We arrived home around midnight and I followed my lovely wife into the shower. I washed her spent body, dried her off, and settled her in bed. I had a lot on my mind and really wanted time to process it all, but that would have to wait. Right now, Liz needed me to hold her and I gladly did just that until she fell into a deep sleep.

I got up and went to the shop. I wandered around tinkering with stuff for a while before pouring myself a substantial drink of eighteen-year-old Highland Park Single Malt. I like it on the rocks, so sue me. I sat back and thought things through for a while. The next thing I knew, it was two in the morning, my glass was empty, and I was ready for bed. A short while later, I was spooning Liz as I faded into sleep.

I slept later than usual and woke when Liz stirred. She’d stiffened up overnight and was walking rather gingerly when she went to the bathroom. I got up and fixed her a nice breakfast and sat with her while she ate. As soon as she finished I tucked her back into bed and she was quickly back to sleep. A short while later, I left the house for the shop. As soon as I arrived I put the surveillance camera feeds up on the big screen. I decided that as long as Jeff was in the picture, I would be keeping an eye on the house anytime Liz was home alone.

I started banging away at a story and hadn’t been at it long when the shop door opened. I looked up and Tammy stood there looking very fetching in her skintight yoga pants, wife beater t-shirt, and sports bra.

“Hey Dan, whatcha up to?”

“Just writing a little.”

She walked over and sat down on the spare office chair, and wheeled it up next to me. “Mom and Dad took Tessy today and she won’t be back until after dinner. So, what are you writing?”

I told her the premise and how it inexorably led to a very happily serviced wife. We got into a great discussion about the mood in some of my stories. She much preferred the lighter-hearted stuff and I agreed with her, “The thing is, though I start with an idea and some basic character traits, once the writing starts, the situation and characters take on a life of their own, and most times I run with it. Believe me; there have been some stories that went down such a dark path that I stopped writing and deleted them.”

“It’s easy to go down a dark path and use sex as a basis for betrayal and revenge. I don’t read to feel depressed. I read to feel uplifted and that’s the way I like to write most of the time. There are times, though, when the characters are what they are and their path isn’t easy or fun. If that is what the story demands, then I’m not going to force it in another direction. I really don’t care if the story isn’t rated all that high. I don’t write for ratings, although I do track them, and I’m not above being a bit proud of how well I’ve been received.”

“I write because people have shown a willingness to read my stories. I probably wouldn’t do it if nobody was interested in reading my stuff. It’s freeing to let the story take me where it will and know that at least a few people will take the time to read it. I’m grateful that they did, and that motivates me to write more.”

She nodded, then chuckled. “I’ve read the comments on your stories. Some of them are less than flattering.”

I chuckled with her. “Yeh, there is that. I don’t have an issue with a negative comment from an informed reader. If they actually read the story and make a minimal effort to understand it, their comment is probably informative. I’ve learned some things from those kinds of comments that have made me a better writer.”

“Then, of course, there are the anonymous haters striking out. In most cases, it’s pretty obvious they didn’t read the story or stopped when they read about a relationship they didn’t approve of. If they had their way I would write exactly what they told me to write. I ignore those comments without a second thought.”

“I’ve learned in life that modern miracles can be two-edged. Technology allows people to express opinions very publicly, to tons of people, about subjects they know little about. Being hateful to strangers online is a popular pastime for some people. I can’t make it go away and I can’t change it, so I choose to ignore it and go on with my life.”

Tammy told me about a few of her favorite stories and then shook her head. “Ok, I’m going to ask the most aggravating question a writer ever hears. Where do you get your ideas?”

I grinned. “I don’t think it’s aggravating at all. My first story was incest based. I have no personal experience in that area and the idea never crossed my mind while growing up. I read a few stories on the web and they really excited me. It wasn’t like I had some long-hidden incest fantasy. I found the taboo aspect of it exciting as hell. Once I made that connection the fantasies took off in my head. I guess I’m probably more of a transcribe than a writer. I take the fantasies from my head and turn them into the written word.

“I do have a muse for my stories about married women. Every one of them is based on fantasies I have about Liz. There is something about seeing her in my mind’s eye in those situations that excites my imagination.

“I do have a new muse and she thrills me. Touching her, kissing her, feeling her body against mine, and making love to her fill my thoughts and drive me to distraction.”

Tammy’s eyes gleamed as she smiled. “Oh really? Does this muse return your affection? Does she want your touch, your kisses, to feel your body against hers? Does she want you to make love to her, to screw her, to fuck her brains out?”

I stood and pulled her to her feet. I kissed her and tried in some small way to share the effect she had on me. I released her lips and looked into her green eyes. “I don’t know. Do you?”

Her arms flew around my neck and she clung to me hard. “More than I can say.”

I think things would have escalated from there pretty quickly had she not noticed the big screen. “Why are you watching Liz sleep? Not that she doesn’t look beautiful like that.”

