Chapter 15

I was right. The next time I woke up it was because someone was gently backing a plush ass against me. "Karen?"

"Yes, Master." The response was diffident. I knew why -- nobody had invited her into my bed directly. I COULD stick her porky ass in her kennel for unnecessarily disturbing my sleep...

On the other hand, I'd more or less promised her some dick if she sucked Jean off properly -- and she'd gone the extra mile. "I suppose you want that fuck," I growled.

"If Master pleases," came the obsequious reply.

"It's risky waking me up..." I warned. "Where is Jean?"

"Asleep on the couch in the TV room."

"Well," I grunted, "It just so happens I've been saving a load. Roll up on your hands and knees. Try not to wake everybody up." I was rigid already -- something about being stuck in the crack of someone's ass does that for me -- and Karen was plenty wet from girlie fun, so sheathing my sword to the hilt in her twat took no time at all. I rode her hard; she stuck her face in a pillow to keep the noise down. It was a fuck; I was getting mine, and Karen was getting hers and romance didn't have shit to do with it -- and that was fine with both of us. She juiced around my dick twice, which was good and bad -- good in that she tightened up nicely as she approached orgasm and pulsed nicely during, and bad in that the excess lube and the fact that she went slack during recovery tended to drop the bottom out of things. I rubbed her asshole with a finger after the second go and she tightened right up, which got me off a short time later. It wasn't one of your premiere nuts, but it was quite satisfactory -- let's face it, the Earth doesn't move every time, but that doesn't keep it from being pleasurable. When I was done filling her crack, I dropped to my right, dragging her over with me by our connection, and grunted, "Keep it down, I'm going to sleep." I dropped a hand over her left tit and stuck my nose in the nape of her neck and crashed; all was right with the world.

... Until about seven a.m., that is -- that's when three of Mike's work crew showed up and started thumping and banging and shoving two by fours and sheetrock down the outside door to the basement. I awoke to screeching females padding all over the house looking for things to wear. Jean didn't have a fucking thing because she'd come over in just a towel -- and she wasn't the only one. Karen and Kate were the only ones who were really able to answer the door and such -- and Karen's translucent robe and the cum dribbling down her leg got some commentary in Spanish from the boys when she did. I hauled my ass out of bed and threw on my shorts and slippers and took control of things; Kate had to lend stuff to the other girls so they could dash next door. Michael was dispatched both ways and came back with something a bit more demure than skin for his mother to wear and she staggered off toward home.

I was sitting at the kitchen table looking haggard and sucking coffee when Mike showed up. I watched him get the update from his team lead through the slider, then he came over and I let him in. "I hear we started a real circus!" he chuckled.

I glared at him. "I didn't expect you. Yeah, I know I said ASAP, but I figured it would take a day for you to get organized."

Mike shrugged. "You never let me fuck around before..."

"Yeah, that's true," I nodded.

"Julio says there were five women running around here -- three of 'em young stuff."

"Yeah. That's the headcount," I agreed. "Two of 'em come from next door and one was a sleepover."

"How do you do it?"

"Feast and famine," I grunted. "I do without regularly, just like everybody else. It's just that right now I have a couple of things going. I'm not screwing all the young stuff..."

Mike nodded. "What about the little brunette?"

"A gentleman doesn't tell," I replied blandly. Mike just eyed me, grinning. "Okay, so I'm not a gentleman. Yeah, she's a nice ride -- but I'm not sharing."

Mike flicked a look at Karen, who was sitting in a chair in her robe. "So she's being shorted?"

"When did I fuck you last, Slut?" I rasped, eyeing Karen. Mike's eyebrows hit the ceiling, which was the intent of the exercise.

"About two-thirty this morning, Master," Karen replied. She didn't appear to turn a hair at the appellation. She lifted her robe and wiped a finger along a thigh. "I'm still gooey."

Mike rubbed his face and shook his head. "When will the boys finish up for the day?" I asked.

"Probably about three."

I turned to Karen, "If you get a nap after three, will you be okay?"

Karen nodded. "Yes, Master."

"She works late," I explained to Mike, "and, no, she's not a hooker." I shifted my gaze to Karen and added, "Yet." She smiled and ducked her head.

Mike shook his head. "I gotta get me one of them."

"They're tough to find," I told him. "Most of them are masquerading as something else. Walking two steps behind the old man is frowned on in these days of women's lib and sexual harassment. Girls who want to catch a lot of shit from their peers. I could give you my learned opinion on the matter, but it might just sound like self-justification."

