Party Wife
by Rex Weldon
(BH-1081)


Beautiful young Becky Finch finds herself on the horns of one of the modern 
world's most insistent and dangerous dilemmas ... to swing or not to swing! 
Pushing her into the suburban mate-swapping maelstrom is her own husband, 
both by his sexual neglect and inadequacy, and by his demand that she "be 
nice" to his prospective clients. Holding Becky back are her lifelong 
instinct toward decency and her desire to be a good and true wife. But the 
decision must be made ... and be made right now! 


CHAPTER ONE 

Becky Finch watched her husband, Rudy, flirting with Tina Walters and a cold 
hand seemed to grip her heart. 

Of course Tina, young and blonde and curvey, liked male attention. That had 
been evident ever since the Finches had moved to Pender, Oregon, from 
Spokane. Gene, Tina's husband, with whom Becky was dancing at the moment, 
didn't seem to mind when his pretty wife displayed her legs as she was doing 
now for Rudy. 

The Walters lived next door to the Finches in the new suburban development 
that Gene had helped construct. He was Pender's "go-gettingest" young 
builder, already doing well at the age of thirty. 

It was Saturday night and Becky had invited some friends over for a little 
party. The third couple, Hal and Janet Collins, were at the Finch stereo, 
looking through the records. 

Tina, relaxing in a chair that sat back in the shadows, her legs crossed, 
her short skirt halfway to her hips, smilingly basked in Rudy's nearness, 
giving him every opportunity to glance under her dress. 

At the same time Becky became aware of Gene's arm tightening around her 
slender waist. She didn't mind too much. He was strong, tanned, 
rugged-looking. He was very successful. But then, Rudy had done well in the 
past years, too. From assistant manager of a Crest Store in Spokane he had 
been given a full managership at Pender. He was on the way up. 

But he wasn't always so charming around the girls, Becky thought. In fact he 
was just a little shy and backward until he started wearing that hair piece! 

Rudy, now thirty-five, had been balding when Becky had first met him two 
years earlier in the Crest office at Spokane. She hadn't minded. Some men 
lost their hair early in life. He had good basic qualities-a drive to 
succeed, a quick mind, steadiness. She had liked him the moment she spotted 
him and had gone after him! 

He had been flattered that a girl ten years younger than he went out of her 
way to be friendly.... 

Then, while on a buying trip to San Francisco, he had been expertly fitted 
with a toupee. In the single year he had worn it she had noticed changes in 
his personality. He was more outgoing, more assertive. He appeared s more in 
public and generally performed better on his job. 

But most noticeable, and to Becky most disturbing, was his new manner around 
women. He looked younger and acted younger. He was even trying to change the 
pattern of their behavior in bed. Other girls reacted to his dark 
handsomeness, to his younger appearance. He was more dashing. 

Becky say him lean down to Tina and smile, saying words she couldn't catch. 
Tina giggled, slowly uncrossing her superlative legs, giving him ample 
opportunity to look far beneath her skirt.... 

Tina stood up finally and they began to dance. Becky experienced a sharp tug 
of jealousy. 

II that blonde knew he was nearly bald, maybe she wouldn't be showing him 
her panties, Becky thought. 

She realized, though, that she couldn't blame Tina too much. Tina was a born 
flirt, avid for male compliments. A year earlier Rudy would have politely 
ignored her and paid all his attention to his wife. Becky was reasonably 
pleased with her marriage. She had remained single a bit longer than most 
girls. She wanted to succeed as a mate and homemaker. 

There had been talk BTH (before the hair piece!) of having children, but 
lately Rudy had dropped the subject. He claimed they should have more fun 
before starting a family. He wanted to move up to manage an even larger 
store. Pender was a comparatively small wheat-country city and he had his 
sights set on a brand-new store, with more departments, being built at 
Pasco, Washington. 

Janet and Hal Collins already had one girl, age two. He owned a Western 
clothing establishment he had inherited from his father. They were well 
established in Pender and, like the Walters, intended to stay. They were 
natives. 

Janet and Hal lived in an older home they had remodeled, and they seemed 
quite happy and adjusted. Janet was large, buxom, with slow indolent 
movements. She had big brown eyes and a very sensual mouth. Hal was 
wide-shouldered, narrow-hipped and looked handsome in the Western attire he 
wore most of the time. Janet and Tina, about the same age, had gone through 
Pender high school together. 

Becky became more and more aware of Gene's nearness, of the pressure of his 
hand on hers, of the tightness of his arm about her waist. They had all been 
drinking-a serve yourself bar had been set up in the Finch kitchen. 

"You're quite a girl," Gene whispered in her ear. 

Becky's first impulse was to sidetrack him, to suggest another drink or a 
break in the dancing, but when she saw Tina cuddled tightly in Rudy's arms, 
her curvy hips flattened against his loins, their cheeks pressed together, 
her sharply-coned breasts poking into his sport shirt, she changed her mind. 

"You're quite a man, Gene," she replied. 

"Well, I've been wondering when I was going to make an impression." He 
swelled his broad chest against the pout of Becky's breasts, lightly encased 
in a very sheer bra. She felt a tingle of excitement. 

"How do you mean?" she asked, a bit curious. 

"You don't wolf around like most of the gals your age. Are you really such a 
home body?" 

"I'm married," she said tartly. 

He laughed. "So are Tina and Janet. Don't be so serious about it and you 
might have more fun." He squeezed her fingers. "You've got a terrific 
figure...." 

In spite of her resentment of his boldness, she was flattered. She was proud 
of her slender shape, of her long straight legs, but she had never thought 
of herself as being anything like "terrific." 

"You've had too many drinks," she answered. 

"Just the right amount. Say, why don't we all go over to our pool and take a 
swim? I feel a real bash coming on!" 

Becky had been in the Walters' enclosed pool a few times when only Tina was 
there. It was an extravagance she and Rudy couldn't afford. 

Obviously Rudy made less money than either Gene or Hal. The weather was warm 
... and the small air-conditioner Rudy had bought just barely kept their 
living room livable in August. 

She overlooked the insinuation that her own party might fall flat for lack 
of anything more to do-besides dancing and drinking. But Gene was probably 
right. 

"Ask the others," she said. 

A moment later, at the end of the recorded tune, Gene made the proposal. 
Everyone agreed it was a wonderful suggestion. Becky noticed that Rudy was 
all smiles. 

"Now I'll get to try on that new Bikini I just bought," Janet drawled, 
rolling her big brown eyes. 

Gene chuckled. "I can hardly wait to see that!" 

"By golly!" Hal mimicked. "This here girl has been a-keepin' things from me 
again!" More laughter.... 

* * * 

Later Becky found herself in the shiny, tiled double-bathroom at Walters 
where the girls had gone to change into their swim suits. The men had 
already changed out near the pool and the sound of their voices drifted in 
through the open bathroom window. Evidently they were now enjoying the 
water. 

"Don't be bashful, honey," Tina said to Becky. The blonde was down to 
panties and bra and they were so thin she might as well have been nude. Her 
full breasts rode forward jauntily, their strawberry nipples swollen. 

I wonder if dancing with Rudy caused that? Becky thought illogically. She 
wasn't used to exposing her body to anyone, at least not since PE classes at 
high school. Lately Rudy had kidded her about shyness, even in their 
bedroom-something he hadn't done previously. Another subtle change in his 
outlook, his personality? 

Janet stood in front of a full-length mirror as she removed her bra. The 
large brownette threw her shoulders back, surveying her almost-naked figure. 
She still wore a pair of smoky-colored lace-trimmed undies. 

"Have to watch that sag," she remarked, weaving her generous hips. Her 
breasts were huge with prominent dark nipples, the aureolae banding them 
quite wide. Becky felt her cheeks turn hot. The easy familiarity between 
Tina and Janet she had noticed she attributed to their long friendship, but 
now it seemed a little more than that. Their suggestive remarks often jarred 
Becky's sensibilities. 

Becky wasn't totally unaware of lesbianism. There had been plenty of 
whispers about certain girls at Stanton High, but she had considered it a 
mere phase some girls went through before marriage. When a gal was growing 
up there were always so many deterrents to normal sexual release with the 
boys.... 

She had been a virgin when she married Rudy and until the hair piece they 
had been, in her opinion, quite well adjusted. The last few "times," though, 
Rudy had seemed a little distant, and a month earlier he had mentioned that 
she didn't act "sexy" in their bedroom. He had even brought home some new, 
very sheer nighties which she hadn't yet worn. At the same time he was 
becoming more bold, hinting that it might be fun if they did it on the 
living room floor or in the shower. 

All these changes disturbed her. Were they necessary if two people were 
really in love? She had to admit, though, that she didn't always climax when 
Rudy did. Also she hated to "act" in such an intimate and personal 
relationship. 

"Does Hal really appreciate what you've got?" Tina giggled, glancing over at 
Janet. 

"Oh, usually," Janet drawled. "But I get the idea once in a while he'd like 
a change of pace." 

"How many drinks have you two had?" Becky asked dryly. 

Tina laughed. "Don't break in on such an interesting conversation. I know 
Gene would go for a little variety!" 

Becky blushed. Perhaps she and Rudy should change friends, she thought. She 
wasn't used to girlish discussions about what husbands liked and didn't like 
regarding sex. "Change of pace" and "variety" ... were these two attractive 
girls talking about "switching?" 

Janet laughed her slow throaty laugh. "I see we're shocking Becky. Come on, 
honey-get into your suit. The boys are waiting." 

 CHAPTER TWO 

Becky stood in the dim light at the tiled rim of the pool, feeling a little 
self-conscious. Even her modest two-piece suit seemed too revealing. She 
couldn't hide the thrusting points of her breasts, which, though rather 
small, had always been firm and somewhat elongated. One girl in PE class at 
school, catching a glimpse of Becky in the shower, had told her she should 
model for bra ads.... 

"Nice!" Tina murmured, staring at Becky. The blonde's green mischievous eyes 
seemed to bore right through her suit-top. Becky had waited in the bathroom 
until the other girls had left giggling. 

"Stop it!" Becky said. 

"Honest, honey-you ought to show yourself off more. Hubby might like you 
better...." 

"We get along just fine!" Becky said, shading the truth. She remembered the 
way Rudy had ogled Tina's legs just before they danced. Of course men liked 
to look. She remembered an old saying-"When the men are through looking, 
they're through." But Tina had given him plenty of opportunity. 

Gene swung out of the pool, using the chromed ladder supports, smiling, 
handsome, tanned. He flipped a handful of water on Becky, making her jump. 

"He likes you, honey," Tina quipped. She glanced out over the shadowy pool. 
"Where are you, Rudy?" 

Becky observed the blonde's mini-Bikini, the lush bulges of her breasts that 
jiggled whenever she moved, the tiny waist and the swell of her hips and 
loins, barely covered by triangular red patches at front and rear. 

She's lovely and sexy and I hope Rudy doesn't get too many ideas, she 
thought. Beside her I feel almost gangly. 

Gene touched her waist and pointed at the portable bar set up near the 
pool's edge. Becky nodded. Perhaps she did need another drink. 

"You're a real willowy doll," Gene murmured, winking as he iced a couple of 
glasses. She noticed that Hal came out of the pool instead of Rudy. Her 
husband was cavorting in the water with Janet. In the shadows it was hard to 
tell exactly what they were doing.... 

She decided to relax a little. If Rudy could play around with Janet, why 
couldn't she be more friendly with Gene? While dancing with him she had 
experienced a mild thrill. 

She felt the basic wrongness of the situation, the casual pairing off, the 
way Tina and Janet flirted with other girls' husbands-but it seemed to be 
the popular thing to do in this neighborhood. She had read about suburban 
swap clubs, and she didn't intend ever to become involved in one. 

She was quite sure that she and Rudy wouldn't be where they were at all if 
he had remained as before, during their first year of marriage, BTH. She had 
read articles concerning personality changes following plastic surgery ... a 
girl had her nose straightened and suddenly she was popular ... a man with a 
harelip and a dreadful inferiority complex began mingling with a whole new 
crowd and turned into a wolf. 

She began to hate her husband's patch of artificial hair. She could blame 
his new dashing self on little else but that. Nothing momentous had 
happened. His steadiness at his work had been commendable and he had 
confided his troubles to her. 

Now he seemed more self-reliant, not that this was a bad quality, because it 
had helped him get a promotion. It was simply that he was no longer the same 
Rudy she had married. 

Can I really adjust-or are we headed for the rocks? I won't be drawn into a 
cheap trademate arrangement. He doesn't owe these people anything. 

Becky accepted the fresh drink Gene handed her and withdrew his hand from 
her waist. 

"What's the matter?" he asked, his voice showing the effects of the liquor. 
"Rudy and Janet're having a ball out in the pool." 

"I don't like to be rushed," she said, aware of his masculine appeal, yet 
still determined to do nothing she would regret later. 

"Sure," he said, smiling. "I'll go in and turn up the outside speakers a 
little. We can dance anyway." 

He's clever, she thought, as the liquor warmed her. I'll have to watch 
him-and myself. 

Janet climbed out of the pool, Rudy immediately behind her. Becky noticed 
that he hadn't wet his head and for obvious reasons his hair piece might 
come unglued. She also noted that Janet's lipstick was smeared. Rudy made an 
ineffectual swipe at his mouth with his right hand. 

Janet laughingly adjusted her mini-halter and excused herself, saying she 
would be right back. Rudy wandered to the bar, obviously excited by what had 
happened out in the water. 

"Having fun, darling?" he asked Becky. 

"Not especially." 

He paused with a glass in his hand. "You going to be a spoilsport?" 

Hot words leaped to her lips, but she held them back. They could discuss it 
later. She hated to see Rudy make a fool of himself. He was trying to act 
ten years younger than his age. 

When she didn't answer, he wandered over to where Tina and Hal stood. Hal 
was telling a joke. Becky heard the volume from the outdoor speakers 
increase and decided she would go inside and help Gene pick out some good 
records. He wasn't a bad sort really. Maybe after putting him in his place 
he wouldn't get too fresh. 

She walked through the open doorway, turned toward the living room. Janet's 
intimate giggle rose above the sound of the music. Becky paused. Gene's 
voice answered. 

"You look special tonight, sugar." 

"Oh? I thought you had plans for Becky." 

"She's a cold tomato. I guess the four of us can have a little fun anyway!" 

Janet giggled. 

Becky felt her cheeks turn warm. She had never cared about eavesdropping. 
People who listened in sometimes got their ears burned. She didn't miss the 
suggestion about the "four of us." 

Made brave by the drinks she moved to the living room entrance and peered 
into the large dimly illuminated space. Janet and Gene stood by the Walters' 
console stereo set. They were kissing and he had her suit-top unfastened. 
His right hand cupped her full jutting breasts. 

The vision of infidelity or at least of its beginnings shook Becky's senses. 
The play of his fingers across Janet's erect nipples made her own breasts 
tingle! It occurred to her that Rudy hadn't asserted himself for almost a 
week and she realized that she was envious of the attentions Janet was so 
obviously enjoying. 

Janet's hand dropped to his tight swim trunks, where the bulge of his 
maleness was very evident. She caressed him, shaped him ... Becky had never 
done that-not until they were about to do it. She trembled. 

Their mouths finally pulled apart. 

"You're special tonight, too, honey." Janet murmured. 

"Great! When the Finches take off, we'll have a real party." 

"They're pretty square!" Janet answered. 

The mutual fondlings continued and Becky shivered, finally tearing her eyes 
from the sensual scene. She retreated, their remarks stabbing at her like 
vicious darts. "Square?" Because she and Rudy lived normally-or at least had 
at first. Were these people so jaded they had to trade around to find sexual 
gratification? 

She rushed out to the pool area and Rudy looked over at her. She walked up 
to him, unable to conceal her anger. "I think we'd better leave, Rudy." 

"What's the matter, honey?" Tina exclaimed. 

She wanted to shout, your husband is in the house fondling a friend's wife! 
But she didn't. The idea of Gene dancing with her now, after playing around 
with Janet, repelled her. 

"I've got a headache," Becky answered. 

There were remarks of dismay, but she could tell that Tina and Hal weren't 
unduly disappointed. Becky realized that she hadn't joined in with the girls 
in the bathroom, when the trio had been donning their Bikinis. She was an 
outsider.... 

Half an hour later they were home, in their own living room. Becky and Rudy 
still wore their swim suits. 

"You sure know how to break up a party," Rudy snapped. 

She sank down on the sofa. "If you recall," she said dryly, "it was our 
party to begin with. Then it turned into an undress show." 

He halted, standing in front of her. "You're a prude. Lots of girls wear 
Bikinis!" 

"Lots of young wives play around with other men, too-is that what you really 
liked?" 

He flushed. "I didn't do anything out of the way!" 

"But where was it all leading? What'd you and Janet do out in the pool?" 

She saw the muscles play in his face. His mouth set rigidly. "Nothing I'm 
ashamed of. You want to make a bunch of enemies around town? Gene and Hal 
carry a lot of weight in this burg. They could hurt my job...." 

"I've heard about things like this!" she flared. "Rising young executive has 
to have a 'cooperative' wife ... You don't owe them anything. Do you really 
want to go around swapping me off?" 

"Hell! At least you could play up to them a little ... They're solid 
citizens-they make more dough than I do!" 

"Is that the mark of success, Rudy? Why can't we be like we were?" She hated 
to add the rest, but she knew she had to now. "You've changed!" 

His right hand rose in an almost unconscious gesture to his hair. He 
smoothed down his wig. "Lots of people change, if that's what's bothering 
you. Hell, I think I'll have another drink." 

He strode into the kitchen, where bottles and glasses remained, leftovers 
from their own party. Tears stung her eyes. They had had very few arguments. 
She had wanted this evening to end right, with Rudy possessing her, 
relieving her tensions, but she knew it was spoiled now. He was really 
angry. 

Shoulders sagging, she walked into their bedroom, turned up the lights, 
closed the door and began to take her swim suit off. She had already put 
away the party dress and undies she had removed at the Walters' house. 

I suppose Janet and Gene are having a high old time, by now, she thought. 
And Hal would be playing around with Tina.... 

She was startled when the bedroom door opened suddenly. She was completely 
naked. She held her halter over her breasts and covered her loins with her 
hand. 

Rudy stood there, a drink in his hand. His smile was twisted. 

"Look at you!" he said mockingly. "Afraid to show your nude body to your own 
husband! You say I've changed. Maybe so, but you haven't grown up yet. Why 
don't you wear those new nighties I brought home? Why can't I take a good 
look at you once in a while?" 

"I-thought you loved me!" she said on the defensive. 

"Well, can't love include a little change once in a while? Why does it 
always have to be in bed with the lights out?" 

She bit her lip, tears starting. "We got along fine till you got that-hair 
piece!" 

He took a quick gulp of his highball. "I knew it would come around to that. 
You'd rather have me meek and quiet again, a dumb assistant department 
manager back at Spokane, I suppose?" 

"No, Rudy. I'm happy you've succeeded ... Am I supposed to turn into a kind 
of harlot?" 

He shook his head. "You don't get it, do you? Ever hear about the 
description of the perfect wife? I'm glad you brought up that word. 'A good 
cook in the kitchen, a lady in the drawing room and a harlot in the 
bedroom.' Is that too awful to think about? We've been married over two 
years. You going to act like a little girl forever?" 

"Get out!" she stormed. "Maybe you'd better get a divorce and find somebody 
like Janet or Tina!" 

He retreated, growling, "Might not be a bad idea, at that. Go ahead, put on 
your prim proper pajamas and act hurt and wounded. If I thought the party 
was still going I think I'd go over there!" 

"They're already paired off for the night, darling!" she said dryly. "You 
might be embarrassed!" 

He backed out, slamming the door. 

A lump formed in her throat. She wiped the tears angrily from her eyes. 
Where will our marriage go from here? she wondered. All those vicious 
words.... 

 CHAPTER THREE 

A light knock on Rudy's office door brought him out of his concentration 
over departmental losses and gains for July. The whole lower-floor level, 
including major appliances and furniture, was down from June. One of their 
best salesmen had gone over to a competition store.... 

"Come in," he said, expecting one of the department heads, although his 
private secretary, Ava Greene, generally buzzed him in advance of an 
employee entrance. 

The pebbled glass door swung open and Tina Walters entered. She smiled 
breezily and closed the panel behind her. She looked ravishing in a summer 
print that displayed her fine soft shoulders, the sweet thrust of her 
breasts. Her skirt was short and flared attractively. Her grooming was 
perfection. 

"Well-I'm flattered," he said, smoothing his hair. 

The move to Pender had been gratifying in more ways than one. Here nobody 
was aware of his baldness. He could pass for thirty-two any day of the week 
and he didn't have any explaining to do, as at Spokane, where all the 
employees remembered him without a hair piece. 

A glance in the small mirror on his desk assured him he looked his best. 

"Have a chair, beautiful," he said, smiling at Tina. 

"You have a way of making me feel frisky and very young," she said, gliding 
into a chair. He didn't miss her crossed legs, the frill of lace on her 
slip, framing the smoothness of her lower thighs.... 

"What brings you down here, Tina?" 

She giggled. "Pleasure-and business, too ... Gene asked me to drop by. You 
know that big apartment he's remodeling-the Crescent Arms?" 

"Hell yes," he said, moving out from behind his white-topped executive desk. 
He sniffed something good-and it wasn't all Tina's seductive perfume. 

"He's been asked to re-carpet all the rooms and buy new electric stoves and 
refrigerators," Tina said, slyly. "You do have both for sale...." 

"Naturally!" 

"We like to be good neighbors, Rudy. Several dealers are turning in figures, 
but he said to tell you that if yours is anywhere close he can swing it for 
your store." 

His chest swelled. The Crescent had at least twenty-five apartments ... This 
was the kind of deal he had been hoping for, that any store manager would 
leap at.... 

"Damn nice of Gene!" he exclaimed. "I'll have my carpet and appliance 
estimators on it right away." 

She smiled winningly. She rose gracefully out of the chair and approached 
him. Her dainty wiggle made him remember the dance on Saturday night, the 
way she had cuddled herself against him, making his trousers bulge. 

"Anybody liable to walk in on us?" she murmured, her green eyes mischievous. 

He grinned, his heart pounding. "I'll lock the door...." 

She waited. When he came back, she flicked her pink tongue invitingly 
between her pouting red lips. He took the hint. He slid his arm around her 
tiny waist and she held her mouth up. He came down on it, tentatively at 
first, and when she opened her lips, he pushed his tongue out to meet hers. 

"Mmmmm!" she breathed, pressing herself in close. 

He experienced a wave of exultation. He had thought she might be miffed at 
Becky's behavior on Saturday night, but evidently not. He enjoyed the heady 
flutter of her lips, the flick of her lively tongue. She wound it about his. 

He couldn't resist reaching up to the jiggly pout of her breasts. She arched 
them into his palm. She certainly didn't have many clothes on. He felt the 
spire of her nipples! 

Just when things were getting heated up, she inched her mouth away. "Honey, 
I can't stay long ... Wish I could. You make me goose-pimply ... We're 
having a party Wednesday night. You and Becky are invited." Her voice 
lowered into a seductive whisper. "I think we ought to get better 
acquainted." 

"Hell yes!" he breathed. Her breasts were terrific. The Bikini she had worn 
Saturday night hadn't lied. And he was horny. Becky had been in a bad mood 
lately ... nothing had been settled between them. 

"Gene likes Becky, too, honey...." 

He nodded. 

She retreated, smiling softly. "I'll go, now. Don't worry about lipstick 
smears. I've got on some of that new stuff-guaranteed not to rub off!" 

"You're one hell of a nice girl, Tina." She winked. "Why don't you try to 
find out...?" 

When she was gone, he sat in his chair, thinking the situation over. In 
spite of his elation, his feeling of impending conquest that made his loins 
ache, he realized she had laid it right on the line. 

"Gene likes Becky, too, honey...." 

If he and his wife didn't cooperate on their party, the store wouldn't get 
the Crescent apartment deal. Simple. Becky had said they didn't owe the 
Walters or the Collins anything and perhaps they didn't-but that one deal 
could change matters. 

He stood up and paced back and forth. Out in the pool he had had a few feels 
from Janet, too. She had acted willing enough. He had tasted the hotness of 
her mouth, cuddled her generous breasts under water ... She had plenty to 
offer. 

Damn it, if Becky weren't so old-fashioned ... Tina and Janet had a 
different outlook entirely. They were tempting, exciting. They didn't mind 
being forward, letting a man know where he stood. The idea of switching 
didn't scare him particularly. He realized that with a few belts in his 
belly, he'd probably go for it. 

How could he soften Becky up ... get her used to the idea? A little change 
might do them both good. I need that apartment deal. I want to get on the 
inside track in this burg. I want that new Pasco store. And a good record 
here, a healthy increase, will get it for me. 

Pasco was building. A number of new atomic energy projects were under way 
there. Already the Tri-Cities were ten times the size of Pender, which 
wouldn't ever grow very much larger. The land could produce only so much 
wheat and peas. A bad crop year would ruin sales.... 

He smiled to himself and drew out the telephone directory. He looked up the 
number of Pender's best florist.... 

* * * 

"Honey, how very thoughtful of you to send me flowers!" 

Ever since coming home he had received the red-carpet treatment. Dinner had 
been great and Becky wore a bit more make-up than usual. 

Monday was always a stay-at-home evening for them and when he realized how 
long it had been since they had had a toss on the bed, he regretted his 
behavior. 

They were in the living room on the sofa, watching the Monday Night Movie. 

On his coming through the door after work she had welcomed him with a moist 
openmouthed kiss. The flowers he had sent were in a vase on the kitchen 
table. He had already changed into his robe and pajamas. Their 
airconditioner made the living room comfortable. 

She still wore a short-skirted dress that she hadn't donned recently. He had 
kidded her about the way it displayed her legs when she had first bought it 
and this was only the second time she had donned it. Now, when he glanced at 
her bare thighs, she didn't try to tug the hem forward. 

Maybe that argument Saturday night did some good, he thought. He had liked 
her leggy figure the first time he saw her in the Spokane Crest Store 
office. He had appreciated her fine, firm bottom-so many girls were flabby 
there and had to wear girdles. Becky seldom did. 