She sat back down and I went over last night with her. When I was finished she sat in thought for a while, trying to process all that she had heard. I took her hand and held it. “Liz is going to be thinking through last night for a while. I know that she had a great time, and I’m happy that she did, but the other stuff will weigh on her. I think your perspective will be very important to her. Please talk with her about it when you get the chance.”

She nodded. “Of course. Please, Dan. I promise you I had no idea Jeff was doing that evil shit. I always assumed he was picking up married women in the usual ways. I really think Liz should let this go. It’s just too risky. He’s even worse than he was when we were married.”

“Believe me, I understand your concern, but I also believe in Liz. I have to give her the chance. She won’t be returning to Jeff’s apartment or going to any more of Tracy Nevaro’s parties. Any intimate contact with Jeff will be at our house or it won’t happen for the foreseeable future.”

I held up a finger. “I’ll be right back.”

I walked through the door to the garage side of the shop and grabbed a couple of moving blankets and the queen-sized air mattress. Tammy watched me with a quirked eyebrow as I used the compressor to pump up the mattress and failed epically. I’d forgotten to lower the pressure and when the air went into the mattress it filled it so fast that the end blew out. The entire queen-sized mattress was making huge fart noises and flapping around like a balloon on steroids. Tammy laughed her ass off and I will admit that I thought it was pretty funny as well.

Fortunately, I had one more mattress. I regulated the air, successfully pumped it up, and put it on the outfeed table. The table is eight feet long and four feet wide and I built it to double as a workbench. It was more than capable of holding up to the abuse of two people having sex, or as many as you could fit on it, for that matter. I spread the blankets on top of the mattress, then grabbed the step stool and lined it up with the end of the table. I walked over to Tammy. “Madam, if you please.”

I took Tammy’s hand, she kicked her shoes off, and I led her up the step and onto the table. My shoes soon followed hers, as did my ass. We met on the mattress, face to face on our knees, and our lips met. I pulled back to take in her beauty and marveled at my good fortune. Our hands clutching and caressing, squeezing and pulling, while our tongues clashed. I took my time removing her clothes, kissing and licking her body as it was revealed. When she laid back on the mattress nude she was a breathtaking vision of beauty.

Her eyes followed my movements as I removed my clothes. I pulled my briefs off, and her hand wrapped around me. She looked up into my eyes while her hand stroked my aching cock. “I want you so bad. Make love to me.”

The fact that we hadn’t cared where our clothes ended up would make getting dressed interesting, but that was the farthest thought from my mind at that moment. I moved between her legs and supported myself on my elbows. Our naked bodies touched and our mouths met in a loving and lustful kiss. God, She is so amazing to kiss, touch, and explore every inch of! The soft skin of her beautiful breasts and the crinkled skin of her erect nipples felt wonderful under my fingers, my lips, and my tongue.

Tammy was pulling at me, trying to get my cock into her. I moved up instead and kissed her deeply as she moaned with need. I licked her neck and whispered in her ear. “I want you on my face.”

I pulled back and she grinned up at me and nodded her head. I rolled onto my back and she straddled my face with her head pointed at my feet. She lowered her succulent pussy onto my mouth and I began enjoying my absolute favorite meal. It’s not very filling, but it is so very satisfying.

Tammy wasn’t idle. I felt her hand grasp me and her warm mouth envelop my cock. She made love to my cock and I lashed her sweet pussy with my tongue. Somehow, miraculously, I managed not to cum when she orgasmed on my face. Her nectar was rich and I licked her greedily until she rolled off and lay panting next to me. I gave her a moment while I turned around. I held her in my arms and kissed her until my need to be inside her became too much.

She wanted me inside her just as much as I wanted to be inside her, and we moved together. I wet my cock with her juices and slowly slipped inside. She was so very wet and ready that I smoothly buried myself deep. Our lips clashed together and her body seized. “Oh God! So good… So fucking good!”

I agreed with her sentiment and continued to stroke into her through her orgasm. I wasn’t going to last much longer. She was just too beautiful, too sexy, and too fucking wonderful. We were racing to wonderful oblivion and suddenly, we were there. My cock pulsed and jets of pure ecstasy shot deep into her wonderful warmth. It never seemed to end as I pulsed over and over. Then, it was, and if the joy of it hadn’t overwhelmed me, the sense of loss that it was over surely would have.

I held her close and we kissed as our passion became our afterglow. We lay there naked for the next half hour, just touching and quietly talking, enjoying the intimacy. On the big screen, Liz had gotten out of bed and was finishing up her shower. Tammy and I took that as a sign that it was time to go. I fetched clothes hanging off of various machines while Tammy cleaned up a bit in the bathroom. I took a little time there myself before dressing. The two of us walked to the house and walked into the kitchen.

I was opening a bottle of wine when Liz entered the kitchen and stopped dead in her tracks and a grin lit up her face. “You two have been fucking and loving every second of it. That’s so awesome! I love you both.”

I stopped what I was doing and walked over to her. I pulled her into my arms and kissed her sweet lips. “Are you ok? How are you feeling?”

