With a high-pitched laugh, my fiance, slammed her hand against the door to our apartment, preventing me from closing it. "You jerk! You really aren't kidding."

I shrugged. "Did I say something to give the impression that I was?"

"Oh, right, because it's not like every other word that's ever come out of your mouth, since the day I met you, was dripping with sarcasm," she said. As she did, she slid back into the doorway and wrapped her arms around my neck.

My hands encircled her ridiculously narrow waist. I could press my thumbs together in the front and just about touch my other fingers together around the back, she was so thin. Or, rather, her waist was that thin. Nonetheless, she had a hefty pair of tits. Being well into her thirties, Lily was a good decade younger than me, but she'd still been carrying those boulders around long enough on such a small frame that it made no sense that there wasn't a chiropractor in her life.

She had an ass to match them too. Mostly muscle, but also a nice bit of padding.

With a body like that, her face could have been completely busted, and she'd still be one of the hottest women I'd ever met. But it wasn't. She was gorgeous. Her skin was white as milk, her hair dark as night, thick, and lustrous.

Physically, at least, she had everything I looked for in a woman. But we'd only been together a few weeks, so I wasn't really sure that we were much of a match in other respects. As my family never tired of reminding me. And I knew they were right. Knew that I was deluding myself when I said that she was smart, funny, full of vitality, and kind. Funny might have been true, but when you're intoxicated by a woman's very scent, everything she says makes you laugh. And smart? Granted, as a successful academic at a top research university, my standards were a bit tough to meet. But I knew I wasn't marrying a intellectual peer. And full of vitality was probably just another way of saying that we weren't compatible. I didn't live for skydiving, surfing, rock-climbing, and all that. My ideal day off, to the extent that I even knew what that meant, involved a good mix of coffee, Scotch, and reading. Which, to Lily, meant it involved nothing but sitting down.

Still, for all that the logical part of my economist's mind knew better, I was convinced she was perfect for me. Ain't love grand?

"Okay, forward-slash end open-bracket sarcasm close-bracket. I'm serious."

She scrunched up her nose in distaste. My colleagues would get the joke, but no doubt all Lily heard was a bunch of meaningless nerdspeak. "I'm going to spend the day alone with your brother. Even though your whole family is in town, and you've been telling me for days that they're dying to meet me. And you really don't mind?"

"I know it can be a bit much, with all of them around. Wouldn't want to put you through that any sooner than necessary," I said. Then, with a grin, I added, "Besides, this way, I get a few hours without having to tell you that, no, I don't think it will rain. You know, when the weatherman says there's a five percent chance of precipitation, it really is pretty unlikely that it will rain."

She punched my chest. "Jackass." Then, she added, "Besides, it still could. Just you watch. He's going to be wrong, and my wedding will be ruined, and you'll have a miserable bride on your hands, with no backup plans. And then won't you just feel stupid."

I could have noted that my statement did not in any way preclude the possibility that it could still rain. That it had in fact literally quantified that possibility. I might even have pointed out that if it did end up raining, it would not make the weatherman "wrong," and so, no, I would not feel stupid. No more so than I did when I made what was inarguably the right call, statistically speaking, at the poker table, only to have my opponent get lucky on the river. I could have said such things. But I knew that my attempt to draw a distinction between what was knowable ex ante and what came to be true ex post would have gone over about as well as the nerdy joke she'd just turned her nose up at.

So, instead, I simply kissed her nose.

It was just a touch too big, and was one of her very few physical imperfections. I loved her the more for it. It reminded me that she was a real person, that this wasn't a dream.

"What if Todd wasn't married? Would you trust him with me then?"

"Of course. Todd has taste. Have you seen Holly?"

Lily punched me again, a bit more forcefully. But she smirked as she did.

I didn't quite get how that worked. I'd been with plenty of women who got very upset at any sign that I found other women attractive. Not Lily though. She too had her limits, sure. One time, I'd made the mistake of talking to another woman for too long at a party, and that had really set her off. But as long as it wasn't too blatant, the occasional reminder to her that I knew that I had other options got her in the mood for sex more reliably than just about anything else could.

Not that my brother's wife counted. Or shouldn't have anyway. I might have options, but Holly most certainly wasn't one of them.

That didn't seem to matter though. Lily's nipples were hardening, and pressing against her tight halter top. It was all I could do to keep my hands to myself when I wanted nothing so much as to pop her beautiful big beasts out of that skimpy little top and fondle them. Perhaps suck on them a bit. Then titty-fuck her.

"And you also don't mind me having a bachelorette party the night before the wedding."