Her walk was sexy, too, when she didn't try to minimize the natural wiggle 
by acting proper. The little dress delineated the jut of her breasts, too. 
That was something else he felt she could emphasize to more advantage. In 
the right get-up she was a real knockout. He had hinted several times that 
she didn't have to wear bras around the house-but she always did. 

He slipped his left arm around her shoulders. He would show her a good time 
and, when she was in a relaxed mood, he would bring up the party Wednesday 
night.... 

* * * 

Ever since the flowers had come Becky had been in a half-dreamy state of 
anticipation. He did love her! His coolness of Sunday had melted. Sometimes 
an argument could clear the air. 

Some of his remarks had stung for quite a while, though. Perhaps she was too 
reserved. Perhaps living in a manless house with her mother so long had 
given her a narrow outlook on man-woman relations. Her father, Gus, had left 
home when she was quite young. He followed construction work crews and one 
day he just never came back. 

Her mother's bitter words about men in general hadn't improved Becky's 
attitude. She had waited until she was twenty-three before deciding to risk 
marriage.... 

Rudy's partial baldness, his being ten years older, hadn't bothered her at 
all. She realized, of course, that a man his age must have known several 
women intimately. He had been married once before but never talked about it. 
Becky didn't even know what she looked like, what kind of person she was. 
She didn't want to. 

Since this was a kind of reunion, she thought back to their honeymoon. Every 
detail of their first night together came rushing to her, vivid, almost in 
rainbow colors. Although she knew other single girls had visited motels, 
this was her very first experience. She was glad she had waited for 
marriage. 

First he had taken her out to a lakeside supper club, where they had dined 
and danced and consumed several drinks apiece. It had been summertime, just 
like now. 

And when they finally reached the motel at eleven, and despite all she had 
read in accepted marriage guides, she found herself very nervous. She was 
self-conscious about being still a virgin at twenty-three. 

But Rudy's kisses, his hands on her breasts, had melted her unease. He 
suggested she go in the bedroom first. He would wait until she called.... 

She remembered the filmy nightie she had worn-she still had it. She 
remembered turning out the lights, slipping into bed, trembling and 
scared.... 

She recalled that as he came through the bedroom door, he had left it open, 
so light from the motel living room cast dim illumination about-enough for 
her to tell that he was practically naked. His silhouette in the doorway, 
his strong virile figure, made her shiver. She had expected him to wear 
pajamas. He had brought a pair from the bedroom earlier ... He stood by the 
bed and removed his shorts. She caught a glimpse of his maleness. Although 
diagrams in the books had given her knowledge of the male sex organs she 
hadn't expected him to be so-large.... 

All their previous petting had been confined to kisses and letting him 
fondle her breasts, sometimes her thighs. She had never touched him. 

Of course, she had known what a feminine orgasm was though society imposed 
strict rules on single girls. She had discovered how to relieve her tensions 
at the age of fifteen. She had sneaked pictures into her room at home, 
photos loaned her by other high-school girls. The ones showing the girl on 
top had thrilled her more than the others and she never did know exactly 
why.... 

Immediately Rudy's hands were on her body, his mouth covering hers. The 
intensity of his desire communicated itself warmly. His move into bed had 
been swift and sure. 

"We've waited a long time for this...." he breathed, his hand gliding along 
her figure, cuddling her close. He whispered more endearing words as he slid 
her nightie up and caressed her thighs, all along the sensitive inner areas, 
kicking the covers back. 

"You have such nice long legs," he murmured, finding the tender lips of her 
femininity, gently rolling her little point of excitability. 

"Ohhh-Rudy!" was all she could say. 

He drew her hand downward. She trembled all over as she touched him for the 
first time, the sensual contact making her loins ache in a way they never 
had before-not even in her most abandoned moments alone, no matter how she 
prolonged her guilty pleasure.... 

This was so much more thrilling. She was breathless, her heart pounded 
furiously. She had waited and waited, dreaming of this moment, and now it 
was here. 

He nuzzled her nightie down, kissing her throat, working lower. She knew 
what he wanted. With her free hand she helped him expose her breasts. They 
had never gone this far and she found she wanted her nipples kissed. They 
were already stimulated. 

Gently he drew a rosebud into his lips. She shivered as curls of pleasure 
claimed her, running stingingly down to her thighs where his hand still 
wandered, seeking out the soft, secret places of her womanhood. Impulsively 
she opened her thighs.... 

A low moan came from his throat; his maleness seemed to enlarge even more. 
At last, when she was panting with anticipation, he swung above her. She had 
never wanted anything so strongly. 

The newness of it, his hard body between her legs, her hand still holding 
him, stirred her deeply, thoroughly. She hadn't dreamed that she would be so 
dizzily aroused, so keenly aware of him. 

He didn't mash her; he was braced carefully above, seeking her with his 
hips, his rigidity. She guided.... 

The hot flame of his manhood seemed to sear her tender membranes, spreading 
them, while she felt the warm glow of her desire. The sensation was 
wonderful. He didn't rush. She loved him for being so considerate. 

Then he began to claim her. A physical examination she had had earlier that 
week had revealed that her actual maidenhood, her hymen, was practically 
non-existent. The doctor had assured her this was not unusual. She felt 
confident that she could receive him.... 

And a few seconds later-she did! 

His sword aroused sweet little burnings along her thighs, deep within her. A 
long-awaited thrill of voluptuous delight, accompanied by little shiverings 
around him, brought a glad cry from her throat! 

And suddenly, her passion climbed to a new, breath-taking height. She seized 
him, and the glory began-honeyed writhings commenced. She had the most 
furious orgasm of her entire life-and before the close, hot strokings could 
get well under way she experienced another climax. The rest was lost in a 
haze of gasping release.... 

 CHAPTER FOUR 

Rudy, I'm sorry about-Saturday. I'll try to be more what you want me to be." 

She was surprised that she had said it-but the memory of how things had been 
their first year, sometimes even better than on their honeymoon, her wish to 
continue being his wife, had inspired it. 

Other memories had helped her, too. The times later on, in the second year, 
when she had been unable to reach a crest of feeling when he did, when his 
pumpings had lost some of their "glamour...." 

All the trouble had begun with his hair piece. He had come home one night 
from the Elks with a few drinks under his belt, waking her out of a sound 
sleep, to suggest that they do it with the lights on. She had given in and 
the strangeness of it, his efforts to try a new position, had left her 
disappointed. His manner had been almost brusque. He'd acted as though he 
were more worldly. 

After that she had failed any number of times and it had bothered her, made 
her irritable. He spent more time at the office. He became more extroverted. 
He spent more time on his grooming and wore flashier clothes. 

She realized the change had helped him win his promotion, but it hadn't 
helped their personal life at home. Sometimes he didn't touch her in bed for 
a whole week. She suspected he was having some kind of light affair, but she 
didn't try to pry into it-she kept hoping he would change back into his old 
considerate self again. 

But he hadn't. The move to Pender hadn't improved their intimate relations 
either. 

She realized now that she had come to a crossroads. She had to either bend 
to his new personality or be a complete failure as a wife. The rest, though, 
like indulging in switch parties, she considered beyond the pale. 

I guess I can try things his way and see what happens, she thought. Maybe 
I'm too serious about it. Sex should be fun. He hasn't sent me flowers until 
today since we were first married.... 

"Well, hooray!" he answered. "I like that outfit." 

"I remembered that you did," she murmured, cuddling nearer. She had showered 
in mid-afternoon, donning fresh undies, adding a bit more cologne than 
usual, and she felt quite feminine and dainty. 

His mouth brushed hers teasingly and she pushed her tongue out. His arm 
tightened. He gave a little exclamation of pleasure and drew her wiggly 
tongue-tip far inside his mouth. His hand rose unerringly to her breasts. 

She continued to writhe her tongue around, something she had hardly ever 
done before. If he wanted her bolder, she could do it. Little stings of 
excitement swept from one nipple to the other. 

It's been over a week, she thought. I do need my ashes hauled.... 

The fact that they had argued and were now together again at last made her 
anticipation that much keener. 

He nibbled at her lips and she reached into the folds of his robe, brazenly 
exploring. He was very rigid. She felt his tremor of desire and while he 
opened the top of her dress she found him, held him. They had never done 
this in the living room, with the lights on.... 

He lifted his mouth. Her bodice was wide open now. She had worn a 
front-opening bra, the halves held together with a little catch. 

"Becky-you're a new girl tonight! What happened?" 

"I told you-I want to please my husband...." 

"Damn!" he breathed, undoing her bra. "I'll send flowers more often." 

She knew, though, that Tina's and Janet's behavior had influenced her. She 
had never thought girls should be aggressive, but it appeared to be the new 
trend. Love, she was sure, could survive if two people really cared. 

Well, I do care for Rudy! If he wants his wife to be harlotish, why not? 

She remembered the manner in which Janet had arched her breasts forward into 
Gene's eager hands. Her breasts, with their scented cups removed, seemed 
especially taut and silky-hot. Rudy's fingers sent electric sparks from base 
to the tender nipple, first of one and then the other.... 

She had never watched him caress her this way. They had always been in the 
bedroom with the lights out or with very little illumination. Now, with the 
lamp right beside them revealing the contours of her charms, the vision of 
his hand gliding around and under and then out to the rosy tips gave her a 
thrill she hadn't expected. 

She thrust them forward. "Man!" he breathed. A twinge of desire coiled 
through her loins. Watching could be fun-especially when she was being so 
skillfully caressed herself ... and not peeping. "Like me now?" she 
whispered, teasingly. "Becky, you're tremendous!" She laughed. She was sure 
Tina would do the same in such a situation. "Make me real hot tonight, 
honey!" 

"Say, you been reading a racy novel or something?" 

She didn't answer. She felt just a little silly. But if he liked it.... 

She squeezed him, trembling. His hand coasted down to her hiked-back skirt 
and she opened her legs invitingly. Watching his fingers slide beneath her 
dress gave her a naughty thrill. Things were different and provocative out 
here on the sofa. 

He called me a prude. Well, I'll show him! He toyed with her warming thighs, 
finally reaching her panties. She was quite moist already. Pleased with her 
success, she spread herself wider and lifted her hips, finding the motion 
extremely stimulating. "Ohhh!' she breathed. 

His lips were on her throat, heading lower. While he cupped her femininity 
he teased a taut nipple with his tongue. She was used to that in bed but the 
new locale added to her flaring need. He was huge now. 

She looked down at him and had an impulse quite new to her experience. Was 
it because she had waited so long for his touches? Maybe later, she would 
try it ... kissing him, there.... 

What had the proper books said? Mutual kisses on any part of the loved one's 
body were perfectly natural. She didn't think she was really depraved. It 
was just a bit new and startling. 

He was inside her panties now and she shivered with rising fervor. Her 
clitoris was very, very sensitive! His lips on her nipples spiraled her 
pleasure. 

"Honey, let me get undressed," she whispered. 

"Hell, yes!" 

She left the sofa and stood in front of him, her breasts firm with desire, 
her nipples swollen. His dark eyes seemed to blaze with lust. She had never 
done this either-but obviously he liked it. 

As she lifted her dress over her head, she saw him rise and take off his 
robe. He removed his pajama tops. Then the bottoms. He was naked and all she 
wore now was her panties. 

He reached for her and she backed away teasingly. Of course, Janet would do 
that. She hooked her thumbs in the elastic band of her last garment and 
slipped it down over her hips. 

"You're no spoilsport tonight, sugar." 

Her panties dropped to the floor. For a moment she felt a wash of the old 
shyness but she overcame it. Nothing wrong with a naked human figure. Girls 
and boys were born without clothes.... 

She weaved her hips, throwing her shoulders back ... might as well go all 
out. She had crossed a bridge and burned it behind her. She was the new 
Becky Finch, stripping in front of her husband, blatantly showing him all 
she had. 

He began tossing sofa cushions on the floor. She knew what he had planned 
and her knees grew weak with need. 

"Honey, you be on the bottom!" she said boldly. 

His expression was one of amazed excitement. He grinned, and swung down on 
the carpet. He stretched out, face upward, his hands behind his head. 

"I didn't think you'd ever do it, Becky!" 

She knew her cheeks were hot but she was determined to be aggressive. She 
recalled the photo of many years ago, with the girl on top, the one that had 
shaken her young inquisitive mind. 

She straddled him, placing her knees on the cushions. Her heart thudded. 
They hadn't dimmed the lights. Every contour of his muscular figure was 
visible. She didn't know quite how to handle the rest-but he helped her.... 

Their heated voluptuous joining began. His hands molded her throbbing 
breasts. She sank down, her breathing jerky, as his bigness entered her, 
making her gasp. She remembered how the legs went from the old photo. Now, 
she was all the way. 

I won't fail tonight, she thought dizzily. I'm on the edge right now! 

Moving her hips, stroking, became a heady, exotic delight. Her nipples were 
on fire. She squirmed and panted, filling herself with him, finding a 
thrilling difference in her upright position. He seemed to go deeper, to 
touch new zones of erotic responsiveness. She felt the waves of her rapture 
begin, the delectable tightenings, and she couldn't help crying out, 
bouncing quickly until the little jerkings zoomed to a fierce pinnacle of 
explosive need. 

The flow and give, the wild churnings, had never been sweeter. She sagged 
above him, trembling, her eyes closed, lost in her total release, as little 
waves of joy rolled along her thighs, through her loins and upward to her 
flinty nipples.... 

Much later they traded positions and she experienced two more glorious 
crests.... 

When they finally went to bed, after a shower, she was still aglow with love 
and gratitude. But something basic between them had changed. Despite her 
purely physical relief she felt a little cheap and somehow whorish. Their 
love was not what it had been that first year of marriage-it had turned into 
a kind of contest as to how long they could last between orgasms and how 
many times they could do it. 

The words of endearment were almost gone. 

A few honeys could not fill the gap. Yes she had pleased him and she had 
relieved her tensions. She knew she should be happy but she was sure now 
that he would never be the same person he was before ... as long as he 
remained unbald, extroverted, flashily successful. 

How many more bridges would she have to burn? When were they going to answer 
the big question about starting a family? 

A few tears rolled from her cheeks onto the pillow. Rudy was already 
snoring. He had mentioned about a party over at the Walters' place on 
Wednesday night? Yes, and in her spirit of cooperation, she had said she 
would go with him. 

Every one of their parties didn't have to end up on a switching note, she 
hoped.... 

 CHAPTER FIVE 

Becky gazed admiringly around the Walters' living room. Tina and Gene had 
just bought new furniture-ordered through Rudy's store some time earlier, 
she was a bit surprised to learn. The styling was French Provincial, in very 
good taste. 

A new portable bar bad been set up in an archway, and their new stereo oozed 
seductive music. Obviously, Gene was doing quite well with his contracting 
business. 

Becky stood near the bar, letting Gene mix her a highball. Tina had called 
Tuesday to tell her that since the weather had cooled they would have their 
party indoors, and to wear something dressy. Becky had bought a new gown, a 
little cocktail dress that plunged lower than any she had ever worn. It also 
had a very high hemline.... 

Seeing her in it for the first time before they left home Rudy had raved 
about her "good thinking." The frock was quite in keeping with her "new" 
outlook because, after trying several of her bras with scanty decolletage 
and finding them unsuitable, she had decided to go without. 

As Rudy had hinted a number of times she didn't really need one ... she was 
sufficiently firm-breasted to give the bodice the proper lines and she 
supposed the outline of her nipples against the clinging gold-colored fabric 
would increase her appeal. 

At least Gene had been ogling her ever since she and Rudy arrived and even 
Tina and Janet had given her compliments. 

Becky was a little surprised to find an extra girl at the party, a lushly 
constructed redhead who had the mannerisms of a chorus girl or entertainer. 
She wasn't really startled to hear later that Irene was a professional 
stripper whom Hal had invited to "liven things up." In fact, the party was 
being held in the middle of the week so Irene could be present. Her gown was 
of shimmery green material, cut to emphasize the thrust of her large breasts 
and longish legs. Close up, she had a rather hard, polished look and her 
laugh seemed stilted. 

Hal and Janet had met her in Portland. She was staying at their home, on 
vacation between assignments. 

"You act like a different girl," Gene said, breaking in on her thoughts. 
"And that dress is terrific!" 

She thanked him and smiled and accepted the drink he handed her. She noticed 
their dining room, with its hardwood floor, had been cleared for dancing-and 
hardly any light penetrated there. Very convenient for a little fondling and 
smooching. 

What bothered her most was what Rudy had told her just before arriving at 
the Walters' home. A big deal, meaning a lot of profit for the store, 
depended on their continuing friendship with Gene and Tina. 

She had said, during their argument, that she and Rudy owed none of them 
anything but small-town business didn't operate that way. A manager of a 
large department store, in order to succeed, had to go along or go under. At 
least Rudy had explained it that way. 

She hadn't asked him just how far their "friendship" had to go but she had a 
fair idea. Gene had been coming on strong ever since she and Rudy arrived. 
As before, Janet had been staying close to Rudy. Becky had a notion that 
Rudy would just as soon be with Tina-but the pairing off wouldn't work out 
so well. That would throw Hal with Janet, and at a party who wanted to be 
stuck with a husband? 

II things continue I suppose the next step will be a date with Hal, she 
thought. 

Could she really be unfaithful? The word didn't seem quite so offensive as 
it had a few days before. In modern society there was a certain amount of 
infidelity-Kinsey had uncovered what everyone had known or suspected all 
along. Nor was playing around confined to the men alone. Up-to-date 
contraceptives had freed young women from fear of unwanted pregnancy. Girls 
like Tina and Janet considered it smart to trade around a little. And Becky 
suspected their extra-marital activities weren't altogether confined to the 
male species.... 

"Don't be so serious, Becky," Gene murmured, leaning close, glancing down 
her cleavage. 

"Sorry." 

The highball was strong. She decided she needed something to still the 
little voices that ran through her mind, saying, don't lose your faith in 
yourself, Becky. Don't let these people change you too much.... 

Janet and Rudy were already dancing. The large girl wore a high-necked red 
frock but the bodice was a peek-a-boo arrangement with a slit down the 
middle, offering flashes of her scantily-covered bulging breasts. Her nylons 
were dark and webbed, her skirt extremely brief. The fullness of her legs 
made Becky a little envious. 

Tina stood near the stereo, flirting with Hal. The upper half of her 
cocktail dress was almost like a negligee. Two tiny shoulder bands kept the 
split bodice from falling and the jiggle of her breasts indicated she, too, 
had spurned a bra. Becky had to admit the young blonde looked ravishing, 
seductive ... petite. Her tiny waist made her breasts seem even larger than 
they really were. 

I'm not so well endowed there, Becky thought. But I do have longer legs-and 
Rudy loves them.... 

As an afterthought, she added, Apparently Gene does, too ... or am I just 
something new? 

Remembering her resolve to be more bold, as she had with Rudy on Monday 
night, she took a deep breath and gave Gene a real good look at her bosom. 

"Am I really different, Gene?" she murmured. 

"You sure as hell are! Come on, let's dance a little." 

She had never been flirty by nature but already she had learned that it 
wasn't hard to please men. They were still little boys with lecherous 
egotistical minds. They all imagined themselves perfect Casanovas ... and 
their pride was so fragile. They kept wanting to prove over and over again 
how manly they were, how hairy-chested. Yet the new trend toward female 
aggressiveness seemed to take something away from them. 

Even her image of Rudy was becoming blurred. By top-riding she had, she 
imagined, made him less of a man. A bit of her respect for him had died ... 
and when that happened, where was love? 

Am I growing up, finally? Am I seeing things as they really are? Even the 
movies nowadays are sexier ... Am I a part of a sick society or are my eyes 
just opening? 

She gave it up. Why moralize? Why not be her new self? What could she expect 
at a party where she wore no bra? Surely she hadn't thought that Rudy would 
be the only man to want to slide his hand in there on her jutting breasts! 

"I'd love it, Gene," she said, giving him a high-voltage glance. 

He grinned. He finished his drink and took her hand. His strength was 
immediately communicated. His hands were a little rough from outdoor work. 
He was, as far as she could tell, thoroughly masculine. Playing up to him 
wouldn't be difficult at all. In fact she began to enjoy his nearness. Let 
Rudy fondle big-breasted Janet. She, Becky, could have a few thrills 
herself. 

As soon as she began to dance with Gene she realized he had big plans for 
her. His lips were below her ear, his arm very tightly about her waist. 
Perhaps she could get him so drunk she wouldn't have to go all the way with 
him ... or maybe she could steer him toward the redheaded showgirl. 
Meanwhile it might be fun to tantalize him. 

She responded by squirming her hips against his loins, quite aware already 
of his arousal. If Rudy wanted her to be a part-time party girl, she might 
as well enjoy it. 

He muttered his appreciation, aiming his mouth for hers. She turned her head 
away teasingly. His hand wandered over her bottom and she widened the spread 
of her thighs, pressing herself nearer. Quirty little tremors raced through 
her body. 

Maybe a change would do me good, she thought. Mix business with pleasure. 
Gene certainly wasn't repulsive. She would try not to become too emotional. 
All she had to do was separate thrills from love.... 

They were barely moving with the music. His right hand now slipped upward as 
she had known it would. She lightly caressed the nape of his neck. He 
reached into the deep slash of her bodice, onto her already firming breasts. 

She felt his tremor of interest as provocative tingles chased from one 
nipple to the other. 

"Great!" he breathed. "No bra...." 

"I wanted to make things easy for you, honey," she managed. 

"You've really got 'em, baby!" 

She laughed softly, hoping Rudy, over in a dark corner with Janet, was 
listening. The stirrings of her desire grew keener. She felt her nipples 
spire forward, turn achy. She was a little surprised at her swift reaction 
to him. 

Her eyes, grown accustomed to the darkness, let her see what Rudy and Janet 
were doing. Their mouths were locked together and his hand was in the 
crevice of her bodice, shaping her generous charms.... 

Things were moving very swiftly indeed. 

"Show time!" Tina called, from the living room. 

Becky finally let Gene kiss her. He did it smoothly, easing her lips apart, 
shooting his tongue inward. Zestful thrills accompanied his searchings. She 
flattened her hips against him for just a moment, increasing her excitement. 

Then she backed away, drawing his hand from her tender young breasts. He 
didn't fight it. Tina had evidently trained him to quit when she gave the 
signal. It seemed to her another indication of male weakness.... 

She found she wasn't as jealous of Janet as she could have been. What was 
good for the gander was good for the goose ... It wasn't as though he were 
hiding his extracurricular activities, sneaking out behind her back. At 
least, not tonight. She wasn't at all sure that he hadn't since he began 
wearing his hair piece. 

Becky's participation in the festivities somehow made Rudy's behavior 
acceptable. 

But I think I do need another drink or two! 

She straightened her dress and walked with Gene out into the living room. 
She was aware that the nipples against the thin fabric of her bodice were 
more prominent than ever. 

Might be an interesting party, after all. She had never seen a strip show. 
She had always thought them a little vulgar and for men only-but of course 
girls did enjoy them. Many strippers worked in front of mixed audiences. 

She wondered why entertainers who undressed for a living were always girls. 
Could there be a little lesbian streak in women who watched another woman 
disrobe? She had never heard of a male stripper. Or did girls have different 
motives in watching such a performance? Were they simply curious? 

Drink in hand, she went with Gene to a small sofa that faced the center of 
the living room. Rudy and Janet sat directly across from them while Hal and 
Tina were on Becky's right. The lights had already been dimmed. Redheaded 
Irene put a special record on the stereo turntable. A small spotlight 
resting on the floor was now aimed at the place where she would perform. 

Wisecracks from Hal seemed to signal the start of the performance. 

"Are those for real, Red?" 

Irene smiled and weaved her shoulders. Her full breasts jiggled. The men 
applauded. She moved into the spotlight and Becky experienced a subtle 
excitement. She was sure the men had witnessed strip shows but she hadn't. 
Would she learn anything? 

The first part of the recorded background had no special rhythm-it came 
softly from the stereo as Irene lifted her arms and rippled her hands across 
the abundance of her bosom, daintily cupping her still-covered charms. 

"I think every girl should learn a few routines," she said, wetting her lips 
with her tongue. "Men like a show. Give 'em a little variety once in a 
while." 

"Great!" Gene exclaimed. 

"And don't feel jealous girls!" Irene continued. "You're all good lookers. 
Bring out your best points!" Her eyes swung to Becky. "Now this chick is 
nice and leggy-men love the long-stemmed girlies...." 

The men shouted approval. 

"... not that she hasn't got it up here!" Irene went on, her hands still 
moving near her breasts, focussing attention to the low cut of her bodice, 
the white slopes of her bulging mounds. 

Becky blushed, she hadn't realized Irene had observed her so closely. 

The redhead went to Janet next, extolling her virtues, and so on to Tina. 

"When I get through maybe one of you girls would like to try it," Irene 
said, loosening her tiny belt. Becky could see now that the entertainer's 
frock was really a uniform designed to be taken off. 

"I might if I had enough to drink!" Tina exclaimed. 

"Hooray!" Hal burst out. 

Becky shivered. She didn't think she could do it, even two-thirds drunk. She 
watched closely, though, as Irene commenced to draw her skirt up slowly 
while her wide hips began a delicate undulation. 

 CHAPTER SIX 

The music now had a pulsing beat. The tempo picked up. Irene's skirt drifted 
higher, to the tops of her nylons. They were the newer clinging type, 
needing no garter-belt for support. Becky had used them for some time when 
she dressed up and wore them now. 

"You gals should leave on your nylons and high-heeled slippers," Irene said. 
"Sometimes it gives the boys a little added lift." 

More applause. Gene squeezed Becky's waist, whispering in her ear. "Sexy, 
huh?" 

She nodded, her eyes on the performance. Irene's dress opened down the 
front, revealing a flash of white thighs. She wore no slip. Shiny green 
tights were her "panties." Her hips weaved with more abandon as she circled 
in the soft glow of the spotlight. 

"Take it off!" Rudy cried. 

Irene smiled, her undulations becoming more suggestive, and finally her gown 
drifted to the floor. The men shouted with glee. The redhead's bra was very 
sheer, pale green, revealing the pink of her nipples, the wide aureolae of 
lighter rose. Her breasts jutted forward alluringly, swaying with every 
dramatic move of her lushly proportioned figure. 

Becky had to admit that she was physically stirred but she didn't take time 
to wonder about the cause. Irene was good. She had a flowing grace, a beauty 
of form that couldn't be denied. 