Her hand came up and caressed my cheek. “I’m fine, babe. Still a little sore, but I feel fine. You can stop worrying now.”

I nodded and gave her a hug. I finished opening the wine and poured them each a glass. I set their glasses in front of them and gave them each a little kiss. “I’m taking a shower. You guys talk. I’ll be in the living room watching television if you need anything.”

I knew the two of them needed to talk, and sooner was better. They had to work through some things and wouldn’t hesitate to include me if they needed me. They are both strong women and I was pretty sure they could handle anything thrown at them just fine.

After my shower, I threw on a robe and sat down in the living room. I had my e-reader in my hand and the television providing background noise. I’d been reading for about an hour when Liz walked into the living room and reached for my hand. I stood, and without a word, she led me to our bedroom. Tammy was already nude and waiting on the bed. Liz dropped her robe and joined her.

It didn’t take an advanced degree to figure out what their expectations were. I tossed my robe on the vanity chair and slid in between them. Liz rolled over and rested her arm on my chest. Tammy did the same on the other side, and such a wonderful feeling of contentment swept over me that I sighed out loud. Liz and Tammy smiled up at me, then rested their heads on my chest. I was perfectly happy right where I was and in no hurry to move.

Liz kissed up my chest and under my chin on her way to my mouth. We kissed as only two people connected by their very souls do. Tammy was running her hand up and down my chest and stomach, causing some significant stirring in my nether regions, when Liz’s lips left mine and kissed my neck. “Baby, I’m still a bit sore but we can still all be together if you catch my drift.”

I grinned lustily. “I’m all ears.”

Liz chuckled. “I thought you might be interested. I put it in simple terms that an engineer can understand. Liz is going to do me while you do Liz. Do I need to break out the PowerPoint presentation?”

I gave her my patented jaundiced look. “Ha, ha, friggin ha. Don’t give up your day job for standup comedy. I think I get it, and I’m good at taking directions if things get confusing for me.”

Liz sat up and clapped her hands. “See, Tammy? I told you he was trainable!”

I grabbed her giggling ass and pulled her into a rocking kiss. That shut her up for the most part, although she continued to giggle when I let her go. Tammy climbed over me and put Liz in an extended lip lock, and that shut her right up. I watched in fascination and building arousal as the woman I loved and my lover kissed and caressed while building each other’s desire.

When Tammy kissed her way down Liz’s body I decided it was time for me to get in on things. Once Tammy was positioned with her mouth on Liz’s pussy, I lifted Tammy’s hips and moved her legs apart a bit. I laid down on my back and slid under her crotch. I grabbed her ass with both hands and pulled her down on my face. My wife’s moans, and Liz’s muffled ones, soon filled the room.

My tongue on Tammy’s pussy distracted her and Liz was left hanging for a bit while Tammy came on my face. When she calmed down enough to turn her attention back to my wife I slipped out from under her. I got up behind her and aimed my raging erection at her warm and wet center. I slipped inside her and she groaned into my wife’s pussy.

I gave Tammy long deep strokes, not in any hurry at all, and that allowed her to eat my wife’s pussy without mashing her face in it. Things progressed nicely, and soon Tammy brought Liz closer and closer to the reward she deserved. I’d never seen my wife orgasm before from that perspective and I have to say it was beautiful to behold.

Tammy kissed her way up my wife’s tummy and I knee-walked behind her to maintain our connection. Their mouths met in passion and I about lost my load right there and then. I fought it off as best I could, but I was losing a battle I didn’t want to win. “I’m gonna cum soon!”

Liz broke their kiss. “Give it to me. I want your cum.”

I slid out of Tammy and she rolled onto the bed next to Liz. I braced an arm against the headboard and slid my cock into my enthusiastic wife’s mouth. I barely made it in time and shot my very soul deep into her lovely mouth. Spent and suddenly weak, I dropped to the bed next to Liz and watched as she shared my cum with Tammy. The two women kissed and tangled tongues until barely a trace of my gift was left in their mouths.

