…MARSHALL…MARSHALL…YES…FUCK ME…FUCK ME…YES…YES…YESSSSSSSS.” I was no longer holding onto the wheel and I had my hands clamped down onto the back of his head to make sure that he was going to leave me satisfied with no will to stand on my own.

He didn’t stop there and the second and third orgasm was almost enough to make me pass out from the sheer pleasure of it all. It was the young ones that needed to be molded into a consummate lover. I had been giving men my own age a bad rap for too long. There were exceptions to that rule and Marshall had gone above and beyond.

I lie there completely stupefied, my skin on fire and showing glistening droplets of sweat rolling down my body. He was still between my legs, licking lightly at my well-satisfied lips. He touched my clit on and off to feel me spasm. It made him smile to know that he was the cause of my pleasure.

“You better not think that we’re done.” He was on his knees, fumbling with his button when his eyes rolled into the back of his head and he fell backward. I couldn’t believe it.

He had me wanting to show him several new positions. I would have gladly driven stick cowgirl style, slapping his chest and leaving behind handprints of my lust etched into his skin. There was no way that I was going to be able to move for quite some time.

He was completely out of it, snoring loudly and I slipped underneath the covers of those two blankets with my knees up to my chest not to disturb him. I was still tingling and my legs were numb with that fire down below merely a simmer of what it once was. I could’ve gone all night, satisfied his every whim and left him wondering what hit him. He was going to miss out on that and I had no idea if we would find some time to revisit this.

* * *

I heard pots and pans banging together and opened up my eyes to see him stumbling around in the dark. The light outside informed me that another day had arrived. It was still very early, but he must have thought that he had to do something to make up for coming here and breaking my window.

The coffee was already percolating and the timer had gone off precisely at the time that I had requested. I was not a morning person and the cotton in my mouth made me feel like what we had done last night had crossed the line.

“I would suggest that you drink a gallon of that stuff. Sober up and then we can talk about how you acted last night. I’m going to take a shower. I would ask you to join me, but the moment is over.” I got up, clutching the blanket to my naked body and for the first time feeling vulnerable and exposed.

“Before you go and do that, would you like to explain what happened here? I have no idea, but the taste on my lips is not exactly foreign to me. I would say that somebody got lucky last night. It would’ve been nice to be there with you, but I do hope that I made up for it in some way.” His shirt was out of his pants and the thumping presence of his manhood was not that hard to recognize.

“I will say that you made up for breaking my window. I don’t know what possessed you to come here in the first place. I would be dressing you down, but I have to say that you made a believer out of me. I can’t express how much I enjoyed that. That is the first time in a couple of weeks that I have slept like a baby. You were responsible for that. It was like you were possessed by the devil. You kept coming back and I don’t think that you would have stopped. The only thing that made you stop was the liquor. It was too much for you. You passed out and unfortunately, it was at the time in the evening where you were going to… I don’t think that I should say.” I was teasing him and having a bit of fun at his expense because he didn’t let me see what was obviously his prize possession.

“By all means, finish your sentence and you have me more than curious.” He had a cup of coffee and it was that necessary black to be as strong as possible. “What exactly did I miss out on doing? I’m probably going to regret asking, but I don’t think that I can live without knowing.” If he was going to be like that, then I felt that it was my responsibility to show him that getting drunk has its disadvantages.

“Look at yourself and tell me what was going to happen.” He glanced down to where he had unbuttoned his pants, but the zipper still remained intact. “I’m sure that somebody with your intellect can put two and two together.” I saw that look on his face and I walked backward down the hall towards the bathroom.

“Please don’t tell me that I passed out before we could do the dance with no pants” That was a crude way of describing it, but it was essentially exactly as he said it was. “I get the feeling that I was a bit more anxious than you were expecting. I don’t even know what to say about my behavior. I can see from the smile on your face that you’re not complaining. Why would you when you got what you wanted and left me high and dry.” There was no way that he was going to get away with making me the bad guy.