Would I ever have the nerve to writhe around in front of Rudy? she wondered. 
I think it would stimulate me, too! 

"Go, go!" Tina exclaimed. 

Becky noticed that the blonde's skirt was halfway to her hips. She leaned 
forward with obvious appreciation. Rudy was also quite obviously interested. 

Her hips bouncing with the rhythm of the music, Irene now drew attention to 
her bulging breasts, her fingers winding over them daintily, moving 
underneath and lifting them outward, her nipples now almost revealed in the 
nude by the slow lowering of the frilly bra.... 

Becky finished her highball, her eyes glued to the sensual vision, aware 
that her own breasts were hot and tingling. She didn't object when Gene's 
hand slyly entered the deep V of her frock because she saw that Rudy was 
cradling Janet's charms inside her bodice and his hand was on her knees ... 
Hal's hand was out of sight under Tina's hiked-back skirt. 

Becky shivered as Gene cupped her already firming breasts. 

Irene's bra came away. Gasps of appreciation followed. Her mounds were snowy 
white, huge and tapered into peaks of sensual attraction, her pointy nipples 
erect, perching on minor crests of the light pink of her aureolae. They 
bobbed as her hips now began a seductive series of twists and grinds while 
her full thighs spread a little, revealing the contour of her femininity. 

There was a break in the background music and then a slower tempo started. 
The redhead's hips swung forward, then back. She closed her eyes, her tongue 
fluttering between her lips, as though she were being kissed, her hand 
movements creating the illusion that a lover stood in front of her, zooming 
Becky's excitement. 

Now her hand and body gyrations indicated that her companion was kissing her 
nipples. She rotated her bottom with simulated coital thrusts that made 
Becky's head spin. Her own nipples, in Gene's palm, were furiously peaked. 
Her thighs were warm. She had an impulse to imitate the performer's actions. 

I'm getting hot! Becky thought dizzily. 

Now Irene began removing her shiny green tights. 

Hal emitted a loud hoot of encouragement. His hand was still between Tina's 
legs. The blonde's bodice had slipped lower. Becky didn't think she could 
stand to have Gene's hand under her skirt. She was shivery with need 
already. 

The music slowed even more ... Irene took her time inching the tights from 
her sculptured loins. She appeared to be resting a moment. Becky's heart 
pounded. She found herself waiting with her nerves keyed to a dramatic 
pitch. 

The green tights dropped. Sighs rose from the watching group. 

"A real redhead!" Hal cried. 

Irene smiled, again weaving her hips suggestively, turning slowly so that 
everyone could appreciate her beauty. The nylons and highheeled slippers 
seemed to make her more appealing than if she had been completely nude. 

Then, slowly, she sank to the floor, on her back ... Her arms lifted and 
against the backdrop of the music she commenced to again create the 
suggestion that she was receiving a lover. Her thighs spread and her hips 
rose. She writhed, arching her taut breasts upward. 

Becky's cheeks burned. She had never seen such an erotic display. The 
spectators stared, the men with lust on their faces, Tina and Janet 
transfixed with fascination. 

Irene's movements became more abandoned, the toss of her hips increasing in 
tempo as the rhythm of the music quickened. She rolled her head from side to 
side, as if in a thrall of voluptuous enjoyment. Then the music stopped, as 
did Irene's hips. Little muscles in her thighs, raised high, rippled 
suggestively. 

The music commenced again more slowly. Every rise of her loins, every 
rotating lift, appeared to increase her joy. 

Becky heard Gene's harsh breathing. His hand on her breast quieted. He was 
completely absorbed in the drama on the living room floor. 

Becky shook her head, feeling a wave of sensual arousal. She found she 
wanted to take Gene's hand and guide it beneath her skirt, onto her heated 
loins.... 

Finally, after several more musical beats, as Irene's rump swung about 
violently, a roll of a drum started. It grew louder and the build-up in the 
background was obviously meant to convey a soaring of the performer's 
passion. 

She flung herself into her act with wild enthusiasm and after several bursts 
of frantic movements spread herself very wide. Her mouth opened and the 
music reached a peak of rhythmic, pounding noise. Irene shuddered, curling 
her arms and legs as though receiving her lover in the final moments of 
ecstasy. 

She shouted and the roll of the music faded away.... 

For long seconds she lay flat on the carpet, her hips quieting as if she 
were floating down from her acme of sensation. 

Then, swiftly rising, picking up her discarded clothes, she ducked out of 
the living room. 

"Man, oh man!" Rudy gasped. 

"Hooray for Irene!" Hal shouted. 

Gene's hand slid out of Becky's decolletage, and he applauded loudly. "After 
that I need a drink," he exclaimed. 

Becky sank back on the sofa, shivering with her personal need. Perhaps the 
others were used to such a performance, but she wasn't. 

She ached for release. She was just plain hot.... 

She touched Gene's arm. He turned quickly. She leaned close and whispered in 
his ear. 

"Dance with me, please...." 

"Hell, yes!" he breathed. He left the sofa quickly and put more records on 
the stereo. The other four were now at the portable bar, talking about the 
show, laughing, making wisecracks.... 

With the music going again, Gene returned and caught Becky's hand, lifting 
her from the sofa. They walked into the shadowy dining room. Every time her 
thighs touched together her desire climbed higher. She was trembling all 
over. She drew Gene into a very dark corner and plastered herself against 
him. Her loins were on fire! 

I can be as bold as the next, she thought hazily. 

Gene kissed her and she opened her mouth wide, working her hips against him. 
His tongue shot into her eager orifice. His hand lifted to open her bodice 
and claim her taut aching breasts. Her nipples were tightly spiked and 
throbby little tingles raced from her breasts down to her squirming bottom. 
She spread her thighs, feeling the bulge of his maleness. 

She tore her mouth from his, gasping for breath. She couldn't help imitating 
some of the grinds Irene had executed. The sweet burning in her loins 
ignited to a searing flame. She gripped Gene and shuddered, then suddenly 
felt the quick beat of her climax. 

It came in wrenching little waves, turning her into a sexy spin. Her head 
whirled, she moaned, still thrusting, wanting more and more-but the real 
deep spasming she craved escaped her.... 

She went limp in his arms. 

She felt Gene moving her. She saw a couch and they dropped down on it. 

"You little cheat," Gene breathed, palming her breasts. 

"I-couldn't help it," she whispered. She was aware of a moistness, and she 
knew she had to go to the bathroom. 

"I wanted that one!" he said, heatedly. 

His words jerked her out of her fog of enjoyment. He was mad. She pushed his 
hands away, covering her breasts. She stood up. 

"I'll-be back," she said crisply. 

He muttered something under his breath. She left the dancing area, her legs 
still shaky, and fled to the hallway, where the lighting was better. She 
rounded a corner and found the bathroom. She went in and locked the door. 
She leaned against it, still breathing unevenly. 

A little cheat, am I? I never saw anything so stimulating in my life! I'm 
not sure, now, that I want Gene to go any further. 

She didn't want Rudy to miss his big business deal, though. It meant a great 
deal to him, to his future. Perhaps she could go out and smooth down the 
host's ruffled feathers. 

She sighed, straightened and moved in front of the wide glistening mirror. 
Her cheeks were still flushed, her lipstick smeared. She hadn't brought her 
handbag, but she could repair the damage.... 

When she returned to the living room, she found the bar deserted. Gene was 
dancing with Irene, who now had her clothes back on. Rudy had Janet, of 
course-and Hal and Tina were locked together in the shadows, barely moving. 

Relieved for the moment, Becky made herself a highball. She felt dainty 
again, her emotions temporarily calmed by her experience with Gene.... 

Another first, she thought. I'm not very proud of myself. But I'll play the 
part of a party wife-that's what my husband wants. 

Hal and Tina emerged from the darkened room. Both looked a little rumpled, 
rather pleased. Tina saw Becky and giggled. 

"You'd better watch Gene, honey. Irene's moving in on you." 

"Let her!" Becky snapped. "I can always go home." 

Tina's smile faded. "Are you still a spoilsport? I was just kiddin'...." 

"Draw in the claws, gals," Hal said. "Hell, I might like to dance with Irene 
myself." He rolled his eyes, grinning. "What movements!" 

Becky left them, drifting over to the stereo. She sipped her drink, darting 
a glance into the shadowed dining room, where she could see Rudy holding 
Janet close. They were kissing.... 

She turned her eyes away quickly. She fought the pangs of jealously that 
swept through her. Where would all this end? She realized she could probably 
mollify Gene only by going to bed with him. She began to hope that he would 
pick Irene for his partner. Surely the performance had been stimulating to 
the glossy redhead. 

She was surprised by a touch on her arm. Tina stood there, smiling. 

"I'm sorry, honey. Why don't you come along with me while I freshen up?" 

Becky didn't want just to stand there so she nodded. She found her handbag 
and followed Tina to the bathroom. When they were inside the blonde locked 
the door. 

"I needed a breather," Tina sighed, smiling cozily at Becky. "The way Hal 
teases around with me is almost too much." 

Becky, still carrying her highball, feeling the liquor eddy through her 
body, quite aware of Tina's nearness, of her seductive jasmine perfume, 
creamy shoulders and nearly-exposed breasts, decided to be outspoken 
herself. Tina and Janet were young and modern, Becky's own age; they were 
out for fun and thrills.... 

"That dance really warmed me up," Becky said boldly. 

Tina giggled. "Me, too." She put her arm around Becky's waist, her green 
eyes seeming to bore into Becky's bodice. "I'm as ready as I'll ever be!" 

Sober, Becky would have been alarmed by the other's manner, by the touch of 
Tina's hand now slipping up to the cleavage of her frock.... 

Irene's frenzied writhings, still sharp in Becky's memory, the atmosphere of 
switching mates, her curiosity about what Tina would really do now that they 
were alone, both half tight and sexually stimulated, dulled her sense of 
wrongness. 

I could unlock the door and leave, right now, Becky thought. Why don't I? 

A sense of daring possessed her. Rudy wanted her to be neighborly. She knew 
instinctively that Tina was the boss, that she wore the pants in the 
Walters' family. Would it be any worse to accept the blonde's attentions 
than to go to bed with her husband? Rudy wanted that deal. 

She had made Gene mad by cheating him, by having a climax before he was 
ready.... 

Of course the evening wasn't over yet. She still resented the idea of just 
going to bed with him because he expected it. Maybe he was already in some 
dark corner with Irene.... 

Tina's hand eased into the V of Becky's frock, gently cupping, fondling, 
sending naughty tingles through her body. 

Oh, I'm still hot! she thought hazily.... 

 CHAPTER SEVEN 

Oh, you're so sweet and firm!" Tina whispered. "Feel me, honey! I'm 
burning!" 

A little voice in Becky's mind said, No, no-this is all wrong! I don't want 
to be queer.... 

The blonde made several quick moves, the tiny straps that held her bodice in 
place slipped from her shoulders. She wore no bra. Her full white breasts 
sloped forward and her little pink nipples were gorged, erect.... 

Becky's legs turned watery. She found herself sinking onto a small vanity 
bench. Her abbreviated skirt hiked halfway to her hips and she felt Tina's 
hand slide excitingly along her heated thighs. She heard the blonde's quick 
breathing and suddenly soft lips flamed against her mouth. She reached out, 
found Tina's breasts, velvety mounds of delight, hard-tipped-and strange 
wonderful sensations gripped her. 

Tina sat snugly beside her, skirt drawn away back, revealing her soft white 
thighs and now, rocked with spiraling emotions, Becky reached for Tina, 
feeling the dainty woman warmth, caressing as she was being caressed.... 

Tina wore no panties.... 

Now Becky felt soft lips stingingly on her nipples, as little nuances of 
pleasure swirled through her being. She remembered an expression of Tina's, 
"drunky hot," and sank into a glut of surrender, her thoughts spinning.... 

Teasing caresses, willfully exchanged ... her passion rising swiftly ... her 
breasts taut and achy, engulfed in a tide of lusty need. She felt Tina 
shiver, saw the widening of her soft velvety thighs and suddenly remembering 
the finale of Irene's show, the wild toss of her hips, she found the wet 
point of the blonde's desire and spread her own thighs, gasping, waiting ... 
waiting.... 

Tina cried out sharply. Her dainty shudders sent Becky's delight soaring. 
She strained and hurled herself into the act-and suddenly a flood of 
rampaging thrills burned along her legs, around her loins, upward to her 
pointy nipples. She gasped out her climax, shivering, her hips still weaving 
as Irene's had weaved ... until the last voluptuous twinges faded, leaving 
her limp, shamed.... 

"Ohhhh-honey!" Tina breathed at last. "You're fanstastic! That was the best 
I've had for months! Just think what we've been missing...!" 

"Don't!" Becky cried. "Please-I've got to go home!" 

"What? You still a square? Relax. You had your fun, too. And I know you 
sneaked another one with Gene ... Live a little-enjoy yourself. That's what 
parties are for...." 

Becky trembled. She couldn't look Tina in the eye. Her guilt was still too 
sharp. 

"Just in case you have forgotten," Tina said, rising. "I can queer that 
apartment-house contract for all the carpeting and appliances your hubby is 
dying to sell. Come on, now ... be a good sport. I'm not so hard to take, am 
I? Do I look like a les? You haven't been damaged. A little girlish fun once 
in a while never hurt anybody." 

Becky knew she was trapped. All she needed to do was rearrange her thinking. 

"All right," she answered. 

"Good! I need a drink. Now, let's get all prettied up and see how the boys 
are making out." She sighed, caressing Becky's still-exposed breasts. "But I 
don't think even Hal can top you, honey...." 

A few moments later the girls left the bathroom. Tina had persuaded Becky to 
leave her panties behind. The blonde had gigglingly whispered that they 
would just "be in the way...." 

I think I need several drinks, Becky decided. I'm now the "new" Mrs. Rudy 
Finch. I can't sink much lower. A roll with Gene won't make much 
difference.... 

"About time you two chicks showed up," Hal said, his words thick. The others 
were gathered at the bar, making fresh highballs. 

"I'll fade out now, kiddies," Irene said, putting down her glass. 

Wails of protest came from the men. 

The redhead laughed. Becky felt her nerves go taut as Gene and Tina escorted 
the entertainer to the door. It was arranged that she would drive the 
Collins' car to their home, where she was staying the night. Irene's parting 
shot rang in Becky's ears. 

"Don't do anything I wouldn't do!" 

As the host and hostess rejoined the four at the bar Becky finished her 
drink and busied herself making another. Already Gene was breathing on her 
neck, his arms around her waist. 

"Sorry I got mad a while ago, sugar," he whispered. 

"Did you like dancing with Irene?" she asked, coyly. 

He laughed, squeezing. "She sure knows how to tantalize a man!" 

She succeeded in arousing me to a fever pitch, Becky thought guiltily. I was 
a bitch in heat ... I've even enjoyed myself with another girl! 

A loud crash came from outside the Walters' house. Becky had heard such a 
noise before, when she had witnessed a head-on collision of two cars at 
Spokane.... 

Hal cursed. He and Gene ran toward the front door. Becky followed as 
exclamations of disappointment arose from Janet and Tina and Rudy. 

Becky raced through the open door and out into the cool darkness. One car 
headlight pointed crazily upward, and she saw that the Collins' Buick had 
rammed into some obstruction where the driveway met the street. She heard 
the pound of feet as Gene and Hal rushed to the scene of the accident. 

A figure emerged from the Buick. It was Irene, and she staggered. Gene 
caught her before she fell.... 

Becky shivered, the fresh air dispelling some of the cobwebs in her brain. 
She hoped Irene wasn't badly hurt-but she was secretly glad of the 
interruption. 

Now I can stall Gene. Tina was real pleased with me, so Rudy won't lose that 
big sale. How long, though, before Gene will get me in bed...? 

* * * 

Becky was very glad to be home again. 

She sat on the living room sofa in a nightie and light robe, knowing Rudy 
was in the bedroom putting on his pajamas. The hands on her wrist watch said 
one-thirty. 

Irene's misadventure had broken up the party. The redhead appeared unhurt, 
but Gene had called an ambulance and a doctor and Irene had been taken to 
the Pender General Hospital for observation and care. She had run into a 
concrete abutment at the edge of the Walters' driveway. The Collins' car was 
insured, of course. 

"Hell of a thing to happen!" Rudy said, walking into the room, his 
pajama-tops unevenly buttoned. He weaved slightly-he was carrying quite a 
load. He stood in front of Becky. She noticed instantly that he was 
partially aroused.... 

"Have fun?" he asked. 

"Of course! Didn't you?" 

He sat down beside her. Although she knew what he wanted she felt no special 
thrill. Something between them had faded, lost its meaning. She was 
determined, however, to be the hep wife with the space-age outlook. Traces 
of Janet's lipstick were still on his mouth-but she could say nothing, now. 
They had traded, and she had even gone lesbian. 

What could the future hold for them? More parties, more switching? In one 
way she felt guiltier than he. Men were polygamous by nature. They followed 
the pattern set by the women. 

Had Rudy's deal really been enough of a motive to drag her into a 
neighborhood exchange club? Well, she couldn't change the past. She felt 
suddenly more lonely than when she had been single, believing in real love 
and affection, in right and wrong, in having a family.... 

She was now simply a girl Rudy lived with. Tears moistened her eyes and she 
turned her head so he wouldn't see them. 

"What's the matter?" he asked, sliding his arm around her shoulders. He 
reached for the V of her robe, opening it. 

"Didn't Janet give you a good time, honey?" she asked, just a bit cattily. 

"You know what happened. That damned accident...." He found her nightie-clad 
breasts. "That was some show, though ... I really got charged up!" 

"Aren't I a little small there after Janet?" 

"Hell, honey-cut it out! You've got better legs than any of them." 

Oh yes, she thought. I'm leggy and limber, but my husband likes variety. 
Maybe, away underneath, I do, too. 

She sighed. "Rudy, let's leave Pender. You can get a good job somewhere 
else. The Crest stores demand a lot-I've heard you say it. I don't want to 
do any more of this switching. It's wrong. And-" 

"Hell's bells! You want me to toss away a good career? I'm thirty-five. 
Sure, I can pass for younger...." His left hand rose to his hair piece. His 
right continued to shape her breasts. "You crazy or something?" 

"Please, honey!" she cried, tears in her eyes again. "Where are we going-I 
mean, us? Sooner or later some husband or wife'll get jealous ... How can 
you still love me when you know I've been in bed with somebody like Gene or 
Hal?" 

His hand left her. "What the hell? You want to spoil everything? You want to 
argue? I'm hot to trot. Let's have a little fun. We can talk about all that 
soul-stuff in the morning!" 

Her hands clenched. Tonight he didn't want to try to understand. The 
accident had broken up his fun with Janet. Now he wanted to assuage his lust 
with her ... because she was available. 

All right, I'll be his whore! I don't deserve the name of wife. I've already 
had my "fun," twice. 

His hand returned to her breasts. This time he slipped his fingers in on her 
bare flesh. Surprisingly, she felt her nipples swell.... 

* * * 

She woke late Thursday morning with a dull headache. She remembered vaguely 
of hearing Rudy get up when the alarm clock sounded. He would be at the 
store by now. 

She felt used, depleted. After a shorter than usual period of dalliance Rudy 
had asked her to top-ride again and she had missed her climax. She had 
simulated passion, as on other occasions, hating it more than ever. His own 
peak had come swiftly and she was fully aware of the reason. Playing around 
with Janet, watching Irene writhe about on the carpet, had charged him. The 
whole act had seemed a little mechanical-but at least she had received the 
spasming burst of his passion. Janet hadn't.... 

She wondered, though, if the big girl had enjoyed a "quickie." Perhaps Rudy 
had fondled her to a peak just as Gene had with herself. 

She trembled, hating this trend of thought. Should she continue her role of 
switch-happy mate? Should she pull out and leave Rudy? 

She knew she could easily find a job in Spokane. She had friends there.... 

I need a drink, she thought. Maybe that will calm my nerves! 

 CHAPTER EIGHT 

Friday morning, when Becky walked out to get the mail in the ornate little 
black box at the end of the driveway, she found a plain manila envelope with 
no return address. It was addressed to Mrs. Becky Finch, Hillside Drive, 
Pender, Oregon. The street number had been left out. 

Once in the house she tossed the other mail on the end table near the phone, 
where Rudy liked to find it, and quickly opened the rectangular envelope. 

Wrapped in plain white paper were several glossy large black-and-white 
prints-and she gasped when she saw the people who had been photographed. 

The first showed a balding middle-aged man with a cute young blonde in his 
lap, facing him. Both were naked. They were-connected 

-and the man's mouth was fastened on a perky nipple. She felt her cheeks 
turn warm. 

The shot was taken in such a way that the viewer could see down between the 
blonde's outspread thighs, where his manhood penetrated.... 

She remembered the pictures she had seen as a girl, with the woman on top of 
her lover. She found herself physically stimulated. 

The rest were all of girls, either scantily clad or naked, in various 
lesbian poses, all beautifully proportioned, generally with the slender ones 
being the aggressors. 

Her fingers trembling, she returned the photos to the manila envelope. No 
note, no indication of who had sent them, or why. What is somebody trying to 
prove? she wondered. 

She went quickly to the master bedroom, determined to find a place to hide 
them. Or should she burn them? 

She sank down on the edge of the bed, trembling. The envelope had been 
mailed in Pender the evening or afternoon before, in time to go through the 
post office before closing hours. She even sniffed the parcel, hoping for a 
clue, but she could detect nothing. 

Was this some new variety of poison-pen communication? Why just the one shot 
of an older balding man making love to a young blonde? Why were the 
remaining photos all of girls sprawled in erotic closeness, in poses that 
made her face turn hot? 

She thought immediately of Tina. Was her neighbor trying to prepare her for 
more girlish fun-sessions? It was possible that Tina knew Rudy's secret, 
about his hair piece, but why take such a roundabout way of bringing it out? 

Then she realized that she was being just a little unfair. She didn't think 
the young blonde was quite that clever or underhanded. 

However, someone had sent the erotic pictures'-but whether as a joke or to 
make her feel uncomfortable she didn't know. Her name and address were 
printed in plain blue ballpoint ink. Millions of them around. 

Already she was upset enough about Rudy's behavior and her own 
transgressions. Why this added aggravation? 

It's a sneaky evil thing to do, she thought, angrily. 

Obsessed with nervous curiosity she took a second look at the girlie 
pictures. She experienced a naughty twinge in her loins as the remarkable 
clarity of the poses struck her senses. She had never seen anything so 
completely abandoned and she realized there would be a horrible scandal if 
the post-office department ever found out such things had come through the 
mail.... 

What twisted mind had dreamed up this sort of communication? 

She hid the photos again swiftly. She shook her head, still undecided about 
the fate of the envelope's contents. She knew a small nudge of fear. 

I'm going to find out who did this, she decided. Someone here in Pender 
wants to give me a bad time. 

The telephone rang and she thrust the envelope in a vanity drawer, more 
upset than she cared to admit. 

When she went out into the living room to answer the ringing instrument, she 
wasn't too surprised to find Gene on the line. 

"What're you doing, tall and beautiful?" he said intimately. 

Ever since the last party she had been sure he would get in touch with 
her-and, since Rudy expected her to be modern in her outlook, she decided to 
let the chips fall where they might. She was afraid now Rudy would never 
change back to his previous stable self. If she were to continue to share 
his bed and board, she would have to play along. 

Every time she felt her resolve slipping she went out in the kitchen and had 
a little hooker of vodka and orange juice. It helped chase the guilty 
twinges that shook her. She hated to give up her marriage, to run out on 
him. It would be a defeat, an admission of failure. Perhaps her conscience 
would quit hurting after a while, and when he got the store at Pasco they 
could change their ways ... start a family, live decently again. 

She had even considered ways of getting rid of his hair piece-but he would 
simply spend money on a new one. 

"I'm just fine!" she answered, at last. 

"You've got a private line, haven't you?" 

"Yes...." 

"So is this one, at the office. Listen, sugar, I can't wait to get my hands 
on you again...." Play up to him? Why not? She laughed, softly. "I can't 
imagine why, honey!" Then she added, with more verve. "My car's here. Are 
you alone?" 

"I wish the hell I was-too many people around ... Listen-why don't you and 
Rudy drop over tonight? Hal and Janet are tied up with this Irene-she's at 
their place now. Didn't get more than shook up, I guess. Tina likes Rudy. I 
think the four of us could have a swinging ball." 

Her heart pounded. Gene wanted the deal clinched. Maybe he can really thrill 
me! I didn't do so well with Rudy the last time.... 

"Sounds interesting," she said, flirtily. "Do we wear swim-things?" 

"Sure-plenty hot today. Put on your Bikini." 

"I don't have a real one, but I'll go down and buy one." 

"Great!" His voice lowered. "I was really primed for you Wednesday night." 

She laughed. "Maybe tonight's the night!" 

"You're sure different, Becky. And I like it...." 

She flirted with him a while longer, promising to bring Rudy over, and then 
she cut it off. 

Could he have sent those pictures? she wondered. 

She left the phone and picked up her handbag. A drive downtown would do her 
good. And she would get a Bikini. Tina and Janet wore them. She wasn't going 
to be outdone. She would be just as zippy and hep as the young blonde. She 
would show them just how appealing a long-legged sexy brownette could be.... 

Since downtown parking was at a premium. 

Becky pulled into the Crest lot behind the big three-tiered store. They all 
knew her light Ford. The parking attendant wouldn't give her a warning note. 
She waved at him and he smiled broadly, his eyes holding on her legs.... 

The day was hot. She had worn as little as possible. She realized she looked 
her best in a full-skirted dress that swirled about her bare knees and just 
a little above. As she crossed the street two teen-age boys in a hot rod 
tooted a horn and whistled. Feeling a lift she smiled at them. 

A week ago I wouldn't have done that, she thought. And I would have put on a 
more conservative frock, worn a girdle. I'm changing, too. 

She didn't enter the Crest store, though. Earlier in the month she had seen 
swim suits in one of the women's shops further up the street. 

As she was leaving the shop a rather tall man who looked vaguely familiar 
approached and smiled. He was slim, handsome, bareheaded, deeply tanned. 
Flattered, she paused and smiled back uncertainly. 

"You must be Becky Finch," he said, his gray eyes full of admiration. 

