Table for Four

by Diana Hunter

  Understanding came. “You think you can tame Adora, but not me, just as Master Richard can’t tame her, but thinks he can tame me.”

  David laughed. “We’ll leave your sentence structure aside for a bit, teacher.” He bussed her nose with his lips. “But yes, you have it right.” He rolled onto his back again, gathering his thoughts. “Richard seems to think Adora also has a need to be tamed, just as you do. But that he’s not the one to do it because he loves her too much.”

  “Just like you love me too much?” It was beginning to all make sense to Lissa.

  “Yes.”

  “So you want to swap wives for sex.”

  It sounded so…naughty. So perverse. So arousing and sexy.

  “Yes.”

  Lissa let the word hang in the silence for a moment, then, with her heart beating hard and feigning a nonchalant attitude, she lay down beside her husband as well, her face to the ceiling. “I can live with that.”

  It was David’s turn to sit up, rolling onto one arm as he tried to read his wife’s face in the dim light. “Really? Lissa, do you mean that?”

  She grinned. While her heart still beat wildly, she knew her answer. “Yes, David. I do mean that. If you and Richard want to arrange it, I will go along with it.”

  Immediately the image of her bound body, naked before Richard’s gaze popped into her head and she felt her arousal spread between her legs. “Do you think ill of me, because I want you to share me with another man?”

  For answer, David simply took Lissa’s hand and put it on his rock-hard cock. She laughed as she closed her warm fingers around him, loving the feel of that rigid stiffness. “When you say it like that, ‘sharing you with another man,’ this happens,” David whispered into her ear.

  “And I tingle at the thought of being shared.” She guided his hand to her warm and very wet pussy. He dipped his fingers deep before bringing them up to rub them on her nipples, spreading her juices to cover them in turn. The little buds turned as hard as David’s cock, swelling under his touch.

  “I see the thought turns you on as well,” David murmured into her ear.

  Lissa didn’t want him to stop; her husband’s hands roamed across her skin, setting it on fire as thoughts of Richard’s domination once again flitted through her imagination. With one difference: this time, there was a very real possibility of those fantasies becoming reality. She whimpered in the back of her throat at the thought and moved her hips closer to David’s cock. “Take me.”

  David needed no other urging. His wife’s obvious arousal at the turn this conversation had taken urged him on. “And Adora? How does it make you feel that I’d be with another woman?”

  Relieved. But she didn’t say it. Never could she go off with another man if David hadn’t given her permission. And never if she knew her husband was, in any way, being slighted. But to know he would be as satisfied as she was? She moaned out loud and pushed herself at him again. “Now, David. Please…take me.”

  He liked it when she begged, although he hadn’t been sure it was fitting between a husband and wife. Tonight, he didn’t care. His cock throbbed with life and desire; he wanted nothing more than to sink it into Lissa’s pussy as he imagined himself thrusting into Adora.

  As a result, he was rougher than usual. Throwing Lissa’s leg out of his way, he knelt before her open pussy and grabbed his wife’s thighs. With a strong pull, he yanked her toward him, pausing only a moment to change his grip on her before impaling her with his cock.

  Lissa yelped at the sudden thrust, but did not protest. She couldn’t. Raising her arms to grab the wrought iron headboard, she imagined herself tied and used by Master Richard as David repeatedly thrust his cock into her. She knew from his expression, that he imagined her to be Adora, and that was fine by her. His roughness excited her; the blood pounded in her ears in time to David’s thrusts. She felt her pussy lips swell with need; her moans filled the room.

  David’s grunts grew louder and his thrusts faster. And when Lissa screamed and her pussy contracted around his cock, the world inside his head exploded and his seed burst forth to fill her quivering body.

  Spent, he collapsed beside her, for once not immediately handing her tissues to clean up with. Lissa didn’t reach for them either. Instead, she pulled herself up to snuggle in his arms, exhausted by the emotions of the night.

  “There are still many questions to be answered.” David’s voice, barely a whisper, sounded in her ear.