"Uh... huh..."

"Let's go down and look at the work site."

When you're doing strange shit, you need to think a bit before letting people run loose in your home. I had this brought home to me when we hit the bottom of the stairs and discovered Mike's boys examining the dog crates -- one of which still had a dildo mounted inside. I know a little Spanish -- enough to know that the boys were speculating as to what exactly went on in there... I got some looks, let me tell you! Mike limited himself to "Goddamn, Cletus!"

"Boys..." I waved a finger and one of the guys closed the curtains -- but the damage had been done. They knew what was back there. They looked from the closed curtains to me and back. I rubbed my face. "Mike, how many of your boys do you intend on rotating in here?"

Mike pursed his lips. "Not that many. The plumber and his helper, in addition to these. Julio does finish work. Alejandro does paint and plaster. Rudy, there, does most everything else."

"How many are married -- counting the plumber and his helper?"

"Alejandro is."

"Does he fuck around, anyway?"

Mike grinned. "Occasionally."

"What do you figure they're thinking?"

"Well, there are a couple of possibilities..."

I sighed. "Boys," I murmured, addressing Michael and Pete, "You might want to wander off for a while." They'd been watching the construction, all excited. "We'll call you back."

Neither of them was stupid. Pete, in particular, gave me a look that warned me to be careful -- but they headed up the steps to the outside exit. "Close the bulkhead," I directed, and one of the contractors -- Julio, I think -- went up the stairs behind them, closed the doors, and came back down.

"Obviously, you've all seen something I would have preferred that you hadn't," I announced. "I'm going to need to count on your discretion. Can we keep this in the family, so to speak?"

The other Hispanic, a taller guy with paint-spattered coveralls, looked at his rough-looking manicure. "This is, perhaps, not our business?"

"That would be my take on the situation," I agreed. "But since you've discovered it, I suppose you deserve an explanation, so you don't have to worry too much about the details. If I provide that explanation, and a little incentive to go with it, do you think you might see your way clear to put the whole thing away and not drag it out and talk about it all over the place?"

"I like incentives," Rudy rumbled. "We talking money?"

"That'd be blackmail," I replied. "I'd let you talk first -- it's not THAT awful. But Mike would fire you -- wouldn't you, Mike? And we would spread the word that you're expensive and do poor work." Mike didn't like being put on the spot; he grimaced, but nodded agreement. I waved a hand dismissing this specter from the presence of the three grumbling contractors, saying, "Enough about the stick -- let's get back to the carrot. The incentive would be a -- well, gift, we'll call it -- and a promise of something more at the end of the job. Oh, and an explanation of the use of the little piece of equipment that has raised all of the questions." I smiled winningly.

"A gift?" Julio queried carefully.

"Yes. Mike's had it..." I murmured.

Mike got bug-eyed. "No shit?"

"I'd prefer that we not have a whole football squad, obviously..." I grunted. "Maybe we can limit it to those present?"

"Yeah." Mike's eyes hooded. "I gotta see this." He looked up. "You want it -- you'll ALL want it."

Alejandro gave a little Latin shrug. "Okay." He looked at the others, who nodded -- Rudy still somewhat suspiciously.

I stepped over to the stairwell and yelled, "SLUT!" Everybody flinched. I turned to Rudy and added, "You might as well open the curtain." Shrugging, he did so.

Meanwhile, Karen thudded down the stairs, "Master?" She drew up short at the sight of four strange men.

"Dump the robe." Karen eyed me in surprise, but did as she was told; someone hissed in a breath. I just pointed at the kennels; somewhat bewildered, Karen headed for hers. "Back in," I directed.

"Yes, Master." Everyone else stood transfixed, watching her as she got down on her hands and knees and backed into the cage, stopping and wriggling a bit to get the dildo properly oriented before finishing the job. "It's, uh, a bit high, Master."

I stepped around behind her and examined the situation. "That one usually goes in her mouth," I amplified for the others. "Give us a minute..." I went and got a threaded rod and a clamp I'd purchased against a similar situation. "Stick your head out through the door, Slut." I undid the dildo and pulled the one that usually went in her pussy, threading it onto the rod, then I slid it through the bars and into her, locking it in place with the clamp set against the bars. The men were all standing around, watching the preparations with some fascination. "You didn't think the cage was for ME, did you?" I chuckled. I got a nervous chuckle in response. "Rudy," I offered, "I know we got off on the wrong foot, so I'm offering you the first pass -- if you'll show her your dick, she'll suck a load from it."