Round one was over and we were all ahead on points. Round two was similarly successful, but I’m afraid I couldn’t answer the bell for round three quickly enough. The two women disqualified me for delay of game by falling asleep. You’ll have days like that.

~~~~~{}~~~~~

Fortunately, I didn’t fall asleep after our last round, or Tammy would have been late getting home to Tess. I can’t imagine the mad scramble that would have ensued if Tammy’s parents walked into our house looking for her. I had been on the verge of dozing off, but I started watching Liz and Tammy sleeping and the way they nested together while they did so. I felt such a huge rush of emotion that I sat in bed and watched them for the longest time.

I loved my wife more than life itself, and now I found myself feeling something much deeper than friendship for Tammy. I wasn’t sure how to reconcile that. The purpose of pulling the trigger was to have some fun without becoming emotionally involved with someone outside of our marriage. Normally, if that were to happen, the relationship was over fast. There was no way we were ending our relationship with Tammy. Tess and I were at a loss for what to do.

Tammy needed to live again, and that meant to me that she would eventually meet the right guy, and they would be happy ever after. I knew if the guy showed up today, Liz and I both would be devastated. We had just discovered the wonders of sex with Tammy, and that had grown into something so much more for both of us. I’m not sure either of us was ready to give Tammy up.

By the same token, Tammy was more than eleven years younger than me and nine years younger than Liz. She didn’t need to enter into a dead-end relationship with us. She needed the thrill of new love, the sexual heat of a new lover. She needed someone she could happily spend her life with. I didn’t think we could be that for her.

What if we were? What if she fell for one of us or both of us? Would we want to commit to loving her? What would that even look like? What if she only fell in love with Liz? Would I be relegated to the sidelines, only to be brought in for relief? What if it was me Tammy fell in love with? How could I possibly ensure that I treated them both fairly? Is it possible for one man to be everything that two women needed? The thought of meeting that challenge was pretty exciting, but this was turning into something way beyond recreational sex. I knew one thing with certainty. We had to be extremely careful with Tammy’s heart, as well as our own.

I woke them both with little kisses and between Liz and me, we got Tammy on her way home. She stopped in the kitchen and put an arm around each of our necks and pulled us in for a hug. “I wish I could stay in bed with you both. I’m so happy when I’m with you and sleeping alone in my bed isn’t what I want. I wish we could be together all the time.”

Liz kissed her lips. “I do too, Tammy. I do too. That’s the elephant in the room, isn’t it? I can see the signs. We’re all three falling in love, and I don’t know if that’s what’s best for you.”

Tammy got a bit of fire in her eyes. “While I always appreciate your help and guidance, I’m perfectly capable of deciding whom I fall in love with; thank you. That’s one decision you can’t make for me or protect me from.

“The truth is that I’m falling deeply in love with both of you, and that makes me very happy. I don’t know how to make that work, even if you were to feel the same as I do, but I want to try. I guess it’s up to you guys. I hope you’re willing to take a chance on me, but I’ll still love you and want to be with you even if you don’t feel the same. I don’t ever want to lose our friendship.”

Liz and I took turns giving her a loving kiss and watched through the kitchen window as she walked home. When she made her way inside, I pulled Liz into my arms. “What are we going to do, Babe?”

She looked up at me and smiled lovingly. “We’re going to see where this goes. We both know we want her as more than a friend. We’re both falling in love with her. So, why don’t we let it happen and see where it goes? She’s a fully grown, intelligent woman and is capable of making her own decisions. She just took one hell of a chance by telling us how she feels. She trusts us that much, and the least we can do is trust her in return.”

I gave her a squeeze. “As much as I want a perfect life for Tammy, with the perfect husband, whom she loves isn’t my choice to make. I suppose the age thing isn’t that big of a deal…

“Honestly, I’m worried that I won’t treat one, or both, of you the way you deserve. I’m afraid I won’t be enough to make you both happy. How do I give everything I am to you, then give it to Tammy as well? I don’t know how to do this. I’m scared, honey. I’m scared I’ll lose you to Tammy. I’m scared I won’t treat you the way you deserve, and I’ll lose you. I’m afraid falling in love with Tammy will take something away from us.”

Her gentle gaze silenced me. “Dan, do you feel less for me because you have feelings for her?”

“Of course not! That’s ridiculous.”

She smiled. “Well, I feel the same way. We’re not losing us because we have feelings for Tammy. I don’t believe that will happen at all. Can you think of one thing in our relationship with Tammy that was anything less than wonderful? Love isn’t finite. It grows as long as we embrace and nurture it.”

“Think about it for a moment. If you weren’t so concerned about me, you would be so over-the-top happy right now. That amazing woman is falling in love with you, just as she is with me, and while I have the same demons trying to bring me down as you do, I can’t help but think we’re starting something wonderful. We need to do what we have always done, communicate. We share our concerns and overcome them together.”

She paused. “There’s no rush, Dan. We don’t have to decide how our future is going to play out. All we need to decide is if we want this enough to give it a chance.”

I’d been so caught up in all of the potential ramifications of our developing relationship with Tammy that I couldn’t see the forest for the trees. Liz was absolutely right. The details will be dealt with as needed. What it came down to was whether I believed enough in the love I had for Liz to give this a chance. All while knowing and accepting that the best outcome would be to fall deeply in love and spend the rest of our lives together. At that moment, I knew the only answer I could possibly give was, “I would love to give it a chance with you. Always with you.”

Liz grinned. “Well, can we start with all of us as often as possible?”

I kissed her sweet lips. “Always will eventually come with the passage of time. As often as possible sounds like an excellent way to start.”

~~~~~{}~~~~~

Jeff came by the house Monday afternoon. He must have driven over directly from work. I was in the shop, and the video feed was on the big screen. I watched as Liz answered the door. She let him in, and they settled on the couch in the living room.

Jeff took Liz’s hand and gently caressed it. “I don’t get why you won’t let me call you. I love seeing you, but there are times that I can’t drive over when I really need to hear your voice.”

