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Girlfriends, Wives, and Kept Women

x-x-x-x-x

Jennifer Bowles: They're finally ready.

Alexi Volkoff: Are you sure?

Jennifer Bowles: I'm sure. My contact at the CIA tells me they are ready to test. They have a candidate picked out.

Alexi Volkoff: We need to have a little chat with this lucky individual. What is his name?

Jennifer Bowles: His name is Bryce Larkin. How do you think you're going to talk him into cooperating? These agent types don't pressure easily.

Alexi Volkoff: Who said anything about easy? Trust me. This will be anything but easy. Leave that part to me. Your only job is to deliver Mr. Bryce Larkin to me. Do we understand each other?

Jennifer Bowles: Yes, of course. But let's not forget about our payment. Fulcrum isn't a charity. We expect four, twenty kiloton devices.

Alexi Volkoff: Four? Our deal was for two. Nuclear weapons don't grow on trees.

Jennifer Bowles: The price just went up. Alexi, face facts. I own this. And let's understand something. That means that I now own you. The Intersect 2.0 is more powerful than we expected. It's even better than a nuclear weapon. You can actually use it. I think it's in your best interest to stop arguing and agree before we find another buyer and my price goes even higher. Don't you?

Alexi Volkoff: I thought that we were friends.

Jennifer Bowles: We are friends, Alexi. Good friends. That's why I'm giving you the first shot at this. But this is business.

Alexi Volkoff: Fine. Let me know when you have him.

Jennifer Bowles: I'll be in touch.

Diane Beckman smiled as she read the transcript. Team Bartowski's mission in Vegas had just paid another dividend, a totally unexpected one. And to think, Bowles was the very last Elder she was going to have picked up. Now that could easily wait for a couple of weeks. All the other Elders were singing like canaries anyway. The best part was that since the Elders were so secretive, by the time Bowles found out that Fulcrum had ceased to exist, it would be far too late. Alexi Volkoff was a much bigger prize than even Fulcrum. If they could catch him in the act of actually transferring nuclear weapons to terrorists, even the massive political connections that had kept him untouchable for all of those years would no longer help him. They could end the bastard forever as a threat. And all it was going to cost her was a single agent, Bryce Larkin. That seemed like a very acceptable loss.

She didn't like the pretty boy act all that much anyway.

x-x-x-x-x

Chuck had only been staring at Bryce for about two seconds when Sarah came bounding angrily out of the bedroom with a knife in her hand and only the sheet wrapped around her. Well, mostly wrapped around her. In her haste to find out what was happening, she hadn't taken the time to ensure that both breasts were covered. And even that oversight really didn't matter all that much since the sheet was far too shear to actually hide anything anyway.

Sarah ignored the approving looks that Bryce was throwing her way. But she was clearly the only one ignoring it. It only took about a second for her to see the horror in Chuck's eyes. She realized immediately what that look meant and since Bryce probably didn't pose an imminent threat, she turned to head back in the bedroom to get some clothes on. "Don't you make a fucking move," she growled over her shoulder to Bryce. "I'll be right back."

"Well," Bryce said with a gloating smile. "That was a treat. You're a lucky man. The Mrs. still has quite the body."

Chuck ignored the clear gloat on his 'friend's' face. "Okay, Bryce," he said with no trace of humor. "Care to tell me why you're here? In our hotel room? During our honeymoon?"

Bryce clearly recognized the shot that had just landed between his eyes. Yes, they were married, on their honeymoon. Let's see for how long. "I brought you something," he said.

Chuck looked at the sunglasses that Bryce sat on the table. "No thanks," he said. "I already have sunglasses. Sarah picked them out for me when we were shopping for the negligee she wore last night." Okay, so that part was a lie designed to get under his skin. Sarah had already bought several negligees in Vegas shopping with Laura. As of yet, she hadn't bothered to put one on. A negligee was designed to set the mood. So far the mood had no need of being set. But the tightening in Bryce's jaw very plainly said without words that he had taken another direct hit.

"The glasses contain Intersect 2.0," Bryce said. "Put them on and it'll upload automatically."