  “In the morning,” was all Lissa could answer before she drifted off to sleep.

  Chapter 3

  But the morning afforded David and Lissa no time for conversation. The alarm went off and immediately the two scrambled into the normal early-morning rush off to work. A peck on the lips and a fast farewell and the two parted ways until dinner.

  Lissa prided herself on her professionalism, so thoughts of last night’s lovemaking and the events that precipitated it remained in the back of her mind all day. Only on the ride home did she have the luxury of bringing them forward and examining the possibilities—and the dangers.

  By the time she reached home, Lissa convinced herself all this was a bad idea. What did they really know about this couple? Who knew what kind of diseases they might have? What if they were really slavers and wanted to sell her into servitude?

  Okay, the last one was a little farfetched and Lissa giggled as she pulled into the drive of their modest city home. Since David wasn’t home yet, she followed her normal custom, going upstairs to change into comfortable shorts and a tank top before starting dinner.

  * * * * *

  David Patterson was not one to rush into anything. Ever. So the fact that he and Lissa had even gotten to the discussion stage of swapping partners after meeting this couple only twice still amazed him. Were things moving too fast? In the cold light of day, it seemed he and Lissa were headed for trouble.

  But what exciting trouble it could be if only Lissa would go along. That was the sticking point. Richard had made it very clear last night that they were a package deal. David could not have Adora unless Richard got Lissa.

  And did he mind if Lissa went off with another man? Could he trust Richard not to harm his wife? Questions crowded his mind as he entered the house.

  “Lissa? I’m home.” Plopping his briefcase down on a dining room chair, he headed into the kitchen.

  “Here!” Lissa’s voice, however, came from upstairs, not her usual spot. David followed her voice and found her in the bedroom, sitting cross-legged on the edge of the bed and holding her Velcro cuffs in her hands. The evening sun caught the rich auburn highlights of her hair where it cascaded across her bare shoulders, the pink tank top straps almost hidden by the dark curls. Her slender legs folded under, spring-white since the summer was still young and neither of them had yet had much time in the sun. Lissa turned the cuffs over and over in her hands as if weighing one against the other. Or as if she were trying to decide which was better.

  “What are you doing?”

  She didn’t look up from the cuffs. “Thinking about what I really want.”

  David’s heart lurched for her; it was obvious she was torn and he was pushing her too fast. He sat beside her on the bed, prepared for her answer. This was it. She was about to tell him to stuff it.

  “What have you decided?” David’s gentle voice belied the tension he felt inside.

  “Not much,” Lissa admitted. “David, there are two constants at work here, and what I can’t tell is if they’re mutually compatible or mutually exclusive.”

  “Okay, I’ll bite. What are the two constants?” David tried not to show his relief that she did not dismiss the idea out of hand.

  “The first one, and the most important one, is that I love you.”

  She looked at him, her eyes so open and honest that it almost hurt. David reached out to cup her cheek with his hand; the depth of her emotion took away all his doubts about losing her.

  “I love you, Lissa Marie Patterson. You are
right. That is a constant. The only way our love can grow is deeper.”

  His tender smile brought tears to her eyes. She closed them as he bent toward her, leaning into their gentle kiss. His scent intoxicated her as it always did. The loving touch of his lips did nothing to ease her guilt over her desires.

  And when they moved apart, and she remained silent, David prompted her to say what was still unsaid. “And the second constant?”

  “These.” Lissa held up the cuffs as her shoulders sagged in defeat. “I keep trying to tell myself that this is just a silly schoolgirl fantasy—to want to be tied up and ‘forced’ to do things. Sexual things.” She shook her head. Not even to David could she divulge her wildest desires. “I keep trying to tell myself to snap out of it.” Lissa swallowed hard, took a deep breath, and blurted out the second constant. “But the reality is that I don’t want to snap out of it. I want to live it. Completely. I want to be ‘owned’ as a sex slave.”