Liz had decided from the beginning that she wouldn’t get caught up in long phone calls with Jeff. He would use them as a way to drive a wedge between her and me. She wasn’t about to give him that kind of leverage.

Liz gave him a serious look. “I have my reasons. How about we start with the fact that you invited Dan and me to a party. A party that you conspired to drug my husband to get him out of the picture. A party that led to you inviting two friends to fuck me without my consent. I can see you swelling up, all self-righteous. You’re about to tell me that I enjoyed it. I did enjoy it, but that doesn’t mean you have my permission to take away my choices. It certainly doesn’t mean you can manipulate my husband and me. Everything about what you did was wrong in so many ways.”

She looked him straight in the eye. “How many times have you drugged an unsuspecting husband so you could take his wife? How many times have you risked killing a man from a bad reaction to whatever the fuck it is you give them? All so you could get some pussy. You destroy marriages without a care in the world, and you expect me to do what? Reward you? Play along? Do you think I’m suddenly your cock slut and will throw away the life I’ve built with the man I love with all my heart just because you say so?”

“I have two words for you. Fuck You! I should throw your ass out of here and get on with my life. The only reason you’re still sitting here is that there may still be hope for you. You’re at a crossroads, Jeff. One direction is the path you’re currently on. It’s only a matter of time before your plans blow up in your face. Ruined marriages won’t be the only result of your horrid manipulations. It will fall apart, and when it does, there will be a lot of fucked over husbands that want you to suffer. You’ll be a hunted man before this is over, and one of the hunters just might get lucky.”

She paused. “The other path is the one where you choose to change. It’s a difficult path to follow because it requires you to be remorseful for what you’ve done and committed to making amends. If you want to be with me, that is the path you will follow. You’ve destroyed my trust in you. I can’t believe a word you say and I can’t help but think that everything you say is designed to manipulate me further. You need to convince me that you want to change and be the man Tessy can admire. Imagine that Tess is a grown woman and happily married to the man of her dreams. What would you do if someone did to Tessy what you did to me?”

I could see the barely contained rage on his face and I was heading toward the shop door to rush to the house when he answered. “I’d fucking kill him!”

Liz sat back and stared at him, waiting for the other shoe to drop. He was breathing hard in his rage when suddenly his face lost all expression. “That’s not a fair comparison. Every woman I’ve been with wanted it.”

Liz shook her head. “Did she? Or was she excited to be harmlessly flirting with a handsome man, thrilled at a little attention from a man other than her husband? You’re never satisfied with that though, are you? You manipulate her, drug her husband, take away her choices, and her marriage. You leave destruction behind you and move on to the next without a shred of remorse. Such a fine example for your daughter.”

I watched closely for Jeff’s reaction. If he let his rage take him I was heading to the house at a run. I could see him fighting his emotions. He finally collapsed back onto the couch. “I’m just having fun. The women enjoy themselves and they know I’m not in it for love.”

Liz shook her head. “Yeh, you keep telling yourself that, but it’s not true, and you know it. You may be having fun in your own sick way, and I’m sure that sometimes the woman enjoys the experience. At least until she finds out her husband wasn’t in on it after all. How do you think she feels when she discovers that her husband didn’t interfere, not because he wanted her to fuck another man, but because he was incapable of interfering. When you’ve gotten your rocks off, she’s left with a husband waking from a drugged stupor to find some asshole has just destroyed his marriage.”

“What you are doing is not only immoral and evil, but it’s also illegal. All it takes is one couple to go to the police and you’re looking at some serious time in prison. Your whole world will collapse around you and it will be years before you see your daughter again, if at all.”

“So, I’m not going to have long conversations with you over the phone. I’m never going back to your apartment or to one of your so-called parties. You need to convince me that you’re a changed man, or we’re done. It’s as simple as that.”

Jeff looked at her for the longest time. “OK, Liz. No more parties, no more drugs. I’ll show you that I can change. I don’t want to lose you.”

Liz shook her head. “Words are cheap. Show me.”

He slid over next to her on the couch and gently pulled her into his arms before kissing her deeply. Their lips parted and he looked deep into her eyes, “Let me show you how much I care for you. Please, Liz. I need you.”

Liz raised an eyebrow. “Do you? I’m not so sure of that.”

He set out to convince her. He kissed her again and they sat on the couch, making out for several minutes. I settled onto the office chair and watched as Jeff seduced my wife. There was no doubt in my mind that Liz had a pla,n and Jeff was following it whether he knew it or not.

It wasn’t very long before Liz stood and took his hand. They walked into the bedroom and returned to each other’s arms. This Jeff was different than any Jeff I’d seen so far. He was tender and loving as he kissed, touched, and stripped Liz. When they got onto the bed he was generous with his foreplay. It looked very romantic and I didn’t like it one little bit.

I didn’t have a problem with Liz having fun with another partner. That’s what pulling the trigger is about, at least in theory. What I was seeing was the exact thing we both agreed to avoid when we made our pact. They didn’t look like two people recreationally fucking. They looked like they were in love and making love. It was all I could do not to run to the house and break it up.

