Bull's Eye

by Evelyn Vox

  I liked it more than I should have.

  Brian and I were at the table, eating dinner, like a regular couple. As if we didn’t just have a wild threesome with our Bull. Nope, we were normal, eating lamb chops with red wine, and chocolate mousse for dessert. I smiled to myself. What a crazy life this was.

  After we’d finished our scandalous little threesome, Derek had made a call, and Brian’s application to Club Midnight was e-mailed to him in no time. He’d spent the rest of the afternoon working on it.

  “It’s quite extensive,” he said, “but I’ll be done by tonight. Hopefully, they’ll accept me.”

  Considering he was referred by Derek, I had a feeling they would.

  “I’m excited for you to see it.”

  “Me too,” he said, his eyes bright with excitement.

  I took a sip of wine, steeling myself for the conversation I’d been wanting to have all weekend. Between all the heated moments and my thoughts about Derek, I’d come to a decision.

  “I was thinking,” I began, watching my husband cut a slice of lamb, “I want to take an interior design class.”

  Brian’s silverware scraped to a stop as he looked at me. The excitement left his eyes.

  “Whatever for, Lexie?”

  I shrugged, trying to play it cool.

  “I think I’d enjoy it. Derek said I have a good eye for these things. Said I could be an interior designer.”

  Brian laughed and put the lamb in his mouth. He chewed. Once. Twice.

  “You know you don’t have to work,” he said at last.

  He was completely missing the point. As usual. I dug my heels in, recognizing the tell-tale signs of the fight ahead of me. It was always like this with him.

  “It’s just a hobby, an interest of mine.”

  “Funny how your hobbies always seem to involve spending lots of my money.”

  He may as well have slapped me. I frowned and took another sip of my wine.

  “If you don’t want me to work,” I said, carefully, “how can you expect me to have any other money to spend?”

  “Do you want to work? With him? Do you two discuss these things? Our marriage?”

  Brian slammed his fork on the table. The wine in his glass slopped over the rim. I stared at him. He wasn’t prone to fits of temper like this. I chalked it up to the stress of trying to make partner. He’d been working insane hours, and usually still had more work to do when he got home. It had made him short with me. More so than usual.

  “No,” I said, maintaining my composure. If I stayed calm, it wouldn’t escalate things. “We don’t discuss any of that. Certainly not our marriage.”

  I fixed my eyes on the spilled wine as it spread and stained the white tablecloth red.

  “That’s one line I will not cross, Lexie.” Brian’s usually warm eyes were cold as he looked at me. “Our relationship, our life together, you do not discuss it with him. Is that understood?”

  I bristled. I didn’t enjoy being talked to like a teenager. But I wanted to make sure Brian felt heard and respected in this arrangement.

  “I have not,” I said slowly, lifting my eyes from the burgundy stain, “and will not, discuss such things with Derek.”

  He scoffed. “Only your academic future?”

  He rolled his eyes and took a sip of wine. I sighed.

  “It came up in passing. It wasn’t some big discussion. It’s not like we sat down and had a meeting.”

  “Why do you want to do it, anyway? Aren’t you happy at home?”

  Disappointment surged in my chest and I did my best not to let my exasperation show. Was it really so hard for him to imagine me doing something other than be his wife? I didn’t think it was that difficult to understand, but clearly, Brian needed me to explain it for him.

  “It would be interesting. Fun. Something to help me pass the time. I can only spend so much of my life doting on you and the dogs. Can only spend so much of it gossiping with Emma and the girls, and working out.”

  “I thought you liked all that,” he pushed.

  “I do,” I said, “but I just want to try something different. Is that so terrible?”

  God, I hated this. Hated having to ask his permission to do anything. Because it was his money. We’d played the same stupid game when it came to renovating the Hamptons house. He always had to make sure I knew who provided for this lush life we lived. And in return, I stayed fit, I stayed beautiful, and I played the doting little housewife.

  Well, things had changed in our marriage.

  I needed more.

  I didn’t want to think about why.

