I'd fulfilled a lifelong ambition and moved to the county of Suffolk, in the southeast of England, the place of my forebears. My pension as a senior aircraft engineer, and my share of the house I shared with Barbara, just about ran to a broken down cottage four miles out of Ipswich. The place was still in the family, owned by an aunt Gwen, whom I barely knew and was related by marriage and no blood relation to me.
It was midsummer, and I was busy fixing up the place, which really needed much more work than I could afford, so a clean up and fresh paint job had to suffice. The tiny south-facing front garden clearly hadn't been tended for years, and because it enjoyed so much sun, I made it my first job; I couldn't wait to enjoy a glass of wine, sitting on the rickety old bench by the front door.
A week saw the job done and my first cool drink in the sunshine, and that was when I first met Gwen, who, along with my ex wife, had organised the cottage for me. "All done, I see. Lovely to see the old place coming alive again." I looked up to see a woman standing at the gate with her dog.
"Yes thanks, beautiful day, isn't it?"
She introduced herself as aunt Gwen, and said that she walked her dog every day around this time. She was related to my dad's side, although it was my mother who had alerted me to the possibility of buying the cottage. She and dad rented it in the summer for several years.
Auntie Gwen was pleasant, a typical product of the English middle class. I'm guessing she was in her late forties. She wore a pleated tweed skirt, sensible shoes, and a blouse with a frilly collar that struggled to contain what appeared to be rather interesting breasts.
I saw Gwen from time to time with her dog. We normally just waved, but sometimes she'd come to the gate knowing full well I would offer a glass of wine. That was about the extent of it until one afternoon in late July. I'd finished my work in the house and was enjoying a beer in the front garden when Gwen appeared on the lane. She appeared to be hobbling and clearly in some distress as she arrived at the gate, sweating and wincing.
"You ok," I said, "what's happened?"
"Damn dog, bolted after a rabbit, pulled me over. I think I've sprained my ankle," she said.
A pack of frozen peas on her foot and a rather large glass of chilled Sauvignon soon calmed her down. We chatted for a while, and when it got chilly we went inside. Gwen proved to be a charming surprise.
Apparently, she was married to the local vicar and took part in all the activities you'd expect of an English country lady, WI, charity fundraisers, jumble sales, and so on.
But auntie Gwen also proved to be unexpectedly outspoken, brash even, and had no problem with one or two glasses of Sauvignon Blanc which, on this occasion, seemed to have loosened her tongue. What came next I could never have foreseen.
"Miles and I have been married for four years now," she said. "Actually, I'd always suspected he may be gay during our courtship, if you can call it that. He made no sexual advances to me, and eventually he just told me he had a reason.
Miles had been looking for a parish for some time and was taken aside by the Bishop one day. He was advised that to get married would work wonders for his prospects. So this was the deal; Miles and I would marry. He would provide us with a decent living, a nice house and a steady, secure life, on the understanding that the marriage would never be consummated. He told me that if a sexless union became too onerous for me, I could seek my pleasure elsewhere, with maximum discretion, of course. I was in my mid forties, and men weren't exactly banging down the door, so I went for it."
I sat there, stunned. This was all very interesting, but why on earth was she telling me? The last thing I expected was an insight into her private life, not least her sex life!
"Well, that's enough of that. I can't imagine why I shared all that with you. It must show how at ease I am with you," she said, and placed a hand on my knee, giving it a little squeeze.
By the time Gwen left, I had to admit, she was thoroughly enchanting. Not least the hint of those tantalising breasts hidden from view, that jiggled and heaved when she threw her shoulders back to laugh, which she did often. She extended her hand. "Well thank you Mark, apart from the ankle, it's been a very pleasant afternoon." Her hand was soft and warm and she held on just that fraction of a second more than necessary, long enough to get me thinking... surely not!
Gwen continued to walk her dog past the house, and sometimes she'd visit. She was magnificently eccentric, good fun and occasionally a little naughty. It was near the end of August when she just appeared at the front door. I asked her in and poured her a glass of wine. Her mood differed from any I had seen before.
"You're very serious Gwen, is everything alright?" I said. She took a large gulp of wine.
"Mark, I want to talk to you. I've thought over and over how to approach this since you first arrived, and there's no way other than to come straight out with it."
She was clearly nervous. I topped up her wine, sat back, and waited. "I've enjoyed our afternoon chats Mark. You're an interesting man; intelligent, handsome and very sexy, you know that." At that point, my curiosity was running wild. I walked into the kitchen to top up the wine, and partly to collect my thoughts. I thought I could see where this was going, but couldn't quite believe it.
But Gwen followed me in. She stood facing me. "The thing is, I'm no angel. I had a great time at uni but that was a long time ago. But now, I need more. Honestly, I need a companion. I mean a man, of course, but not any man. I need discretion. It's essential, someone I can trust. I'm well known and respected in the town. I'm the vicar's wife, after all."
"I know I'm older than you, but you seem to like me, and I'm obviously very attracted to you. So, I've put myself out on a perilous limb here, because I could just embarrass both of us, and that would be disastrous. But I've decided it's worth a try. Basically, Mark, I need a sexual companion. This barren relationship with Miles is killing me. If you'll excuse the salty language, I suppose I'm asking you to fuck me."
I stood with my head down, gobsmacked. "Say something, Mark, for God's sake. I'm dying here," she said. I instinctively put my hands on her shoulders and pulled her in for a hug.
Her face was on my neck, and I lifted her chin to face me and talk. "Look Gwen," but she moved into me suddenly and kissed me, draping her arms around my neck. She held the kiss, and her tongue flicked into my mouth. Her lips were puffy but warm, and those breasts pressed hard on my chest. I moved my hands instinctively up to caress them, and then I was kissing her back! Our tongues danced together as I felt her hand moving over my crotch. She began tracing out the outline of my rapidly thickening cock through my pants. As she felt it responding, her breathing quickened, her kissing became more urgent with gentle moans intermingled with them.
"Take me upstairs, Mark," she whispered.
Gwen stood by the bed, twiddling her fingers. She looked nervous, childlike even. I moved closer to her and placed my hands on her breasts, gently squeezing them. “Do you like them?” she said. “I’ve seen you looking at them.”