With a purpose, I walked over to where he had broken my window and showed him exhibit A. “I’m not saying that what you did wasn’t fun, but what about my window? I’m going to have to pay for that out of my own pocket. A lumbering idiot tried to put his hands on me? I’m glad that you didn’t try to force anything, or you might have gotten a well-placed knee where it would do the most damage.” He was holding his head with one hand and that cup of coffee with the other. He came over and surveyed the damage before reaching into his jacket for his pocketbook.

“I made this mess and I should be expected to pay for it.” That wasn’t what I had in mind. He had more than made up for it by making me moan incessantly. I don’t think that I had ever screamed that loud in my life. It was a testament to his prowess in the bedroom. I didn’t get to find out if what I had felt was real. That was some interesting hardware that he was carrying around with him.

“There’s no reason to do that. I can certainly afford to fix my own window and I don’t need a man to take care of me.” I didn’t mean to be defensive, but I’d come a long way to insert my own independence and I wasn’t going to allow anybody to take it away from me.

“I can see that you’re one of those progressive girls that need to stand up on her 2-feet. I was just trying to help and I do hope that you didn’t take it the wrong way.” I walked over to him and ruffled his hair. I did not find that he was fussy enough to try to fix it.

“If it’s all the same to you, let me handle my business. I’m sure that your mother is worried about you not coming home last night. You might want to give her a call and tell her that you spent the night at a friend’s house. If I were you, I wouldn’t mention what we did. I doubt that you would, but I have no idea how open you are with your mother about your sex life.” It was just a nice little jab at his masculinity. I wanted him to think that I thought of him as a mama’s boy.

“I don’t mean to be eating and running, but I do have a place to be.” His underlying meaning was clear and he was referring to quite crassly about giving me pleasure. “I’ve already called a taxi and I really didn’t want to disturb you. You obviously needed your beauty sleep. I mean…you needed to be well rested and I was going to slip out without saying anything. Don’t worry; I know how stupid that was.” I was still feeling the effects of him exploring my flesh. I’d already noticed that there were marks on the inside of my thighs from the way that he was pressing his fingernails into my body.

“You should take the coffee with you. You need it way more than I do. I could use a vitamin C shot.” He was way ahead of me and had the orange juice already poured. He reached back and grabbed it and put it into my hand. The cool surface of the glass was a welcome relief.

“I do believe that I’m going to take you up on your offer. I don’t know if it’s too early, but I would really like to see you again for supper tonight. This time, I would like you to come over to my place and I’ll cook for you. Believe me, I don’t do that for any other girl and you should consider what that means. Do you have any requests, or can I surprise you like you did with me at Antonio’s?” I was actually quite fond of a man cooking for me. I was hoping that he would wear just an apron and nothing more, but maybe that was asking for too much.

“I think that I can manage to be there for 7:00 PM. I didn’t like the way that you went about last night, but the results are undeniable. You have a gift and one that I hope that you will never share with anybody ever again. That might sound obsessive, but you brought it on yourself. All that I know is that you made me cum too many times to count. They blended in with one another and it was a never-ending log ride of pleasure.” I took the coffee from his hands, drinking half of it and then placing it back where it was.

“I don’t see you being the one that is suffering from a hangover. I know that I did this to myself, but I think that everything worked out in the end. We have something here that I would like to try and make into something lasting. I don’t know if that is even possible and I’ve never done anything like this before. This is new territory and I’m going to need your hand to show me the way.” He was the kind of man that was the perfect combination of strength and vulnerability.

“What you are asking is impossible.” I saw the confusion on his face and I was going to have to explain. “I’m exactly like you. I thought at one time that I had found somebody to care for, but I was just settling for second best. We are going to be the blind leading the blind. I’m sure that between the two of us we can figure this out. I’ve known a lot of men that get drunk and do stupid things. They either get too hands on, get silly or angry. What you did last night was make me forget about all of them. There’s a part of me that wants you to continue to drink if that is the way that you’re going to act. I can’t in good conscience do that, but I don’t see any reason why we can’t indulge.” I did enjoy having a few drinks to loosen up and I didn’t want him to go cold Turkey.

