“You could say that.”
“What’s your name?” she asked him.
“Steve, Steve Champion.”
“I’m Alex.” They shook hands as if they’d just met, both embarrassed spending two hours together in nameless anonymity.
“Well, Steve Champion, since you’re so perceptive about my horniness and my anger, you think my fucking you would soothe what pains me?”
“I think it’s a good place to start.”
“All right. You say the back of your van?”
“Can you think of any place better?”
Of course she could think of a better place, like right across the hall from Reg. For one delicious instant she wondered what would happen if she exchanged grunts, groans and giggles with the couple across the hall. A regular symphony of infidelity. She even imagined Reggie’s outraged expression and the feel of a crop that would land on her behind before the night was over. But then, it was just a pipe-dream reverie. Why not in the back of the van? Having gone from stone, cold sober to slightly off kilter—her drink beginning to take effect—she forgot about why she was on this vacation away from home in the first place. And she walked out the door on the arm of Steve, the pool shark, Champion.
It was surprisingly clean in the back of the van. Alex sat on the bare stripped mattress and accepted a couple of hits from his hand rolled joint. Pulling her sweater over her head, her bare breasts bounced against her chest while the young man eyed them like he’d just opened the latest Penthouse centerfold. She pinched her nipples for him, so when she was finished they stood out like two mountain peaks from the center of her white skin—all pinkish purple. Raising one breast in her hand she bent her head to taste with her tongue the remains of body cream, perfume and sweat. It might have been a slow seduction but Steve was anxious. Pushing her back, he buried his head between the gentle hillocks of her bosom, letting nose and teeth and tongue devour the feminine essence. Like a teenager just beyond the first stages of puberty, he eagerly pushed down her pants in one of those first bursts of awkward lust. If he was trying to prove his sexual prowess, he didn’t have to go further than the cock he pulled from his jeans. It was a really fine prick with a gentle curve to its erect form. Alex parted her legs and offered up her wet home without hesitation. He screwed her hard, pounding her as if it were the first and the last fuck he’d ever have. Groveling at her body, he ran nails and mouth and hands ungracefully over her flesh. Where he was callow and bungling, he made up for in innocent passion. Alex stroked his head and kissed his neck, and blew softly in his ear to gentle his fury, and the boy of twenty answered, letting his innocence and excitement give way to fluid sexual heat and languid sighs. He came at the same time, and they both sighed heavily afterwards. Then as he waking up, she led his hand to her clit, directing him to toy with it carefully until her climax crashed through her hungry body.
Alex loved herself afterwards for having been bold enough to have the kid in the van, but she hated the guilt that swept in as she drove her car up Reggie’s back drive. With her heart pounding in her throat, she made the back steps and into her room without a light going on. Slipping into bed she thought she’d made the entire trip without having been discovered.
However, with Reggie probing now, even if it was a gentle probing, she was afraid that she had not been as discreet as she hoped.
***
There was a swift knock on her bedroom door the next morning. A quick glance at the clock, she saw that it was not yet eight o’clock. Saturday morning, after not having slept well the night before, it seemed normal enough to sleep in. But Reggie obviously had other ideas. “Get up, Alex, we’re going riding,” he announced opening her door without having any answer from her.
“Well, just barge right in,” she said, annoyed and groggy.
“I have,” he said. “Get your clothes on.”
“Is there some reason you’re commandeering me like this?” she asked.
“Yes, I want company on my ride. It’s a beautiful day. And you’re not going to stay in here and be lazy. You do have your riding clothes?”
“I like being lazy. And yes, my riding clothes are in the closet.”
“Then get them. I’ll wait.” He stared down at her, fully expecting her to jump from the bed and dress for him. Seeing that he would not be discouraged, she sighed heavily and tried opening her eyes wide. There was no use being modest with the man. Despite the fact that she was naked, he wasn’t budging, so she pulled herself from the bed and dug around in the closet for the jodhpurs and baggy gray sweatshirt she wore when she rode. Finding the items she started to dress.
“Quit looking at me like that,” she finally spit out, annoyed.
“Like what?”
“Like you want to cane my ass before we start.”
“I can’t help that, love. It’s so natural with you,” he retorted.
“My ass is mine for the day if you don’t mind.”
“We’ll see about that,” he grinned coolly.
“Stop doing that!” she snapped.
“Doing what?”
“Acting like I’m guilty of something.”
“Then why are you reacting?”
“Oh, I do hate you!” she snarled, as she stormed toward the bathroom and slammed the door to have some peace while she finished getting ready.
The ride through the woods and meadows of Reggie’s property was exceptional. The sun tenderly caressed her shoulders and the early morning air was still crisp enough to course her system giving it an invigorating shock. However, the spirit of the day had a mind-numbing effect, and Alex got careless with her jumping. Taking an unusually high fence, the mare balked, and Alex took a tumble and fell to the ground. Reggie was off his horse in an instant, squatting at her side looking rightfully concerned. She was embarrassed.
“You okay?”
She shook out her arms and wiggled her hips. “Yes. I’ll survive,” she replied still shocked by the sudden fall.
“You’re sure?” he asked, as he helped her to her feet and watched her test her hesitant body.
“Yes, I’m just a little shaky.”
“No more jumping,” he warned her.
“She was doing so beautifully.”
“I’ve never known you to take such chances. Jocelyn yes. But you’re usually more conservative.”
“It’s the day,” she advised him as he helped her to the saddle.
“That and far more spunk that you need,” he said. “But, no more. Will would have my hide if you end up with a broken leg.”
“That I’d like to see.”
Reggie’s eyes narrowed sternly. “Just take it easy,” he advised.