"Shit!" Rudy breathed, goggling, then, "Nah, I'll wait..." I figured that he assumed that there had to be a trick to it. Karen stuck out her lower lip in a pout and Rudy snorted, "I didn't say I wasn't goin' to play, Honey -- I'll just wait until somebody else opens you up."

Julio cocked his head. "She will suck?"

"She will suck," I agreed. "Y'all are clean, right? If you're not sure, she can still do you through a rubber -- but if you give her something, you'll end up in the cage next to her at some point -- and you don't have a pussy to stick a dildo in!"

"Is SHE clean?" Alejandro asked.

"I fucked her six hours ago," I told him. "If I come down with something because she's been out peddling it without permission, we can take turns beating the shit out of her until she'll have to be dissected to tell what species she is!" I glared a warning at Karen. "Do you have anything to tell us, Slut?" Karen shook her head, wide-eyed. I shrugged. "There are always rubbers..."

Alejandro wave the idea away, an expression of distaste on his face, "Rubbers..." He turned to Julio expectantly.

"I wait," Julio announced.

Alejandro shrugged. "Then it's decided." He stepped forward and began working at his belt. Karen reached up to help; in no time, she had a handful of meat, jacking it. Everybody stood around watching as she pushed her tongue under his foreskin; Alejandro stood there, his hands opening and closing, looking for something to clutch.

"It's your gift, not hers," I told him. "Grab what you want and fuck her face."

"Nice tetas," Julio observed, his eyes glowing.

"I like 'em," I agreed. "If it doesn't bother Alejandro, you can get up close and personal with 'em."

Julio came around and looked up at Alejandro, who nodded tightly -- he was somewhat distracted -- squatted, and reached out to fondle Karen's 'tetas' with his thick fingers. This surfaced an issue, since he had to reach into the cage. Frowning, I went over and opened the toy box and tried to figure out what I could do to adjust things further. Finally, I decided that an adjustment to the current situation was the simplest thing, so I undid the clamp and told Karen, "Crawl forward, Slut, so your titties clear the door for Julio, there." She did so, and I fed more of the rod through the clamp, keeping the dildo inside her while she did it.

Julio looked up, "Gracias."

"Por nada," I replied, adding, "No pussy today, boys, but if you finish this job on or ahead of schedule, we'll have a little party and you can see if she's airtight -- how's that?"

"Airtight?" Julio blinked.

Rudy chuckled. "He means we can stick a dick in every hole she's got -- at the same time."

I grinned and nodded. "Sound good?"

"S- ," Julio stopped and reorganized, "Yes -- very good!" He grinned from ear to ear and went back to milking Karen's breasts.

Meanwhile, the Latin lover persona had deserted Alejandro, leaving an animal behind. "Suck!" he hissed, driving his cock between Karen's lips, "Swallow!" He held her head immobile while he used her mouth for his pleasure. At the current rate, I figured she was going to have a split lip -- but Alejandro grunted, "YAAAAHHH!!!" and poured semen down her gullet soon enough that I didn't feel it necessary to intervene. Stepping back, he looked a bit ashamed of himself.

"I hope you don't treat your old lady like that," I observed.

"No," Alejandro muttered. "This was... different..." He looked away.

I very deliberately did NOT ask Karen if she was okay. "Next!"

Rudy waved at Julio. "You're there already."

Julio pursed his lips, analyzing the situation, then stood and removed his coverall and underwear. Then he surprised us by sitting down and sliding his legs under Karen so she could lower her head to his lap while sucking. "I want to feel your tetas," he explained, looking around. "I LOVE your tetas..." I shrugged; it was cool with me if he wanted to play with her nipples. He had a short but thick cock with a lot of foreskin that Karen pushed back so she could get at the angry, purplish mushroom head. One look at his face as her lips rolled over his glans and you knew he wouldn't last long. He hissed and muttered in Spanish the entire minute and a half or so that elapsed before he let go of Karen's left tit to mash her face into his pubes while he hissed and thrashed and flooded her tonsils with spooge. Somehow, I didn't find it surprising that he came by the quart -- I watched Karen swallow twice. Julio flopped back, sated, and crawled back out from under her, muttering, "Gracias..."