"And why in the hell would he want to do that?" Sarah emerged from the bedroom, still fairly disheveled, wearing her clothes from last night… and a big, big frown. "When we get back, we're going to march into Beckman's office and tell her to go to hell together. You want an advance preview? Fine. Go to hell. Now get the fuck out of our room."

Bryce smiled at the memory of a pissed off Agent Walker. He had seen it more times than he could count. The plain truth was that she was never more sexy than when she was furious. Their hottest sex was always when she was pissed. The even better news was that she was fairly easy to piss off. "Just think about it," he said. "You don't have to decide anything today. You never know when it will come in handy."

Sarah stepped up to Chuck and kissed him. Actually she did more than kiss him. She was clearly sending a message to her ex-partner. "Sweetie," she said. "Would you mind if I talked to Agent Larkin in private for a second?"

Chuck knew full well that she would tell him every word later. He almost felt sorry for his old friend, almost. The look in her eyes plainly said that this wasn't going to be a friendly chat between two friends recounting old times.

Chuck wasn't out of the room for a second before Sarah turned to face Bryce. "I'm trying to stay calm here," she said. "You and I were partners for a long time. And the truth is you were a great partner, Bryce. I don't regret what we had. I don't even regret that we sometimes went farther that just partners. You were there for me at a time in my life when I needed something. I appreciate that. But we need to talk."

"Okay," Bryce said. "I'd like…"

Sarah quickly cut him off. "Actually, I plan on doing all the talking. Understood?"

Bryce had heard that tone before. And it usually immediately preceded somebody being fitted with a toe tag. So he just nodded.

"This seems plainly obvious to me," Sarah said. "I'm not even sure why I have to say it. But I'm going to anyway. I'm no longer Agent Walker… in both a literal and figurative sense. I know that you think that you know me pretty well. But I need for you to hear this. You don't know me, Bryce. And the plain unvarnished truth is that you never really did. This may be hard for you to hear. But you only knew the shell of a person that I allowed you to see." Sarah nodded towards the bedroom door where Chuck had just gone. "I'm in love with him. I'm going to spend the rest of my life dedicated to making him happy."

If Sarah hadn't already been furious, Bryce's skeptical look would have quickly turned the trick. But in this circumstance it actually made her more sad than angry. This was the part that was hurting Chuck. "I can tell what you're thinking," Sarah sighed. "Because, Bryce, I do know you. And I can see it written all over your face. You think you have it all figured out. I'll soon get bored with my new normal life and need the excitement of a mission. You'll be there waiting when I'll come running to you all desperate."

Sarah paused for a moment to gauge his reaction. "Then you'll have me at your mercy, won't you Bryce?" she asked softly. "That's where you always wanted me. We both know what your price would be to give me that exciting mission, don't we? It would be the things you always wanted from me and never got. Which would you demand first? The threesome with one of your barely conscious conquests like you wanted in Manila? Or the game of having me pick up a man in a bar and fuck him senseless while you watched from a hiding place like you suggested in Pittsburgh that time? Or maybe the submissive striptease, dancing for your amusement, probably followed by the blowjob you were constantly begging for in cities too numerous to mention? I imagine all three would come into play at some point in your twisted fantasy, right? Have you thought of some more things to demand from me once I'm at your mercy? I'll bet a lot that you have."

Bryce's involuntary smile plainly said that she had nailed him. "I'm glad that we agree that you've cheated me," he said. "I was your boyfriend for almost two years. After all the times that I've saved your life… I just want what I'm owed."

That turned the balance of Sarah's mood back from sad to furious. "You simply need to get that ridiculous thought out of your head," she snapped angrily. "Those things that you're thinking aren't ever, ever, fucking ever going to happen. Why in the hell do you think that you never got those things in the first place? Have you ever honestly asked yourself that question? Do you really think that you were my boyfriend, Bryce? What color is the sky in your world anyway? I owe you nothing. For one thing, I'm pretty sure that I've saved your life at least as many times. For another, more often than not it was your screw up that put me in danger in the first place."

