It was a warm and sunny morning. Pree was finishing some light dusting, feeling pleased that her household work would be light that day. Her husband worked hard, providing everything she could want. And she, as a dutiful wife, was happy in caring for the home he provided during those few hours a day he was able to enjoy it. This was how she rewarded Ro for his long hours at the office. She was a traditional woman, with traditional values, who found both comfort and satisfaction in her role.

She considered vacuuming, but the carpets were clean, and not needing her attention that day. She thought perhaps this might be one of those rare moments when she could spend some time for herself, without neglecting her responsibilities to him. So it was she became slightly annoyed when the musical chime of the doorbell sounded in the foyer.

Upon opening the door, she was surprised to see one of Ro’s oldest and long-time friends standing on the porch. Robert Moss was is an older man, whose once dark mustache and goatee were growing speckled with salt and pepper grey. Likewise, his formally dark hair had faded to a softer, silver-white. He wore it longer now, pulling it back, and brushing it neatly into a ponytail that flowed halfway down his back. He was a tall man, standing over six feet, towering over her own, diminutive height.

She’d known Robert since she first dated Ro. She’d always thought him handsome, and even more so as he aged. Maybe more than a little, if she was being completely honest with herself.

“Robert, what a surprise,” she welcomed, opening the door in friendly invitation.

Robert accepted the unspoken invite, walking in with a calm and confidant grace. “Hello, Pree, it’s always a pleasure to see you. I don’t suppose Ro is here today? I know it’s the work week for him, but, being retired now, I sometimes forget the demands of his job, or sometimes even what day it is. I was halfway here before I remembered it was Monday.”

He came close as he spoke, hugging her in welcome. It was a friendly hug, Pree knew, but the closeness of him pressing against her, and the intimate tightness of his arms around her waist, sent a quick shiver racing over her skin. She’d always sensed an attraction from him, but even so, he’d always been respectful and proper.

This time, there was a difference, and a subtle disquiet tickled at her as he held the hug a bit longer than might be considered proper. His demeanor was still that of the calm and confident man she’d come to respect, but she sensed there was more, this time, than his usual, simple greeting hiding within it.

Her feminine instincts were tingling, but Pree forcibly dismissed them. She’d always been quite fond of Robert, even hiking through the local forest with him while Ro was away on business. Her long-time attraction to older men made his new, retired look even more attractive to her than he’d been in the past. Smiling inwardly, she easily forgave his small breech of propriety. Part of her even welcomed it. She, of course, would never have admitted such a thing.

“I’m sorry, but Ro is out.” she responded with the friendly detachment a wife should use in the presence of a man who had come to see her husband. Despite their history, he was Ro’s friend more than hers. Her role, therefore, was to represent her husband and his household, and not to become enamored with his closest associates. “He works too many hours, and I don’t expect him home until late.”

“Well, that’s a shame.” Robert replied with a smile. “I was hoping to spend time with him. Maybe I should go, but please do tell him I came by.”

This was a moment Pree would later ponder. He was right, of course, he should leave. Them spending unescorted time together without her husband’s knowledge violated her sense of loyalty, if only slightly. But then, so would turning away a man who had for years been a friend to them both and a business partner to her husband.

The question of what to do fluttered quickly before her, like a moth dancing near a light, and she made a call based not on what was proper, but rather on that which she desired. “But, Robert, you came all this way. At least stay for some tea. Honestly I don’t get many visitors, and I could use the company.”

Despite her reservations, she was pleased when he accepted, willingly leading him into her home.

“Please, make yourself comfortable while I make the tea.”

What she didn’t see was the way his gaze followed her as she walked away. If she had, she might not have been so comfortable with him being there unattended.

But then again, maybe she would have. Robert was almost twice her age, but even in her early thirties, her body was fit, and she might have enjoyed this older man’s attention. Deep down, and even not being aware of being watched, she couldn’t suppress the surprising thoughts that were creeping into her consciousness. She’d felt his interest in the hug, and couldn’t suppress the secret smile it gave her that a man his age might find her attractive.

They were thoughts a married woman ought not have, but there was no harm in savoring such ideas as long as she could dismiss them as harmless fantasy. After all, he was old enough to be her father. Even had she’d not been married, the age gap should preclude any romantic possibilities. But still, they were pleasant and flattering thoughts.

After pouring the tea, she placed the cups on a tray along with a silver pot of hot water. Adding a small bowl sugar cubes and a few extra tea bags, she returned to the living room where Robert was waiting on the couch, one leg comfortably folded over the other, with his knee bent, as men often sit.