"I am...." 

"I'm Zane Finch-Rudy's brother. I hope you don't think I'm too forward. I 
saw you walk up the street a while ago and thought I'd make myself known." 

She noted instantly that he wasn't bald, that he had the Finch aura of 
masculine appeal ... then she remembered that the brothers were bitter 
enemies. She had seen him before only in one photograph which Rudy had 
destroyed on sight. His action had seemed to her extremely petty and 
childish. 

The glimpse of the photo and the family resemblance reassured her. There was 
a quiet strength about him that Rudy had possessed in some measure and now 
seemed to have lost. 

"I'm very glad to know you," she said, smiling again. 

"I don't want to intrude, Becky ... Like a coke or something?" 

"Yes. It is awfully hot!" 

They entered a nearby fountain, and he led her to a booth. A waitress in a 
crisp white uniform took their order. She experienced a liking for him and 
her memory became active again. Zane had been in construction a while and 
now owned several large motels at Spokane. He was quite well fixed. She had 
found this out from friends of Rudy's at Spokane-she wondered if Zane's 
success was part of her husband's reasons for never mentioning his name. 

"Years ago I teased Rudy about losing his hair and he never got over it," 
Zane said, a wry smile on his lips. "Shouldn't have done it...." 

"Sometimes brothers don't hit it off," she put in. "Did you know Rudy wears 
a hair piece?" 

"Really?" 

And I hate it, she wanted to add. 

He seemed to sense her thought. His eyes seemed to be probing inside hers 
and she felt a little shiver of excitement. She remembered that Zane was two 
years older than Rudy, but he didn't look it. There was a strong assurance 
about him-powerfully masculine appeal-and she experienced a tightening of 
her throat, a tiny twinge of desire in her loins. This was crazy.... 

He would be married, of course. All the really good-looking virile men were. 
"Where's your wife?" she asked, boldly. "She left me. We're divorced." 

"Oh, I'm sorry!" 

He sipped his cola. His eyes caught hers again and a stab of remorse hit 
her. He actually seemed to be lonely. 

"I envy my brother," he said quietly. 

She blushed, but she wasn't ashamed of it. His eyes coursed over her in 
thoroughly flattering manner and she was aware of a tingle in her breasts, 
where her thin bra and bodice shaped her charms.... 

"I wish you could come to our house and visit," she said. 

The wry smile returned. "I may drop by to see him. I'm on my way to Portland 
... I had it in mind, but we'd be at each other's throats again. How is he 
doing, really?" 

She told him about the possible advancement to the new Pasco store-if he 
succeeded in Pender. He appeared genuinely interested. When she finished 
talking he looked at her again in his penetrating manner. 

"Aren't you two getting along?" 

She shrugged. "Married couples fight once in a while, I guess...." 

He looked down at his empty cola glass. Muscles played in his lean face. "If 
he ever mistreated a fine girl like you I think I'd tear him apart!" 

She trembled. How "fine" am I, really? I just bought an almost-nothing 
Bikini so a man named Gene Walters and his wife Tina can see every inch of 
my figure-I've let them both play with my body. I may be part lesbian.... 

"Don't, Zane." She liked the sound of his name on her lips, in her thoughts. 

"Sorry, Becky-I shouldn't trouble you with family feuds. I had an idea you 
and Rudy were planning a family." 

She bit her lip. He had a way of striking her right in the middle. "He wants 
to wait a while." 

He rattled the ice in his glass. "I have to go. Rudy would flip if he knew 
we were talking like this. I know some people. Don't ever tell him, but 
maybe I can help him get that store in Pasco." 

"That would be wonderful of you." 

He smiled. "I shouldn't say this, Becky, but I wish I could run into a girl 
exactly like you." 

Her heart pounded. "That's the nicest compliment I've had in ages!" 
Impulsively she reached out and squeezed his hand. An electric charge seemed 
to shoot up her arm to her heart. She trembled. His tanned masculine appeal 
seemed to envelop her. She imagined his mouth on hers, his strong fingers on 
her breasts ... and it wasn't the kind of emotion she felt around Gene or 
Hal either. Mainly because he was so much more real man than anyone she had 
ever met. 

"I'd better go, too," she said, regretfully. 

"I hope to see you again, Becky." 

She smiled. Oh, so do I! Or maybe I shouldn't. I'm really mixed up now. Why 
couldn't I have met him before I fell for Rudy? But he was married then.... 

All the way home, long after she got there, she kept thinking about Zane. 
She remembered the pressure of his hand on hers when they parted in front of 
the soda fountain, seeing his athletic stride as he walked to his car and 
her disappointment in Rudy with his new flashy manner, his sporty attitude, 
hit her more acutely than they ever had. 

Zane was so much more mature. He didn't brag. He was successful and it 
showed in his every gesture, every move. Where Rudy seemed at times insecure 
and flighty under pressure, Zane packed assurance and quiet drive. 

She was quite sure that if his hair ever thinned or came out he wouldn't 
cover his head with a ridicuolus patch of thatch. 

She tossed the little package containing her Bikini on the bed. Time to 
resume her role of a giddy party wife again ... time to start worrying again 
about dirty pictures, anonymously sent, and deals that included going the 
route with a girlfriend's husband.... 

She was sure she would never see Zane again. He would find another girl soon 
enough. Perhaps he preferred someone older.... 

I need a drink, she thought. I have quite a few things I would like to 
forget.... 

 CHAPTER NINE 

Becky, wearing her new Bikini beneath her light beach robe, waited for Rudy 
to finish getting ready for the party. He was in the bathroom, she knew, 
applying fresh glue to his scalp so his hair piece would stay in place. 

Since he got it he spends more time in there than I do, she thought. He's as 
fastidious as some women I know. I wish he'd lose it in the pool ... maybe 
Tina wouldn't find him so appealing. 

He came out of the bathroom at last. He, too, wore a beach robe over his 
swim-trunks. She thought he acted a little tense. She herself was quite 
relaxed. She had sneaked a jolt of vodka after dinner.... 

"That big-shot brother of mine came by the office today," he said, flatly. 
He smoothed his hair again. 

Her heart gave a little jump. "Oh? Why are you such enemies, anyway?" 

He looked at her sharply. "I don't recall that I ever mentioned his name 
around you." 

"Honey, I lived in Spokane for years, just like you. I've heard about the 
Finch Motels-one of my friends mentioned it...." 

He muttered under his breath. Ordinarily, she would have dropped the 
subject. His scowl indicated that he would like to talk about something 
else. But, after all, he had brought it up. 

"I just can't understand why you hate him!" she said, boldly. "Did 
you-always?" 

He flushed. "You never had an older sister who always did better than you, 
did you?" His voice turned sour. "Zane was always the top dog. I was always 
'little brother.' I don't know why the hell he ever came through Pender, 
anyway!" 

"I wouldn't mind meeting him sometime, at least," she went on, some of her 
accumulated anger leaking into her tones. "Are you ashamed of him?" 

"Drop it, will you?" he snapped. "We don't get along, that's all!" 

She had a sudden idea. She had made her own assessment of Zane. He liked 
Rudy in spite of the younger brother's resentment. He was actually going to 
help him. And she wanted to get in one parting shot. Like most men Rudy had 
an oversupply of vanity. 

"Did he notice your hair piece?" she asked, lightly. 

He went rigid. His face turned white. She saw his hands knot and for one 
wild moment she thought he was going to strike her. She had never seen him 
so enraged. 

"What we talked about is my own damn business!" he shouted. 

"All right!" she flared back. "I guess we'd better go to the party if we're 
going." 

He mouthed a curse and snatched up the towels she had laid across the back 
of the sofa. "You're getting awfully damned wise all of a sudden!" 

"I'm the new Mrs. Rudy Finch-didn't you know? Switchable, available Becky. 
Your party wife. Isn't that what you want me to be?" 

"Come on," he growled. 

She rose slowly. She realized she had bested him in another argument. And 
this seemed to peel another layer from his essential manhood. Ever since her 
mention of the invitation he had been eager to go over to the Walters. 
Obviously he wanted very much to be with Tina-and he was willing to 
sacrifice his pride as a husband to do it. He had to have that 
carpeting-and-appliance deal. That made it somehow almost respectable. 

Rudy knew I talked to Zane, admired him, he would probably blow a gasket. I 
truly hope Zane kidded him about his silly wig. But I doubt it. Zane isn't 
that kind of man. He probably wanted simply to see him. What could be more 
natural...? 

* * * 

The lights about the Walters' pool were very dim and the far reaches of the 
enclosure lay in complete darkness. All four sat in deck chairs near the rim 
of the pool, drinks in hand. The portable bar was handily nearby. 

Becky was pleased to have the additional vodka. She felt she would need 
quite a bit of it in view of what lay ahead. She hadn't yet removed her 
beach robe, but she sat with her legs crossed, the robe hem carelessly apart 
in front. Gene, sitting beside her, had been ogling her ever since she and 
Rudy arrived. 

"Heard you got a new Bikini, Becky," Gene said slyly. "When do we see it?" 

"I was thinking about a strip tease with my robe first," she answered. Be 
bright and gay and suggestive. 

Tina giggled. She still wore her robe, too. "Why don't we give the boys a 
little show?" 

"Hear, hear!" Rudy exclaimed. The men wore only their swim-trunks. 

"Irene should have given you two a few ideas," Gene added. 

Becky stood up immediately. She tried to think of something real daring to 
say. She glanced over at a smiling Tina, who was already leaving her deck 
chair. "Come on, honey! Let's give the boys a real battery-charging!" 

Tina laughed. "The way you talk!" 

Gene bellowed. "This girl is really getting the swing of things!" 

Becky posed in front of him. She wriggled her hips and fluttered her tongue 
between her lips. He gulped the rest of his highball and leaned forward. 
Rudy appeared just a little puzzled at her words and actions. 

I'll show him! she thought, the liquor fizzing in her veins. I can be just 
as sexy as the next girl. I'm no raving beauty but I do have a good figure! 

Earlier, in the bedroom at home, she had put the Bikini on for the first 
time and surveyed herself in the full-length mirror that stood near her 
vanity. She was slim and leggy, firm-fleshed. Her bottom had a smooth 
roundness and the mini-halter shaped her breasts into pointed peaks of 
allure. She had picked a bright-red ensemble, and had worn lipstick that 
matched. 

I'll tease Gene till he's frantic, she thought. And while I do it I hope I 
have some fun myself. Who around here cares about love? Maybe I can swing 
another big deal for good old Crest Stores ... bring around another handsome 
customer, Rudy! Bring on the vodka, too. What is sacred any more? 

While you're about it, why not send a few needy girls my way? Maybe I can 
thrill them, too! What's a little lesbianism between friends ... between a 
husband and wife? 

Tina glided over in front of Rudy. The stage was set. Becky wasn't sure just 
how she would proceed, but she let her imagination work. Everyone had seen 
Irene perform; perhaps the boys would appreciate something a little 
different! 

She decided also to try to find out before the evening was over whether Tina 
or Gene had sent those combustible pictures. Someone who knew her had a mean 
purpose in mind. 

She unbelted her beach robe, took one fold in each hand and, while she 
rolled her hips around, gave the boys flashes of her nearly nude figure. 
Tina watched her, giggling, and did the same for Rudy. 

"I can't see enough!" Gene protested. 

"You will before long, honey!" she answered, arching her breasts forward, 
opening the halves of the robe and then closing them again. The sway of her 
hips seemed to come easily, naturally. She began to feel mildly stimulated. 

Even in the subdued light she saw Gene's manhood enlarging itself inside his 
swim trunks. 

She moved a little closer, curving her loins inward as though she were 
receiving a lover.... 

"Great-great!" Gene exploded. 

"Take it off!" Rudy said to Tina. 

Becky noticed that the blonde's robe was wide open now and she was churning 
her hips at Rudy in a wildly suggestive series of gyrations. Her full 
breasts bobbed up and down, barely remaining inside the restraining band of 
yellow cloth. 

Finally Becky dropped her robe. 

Gene whistled. 

"Rest time!" Becky cried, a little breathless from the stimulative 
squirmings. "I need a drink!" 

Tina laughed, shedding her robe, too. "Good idea, honey. Make the boys wait 
a while!" 

Gene reached for Becky, but she retreated, smiling, toward the bar. Tina 
followed. 

"Isn't this fun?" the blonde asked, standing close to Becky. She whispered. 
"You're very lovely tonight, sweet!" 

Becky remembered their hectic few moments in the bathroom. Tina's jasmine 
perfume reminded her of what they had done. 

With the liquor giving wings to her thoughts she admitted now that she had 
enjoyed it-that she would even welcome it again. Why not? What did anything 
matter? She would be cheating on Rudy in a different way.... 

She had heard somewhere that slender leggy girls were more inclined toward 
lesbianism than the more rounded plump types, but she didn't really believe 
it-she thought perhaps there might be latent tendencies in nearly all girls. 
Who thought anything about two girls chumming intimately? Light kisses, 
touching hands ... and no danger of getting preg? 

The way I feel now I don't want Rudy's child.... 

And where was Zane? Miles away now, and she would never see him again ... I 
know he could give me a wonderful thrill! Why were things always so mixed 
up? 

"I like your Bikini," Becky whispered. 

Tina giggled, swaying against Becky. The touch of her soft hip was naughtily 
exciting. 

"After a while let's give the boys a real show," Becky suggested. 

Tina's green eyes sparkled. "I'm for it. What'll we do?" 

"I'll clue you in." 

Tina's velvety hip pressed Becky's again. "I want to go in and freshen up 
pretty soon in the bathroom. Okay?" 

Becky knew what she meant. "All right." 

"Shhhh! Here come the boys...." 

Becky winked at the blonde. She realized that the last time with Rudy had 
left her disappointed, frustrated ... Perhaps her experience with Tina had 
caused part of that, but right now she didn't care. The wiggling and weaving 
had warmed her body, her thoughts. All systems were go. Be a space-age girl! 
Have fun, fun! 

Gene came up behind Becky, his arms sliding around her waist. She weaved 
herself in a flirty manner. 

"Mix me a drink, honey," she said. 

"That little Bikini of yours is driving me crazy," he murmured in her ear. 

"Never rush a good thing," she said boldly so that Rudy could hear. He stood 
beside Tina, his hand on her curvy bottom. She giggled as usual.... 

After two more drinks apiece, and more horseplay, Becky announced that the 
girls were ready for another show. She placed the men in chairs facing the 
tiled edge of the pool and drew Tina with her to their impromptu stage. 
Slow, draggy music drifted from the Walters' stereo, a portable set up 
outside for the occasion. 

The air was still warm. A few stars spotted the evening sky. The faint roar 
of an invisible jet came from far away. 

The fresh supply of vodka made Becky feel extremely reckless. She was used 
to wearing her mini-Bikini, now. A relaxed party atmosphere added to her 
feeling of elation. 

"Now, we'll show you boys how two girls can dance!" Becky said, laughing. 

Gene whooped and applauded. Rudy's grin was very wide. She could tell that 
he was getting potted. Tina had been mixing his drinks, making them very 
heavy. Gene was more conservative with his consumption of alcohol. 

Becky faced Tina and began to rotate her hips in time to the music. The 
blonde laughed and caught on right away. 

Becky moved closer. She swung her body freely, eyes fastened on the bounce 
and sway of Tina's breasts, on her soft, parted lips, on the curve of her 
femininity so clearly outlined by the patch of yellow cloth. 

Tina spread her thighs just a little, her hips arching forward-and Becky 
experienced a sharp wave of longing. Her breasts firmed and her nipples 
tingled. 

I'm getting hot, Becky thought. 

"Man, oh man!" Gene exclaimed. "You gals ought to hire out for stag shows!" 

"We're just starting," Becky cried, imitating Tina's suggestive hip-thrusts. 
The girls were only about a foot apart now. 

A memory of those glossy photos ran through her, and she felt a stab of 
naked lust. She began to wonder if perhaps she might not enjoy Tina more 
than she would her husband! 

 CHAPTER TEN 

Becky lifted her hands to the pout of her breasts. She touched them, 
watching Tina do the same. The blonde's sweet curves seemed to have a 
special appeal tonight, she wanted to see Tina's breasts exposed, see the 
swell of her ripe pink nipples.... 

A sensual mounting warmth spread along Becky's thighs. She curved her hips 
in ever-increasing abandon. She could tell that Tina was becoming aroused, 
too. They were almost touching.... 

"Take something off!" Gene hooted. 

"Naturally!" Rudy added, his voice thick. 

Becky commenced to lift the snug red cups away from her bobbing breasts. 
Watching Becky's slowly churning hips created a mood of reckless daring. The 
blonde's hands moved over her sloping charms, inching the yellow band 
upward. Her tongue shot out from between her fleshy red lips, fluttering 
there in mute invitation. Becky felt a dizzy, liquorish heightening of 
desire. 

At last Tina's Bikini-top fell away-and just at that precise instant Becky 
exposed her own breasts. 

The men shouted encouragement. 

Tina arched her mounds forward, drawing her shoulders back, accenting the 
fullness of her creamy cherry-tipped bosom. Becky did the same and since she 
was taller than the blonde, leaned down a little so her pointed cones were 
almost touching Tina's larger, swaying breasts. 

"Swing it!" Gene cried. 

Becky heard Tina's whisper above the pound of the music. "I can't stand much 
more-of this!" 

Becky smiled and weaved her shoulders, bringing her tender peaked nipples 
stingingly into contact with Tina's. 

Tina gasped. Playfully Becky continued the stimulating contact, churning her 
hips against the blonde's silky loins. 

I'm drunk and hot and I don't care, she thought. Provocative tingles swept 
from her thighs up to her spiring points of need. 

"I'm burning," she whispered to Tina. 

Becky felt the blonde tremble. She backed away. Tina sighed, her thrusting 
movements fading in intensity. Becky executed a few more reckless grinds 
and, as the men applauded and shouted, kept her eyes on Tina. The blonde's 
lips were parted, she was breathing unevenly, her breasts appearing more 
firm, less jiggly. Her cheeks were flushed.... 

"I'm a little faint," Tina gasped. "I need a--rest." Her eyes caught and 
held Becky's. "And I have to go to the pottie, too." 

"I'll go along," Becky answered. 

"Well, hurry back!" Gene exclaimed. His gaze was fastened on Becky's 
breasts. 

The girls left the patio and entered the house. As soon as they turned the 
first corner so the men couldn't see Tina flung herself at Becky. v 

"Ohhh-honey!" Tina gasped, shuddering. "I'm-almost ready to go!" 

"Me, too!" Becky breathed. "Hurry-in the bathroom!" 

A moment later they were behind the locked door. Tina unfastened the lower 
section of her Bikini, her green eyes glazed with passion. Becky, still 
breathless from the dancing and mounting fervor, loosened her own triangular 
patches. 

Tina plastered her soft heated body against Becky's. Their mouths met, 
fusing in a writhing tongue-stabbing display of passion. Becky hated 
standing. Her legs were weak, but her eagerness gave her added strength. 
Tina was cushiony! 

She ground her hips against Becky's, and Becky felt her own loins respond. 
Their girl mounds met, and trickles of fizzy delight spread through Becky's 
figure. Pointed breasts sank into yielding softer mounds, they writhed 
wildly, and when their mouths came apart at last, Becky shivered, thrusting, 
weaving, her breath hot in her throat. 

A low moan rose from Tina's mouth, she gripped Becky tightly. Becky felt the 
blonde shudder, felt the driving ferment of Tina's passion-and suddenly her 
own rapture sharpened. There was no thought of delay now. They had reached 
the gasping point of no return.... 

Honeyed stabs of joy rocketed along her thighs. She gripped Tina and assumed 
the aggressive role, backing the blonde to the wall, pushing, fondling.... 

Tina cried out. Little spasms communicated to Becky and she plunged into her 
own well of shivery throbbing completion. Waves of voluptuous release seemed 
to last and last, slaking the hunger that had mounted during the sexy show 
at the pool-rim. 

They fell apart. Tina slumped onto the covered toilet seat, her thighs 
spread, her restless body quieting, at last. Becky gripped the double sink 
for support. Her legs were wobbly as little twinges of aftermath raced along 
them. 

"Ohhh-honey!" Tina breathed. 

Shamed now, Becky turned her eyes away from the cute blonde and commenced to 
make herself dainty again. 

"That was good, wasn't it?" Becky answered. 

"I-wish we had more time," Tina whispered. 

"I think we'd better get back to the boys...." 

When they returned to the pool area, Becky felt much better physically. She 
wouldn't let herself think too much about what she had done with Tina. After 
all it wasn't the first time.... 

I'm turning into a real slut, she thought. Bare-breasted, she walked up to 
Gene, who stood near the portable bar, drink in hand. 

Sober I couldn't do this. 

"I need one," she said. 

"One what?" he cackled. 

"Right now a drink, silly!" 

His eyes drank in the beauty of her breasts. 

Out of the corner of her eye she saw Tina wriggle up to Rudy, smiling and 
weaving her hips as though nothing at all had happened just a few moments 
before. 

Rudy's hands reached out to claim Tina's breasts. The blonde giggled, 
arching her mounds nearer. 

Becky felt Gene's palms on her own breasts and she wasn't surprised to find 
that the sensation was exciting. She laughed, backing away. 

"A drink first, big man!" 

He shrugged, turning to the bar. "When you let go you're terrific, Becky!" 

"I think I've been the blushing housewife long enough," she answered so Rudy 
could hear. He and Tina were heading for a lawn swing back in the shadows. 
Tina's soft laugh rang in Becky's ears. 

Time to start closing that deal now, she thought. But I'll still give Gene a 
rough time before I go the route. 

Gene handed her a highball and she took it, brazenly arching her breasts 
right at him. 

"Great!" he exclaimed. "Hey, I see we're alone...." 

"Drink your drink and let's dance!" 

She looked down at the bulge in his swim trunks. He snorted and emptied his 
glass in two gulps. She did the same. Already she was unsteady on her feet. 
The earlier drinks and the experience in the bathroom had left her slightly 
dizzy. 

She melted into Gene's arms. She was surprised at his strength, at the 
muscular firmness of his body. The poke of her nipples against his chest 
sent little tracers of delight along her spine. His arm about her waist 
tightened and she hugged her loins close, feeling the pressure of his manly 
bulge on her femininity . . 

His hands roamed over the firmness of her bottom. He began lowering her 
Bikini patches. 

She backed away, teasingly, and then his fingers located her nude 
girl-mound. She trembled, aware of a keen reawakening of her desire. He 
touched the wet point of her dilated sensitivity. 

"Ohhh!" she gasped. "Let's go somewhere!" 

"I know just the place, baby." 

Now she hated to have him stop. She curved her loins forward, her knees 
watery again. Darts of excitement coiled through her body. She realized now 
that Tina had barely touched her real passion. This was much more to her 
taste! 

She drew Gene's hand away, shivering. "Hurry!" she whispered. 

He caught her hand and led her away from the pool into the living room. One 
lamp burned near the end of a long sofa. They sat down and he swept the last 
red patch away from her loins.... 

Again he clasped her femininity and she squirmed. 

"Play with me a long time, honey," she murmured. 

"Great, great!" he said, his voice thick with emotion. "Those long legs of 
yours are almost too much!" 

"I like you, too, Gene...." 

He muttered, his mouth settling on hers and she opened her lips wide. His 
tongue jolted into the heat of her yielding lips, his hand now rising to the 
firm jut of her breasts. Her nipples turned flinty. They were extra-tender. 

Trading isn't so bad, after all! she thought hazily. First the wife and then 
the husband.... 

When his tongue finally retreated from her mouth, she slid her hand over his 
legs and whispered. 

"Slow and easy, honey ... remember?" 

"Uhh-sure...." 

His hands left her and he tugged at his swim-trunks. She watched as he slid 
out of them, still unwet. They hadn't gone near the water. The vision of his 
maleness made her shiver. She touched him, held him.... 

Now, his hand coasted along her slender thighs, and she parted them. He 
kissed her throat. She caught her free hand in his sandy hair and urged him 
lower, toward her jutting breasts. The tinglings grew more voluptuous as he 
fastened his wet lips over a taut nipple. He was really good ... She felt 
his eagerness, his virility. She fondled him slowly. 

He moaned, bringing her nipple out even more sharply, until little stings of 
joy made her gasp. 

It was time to start teasing him. 

"Oh-I heard something outside, Gene!" 

"W-what?" His head lifted. "I didn't...." 

"Sounded right near that big window," she said, acting afraid. 

He muttered darkly. "Probably a damn dog. What a time to bring that up!" 

Her hand moved on him again. He trembled. She had spoiled his timing, his 
mood. His mouth returned to her nipples. 

"I-wish you'd go and check, honey," she whispered. "Maybe somebody's trying 
to peep at us!" 

"Hell! Relax, baby-how can I ... f She moved her hand swiftly. "Well-all 
right!" 

He shuddered, starting to swing above her, then suddenly stiffened, moaning. 
She knew the signs only too well. He was caught in the throes of orgasm.... 

He fell back on the sofa, his virility spurting out on the carpet.... 

The strip tease with her beach robe, the sexy act with Tina, the long wait 
and finally his fondling of her body, had been too much. 

When he opened his eyes, she was able to still her own excitement even when 
he cuddled her close and ran his hands along her thighs, up to her 
breasts.... 

"Ohhh-I'm so sorry, honey!" she lied. "Pretty soon you'll be all right, 
and...." 

"I've been wondering about you," he muttered. He stood up, weaving a little. 
"I'll be back...." 

He walked away toward the bathroom. 

She smiled to herself. She knew he would try again ... and before too long 
she would let him-but in the meantime why not have a gay old session of it? 

A burst of giggling from outside drew her attention. She wondered how Rudy 
was making out with the little blonde. 

 CHAPTER ELEVEN 

She stood up and walked quietly from the living room, toward the patio. If 
Gene came out too soon she could say she needed another drink! Let him 
search for her ... be a little hard-to-get. 

She spotted the lawn swing where Rudy and Tina had gone and sneaked up 
behind it. Nakedness didn't bother her too much now. This was a real 
swinging party. Enjoy it.... 

"Aw, come on!" Rudy wheedled, his voice blurred by liquor. 

"Tease me some more, honey," Tina gurgled. More giggling. "You're pretty 
drunky." 

