<p>"Good morning, Zachary,” Camilla said as she entered the kitchen with her customary flourish.</p><p>Zack glanced at her impossibly long legs and her far too short black satin robe and immediately looked away. For the hundredth time since he and Bella had moved in with her mom Zack wished that Camilla wasn’t so attractive and so eager to flaunt her attractiveness.</p><p>“Good morning, Mrs. Adams,” Zack said.</p><p>She spun around and smiled. “Zachary, how many times do I have to tell you to call me Camilla? I know you’re not engaged to my daughter yet, but as far as I can tell you two are heading in that direction. Surely you wouldn’t have moved halfway across the country with her if you weren’t planning on proposing at some point, right?”</p><p>“Right,” Zack said.</p><p>“Right, so I think it’s time you started calling me Camilla. It makes me feel impossibly old when you call me Mrs. Adams and it’s just so formal it doesn’t feel right. You’ve been here almost a week now so I think it’s time we drop the formalities, don’t you?” Camilla asked.</p><p>“Right, sorry,” Zack said. “I just can’t help it. I don’t know why.”</p><p>Camilla opened the refrigerator and pulled out the milk, as she did every morning before pouring her coffee. “I suspect your mother raised you well,” she said. “We just need to undo this one small thing as I don’t know that I could stand having you call me Mrs. Adams for the rest of my life.”</p><p>“If you don’t mind me asking, do you think Bella would say yes if I asked her to marry me?” Zack asked.</p><p>Camilla put the milk on the counter and reached up to grab a coffee cup from the cabinet. Her robe rode up just a little, exposing the backs of her thighs. Zack looked away.</p><p>“I don’t think she would have asked you to move all the way to Colorado if she didn’t intend on marrying you. My daughter rarely acts irrationally, as I’m sure you know. She’s a thinker, and I suspect she thought long and hard about what she wanted before asking you to accompany her on this journey,” Camilla explained. “She might have seen it as a test.”</p><p>Zack looked up from his coffee and saw a smile on Camilla’s face. “A test?”</p><p>She poured coffee into the mug and added a splash of milk. “She hasn’t said so, but I wouldn’t be surprised if she thought of asking you to move as a way to gauge your long term interest in her. If you weren’t willing to move, it probably would have meant you weren’t interested in marrying her. Since you were willing to move, the opposite is likely true.”</p><p>“It is,” Zack said. “I love your daughter and I want to marry her.”</p><p>Camilla stirred her coffee and unleashed a warm, joyful smile that reminded Zack of Bella. “Are you asking my permission?”</p><p>“I wouldn’t be so foolish as to do that,” Zack replied.</p><p>Camilla laughed. “You know my daughter well, Zachary. That’s a good sign.”</p><p>Zack smiled. Camilla was the only person that called him by his birth name and he couldn’t help but finding it charming.</p><p>“So, how’s the job search going?” she asked.</p><p>Zack sighed. “I have another interview on Monday and I sent out a bunch of applications yesterday. I haven’t heard back yet from the guy I interviewed with yesterday, but I didn’t get the sense he liked me so I suspect I won’t be getting a call. It’s all a little frustrating, to be honest. I thought my plan was pretty simple: Get a job at some sort of outdoor adventure company, learn as much as I can, and launch one of my own a year or two down the line. It’s only been a week, though, and I’m sure I’ll get a job at some point. If I go a few more weeks without getting a job I might panic a little, but I can’t see going back to working in commercial real estate. It’s just too boring.”</p><p>Camilla sipped her coffee and smiled. “I think you’re making the right choice. My ex – Bella’s father – went the opposite direction. He stayed in a job he didn’t really like. He said it was because he had a wife to support, but that wasn’t true. I’ve never had trouble making money. The truth is, he was so terrified of failure that he could never find the courage to try. He didn’t offer a reason why he left – as I’m sure Bella has told you – but I think it all went back to that decision. He was trapped by a choice he’d made a decade prior and he got to a point where the only option he saw was to run.”</p><p>“I’m sorry he left,” Zack said.</p><p>“Don’t be,” Camilla replied. “Don’t be sorry for me, at least. It took a few years, but now I realize I’m better off. Much better off, in fact. I never needed him to take care of me. It’s never great for a girl when her father leaves, but I think Bella’s probably better off too. Having a weak man as an example is worse than having no man at all, if you ask me.”</p><p>“He was weak?” Zack asked.