Marmalade

      Delilah Devlin

      The invitation was unexpected. And, in my opinion, unearned. My husband Greg was new to Talbot Enterprises and there were several layers of management between himself and Bob Talbot, the President and CEO. Greg had barely finished the company’s rigid orientation and had just begun to join the seasoned legal eagles in their annual policy reviews to acclimate to the corporate culture.

      Still, the prissy vellum envelope lay on my belly where Greg had dropped it as soon as he’d swept into the bedroom, proof of this unexpected turn. His face was ruddy from excitement and the run up the stairs to our third-storey apartment. I felt like The Grinch for letting my naturally suspicious nature question a windfall – a chance for Greg to spend some time alone with the boss and cultivate a valuable relationship.

      ‘Why do you suppose he asked us?’ I sat up, a bit perturbed that he was much more excited about the invitation to spend a weekend at the Talbots’ lodge than to find me nude and wearing clamps on my nipples, and my pussy shaved and glistening with opal glitter. However, I wasn’t about to spoil his moment of triumph simply because I was horny, and therefore grumpy. ‘Are you sure we’re the only other couple going to Cedar Lake this weekend?’

      Greg didn’t answer because his glance had snagged at last on my glittering pussy. He nearly strangled himself yanking off his tie. Buttons pinged against the floor as he wrestled his way out of his dress shirt.

      To forestall permanent injury to the treasure in his trousers, I reached for his buckle, tugged it open and jerked down his fly.

      He was balls-deep before he said, ‘We’ll be the only couple there for the whole fucking weekend.’ His head swooped down, and he kissed me hard. ‘Up for it?’

      What’s a girl gonna say when her hubby’s whole body is taut with excitement, and that’s saying a lot because he worked out to maintain his former linebacker physique?

      I shoved aside my doubts, dug my nails into his ass and said, ‘Why not? Sounds like fun, babe.’

      * * *

      I’d first met Tess Talbot at a corporate wives tea. She’d presided over the gathering, wearing a white silk suit that moulded her lush curves, her platinum hair twisted into a neat bun. I’d been intimidated by the formality of the event – too many utensils and fragile porcelain – and by her stature. She was tall and shaped like Charlize Theron while I was built more like the little girl in Juno.

      Further, she was very, very British – her diction crisply precise. I had to watch every word to keep from dropping ‘g’s and sounding like a hick.

      At the tea, she’d been gracious, her glance taking in my girlish sheath dress without a curve to mar the straight lines. Even then, I’d imagined she’d been about to say something. Maybe a kindly suggestion to never wear yellow, or to tell me I had strawberry jam on my chin, something I’d discovered when I’d hit the ladies’ room later.

      Now standing in the living room of their ‘little lodge’, a monstrous log and limestone house which towered over Cedar Lake, I still felt like a little brown mouse beside her luminous, moonlight-coloured dress and stunning face.

      Greg’s arms slipped around my waist from behind and pulled me close to rub his crotch against my backside. Ever since he’d come back from sharing cigars on the veranda with Bob, he’d been downright giddy.

      I slapped his arm. ‘Behave,’ I whispered, turning my head to deliver a mock frown. ‘Your boss is watching us.’

      He laughed and nuzzled the side of my neck. ‘He doesn’t mind, baby.’ He bit my earlobe, then chuckled. ‘His wife is into you.’

      I froze, my glance sliding to Tess, who stood beside Bob. Her husband’s hand rested on her hip, and he was leaning toward her ear as well, but whispering. Both of the Talbots stared directly at me.

      ‘What do you mean?’ I said, sure I’d misheard or that he was teasing me. He knew how uncomfortable I was. I’d been mostly mute throughout dinner while the men talked about work and the Texas political scene. Tess had chimed in a time or two, but for the most part had watched me much like a cat ready to pounce on a furry little rodent.

      ‘Haven’t you noticed that she hasn’t stopped staring all evening?’ Greg whispered in my ear. ‘I thought she’d reach across the table to pinch your nipple when you sat down. You almost fell out of that dress.’

      I blushed. I’d found the dress in a local gift shop just that day but, as always, while it fitted snugly through the torso, my meagre breasts failed to fill out the top. ‘It’s the best I could do on short notice when I ran to town after lunch. Their invitation said it was a “casual weekend”. I wasn’t expecting to dress for dinner.’

      Greg gave my cheek a smacking kiss then released me. ‘I’m telling you she’s not worried about the fact the dress doesn’t fit,’ he murmured. ‘Your nipples are hard. It’s hard not to stare.’

      A flush of heat, not all of it due to embarrassment, crept from my cheeks to my chest. The tips of my nipples grew long when they were excited. Greg called them ‘stems’. Because of the low neckline and the fact the dress dipped low in the back as well, I hadn’t been able to wear a bra. My nipples poked at the front of the dress.

      ‘It’s cold in here,’ I said, wrapping my arms over my chest.

      ‘Sure it is,’ he murmured. ‘But she’s not looking because she thinks you should’ve worn a bra. Bob hinted that his wife likes a playmate for these weekends.’

      ‘So I’m along to entertain her?’ I drew a deep breath. ‘You know I’m not good at small talk.’

      Greg snorted. ‘You weren’t just “not good” tonight – you sucked. You’ve hardly said a word to her all evening. You’re never this tense.’

      It was true, but I hoped he put my silence down to