“I don’t have a problem if that is what you’re thinking. You’ve met my mother and anybody that meets her usually ends up drinking themselves into a stupor. Living with that tension all of these years has made it impossible for me to have a normal relationship with my parents. I will say one thing and they did give me an appreciation for wine. I have my own small wine cellar. Don’t get too excited, because it’s not that special. I do have a few interesting bottles that you might find to your liking. I’ll have something nice for dinner.” He was at the door and I was reaching out about to tell him everything, but then there was nothing.

I watched him leave; feeling like such an idiot and knowing that I had allowed Lillian to hold this secret hostage over me.

I went to the window with my hand on the glass. It was a good thing that he had only broken one pane. It probably would’ve cost a whole lot more to replace the window than just one small square of glass. I made a few phone calls and finally found one company that was willing to do a rush job for a price.

I called the office and told them that I was going to be late and that I had to take care of something. My boss Wendell was not exactly happy, but he knew that I was the one that was bringing in all the money. There was no way that he was going to bite the hand that fed him and kept him living high on the hog.

* * *

I had made up my mind that I was going to tell him everything at dinner. He would probably hate me, throw things and yell, but it was a risk that I was willing to take. I kept thinking about what Lillian had said and how her plans stemmed from me keeping him from learning the truth. After tonight, I was either going to have him on my side or as an enemy.

If I was going to drop this bombshell in his lap, then I was going to have to do something to make it easy to swallow. That mesh outfit was on underneath my clothing. It made me feel naughty to be wearing something so decadent that it was going to knock his socks off. I decided on a black leather dress. It was form fitting and molded to my considerable curves perfectly. I was not taking any chances. I had to let him know that my interest was more than just the job.

I was feeling pretty good about myself. The window was fixed and I had sold three cars in the span of 3-hours because they kept saying that there was something about me that made it hard to resist. It could’ve been the glow of innocence, or it could’ve been those naughty thoughts that I had about Marshall that kept my best feature on high beams. It was not exactly easy to keep those tendencies to myself.

They bled out in ways that included hard nipples that drew the attention of men and women alike. I hardly had to do anything to convince them to buy. That seductive glance came from the way that he had consumed me. My body was screaming sex. Wendell was ecstatic and actually, gave me a fair-sized bonus and one week off paid vacation. I told him that I was going to take it immediately and that I had my eye on this certain ski chalet that I’d always wanted to stay in.

I had made arrangements and was hoping that Marshall was going to join me, but I was putting the cart before the horse. Whatever the hell that meant. I was hoping that he would listen to reason and that we could run away together. It was a little girls’ fairy tale dream. It was something that I’d thought about several times since meeting him but never was able to pull the trigger.

I was standing at his door remembering the last time that I had graced his doorstep and how badly it had gone. I half expected him to have company, but this time it was different. Opening the door, I found him wearing an impeccable suit with no tie. In his hand were a bottle of wine and two long stemmed glasses.

“I don’t think that it’s legal for you to look like that. I’m sure that you had a lot of guys looking at you on the way over here.” He was probably right, but I really wasn’t thinking about them. I was playing over the conversation that was going to turn into a heated argument with a few choice words.

“I have to say that you do clean up well.” He was shaved, showered and smelling like a million bucks. I loved the cut of the blue suit. I had no problem looking at the outline of his package and licking my lips with a desire to quench my thirst. It would’ve been so easy to push him into doing something that was more likely to make him listen to me. I could give him lip service, shower him with affection and then when he was suitably satiated, I could tell him everything that I had on my mind.

That was the coward’s way out, but it would’ve been so pleasurable and at least I could say that I had returned the favor for last night.