</p><p>“He was,” Camilla said. “Not physically, mind you. He lacked conviction. He lacked imagination. He lacked the drive to try for anything in life other than what had been laid out in front of him. Thankfully, you don’t seem to suffer from that condition.”</p><p>“I hope not,” Zack said.</p><p>“If you’re not busy today, how would you feel about fixing a few things around the house?” Camilla asked. “I’ll pay you.”</p><p>“Oh, you don’t have to pay me,” he replied. “You’re letting us stay here for free. I’ll do whatever you need.”</p><p>Camilla approached Zack with a noticeable sway in her hips and reached out. For just a moment the warmth of her palm rested against his face. Her touch was gentle and reassuring and it felt so much better than Zack wanted it to. “Good work deserves to be compensated,” she said. “So I’ll pay you. You can take Bella out for a nice dinner with it. How about that?”</p><p>Zack looked up at Camilla and nodded. “That sounds good.”</p><p>“You can start with the fence out back. Some of the boards have come loose. It should be an easy fix,” Camilla said. “While you’re doing that I’m going to take a shower. I’ll have something else for you when you’re done. Thank you, Zachary.”</p><p>She walked away and Zack asked, “Are the tools in the garage?”</p><p>“Yes,” she said. “If you need something I don’t have, I’ll give you my credit card and you can go to Home Depot.”</p><p>Zack stood and headed towards the garage. He thought of Camilla’s gentle touch and shook his head to banish the image from his mind. He knew she hadn’t been hitting on him. She was just a more affectionate person than most. Bella had warned him about that. There was something about that simple touch that lingered with him, though, and Zack felt just a little bit guilty for being unable to shake it.</p><p>“My God, this gnocchi is good,” Bella said.</p><p>“Isn’t it?” Camilla replied.</p><p>“I’m just annoyed this place wasn’t here when I was growing up,” Bella added.</p><p>“Oh, you wouldn’t have enjoyed this as a teenager,” Camilla said. “Trust me. Though I’ve heard the meatballs are exceptional, too.”</p><p>Bella sipped her wine and savored the way it blended with the intense flavors of the gnocchi. She suspected her mother was right. That was almost always the case, though.</p><p>“So, how are you and Zachary?” Camilla asked.</p><p>Bella studied her mother’s face for some hint of what she was really asking. It was rare for Camilla to be entirely straightforward. She was almost always working an angle. “We’ll move out as soon as Zack gets a job and his first paycheck. Landlords tend to be sticklers about proof of income, as it turns out.”</p><p>Camilla laughed. “Darling, that’s not what I’m talking about. You’re welcome to stay as long as you like. Zachary has proven quite handy. He’s fixed almost everything wrong with the house over the past two weeks. Yesterday he asked if he could do some landscaping. His work ethic is actually rather impressive.”</p><p>Bella smiled. “I know. It’s one of the things I love about him.”</p><p>“You should. That kind of thing can’t be taught, a man with a good work ethic is almost always going to be successful,” Camilla added.</p><p>“So what were you asking about?” Bella replied.</p><p>“I was asking how my daughter and her boyfriend are doing,” Camilla said.</p><p>Bella stabbed another delicate piece of gnocchi with her fork and said, “Mom, honestly, I can handle you being up front with me. I know you’re trying to ask about something specific and you think that I’m going to freak out if you just come right out and say it. I’m not going to freak out, though. I promise.”</p><p>Camilla swirled the red wine in her glass and smiled. “Fair enough. In the past week it seems like you and Zachary aren’t quite as harmonious as you’ve been. You’re a little snippy with each other. I think I’ve seen you roll your eyes at him once or twice. So, I’m asking how you are, because those seem like bad signs to me. Is it something I’m doing? Do you need more space or time alone? Should I leave the house more often?”</p><p>Bella’s shoulders sagged as she ate another bite of the impossibly delicious gnocchi. She savored the taste for a few moments before saying, “We had a conversation that didn’t go very well. About a week ago.”</p><p>Camilla offered a concerned look and leaned closer to ask, “A conversation about what?”</p><p>Bella looked away, took a deep breath, and said, “Our sex life.”</p><p>“What’s wrong with your sex life?” Camilla asked.</p><p>“Do you remember what you told me...well, almost two years ago now? It was after I’d broken up with Ted,” Bella asked.</p><p>“I believe you told me that you broke up with him because the sex wasn’t good, and I told you that a guy can be taught to be better at sex and that you should stop breaking up with good guys just because they didn’t give you what you needed sexually right off the bat,” Camilla answered.