Becky smiled to herself. Rudy didn't sound so sure of himself now. Obviously 
Tina was playing with his desire. 

"C'mon-get in my lap," Rudy urged. 

The lawn swing jiggled. "You haven't kissed me enough, honey!" Tina 
murmured, flirt in her voice. "Make me really hot!" 

Becky pictured her husband's hands on the cuddly blonde and she experienced 
no special jealousy. Her old values about right and wrong were shot. A party 
like this was for vicarious pleasures, drunken sex. 

She turned and left the area, returning to the bar. She had to keep an edge 
on or her conscience would start screaming. She saw her discarded bikini-top 
on the pool rim where she had dropped it and passed it by. 

She mixed a strong highball. The music still droned from the stereo. Little 
waves lapped at the edge of the pool. A faint hum of traffic drifted up from 
the city center to the south. 

Gene appeared in the doorway that opened from the living room onto the pool 
patio. A towel was draped around his loins. 

Becky knew it was time to continue her performance. She laughed, gazing at 
him. 

"You bashful, all of a sudden?" 

He walked forward, grinning. "You can have fun taking it off, baby!" 

The "baby" irritated her; it sounded common, but she overlooked the 
expression. Somehow a part of his masculine appeal faded. Tina had said she 
had him housebroken. She was the real boss. 

Gene reached for her and she sidled away, laughing. "Let's play a game or 
something, honey!" 

"You been hearing any more 'sounds'?" he asked, dryly. 

"No. I hope you're not mad-about that...." 

He shrugged. "I think you're a teaser." 

"Oh, now-I'm not, really!" She came up close to him. "I just like to flirt 
around a little." 

"What kind of game did you have in mind, sugar?" 

She lowered her voice. "Let's go over to that lawn swing and see what Rudy 
and Tina are doing!" 

His grin came back. He built a drink and when he had it ready they walked 
over into the shadows toward the lawn swing. His hand slid around her naked 
waist. She weaved her hips as his fingers inched down her tummy, 
exploring.... 

A little cry of excitement from Tina aroused her interest. Becky drew Gene 
up behind the swing, where she had stood before. The sway of the dark 
canvas-canopied lawn furniture indicated a certain amount of action from 
within. 

"Ohhh-that's better!" Tina exclaimed. 

No answer. Gene's hands roamed over Becky's body. He stood behind her now, 
his towel gone. She felt his arousal. She cuddled her bottom against him.... 

"Ohhhh-oh-honey!" Tina cried. 

The swing began to squeak. Was Tina in his lap, as Rudy had requested 
earlier? The fact that Becky couldn't see piqued her interest. The sway and 
squeak of the swing grew more pronounced. Gene clasped Becky's breasts, and 
she felt her nipples poke outward, accenting her excitement. He was pressing 
himself nearer, seeking with his maleness ... He was very rigid. 

She gripped the frame of the swing, leaning forward. She spread her legs, 
curving toward him.... 

She almost cried out as the searing contact commenced. She trembled. The 
sweet spread of her tender femininity became a hectic reality she hadn't 
expected to be so snugly wonderful. 

Gene seized her hips. His lunge reached a place of shivery intoxication. His 
weight carried her further than she intended. She nearly lost her balance as 
flurries of her responses to his invasion rocked her pelvic regions. 

The creak and wiggle of the lawn swing, accompanied by little gaspy cries 
from Tina, escalated her passion even higher! Her legs wobbled, she reached 
for a firmer hold on the swing frame and missed. The sensations within her 
were so exquisite she wasn't quite aware of what happened next-until she 
felt herself falling forward, into the swing. 

The contraption tipped over. Becky tumbled onto the canvas and heard a sharp 
cry of surprise from beneath her. Rudy's curse was echoed by a loud 
exclamation from Gene. 

Tina yelped and Becky was aware of a wild scramble as she fought to 
extricate herself from the threshing bodies under the canvas-and-metal 
framework of the swing. 

She tumbled onto the grass beyond the wreckage. Rudy's bellow of rage as he 
fought the enveloping canvas gave Becky a moment of extreme hilarity. She 
picked herself up, laughing almost hysterically. 

Tina's touseled head appeared from under the end of the tipped-over swing. 

"Help!" she cried. "Get me out of this thing!" 

Becky doubled over, gasping for breath, the comedy of the situation leaving 
her unable to move. 

Gene cursed and leaped forward, catching Tina's hand, drawing her out of the 
still-turbulent tangle of cloth. Rudy's curses punctuated the pulsing music, 
making the scene even more ridiculous. 

At last he crawled free, shaking his head, lurching to his feet. 

"What the hell's going on?" he shouted, rigid with anger if nothing else. 
Becky noticed that his desire had obviously fled, at least for the 
moment.... 

"Take it easy!" Gene said. "We had a little accident!" 

Rudy growled, seeing Becky, who still couldn't contain her merriment. 

"This somebody's idea of 'fun'?" he snapped. 

"Why of course, darling!" she answered. "Surprised?" 

He growled and muttered, falling into a lawn chair. 

"I think it was a dirty mean trick!" Tina said, glaring at Gene. "What were 
you two doing? Standing there, listening to us?" 

"Cool it," Gene said. "Nobody's hurt. I think we all need a blast of booze." 

Becky looked at Rudy and started to giggle. Tina stared at her, then 
suddenly, finding her good humor, she laughed, joining Becky. The girls 
stood side by side in the shadows, still quaking with amusement. 

As they walked toward the bar, following the men, who were still discussing 
the situation in drunken voices, Tina whispered to Becky. 

"I didn't quite make it with Rudy, honey. You were mean!" 

Becky whispered back. "Gene didn't get what he wanted either!" 

Tina giggled. "After we have a drink I think I'll take Rudy in the 
bedroom...." She squeezed Becky's waist. "But I don't think I'll like it as 
well as when we did it ...!" 

* * * 

Half an hour later Becky found herself in the guest bedroom with Gene. 
Another drink had put her in the mood for almost anything.... 

Rudy and Tina were across the hall. The games were over; it was time to fish 
or cut bait. 

She stretched out across the counterpane, watching him turn the lights down 
until only one lamp burned. She looked at her breasts, rising like small 
mountains on her torso, wine-peaked, tumescent. 

She lifted one slender leg, examining its fine contours, the way it tapered 
down to her compact hips and she wondered what Zane would say if he saw her 
here, half-drunk, ready to cohabit with a neighbor, offering her prize to 
one of Rudy's friends.... 

The thought took something away from her moment of surrender. A coldness 
passed through her being. 

When Gene crawled on the bed, making it quiver, she closed her eyes, 
reaching for him, knowing already how he would feel.... 

He stretched out beside her, sweeping his hand over her charms, from her 
knees to her femininity, to her breasts. She held him, aware of no keen 
sensations. The alchemy of all the dalliance that had gone before seemed 
empty now. 

She responded to his caresses and acted out her part. 

I'm a real whore now, she thought dully. 

She lifted and encouraged him, and when the moment came it was as though a 
hot dagger of guilt went clear to her heart. She took him and played with 
his passion as she knew a willing girl should. She panted when he panted. 
Finally, when the burst of his virility drained into her, she clasped him 
with her legs and heaved upward-feeling nothing except a few little twinges 
that only made her all the more miserable.... 

When he went to sleep, at last, she turned away from him with tears in her 
eyes. 

I sobered up too fast, she thought. Rudy will get his big order, though. He 
can't miss now.... 

* * * 

Zane Finch zipped his briefcase shut, stood up and paced uneasily about his 
motel room. He had delayed going on to Portland. He had decided to stay in 
Pender at least for the night. The business on the Coast could wait a few 
days. 

Earlier in the evening he had called Rudy's number, hoping to catch Becky. 
But no one had answered. 

What a hell of a wonderful girl! 

Every line of her face, the fullness of her lips, the soft sheen of her 
brown hair, the fine delicate contours of her figure, all were etched in his 
memory. What bothered him most, though, was the hurt that lay behind her 
warm brown eyes.... 

After his visit with Rudy he was sure he knew part of the reason for her 
unease, her uncertainty. Rudy was a little pompous now, he acted more 
extroverted, important. The hair piece made him appear younger, of 
course-and it had changed him. He talked more, even bragging about his move 
upward. Several large selling feats recently he laid to his new sharpness. 

I can put in a good word for him at Pasco, Zane thought. But should I? He 
needs a few pins knocked out from under him. 

He shook the plan away. He knew he would help Rudy, as he had in the past. 
He didn't want to feel that his attraction toward Becky, actually giving him 
hard pangs of jealousy, would interfere with his mental balance. 

Even the tone of Becky's voice haunted him. And her walk, free and extremely 
feminine, the naive sway of slim hips unfettered by a girdle, knifed sharply 
into his recollections. Damn! 

I think I could steal her away from Rudy-but what kind of a heel would I be? 
Taking candy from little brother? 

His hands knotted. The whole thing would be wrong, dead wrong. They were 
married. If they were having problems, it was no concern of his. 

I've got to stop thinking about those long, sweet legs of hers, the high 
pout of her breasts. I should have driven on, toward Portland.... 

He stopped his pacing. He realized he hadn't eaten. The heat always took 
away some of his appetite. He would go out and have a couple of drinks and a 
good dinner. He would leave early in the morning. Rudy sure as hell didn't 
want to see him again. The meeting had been a big mistake. And it would be 
another mistake to look Becky up again. She and Rudy would, have to work out 
their own destiny. 

When he left Rudy's office after their cool farewell he had noticed the high 
percentage of good-looking girls in the bookkeeping and accounting 
departments. Rudy had never been too girl-conscious in earlier years at 
Spokane. In fact he had married later in life than most men. 

His early baldness, Zane had felt had bothered Rudy more than it should 
have. Evidently the hair piece had given him a changed outlook. He even 
dressed "sharper." Of course, a store manager had to look dressed up and 
proper, but Rudy was overdoing it. 

I hope to hell he doesn't trip up his career on a patch of artificial 
paste-on hair! 

Something else, too. If I ever hear he's abusing Becky, I'll break him in 
two! 

 CHAPTER TWELVE 

Saturday afternoon, when Becky went out to get the mail, she found another 
large manila envelope in the box. The printed address was the same, its 
appearance exactly like the first. 

This, combined with a nervous hangover, made her furious. She was almost 
ready to throw it in the garbage bucket but her curiosity was too strong. 
She opened the envelope. 

More glossy black-and-white prints-this time all women. The poses were even 
more wildly suggestive than the first batch. 

She was glad Rudy was still at the store. Later on Saturdays he sometimes 
went up to the Elks to have a drink or two with some of the "boys." 

He had called earlier, rather exuberantly, to tell her the 
appliance-and-carpeting deal had gone through. Gene had swung it to Crest 
Stores. 

I gave him a good show last night, Becky thought. He was too drunk to 
realize I was faking my pleasure. 

At first, out near the lawn swing, she had been excited. Because Tina had 
been so near? Because things had been different? 

She sank into a chair, trembling. The photos reminded her all too vividly of 
the real reason why she hadn't been able to respond to Gene. Tina and I had 
our fun, first. 

All day she had resisted taking a drink for her hangover. She wanted to stop 
nipping. She didn't want to acquire the hard brittle look of a girl who 
drank too much and too often. She hated to admit it, but the talk with Zane 
had given her a lift, had made her realize that there were kind decent men 
in the world. 

She was tempted again with the batch of awful photos in her hand. Who could 
be upsetting her this way? For what reason? 

The pictures hurt her in another way. She was very sorry now that she had 
ever let Tina touch her. No matter how thrilling it had been the act was 
unnatural, abnormal. If something like that ever got out, Rudy would lose 
everything. They would have to leave town. The act gave Tina a hold over 
her, a lever. 

How did I ever get into such a mess? I've always considered myself a man's 
girl. I don't want to be queer. 

With tears in her eyes, she crumpled the lewd photos into a ball. She took 
them with her to the bedroom, found the other envelope, wadded its contents 
up, too. She took both parcels out to the garbage bucket and threw them in, 
clanging the lid down hard. 

When she returned to the house she heard the phone ringing. Probably Rudy, 
feeling big-chested about the contracts. Would he want to go out and 
celebrate? 

A woman's voice answered. 

"Who is this?" Becky asked, still shaky from her act of getting the photos 
out of the house. 

"Irene, honey. Remember me?" 

"Oh...." Several images danced through her head. The lush redhead sprawled 
on the Walters' living-room floor, her body writhing ... the way the men had 
looked at her. 

"I'm all recovered now," Irene said, brightly. "I'm getting ready to leave 
town-staying at the Manor Motel. Didn't want to impose any more on Hal and 
Janet...." Her voice lowered intimately. "I'd like to see you before I take 
off. Why don't you drive out here? Number eleven...." 

"Oh-I couldn't!" Becky protested. She found herself trembling. She was glad 
that she and Rudy had a private line. After her experiences with Tina she 
was sure she knew what the redhead wanted.... 

"Honey," Irene said. "I know something about your hubby that you wouldn't 
want to have exposed-in a little burg like this...." 

"What're you doing?" Becky said, angrily. "Trying to-blackmail me?" 

"Don't put it so crudely! You've got it, Becky-and don't act so innocent. 
I've been around, honey. You and Tina are more than just neighbors. She's 
got quite a case on you. 

Drive by here and I'll show you more than Tina ever could...." 

"You're horrible!" Becky cried. She banged down the receiver. 

She dropped into a chair, shivering. Of all the cold-blooded propositions! 
I'll bet she sent those pictures, too! What kind of a slut does she think I 
am? 

The truth was hard to face. She had played around with Tina and she realized 
that no amount of liquor could be blamed. Perhaps Rudy's coolness over the 
past year had contributed, perhaps his changing personality and her own 
efforts to be swinging and modern had helped too-but obviously she did have 
lesbian tendencies. She hated the whole idea more and more, with each 
passing moment. 

Tears of shame gathered in her eyes. 

What did Irene know about Rudy that was so damaging? Would the redhead 
really expose it-or were her threats merely an attempt to draw Becky into a 
messy situation? 

Oh, I hate her! she thought. Let her do her dirty work! Maybe Rudy needs 
taking down, anyway. Our marriage is about shot. 

A knock on the back door sent her dark thoughts flying. She wiped at her 
eyes, stood up and walked into the kitchen. Tina was already entering. She 
wore revealing pink shorts and halter. If the cute blonde had any kind of 
hangover, it didn't show. 

Tina's smile faded. "Honey, what's the matter? You've been crying!" 

Becky fought down an impulse to run to Tina and blurt out her troubles-but 
that might lead to more complications! 

"Morning-after blues, I suppose," Becky lied. She turned to the electric 
range. "I can heat up some coffee...." Her hands trembled. 

Tina came nearer and Becky was acutely aware of the blonde's seductive 
perfume. She wouldn't look directly at Tina. 

"What you need is a drink," Tina said. She touched Becky's arm and even that 
bothered her more than she cared to admit. 

"No! I had enough last night...." 

"Well, let's go in and sit down. I hate to see you all upset...." 

Tina's voice and manner commenced to soothe her ragged nerves. She walked 
with her guest into the living room. They sat down on the sofa. 

"Didn't you have a good time last night, honey?" 

Becky sighed. She realized she shouldn't vent her anger on Tina. She had 
already decided to be a venturesome party wife, and now she was reaping the 
pangs of conscience she had known would come as surely as day followed 
night. 

"Yes...." Becky admitted. 

"Okay-why all the tears?" 

"All this is-too new, I guess." Tina's nearness was comforting. Perhaps 
Irene wouldn't cause any trouble ... and maybe the dirty picture-sending 
would stop. 

"I think I know how you feel," Tina said, smiling. "I was shook the first 
time Gene and I traded with Hal and Janet-I'm sure you guessed that. We 
didn't really plan it-just kind of happened...." She giggled. "But I got 
over it. Lots of couples around town do a little trading once in a while. 
Adds a little spice to living." 

"I guess you're right," Becky said. But the emptiness within her wouldn't go 
away. 

Tina pressed her bare thigh against Becky's knees. She wore a light 
housedress and very little underneath. She had had the room airconditioner 
turned on since nine o'clock. It would be another hot day in Pender. 

Becky felt a little nudge of excitement and she eased away from the smiling 
blonde. Not again, she thought. Not today! 

"Honey, you're very special!" Tina murmured. "Don't be coy now. We did have 
a wonderful time!" 

Becky flushed. "I don't want to make it a habit, Tina...." 

Tina laughed. "You're so serious about everything. Relax. I don't go rushing 
every girl I meet. And I do prefer men. But as you know, they get moody and 
hard to manage sometimes. Girls understand what other girls like. Is there 
any big harm in that?" 

"It's-wrong," Becky protested. 

"Maybe. Lots of things are wrong with the world. Who knows when we're going 
to get blown to bits or die of atomic radiation? You can't save up the days, 
Becky. If you don't live them as they come, they're gone anyway. And please 
don't be mad at me. Sure, I'm a dizzy blonde, full of laughs-so called. Gene 
and I figured on a family, at first. But I'm sterile. Isn't that a kick?" 
Her voice trembled. 

"Oh! I'm sorry, Tina." 

"Maybe we'll adopt one later ... Gene doesn't like the idea." 

Tina began to emerge in Becky's mind as more of a person. She had her 
problems, too. She squeezed Tina's arm. "Maybe the doctors made a mistake." 

"No ... Say, what is this? Gloomy Saturday? We're both young and healthy. I 
don't like moping. Do you have a little drink handy, honey? I could use one, 
even if you don't." 

"Of course!" Becky said. She went to the kitchen, took out her bottle of 
vodka and soon had two glasses brimming with liquor and orange juice. Her 
fingers were a little unsteady. 

I'm still glad I told Irene off, she thought. And I guess Tina's right. One 
can't save up the days. 

When she returned to the living room she found the blonde's pose on the sofa 
very provocative. Her arms were stretched out along the top and one soft leg 
angled away from the other, so that the outline of her femininity was 
clearly limned by the tightness of her shorts. The pink halter barely 
contained her generous breasts.... 

Becky felt a fluttering in her tummy, a little tightening in her loins! 

What's the matter with me? She wondered. But I know, really. I want to touch 
her again.... 

A little breathless she sat down again and gave Tina one of the glasses. 
Their eyes crossed and held and Becky knew her cheeks were warming. She knew 
her short skirt was back along her legs and she didn't adjust it.... 

"Was Rudy pretty drunk?" Becky asked, her heart thudding. 

"A little too, honey...." She winked. "Things were sort of interrupted when 
the lawn swing tipped over!" 

Becky laughed and Tina joined her. They sipped their drinks and Becky 
realized her nerves were unwinding. Tina's lips on the rim of the highball 
glass seemed unusually active and when her pink tongue touched a piece of 
ice in the orange-hued liquid, Becky felt a familiar tingle of excitement. 
Her nipples turned itchy! 

"You still look tense, honey," Tina said, presently. "I learned some good 
relaxing methods from a woman who worked in one of those massage parlors in 
Portland. Let me show you. It really helps...." 

Becky's heart beat faster. The vodka had a soothing effect. Tina's green 
eyes seemed to grow larger. She was leaning closer.... 

When I poured that drink for myself I knew this was coming, she thought. And 
I could chill her with a hard look. But somehow I can't. 

Tina held out her glass. Becky extended her own and the rims clinked 
together. Their eyes met again and Becky realized that already she had said 
yes without uttering a word. 

"Cheers!" Tina exclaimed. They emptied their glasses. The blonde giggled. 
"Come on in the bedroom and I'll show you how this massaging helps...." 

I'm glad we're using that for an excuse, Becky thought. I was disappointed 
with Gene.... 

Becky stood up, her thighs already warming-and suddenly the sound of the 
Finch car broke into her fizzy mood. Rudy was home already. The motor sound 
died and a door slammed. 

Becky flushed. "I-didn't think he'd be here so early, Tina. I'm sorry!" 

Tina giggled. She stood up and squeezed Becky's waist. "We'll do it some 
other time, sweet," she whispered. 

Becky nodded. She took the glasses into the kitchen, and Tina followed. Rudy 
came through the back door, a wide smile on his face. 

"Well, look who's here!" 

"We just had a drink apiece, Rudy," Tina laughed. "I'm a little hung over." 

"Had a couple downtown myself," Rudy commented. 

Tina excused herself and slipped out the back door. Becky took the glasses 
to the sink, fighting for her composure. I was ready to tumble into bed with 
Tina-just like that! I'm awful.... 

She was surprised when Rudy came up behind her and slid his arms around her. 

"Well, aren't you proud of me-getting that big apartment-house contract from 
Gene's company?" 

"Of course," she said. And then she added slyly. "I was of some small help, 
though...." 

He laughed. She could tell he'd had more than a couple. He reached upward to 
cup the thrust of her breasts. She was pleasantly surprised. But she was 
glad she had had that belt of vodka. She softened against him. 

Well, if I can't have Tina, why not Rudy? 

He kissed the nape of her neck and she started to turn around when the phone 
rang. 

Her heart leaped into her throat. Irene again? Oh, damn her! Why doesn't she 
leave town and stay out of my life! 

Rudy's hands left her breasts. He backed away. Another interruption.... 

 CHAPTER THIRTEEN 

Hello," Becky said, hoping her voice sounded right. Her hand was wet on the 
receiver. 

"This is Janet," came pleasantly over the wire. Becky felt a sharp wave of 
relief. It was short-lived, though. The redhead had sounded pretty sure of 
herself ... What would she really do? What did she have on Rudy? 

"That Irene finally took off," Janet said, apparently relieved. "You kids 
like to come down to a barbecue, out in our back yard?" 

"Sounds like fun," Becky answered. "Let me go and ask Rudy." 

"Tell him Gene and Tina are coming, too." 

Becky took a deep breath. "Be right back, Janet." She knew already that Rudy 
would go, hangover or not. And she did want to see Tina again.... 

* * * 

The Collins' lot at the rear was surrounded by a high thick hedge. Large 
maple and sycamore trees dotted the lawn. An elaborate barbecue pit had been 
built at one corner of the expensive lawn and Hal, appropriately garbed in 
tall chef's hat and white apron, presided over the pit of glowing hickory 
coals. 

Two strings of dim-colored lights furnished the only illumination. 

Janet had asked everyone to dress informally, and Becky wore a snug jersey 
and clinging tights-the latter showing off her long legs to good advantage. 
The evening air was still warm. 

Although Rudy's brief caress when he had come home had been encouraging, he 
hadn't touched her since. She remembered how his eyes had fastened and held 
on Tina's pink snorts and halter.... 

Tina excited him and I was handy, she thought, watching Rudy sidle over 
beside the cuddly blonde. 

Ever since Janet's call she had been wondering what the switching order 
would be-and on arriving at the party she soon found out. Gene would be with 
Janet and Hal would be Becky's date. Well, she was moving around. It was her 
turn with the slender clever-talking store owner.... 

Becky, highball in hand, started to leave her chair to join Hal at the grill 
when Janet sank into a lawn chair beside her. The hostess, too, wore snug 
jersey and shorts. Her lush appeal, the fullness of her breasts and hips, 
could not be ignored. Her thighs were smoothly tanned. 

"Glad you kids could come," she murmured. "Are you upset about something, 
Becky?" 

"Nooo. Sorry to be a drag. This drink will perk me up." 

"Good!" Her voice lowered. "Hal has his talents, honey," she drawled. Becky 
smiled. She asked a question. 

"When did Irene leave?" 

"This morning. Just between you and me I was glad to have her gone." 

The way she said it gave Becky the idea that the redhead might have made a 
few passes at Janet. She didn't ask, though. She didn't have the feeling of 
closeness with Janet that she experienced around Tina. At the same time she 
was sure the blonde and the lush brownette had been intimate. Well, that was 
their business. 

"I heard that Irene hasn't left town, though," Becky said. 

"Really?" Janet drawled. "I liked her show, but not her personality." 

"Maybe I shouldn't ask," Becky went on, "but did she carry a folder or two 
of dirty pictures around with her?" 

Janet frowned. "Not that I saw!" 

Her answer appeared spontaneous enough. Becky realized she wasn't much of a 
detective. Those photos bothered her. It was a sneaky worrisome thing. She 
was glad she had shoved the prints in the garbage can. She wondered now 
whether or not she should have burned them.... 

When Janet left, giving Becky a rather odd sidelong glance, she wandered 
over toward Hal. 

He looked up, grinning. "Well fan my brow, if it isn't Miss high-pockets, 
all duded out! With boots and hat on you could win Mrs. Rodeo of America 
contest hands down." 

She smiled, looking at the steaks on the grill. She realized she hadn't 
eaten much lunch and no dinner. She was famished. She liked the relaxed 
atmosphere at the Collins' place. They seemed more normal than Tina and 
Gene. Was it because they had a child? Did Tina really want offspring or was 
it just a pose? 

Janet had mentioned that she and Hal farmed out their daughter when they had 
a party. 

She watched Tina near a table loaded with bottles and mixers, flirting with 
Rudy. He had taken a nap before the party and appeared refreshed by it. 
Becky had rested, but hadn't been able to sleep. Irene's threat seemed to 
hang in the air, clouding her mind ... and she was still troubled by her 
strange affair with Tina. 

Whenever I get near her I start thinking about all the fun we had ... I 
failed with Gene. Will I have to pretend with Hal? Has Tina warped my desire 
for men...? 

An hour later, after a delicious feast of sirloin and brandy after-dinner 
drinks, the six retired to the Collins' rec room. It was a long cozy place, 
done in a Western motif, scantily lighted by soft red-shaded lamps. Janet 
said she had a new game she thought would interest all those present. 

Becky was glad to be inside. The evening air had finally cooled. So far Hal 
had been quite the gentleman, but then he had been busy with the serving. 

They all stood at the bar Hal had built at one end of the oblong room. The 
liquor was in old-fashioned decanters Becky thought attractive. On the 
mirror were a number of girlie pictures cut from a well-known men's 
magazine. Rudy and Gene were busy admiring them. 

"What's the game, honey?" Tina asked Janet. 

"I'll tell you soon," the hostess said. "But first, everybody has to put on 
a costume." She laughed. "All you girls follow me...." 

"What about us?" Gene complained. 

"Hal has the men's outfits ready." 

Becky finished her highball and trailed along after Janet. She went through 
a door that opened off the rec room, and found herself with the other girls 
in a spare bedroom. Lights were already on. 