"My turn, I guess." Rudy stepped forward, letting down his jeans and releasing the most impressive cock of the morning -- nothing legendary, but a good eight inches, anyway. Since I wasn't in the competition, I didn't have to wonder which of us had a millimeter on the other, anyway. Karen's eyes glowed as she took charge of it and I wondered if she had that 'slut for black cock' thing that shows up here and there -- but it appeared after a bit that she was probably just looking for meat long enough to deep-throat. Rudy took it easy on her but didn't give any quarter, either, going for his without getting brutal about it; I found it to be fun to watch. I like watching black guys work, all smooth and dark and muscular (I'm bi, remember? I like being between the cheeks on one, too, when I can get it). Rudy had a nice body. He gave us probably five minutes' worth of entertainment before Karen figured out all of his hot spots and brought him off -- easily twice as long as Alejandro. I don't think he came as much as Julio, though. "Good shit!" he commented as he withdrew his meat, "DAMNED good shit!"

"Okay," I queried, "Are we all set?" I got nods. "Good. Hit the schedule and keep your mouths shut, and we'll have that party when you're done. I'll leave you to your work." I turned, then looked back over my shoulder. "Climb off that dildo, Slut, and go clean up. Take your robe. And stay out of reach of the boys until they're done!"

"Yes, Master!" Karen crawled out of the cage, stood, flashed everyone a sunny smile, and toddled off, snatching up her robe in the process.

As an afterthought, I confronted the group, "For the record, that's the ONLY general use slut currently in my stable. The other piece her age is an exclusive to me, and the young stuff is, well, young stuff, you know? Let's not get any ideas -- everything else is off limits." I got a round of nods. "Glad we understand one another. Mike, it's your show..." I headed upstairs.

Have you ever seen anyone genuflect? I plopped down in the kitchen with a cup of coffee and Karen crawled in from the hallway and pressed her nose to the floor at my feet! Clearly, I'd made her day... "So," I chuckled, "Did you enjoy yourself? Did you get yourself a nice bellyful of strange jizz?"

"Oh, yes, Master!" Karen cooed.

"Good," I grunted. "Get up -- as much as I enjoy it, you can't do shit with your head pressed to the floor. Stay out of their way and don't distract them -- I don't want them putting in anything upside down or backwards. Don't forget the robe -- who knows who the fuck is going to show up next..."

"Yes, Master." Karen got up.

"Go out and find the boys and make sure they know you're okay -- we don't want Pete all worried." I waved her off. Shit like this was fun, but you worried all the time. What if one of those dickheads had something or decided that the tale was too good to keep under wraps? A thousand fuck-ups could happen. Really, was it a major thing? Probably not -- I'm just a worrier. I went off to my office to try to work through the noise.

The day got hotter and hotter. We'd gotten a respite of a day or so when the nighttime temps came down into the seventies and the daytime temps stayed in the low nineties, but when I pulled up the weather report at ten on my computer, it said 105 and muggy. By the time the guys knocked off at three, even the basement was hot; the heat pump was working it's ass off to keep things below eighty inside. Nobody was going home; even over the last few days, everyone in sight had been spoiled by the availability of air conditioning. We would be hip deep in Cantrells that night for sure -- and maybe Amy again, too. I started planning for it. I left the boys at the house while Kate and I hit the grocery, the liquor store, and a couple of other places, stocking up.

Heather and Amy proved me correct; Amy brought Heather home and came in carrying an overnight bag. "So, you're a resident?" I queried.

"She is," Amy replied, pointing at Heather.

"Actually, she isn't," I corrected her. "Kate is. That makes you a leech riding a leech."

"So I can't stay?"

"I didn't say that -- but what's in it for me?" I retorted.

Amy flicked a glance at Heather, then, dismissing her, stepped up and caressed my cheek. "Sweetie, you can have it any time you want -- you KNOW that!" she cooed. Heather gasped.

I backpedalled quickly. "Sorry, I didn't mean that the way it sounded -- not that I would insult you by turning down your generous offer. I, uh, had other things in mind." I glanced at Heather, embarrassed. "I've gotten in a bit deep, Hon -- I hope you'll forgive me -- but I need to be clear so Amy isn't insulted." Turning back to Amy I said, "Just to clarify, I wasn't pressing you to put out. I think you know that if you want it, I'm more than happy to make deliveries, but I wouldn't ask you to trade pussy for air conditioning. We've got a lot of bodies around here right now, and things get out of hand quickly, that's all."

Amy dimpled. "I know you wouldn't, Sweetie -- and I'm happy to help out!"