"Best get it all out of your system now," I said.

"Ha," she said, entirely without mirth. "Seriously. Your family won't be offended by that? I know you said they're pretty open-minded, but still."

"If they notice your absence, I doubt they'll care," I said. Then, tightening up for the third punch, I added, "Not like they're ready to accept you as part of the family anyway."

"You're pushing it, mister." But no third blow came.

Which, perhaps, was a sign that I really was getting close to the edge.

So I planted another kiss on her nose and said, "I think they got all that defensive bullshit out of the way years ago, when Todd and Natalie got married. Besides, they trust my judgment. They're eager to meet you, sure, but it's not like we're waiting for the final okay before we can actually tie the knot."

#

When I arrived at the hotel, I headed straight for my room. Ostensibly, I'd reserved one for myself because I'd intended to do some drinking. Even though our apartment was just across town, the drive was a good fifteen minutes and the last thing I needed was a DWI right before the wedding. But of course, the real reason was that I wanted to signal to Lily that I didn't mind leaving her alone in our apartment, and wanted her to wonder why I might want a room to myself.

After all, it wasn't like I'd never driven after having a few before. Irresponsible, but true.

However, at that moment, there was yet another reason I was happy I'd thought to reserve a room for myself. I realized that at some point, I'd decided that I was going to get laid tonight. I wasn't just trying to get Lily to wonder if maybe there was an outside chance that I was thinking about it. It was going to happen. Without a doubt.

Because I was going to fuck some of the women of my family.

I should have wanted to vomit at the thought. Shame just wasn't answering its phone though. Nor was guilt. On some level, I think, that was because I knew I'd done it so many times before. That incest was a family tradition. I couldn't actually remember ever fucking any other members of my family, granted. But I still knew that I had.

It was like I was living two lives at once. In one, I was an ordinary guy who'd had a few relationships that never went anywhere, mostly because I'd been married to my work. On another, I was a depraved fuck whose sexual experiences were almost exclusively with his closest relatives. And I felt sure that in this other life, which might have been pure fantasy or delusion and I might not have known the difference, I had supernatural powers. Powers that made me that much better at sex. And, the kicker was, so did all of the women of my family. So why would I want to fuck anyone else?

But that was crazy. It was something some guy who'd never kissed a girl in his life, let alone had sex with one, would dream up. Wasn't it?

I tried to put the thought out of my mind. Dream or no, I shouldn't be thinking about such things tonight of all nights. I should just shower and go to sleep.

Someone was knocking at the door to my hotel room. At least, I thought that was what I heard. With the shower running, it was hard to tell. I turned off the water.

Yup, there was definitely someone knocking. Persistently too.

I stepped out of the shower, threw a towel around my waist, and scurried out to answer the door, without bothering to slip into my clothes.

Because it sounded so urgent.

Right.

Not because I was hoping to have one of my aunts catch me half-naked.

My sister-in-law stood there, mouth agape. She blushed as she drank in my physique. I wasn't the hottest guy around, but for someone who spent all his time hunched over a keyboard, I still looked pretty good. Only a little bit of a beer gut, and arms that were much beefier than they needed to be. I also had a rather handsome face, if I did say so myself.

Holly had aged even more gracefully. Her lush black hair belonged in a shampoo commercial. She could have used a curvier figure, but she was still quite attractive. In her youth, she'd been an underwear model. Even if Todd hadn't shown me pictures, I'd have believed him. She looked like she might still have the body for it.

Lily was pretty. She had a decidedly exotic beauty to her. You might not guess she was Persian, but it was clear she didn't come from European stock. And I liked that.

But Holly? Even in her late forties, she was gorgeous. Her skin was not as firm as it had once been, but it was striking all the same. From her full, ruby red lips, to her porcelain skin, lustrous hair, big brown eyes, long lashes and lush eyebrows, to her delicate chin and high cheekbones, she was almost like the Platonic ideal of classical beauty made flesh.

At least, from the neck up. Her stick-figure body hardly qualified as classical. That was strictly a modern obsession, as far as I could tell. Her waist was as thin as Lily's, but unlike my fiance, the rest of her body matched her waist. Her legs had only the faintest hint of curves. Her hips were narrow. She did have a decent pair of breasts, for her frame, but they were a few cup sizes smaller than Lily's.

Still, modest though her curves were, she was a hot little number. And I couldn't look at her without thinking about how good those lips must feel wrapped around my cock. It certainly didn't hurt that she was wearing next to nothing. A frilly white blouse that was just long enough to cover what needed covering, white opaque knee-high stockings, and red patent-leather heels. A matching red silk ribbon was tied around her slender throat.