I fought those feelings as much as I could. If I jumped into the situation it would show Liz that I didn’t trust her. That after all the years and all the love we shared, I didn’t believe in her. I couldn’t do that. I watched and hoped that I wasn’t seeing the beginning to the end of my marriage.

I think I knew in my heart that Jeff wasn’t going to change. There was no way in this world I would share Liz’s love with him. I wanted him out of our lives as soon as possible. I had to hope that Liz would feel the same way. I didn’t want to contemplate a future where Liz fell in love with him.

I watched as they made love. There was no smile on my face at Liz’s joy. My cock was as far from hard as it could get, and I had to force myself to watch when the only thing I wanted to do was turn the damn television off and pretend it wasn’t happening. Shame on me.

Shame on me for letting my faith in Liz be shaken by a guy whose proudest accomplishment was fucking married women. I shook my head, embarrassed beyond words. This was one of those moments that would come back to me for years. I would be in the shower, the memory would hit me, and the shame would wash over me. How could I have so easily let my belief in my wife waver?

I got a grip on my anxiety. I still didn’t like what I saw, but my faith in Liz was renewed. In my heart, I wanted the chapter of our lives with Jeff in it to end. I loved that Liz wanted to save him, but we were rapidly approaching the point where it was time to let it go. He would either make the right choices or he wouldn’t.

I watched as they completed their coupling and lay in each other’s arms in the afterglow. Jeff was very sweet and loving. I could tell he was basking in her soft caress and wasn’t in any hurry to leave. Liz broke things up by telling him she needed to get dinner started. Jeff dressed, kissed her deeply, and left. She watched out the kitchen window until, I assume, his car pulled away, then turned and looked up at the camera. “Dan, I need you. Please come home.”

I don’t remember leaving the shop. One moment I was watching Liz in the kitchen, and the next, I was in the kitchen, and she was in my arms. She looked up at me with worry in her eyes. “Dan, I need to tell you something, and you need to believe it. Today Jeff showed me the kind of man he could be, and I responded to that. He made me feel wonderful, and I think he was sincere in his affection… But Dan, that doesn’t mean I’m in love with him or want to be in love with him. He hasn’t turned me away from you, and he never will.”

I held her tightly. “I’m so sorry, Liz. I feel like I’m letting you down, and you think that I don’t believe in you. I do believe in you, but I’m very worried about Jeff. Today I’m sure his feelings were genuine, but I’m concerned about how he will react when he has time to think about it. He’s been the predator for a long time, and he may think he has to take control back from you. This has become too dangerous, too risky. I’m so very proud of you for trying to save him, but I think the cost may become more than we can bear. Please, Liz.”

Her eyes teared up. “Oh babe, I’m so sorry I’ve put you through all this. I’ve become obsessed with fixing him. In the days after the party, I got angrier and angrier at the way he manipulated us both and how much worse things would have been if you hadn’t been protecting me. I feel guilty as hell for enjoying the experience when there was so much wrong with the way it happened.”

I kissed her forehead. “You can stop that right now. You had an amazing experience that you enjoyed. There is nothing wrong with that. You weren’t the one manipulating things, and you did nothing wrong. I want you to remember that experience as a wonderful event in your life, but I do need to know what you’re thinking. What do you want?”

She stood in thought for a moment. “I guess it’s really up to Jeff. If he decides to change, I would like to encourage him. I think the physical relationship between Jeff and me is rapidly ending. If he doesn’t change, he’s gone. If he does change, I’m afraid he will want a deeper relationship than sex. I don’t want that with him, and there hasn’t been a moment that I have… Please give me a little more time. If I shut him out now, I’m afraid he will never change.”

I took a deep breath. I wanted Jeff gone now, but Liz was right. He would use her rejection as an excuse to continue his behavior. It seemed a waste to put so much effort into getting this far just to give up. I was resolved, though. This thing with Jeff would be ending soon. If Liz couldn’t end it, I would. I could only hope that if I ended it that she would forgive me for letting my concern for her take precedence over my faith in her. “Ok, Liz. Ok.”

Tuesday came and went, then on Wednesday afternoon, Jeff returned. He didn’t wait for Liz to let him in. He came in the kitchen door, and by the time I saw the movement on the screen, he had her pinned to the wall and was kissing her lustily. Liz got into it and was kissing him back just as hard. They made their staggering way to the bedroom, their mouths barely separating and banging into the walls as they tried to strip, walk, and kiss at the same time.

Jeff tossed her on the bed and quickly got naked. Liz wasn’t far behind him. She was taking her bra off when he grabbed the waistband of her panties and yanked them off her. He immediately plunged his mouth between her legs and ate her pussy to a fast and intense orgasm. He didn’t waste a moment before moving up and sliding his cock deep into her.

I left the shop and hurried to the house. I didn’t trust the situation, and I wanted to be close if things went south. I snuck into my own house and moved quietly down the hall to our bedroom. They were too busy to notice me as I watched from the doorway.