How handy, Becky thought, glancing at the bed. Is this where I'll end up 
with Hal? 

"Strip, girls," Janet said, laughing. She opened a drawer in the mirrored 
vanity that sat near the bed and drew out three sheer colored pieces of 
nylon that Becky couldn't identify, at first glance. "We're going to play 
harem!" 

Tina giggled. "How'll we do that?" 

"Wait and see," Janet replied, her dark eyes flashing. She held up one of 
the garments. It was bright red, a diaphanous pair of pantaloons with an 
elastic top. 

"No bras?" Tina asked. 

Janet unfolded a matching red band about four inches wide and just as sheer 
as the bottoms. She handed the wisps to Becky. "I think this color suits 
you, honey." 

Becky trembled. She swallowed her momentary unease. She wasn't going to be a 
square and spoil the party. Already Tina was down to her panties and bra, 
giggling and squirming. She really loves to show off her curves, Becky 
thought. 

"Come on, honey," Janet said to Becky, peeling her jersey over her head.... 

Ten minutes later the girls were "dressed." Becky had never seen Janet nude 
and she noticed the prominence of her dark red nipples, the wide aureolae, 
the fullness of her gorgeous breasts. They were huge! Janet wore pale blue, 
Tina yellow. The pantaloons, with elastic at the ankles as well as at the 
waist, added to their allure, no question about it. 

In tying the red band about her breasts Becky had tried to make the bow 
cover her nipples, but Tina had nixed that plan. The blonde fastened Becky's 
bra in back. 

Becky had paraded naked in front of Gene the night before, but somehow this 
was different. The clinging nylon accentuated charms Janet and Tina already 
had admired. Her cheeks were hot as she stepped out into the rec room. 

Whoops of appreciation came from the men. They, too, wore costumes of 
astonishing brevity. Only a small patch of brown cloth covered their loins. 
Otherwise they were naked. 

An overstuffed chair with wide arms sat in the middle of the room-a sign on 
it said THRONE. 

"The boys will take turns being king," Janet said, laughing. "That is, as 
soon as we have enough drinks to set the mood right." 

"Hell, I'm ready to go it right now!" Gene exclaimed. 

"Cool down, honey," Janet answered, drawing him toward the bar. Her large 
breasts swayed and she twitched her hips provocatively. 

"You mean all three of us girls have to make over the men, one at a time?" 
Becky whispered to Tina. 

"Sure. I think it's a swingy idea." 

Hal came up to stand beside Becky, and Tina joined Rudy. Becky decided her 
husband still looked a little hungover. Why should I care? she thought. All 
he can see tonight is Tina or Janet. They're new. Isn't that the real idea 
of all these games? Everybody can have fresh stuff for an evening. They get 
tired of the same old lay. 

It was still wrong, though. It violated basic ideas of society-no matter how 
momentarily thrilling.... 

Hal's voice brought her quickly up to date. "Would you-all like a drink, 
Miss Rodeo?" 

"Yes," she answered and meant it. I think I need several. 

He led her to the bar. He whispered. "Honey baby, you've got one hell of a 
lovely figure." His eyes lingered on her almost-bare breasts, then swung 
down to her slender hips, her long legs. 

"I'm not as big as Janet," she murmured. "Sweetie, size isn't everything. 
I'm going to hire you to come down to the store and model my new Western 
duds for girls." His arm were around her naked waist. 

Play their games, she thought. Maybe Hal does have his talents! 

She had already noticed Hal's compact build, his narrow hips and wide 
shoulders. Not an ounce of fat anywhere. Obviously he kept himself in fine 
physical condition. Lately she had noticed a slight puffiness in Rudy's 
belly, a softness in his grip. Or was she already tired of him? Where was 
the man she had married? Surely he was nothing like this new Rudy with his 
changing personality, his swaggering extroversion, his conviction that he 
was God's gift to women. 

She took the drink Hal gave her and gulped it down as swiftly as she could. 

"Hey, honey, you'll knock yourself out that way!" Hal said. He went around 
the bar and mixed her another. 

"I'm all right now," she answered, beginning to lose her qualms about what 
lay ahead. 

Hal grinned, returning to her side. She would be lint-headed and 
frolicksome, like Tina and Janet. Anything for a change.... 

Hal isn't too unlike Zane in appearance, she thought. I'll try to imagine 
Rudy's brother is my date. 

She leaned closer to Hal and laughed. "Do you really like slim girls, 
Western man?" 

"Nothing like a change of pace to stir a person up, is there?" 

His hand circled her. She drew her shoulders back, accenting the line of her 
bosom. Out of the corner of an eye she saw Rudy fondling Tina and she didn't 
want to be outdone. The liquor was hitting her now. 

Hal's fingers reached her breasts. He cupped and squeezed, creating a wave 
of tinglings in her nipples. They perked forward. 

"Ter-iffic!" he breathed. The thin nylon was no hindrance to his caresses. 
"You've got 'em, Becky." 

She trembled. He did have a wonderful touch. 

"You're not so bad yourself, Hal. Play with me some more." 

His dark eyes burned into hers. Zane's hand is there, she thought, making my 
breasts hot. I need a man's touch. I've got to stop this business with Tina. 

Hal's mouth aimed at hers and she opened her lips. 

"Time for games!" Janet announced, breaking in on Becky's little fantasy. 
Hal's hand left her. 

"Just wait!" he whispered. 

"I hardly can," she whispered back. 

 CHAPTER FOURTEEN 

"You've all heard about the boys in the old days having a harem," Janet 
said, standing near the throne. "We've all enjoyed movies with harem girls 
dancing around in almost nothing...." She swayed her generous hips and the 
men applauded. Her large breasts jiggled. 

"Well, we'll do the next best thing. The boys can take turns being Sultan. 
And girls-treat 'em good. We want to let 'em know they're real he-men." 

"We drew lots while you gals were getting decked out," Hal said. "Gene's 
first, Rudy's second and I'm third. Okay? Let's swing!" 

Just an excuse for fondling each other, Becky thought. But it is 
different.... 

The last drink and Hal's caresses gave her courage. She followed a giggling 
Tina to the throne and Gene took his place in the chair. Janet immediately 
sat on the arm at his right, leaning forward so the Sultan could touch her 
breasts or thighs if he so desired. A wave of excited cries rose above the 
throb of the music coming from the stereo. Becky decided to take the other 
arm. She tried to keep her legs together so her dark triangle wouldn't show, 
but the pose kept it exposed. 

Tina stood in front of Gene, weaving her body, giggling. She appeared more 
emotionally stirred than Janet-this kind of stuff was right down her alley. 
She loved to display her charms. 

Becky riffled Gene's hair and squirmed as close to him as she could. 

"Just relax, honey," Janet said to Gene. "Let the girls give you a lot of 
attention!" 

Janet slipped her hand along the Sultan's legs, and the other two men 
whooped when her fingers stole beneath his brief "pants." Becky knew right 
away the men wore nothing underneath their costumes. Gene was 
aroused-already. 

Becky leaned closer, and Gene's hand came up to her breasts. His caresses 
made her shiver. She felt her nipples turn pointy. Sensuous thrills added to 
her rising need. Tina weaved her hips in provocative invitation.... 

The show continued. Gene transferred his hands to Janet. She laughed when he 
fondled her lush wide-open thighs. Becky ran her fingers along Gene's 
shoulders, down across his muscular chest. She found herself looking down at 
his bared masculinity and felt a sudden wave of liquorish desire. 

"Those old boys really lived!" Gene cried. 

Becky experienced another kind of excitement when she transferred her 
attention to Tina. Her hips rolled in quickening bursts of wildly abandoned 
thrusts; her soft breasts were nearly ready to fall out of their thin yellow 
covering. 

The rest of the show became a kind of hazy dream. When Rudy's turn came he 
barely touched her, but she was already zestfully stimulated. The wisecracks 
rang in her ears. 

Finally it was Hal's turn and Becky grew bolder. This time she touched his 
loins, held his manhood and felt the wonderful size of him, and she was 
gratified that he gave her plenty of tantalizing caresses ... She loosened 
her bra and when his lips captured a tender nipple she felt the thrills 
clear to her toes. 

When it ended at last, the pairing followed right away. Rudy and Tina 
wandered into the bedroom where the girls had disrobed. Janet took Gene 
upstairs.... 

"Now, I've got you!" Hal whispered, leading her to a sofa. 

Already her knees were weak. She sank down gratefully, rather dizzy, 
extremely excited. 

Hal immediately untied his "loin cloth," tossing it aside. He cuddled Becky 
close, fondling her nude breasts, kissing her shoulder. Her thrall of need 
was sharp, a goad in her loins. All the touchings, the nakedness, the 
abandoned tossing of hips, especially Tina's, had made her shivery for the 
rest, for totality. 

As Hal's lips reached hers, for the first time, she had no trouble at all in 
imagining he was Zane. She closed her eyes.... 

The searching tongue in her mouth, testing her heat, her desire, belonged to 
someone else. The hand spiring her nipples she had seen holding a coke 
glass, and she realized that she had wanted Zane right then. Vodka loosened 
the inhibitions and the subconscious trends of her thought. 

Oh, Zane, why didn't you take me to a motel and wash away all this 
uncertainty? Rudy doesn't need me any more the way I want to be loved. He's 
off on some crazy tangent-he and his precious hair piece-and I have to have 
total love and affection to be really happy. This is a game. I'm not much 
better than a common whore. Maybe worse! 

She yielded to Hal's gentle fondlings. He eased her back on the sofa and she 
opened her thighs. He took her surely, gently, and at first she thought she 
was going to really sail. He was all man. He knew how to hold her, how to 
tease her nipples with his tongue and lips, but she lost the image of Zane. 

He was far away now-there was no more magic. She was being invaded and 
sounded and filled by someone else. She admired Hal's efficiency. He was 
what hip girls called a great "bedroom mechanic." He brought her passion as 
far along as he could with manly teasings and delays and simmering kisses. 

She knew she wasn't going to reach heaven-but at last she felt a wrenching 
kind of spasm that tightened her thighs about him and answered some of her 
need to be held and fondled and adored. Her little jerks of release were not 
the deep true kind she craved.... 

When Hal had his peak of feeling she gave him what was left of her 
rapture-and then a great emptiness followed. 

His body above her was damp with perspiration. She turned her head and felt 
tears of disappointment trickle down her cheeks. 

I'm not even a real hot party girl, she thought, remembering her earlier 
failure with Gene. 

Hal slipped away from her, saying he would be back soon. She rested, 
relaxed. She was depleted from pure physical exertion. 

I suppose he'll want to again soon, she thought. He's got this idea that 
slender, long-legged girls are great stuff. I had more fun with Tina.... 

A sound from the nearby bedroom made her lift her head. Rudy was in there 
with Tina. Weren't they through yet? 

Curious, she used Hal's handkerchief, found her pantaloons and slipped them 
on. She walked quietly over by the bedroom door and listened. Hal had gone 
upstairs. She would hear him when he came back. 

"Try again, honey!" Tina begged. There was an odd note of desperation in her 
voice. She wasn't giggling now. 

Is something the matter with her? Becky wondered. Is she too drunk? 

Rudy said something she couldn't hear. 

"I know I can make it this time, honey!" Tina said. An edge of uncertainly 
was nakedly evident in his pleading voice. 

This was really rich! Giggly, flirty, hip-swinging Tina wasn't having her 
fun. She certainly did with me, though.... 

A coldness gripped Becky. She backed away from the door, heading for the 
bar. Strange ideas were crawling around in her head. She had heard about 
girls who were outwardly sexy in appearance but were cold in bed. Had she 
and Gene cooked up this switch club-since they were obviously the 
leaders-because both of them were frustrated at home? 

It seemed a logical answer. Perhaps even Hal hadn't found the blonde very 
exciting. 

Maybe Tina has her real pleasure with Janet! 

Oh, I wish I had never got into this awful mess! 

She longed to leave for home-but her clothes were in the bedroom where Rudy 
had Tina. Besides, she couldn't just run home, across lots. 

She was beginning to have an emotional and physical hangover. She went to 
the sofa and curled up, waiting for Hal. She would tell him she was too 
drunk to play games for the rest of the night-maybe he could go in and help 
Rudy with Tina. 

Her hands clenched. She had to make a drastic change in her life; she 
couldn't go on and on, like this.... 

* * * 

Zane Finch sat at the bar of Pender's most extravagant night club, the 
Silver Nugget, and nursed a highball. He was restless. He had tried reading 
at his motel and had given it up. 

He had called Rudy's number again about eight o'clock, hoping to catch 
Becky-but again no one had answered. They probably were out for the evening 
and he had cruised the better cocktail lounges hoping to see them, wanting 
another look at Rudy's lovely young wife. 

He couldn't shake her out of his mind. She was so real, so genuine. She had 
Class-she was Triple-A, plus. Before dark he had driven by their house on 
Hillside Drive after getting their address from the telephone directory. A 
good part of town-Rudy was at least in a prosperous-appearing neighborhood. 

On several of his stops around the joints he had noticed a showy redhead and 
he was about to leave the Nugget when the girl came through the front door 
alone as before. 

She gave him a come-on smile and wriggled onto a bar stool at his left. He 
was used to interested girlish glances. Women nowadays were bolder. But she 
wasn't local, he could see that. She had the mannerisms of a big-city 
number. He pegged her for either a model on vacation or a high-priced call 
girl. In his travels he had seen plenty of both. 

He hadn't had a twist in bed for over a week. He wondered if she might be 
diverting-at least for one evening. Becky was out of his reach, unavailable, 
married. He had had enough of Rudy's venom in past years. Any hint that he 
liked his brother's wife would send Rudy into a rage. 

"These little burgs are dull," the redhead said, giving him a calculative 
smile. 

He smiled. Why not? "May I buy you a drink?" 

She accepted, and it began very smoothly Her pale green frock was slashed 
deeply at the throat and she had plenty of smooth flesh showing. As they 
became acquainted he could sense the envy of other stags at the bar. 

She was from Portland and was about ready to return. She had been visiting 
friends in Pender. An auto accident had held her up for a few days. Her name 
was Irene. 

As was the unspoken custom he gave her only his first name. 

"You look a little familiar," she said, on the second highball. "Have I met 
you somewhere before?" 

"Don't recall it," he said. "I'm sure I would have remembered." She laughed. 

A few moments later they were at a table for two in a shadowy corner near 
the dance floor. The same old routine. When he got her on the floor she 
pressed her lush body close and the subtle swaying of her hips, the pressure 
of her breasts on his chest, told him she was ready for action. 

Some of them were almost too easy. It took the spice out of it. Still, she 
was the best unattached female he had seen all evening. She would do for a 
one-night stand. 

Of course, she could be a teaser and she might want a couple of twenties for 
a lay. He wasn't going to pay her, though. He hadn't dished out any money 
for a broad since his last trip through Vegas. And he hadn't been very 
pleased with that. She had merely performed a necessary function. 

Why in hell do I keep thinking about Becky? Why is she married to my own 
brother...? 

 CHAPTER FIFTEEN 

It was after one o'clock when Becky and Rudy came home. The moment she 
stepped into the bedroom she had the feeling that someone had been there. A 
faint trace of perfume lingered and one of her vanity drawers, which she 
always kept closed, was pulled out about an inch. 

Strange.... 

Apparently Rudy noticed nothing awry. He staggered as he sank on the edge of 
the bed and began to undress. His sport shirt, awkwardly donned at the 
Collins' house, was half unbuttoned, his mouth smeared with lipstick. 

Becky found a nightie and retreated to the bathroom. She was still 
half-tight, but she knew she needed a shower before she could sleep. She was 
disgusted with her behavior. When Hal returned to the rec room she had 
played drunker than she really was and had prevented him from displaying his 
bedroom talents a second time.... 

When Rudy had lurched out of the bedroom for a drink, she had pleaded a fit 
of sickness and he had driven her home. Apparently he had had enough of Tina 
for one night. 

She wondered again if someone had been in the house during their absence. 
She remembered that they hadn't locked the front door. Many people in Pender 
didn't. Rudy always claimed they were fully insured and if some person 
wanted to rob them he could easily find a way inside. 

Becky undressed quickly. She was sick of Hal, sick of the whole bawdy 
business. Her host had given her no real satisfaction. Her nerves were on 
edge and she was afraid that despite all the liquor she had taken she 
wouldn't be sleepy for a while. 

I'm glad now Hal couldn't stir me deeply, she thought. 

She surveyed her image in the long mirror fastened to the inside of the 
bedroom door. Her own lipstick was messy and she took a washcloth and 
cleaned her mouth. Oddly her breasts were still a bit swollen, her nipples 
distended. Hal's touches and his fondlings had not reached the real core of 
her need.... 

I'm still hot, she thought. Is it because I dreamed of Zane and then had my 
dream exploded? 

Cheating with Hal had backfired. She hadn't felt much of anything in spite 
of all his technique. 

She surveyed the slimness of her waist, the trim lines of her hips, the 
sculptured beauty of her long legs. The V of her femininity drew her 
attention. She touched herself there and realized that she was still aching 
with unrequited desire. 

Her hands then lifted to the thrusty pout of her breasts, rosy-tipped, still 
pointy ... They seemed silky-hot to her touch. 

No! she thought, turning to the shower. 

She adjusted the flow of the water, making it a bit warmer than usual. She 
had to wash away all traces of Hal; she wanted to feel clean again. 

But how can I cleanse my thinking? 

Her thoughts were erratic. That would be from the drinks, from the games and 
from her feelings of shame about the whole performance. 

She soaped her body thoroughly, glorying in the cascading water, and the 
mere touch of her hands on her body caused her to think again of Zane. What 
if he were with her under the spray of the shower? Where would his hands be? 
She trembled. 

Why visualize the impossible? 

She stepped out of the shower at last and found a large towel. She felt much 
better. Some of the liquor fumes were evaporating. Once thoroughly dry, she 
slipped into one of her new nighties and made herself as dainty as possible. 
She even brushed her hair. She liked to do that before going to bed anyway. 

She stepped out of the moist air of the bathroom and opened the bedroom 
door. A light burned at the head of the bed, but Rudy was out cold. His 
snores rang in her ears, underlining her suspicions about what he had done 
with Tina. Damn him, she thought. 

She backed away and walked into the living room. One lamp still was on. She 
stretched out on their best sofa. The hem of the little nightie hiked clear 
to her hips but she didn't care. No one could see her. 

No more switching, she thought. No more cheapening of my emotions. If Rudy 
doesn't like it, I guess I'll have to leave him. 

She wasn't so sure about Tina. Tonight she wouldn't consider that. She 
wanted to think some more about Zane. She was in just the right mood. She 
had been teased up and fondled, she had watched the other girls playing 
harem, she had looked at naked male loins, at nude girls, and she was still 
drunk enough to let her thoughts run wild! 

I need it tonight and Rudy's in there snoring, all worn out from trying to 
please Tina. Well, I'll dream about Zane and pretend he's here and maybe 
I'll have a wonderful orgasm all by myself.... 

She adjusted the pillows under her head and spread her thighs wide. She 
lifted her tender breasts out of her nightie. Her hand stole under the lacy 
hem of her single garment. She closed her eyes, and touched the sensitive 
point of her clitoris. 

Zane was there, kneeling beside the sofa, his hands gently shaping her 
breasts, urging her nipples into peaks of trembly responsiveness. He was 
caressing her slender thighs, whispering words of love, of adoration.... 

Without the liquor and what had happened that evening she knew she wouldn't 
be having such a provocative fantasy ... but now she could be completely 
abandoned. She could sway and twist her body any way she liked, in ways she 
never had even for Hal-or Rudy-or Tina-or Gene. She would be utterly wanton! 

Oh, I do need it! she thought dizzily. 

Now Zane was kissing her lips, sliding his tongue in deep, as shooting 
little sparks of passion enveloped her being. He was carefully preparing her 
for the ultimate in sexual gratification. 

His lips touched her breasts, next. He seemed to be possessing them. Her 
nipples turned flinty and darts of sensual anticipation made her shudder. 
She flung her legs about, lifting them, imagining that he was now palming 
her most sensitive place, escalating her seething passion. She swung her 
hips in a flurry of joyful seeking drives. She panted and her breasts 
heaved. 

Now he was arching slowly above her. He was braced so she could move her 
hips wildly, around and around, up and down.... 

The phantom union seemed almost a reality. Furious little shiverings 
possessed her. She strained and lifted and raised her legs high as if 
enclosing him.... 

I know he'd want me to have one as soon as I could, she thought. A girl 
needs several ... especially a girl like me. 

He's so big-and strong! He's all the man any girl could ever wish for! 

Suddenly a ferment of quakings seized her. She felt the long-delayed 
beginnings of her rapture, the twinges along her thighs, the quickening of 
the red-hot searings that brought an uncontrollable cry from her throat. 

Oh, it's coming, now! Oh-Oh-he's driving right to the core of my passion.... 

Gusts of throbbing release tore at her loins. She cried out again. The 
honeyed nuances were fierce and gratifying. But somehow, she couldn't attain 
the ultimate-the long hard heavings she knew to be totality. 

Her vision flew apart. She was alone again, panting out her lust, tossing 
her hips in an effort to gain more than she had, she now knew could never be 
attained without the cooperation of a real lover. 

Tears sprang into her eyes. She turned her head, hiding the view of her 
sprawled body from her eyes. She was doubly ashamed-because she had been so 
abandoned, because she had tried to cheat again-and she had failed. 

She caught a hint of movement at the foot of the sofa. Her eyes opened wide! 

Rudy stood there, a twisted expression on his face, glaring. I shouldn't 
have kept my eyes closed! she thought, cringing under his gaze. 

"This the way you get your real kicks?" he grated. 

"Ohhh-God!" she cried, hiding her face, consumed with humiliation. 

Then, suddenly, her anger burst out. She sat up. "Why weren't you out here? 
You're all used up on Tina!" 

He leered, his face white with rage. His hands balled into fists. He 
trembled. 

Suddenly he turned and weaved back into the bedroom. The door slammed shut. 

She hugged herself, her face hot with shame. How would she ever live that 
down? He had probably watched the whole performance.... 

The tears came again. She huddled on the sofa and let them slide down her 
cheeks. 

I won't have to leave him now, I suppose, she thought bleakly. He'll take 
care of that. But wouldn't he be furious if he knew whom I was thinking of 
when I had my climax? He'd flip his silly wig! 

She calmed at last. All her pleasure pangs were gone, drowned in a murky sea 
of remorse. Where had all this switching and wild parties led?-to hatred! 
She resented Rudy, she hadn't wanted him touching Janet or being in the 
bedroom with Tina. 

Yes, she had joined in reluctantly and now she had gone the route with the 
men in the crowd and one girl! She was a slut or she would have resisted. 
She didn't deserve any self-respecting man. 

Her own husband had even caught her playing with herself! 

How bad could a scene get? 

On top of everything she had dirtied the image of Zane! Half-drunk and still 
on edge she had squirmed out her pleasure alone, thinking of Rudy's brother, 
and somehow she felt she was going to pay for it, pay dearly in the long 
days to come.... 

How can I ever be normal again...? 

* * * 

Zane sat in the Manor Motel, Unit Number 11, waiting for Irene to change. He 
always noticed the competition, and decided the Manor chain had cheapened 
their furniture. The sofa he rested on was hard and uncomfortable. 

Irene had wanted him to come to her motel so he had followed in his own car. 
Irene had a new Ford, so she wasn't doing too badly. He felt sure now she 
was an entertainer, probably in night clubs or on the strip route. 

Her large bag sat conspicuously on the end of the sofa. It was half-open. 
She was still fussing around in the motel bedroom and, knowing women, he 
realized she wouldn't be out for a while. 

He stood up and quickly spread the jaws of the handbag apart. The usual 
collection of stuff girls carried around. He was curious about her last 
name, her address. Her car had an Oregon license plate. 

Unable to find her billfold, which she had probably carried into the 
bedroom, he was about to give up his quest. Then he noticed a rather unusual 
item-a hair piece! It certainly wasn't a woman's. It appeared the thing had 
been dropped in there and covered with facial tissue. Looked expensive, too. 
Maybe it belonged to her steady boyfriend. 

Well, one never knew what dames carried around with them. 

He thought of Rudy's patch. 

Resuming his former position on the sofa he had a cigarette. Somehow he 
didn't feel too carried away with his latest conquest. Irene had all the 
correct female equipment-large firm breasts, ample hips and good legs. Her 
features were better than average and her mouth, already sampled, had a 
greedy heat. What did he expect-a movie starlet? 

Then he realized he was comparing her in his mind with Becky. She was so 
young and fresh and vital-and hell, she had a better figure than any he had 
seen recently. High virginal breasts, a lovely wide mouth that looked soft 
and clingy.... 

Damn! The drinks he had taken seemed to liven her image in his mind. Her 
soft brown eyes had warmed to him. She was so easy to talk to. She had a 
bright mind, an imagination. She was sensitive-and she had been hurt. 
Probably not physically but emotionally. 

He supposed that brothers might be drawn toward the same kind of girl-and 
that it was possible such a girl would feel close to her husband's 
brother.... 

Had he assumed too much from just one brief visit? Had he seen desire naked 
in her eyes? 

The whole concept of infidelity didn't appeal to him. He still believed, 
rather naively, in real love. There had been something of that in his first 
marriage-but not enough. He had been disappointed in Helen ... and when he 
had discovered she was stepping out on him he had cut out for good. Luckily 
she hadn't been smart enough to take very much money in the divorce 
settlement. She hadn't even been present in court. 

He knew he had been looking ever since and damned if he hadn't found the 
ideal girl hitched up to his brother. He rolled it around bitterly in his 
mind. That was life. 

At that moment the bedroom door opened and Irene came out. She wore a thin 
green negligee that stirred the brute inside him. Her red hair almost 
reached her shoulders. Her ripe lips looked even more promising than before. 
Her large sloping breasts swayed as she paraded toward him in a rather 
studied manner. 

She sank down beside him and he was engulfed in a wave of seductive perfume. 

"Honey, I thought you'd have some clothes off," she whispered. 

"That won't take long." 

She laughed. "I haven't been out with a real man like you for a long, long 
time. Make me really want it! I'm very happy tonight." 

"Any special reason, luscious?" 