  The words sounded ludicrous to her ears, but David did not laugh. He sighed. “I know.” Taking one of the cuffs, he played with it; putting together, then ripping apart the Velcro fastenings. “And since I can’t give you that personally, I want to give you to a man who can.”

  Lissa shivered even as David’s words aroused her. “You speak as if I’m a piece of property you can just dispense with any way you see fit.”

  “Aren’t you? Isn’t that a part of what you want?”

  Lissa hesitated. Wasn’t it? “Yes, but what about—”

  “No, ‘yes, buts.’ Is it, or isn’t it?”

  The sternness in David’s voice took her by surprise and brought out her defiant side. “Yes, then. Yes, I want to be given to a man who can handle me.”

  David grinned, but there was little mirth in his eyes. “And what happens if he tames you? Takes you and claims you as his own?”

  Lissa understood his concern; it was hers as well. What if David decided he liked Adora more than he liked her? She could only answer from her own heart and simply. “Because of the first constant, that can’t happen. I love you.”

  David heard the words, but saw in her eyes a faint flicker of doubt. Did she doubt herself? Or him?

  “And I love you, Lissa. I always will.”

  “Even when you’re with Adora?”

  “Yes, even when I’m with Adora. She will satisfy certain hungers inside me, I think. But she could never take your place. Just as I hope Richard never takes mine. No matter how much of a compliant slave you become for him.”

  Lissa smiled at the thought being tamed. No matter how much her soul might cry out for it, her logical and rational mind would fight her; this Lissa knew. It would be a long time before she would do anything a man commanded her to do just because he commanded it.

  David’s stomach growled, breaking the somber mood. “Come on, dinner’s on me tonight.”

  “As long as we don’t go to the diner. I don’t think I’m ready for another night like the last time we were there!”

  * * * * *

  “So what do you think?”

  David and Lissa ended up at a large Chinese buffet for dinner. The crowd was noisy, and a child ran past their table with his plate filled with pastries instead of main dishes. It was as unsexy a place as one could find and Lissa thought it just the right spot to continue their conversation. A place where cold, rational thought could hold sway. No danger of the two of them getting so hot at the ideas that they ended up having sex again and not finishing the conversation. Although last night certainly had been…interesting.

  “David, what do you think?” Lissa tapped her fork on David’s plate to get his attention.

  “About?”

  “About swapping partners!” Lissa hissed the words in a low voice; the noise of the restaurant would only cover so much.

  “I’m leaning toward it.”

  “What’s holding you back?”

  “What’s pushing you forward? I thought you were the one with all the reservations before.”

  “I still have them. I just want to know what your concerns are. I already know mine.”

  “My biggest concern is for your safety, Lissa. You’ll be in a position where you can’t get loose if you decide you want out of there. I know, I know!” David held up his chopsticks as she started to protest. “You’ll use a safeword. But I have only his word of honor that he will use it; that if you call it out, he’ll stop.”

  Lissa kept her eyes on her plate so David would not see them twinkle with mischief. How could she explain to him the power of that very thought? The helplessness, the inability to stop the man from having his way, was exactly what moved her, swayed her primal spirit. She tried to put it into words. “That’s a part of what makes it so arousing. Not knowing if he’ll stop when I ask him to, or ignore my pleadings and keep on going.”

  “You’re not making me feel any better about that angle.”

  She shook her head. “I’m sorry. I guess I just can’t explain it very well. Do you trust Master Richard?”

  David nodded as he toyed with his food. “I do. But I’m not sure if my trust is clouded by…other desires.”

  Lissa giggled at his circumvented reference. “Which is why I need a chance to meet him myself. Without you in the room. I want to make my own decision.”

  “I can understand that. I’d like the opportunity to talk to Adora as well, privately. It’s important to me to know she’s not being coerced into anything.

  “Same here. Although I think I say with some certainty that she’s as independent as I am.” Lissa remembered the gypsy woman’s hands in hers as they spoke the night before. How naïve Lissa had felt in her presence. David was in for a bit of a surprise, she thought.

  “So is that the only thing holding you back? My safety?”

