The cafe where Tom and I decide to meet has a warm, inviting scent of freshly brewed coffee. The aroma of breakfast sandwiches and pastries wafts through the cafe, along with hints of baked goods and spices in the air. Tom waves at me from his seat and calls, “Cassie!” I smile at him and walk towards him. “Hi, Tom,” I greet. “I thought you wouldn’t come.” I sit in front of him and look into his eyes. His gaze quickly flits away as if ashamed. “I like you, Tom. I know you are aware of it already.” A blush creeps into his cheeks. “I like you too. Very much so.” He gulps before asking, “Which is why I’d like to ask why you didn’t meet me last night. I thought you changed your mind about us?” The smile fades from my face. “I couldn’t,” I answer. Tom reaches across the table and takes my hand. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable. I just don’t understand.” I sigh. “I still have a husband, even if we are not really in love with each other.” He looks down, his hold on
Tom continues to invite me to his family events and as it continues, I find myself getting lost in my own thoughts. “I wonder what’s wrong with my wife?” Liam asks as he presses a kiss on my cheeks. I didn’t even notice him coming into the room. “Liam! Since when have you been there?” I ask, looking at him while he takes off his suit and tie. “Hmmm... a minute?” He moves towards me and places his hands on either side of my legs. “Let’s take a bath together?” My heart races and my mind stops thinking about Tom’s family events. I smile at him, nodding in agreement. We both head over to the bathroom and after playing around while giving each other a rub, we let ourselves into the bathtub. The warmth of the water is soothing and calming as I lay my back against Liam’s chest. He wraps his arms around me tightly and I can feel his breath on my neck. His lips brush against my skin and he traces soft kisses down to my collarbone. “Wait, Liam,” I say, pushing him away. My entire body shi
“I feel the same way, Cassie,” Tom says as he squeezes my hand. “I don’t want you to stop loving me. I don’t want you to tire of me. So, whenever you do, I will kiss you to remind you.” I take a deep breath. “Does that mean that we will continue to meet in secret?” “I am not meeting you in secret. Everyone from my family knows about it.” “So, we are going to steal kisses? Behind closed doors?” I ask. “I know,” he starts. “I know this won’t last, but tell me, and I can leave them already. I am just waiting for your decision.” My decision. However, I don’t know what I want anymore. If I choose Tom, I will hurt his family, but I will be comfortable with him. I will be safe, but I hate to leave Liam and the contract. But if I choose Liam, I know that the succeeding barrage of emotions will be too much for me. And if the contract ends, I will be left alone. I don’t want that! “In the meantime, you will get used to our setup. How about coming to my daughter’s school recognition? It wil
I push sharply at him. “What was that for?!” I hiss at him, breathless. “Your eyes are wandering,” he says, looking a bit angry. I glare back at him. Conscious of the surrounding people, I move closer to him and hiss, “Liam, I don’t like that. Don’t kiss me like that in front of other people!” “Why?” he asks, sounding hurt. “It’s normal between husband and wife.” “No, it’s too much,” I snap at him. He snorts. He leans back in his chair and says, “That’s it. We are going home.” “But—” “The celebration is about to be finished, anyway.” “Liam—” He cuts off my sentence with another dizzying kiss from him. “I want you now. Do you want me to take you here? Or back in the car?” “That’s not—” “Not what?” He leans closer to me and whispers, “Remember, the contract stipulates that you will meet my desires.” I purse my lips and push against his chest. He is using our contract again. I thought we are past that. Still, I make a forced smile. “Okay,” I say, and somehow, I see his feature
I feel Liam’s grip on me tighten as we step out of the car. His grip on my arm shows no signs of loosening as we make our way to our house. The drive has been a silent, oppressive one, and I know Liam heard the entire conversation between Tom and me. I feel embarrassed, exposed, and ashamed all at once. He pushes the key into the lock, turns it, and pushes the door open. His grip on me does not lessen as we make our way inside, and I know I must face the consequences of what I have done. My heart is pounding in my chest, and my mind races with thoughts of what could possibly happen next. The house is eerily quiet as we step inside, and it feels like a ghostly reminder of the love he used to tell me. Liam’s hand is on my shoulder, pulling me gently but firmly with him, and I know I have to face what is coming. He pulls me to our bedroom, and my anxiety rises as I watch the dark, brooding expression on his face. He stops in the center of the room, his hands still gripping my arms. He
I have stayed in the house since we returned from Yvette’s wedding. I can still remember the way Tom rejected me. Sometimes, the words slut and dirty still ring in my ears like a buzz of flies. I want to do something about it, but I know I can’t. It’s my fault, anyway, for trusting too much, for believing in his love. Screaming and hitting something for a sense of release is something that I do not deserve. “Oh god, Cassie, my wife...” Liam moans against my back as he pumps into me, and I am brought back to reality. Right, I remember. The instant he arrives, he’s done nothing but kiss and caress me. And as the slut I am, my body responds to him just as eagerly. But these last few days, I find myself getting lost in my own world, as if I am losing hold of my reality. I feel Liam’s release at the same time that tears stream down my cheeks. “Cassie?” Liam asks. He moves away from me and looks at my face. “Why are you crying? Did it hurt?” I shake my head. “No. I just remembered some
“Why didn’t you fight back?” Liam asks the instant we enter our bedroom. I mumble something unintelligible and sit on the couch. I don’t want to answer because I am already on the edge as it is. He sits beside me and checks the bruises that Heidi caused. “I always thought you were a fighter, but now, it stumps me why you didn’t fight back,” he repeats, as if wanting to be cleared of his confusion. “Because I deserve it,” I finally answer while he checks the wound on the side of my neck. His eyes return to mine. “You deserve to be assaulted and humiliated in public?” I nod as I grab my arms. “She is right. I am well aware that Tom has a live-in partner and a child. I should have said no when he asked me to live with him.” “He asked you to live with him?!” “Actually, even before that… when he said he loved me, I shouldn’t have responded that I love him, too.” “You love him?!” “Come to think of it, when we were in San Francisco, I already knew what I was doing, but I was enjoying
Liam is pumping on top of me, my legs are on either side of him. His groans of pleasure echo across the bedroom. And all I am thinking is, until when he will make love to me. I am exhausted already. Suddenly, he takes hold of my face and makes me look at him. I shift my attention to him at the same time that liquid falls on my face. I blink as I look up and see him crying. “Cassie...” he whimpers. He buries his face in my shoulders as his body trembles. He embraces me, but each of his quivers is no longer because of pleasure. “You hate this now, don’t you?” he asks. “Making love to me... It doesn’t feel the same way for you anymore...” I didn’t answer. Rather, I shift my attention again to the same spot in the ceiling. “But I can’t let you go that easy. I need time to adjust without you. I need to make love to you as much as I can, so I won’t regret anything. These feelings… I need to rush these so they will all die down. But no matter how much we do it... I can’t seem to lower t