Heather looked bothered. "I thought..."

I frowned. "What?"

"What about Kate's mom?"

"What about her?"

"Isn't that what she's doing?"

"Oh." I sighed. "Hon, that may appear to be the case, but it isn't. Karen agreed to have me supervise her rather rigorously; I COULD have spent several hours a day at her house, but I'm selfish, so for my convenience I moved her in here."

"And my mom?"

"I want her lily-white body -- that's no secret -- but I already have a house slave -- AND a maid, for that matter. Your mother doesn't live here -- and you don't, either -- but it would be selfish of me to drag her over here and fuck her, then send her home to sweat, wouldn't it?"

Heather wrinkled her nose. "The things you say!"

I shrugged. "Sometimes I can't find a way to make things pretty -- especially if I need to make them clear. I've made no commitment to support your mother; she doesn't want me to -- the idea makes her skittish. But I'm here to help out. She needs more emotional and physical support than financial, but we're both aware that I've done THAT, too."

"Soooo..." Heather murmured.

"So I expect that while it's bad out, you guys will be over here a lot," I amplified, "but you need to think about the logistics and not take things for granted. There is only so much space and so much food and I'm not going to play grand host all the time. There are four or five females trooping around here; I shouldn't have to grocery shop, for one thing."

"What does being female have to do with it?" Heather bristled.

"Nothing," I replied, "except YOU can drive and the boys can't. Or at least your mothers and Amy can."

"Oh," Heather muttered, shut down.

"Sleeping arrangements will probably be close to those of last night," I added brusquely, and turned away. As I headed off down the hall, I heard a mutter from Heather.

The reply wasn't quiet. "Of COURSE I would! I'm a party animal, and so is Cletus; we've got a lot in common!" Amy declared. "Your mom is an idiot; if Cletus let me I would move in here and play whatever games he wanted to play for as long as he wanted!"

Heather mumbled something, aghast.

"There's old and there's old. Cletus is a lot older than us, but that just means he's experienced -- and he's young between the ears -- something your mom isn't, with all her hang-ups! Besides, do you really think he fucks like an old guy? I've seen college boys that couldn't keep up!"

Another mumble.

"You're right -- you wouldn't," Amy retorted. "So when are you gonna find out?"

Grinning, I moved out of earshot.

The women did the changing of the guard thing again between five-thirty and six. I decided that there was no requirement for Jean to sleep in my bed; she could do the TV room with the girls if she wanted. Similarly, Karen had gotten her jollies a lot lately and needed reining in, so she would probably sleep chained to the foot of the bed. She hadn't done anything wrong; I had just been too benevolent lately and she needed to see the iron fist. But I didn't make any announcements at dinner -- or right after, for that matter, since we suddenly had a visitor...

Heather got the door -- still dressed, thankfully. I spied Ed Grover over her shoulder. "Ed! Come on in! What can I do for you?" I waved him into the kitchen to plop at the table. "Tea?"

"Uhhh, sure..." Ed looked uneasy. I glanced around and Kate and Amy both bounced up and went to work on the component parts of putting a glass of iced tea in his hands.

I said, "Thanks, girls!" and waited until it was delivered before noting, "You've got that messenger-boy look -- what's up?"

Ed grunted; I'd made it clear I knew who wore the pants at Grover's before, so he didn't have to pretend. "Cindy wants to know what the rules are."

I blinked. "No shit?"

"Well, you may not have been out in that," he waved at my slider, "and it's pretty cool in here -- but today was murder and tomorrow is going to be worse, according to the weather man. You said magic words, yesterday -- air conditioning. Her head's been on backwards ever since."

I eyed him for a moment. "All right." I got up and went in the office and printed out the release, then typed up a little note with the verbiage of both pool signs on it and printed that. Then I took them back and put them in Ed's hands.

Ed looked them over, grunting here and there. "What about indoors? I don't see any rules for that."

I stood there for a moment, sucking my teeth. "They're what I say they are -- and they change, moment to moment. A man's home is his castle." I cocked my head and looked at him. "What would YOU want them to be?"

Ed looked surprised. "What?"

I looked around at a room full of the enemy; Ed and I had allies here, but they were young... "Let's go in the living room," I suggested. I pinned Jean, Kate, Amy and Heather in place with a look and led him out. Once we were seated in chairs across the coffee table from one another, I put my glass down and asked, "So, Ed, are you getting laid regularly?"

Ed shrugged. "So--so."

"Who controls that?" I asked blandly.