She smiled, cuddling nearer. The froth of filmy nylon drifted away from the 
enticing upper slopes of her breasts. "Before I ran into you tonight, I 
accomplished something. I won't tell you any more...." 

Dames! So maybe she had got a stock dividend check or something. He didn't 
care she was in a good mood. He had to forget Becky. What better way than in 
a sex-bout with a buxom showgirl? He reached his hand inside the gaping 
negligee and claimed a velvety mound. Her large nipple swelled against his 
palm.... 

 CHAPTER SIXTEEN 

Sunday morning Becky sat alone at the kitchen table, drinking coffee. 

Outside the sun was shining and the day promised to be not so hot as 
usual-but her thoughts were black. On many Sundays in Spokane, before Rudy's 
rise to managership, they had driven over into Idaho to Lake Ponderosa. In 
weather like this they had gone swimming or boating. 

They had been close and in love, and the future had seemed very bright. She 
had ignored the glances of other men, who apparently thought it a little odd 
that she was with a balding man at least ten years her senior. They had been 
happy. 

There had been no hesitancy in her complete surrender when they were alone 
in bed. She hadn't minded his shyness, his reserve. Doing it at night with 
lights out had been fun enough. Most of her basic needs to be held and 
kissed had been fulfilled, and when she hadn't been able to climax with him 
she had been pleased that he could find his joy in her, that he wanted 
her.... 

The memories seemed to hurt more keenly this morning. She knew a hiatus was 
developing. 

When Rudy appeared, looking glum, his robe awry, his eyes bloodshot, she 
steeled herself for the words she had to say. 

"I'm not doing any more switching, Rudy...." Her voice trembled. "I just 
can't." 

He fell limply into a chair. He shook his head. He touched his hair piece in 
the old unconscious gesture. 

"You're just hung over," he answered sourly. 

"I mean it!" 

"Hell! I thought you were having fun. Why didn't you say so before?" 

She knew he had a point. "All right, I thought I'd go along-I tried. It's 
just no good...." 

His face went white. She realized he wouldn't want a divorce. The Crest 
Stores liked to have their rising stars married, established ... She could 
get one herself, but it would injure his career, maybe they could still 
paste together some kind of association that would pass for a happy home 
life. 

"We'll talk about it later," he said grumpily. He left the kitchen and 
walked into the living room. 

The old pattern. So many words left unsaid. She was sure he felt some kind 
of guilt about his recent behavior with Tina and Janet-and maybe others. 
Obviously he didn't want to change. He liked his new role of dashing young 
man about town. 

They were no longer close. They couldn't talk things over reasonably, as 
they had the first years. The wall between them seemed to widen. 

Then she had her own guilt. She wasn't at all sure she could resist Tina in 
the right circumstances. And Rudy had caught her in a very embarrassing 
situation. Not that married girls didn't ever relieve their own 
tensions-Kinsey and others had found the practice existed. It was simply 
that he had found her out. 

Then there was the ugly mystery of who had sent her the pictures. She 
wouldn't tell anyone about that. But she wanted to know-if possible. She 
wanted to stop it before someone else saw them. 

I've already sunk into a girl-and-girl association and those photographs 
make me feel even worse about it. Who knows my secret? Who suspects I have 
lesbian leanings? 

She followed Rudy into the living room. He was sunk in the morning paper. 
She wanted to say, Why can't we start all over, Rudy? Why can't we be like 
we were? 

He looked up, scowling. "What were you going to say?" 

His coolness knifed her deeply. "Nothing, Rudy. Nothing at all! I hope you 
had fun with Tina!" 

He flushed. "Hell, she was too drunk...." 

"I was too drunk for Hal, too," she answered, bitingly. 

He rattled the paper and went back to it, hiding his face behind the front 
page. "Is that why you came home and got your jollies out in the living 
room-alone?" 

She wanted to strike him. A new flood of shame and humiliation washed 
through her. She turned and left the room. He would use that as a goad now. 

Fine people we are-discussing a drunken switch party! 

She sat down at the kitchen table and poured fresh coffee. It tasted like 
sour mud-sharp and bitter in her mouth. Outside the sun still shone and a 
few birds sang. She was barely conscious of them. Her thoughts had never 
been darker. She felt used and tired and degraded.... 

* * * 

Monday morning at eleven o'clock Rudy's secretary called on the intercom and 
said a young woman wanted to see him. He shoved papers aside and stood up. 
He told the girl to have his visitor come in. Could it be Tina, with some 
new business? He smoothed his hair piece, checked his appearance and watched 
the office door open. 

He had to admit that things hadn't gone too well Saturday night. He had had 
one hell of a time getting Tina even halfway satisfied. She did a lot of 
pretending. She knew all the little arts of displaying her body and how to 
act passionate, but he hadn't been in his best form. 

One of these days he would catch her sober and give her a good roll. 

Becky would be all right in a few days. She and Hal hadn't hit it off. She 
seemed to get along better with Gene. Well, if she wanted to hold back and 
miss all the fun, he could get out a few nights a week and hunt up 
something. Plenty of it around.... 

He felt a jolt of surprise when the young woman entered his office. She 
closed the door firmly. 

"How are you, tall and handsome?" 

"Irene!" he said. "I thought you'd left town...." 

"No-not yet. Still convalescing, you might say. And I'm bored...." 

Her bright red hair was waved to perfection. She wore a modest summer dress 
that couldn't hide her abundance of curvy charms. She looked sleek and ripe 
and desirable. She drifted up near his desk. Her perfume hit him right in 
the middle. 

"I wanted to see you before I took off," she murmured, moistening her rich 
fleshy lips. 

His chest tightened. He had danced with her at the party and he remembered 
the restless roll of her hips, the way she had swiveled her bottom there on 
the carpet.... 

"I'm flattered, Irene!" 

"You're special, Rudy," she whispered, coming closer. "Can you slip out on 
your little wife tonight?" 

"Hell, yes!" 

He slipped his arm around her pliant waist. She made a little cooing sound, 
raising her mouth. He leaned down to take it-and suddenly she made a 
cat-like move that was so unexpected he could only stand there, frozen. 

She reached up and snatched away his hair piece! 

She walked quickly to the door, shoving her stolen merchandise into her 
handbag. 

His anger rose and burst in a stream of vindictive epithets. His fists 
clenched. He had not felt so naked in years. 

"Damn you, come back here-with that!" he bellowed. 

She laughed coldly. "You tell your little wife I'm getting even. She'll 
understand. I spotted your imitation mop the first time I saw you." 

She went swiftly through the door. He plunged after her-then just as he 
found the doorknob he realized she had him. He couldn't chase her through 
the cluster of girls out there who had probably already heard him yelling! 

He stood there, rigid, cursing. The dirty bitch! Getting even for what? 

He ran his hands across his naked scalp, still sticky from the goop he put 
there to keep his patch in position. 

He trembled. He hadn't been so worked up in years. He tramped back to his 
desk. Then, changing his mind, he returned to the office door, locked it and 
returned to the desk again. Well, the bitch didn't know everything. He had a 
spare at home. It had cost him plenty to buy two hair pieces but the 
salesman had told him it was a good idea. How true! 

Sweating, he dialed his home number. His left hand kept passing over his 
bald spot. The whore ...! 

* * * 

Becky sat in the Finch living room talking to Tina. 

Despite what she knew about the lovely blonde and what she had done with 
Rudy-and herself-Becky was glad to have company. There was a kind of naked 
honesty about Tina that was utterly disarming. She seemed less tricky and 
underhanded than most girls, all of whom learned deception at an early age. 
After all wasn't it the very essence of a woman to be a little mysterious? 

Tina, like herself, wanted children. But Tina would never have any of her 
own. Perhaps she was more involved with "fun" because of this inadequacy in 
her physical being. She was denied the normal function of a wife-motherhood. 
From what Becky had overheard, perhaps Tina had difficulties in other areas 
of marriage.... 

Did she, too, have trouble finding everything she needed in her hubby's 
embrace? Was this why she had veered away from the norm toward other girls? 
Becky still could find no excuse for lesbian activities but every person was 
different. Maybe Tina couldn't help being partly that way. She looked so 
extremely and totally feminine.... 

Today Tina wore a simple white housedress, but she filled it out very 
attractively-and of course her skirt was very short. Sitting in a chair 
directly across from Becky with her legs apart, Becky could see the frilly 
border of her slip and the soft roundness of her thighs.... 

If she's wearing panties at all, they're very thin, Becky thought guiltily. 

The phone rang, interrupting her disturbing observation. She slid along the 
sofa and took the extension on the end table. Her own skirt worked back 
along her legs, and she didn't bother to push it forward. It was a warm day, 
and after all Tina had looked at her thighs before.... 

"Yes?" Becky said. 

"This is Rudy," came startlingly in her ear. He was angry, his voice tight 
with emotion! "What's the matter?" 

"I lost my hair piece. I'm here in the office. You know where my spare is 
... Get it and bring it down to the store-fast!" 

Her first impulse was to burst out laughing. The fool! Was it that 
important? His ego had been shaken ... She savored the irony of the 
situation a few seconds before answering. People around Pender would 
probably discover his secret sooner or later, anyway. Why couldn't he go 
without his wig for part of a day? 

"You can wear a hat home," she said, dryly. 

He fumed. "You know damn well I never wear a hat, especially in August. Will 
you kindly do what I tell you?" 

I hate that thing he wears, she thought. I didn't at first, but I do now! 

He sounded as though his very life depended on restoring his precious patch, 
on covering his natural baldness. 

"Okay," she said. 

"Well, make it snappy!" 

She hung up the receiver. 

"What was that all about?" Tina asked. 

Becky burst out laughing. She couldn't help it. The whole thing was so 
funny. She was glad he had been disarmed, so to speak-glad he had been 
jerked down to reality! 

"This is too much!" Tina said, giggling. "Tell me." 

Becky realized she couldn't keep Tina in the dark any longer. Perhaps the 
cute blonde had guessed, anyway.... 

"Rudy lost his hair piece," Becky exploded, still quaking with amusement. 

"His what?" 

Becky took a deep breath. "His toupee, honey. Didn't you know?" 

Tina shook her head. She giggled. "Well, he didn't want me running my 
fingers through his hair. But what's so funny?" 

"He worries about it so much!" Becky said. "He didn't want anybody in town 
to know. He's locked in his office, afraid to come out, so he wants me to 
bring down his spare. Isn't that ridiculous?" 

Tina smiled. She couldn't grasp the whole picture, of course. She couldn't 
understand that Rudy had changed so much since he had started wearing 
artificial hair. 

Becky left the sofa and went into the master bedroom. She opened the lower 
right-hand corner drawer of the vanity, where he kept his other wig. She 
looked at the parcel Rudy felt was so important. She opened it. 

The hair piece was gone.... 

 CHAPTER SEVENTEEN 

"Rudy," she said, into the phone, "The spare-it isn't here...." 

"What?" 

"I looked-in the drawer, where you keep it...." 

Profanity rolled thickly from the receiver. She had never heard him so 
viciously vindictive. He was in a crazy rage. 

"I won't listen to any more of that!" she shouted and hung up. She was 
trembling. Why did he have to vent his spleen on her? She hadn't taken 
it.... 

Immediately the phone rang again. Tina was watching, wide-eyed. Becky lifted 
the receiver, tiredly. The whole thing was no longer laughable. 

"Look, Becky!" he said. "It must be there, in the drawer...." 

"No. I looked through all of them. The package is where it always is, but 
the hair piece isn't in it." 

"This is a lousy trick of yours!" he bellowed. "You don't like my wig, so 
you got rid of that one!" 

"No, Rudy. You can come home and look for yourself. Calm down a little. You 
can put on a hat and get by just fine...." A memory was crawling around in 
her mind. "How did you lose your hair piece, the one you wear?" 

She was trying to be reasonable. 

"None of your damned business!" he growled. Then, abruptly he went on. 
"What'd you do to this Irene? She said she was getting even for something?" 

The picture in her mind was clearing, now. Irene calling that day, wanting 
Becky to come to her motel-and her refusal ... Evidently Irene had come to 
the store, to Rudy's office and had ripped his toupee away-or something like 
that.... 

She remembered something else. Saturday night ... the feeling that someone 
had been in the house, one vanity drawer partly open. An odor of perfume in 
the air ... Irene's threat.... 

The redhead had struck at her through Rudy. Being in showbiz she had spotted 
Rudy's imitation mop. It was a dirty underhanded trick, but he wasn't 
permanently injured. He could get another hair piece. 

"I'll tell you some other time," she answered at last. She was ashamed of 
the whole business-that Irene had even singled her out for attentions. 

"Well, you got me in one hell of a predicament," Rudy snapped. Then he 
added, darkly, "You haven't heard the last of this!" 

"Rudy, be sensible. You can order a new hair piece. The world hasn't ended!" 

He muttered a vivid curse and the line went into the buzz of the dial tone. 

She sank back on the sofa. Her nerves were in rags. It was a cruel thing to 
do to Rudy. It had struck him where he was most sensitive. Still, she 
couldn't feel too sorry for him. Maybe some of the swagger would leak out of 
him ... maybe for a while he wouldn't be such a woman killer.... 

Since Tina knew part of it she explained the whole affair or as much of it 
as she was able. She deleted Irene's call, her invitation. She left Tina 
with the impression that Irene had it in for Rudy because of something he'd 
done at the party.... 

"Rudy shouldn't get you so upset," Tina protested. "You look like you're 
ready to fly apart!" 

Becky inhaled deeply. "Of course I can't prove Irene came in the house and 
stole his extra toupee ... But it is gone. His vanity's been hurt, Tina. I 
guess you can understand that." 

"Of course, honey," Tina said, sympathetically. She left her chair and came 
over to the sofa, gliding down beside Becky. "I hate to see you so upset. 
You're trembling!" 

All this fuss because I wouldn't "play along" with Irene. She's a vicious 
slut. I'll bet she sent those filthy pictures, too ... trying to get me into 
the notion. 

Tina's nearness was comforting. Rudy never held her or made over her any 
more-not unless he wanted her physically, sexually. 

Becky trembled, closing her eyes, as Tina's hands pressed and squeezed. 

"Relax, honey," Tina cooed. "You're so tense!" 

"I've been on edge for days," Becky said, knowing the blonde's hands 
shouldn't be where they were but liking the sensations, needing comfort of 
some kind. 

Tina patted her and kissed her. Becky found her lips eager, opening for the 
wiggly tip of Tina's inquisitive tongue ... She groped for the blonde and 
they hugged tightly. Tina's mouth was so soft, soothing. Tiny twinges of 
desire made her thighs burn. 

"Come over to my place, honey," Tina urged, breathing into Becky's mouth. 
"Gene won't be home for hours. If Rudy comes now he'll just make you 
miserable! You're all tied up in knots. You need this-and so do I...." 

"Yes," Becky answered. "You're right, honey." 

Ten minutes later they were in the Walters' master bedroom. The air 
conditioning there was much superior to that of the Finches. The walk over 
had cooled some of Becky's desire, though. This was no real answer to any of 
her problems. 

"Tina-what if Gene did come home?" 

"Stop worrying, will you? He's real busy today ... and isn't it a little 
more fun if a person takes a chance?" 

"You're awful!" I must be getting used to the idea. Not one drink since 
Saturday night. 

And not one kiss or touch from Rudy, either. All we do now is argue and 
fight. 

Tina drew Becky toward the bed. The blinds were drawn to keep out as much 
heat as possible. The room lay in a soft yellow twilight. 

Becky sighed and sank down on the edge of the bed. It was very resilient, 
the pink tufted counterpane a wide expanse of subtle invitation. 

"We've never had enough time to really enjoy this, honey," Tina whispered, 
wiggling down beside Becky. 

Becky didn't feel like analyzing it in words-the wrongness of what they were 
doing was still a hindrance. Talking only seemed to make it worse. 

She looked down at the swell of Tina's breasts, at the plumpness of her 
thighs-her skirt was recklessly hiked back to her hips-and a fit of telltale 
trembling shook her. The memory of their other times came back with 
startling clarity. 

She reached for the blonde. Their mouths met heatedly. This time Becky 
initiated the tongue-play as ripples of tingling passion eddied through her 
body. Tina softened, yielded. Becky felt her nipples sharpen inside her 
bra-cups. Touching Tina's silken thighs filled an aching need within her.... 

The kiss went on and on until Tina fell backward on the bed, gasping. 

"Ohhh-honey! Undress me-quick! I'm burning up!" 

Becky had never felt exactly as she did then. She was in a kind of reckless 
haze. The idea that she was to be the aggressor filled her with zestful 
excitement. 

She pushed Tina's skirt back all the way. Her panties were almost nothing. 
Oddly some of the poses of the models in those photographs came to her mind, 
firing her passion. 

With teasing deliberation she inched Tina's panties down, the vision of 
satiny allure making her shiver. Tina writhed with voluptuous abandon ... 
her thighs spread. 

Becky caressed her the way she liked to be caressed. 

A loud knocking on the Walters' front door, followed by the musical chiming 
of the doorbell, shattered Becky's mood. 

"Ohhh-damn!" Tina gasped. 

Becky retreated, swimming up out of her mist of desire. She backed away, 
watching the blonde struggle off the bed, pulling her undies back in place. 

"Don't-go away," Tina breathed, straightening her frock. 

Becky covered her face with her hands. She trembled, too aware of an evil 
attraction about the cuddly blonde. She stood uncertainly as Tina left the 
bedroom, while the knocking continued. 

I won't stay here! Becky thought. She followed Tina, her knees wobbly. 

The front door opened and she heard Rudy's voice. 

"Is my wife over here?" he demanded, loudly. 

"Yes," Becky answered, walking up behind Tina. The blonde gave her a wilting 
glance. 

Becky could see Rudy now. He wore a summer straw hat, looking rather small 
for his head. 

She knew it was over-this time. She had barely escaped. 

"Come on home," Rudy said curtly, glaring at Becky. Then he looked at Tina 
and a strange expression came over his face. Becky could see that Tina's 
cheeks were flushed, that two buttons on her bodice hadn't been fastened ... 
Muscles in his jaw ridged, his mouth drew into a tight line. 

He knows! Becky thought, her own half-awakened desire fading swiftly. She 
seemed to shrivel inside.... 

Moments later she entered their house by the back door, Rudy following. He 
slammed the screen hard. Then the door. 

"What the hell goes with you and Tina?" he burst out. 

"Just a friendly little visit between us girls, darling!" she answered. "You 
want me to be real modern, don't you?" 

"That little bitch!" he stormed. 

"You thought she was all right the other night!" Why deny it? He had already 
guessed.... 

"I ought to knock you down!" he shouted. 

She faced him, her anger a dark ugly cloud in her brain. "This is it, Rudy! 
I'm leaving. At least, Tina has some understanding. You don't-not any more. 
You and that silly wig!" 

He was rigid with fury. His face went chalky. "I heard something else today! 
I heard you were talking to that big-shot brother of mine!" 

"Yes! I met him. We had soft drinks and talked. Is that so terrible?" She 
couldn't stop there. She had to say more. He had hurt her-how many times? 
"He's a real gentleman, too." 

Rudy staggered, as though she had struck him. He shook his head. The straw 
hat made him look ridiculous. He seemed to shrink before her eyes. He turned 
away and strode into the living room. He seemed less a man than at any time 
in their life together. 

Her nerves gave way. She dropped into a kitchen chair and tears flooded from 
her eyes. Too many emotional strains lately-too many cutting words that 
couldn't be taken back. 

II he would only come in and say he was sorry-if he'd only be what he was 
before ... Maybe we could overcome all the badness.... 

She heard him return to the kitchen doorway. 

"You know what a divorce will do to me," he said dully. "You know how the 
management feels about it...." He came nearer and her heart pounded. Was he 
really going to try to make up? Could she forget-enough? 

She raised her head, glancing at him. The hat was gone. For a moment he 
looked like himself.... 

"Well, we can't go on like this," she said, her voice shaky. "All this 
switching, and...." 

"And going over to see Tina," he finished, accusingly. 

She jerked to her feet. "Yes, I've done some things I'm ashamed of. You 
hardly ever even touch me-unless you want something. I didn't care about 
your hair piece at first. But it's changed you-can't you see that? Why do we 
have to mix it up with our so-called friends? Is this your idea of success? 
Can't we live normally?" 

He ran his hand over his spot of baldness. 

"I don't know," he muttered, his eyes dropping. 

Suddenly she felt sorry for him. She couldn't explain the emotion, except 
that he seemed to be partially unmanned. He swung away, returning to the 
living room. She stood up and followed. He dropped on the sofa, his 
shoulders slumped. 

"I'll try to stay-one more time, Rudy...." 

Leaving him would rock the town. She knew that. He might not get the store 
at Pasco.... 

"Thanks," he muttered. 

No conciliatory kiss, no hug. They seemed to be strangers making some kind 
of necessary bargain. Nothing had been solved, really. A coldness crept 
through her body. She was very glad now the thing with Tina hadn't reached 
finality. She had been very upset, needing attention. Tina had caught her in 
a weak moment.... 

"But I didn't take your hair piece, Rudy." 

"I know. I've got an idea that bitchy Irene came in here and stole it...." 
He looked up. "She tried to proposition you?" 

Becky flushed. "I told her no." 

"I'd like to wring her damned neck," he growled. "Came in the store and...." 
Again his hand went to his baldness. 

She didn't feel like laughing at him now. The comedy of the situation was 
gone. 

"I'll try to do better," he said, weakly. 

The cold, empty sensation inside her remained. She wondered how long their 
truce would last. How could they surmount all that had happened, the ugly 
words, the hatreds? 

 CHAPTER EIGHTEEN 

Wednesday morning Becky received another manila envelope in the mail. It was 
addressed as the others had been with no return name in evidence. It, too, 
had been mailed in Pender. 

Once in the house with the envelope open she found more lewd 
photographs-again mostly of girls in various lesbian poses. 

Since Monday she had regained some of her composure but this put her 
immediately on edge again. Was that hateful Irene still hanging around town? 
Becky had had no more phone calls from the redhead. 

Tuesday morning Tina had invited her over for coffee but Becky hadn't gone. 
She had pleaded a headache. Gene had another party planned for Saturday 
night-and of course the Finches were expected to attend. Hal and Janet would 
be there.... 

Rudy had been wearing a bandage on his head, claiming he had injured his 
scalp in a bathroom accident! He was ashamed to reveal his bald spot. He had 
ordered a new hair piece from the dealer in San Francisco by long distance 
telephone, but the toupee hadn't arrived. 

She had noted a few changes in his behavior patterns. He now came home right 
after work, giving up his cocktail hour drinks with the boys. The loss of 
his precious hair piece had brought him down, all right-but she was afraid 
he would slip right back into the old groove again when he had puffed up his 
ego with a new patch.... 

They had gone nowhere, not even to a movie. At times he even acted like his 
old self, more concerned about his job, drinking hardly any at all. She had 
stopped her sneaky habit of nipping vodka in the middle of the day. 

However they had not been intimate. He slept on his side of the bed, she on 
hers. She hadn't worn any of her sheer nighties. For the time being they 
seemed to be living in a vacuum, going through the motions of living 
together in the same house. 

Now ... another upsetting sheaf of suggestive photographs! 

She glanced through them quickly, her cheeks turning warm. Someone was 
bombarding her with lesbian propaganda, and the more she considered the 
situation, the more she began to suspect a certain person. Surely no man 
would be sending her such filth! 

But how can I give the pictures such bad names when I'm guilty myself? 

She stuffed the photos back in the envelope, aware that the viewing of them 
had begun to arouse her-and that was wrong, too! She had buried her emotions 
ever since Saturday; she had been hoping that Rudy would show some kind of 
healthy interest in her, but he hadn't. She had kept herself well dressed 
and dainty; she had busied herself about the house, doing extra cleaning and 
floor-polishing. 

She had even gone to the library and taken out some books-but so far she 
hadn't read them. Occasionally she let herself think about Rudy's handsome 
brother, Zane. He was probably back in Spokane now, busy with the management 
of his various motel enterprises. She was sure that he had kept his word 
about going by Pasco and talking to some of the Crest Stores people about 
Rudy.... 

He knew influential people. He moved in moneyed circles. She was sorry now 
that she had thought of him in a base, physical way when she had panted out 
her lonely climax ... and the wrongness of it had been underlined by the 
fact that Rudy had caught her in the act! 

Still, life had to go on. Divorcing Rudy would be a cruel blow he probably 
couldn't survive in his career. 

Returning to the house after dumping the new photos in the garbage can she 
heard the phone ringing. Probably Tina again, with another invitation to 
have coffee or a drink, Becky thought. 

She's very clever about it and I'm afraid I'll give in if I go over there 
alone. I want to be normal. Maybe Rudy will get over this funk he's in ... 
and we can be close again! 

"Yes?" she said, into the receiver. 

"Mrs. Rudy Finch?" The cold remoteness of the voice set her nerves on edge. 

"Yes...." 

"This is the chief of police. I hate to tell you this, Mrs. Finch...." The 
man cleared his throat, and Becky's heart seemed to contract until it hurt. 
She had a moment of dizziness. " ... but your husband is dead. I'm at the 
Manor Motel, number eleven, and we're holding an Irene Manning for murder." 

"Oh-my God!" she gasped. The room tilted. She felt herself going down. She 
grabbed at a chair, and staggered. A bomb seemed to explode in her head.... 

* * * 

Becky sat on the beach, alone. Labor Day had come and gone, she had driven 
from Spokane to Lake Ponderosa to escape the heat of the city and the four 
close walls of her apartment living room. 

She drew her beach robe more tightly about her figure and watched a few 
children at play along the rim of the beach. A killdeer, unafraid of the 
small fry, bobbed at the water's edge, making its lonely kildee sound. 

Over two weeks now since the tragedy. The publicity, the headlines, had been 
awful. Store Manager Shot in Motel Love-Nest.... 

But it hadn't really been like that, she knew. Rudy had gone there to get 
some kind of revenge. The redhead had goaded him into violence-she had 
admitted that much. She had a gun. She had threatened him with it and in the 
melee that followed Rudy had been shot through the neck. He had died almost 
instantly. 

There would be a trial in November in District Court. Irene had been charged 
with second-degree murder. Her attorneys had delayed proceedings. Becky 
hated the thought of going back to Pender, but she knew she had to ... 
whenever her lawyer gave her a call. That would be nearly two months away, 
though. Maybe more.... 