  “Fine,” he said, surprising me. “Find an online class. Something cheap, something where you won’t embarrass me by being seen in a college class.”

  “Wonderful,” I said, forcing myself to smile.

  Even though I’d gotten what I wanted, it still felt like a rejection. Compromise. This was a compromise. I would get to take my class. I focused on that.

  “Don’t use this as en excuse to renovate our entire apartment,” Brian said, laughing in a dismissive way.

  I took a long swig of wine. “Wouldn’t dream of it.”

  I wished he saw the value of me following my interests and sharpening my skills. Wished it wasn’t something he’d be embarrassed of, but I swallowed down my frustration along with the rest of my dinner. I’d find a program and get started as soon as possible.

  He’d see. He’d see how much I loved it and how good I was at it.

  He’d come around.

  “I’m in!” Brian whooped at his open laptop.

  We’d gone to bed early, and by the time we’d woken up the next morning, he’d already heard back from the Club.

  “I’m a member of Club Midnight!”

  “How much was the membership fee?” I asked, curious.

  “Just a hundred-grand,” he said, getting up to brush his teeth, like it was chump change.

  For Brian, I supposed it was. His take home was millions. I didn’t mention the hypocrisy, that he felt that was a more worthwhile way to spend his money than sending me to school. I got what I wanted, I reminded myself. He’d change his mind when he saw how good it was for me.

  “I found a few programs last night,” I called to him, still lying in bed and missing Derek more than I should. “I’ll apply today.”

  If he heard me, he didn’t say anything. The shower turned on and I pushed back the covers and stretched. I was sore. Sore from all the fucking and the paddling. Derek had forbidden me from using arnica cream on the bruises. He said he wanted those marks to last as long as possible. I grinned as I remembered the way he’d said it, almost lovingly. I want my brand on your ass for days, Princess.

  I grabbed my phone, and my heart leapt when I saw a text from him.

  SEND ME A PHOTO OF THAT SLUTTY ASS.

  I giggled. It seemed we were thinking about the same thing this morning. I slipped my nightgown off, settled on my stomach in bed, and angled my phone so he could see my ass behind my shoulder. I hit send, along with a message of my own.

  WHERE’S MY PHOTO?

  I waited and waited. Brian was singing songs from Hamilton off-key in the shower. My phone buzzed. I clicked open the message and sucked in a breath. A picture of his perfect, amazing erection filled my phone. I moaned, reading the caption.

  MISS MY COCK?

  I flipped onto my back and grabbed my breasts, taking a photo for him.

  YES. MISS MY TITS?

  His response was immediate.

  I WANT TO COME ALL OVER THEM.

  CAN I TOUCH MYSELF?

  NO.

  I whimpered. Brian walked out of the bathroom, a towel slung low over his hips. I eyed his lean muscles, that tall, wiry frame. Despite his busy schedule, he still managed to get time in at the gym beneath his office. I bit my lip and shot Derek another message.

  CAN BRAIN TOUCH ME?

  NO.

  I whined.

  “Derek say ‘no’ again?” Brian laugh
ed, looking at me in bed with my phone.

  “Yep,” I sighed. “It’s going to be another long week of waiting.”

  “So, I was thinking.” Brian sat next to me on the bed. “I want to go to the Club tonight.”

  “But Derek said you couldn’t take me without him.”

  “I know.”

  I let the words, and all they implied, sink in. I sat up to look at my husband, dropping my phone in the bed.

  “Oh,” I said, unable to hide my surprise. “I didn’t know you wanted to go alone.”

  “I won’t do anything,” he promised. “I just want to see it, explore.”

  “Don’t you have to wait for a Virgin night?”

  “They said ordinarily I would, but since I only just missed it, and since I’m a special friend of Derek’s, they’re sending someone to show me the ropes. A Mistress Saskia—said she was a ‘perfect match’ for me.”

  “Mistress,” I breathed.

  “Not my mistress,” he said, putting his hands up, “just, in general, that’s what she’s called.”

  “You know, it’s…okay. If you want to do something, it’s okay with me.”

