SECOND THOUGHTS

Melissa turned off the car and looked thoughtfully at the hotel wing. Not surprisingly, Alex had specified a suite at the back, away from all the other business travelers. And in the middle of the week it was unlikely someone would check in next door. Besides, Alex seemed to have an accommodation with the desk clerk, or else how could he get into the room before she had paid for it? She wondered just how much the desk clerk knew.

During the preceding week she'd been a bundle of nervous energy. Whenever she tried not to think about today, it would spring to mind that much more vividly. And often the damning thoughts would float into her mind completely unbidden, sometimes even getting her wet with anticipation. She'd even had erotic dreams during the week, in which Alex or someone else held her captive, and she was forced to trade sex for food. Fragments of these dreams haunted her, and their appearance often turned into elaborate daydreams. Several times, while Jack watched sports in the living room, she retired to bed early and masturbated, something she'd rarely done since the boys were born.

The previous night had been especially frustrating. She had an insatiable need for Jack to just take her, wham-bam-no questions maam. It would've been a perfect night for his Tarzan routine. But no, he'd come to bed all wimpy and sensitive. "What do you want?" he'd whispered in her ear. "Tell me just how you want it." She tried to tell him to take her, now, like an animal. But he persisted in making her make all the decisions. And even though she had ordered him to take her, the very order itself took away all the power, and the act was just as routine and mechanical as the last few years had been.

Her pager shook her from her reverie. Someone at the office needed her to make a decision. Well, they would just have to wait. She was going to get fucked.

She tentatively knocked on the door. "Come in," she heard a muffled voice say from within. Trying the door, she found it locked. Well, how...oh, duh. You've got a key, dummy, she told herself.

It didn't take long for her eyes to adjust inside. Nearly every light was on, though the drapes were drawn. The room was the same type she'd stayed in on several business trips, the same chain with locations around the country. Fireplace (unlit), mini-kitchen, love seat and stuffed chairs, dining table and chairs, obligatory TV and VCR, and a separate bedroom. Alex sat facing her in one of the chairs, dressed in black jeans and a black t-shirt.

"Put your keys in the box in the closet," he ordered, nodding to her right. She bent and had just dropped her keys in when his voice interrupted, "No, no. That's not right. I like my women to bend from the waist, none of that mamby-pamby kneeling stuff. From now on, whenever you have to bend, do it at the waist. Pick up your keys and do it again."

What the hell? Confused, she bent to get her keys so she could drop them again, when he addressed her again, an edge to his voice, "What part of that did you not understand? I want you to bend at the waist every time! Not that you need to know, but I like to look at your butt. Now if you're gonna do this, you're gonna do it right. You do still want to do this, don't you?"

"Yes," she replied, voice trembling, feeling disconcertingly off-balance.

"OK, then. I'm giving you two points for that. Every time you do something that I don't like, I'm gonna give you points. It's up to you to keep track of them. If you forget how many, I'll estimate it...and I tend to go on the high side. Now, let's try it again," he ordered.

This time she carefully bent at the waist, staying in that position for several seconds at his command. For the first time, she noticed the sounds of a radio emanating from the box. She was too afraid to ask why.

"Good. Now come over here so I can get a closer look at you." She stood before him, feeling his eyes undress her. Of course, he will be undressing me soon. And then he'd see how wet her panties already were. She'd decided to wear a business pant suit for the day. She'd changed into her new sexy underwear in the women's lounge at work; she didn't want to explain to Jack why she would want to go to work in such an uncomfortable get-up. Even at his densest, Jack would notice that.

She spun slowly at Alex's bidding. "Take off the jacket, put it in the box, and return to me."

It would get wrinkled, but somehow she knew any protest would be futile...and maybe dangerous. "Two more points!" he called out, when she forgot to bend at the waist. Damn! That made what, four? Getting points couldn't be good. She picked her jacket up, and did it again, thrusting her butt out and receiving sarcastic applause for her effort.

She could just up and leave at any time, she reminded herself, standing again in front of Alex, this time with her arms stretched high above her head. As she faced him, she saw the predatory look in his eyes, the unhidden lust. I could leave, she repeated. If only I wasn't so hot.