Sarah stopped her angry rant for a moment and took a cleansing breath. "If you have never heard anything that I've ever said to you before, you need to hear this," she said in a much calmer tone. "Chuck and I are forever. The fact is that I'm very lucky to have him. We're currently actively trying to start a family. I'm looking forward to that normal life with him more than I can tell you. I feel like I'm just waking up from a bad dream. I'm happy, Bryce, happier than I ever thought possible, happier than I ever thought I deserved. There is no way in hell that I'm ever going back to that shell of a life. If you truly cared about me at all, you'd be happy for me."

In spite of her considerable rage, thinking about how happy she was caused an involuntary smile to break out. "Naturally, you don't understand a single word of this," she said shaking her head sadly. "I get that. You're not equipped to understand it. I'm not really asking you to understand. What I am asking for is that you respect it… and him. Chuck is more than my husband. He's my soul mate. That is not going to ever change. And 'asking' is actually far too tame. I'm not asking, I'm demanding. It's a condition going forward for us continuing to be friends. Frankly that is currently hanging by a thread."

Sarah took a deep breath to stamp down the frustration. "So there is one thing that I do expect you to get," she continued. "Whatever amount of slack that I was once willing to cut you because of our history is now gone. So I'm going to put this in terms that even you are equipped to understand. The next time you show up in our personal living space uninvited, you're going to be treated just like any other potential threat. You'll be exiting that room strapped to a gurney with a sheet over your head and one of my knives in your throat. That's as plain as I can say it."

"Do we understand each other?"

x-x-x-x-x

He already had quite the reputation for being an intimidating man, rage being his baseline emotion. But it wasn't all that difficult for her to tell when Alexi Volkoff was furious as he hung up the phone. She had seen it far too many times. There was this one vein in his forehead that was a sure fire giveaway. And it was currently pulsing at a record pace.

It was hard to think of Alexi Volkoff being enraged as anything but ominous. People often died because of it. But there was one very good thing about this from her perspective. Alexi could never have been mistaken for gentle and loving in bed at any time. Under the best of circumstances he demanded some level of sexual submission from her. In fact he often devised tests just to prove to both of them who was in charge of their sex life. And while she couldn't claim to enjoy some of the tests, after all pushing her limits and getting her to do things that she didn't want to was his point, she had to admit that being under his total control was… exciting.

But when he was angry that went out the window. The sex became… well, angry. It was his way of working off the frustration. And that was more than fine with her, quite frankly one of her favorite things. You couldn't call it 'making love." In fact it wasn't close to that. But to lie there helplessly while he did all the work and pounded into her over and over was amazing. It always led her to the most powerful orgasms. Not only that, he almost always felt a little guilty after one of those intense pounding sessions and did something to, well maybe not apologize, but at least do something to make it up to her. And since he usually treated her like a goddess anyway, that was always quite a treat. Some incredibly expensive piece of jewelry was often that something.

She knew Alexi well enough after being with him for the past twenty years that she was well aware that she didn't have to make any overture. In fact that would be a mistake. He would soon grab her and start ripping her clothes off… literally. Fortunately, she was getting a little tired of the outfit she was wearing anyway. That was a good thing since the chance of it surviving his rage this afternoon approached zero.

"I need you to go to Washington and oversee this," he said.

That surprised her a bit. At one time she was his main operative. She gladly did the nasty jobs for him that no one else could… or would. But it had been a few years since she had been in the field. Now her full time job was plainly between the sheets. It was a job that she loved. They maybe weren't technically married. But that was only a technicality. They both totally acted like it. "Me?" she asked in surprise.

"You're the only one I trust with this," Alexi said. "She actually thinks that she owns me. Do you believe that she would say that to me? Maybe it's time I showed her who owns who."

She groaned a bit. She knew that it was wise to be very careful how to speak to Alexi Volkoff. Yes, he loved her, more than that was obsessed with her, even worshiped her after a fashion. He would never really intentionally hurt her. And they both knew how much that she loved rough sex. But he was a very large, powerful man. When he got really angry, sometimes he forgot his own strength. "Come on, Alexi," she whined. "You know how much I hate that dyke." It was as much of a protest as she would ever register, and they both knew it.