Over the next two hours, they spoke of many things while enjoying each others company. Robert was not married, preferring his bachelor lifestyle. Pree was aware he’d been a bit of a player in his younger years, maybe more than a bit if the stories Ro related were true.

Over that time, the conversation was friendly, even proper, but Pree was sensing a tension in the air. Women always know when a man is interested, and she was genuinely surprised at feeling this in him as they sat next to each other on the couch. She was keeping an appropriate distance between them of course, but somehow that separation felt like it was closing, even though neither of them moved.

Robert felt that tension as well. But then, he’d been feeling it for years. Pree was a beautiful women, with long, thick black hair and a sexy figure. Her eyes were dark and bright, and her breasts large and firm under her light top.

He noted she wasn’t wearing a bra, and as the time moved on, her nipples hardened just enough that he could make out her thick buds rising through her light blue, flowered top. Collared just inches below her throat, it revealed none of her impressive cleavage, fitting loosely and protecting her modesty by not clinging to the form of her breasts. Even so, her nipples were protruding with a delicious subtleness. Her long skirt was full, further concealing her womanly figure, but as she crossed her legs, her knee and a hint of thigh were revealed, further inflaming his desire.

Most men might have struggled, or pretended not to notice such things, but Robert was too old for such silly evasions. If she reacted, he would at least find out if she was at all open to something more intimate.

And she did notice. A quick flick in hers eyes and a slight blush in her cheeks were all he needed to see. And she hadn’t went up to change or put on a bra. His cock began to sense long delayed possibilities, stirring and growing longer in his pants.

Pree had noticed. It was shocking to see his eyes traveling so brazenly, but it was flattering as well, and a bit intimidating. She wanted to hide her nipples under her hands and bury her legs under her skirt, but any contact with her buds would only make them harder. She wondered if she should go and put on a bra, but knew that would be an admission the situation was happening at all.

She wasn’t ready to do that. So, she tried to take her mind off her budding arousal, hoping her stubborn nipples would soften on their own. Most shocking to herself was the fact she didn’t want him to stop. She was enjoying his company, and his smile was doing more to her than she dared to admit. By three, her panties were moist and a definite heat was growing in her belly.

By that time, the tea was gone and she needed a drink. When she offered wine, his smile grew and he happily accepted. She hoped the alcohol would calm her, and it did, but it also made his now obvious interest in her harder to dismiss.

The wine was affecting Robert as well. He wanted her. He had for years, and at sixty-two, his days of being a sexually daring man were nearing sunset. Time was not his ally, and the weight of that pressed on him like a loadstone. His mouth was going dry, not from the wine, but from his growing desire for a married woman.

They were playing a game now, he thought. He was pretending to be a gentleman, and she was pretending she wasn’t aroused. They both knew what was happening, and they both knew it wasn’t suppose to. After all, he was older than her by decades, and married to his friend, but he didn’t care about any of that. And he suspected part of her didn’t either.

The air was thickening. Pree felt it as clearly as the moisture in her sex. Her golden-brown skin was tingling as his body sent every signal a man could send. She saw his Adam’s apple flex when he swallowed and felt his eyes boring into her. Every movement he made, his calm demeanor and polite tone, were all choreographed by culture and societies dictates of propriety. But under that thin veil she sensed a man on the prowl.

She could have sworn she smelled his arousal. A pheromone of lust that would beguile her if she let down her guard. I should make excuses, she thought as her alarms began to sound. Such evasions had long been a part of any wives arsenal. A shallow lie she could use to end the dance without having to say so directly. Propriety demanded it, but somehow, she could’t find the will.

Robert was old enough to know the game. He was reading her like a book, easily noting the furtive fear in her eyes. She was going to break soon, he could sense that. She was going to end the game if he did nothing, and he wasn’t willing to leave without making the attempt he suspected she was both dreading and longing for. Society and custom be damned. He wanted her, and it was on him to make the first move.

When the moment arrived, he was actually relieved. She stood, fumbling through the pat excuses he’d heard a thousand times. It was adorable and expected. She was calling his bluff, like an expert gambler who knew her hand was weak.

Pree knew this had to end. She could barely breathe, and the wine was messing with her resolve. It was making her brave in all the wrong ways, and her heart was pounding in her breast. And his eyes, they were hot and piercing. She wanted to scream, Don’t look at me like that! I’m a married woman! But the words wouldn’t form in her mouth.

