Chapter 1 The afternoon sun was a brutal, brilliant gold, casting long shadows across the trail they’d been navigating since dawn. Jamie’s skin glistened with a fine sheen of sweat and sunscreen, her breaths coming in steady, rhythmic puffs as they pressed forward. They had planned this three-night weekend hike meticulously—packing light but ensuring they had everything they needed for the rugged terrain and secluded nigh...

Open wide! Alice holds a telephone. The monotonous tone of an engaged line, repeats its endless cycle. She curses and hangs up. After waiting a few minutes, with her frustration simmering, she tries again. This time, her patience is rewarded when the number she is calling rings out. “Hello, Johnson Road Dental. How may I help you?” the receptionist at the other end enunciates. “Good morning," replies Alice. “Could I make...

The sky rumbled. It was about to rain. I must hurry back. I was on an errand to buy some titbits and knick-knacks. It was just a casual detour from my otherwise routine Indian housewife schedule. I did most of my grocery shopping online, but whenever my husband was away on a business tour for two or three days, I eloped on such errands. The weather was hot and humid. So, I had tied my lush, waist-length long hair in a sim...

This happened one day when I used to read house meters for a living. Some meters are inside houses; others are on the outside. On this occasion this meter was on the back of this bungalow. I rang the doorbell, but there was no answer, so I made my way to the side of the house, through a gate to the rear. As I passed a window, something caught my eye. I stopped being curious, and I couldn’t believe my eyes. There was a big...

Chapter 1 Vacation It was the summer of my eighteenth year. The feeling of being at a threshold, on the edge of something new. Father, Mother and I were to go on vacation. But, Father had to back out at late notice because of an unforeseen work contingency. A faraway locale, a continent away. So, there we were, in a place we knew nobody, blissfully anonymous. Liberating, though I couldn’t really say for what. *** It was a...

I came home from work earlier than usual to surprise my wife who was working from home. Opening the front door, I hoped she was in the mood for sex, as it had been a while for us. Stepping inside, I heard some faint moaning sounds from our bedroom. The door was ajar and through the narrow opening I saw the source of the sounds. On the wall mounted television an attractive curvaceous woman was being ravished by three black...

At 42, Johnny still felt like he was in his prime—six feet tall, 225 pounds of muscle, and a body he worked hard to maintain. His small house-remodeling business kept him busy, but it also kept him in shape. He loved the work, loved the cars he collected, and yeah, he loved the attention he got from the babes. But all that took a backseat now. He was a married man, and his wife Joanie was the love of his life. Joanie was...

And so began a normal day, full of normal goings-on, followed by a string of other days, much the same as the one before. Things seemed to have become a little more inwardly settled. Mallory was measurably more comfortable, and I was very relieved to see that. I suppose “The Event” wasn’t the most predominant thing on her mind. In fact, it hadn’t even been mentioned in more than a couple of weeks. I assumed that she hadn’...

Part 1 The bright morning sun felt different on my skin. Possessive. It was like it was laying a warm hand over every single place Colin had marked. I was practically floating across the hot, sugary sand. The sound of the surf was lazy, just this distant rhythm, but my blood was thrumming. My red lifeguard bikini... it didn't feel like a uniform. It felt more like a victory banner, you know? Stretched tight across my body...