"It can't be helped," he said as he grabbed her blouse in both hands and in one powerful pull easily ripped it like it had been made of paper until was barely hanging off her shoulders in threads. Quickly her bra followed. She had learned long ago to wear flimsy bras that were easily ripped for just these occasions. Fortunately, she had a drawer full of them, one of the perks of being the kept woman of one of the richest men in the world. "We have to stay ahead of the competition here. We need the Intersect. You know that I'll make this up to you."

She was always amazed at how quickly he could get her naked when he was angry. The next thing she knew she was laying on the bed, flat on her back. She knew that there wouldn't be anything approaching foreplay today. Fortunately none was needed, not in this situation. She was already pretty excited anticipating the hard fuck that was clearly imminent. So she quickly assumed the submissive position he liked so much. She placed her hands behind her head and lifted her knees in the air, giving him total access, an easy path of attack. It only took a short moment before she felt him powerfully enter deep inside her. After only a few thrusts, each one coming close to lifting her off the bed, she could already feel the inevitable explosion building inside her. It was amazing. She had been with Alexi for almost twenty years now and she still got the same thrill as that very first time. Ted maybe tried to act all macho a couple of times, but it was plainly an act. He had never fucked her anything like this. Steven never came close, never tried, simply didn't have it in him to dominate her like this. Maybe if he had tried every once in a while…

Alexi wasn't paying much attention to her moaning, pleading with him to go harder. He just pounded away. "We'll see how much you think that you own once you've had a taste of a pissed off Agent Frost," he said, clearly talking to a Jennifer Bowles who was currently half a world away, far more than to himself. If she had been able to hear him, she'd be on her knees right now shaking, begging for his forgiveness. She certainly would have been given a series of tasks to earn that forgiveness.

"Maybe quit literally."

x-x-x-x-x

Bryce was clearly shaken. The conversation plainly hadn't gone anything like he had hoped. But Sarah was far too pissed to feel even a little sorry for him. It was incredibly frustrating. She knew that Bryce Larkin was a good man. He was. But why was he acting like such a tool? What was that nonsense about being cheated? Hopefully maybe she had gotten through to him. Maybe if he finally believed that sex between them was never going to happen, he would actually stop this annoying nonsense.

As soon as he walked out the door, she went looking for Chuck to try and repair any damage Bryce's stupidity had just caused. He wasn't in the bedroom so she checked the bathroom. When the bathroom was empty, there was really only one place he could be. Sure enough he was sitting on the balcony calmly watching the morning surf crashing on the still empty beach. She softly took the seat next to him and gently put her head on his shoulder. "I'm so sorry," she said. "He never should have come into our room. I made very sure he understands that is never to happen again."

Chuck didn't look at her, or even respond for a long while. "Why are you sorry?" he finally asked. "You didn't do anything wrong."

"Well," Sarah sighed. "I did come out of the bedroom basically naked. I didn't know it was Bryce. I thought that you might have been in trouble and I just reacted on instinct. My instincts are apparently still more bodyguard than wife, I'm afraid. I'm sorry. I'm working on it."

"Okay," Chuck said. He kept staring out into the ocean. "You're doing fine in the wife department. Again, there is no need to be sorry."

"Chuck," Sarah said, the pleading in her voice clear. "Please. Yes, he is acting foolishly, totally unacceptably. I get that. You have every right to be pissed at him. But does it have to affect us like this? Aren't we so far past this? What is it going to take to convince you that you have no reason to be jealous of Bryce? Whatever it is, tell me and I'll do it."

"I'm not jealous of Bryce," Chuck insisted. He finally turned to look at Sarah with perhaps the beginning of a smile. "Let me rephrase that," he said responding to her skeptical look. "I'm not jealous of you and Bryce. I'm actually very secure in us. I have zero fear the Bryce Larkin is going to take you away from me. It's not that. Besides, I'm thinking that you're pissed enough at him for the both of us."

That got something of a relieved smile. "Good," she said. "You're probably right about that. Only I sense there is a 'but' in there someplace. Why don't we play the absolute truth game again that you started on the plane, be totally honest with your wife here, and tell me what that 'but' is?"

"He still loves you," Chuck said. "That's plain."