  I was astonished to feel the words coming out of my mouth, but as they did so, I knew they were true. I wanted him to explore, to be free. I wanted to give him the freedom he’d given me to discover the darker side of myself. Hell, I’d had an affair and when he found out, he’d given me his blessing instead of denying me. He’d even enthusiastically joined in on it. Giving him my blessing in return was the least I could do.

  “Really?”

  “I know,” I said, smiling. “But it’s only fair. If you want to explore, if you want to see what you like and don’t like, I’m okay with that. I know I can’t give you everything, but I can give you the chance to discover yourself at the Club.”

  Brian hugged me. Kisses landed all over my face. I giggled. He could be so cute when he wanted to be. This honesty, this openness between us, made me feel closer to him than ever. That was the key to making this all work. My secrecy could have destroyed us, and I’d vowed to maintain transparency in this arrangement with Derek.

  “Thank you,” he said, pulling away to hold my face between his hands.

  “Just promise me you’ll be open about everything. I want you to share your experiences with me and for us to always communicate how we feel about, well, everything.”

  Because if I’d communicated my frustrations with Brain from the start, if I’d told him I wanted to sleep with Derek, maybe our little arrangement could have begun much sooner. And in a much healthier way than Derek’s spiteful ex-fling telling Brian about it.

  “Promise,” he said, kissing me deeply.

  I pulled away before things could get too heated. We didn’t have permission from Derek, after all. I got out of bed and put on my work out clothes as Brian put on his suit.

  “What should we have for dinner tonight?” I asked, my sports bra slapping into place and like a steel trap.

  “I think I’m going to eat at work then go straight to the Club.”

  “Oh.” I tried to hide my disappointment, but he picked up on it.

  “It’s closer.” He shrugged. “It doesn’t make sense to come home then go all the way back there.”

  “You’re right,” I smiled. “Who knows, maybe I’ll have homework by the end of the day?”

  Brain laughed in that dismissive way that I chose to ignore. He’d see. He’d see how wrong he was when I aced my class and proved I was a design genius.

  He was looping a blue tie around his neck by the time I’d laced up my sneakers.

  “I’m going for a run in the park with the dogs,” I said, giving him a kiss on the cheek. “Have fun tonight.”

  “Can’t wait to tell you all about it.”

  Excitement gleamed in his eyes and face. He looked like a boy about to go to a carnival. I laughed. I supposed it was exciting. As exciting to him as a run in the park was to the two French Bulldogs who went ballistic when they saw their leashes in my hand.

  I just hoped Brian remembered that he was on a leash, too, and didn’t lose himself running wild.

  DEREK

  “Thanks for watching him,” I said to Jon as Aries wagged his tail so fast it was nothing but a black blur.

  I was happy to see him too. I crouched low and scratched his ears as he licked my jaw. For being a big, tough German Shepherd, he was a damn lovable beast.

  “No problem, boss,” Jon said, “just don’t forget about it when bonus time comes around at the end of the year.”

  “Yeah, yeah,” I laughed, standing and accepting the glass of whiskey he’d offered me.

  Jon was my first hire. The longest working employee at Drake Contracting, he’d been with me over a decade. He handled all of the bullshit so I could focus on what I loved most: the work. And he knew he was getting a big ass bonus this year, just like he did every year.

  “You and all this laughing,” he said, as we settled around his kitchen table, “I don’t know what the hell’s gotten into you, brother, but you’ve been downright cheerful the last few weeks.”

  “I’m always cheerful,” I said, my voice deadpan.

  “Sure, and I shit magical butterflies and rainbows.”

  “What was it you were saying about a bonus?”

  He put his hands up, his smile wide.

  “Just calling it like I see it. I’d love to know what or who you’ve gotten into to make you so damn jolly.”

  I waved him off, taking a sip of the whiskey. I’d just gotten back from Manhattan, and though it was late, I wanted to pick up Aries before the morning. I was in a good mood. The weekend went well. Boundaries were set. New territory was explored. I was enjoying this little arrangement.