</p><p>Bella smiled. “That’s exactly what you told me. I met Zack not long after. The sex was okay, but it wasn’t mind-blowing. I would have broken up with him, but then I thought of your advice. I decided I’d try and teach him, and he actually got better, and I ended up falling madly in love with him.”</p><p>“I’m not sure I see the problem,” Camilla said.</p><p>Bella looked away as she felt a pang of guilt for criticizing the man she loved. “He got better. He’s still not great, though, and it seems like we’ve reached a plateau.”</p><p>“I know this might not be the sort of thing you want to talk about with your mother, but what’s the problem? Is he lacking in size? Is he not as skillful as you’d like him to be? Does he lack stamina?” Camilla asked.</p><p>Bella smiled. “You know I’ve never been shy when it comes to talking to you about this stuff. The thing is, I’m not entirely sure what the problem is. He’s not the biggest I’ve ever had, but he’s just fine in that department. He lasts long enough most of the time. He’s in pretty good shape. Honestly, I think it might just be that he’s a little selfish, and I don’t know how to fix that.”</p><p>“Selfish?” Camilla asked.</p><p>“Yeah. It’s hard to explain, I guess, but most of the time I think he’s more concerned about his orgasm than he is about mine. I get there most of the time, but sometimes it feels like it’s just a nice byproduct of his pursuit of an orgasm, you know?” Bella explained.</p><p>“Yes, unfortunately, I’m all too familiar with men and their tendency to pursue their orgasm above all else,” Camilla said.</p><p>Bella saw the frustration on her mom’s face. “Was dad that way?”</p><p>Camilla sat back and smiled. “For a while, yes, but your dad was also like most men.”</p><p>Bella couldn’t help but take the bait. “What does that mean?”</p><p>Camilla leaned closer and smiled, “He could be trained, dear.”</p><p>Bella was curious. “Trained?”</p><p>“Absolutely. Men can be trained to meet your needs. It’s not unlike training a dog, to be honest. You make it clear what you want and you only reward them when they give you what you want. Some men resist the training – your father did for quite some time – but most come around eventually. It’s not without its risks, of course. It could certainly end a relationship if done wrong, but if done right it will strengthen any relationship,” Camilla explained.</p><p>Bella felt like she was seeing an entirely different side of her mom and she wasn’t entirely comfortable with it. “That seems so extreme,” she said. “I mean, I want Zack to be my partner in life. I want him to understand my needs and strive to meet them without needing to be trained like a pet.”</p><p>Camilla shook her head. “I wish you luck with that, dear, but in my experience men are far closer to animals than we’d like them to be. You can tell Zack what you want until you’re blue in the face, but without the proper motivation there’s little chance he’s going to make meaningful changes. If he’s getting everything he wants, why would he put in any extra effort to give you what you want?”</p><p>“Because he loves me,” Bella said with a little more anger than she intended.</p><p>“Yes he does,” Camilla replied. “Zachary loves you very much, in fact, and he’s a good man. He’s still a man, though, and I’m afraid that love is rarely enough to motivate a man to change when it comes to sex.”</p><p>Bella refused to believe her mother could be right. Zack had already changed to a certain degree. He went down on her more often. He’d gotten better with his tongue. He put more effort into foreplay. She was steadfast in her belief that she could continue to help him along the path to being the kind of lover she needed.</p><p>“We’re going to have to agree to disagree on this,” Bella said.</p><p>Camilla lifted her glass of wine and said, “Of course. You are your own woman, after all, and it’s quite possible that I’m wrong. We are the sum of our experiences and mine have led me to my beliefs about men. Yours seem to have informed a different set of beliefs, which is wonderful.”</p><p>Bella knew her belief wasn’t based in experience. She knew it was based in hope. She didn’t want to believe that Zack would only be the sexual partner she needed if she trained him like a pet. She couldn’t believe that. She had to believe that his love for her and his desire to make her happy would be enough.</p><p>Zack popped his head into Camilla’s home office and said, “The new shower head is installed.”</p><p>“Very good, Zachary. You’ve earned your pay yet again,” she replied.</p><p>“Is there anything else I can do for you?” he asked.</p><p>Camilla offered a bright smile and pushed her chair back. “Yes, in fact. You can sit with me for a moment.”