Sarah shook her head firmly. "You're just wrong about that," she said. "That honestly concerns me a little. It proves that you still don't get it. Bryce couldn't still love me. He never did love me. Not in the way you mean anyway. We were partners. We had each other's back in very dangerous, intimate situations, but nothing more. And yes, you're well aware that we've had sex a few times. I'd be lying if I tried to pretend that somehow I wasn't a willing participant, or even the initiator sometimes. But it was always just that… physical sex to get over the tension of a mission."

Sarah paused for a second to lovingly rub his back before continuing. "I'm sorry for rubbing that in your face so plainly," she said softly. "I get that you're sensitive about the subject. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that. I wouldn't like being constantly reminded of your sex life with Jill either. But it's important that you understand this. What I had with Bryce isn't in the same universe as what I have with you. It was the spy analogy to a relationship, an empty, joyless imitation of love. Bryce doesn't love me, in fact doesn't even understand what love is. He just misses having a partner, misses the sex… and he doesn't like to lose. The funny thing here is that it is actually Bryce who is the most jealous one. And I agree with you that it's plenty annoying. You shouldn't have to tolerate it. I told him so in terms that even he might actually understand."

Sarah paused as her smile turned into more like a grin. "Actually, now I'm fairly disappointed in you," she said. "You're cheating. That is not how the honesty game is played and you know it. So… when are you going to tell me the real reason why you're sitting here so troubled?"

Chuck looked out into the ocean again, this time for a long time. But he knew that she wasn't going to let him get away with not telling her. "It's not just Bryce," he finally sighed. "You're just so damned beautiful. I know that's probably a crazy thing to complain about. I can't believe that you don't notice it. Do you really not see the guy's eyes following your ass wherever you walk on the beach in that bikini? Or when you're bouncing around on the dance floor? Or whenever we walk into a restaurant? Did you really not see that waiter trying to look down your shirt last night? I mean, I know how stupid I'm sounding. I'm usually pretty good at ignoring it. I'm sorry. I'm not proud of feeling this way."

Sarah worked hard to make sure that he knew she wasn't making fun of him. "Why exactly are you sorry?" she asked. "That might have been one of the nicest things that anybody has ever said to me. And I don't think you're being stupid. That's not the right word, maybe just a little silly. Why get so upset over something that you have no control over? That's not healthy. Of course I'm aware that men look. I've learned over the years to tune it out, that they're going to look no matter what I do. The truth is that I understand what you're saying a whole lot better than you think I do. Because I see other women checking you out all the time as well. You are just as clueless about it as you're accusing me of being. Maybe that's because women are usually a tad more subtle than men are. But trust me, sweetie, it happens. And it bothers me just as much."

"I don't think so," Chuck said skeptically.

Sarah's grin disappeared. "You don't think that it bothers me?" she asked skeptically. "You seriously don't think that I'm every bit as jealous? I'm just better at hiding it. And do you know how I do it? Every time I see some woman looking at your ass, I tell myself that the glance is all she's ever going to get. That tonight you're going to be in bed with me, that your ass is mine."

Chuck wasn't quite ready to make this a joke. "I still don't think it happens as often," he protested.

"Wanna bet?" Sarah asked mischievously. "We were going to play Genie, remember? Well here is my first wish. For the rest of the day, we're going to point out when someone is checking the other out. We're going to have fun with it all day. The winner gets a forth wish. Deal?"

"You're getting to be quite the gambler," Chuck said with his first genuine smile. "Something tells me that this is going to get you in trouble soon. Joey must be rubbing off on you."

"I'm really not the one who Joey would like to rub off on," Sarah said as she joined his grin. "Maybe you could guess again. She is actually my ace in the hole here. Do we have a bet?"

"Sarah," Chuck asked cautiously. "You're not going to encourage any men are you? That would bother me."

"Of course not, silly," Sarah said. "Do you really think that it wouldn't bother me if you encouraged another woman? Trust me, that would lead to our first major fight as a married couple. There would be something wrong if that didn't bother you. Besides, you clearly don't understand the rules of the bet. Encouraging anybody would make me lose. And I may as well confess, I have big plans for that forth genie day. Look, if anyone ever did anything more than look, I wouldn't tolerate that. You shouldn't be expected to tolerate it either. But there is a grim reality here. We can't keep people from looking. So let's have some fun with it. I think you might enjoy this more than you think."