“Let me take your jacket. Dinner will be ready shortly. We can enjoy a glass of wine and talk before dinner. I have a few things to say that were left unsaid last night. I wasn’t just saying those words because I thought that you needed to hear them.” He slipped my jacket from around my shoulders and I heard him gasp with seeing the dress that I was wearing. He moved my hair away from my neck; took a whiff of my womanly scent and then lightly touched the tip of his tongue to the nape of my neck. I thought that I was going to collapse into his arms. I managed to control myself for the time being.

“I want you to know that these moments these last few days have been the happiest of my life.” I was preparing the scene, trying my best to pull the Band-Aid off slowly and not startle him like a wounded animal.

“I know when I started to have real feelings for you. It was when you leaped out of the plane and screamed at the top of your lungs. I saw how willing you were to take that leap of faith and it hit me right where it mattered. You scared me and I know that I didn’t act appropriately. I could’ve handled that a whole lot better, but I didn’t know what to do with those feelings. They were new to me and there’s no way that I could express to you all of that.” He opened the wine and we sat down in his living room where I remembered putting my head on his shoulder.

It was comfortable and serene. There didn’t seem to be anything that could break up this feeling like we were supposed to be together forever.

“I appreciate what you have to say, Marshall, but there’s more to it than you realize. I should have told you a long time ago, but I was cowardly. I may seem strong and confident, but underneath, I still have moments where I’m not the person that you think I am.” I was saying the words, but I still hadn’t gotten to the point of the conversation.

The ding of the stove interrupted my thoughts. He took my hand and we went into the dining room. Everything was perfect. He even pulled out my chair, letting me sit down and then retreating to his own side of the table. We were eye to eye. He lifted the lid of each dish. I could smell the aroma of the Italian pasta, garlic bread and this freshly made ravioli that had me looking at him with surprise.

“My grandmother, god rest her soul, taught me some of the finer things of Italian cooking. I sat at her feet and I learned from the master how to make my own pasta. I think that you’ll agree that it is better than the store-bought variety. She always said that everything tastes better made with love.” I was feeling claustrophobic like the walls were closing in on me. I quickly took the glass of wine and downed it in one swallow.

I had a few bites, but I really couldn’t think about food at a time like this. It was delicious and I had to recognize that he had gone out of his way to make this evening special. I had to steel myself for what I was about to say. I knew that I would have the wrath of Lillian down on top of me. I didn’t care anymore and my feelings surpassed any danger that might befall me.

“I’m going to have to say this before I lose my nerve. I was hired by Lillian, Tina, and Julia to make you fall in love with me. They wanted me to break your heart, stomp on it and then leave you to pick up the pieces. I thought that was the extent of it, but Lillian has had it out for you from the moment that you stopped seeing her. She doesn’t just want to break your heart, but she wants to ruin you and leave you penniless.” I could see that the evening had taken an ugly turn. The expression on his face was a mask of euphoria. It was replaced with contempt.

“I’m going to ask you very nicely to leave.” His tone was neutral, but his anger was right there driving like a knife through me by the look in his eyes.

“I need you to listen to me.” That was the last thing that I should have said. He took a long and drawn out breath and slammed down his hand so hard onto the table that the food and the plates lifted at least a foot in the air. They came back down with a resounding rattle of glass and cutlery.

“I think that you have said more than enough. You must’ve been laughing behind my back this entire time watching me fall needlessly and hopelessly in love with you. If it’s any consolation, you are very good at your job. You do know that you’re not much better than those hookers on the street that sell their wares to those with money. You used me for money and I do hope that your payday was worth it.” He wasn’t letting me explain. I didn’t blame him for his hurt feelings, but I had to do something to soothe those troubled waters.

“I’m not leaving here until you hear me…ouch…you’re hurting me.” He had grabbed my wrist and had come around from the other side of the table to lift me to my feet by my arms. I thought that he was going to strike me. He dragged me to the door and threw my coat in my face.