  “What? You want a play by play to jerk off to later, you sick fuck?”

  “I wouldn’t say no,” Jon grinned. “But seriously, Derek. I got to ask. Is it that Hale hottie?”

  My hand tightened around my glass. Aries’ tail stopped wagging and his gaze honed in on Jon.

  “What makes you say that?” I asked, carefully.

  So fucking carefully.

  “I’m not blind, man. I can put two and two together. All this started happening when we took on the Hale house at the start of the summer.”

  Aries growled, low and long as I tensed even more. Good dog. Jon gave him a betrayed look. I scratched between the dog’s ears and let out a breath. If I was relaxed, Aries would be relaxed. Silently, I sipped my whiskey, and willed my heart to stop beating so fast.

  I wasn’t sure I wanted to talk about it.

  “Look, I’m not trying to pry,” Jon said, breaking the tension. “I mean, your reaction is telling enough. But I’d be a shit employee and friend if I didn’t say it.”

  “Say what?”

  “Be careful, Derek. Business is good right now. Really damn good. If word gets out you’re sticking it to all the hot trophy wives, these suits won’t hire us to work on their multi-million dollar renovations.”

  “You don’t have to remind me of that,” I said, harshly.

  It had been a concern of mine from the beginning. I’d just decided Alexandra was worth the risk.

  Who was I fucking kidding?

  I hadn’t decided that at all. I just couldn’t control myself around her, so here we were. Risk and all.

  Jon put his hands up in front of him. He shrugged his shoulders like a peace offering. “Okay, okay. I won’t mention it again.”

  I finished my drink. The glass clinked on the wooden table.

  “Thanks for the drink,” I said, getting up.

  “This won’t affect my bonus, right?” he asked, that easy smile on his face again.

  We pressed our chests together, clapping one another on the shoulder.

  “Thanks, again,” I said as he handed me Aries’ leash.

  “Any time, boss.”

  He waved me off from his doorway. Aries jumped right into the front seat of my blue pickup. I turned th
e key and the headlights cut through the darkness. The engine hummed beneath the fingers I curled around the steering wheel. I waved to Jon before backing out of his driveway.

  It was a twenty-minute ride back to my house and my good mood was suddenly gone. All I could think about was what he said. I’d known, from the beginning, I’d known that tangling with a client’s wife was a bad idea. I thought I could be discrete. I hadn’t realized how obvious we’d been.

  Jon was close to me, though. Close in ways most people weren’t. He’d see the changes and be able to notice the pattern of behavior. That didn’t mean other people would. It didn’t mean I wasn’t discrete.

  I cracked the window and let Aries hang out the side. So many scents for him to smell. An entire world, waiting to be explored. That was how being with Alexandra felt. The things we did together…the way she made me feel…it was special.

  I wasn’t stupid enough not to recognize that.

  I’d had play partners before, but none like her. None that I wanted to push boundaries with, none that I lusted after. I’d never craved anyone or anything the way I did Alexandra Hale. My body just needed her. She was my fix. Already, I was feeling the effects of withdrawal from her.

  And that wasn’t like me. I didn’t get attached. I didn’t get possessive. I didn’t fucking engage in a three-way cuckold relationship with my clients and their wives. But Alexandra brought out the beast in me. She made it express itself in new, creative ways.

  It rumbled, happy.

  Mine.

  I wondered what she was doing now. Was she pleased when I left and it was just her and Brian? Or did she miss me as much as I fucking missed her when we were apart? I scowled. This weekend had been good, but it wasn’t easy. All I’d wanted to do was lock her in a bedroom and keep her there. Not just to fuck and use.

  No. I wanted to hold her for hours.

  I wanted to inhale her scent, feel her warmth, and taste her pleasure as I worshipped her with my mouth. I wanted to take her out to fucking dinner and a movie. And maybe even a long, moonlit walk on the beach. Treat her nice and then fuck her until she went hoarse from screaming. Then, if the beast poked its head out, I’d tie her up and fuck her some more.