Had I thought to myself just a few hours ago that even if I had options, they didn't include my sister-in-law? Was there even a shred of evidence that she was any less madly in love with Todd than on the day they'd married?

In one world, that was true. But not the other.

I chuckled. "Where's the fire?"

Holly blushed. "Sorry. Didn't know you were in the shower."

"S'okay. Come on in. Just give me a second," I said.

She went and sat on the edge of the bed while I slipped back into the bathroom and put on a clean pair of silk boxers. Good enough, I decided. It left a great deal of my body-builder's physique exposed, but to hell with propriety.

Wait, my what physique?

I was a tenured professor who kept better care of himself than most academics, but I did not have the kind of muscle definition that would allow a picture of me to serve in place of those diagrams in anatomy textbooks that showed all the muscles. Didn't have a six-pack, let alone an eight-pack with such deep grooves between each of the rounded muscles that you could sink half a finger inside. That chest belonged on the cover of a magazine filled with advertisements for semi-legal supplements. My shoulders and arms were like cannonballs. And unlike some gym rats, my legs were equally powerful and chiseled.

Even my face looked different. A lot leaner, and just a little bit younger. My hair was mostly brown, but there was enough silver, especially at the temples, to make women say I looked distinguished. That jaw was much broader than I thought I was used to seeing.

After admiring myself a bit too long, I went back into the room to join Holly.

She sat on the bed, eying me from head to toe without batting an eyelash at my chosen attire. Or the sudden change in my figure.

"So, what's up?" I asked.

"Nothing," she said. "Just kind of lonely." Suddenly, her soft voice picked up volume. "I can't believe you suggested that Todd and Lily go out on the town together!"

I laughed. "What, are you really worried?"

She sighed and stared down into her lap. "I shouldn't be?"

Propping a hip against the dresser across from her, I said, "Come on."

"Well, okay, of course I know how neurotic this sounds. We've been married for twenty five years. But have you seen that woman?"

I snickered. "More of her than your husband has, I assure you."

She blushed. "I should hope so. But you know what I mean. I don't think there's a woman alive who wouldn't feel insecure next to her. She's like a cartoon, with that figure."

"I don't know about-"

Holly held up her hands in protest. "I know, I know. I'm sorry. I didn't mean that. It's not even like I'm ashamed of how I look. I like my body, even if I don't have huge boobs. But, you know, it's not everyday Todd takes another woman out to dinner and drinks, let alone one who looks like she could be a pornstar."

I approached the bed slowly, went down on my haunches, and took one of Holly's hands in mine. "I trust him. And her. You should too."

"How can you be so calm? We're talking about your soon-to-be-wife."

"Exactly."

She blew a stray ringlet of hair away from her face. "Frank, don't take this the wrong way, but there's a point where really romantic turns into really naive. No one, not no one, is entirely above temptation. The trick to a successful marriage is to avoid putting yourself in inappropriate situations, not to blindly believe that your spouse has superhuman willpower and would never, under any circumstances, turn unfaithful."

"Is that so?"

"It is," she said.

"So you probably shouldn't be alone in my hotel room, with me wearing nothing but my underwear. Is that what you're saying?"

"That's diff-"

"Why?" I asked.

She looked me in the eyes, and I knew in that instant that we were going to fuck. The only question was how much pretense we were going to bother with first.

"You wouldn't," she said.

"I wouldn't?"

She fretted at her lower lip with her white teeth.

Leaning in, my breath hot on her neck, I asked, "Why not?"

Her breathing accelerated, and I noticed her legs ease apart.

I felt her desire swelling. I don't know how I sensed it. But I did.

She turned her head away. Perhaps avoiding my gaze, but perhaps offering her slender neck to me. "Because." Meanwhile, one of her stocking feet slid up my calf.

"I could. Right now."

"Yes," she said, after a long pause. "You could."

I kissed her neck, sucked on her earlobe. She moaned in utter ecstasy.

Holly rested one hand on the back of my head, pressing me tight against her.

I pulled back after a fashion. Though I'd been the one whose mouth was preoccupied, it was Holly who was gasping for air.

"Well, now we're in quite the predicament," I said. "All our rationalizations for being sure our lovers aren't going to do anything suddenly look pretty flimsy. So maybe we should just go ahead and do what we both know we want to. How can we be blamed, after all, if they're doing the same right now?"

That made no sense, and we both knew it, but neither of us cared.

I dropped my boxers, and noticed the way her eyes bulged as she drank in my size. I knew I was ordinarily nowhere near this...