"Okay," Chuck said. "We have a bet. Now you owe me a total truth question. Be honest with me. There are things about the sex with Bryce that you miss, right?"

"So," Sarah said. "You want a totally honest answer here, right? If I remember the rules, you forfeit any right to be upset by my answer."

Chuck nodded.

"Here's my answer," Sarah said as she reached back and punched him in the arm, not perhaps with all of her might, but certainly not playfully.

"Damn," Chuck said as he rubbed his arm vigorously. "That hurt. I thought that the answers in this game were supposed to be verbal."

"I'm going to stay calm here," Sarah said, looking anything but calm. "But you need to understand something. The next time you ask me anything like that, we're going to have a big fight. You need to get that imaginary image that you've invented totally out of your head. It's just not real. So I'm going to say this one more time and you'd better fucking hear me. Bryce and I were partners on unbelievably dangerous, tense missions. Our sex was never more than the pure emotional release after cheating death. In fact I can't remember a single detail about any single time. Actually, at the time it could have been almost anybody. There was never anything loving about it. Ten minutes after it was over, I was always embarrassed by how unprofessional it was."

Sarah took a cleansing breath and honestly tried to calm down. "Chuck, have you ever asked yourself why I'm always seducing you?" she asked. "The honest truth is that I'm addicted to our lovemaking… every bit as much as that imaginary Neuorpol. You've taken me to places I never even imagined were possible. I remember every detail of the times we've made love. I'm actually getting pretty worked up sitting here thinking about it. If you weren't acting so stone cold stupid, I'd probably be dragging you into the bedroom and prove it to you by begging for my next dose."

"I'm sorry," Chuck said. "I didn't mean to piss you off. Could I maybe have a 'get out of jail free' card just this once?"

Sarah knew that she shouldn't laugh. She was pissed. She really was. But it was hopeless. The laugh came out pretty wet. "You know it, don't you?" she asked. "You know damned well that I'm helpless with you, that you can get me to do anything you want."

Chuck stood up and held out his hand in invitation which she quickly accepted. "Yup," he said with a grin.

"It's time to prove it."

x-x-x-x-x

Joan knew that she should just lay there and enjoy this wonderful afterglow. But she was a research scientist, an analyst. It simply wasn't in her nature to not try and analyze what had just happened. If you had told her a week ago that this was going to happen, she would have scoffed at you. But it was clear, her world had just dramatically changed twice… inside of three days. Joan wasn't one to normally believe in things that couldn't be scientifically explained, like fate. Looking back though, it was like her whole life had conspired to lead her to this… wonderful spot.

Today had started with something of a mixed bag. She wasn't an expert at dating etiquette by any stretch of the imagination. But it actually occurred to her on the drive over here that spaghetti wasn't perhaps the ideal meal for a second date. It was hard to eat, and surely hard to eat while you were wearing a light colored blouse and still trying to make that initial good impression. Of course she quickly found that she had been worrying for nothing. She and Steven simply clicked on every level. They were so comfortable together, like they had been a couple for years. Truthfully she had never laughed so hard in her entire life. She spent her life around scientists. And as a group they were pretty famous for having no sense of humor. But he was honestly the funniest man she had ever met.

But even more truthfully, Joan knew that there was something hanging over them, something that she simply had to fix if they were ever going to go forward. So she waited until they had the dishes in the sink. "I'm not a slut, Steven," she basically blurted out of left field, suddenly aware of how bizarre it sounded. "I know what Bryce told you to expect from me. And, yes, he asked me to come over here and seduce you. It would be pointless to try and deny that I agreed to do it for him. But I'm not a slut. I'm honestly not sure why I agreed. It was totally out of character for me. In fact, I've only ever slept with two men before in my life. I'm embarrassed. I… I just need for you to know that."