That wasn’t hard to do, since she was still trembling, her stomach doing flip-flops. They rode just a few miles more, and then turned for the stables, taking the last mile at a quick but easy clip along a well-traveled lane.
Once off her mount, Alex led the mare to her stall and began to remove the bridle and saddle. She was such a sweet animal. She still couldn’t believe that she’d misjudged the fence and fallen. Nuzzling the mare, her gentle coo and careful stroking seemed only appropriate since she considered it her fault for taking the horse to a jump she was unaccustomed to. She remained lost in the affectionate moment until she heard footsteps behind her. Jerking around, she saw Reggie standing there, and cringed noting the riding crop in his hand.
“You planning to use that?” she asked him directly.
“Only if it’s necessary.”
“I thought we covered that territory,” she said, not sure if Reggie was serious or just teasing.
“And I haven’t yet had a flat denial from you, Alexandra,” he reminded her.
“What do you think I have to confess?” she replied.
“Why don’t you tell me,” he stated flatly.
“If there’s nothing?”
“Is there nothing?”
Reggie’s pursuit of the matter made her suspicious. Did he know about her night out? The possibility was looming formidably and she was getting more nervous fending off the inescapable reply.
Reggie tapped the crop against his leg and she stared at it. Did he read her thoughts? Could he feel the agitation in her belly? Could he sense the arousal in her sex and know that she was feeling slightly dizzy?
“You know, I think that fall is catching up with me,” she said.
“Convenient time,” he suggested.
“What if you let me take a breather?” she appealed to him like a withering flower of a woman.
“Alexandra,” he barked at her harshly. “Answer me honestly and you can go.”
She thought about the possibilities and the consequences, knowing that the way he leaned on her he must have a clue about that night. If he did know and she denied it, any punishment he chose would be more severe. Her palms were sweating. Her dizziness turning to nausea. She was about to blush, a dead giveaway.
“Your hesitation speaks loudly,” he finally prompted her.
“Does it? Or is there something else motivating this third degree?”
“Why don’t you just tell me and we can get it over with.”
“You mean about the night I sneaked out of the house?” she finally confessed that much.
He raised his eyebrows. “Tell me.”
“I needed a breather, Reg, with you and that trollop of yours going at it like minks. I don’t think I’ve known you to be so obvious with the women you’re fucking.”
“And that gave you permission to leave this house? Against my wishes? Against Will’s orders?”
“You think you have me imprisoned here?”
“I think you’re a wayward wife that needs to be bridled for her own best interests. So tell me, what did you do?”
Alex fumed a bit, afraid mostly. Afraid because Reggie’s genius with her extended to her ability to lie—which she’d always found impossible to do with the man. After a few minutes of painful wavering she finally gave in. “Oh, hell,” she retorted. “It didn’t start out that way. But he was this cute, young stud, and we were playing pool at that tavern on the highway. I didn’t even think we’d end up in bed. In fact we didn’t really go to bed at all. The back of his van was perfect for what he wanted.”
Hearing the complete confession Reggie eyes turned from mildly severe to piercing hot. “You mean to tell me that you not only walked out of the house, you fucked some stranger in the back of a van?” The harsh judgment was more than she expected. She trembled afraid.
“Why should you be so surprised? That’s what you expected, wasn’t it?”
“I hoped I was wrong,” he spit venom. “You’ve become quite the whore. Talk about trollops and tramps.”
“You think I’m a tramp?”
“Was it even a week ago?”
“A week…?” She stared at him blankly.
“That Will punished you?”
“I guess it wasn’t much more than that,” she admitted.
“You came here just to avoid another misstep. And you couldn’t stay out of another man’s pants for a week.”
As he upbraided her, his expression became more chilling, something she always thought was impossible; but the hot and cold of his emotions mingled freely and poured out onto her in a tortuous bath.
“You’re so careless with your marriage, it’s a wonder that Will still loves you,” he retorted.
“You still love Jocelyn,” she reminded him.
For a moment Alex thought that he was going to slap her face. The glare in his eye was the dangerous one she should have been avoiding. “You know I thought this was going to be a very easy respite for you staying here, keeping your nose away from temptation, your body behaving, your mind in control. I guess I should have locked you up and tossed the key in the lake.”
“Reggie please, you make it sound so disastrous.”
“I warned you once to watch your marriage. But obviously it didn’t have much effect. Either that, or you seriously need to be punished and this is your way to get it.”
“I promise you it’s not that.”
“Nonetheless, we’ll take care of that matter right now.”
“Maybe you should wait for Will. He is coming home soon.”
“I’m sure he’ll take care of things himself when he returns, but his wishes were quite clear when he left. “Make her toe the line or make her ass pay.”
Alex remembered the words when they were first spoken, even though they were in the form of a joke. Apparently Reggie had a different recollection of that quick conversation. Alex stared again at the crop.
“Bare your ass, spread your legs and bend over that bar,” he said pointing to a thigh high sawhorse that was covered with an old horse blanket.
“Here, right here?”
Reggie viewed her with a haughty resolve and didn’t budge an inch in his physical stance or his purpose.
“You know this crop’s going to sting, but if that’s not enough for you, there’s a horse whip in the office I can use. I warn you, it’ll be a whole lot more damaging.”
“No. That’s all right,” she replied, immediately raising her sweatshirt so that she could undo the clasp at her pants. Peeling the jodhpurs from her hips, she turned around and exposed her hind end to Reggie’s gaze. Though she was terrified, the thrill of submitting to a punishment from him shot little darts of desire through her mid-section. To know that her body adored the act was always embarrassing. To know that she was even juicier between her thighs because he was staring at her with his threatening eyes was further torment.