</p><p>Zack stepped into the room and sat in one of the chairs on the other side of her desk. “What’s up?” he asked.</p><p>“You know that my daughter and I are close, don’t you?” Camilla said. “Closer than many mothers and daughters, I’d say.”</p><p>Zack nodded as he tried to puzzle out what Camilla might want to talk about.</p><p>“That means she talks to me about everything,” she continued. “Including the reason you two have hit a bit of a rocky patch.”</p><p>Zack shifted in his seat as a deep sense of discomfort settled over him. “Uhh, well…” he began.</p><p>“Just listen, Zachary,” Camilla said, cutting him off in a rather polite fashion. “Bella has not shared all the details with me, but she’s been quite clear that you’re not performing the way she wants you to. I’d like to know why. Don’t you love my daughter? Don’t you want to make her happy?”</p><p>“Yes, of course,” Zack began before stopping himself. “Look, I really don’t think it’s appropriate for us to talk about this.”</p><p>Camilla stood and came around to the other side of her desk. She sat on the edge and her skirt rode up a little, exposing her thigh. Zack forced himself not to stare at it, instead holding Camilla’s gaze.</p><p>“All men are selfish,” Camilla said. “And that’s not a criticism or some sort of bitterness on my part coming out. It’s simply a reality. It’s a man’s world, after all, and a man is rarely ever punished for his selfishness. So of course men are selfish.”</p><p>“I’m not selfish,” Zack said.</p><p>Camilla spread her legs a little and Zack glanced at them. He immediately cursed himself for doing so, but he couldn’t help it. He couldn’t quite see up her skirt, but her legs were so long and so beautiful that he couldn’t keep his eyes off of them.</p><p>“Tell me, Zachary,” she asked, “when was the last time you gave my daughter an orgasm with your mouth?”</p><p>“Mrs…Camilla, I’m sorry, but this is inappropriate,” Zack said. He pushed the chair back and stood to walk out.</p><p>“Sit down!” Camilla yelled. “Right now.”</p><p>Zack sat down immediately.</p><p>“Now, when was the last time you gave my daughter an orgasm with your mouth?” Camilla asked.</p><p>“I don’t remember,” Zack said.</p><p>“And when was the last time you had sex when only you had an orgasm?” she asked.</p><p>“A week and a half ago,” Zack answered. “That happens sometimes, though. It’s not always possible for us to get there at the same time.”</p><p>“Nonsense, Zachary,” Camilla said. “That is absolute nonsense and I will not tolerate it. Now tell me, why don’t you go down on Bella more often?”</p><p>“I don’t know,” Zack said.</p><p>“Do you find it difficult to make her climax?” Camilla asked.</p><p>“Sometimes,” Zack answered. “Sometimes it takes forever. Sometimes it seems like she’s just never going to get there.”</p><p>“You really are selfish,” Camilla said.</p><p>Zack considered protesting, but he suspected she would just yell at him again.</p><p>“When a man goes down on the woman he loves, he should worship her pussy. He should make love to it with his mouth. He should use every tool at his disposal to make her feel good. His hands should move over her body, gently stimulating her erogenous zones as he massages her clit with her tongue. He should act as if going down on her is the absolute height of pleasure for him. Is that what you do, Zachary?” Camilla asked.</p><p>He shook his head.</p><p>“It’s a means to an end, isn’t it?” she asked. “You go down on Bella so she’ll let you have sex with her, don’t you?”</p><p>Zack nodded.</p><p>“You’re doing it all wrong. You’re thinking of your pleasure and your pleasure only. Your pleasure and hers should be entwined, Zachary. You should worship her pussy because she’ll want to make you feel good when you make her feel good. You should think of making love to her as a way to deepen your connection through mutual pleasure. You’re doing it all wrong,” Camilla said. “And that’s going to stop.”</p><p>Zack wasn’t sure what to say. He opened his mouth but nothing came out. Then, Camilla spread her legs. He stared between them. She had on a pair of black lace panties that looked absurdly sexy. “What…what are you doing?” he asked.</p><p>“Get on your knees,” Camilla demanded. “Right now.”</p><p>Zack slipped out of the chair and fell to his knees in front of her. He couldn’t believe he was doing it, but for some reason he couldn’t stop himself.</p><p>Camilla pulled aside her panties and Zack stared at her pussy. Her pubic hair was closely trimmed and her labia looked swollen with desire.</p><p>“Eat my pussy,” she said.</p><p>“What?” Zack asked as his heart pounded.</p><p>“Show me how you eat pussy, Zachary. Do it now,” Camilla said. “I will not have my daughter marrying a man that cannot satisfy her, so I’m going to teach you how to be the husband she needs. Now show me how you eat pussy.”