"Well, we've been married twenty two years," Ed related. "We both still like it, but it's the same ol' same ol'."

"Okay, so, you're not cut off or anything -- just bored?" I pressed.

"Yeah."

I nodded. "Makes sense. Any woman I ever knew who wore an ankle bracelet thought of herself as being sexy. Besides, she seems fascinated with goings-on over here..."

Ed grinned. "It's kind of an obsession. If it wasn't so damned hot, I would probably be benefitting from all the shit going on over here -- but as it is, it just makes her cranky."

I grinned. "So I'm contributing to Cindy's fantasy life?"

"Yeah, you could say that." Ed pursed his lips and eyed me. "What IS going on over here?"

"Oh, orgies and stuff," I teased. "Actually, it varies, but we have our high times." I sat back in my chair. "Having her play Mrs. Grundy while peeping in on me hasn't exactly advanced her stock, if you know what I mean. It's hypocritical and it poses a threat. I'm gonna want my pound of flesh, if you know what I mean." I sat forward. "Question is, what do YOU want?"

"Me?" Ed blinked.

I pursed my lips. "Was she on top all along, or did it happen over time? I guess I'm asking if you like where you are right now. Did you sign up to be whipped?"

Ed froze, thinking furiously. "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that if I let her in that door, I'm gonna end up holding her leash -- or muzzling her, at the very least," I told him. "I'm asking you if you want to be able to hold it when she's not here, or would you rather have it some other way."

Ed stared off into space for a bit. "At first, it was a democracy. We expressed our opinions and respected each other's..."

"Only you didn't have any, so you let her have hers..." I theorized. Guys tend to be easy to please, if things are going well; women, on the other hand, are always looking to optimize...

"Yeah..."

"After a while, nobody asked for yours."

Ed nodded. "Exactly."

I chuckled. "Women don't do democracy. It's dictatorship, one way or the other -- you or her -- and she's holding too many cards. In my house, I rule; it's my way or the highway -- but I have to stay on top of things, especially lately." I sat back, steepling my fingers. "What's going to happen if she sees a lot of nudity?"

Ed pursed his lips. "She'll get all charged up."

"Can she be set off?"

"Maybe. The reason she's so cranky is that she's outside of it, I think."

"What would it take?"

"I don't know. I don't think she's ever..."

"Cheated?" I supplied.

"Yeah."

"How big of a problem would it be if she did -- if you were in on it?"

"Would she know?" Ed asked.

"That's up to you," I replied. "If you wanted to hold it over her head, then no. Or you could play turnabouts and use her slip to justify it. Or you could just swing..." I paused. "What does she think of such things?"

Ed grunted. "The official stance is that it's immoral -- but I think she's envious."

I sat back. "The biggest threat to swingers is themselves -- if they discover they aren't adult about the situation, it can tear up a relationship. You have to be able to separate love and sex -- and not get all jealous or upset because your partner is having a ball with someone else who means nothing to them. Just because in the heat of the moment she wails about how much she loves that big black dick, it doesn't mean that she isn't going to come home and snuggle up to you all happy to be your mate -- and just because you put on a command performance and spewed a quart of cum in some sweet young thing doesn't mean you aren't happy to have her there. These are examples, of course..."

"Yeah." Ed's eyes were glazed.

"Guys usually have less of a problem separating love and sex -- in fact, just after sex, we tend to want to escape the clutches of the woman involved almost instinctively," I said, "but women tend to tie up sex with all kinds of other goals -- love and reproduction and partnering and support and protection... They tend not to get the point. Even if they go into things with a clear understanding of where they sit on the totem pole, every once in a while you have to slap them down. It's basically the same thing that happened to you -- they get opportunistic, if nothing else." I paused. "How adult is she? How secure? How insecure would it make her to discover that she's slipped up and is no longer controlling Congress?"

"It would rattle her cage," Ed grinned.

"Is that a bad thing?" I wondered aloud. "I find that divorce is epidemic because familiarity breeds contempt. A wedding band is an E-ticket to the gravy train and nobody has to work at the relationship any more. Pretty soon, somebody realizes they aren't getting any benefit and shit rolls downhill." I took a sip of my tea. "I might live in sin with a woman for the rest of my life, but I'll never marry again. The fact that neither of us has their tentacles wrapped around the throat of the other adds that little bit of uncertainty that keeps things moving."

Ed nodded. "How would we go about such a thing?"

"Let's talk about tactics."