Instead, she muttered some useless platitude and rose from the couch, hoping he would accept it and relent from his chase. But when he rose next to her, causing her gaze to rise with him, she knew was closing in. As if she were a rabbit running from a wolf, he was focused solely on her, and all her twisting and changing course wasn’t throwing him off the hunt.

It was a feral feeling. One of dread and inevitability. It was also magnetic. She was being drawn to him in a way that was as irresistible as gravity. Her hands were quivering as he stepped closer and her knees felt week. He was right in front of her and when he took her hand in his, she didn’t resist. Slowly, she met his gaze, engulfed by his knowing smile.

“Robert please. We can’t. I mean, I’m married.” It was her last defense, and he brushed it away like a wisp of smoke.

“I know. I’m not asking you to leave him, I’m asking only if, just this once, you want to live for yourself, instead of him?”

His voice was a whisper and his touch hot, sending an electric shock racing through her. He had her hand in his before she realized it and when he brought it to his lips, Pree felt herself swoon. It was a glorious, alien sensation, one she’d not felt in years. She could smell him now. This was no illusion created by her repressed desire. It was him, the scent of masculine arousal. Pree was wavering as he held her eyes, feeling hot desire spike, and the only thing she could focused on was how tall and strong he appeared. And how he seemed so damnably sure of himself.

“Why me?” Her voice squeaked, almost inaudibly. “You could have any woman…”

“Because you are you, Pree. You’re beautiful, and I’ve wanted you since the first time we met.”

Oh, God. His response made her whimper, the words echoing loudly in her soul and glowing in her conscienceness in bright red letters. She took a step back and he followed, keeping that same all-to-close connection. Before she realized it, her back was against the living room wall, with him towering over her.

He bent down to kiss her and she turned away, making one last attempt to save herself from her own desire.

“Please, stop,” she managed to gasp, but in that instant, his lips descended on the tender flesh of her now exposed neck.

And she melted into them.

She wasn’t yet ready to say yes, but she was beyond her ability to refuse. When he took her hands and pinned them to the wall over her head, she knew he would have her. She would fight him, of course. Her honor demanded it, but her heart had already surrendered.

“Ask me to leave,” he dared her. “Tell me to go and I will.”

He was giving her an out, one last chance for her honor to be saved. But his breath was hot, flowing over her as his beard tickled her sensitized skin.

“I- I can’t do this.”

“Yes, you can,” he replied, bringing his lips to hers and kissing her with a hunger she wasn’t prepared for.

And, she kissed him back.

It was long, deep and filled with suppressed passion. Pree found her head tilting up to him, her neck stretching to meet him even as he pulled back. When he freed one of his hands and slipped it between her thighs, she parted them willingly, granting him access. Her eyes closed and her head lolled back as he caressed her most intimate flesh through the thin cotton of her skirt.

She was being taken, she knew it…

And deep down she wanted to be. It was a realization that terrified her because of what it meant for her and more because of what it meant for her marriage.

“I’m afraid,” she whispered, echoing the conflict now warring in her heart. It was a final defiance, uttered before she could even think of speaking it.

Robert paused, his hand moving away and freeing her from his touch. “Afraid? Of me?”

That soft utterance was like a slap to him, causing him to pause, instantly dissipating fog of desire that was clouding his mind. He wanted her desperately, but not enough to be willing to accept a surrender based on fear.

His bearing, which a moment before was of a man willing to push her beyond her limits, transfomed to one of shame of the emotional harm she seemed to be expressing. Backing away ever so slightly, he waited for Pree say what she needed to say, whatever that might be.

Pree felt, more than saw, the change in him, but still found herself unable to meet his gaze. Even she was surprised by the truth stated in that moment, and paused while trying to understand what it meant. She’d known Robert for years, And even after everything that happened, couldn’t believe he would actually force himself on her. She had no fear of that.  And so the source of her fear became clear.

“Of myself.”

Finding strength in her admission, Pree lifted her head, finally meeting his gaze. “I want you, Robert. I do, I want you as much as you want me, and that frightens me terribly. I’m afraid of what that means about me, and more frightened about what it means for my marriage.”

Her words felt like a cold breeze to him, clearing that fog with finality. Pree was torn, and he’d expected that, but being conflicted was one thing. Being afraid was another. It was an emotion he never wanted to force her to feel. Yet, he knew he could still have her. She was on the edge of surrender and it would take only a little push to send her over edge.

But that isn’t what he wanted. He couldn’t accept such a gift if it was given in fear, regardless of where that  fear was coming from. That crossed a line even he wouldn’t cross, even for Pree.

Especially for Pree, he realized. Seduction was an art he’d perfected over his many...