It didn’t take long before he was fucking her hard and fast. Liz likes to be taken sometimes. The feeling of being overpowered by her lover makes her cum hard. She was having a great time. Then Jeff started talking.

“You love my cock don’t you, Liz? Tell me you love it, baby. You know I’m the best lover you’ve ever had. It’s ok to say it. Tell me, Liz. Tell me how much better it is with me than with your husband. Your pussy is mine now. You’re mine now.”

Liz brought put her feet against Jeff’s chest and shoved hard. Jeff fell back onto the bed. I didn’t see the look on Liz’s face, but she left no doubt about what she was thinking. “Are you fucking insane! Do you think for one fucking second you’ve made me your cock slave or some shit? We Are Fucking! That’s all we are doing and all we will ever do!”

She was fuming by now. “How fucking dare you compare yourself to my husband! You wouldn’t make a pimple on his ass. You obviously don’t want to be anything but the selfish piece of shit that you are. One of these days, and it’s coming sooner every day, you won’t be an attractive young cock hound. You’ll be old and alone. The only thing you’ll have is memories of the lives you fucked up. Oh, and the sex! I’m sure those memories will warm your heart in your old age. Get your shit and get out!”

Jeff reared up and raised his fist. A fist he suddenly found he couldn’t move. “You heard her. Get your shit and get out.”

I let him go and stepped back. He watched me closely as he got off the bed and didn’t attempt to approach me. If he had I would have made sure it ended badly for him. He raised his hand to my wife, and I wanted so very much to fuck him up for that.

I watched as he dressed. Once his clothes were on, his confidence began to return, and I wasn’t having that. “If I hadn’t been here, you would have hit my wife. You have no idea how angry that makes me. You look me in the eye and show one fucking second of defiance. You go ahead and do that, Jeff, and see what happens. Let’s see which of us is the real man. Do it, asshole, or fucking leave now!”

He left the room, and I followed him with Liz right behind me. He moved toward the back door. “Jeff!”

He turned and looked at me, and I got right in his face. “You are not welcome here. You will never enter our house again. When you pick up Tess, you will wait in your car, and she will be brought to you… You stupid fucking cunt. You had a wonderful wife, you have an amazing child, and Liz gave you a wonderful gift. What did you do with it? You spit on it. You have no respect for anyone, especially yourself. One bad word about Liz gets back to me, you come around or call, you enter her life in any way, and I will make you pay. Go!”

He shot a look at Liz. His one last attempt to turn the tide. Liz stood beside me and returned his gaze. “You heard my husband, Jeff. Why are you still here?”

He left without another word, and seconds later, tires screeched as he left. By then, Liz was in my arms and crying against my chest. I held her while she had a good cry. Her voice had a hitch in it, and she was having trouble looking at me. “I fucked everything up, and I’m so sorry. I don’t know how you can forgive me.”

I tilted her chin up. “You cared. That’s what you did. You cared enough to try. You could have fucked him and left him to his destruction, but you tried to save him instead. What you tried to do was wonderful, Babe. He’s the one that decided to be what he is, not you. From the beginning, my biggest concern was that you wouldn’t be able to see any outcome other than him mending his ways and making amends. I didn’t think you clearly understood the risk to yourself, and that worried me. I never once thought you fucked anything up or had anything to be sorry about. I just didn’t want you to be hurt. I love you, Liz, and I always will.”

I kissed her with all the emotion I was feeling while she held onto me like she would never let me go. It took us a little while to get our emotions calmed. When we separated, she looked up at me with such love and affection. “I love you so much. I still feel like I handled this poorly. Any other man would never have trusted me enough or given me the freedom to let me see it through. No other man loves me as you do and never will. I’m not going anywhere, so I guess you’re stuck with me.”

I smiled. “Funny, I don’t feel stuck. I feel blessed.”

I opened a bottle of wine and poured her a glass. The first glass went down pretty fast. She was sipping on her second glass when I noticed the time. “Tammy will be home from work in an hour and we need to pick up Tess from school. We need to let Tammy know what happened as soon as possible. The first one of us that gets a moment with her needs to bring her up to speed. That sound good?”

She nodded, now concerned about Tammy’s reaction to the day’s events. I gave her a peck on the lips. “Hey, stop that. Tammy will be fine, and you know it. She needs to hear the whole story from our lips before Jeff puts his spin on it. I doubt that she would believe anything he says, but there is no sense in giving him the chance to play more games.”

We picked up Tess from school. An hour later, Tammy’s car pulled into her driveway and Liz walked Tess home. It looked like Liz would be the one to update Tammy. I was on the phone with Derrik. He’d finally reached out to me. We spent the next half hour sharing information. Derrik had called because he was convinced that Tracy Nevaro was brainwashing Trisha behind his back. Trisha was constantly angry with him and refused to talk to him about it. She seemed convinced that he’d done something horrible.

Last night she had told him that Tracy had invited them to another party and that she had accepted the invitation. He could go with her or stay home, but she was going regardless. Derrik was stressed to the breaking point. He couldn’t see a path forward that wouldn’t cost him the love of his life.