  “No, there is one other thing.”

  Lissa knew its importance by the way he deliberately set down his chopsticks across the top of his plate. “I know you love me, Lissa, and I love you. But a part of my heart is terrified you’ll want him over me.”

  “And a part of me is terrified you’ll want Adora over me. But that’s not going to happen, David. I love you. Not him. I want him only for what he can do for me sexually. This is pure lust. Nothing more. I’m not going to glorify what I want to do with any fancy words. I want Richard to tie me up and fuck my brains out. That’s it. Then I want to come home to my life and my house…and my husband.”

  Her voice got a little louder than she intended and the older couple in the booth across the way from them gave them several frowns before turning back to their own dinners.

  “Well, that’s all I want from Adora, too.” David leaned forward, keeping his voice low and throwing a few glances back at the older couple. “Just sex.” He grinned. “Well, at least our motivations are not complicated!”

  Lissa giggled, feeling as if a weight had dropped from her shoulders. The two of them wanted the same things; she wasn’t pushing David into something he didn’t want.

  “So what do we do next? How do we arrange it so that you can have some private time to talk to Adora and I can talk to Richard all by himself?” The thought of being alone with him gave her goosebumps.

  “Let me call Richard when we get home and talk it over with him. Will you let us take care of the details? Or do you want to be a part of the conversation?”

  Lissa shook her head and then grinned. “No, I think I like the fact that my husband is arraigning to ‘give me away’ for a night. You go ahead and handle all the grunt work. Just tell me what to wear and what time to show up!”

  David snorted his soft drink. “Wish you were always this compliant.”

  She laughed. “No, you don’t. Too many decisions you’d have to make on your own. Like whether to plant red flowers out front or white.” This was one of their running gags. Each year Lissa would ask David what color he’d like out front and each year David’s answer was the same. “Color. Put some color out front. You decide what plants and what colors. Just colo
r.”

  “Okay, point conceded. We owe them a dinner, so perhaps that’s what we’ll do. Have them over for dinner and afterward, I’ll take Adora off, and you spend some time with Richard. If everything clicks, well, we’ll take care of that if and when it happens.”

  * * * * *

  David informed her later that everything was arranged; Richard and Adora were coming for dinner Saturday night. That way neither of them would have to rush home from work to prepare dinner.

  The rest of the week flew by. Every night David would put his arms around Lissa in bed, cuddling her, making sure she understood how much he loved her. And every night Lissa would snuggle into his warmth, grateful and loving, and nervous.

  Saturday each of them took their time getting ready, both wanting to look good, but both concerned that the other might get jealous. David came into the bath and caught Lissa wiping off her makeup for the second time.

  “What was wrong with the way you looked?”

  “Oh, David!” Lissa threw her hands down in exasperation. “If I put on too much makeup you’ll think I’m getting all gussied up for him. If I don’t put on any makeup, he’ll think I don’t care about my appearance!” She glared at him in the mirror. “I can’t win!”

  David laughed. “I love that you’re afraid to make me jealous.” His hands encircled her waist and he leaned forward to give her a peck on the cheek. “Don’t worry. I want you to be as drop-dead gorgeous as you always are.”

  She batted playfully at the top of his head. “Out, liar. Let me get this makeup on.”

  He couldn’t resist a playful swat on her rear end as he left, gratified by the surprise in her eyes. At least he didn’t need to worry about all that stuff. Lissa didn’t wear makeup at all on a daily basis and David actually preferred her real face. But he understood her need to look “better” tonight.

  Khaki pants and a light shirt was all he needed to look good. He finished buttoning the shirt and examined his appearance in Lissa’s full-length mirror. With his fingers, he brushed his straight sandy hair off his forehead, making a mental note that he needed a haircut. As it was, it touched the tops of his ears; he could almost tuck it behind. A stray lock kept falling down over his eyes; maybe Adora would find it sexy. It gave him a bit of a rakish look and he raised an eyebrow seductively at his reflection. A cocky rogue stared back at him and David laughed.