Joan didn't really know what to expect. After all, her confession was pretty stark, maybe even odd. But she surely didn't expect the grin he was flashing at her. "He's pretty persuasive, isn't he?" he asked with his eyes dancing. "He's talked me into some things I normally wouldn't have done as well. I have to admit that I'm a little disappointed. Does that mean you won't be seducing me… ever?"

Joan was never more grateful to be teased. It felt wonderful. "Ever is a long time," she said with her own silly grin that she seemed incapable of keeping from her face. "I'm not sure I can hold out quite that long. Whoever does the seducing; let's agree that when it happens it won't have been Bryce's idea, okay? It will be because we both want it. I'd appreciate it if maybe it could even be your idea."

Steven just laughed. The relaxed grin said that he clearly had noticed that she said 'when' and not 'if.' "In that case, would you like another glass of wine?" he asked. "If you're going to put all the pressure on me, I've learned in my limited experience in this area that I'm much more successful when the girl has been drinking heavily. If you need something stronger, I think I have some vodka someplace."

If Steven realized this or not, he couldn't have possibly said anything better to break the guilty tension she was feeling. Joan would have laughed, if her mouth had been free. She honestly wasn't sure who initiated that first kiss. Maybe they met half way. But it seemed to last forever. In fact she eventually realized through her fog that they had clearly passed simple necking some time ago and were now well into the foreplay realm. "Trust me," she whispered between ever more intense kisses. "Getting the girl drunk won't be necessary in this case."

Joan was an analytical person by nature. So it was hard to not compare Bryce to Steven in her mind, especially after such a long sexual drought. The truth was they couldn't possibly have been more polar opposites. She didn't even try to tell herself that the sex with Bryce Larkin wasn't the highlight of her life to that point. It clearly was. It was electric, consuming, almost uncomfortable in an overwhelming, out of body, sort of way. They weren't equals in that bed. He was in charge, took what he wanted, and made it clear that she was basically along for the ride.

Steven was different. Where Bryce was bold, he was bashful. It was so cute how his eyes asked for permission to unbutton every button, to unclasp every clasp. She resisted the strong temptation to help him in his task of getting her naked just to prolong the moment.

Where Bryce was electric and demanding, Steven was comfortable and generous. He made doubly sure that wherever he went, she was right there with him. Their foreplay and cuddling afterward was just as good as the actual sex part. And that's what made this the brand new highlight of her life.

Yesterday, she would have bet her very life that nothing could top the electric feeling of submitting to Bryce Larkin. Today proved her conclusively wrong. The warm and comfortable feeling trumped the electric jolt easily. Besides the fact that Steven wasn't about to give her a task to perform to pay him for the privilege of a single fuck. One thing was for sure. You could add sex to that list of levels where they simply clicked.

They just cuddled together wordlessly catching their breath for a long wonderful time. Finally Steven broke the silence. "It's been a while," he said with a gentle kiss and a smile that lit up the room. "I was afraid that I had forgotten how."

Joan quickly realized something. She didn't feel naked. A man was looking at her, in the broad daylight of early evening, wearing nothing but a silly smile, and she didn't feel uncomfortable in the least, was making no move to cover herself. That was a new experience for her… and a wonderful one. "I'm no expert," she replied with her own grin. "But I'm pretty sure you haven't forgotten much. If you have, then I'm in real trouble."

"So," Steven said with his grin now threatening to consume his face. "What next? Do you want to talk about data flow? Or maybe round two?"

"Can't we do both?"

"I meant which one first," Steven replied. "I'm dying to hear your thoughts on the data flow problem. But I'm finding it hard to concentrate on specs. You're just too beautiful."

Joan looked at him gratefully. "That was sweet." She was already convinced that she should stop trying to compare Bryce and Steven. That wasn't particularly productive or even all that healthy. Besides, there was no comparison. But there still was one question that was going to drive her crazy until she knew the answer. It really wasn't about Bryce or Steven, not really. It was far more about her. "I don't know," she said in mock deliberation. "I do have some definite thoughts on data flow." She began kissing her way down his neck. "First, I have an experiment I'd like to perform." When she had reached his stomach, she lifted her head to look at him.

"I'll let you know the results in a few minutes."

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