</p><p>Zack hesitated and Camilla reached out, put a hand on the back of his head, and gently pulled him between her legs.</p><p>“It’s okay, Zachary,” she said. “You’re doing this for Bella. You’re doing this to be the husband she deserves. Now make me feel good with your tongue. Pleasure me.”</p><p>Her touch was so gentle and her words of encouragement so softly delivered that Zack couldn’t help but extend his tongue and eat her pussy. He felt compelled to do so, and to try and do the best job possible.</p><p>“That’s a good boy,” Camilla said.</p><p>An involuntary moan escaped Zack’s lips. His cock throbbed in his pants. He wasn’t sure why, but he found her word choice hugely erotic, so much so that Zack couldn’t help but play with his cock.</p><p>“No touching,” she said. “Eating pussy is about my pleasure, not yours. Just like it should be about Bella’s pleasure when you go down on her. Don’t think about yourself, Zachary. Think about me. Think about the woman you’re trying to make feel good. Forget that your cock even exists. Let the arousal fill you, but concentrate on my pussy, my needs, my pleasure.”</p><p>Zack reached up and caressed the outside of Camilla’s thighs. She smiled and moaned for him.</p><p>“That’s a good boy,” she said. “Use your hands. Caress my skin. Remember that using your tongue is just part of giving me pleasure.”</p><p>Zack felt the same rush of desire. Camilla’s sensual smile filled him with happiness. She spread her legs a little wider, offering him easier access.</p><p>“Use your full tongue to lick me,” she said. “Not just the tip. Switch it up from time to time. And maintain the same rhythm when you worship pussy.”</p><p>Zack did as he was told. He licked her clit like he was licking a popsicle and Camilla moaned. She closed her eyes and her head rolled towards the ceiling. Zach felt giddy at the idea that he was making her feel good. His cock throbbed.</p><p>“Do you want to make me cum, Zach?” she asked.</p><p>He nodded as his tongue continued to work her clit.</p><p>“Keep it up. Keep being a good boy. Keep worshiping my pussy. Think only of my pleasure as you do. Ignore your needs and concentrate on mine. Pretend that your cock doesn’t even exist as you worship me. Pretend your tongue is the only instrument of pleasure you possess,” Camilla instructed.</p><p>She applied gentle pressure to the back of his head, pulling Zack deeper between her legs. He looked up at her and moaned as his tongue continued its gentle assault on her clit.</p><p>“Oh, fuck, Zachary, you’re being such a good boy,” she said. “You’re going to make me cum.” Her thighs began to tremble and she grabbed a handful of his hair and held him in place. “Yes, yes, yes, I’m cumming, I’m cumming!”</p><p>Zack’s hands continued to move up and down her thighs as he gently massaged her clit while Camilla climaxed. She released her grip on his hair, smiled, and said, “Lie down. On your back.”</p><p>Zack moved to his back and Camilla immediately sat on his face. Her pussy lips spread over his mouth and she said, “Put your tongue inside me. Taste me.”</p><p>Zack did as he was told and saw the sweet smile on Camilla’s face. She reached down and ran her fingers through his hair as he fed on her juices. Her touch was impossibly soothing.</p><p>“I have an assignment for you,” she said. “You’re going to give my daughter three orgasms with your mouth and fingers before you experience your next orgasm. For the first one you’re going to offer her a full body massage and you’re going to provide a happy ending with your tongue. You can make her climax any way you’d like for the next two, but you are to decline any offer to reciprocate, including after the third orgasm you give her. Your next orgasm won’t come until you’ve checked in with me. Do you understand?”</p><p>Zack nodded.</p><p>“I will end your relationship with my daughter if you cannot give her what she needs, Zachary. I will do so swiftly and easily. Do you believe me when I say that?”</p><p>Camilla lifted her pussy from his face and he said, “Yes, I believe you.”</p><p>She sat on his face once more and said, “We’re going to remain in this position for a little while. I think it’s good for a man to understand when he’s beneath a woman.” Camilla smiled and once again reached down to run her fingers through his hair and over the parts of his face that weren’t trapped beneath her pussy and thighs. “Oh, and I’ve decided I’d like you to call me Mrs. Adams from now on. I think that’s more suitable for the relationship we’re going to have going forward.”</p><p>She lifted her pussy from his mouth and he said, “Yes, Mrs. Adams.”</p><p>Camilla smiled and sat down once more. “Good boy,” she said.</p>