“I can’t stand to look at you. I can’t believe that I was so stupid to let you in. It was my own fault and I guess from your point of view I had this coming. Get out before I do something that we both regret.” There was no point in arguing and his mind was already made up.

I stood at his door trying to come up with the right words and there was really nothing that I could say in my own defense. I had taken the job and I was more than happy to rip his heart from his chest and let him suffer the indignity of having it displayed for the entire world. I had no idea what I was going to do about Lillian, but getting away from the city and my problems was the only thing that came to mind.

“I’ll go, but not until I tell you that everything…” The door slammed in my face and I was left shivering not from the cold but from the icy reception that I had received. I called him, letting it ring and getting his voicemail before leaving a message. I didn’t know if he would listen to it from the beginning to the end. I had to tell him that everything was not a lie. I told him that I was going away and that I wouldn’t be back for a week. I poured out my heart in that message. It was less than a minute before the phone signaled that my time had reached its limit.

I heard the scream and it made me stop in my tracks on the sidewalk. He wasn’t keeping it bottled up. I wanted to run back into his arms. I wanted to give him my hot embrace and that feeling of undying love coming from my heart. I knew that he was in no shape or any condition to hear it. It was better that I get some distance from him and as well from Lillian.

I was kicking myself. I should’ve waited to tell him the truth until after dinner and possibly dessert that would be served hot under the covers. I got into my car, slamming the door and then my hands down onto the steering wheel in that order. I breathed deeply, finally composing myself long enough to drive away and look into my rearview mirror. I could only hope that was not the last time that I was going to see him. He was blind with rage, but maybe in time, he would see that my feelings for him were true.

I still had no idea what I was going to do about Lillian and the obvious betrayal that she would feel when she saw her work unravel in front of her eyes. I was more upset that I had hurt Marshall than I was about Lillian coming after me. I would go to the mountains in a secluded area, wallow in my self-pity and try to come to terms with what I’d done.

* * *

Gillian West had what she considered a good life, but then everything changed when three women came to require her services. It seemed like such a simple idea of going after a man that was known for playing the field. Her job was simple. She had to seduce him with her body, break him down with psychological torture and then humiliate him for the world to see. She thought that she knew what she was doing, but she had no idea who was playing puppet master. Lillian had turned out to be more of the mastermind where she wanted more than just revenge. What Gillian wasn’t counting on was learning more about Marshall. What she wasn’t ready for was telling him the truth and then having her heart shattered by his hurtful words. She goes to a cabin, a recluse away from the rest of the world and yet there still doesn’t seem to be a way for her to run far enough.

* * *

“The authorities are warning everybody to stay off the roads. If you don’t have to go out, then it is suggested that you hunker down and have supplies ready in case of a blackout. This blizzard came out of nowhere and even the weather forecasters are baffled by how easily they were fooled by only a few flurries. This is a late breaking news bulletin. The roads are treacherous, completely snow packed and icy underneath.” I looked out my windshield attesting to the announcers claim that this was a storm that nobody saw coming.

I had problems trying to keep the windshield from freezing over. The wipers were streaking and I could barely see the hand in front of my face. The wind had picked up considerably with driving snow that made visibility almost nothing. There was no point in turning back and my final destination was no more than a few miles ahead. I was certain that if I took my time that I would get there unscathed. I was one of the lucky ones and I had my winter tires already installed well before the season had begun.

“This just in, the main road is impassable and there have already been several car accidents in the area. The police are advising to stay off the road while they deal with these unfortunate accidents.” I passed one car that had their four-way flashers going off like neon lights. It was a good thing that they had them on because I was almost upon them before I realized that they were there.

I managed to avoid a head-on collision with a transport that had veered into my lane and caused me to act without thinking. I went into a skid, but I managed to pull myself out of it by using evasive maneuvers.