I had a few ideas about that. “Let’s approach this by breaking down the problem. The first thing we need to do is take away their leverage. They have Trisha convinced that you’ve done something so horrible that it justifies her letting Jeff screw her. I’m sure they’ve been telling her that fucking other people is only natural and that you’re holding her back from fulfilling herself or some shit like that. We have to tell Trisha the truth and get her to believe it. She wouldn’t listen to either of us, but I bet she would listen to Liz and Tammy. Let me run across the street for a minute and I’ll call you right back.”

I trotted my ass across the street and let myself in. Liz and Tammy were talking quietly at the dining room table. I could hear the television playing loudly and knew that Tess was engrossed in one of the shows she likes. I quickly explained what we needed, called Derrik back, and got his wife’s phone number.

I listened in as Liz called Trisha. Trisha had met Liz at the party and knew that Liz had gone off with Jeff at one point, then had left the party shortly after he did with her dress barely on. She was perfectly capable of putting two and two together. The fact that Liz had been with Jeff was probably the only reason Trisha agreed to meet with her. They were going to meet for drinks at the local pub. I volunteered to watch Tess while Tammy went with Liz to meet with Trisha.

I called Derrik and told him where they were meeting. I felt it was important that he be there out of sight until needed. I suspected that if Trisha really loved him that she would need him when she found out the truth.

Tessy and I had a great time while they were gone. I read her a story and hugged her goodnight when I tucked her in. She’d been asleep for a few hours when Liz and Tammy returned. Both looked tired but happy. We stood in the kitchen while Tammy poured us a glass of wine. Liz took hers and began. “Trisha was suspicious at first when she saw Tammy, but she let me talk. She broke down in tears after I told her all we had learned. She was devastated. She blamed herself and was convinced that she had lost Derrik forever. It was a good thing you told him to be there. He came over when he saw her crying and just held her. He kept saying, “I love you,” and holding her until she cried herself out. We stayed with them until they left for home. Trisha couldn’t thank us enough for telling her the truth. I wish that everyone knew the truth.”

We spent a good half hour trading kisses with Tammy before heading home. Our lovemaking was as much emotional as physical. The love and need we had for each other made the physical pleasure that much greater and filled our hearts to overflowing. We let our feelings and bodies say what our words couldn’t express. The darkness that Jeff sowed was gone.

A week later, the news was going nuts. Trisha and Derrik weren’t satisfied to just walk away. They went to the FBI, bypassing local law enforcement. It proved to be the right move. The FBI had been investigating several cases of men being drugged and their wives disappearing. In some cases, the wife would return in a day or two. In some, they never returned. It didn’t take a senior agent to see the possible connection. The night of the party, both Trisha and Derrik were wearing wires while the FBI listened in. When things started to get violent for one of the other husbands at the party, they raided the place. There was more than sufficient probable cause to get a warrant.

Tracy Nevaro proved to be an invaluable resource for the FBI. The house had cameras everywhere, and Tracy had a large collection of video recordings. The recordings not only showed the wives being seduced and fucked, but also showed the drugging and humiliation of the husbands. The list of charges was long, from conspiracy to commit kidnapping to attempted murder for the drugs. One of the husbands that had been drugged reacted badly to the medication and nearly died. Tracy had the video of the entire episode.

She was quite proud of herself as she narrated the video. She showed how she drugged his drink, even describing the drug she was using. She explained what was being done to the wife while her drugged husband was unaware. She practically convicted herself.

Her husband was an enthusiastic co-conspirator, and his money didn’t save him. In the end, Tracy's video record was instrumental in convicted herself, along with her husband, Jeff, Eli, and Martin. Martin cut a deal and helped the FBI with their investigation of the missing women. All but two were found chained to beds in low-rent brothels. Eli had murdered the other two. Their families got some closure, I guess, when they got to bury their bodies.

So many marriages were destroyed, lives ruined, and loved ones lost. I could ask why for the rest of my days and never hear an answer that would make sense. Some people in this world are irredeemable. In primitive times the people of a village would band together and deal with the problem. We’re more civilized now. There is too much danger of pointing the finger at the wrong person. We have to follow the law, or we become what we abhor. Evil slips through the cracks, and bad people hurt good people. There is no reasonable explanation. There is only the aftermath and the grief.

Tess lost her father the day he was convicted. He would never leave prison, and she would never see him again. Her mother would tell her the truth about what happened when she was older. For now, Tess knew that her father had done a really bad thing and would have to pay for what he did. I insisted that Tammy and Tess both get counseling, and I’m convinced that it made all the difference.

We spent every moment we could with Tammy and Tess. Tessy had become Tess according to the subject little person because she was older now and only little kids had a 'y' at the end of their name. Properly chastised, I've kept with Tess ever since.

~~~~~{}~~~~~

Author's note: Did you really think I would end it here? That would be the lamest ending ever. Chapter 5 is coming soon.