The funeral in Spokane had been ghastly. Zane had been a pillar of strength, 
giving her the courage she needed to go through with it.... 

All over now ... she still felt empty and cold inside. She had had many long 
nights to remember all the things she had done in Pender; the 
disappointments, the frustrations. 

She wondered again, as she had so many times, if she and Rudy could ever 
have regained their former trust and love for one another. 

At least the calamity had done one thing-it had taken her away from the 
switchy debased crowd she and Rudy had fallen in with. 

She had learned something else, too. A chance remark of Tina's over the 
phone had given the blonde away. She had sent those awful photos. 

Her thoughts kept swinging away from the central ugliness-and she supposed 
that was a kind of natural defense the mind possessed so that people were 
able to bear up under extreme grief and tension. 

Now she was sorry she had come over to Lake City and the expanse of water 
called Ponderosa-because she and Rudy in their early years had had fun here 
swimming and boating. They had been very much in love.... 

"A penny for your thoughts," a familiar voice said, and she jerked out of 
her well of remorse, a touch of gladness invading her loneliness.... 

"Zane!" she exclaimed. 

He looked tall and lean and a bit tense and he hadn't come to swim. He wore 
slacks and an open-throated sport shirt. 

"Mind if I sit down, Becky?" 

"Of course not." 

It was the first time she had seen him since the funeral. She noticed lines 
in his handsome face that hadn't been there before. Rudy's death had hit him 
hard. Despite Rudy's resentment of his brother Zane had cared a great deal. 
He had tried to help his younger brother and had received nothing but hatred 
in return. 

Zane had called her apartment twice about business matters in connection 
with Rudy's insurance. Under the circumstances he had been quite friendly 
and sympathetic. 

"You and Rudy used to come here together, didn't you?" he said, lighting a 
cigarette. 

"Yes...." 

"Don't hurt yourself any more, Becky." 

She bit her lips. She traced her fingers through the warm sand. "We got 
along well at first, Zane. Things started going bad in Pender...." 

I can talk about it to Zane, she thought, her spirits lifting. 

"I knew something was wrong the day I talked to you," he said, quietly. "But 
I didn't think it would end the way it did." 

She remembered, much too vividly, what had triggered Irene's fury. I 
wouldn't go to her motel! Then she snatched Rudy's wig, and he struck 
back.... 

Her throat tightened. She had to tell someone.... 

"I might have started it all," she began. And then she rushed on, explaining 
as much as she could, hating the part she had played. 

A look of intense concern passed over his lean face. "Becky-you did a 
natural thing, refusing a bitch like that. How could you know she'd try to 
get even-at Rudy?" 

His words were wonderful to hear. The lump in her throat melted. 

"Zane, you're very generous-and understanding." 

He smiled. "You know, I followed you here with the idea of cheering you up. 
It's over, Becky. You're a wonderful girl. Would you consider letting me 
take you out to dinner?" 

"Why not?" 

She found herself answering his smile and realized with a little lurch of 
her heart that this was the first time she had actually relaxed since that 
awful day of the phone call from the chief of police.... 

As she changed from her swim suit into her undies and frock, in the ladies' 
dressing room near the beach, knowing he was waiting for her outside, she 
let her thoughts move along bright new channels.... 

Surely he did care a little. He had come all the way here from Spokane. He 
had looked around for her and found her. 

She had spent enough time dwelling on the past. The sun was shining and a 
very handsome man was going to be nice to her. A very special man.... 

When she left the dressing room, seeing him at the concrete rail that 
overlooked the beach, silhouetted against the far green forest across the 
lake, seeing the wind riffle his dark wavy hair, her heart thumped swiftly. 

I lost Rudy here, really, she thought. The last time we came and he wore his 
hair piece, he seemed different, more impressed with his looks, a little 
remote, self-centered ... He wouldn't even go in the water for fear of 
spoiling his appearance. 

Of course a wig hadn't made that much change in his basic personality-but it 
had led him into strange byways.... 

Zane's smile warmed her, all over! 

"It's over, Becky," he had said. And he was right. 

He was taking her at face value, though. He couldn't know what she had done 
in Pender, the wild parties, the stimulative displays, going to bed with 
other men, letting Tina fondle her.... 

Could she ever feel true, strong emotion for another man? Was she tainted? 

She walked quickly toward Zane, noting the way his gray eyes surveyed her, 
warmly, admiringly. She did need somebody strong and comforting. 

"You don't know how glad I am you found me, Zane." She smiled impulsively. 

"Becky, I've been lonely for a long, long time." 

His hand caught hers, and a sweet thrill shot up her arm, circling around 
her heart. Slowly they walked away from the beach, their hands clasped 
tightly.... 

 CHAPTER NINETEEN 

A week later Becky felt much better-about everything. 

There would be no trial, at least for a long time. Irene Manning had had a 
nervous breakdown. She was in a sanitarium in Portland. Becky's attorney had 
come by her apartment to tell her there was evidence of drug addiction in 
Irene's past.... 

Experiencing a freedom she hadn't known for many long weeks Becky had found 
a job in an insurance company office and had taken a new apartment closer to 
her work. 

Best of all, Zane continued to court her. She couldn't have wished for 
anyone more attentive and thoughtful. 

Today was Saturday and he had asked to take her out. She had gladly 
consented. He would be at her apartment in just one hour. 

Since her return to Spokane she had bought new clothes and as Zane had 
hinted that they might go dancing she selected a simple dark blue party 
frock that a clerk had told her flattered her slender leggy figure. As a 
matter-of-fact the same salesperson had told Becky she ought to apply for 
part-time work in the store as a model. 

She hadn't made a decision about that. She didn't need the money. The mere 
idea of modeling reminded her of Hal and Pender and she wanted to forget 
that whole sequence. She knew, of course, that it would take time, that her 
subconscious would keep reminding her of the past. 

She had been able to sleep better, though. Keeping busy had helped. When she 
was tired she didn't dream as much. 

Now, tonight, she and Zane were going out on their first real date. Standing 
in front of the bathroom mirror doing her mouth, she had trouble keeping her 
hand steady. She had been in a kind of emotional deepfreeze and she realized 
that she needed male company. She was still young and attractive. She had 
been in mourning long enough. 

Yet nagging doubts lingered in her mind. 

Sooner or later Zane would want to possess her-it was in his eyes, in the 
tone of his voice. And she wanted so very much to be able to respond, to let 
herself go completely, when the time came. 

He expects a real woman. He deserves one. He could almost have his pick of 
girls around town. But am I really the one? I wandered down a side-road, 
into lesbianism. 

Had she been unduly influenced by Tina and those awful photos? Was the 
streak still latent within her? Would she have trouble as with Rudy on so 
many occasions? 

She was encouraged by the memory of the earlier days with Rudy, BTH. She had 
been truly in love and she had known real wonder and enchantment in his 
arms.... 

Although she admired other attractive girls she felt she had no desire to go 
to bed with any of them. 

And what about her infidelity-with Gene and Hal? Would this rise up and 
swamp her at the crucial moment of surrender? 

Many single girls had affairs, she knew that. They usually married, sooner 
or later, and generally lived normal happy lives. 

She had thrown out the suggestion that she had been a party wife because 
Rudy had wanted her to or that she had been drunk. She could have resisted, 
put her foot down. Had she been so starved for love that she had gone along 
a bit too willingly? 

I'm not perfect-and I'm sure Zane isn't either. He's been in bed with other 
women. But I wouldn't want a man who hadn't! 

Her lips finished, she rechecked her image again. Her hair shone, her eyes, 
although a trifle shadowed, seemed brighter. The bodice of the dress shaped 
her breasts forward quite adequately. She had regained the pounds lost 
during the worst of her nightmarish experience. Her waist still was slim, 
her legs shapely.... 

Now, if I can relax and keep on feeling as feminine as I do now, maybe Zane 
will want me-tonight.... 

She trembled, remembering her fantasy of him, the feverish joy she had 
experienced with his image in her mind. She felt a stirring of dormant 
desire. Whole weeks had passed since she had known any kind of emotional 
uplift, because the shock of Rudy's murder had left her numb. 

Was it wrong to dream of Zane again? Hardly. She and Rudy had reached an 
impasse. Only her wifely obligation to him as a career man in the Crest 
chain had kept her in the same house ... along with a vague hope that 
somehow they could find togetherness again. She realized now that her love 
had died. Whether it could ever have been rekindled she would never know. 

She tried not to think harshly of Tina. Unable to have children of her own, 
Tina spent her time seeking pleasure. Even in that she had not entirely 
succeeded. Sending out suggestive photos had evidently been a desperation 
attempt to woo Becky further into a morass of unnatural relations.... 

I can't tell Zane about that, she thought. I just hope what I did won't keep 
me from being totally all-girl when Zane wants me. And he does ... I can 
tell. 

She left the bathroom quickly, realizing she might be assuming too much. At 
least she knew she could act naturally. He was so easy to talk to. He was a 
true gentleman in the finest sense of the word. 

I don't deserve a man like that, I really don't, she thought. But I'm not 
going to fight him off.... 

* * * 

"How do you like it here, Becky?" 

"It's wonderful," she answered, smiling. 

He had driven out on the eastern rim of the city to a long low night club 
called the Log Cabin. The appointments were rustic but the music was very 
modern, supplied by an electric organ, drums and clarinet. They had dined 
earlier downtown and Becky's nervousness was leaving. 

A drink before and after dinner had helped her frame of mind. Zane's 
nearness already was filling the void of her recent loneliness. It was good 
to be out of the apartment at last. The long evenings alone, when she had 
had too much time to think, had eroded her self-confidence. 

Tonight I feel like living! 

They sat in a booth near the dance floor, which was conveniently shadowy and 
tempting. The first highball had barely arrived when he asked her to dance. 

Other couples were already on the floor and she didn't feel conspicuous. His 
arm about her waist seemed manfully possessive and comforting. This was 
their first dance together. 

She squeezed her fingers in his and nestled tremblingly closer in his 
embrace. 

"Damn, you're lovely!" he breathed in her ear. 

"I'm glad you think so Zane." 

She didn't feel she was being too bold. She had gained something from 
experience. A man liked to know where he stood. She was twenty-five and a 
widow. No need to be little-girlish and naive. She didn't want to put on any 
kind of an act for his benefit. 

"Am I rushing things, Becky?" he said, his arm tightening. "Is it too soon 
after all that happened?" 

"No. I've been lonely-and afraid...." 

"I know. You've been hurt." 

His strength communicated to her warmly. The tremulous responses within her, 
hinted at before his arrival at the apartment, grew and expanded throughout 
her being. 

She remembered vividly the first time she had seen him and her telltale 
reactions then were as nothing compared to now. She began to tingle all 
over. She was lightheaded with mounting admiration. She had dared to hope 
something like this would happen-and it was happening.... 

But this emotion was so different from anything she had known since those 
first months with Rudy-she didn't have to tell herself that she cared for 
Zane. She knew it! Pressing herself even closer was the most natural thing 
in the world. I seem to belong here, in his arms! 

"Becky, I'm crazy about you," he whispered, dancing her into the darkest 
section of the floor. "That day there in Pender, when we first got 
acquainted, I thought Rudy was the luckiest man alive. I had to tell you. I 
feel even more so-now." 

A tide of reawakening need possessed her. The quick urgency almost took her 
breath away. Her breasts swelled inside her bra and her thighs began to burn 
with a fierce fire. 

It was as though a dam had broken within her-releasing all her pent-up need 
to be held and loved and comforted. It was more than mere physical 
attraction. She had known that at the switching parties. She had become used 
to shallow expressions of her basic urges. 

She had even flung herself at Rudy, trying to recapture something they had 
known before, and she had begun to think that this was the lot of a girl who 
had been married a while and who had to put up with a changing sense of 
values. If she couldn't have a whole cake, she at least had tasted a few 
sweet slices.... 

She had loved truly once before-and had been deeply cut by Rudy's altered 
attitudes, his flashy manners, his obsession to succeed at any cost, even to 
letting his wife "please" a few neighbors and friends.... 

She knew now she could love truly and sincerely again-if only her past, her 
memories, wouldn't rise up to haunt her and destroy this most profound of 
human emotions. 

"Oh, Zane!" she cried softly. "Help me wipe away all the badness...." 

He clasped her gently, yet with intensity. They stopped dancing. His lips 
burned a pathway along her cheek and she opened her mouth for his even 
before he reached it. She felt him quake as his mouth claimed hers and could 
not check the answering tremor that shook her from her heels to the top of 
her head. 

Her whole being ached for him ... she had never been so overcome with love 
in all her life! 

Tempestuous excitement, head whirling and fizzy with promise, seized her. A 
fierce tide of longing gripped her. His tongue was a wand, testing her need 
and finding it burning brightly. 

She wrapped her arms around his neck and gave generously of her mouth, her 
own tongue now sliding out to meet his searing drives, sparking new 
thrills.... 

His lips lifted, at last. She was weak-kneed with the wonder of her sensual 
intoxication. 

"I need you, darling," he whispered. 

"Ohhh-I need you, too." 

His arms loosened and he smiled. "The music stopped. People are staring at 
us...." 

"I don't care." 

He laughed, guiding her back to their table. She heard chuckles of 
appreciation from other patrons. She didn't mind them at all. She was proud 
of Zane. He could kiss her right out in the middle of any street at high 
noon if he wanted to. 

She felt suffused with love. 

They finished their drinks and she couldn't keep her eyes off him. She hung 
onto his arm when they went to the check booth to get her coat. 

The girl attendant smiled at Becky and winked. "I don't blame you one bit, 
honey." 

Zane gave her a large tip. 

They went out into the crisp night air, smelling of the fall season, now. 
She kept her hands on his arm and she walked so close to him their hips 
touched. Cars whipped by on the freeway. 

He opened his car door for her and held her tight for a long wonderful 
moment. He breathed into her hair. 

"My place, darling?" he murmured. 

"Yes, Zane. Yes!" 

 CHAPTER TWENTY 

His apartment wasn't as large as she expected, but it contained fine 
furnishings. It was a model of more motel apartments he expected to build in 
the near future. Everything was new and extremely modern, but she didn't 
pause to examine it closely. She was too exhilarated, too happy. 

As soon as he had the door closed and her coat off, he took her snugly again 
in his arms. She tilted her head back and waited for his kiss, her heart 
thumping wildly, still rather dizzy from their first one, out on the dance 
floor! 

"You're a lovely, wonderful creature!" he whispered, nipping her swollen 
lower lip gently, his hands becoming bolder. 

She remembered things she had to say and a bit of the glory trickled away. 
He assumed she was a true-blue young widow who had lived an upright life 
with his brother. She couldn't bear the thought of sailing up here under 
false colors. She had asked him to wipe away the badness and he believed she 
meant the strain of all she'd been through before and after the funeral.... 

"Zane, I have to tell you something!" 

"Not now, darling," he breathed, into her eager lips. 

"But-I did some bad things-there in Pender," she said, her voice choked with 
emotion. 

"I'm afraid I did, too, Becky...." 

His hand came up to cradle her breasts and she shivered, feeling her nipples 
spire inside her bra. Flurries of quickening desire made her gasp. It was so 
difficult to talk! 

"How could you have done anything?" she asked. 

"I ran into this Irene," he said, dully. His hand dropped. There was agony 
in his voice as he continued. "I realized she was unstable ... I didn't 
leave Pender the day I saw you there, in the soda fountain. I really wanted 
to see you again-but I knew I shouldn't because of the way Rudy felt.... 

"Irene talked about getting even with somebody, and then I saw this hair 
piece in her handbag and I knew she hated someone for some reason ... It 
didn't jell in my mind then. I passed over it-and when I heard what happened 
later, I knew I might have been able to stop it." 

She was stunned. Her mind worked swiftly. "No, Zane! No! How could you have 
known? How could you dream she would go up to his office and grab his 
wig-and make him that furious?" 

He shook his head. "I keep thinking about it, Becky. I was disgusted with 
her and left town the next day ... Why didn't I stay?" 

She understood now one reason for the haunted look in his eyes at the 
funeral and later, and her heart went out to him. I really started the whole 
thing when I wouldn't go to Irene's motel. 

She had told Zane about that, there on the beach at Lake City. But he hadn't 
mentioned the fact then that he had known Irene before the tragedy-and she 
could understand his reluctance. He had found her to cheer her up, to take 
her mind away from the recent upsetting experience. He had been carrying 
this around with him, letting it gnaw on him.... 

He needs help and assurance, too! 

"Zane!" she cried. "Don't torture yourself. Rudy was-unstable, too. He told 
me he'd like to wring her neck. I didn't think he'd go out there to her 
motel-and ... She's an evil, corrupt woman-she had a breakdown...." 

Becky ran her hands across Zane's rigid face. "Darling, you told me once 
it's all over. We can't go back and change it. Well, it's over. Before I 
even knew you I went along with Rudy to some wild parties. I'm ashamed of 
what I did...." 

"Damn!" he breathed, taking her hands, placing them on his shoulders. "Don't 
say any more! You're here, with me-we'll have to forget, not keep bringing 
it up." 

"Yes." 

He guided her to the sofa. She sank down gratefully, reaching out to him as 
he angled down beside her. 

In spite of all the old wounds they had opened, she felt closer to him than 
ever before. She pressed herself nearer, and when his mouth came down on 
hers, hard and sure, she softened, letting her lips flower open, keenly 
aware of the intensity of his need. The heat and passion of their first kiss 
returned with tingling sharpness. 

We're both human-we both erred, she thought. And he loves me. We can lick 
all the badness-I know we can! 

His tongue seemed to be drawing away her fears and uncertainties. Each 
stroke into her lips and mouth lifted her confidence, soothed her emotions 
like a healing elixir. They had so much to share.... 

I have to be sure I'm really not a girl's girl, that I belong to Zane. 

His hands again found the eager points of her breasts, and tremors of 
mounting delight possessed her whole body. There was a rich depth in her 
responses that filled her with hope. She wanted to please him, to give and 
give and give. 

She lanced her fingers through his dark, wavy hair, and caressed the nape of 
his neck. She wound her tongue-tip about his while little flutters of joy 
spread from her mouth and her breasts down to her thighs, already warming, 
already opening.... 

The kiss ended finally and his whispered words of love and adoration made 
her giddy. Her long weeks of being in an emotional vacuum, of being alone 
and untouched, made her pleasure all the keener. 

"Oh, I need you so much, darling!" she gasped. 

His hands trembled. He kissed her throat, his breathing uneven. 

"You're adorable," he murmured. 

She didn't care when he found the zipper at the back and ran it down. She 
even helped him slip the whole top of her gown from her shoulders. Her 
little pink bra of sheer nylon drew his hand. She could see the dark red 
peaks of her nipples, furiously spiked, riding high on their swollen 
aureolae-and wave after wave of intoxicating thrills began as he toyed with 
them, gently bringing them out even further. 

When he loosened her bra at last, she gave a little cry of joy. Her mounds 
had never been so sensitive, so firmly peaked. Achy nuances of pure delight 
raced from one nipple to the other. She squirmed, her short skirt-hem riding 
back along her thighs nearly to the tops of her sheer, smoky nylons. 

His lips wandered lower while his hand now swept to the lure of her opening 
thighs. His fingers, exploring gently, seemed to burn against her flesh. 
Nylons passed, now-onto the silky areas above ... further, still further, 
along the tender inner planes while tiny tremors of breath-taking intensity 
made her swing her breasts forward inviting his lips. 

He moaned, kissing the vale between her rigid mounds, then working gently 
outward, until she could hardly bear the suspense. At last his lips enclosed 
a throbbing nipple and at the same instant his hand reached her panties, 
shaping the mound of her desire.... 

"Ohh-darling!" she breathed. 

Dreaming of his hands on her was nothing compared to the sweet vivid 
reality. She was shaken to the roots of her being. She spread her legs, 
swimming in a thrall of pure enchantment. 

She wasn't ashamed that she was already wet with the effusion of her 
love-flow. It was mute testimony to the fierceness of her need. But she had 
never been so swiftly aroused, so thoroughly aware of her feminine hungers, 
in all her life! 

I wanted Zane the moment I laid eyes on him, but I was too naive or too dumb 
to realize it. We were made for each other.... 

She knew now why she hadn't been able to function with Hal-her subconscious 
had been involved with another man. After meeting Zane there had been a 
wonderful change in her and she hadn't realized the reason until now. 

Then, when she had reached home and Rudy had gone to sleep, she had let her 
emotions go, and in spite of the wrongness of it she had squirmed out her 
lust with a picture of Zane in her mind's eye. Her pantings and strivings 
had even awakened her husband.... 

I'm glad I did it, now. I'm glad I resisted Tina's last advances.... 

Suddenly she was being lifted and carried. His strength was breath-taking! 
She closed her eyes, momentarily, lost in a floaty haze of anticipation. 

When they entered another room her eyes popped open. A light went on. He 
swung her down on a wide soft bed. A delicious languor possessed her. She 
stretched and flexed her long legs, not caring a whit that her skirt was 
clear to her hips, her breasts bared for his delectation. 

His hands passed along her body, and she helped him remove her dress, then 
her slip, her wispy pink panties ... The soft glow from a single lamp 
slanted across the counterpane, limning her figure, the tapered length of 
her thighs, the upward jut of her rose-tipped breasts.... 

"Beautiful!" he cried, standing beside the bed, staring down at her, his 
eyes seeming to drink in the sculptured planes of her body-and she was 
entirely unashamed of her nakedness. This was a new freedom for her. True, 
with several drinks under her belt she had paraded around at Gene and Tina's 
house, but here, now, there was no onus of playing a role. She wasn't acting 
out the part of a party wife. She gloried in his inspection of her charms. 
She wanted him to see every inch of her body. 

He removed his jacket, then his sport shirt. He was wonderfully tanned. His 
belly was flat, his waist trim. She had never been so eager to see any man 
nude, including her former husband.... 

Forget Rudy, now! 

His trousers dropped. Swiftly he took off his shoes and socks. She saw the 
mark of his maleness, as his shorts came away, and a spasm of delirious 
yearning made her tremble. He was truly all man as she had sensed that he 
would be. 

He didn't hide himself. He was proud of his proportions, of his physique, 
and she could hardly blame him. But he didn't strut either. Always before 
there had been a kind of shame about looking at naked male loins. No more! 
Not with Zane.... 

He moved forward lithely, sinking down on the bed at her side. Her throat 
was so tight she knew she couldn't say a word. None were necessary. She was 
shiveringly ready for his advances. She felt that with him she could be 
completely and wonderfully abandoned. Wasn't a good wife supposed to be a 
harlot in the bedroom? 

She turned toward him eagerly. They kissed and her lips were afire, 
clinging, spreading sensually under his pressure. His hand on her naked 
breasts, her nipple in his palm, created a sweet burning. Her heart was a 
drum and with each beat ripples of delight curled through her being.... 

The drum vibrated more swiftly. Now his hand sought new areas of 
responsiveness along her waist, down the curve of her hips, along her 
thighs, circling about until she opened wide for the final caress of more 
intimate places. 

They came. She moaned out her pleasure as he found the bower of her need, 
the soft curve of her femininity, the super-sensitive swollen tip, love-wet, 
distended for their mutual enjoyment.... 

The drumbeats quickened. She urged him with her hands. She reached down and 
clasped him, tremulous with wonder. Her throat turned dry. Her breasts 
heaved. 

Now ...! 

He swung above her. She had never wanted it so keenly. Whatever doubts she 
had entertained about her complete femininity were cast to the winds. She 
was dying for him. She could hardly wait. 

Ohhhh-now ...! 

The heated touch of her slender thighs against his lean strong body sent her 
senses reeling. But the next contact, simultaneous with the capture of a 
nipple in his lips, hurled her into a new realm of erotic sensation. 

The voluptuous flex and give of her tender labia as she strained and spread 
to receive him, made the drum-beats come swiftly! Shivery nuances of 
rapture, accompanying the sure drive of his maleness into the slick snug 
depths of her love-cove, were something so totally new she cried out with 
joy! 

Each pound of the drum sent her confidence soaring. 

She had read about involuntary little intimate-sweet claspings that a real 
woman experienced in the arms of a capable lover. She had believed herself 
incapable of such passion, that it was something a woman doctor had dreamed 
up to sell copies of her book.... 

But, how wrong I teas! Oh, oh, oh ...! 

She hadn't dreamed she could become so quiveringly alive within. She hadn't 
dreamed that each little tightening about him could bring such rapture! 

Their honeyed writhings became even sweeter. He was filling her with his 
maleness, reaching now a deeper, even more vibrantly sensitive area-far, 
far, far.... 

Oh-oh-oh ... Oh-Oh-OHHHHHHH! 

She reached a pinnacle of sensation she had never known before. A last 
tremulous hanging before the plunge and then, suddenly, all of her cares and 
worries and heartaches exploded in a torrent of release. 

The drum-beats sounded through her wildly, fiercely. Throb after quick swift 
throb, like sensuous darts, like honeyed barbs, like the pound of the surf, 
like fire being drawn from her spine, like needles in her thighs, burst 
within her. 

The sweet wrenchings of her pelvic area as his drives continued lofted her 
into a rosy haze. She sailed and floated, the sigh of the bed so far away 
she might have been in another room.... 

Then another pound, pound, pound began, even more tempestuous than the last! 
A frenzied heaving heavenly tingling brought her back to earth. Then she was 
going again! 

He was holding above her so she could do the last little bounces. 

With gusty recklessness she responded-reaching, weaving, swinging-pausing, 
then reaching, giving, straining, panting, rising, rising-until she felt the 
swelling of his maleness, the moan of his pleasure-and with the quick hard 
beats of the climax that followed she sank into a well of complete and total 
womanhood.... 

* * * 

"Oh, darling," she said, at last. "I didn't know-I didn't dream love-could 
be like this!" He kissed her throat, still above her, still possessing her, 
but now relaxed, his sighs of gratitude telling her only too clearly that 
she had pleased him! 

"With us it will be even better, darling," he murmured. 

We did lick it, she thought. I could spit on Tina right now. No-I feel sorry 
for her. If she's never known a heaven like this, I truly hope that someday 
she does. What we shared was shallow and wrong and empty.... 

She wound her thighs about Zane, so happy to have his broad chest on her 
yielding breasts, so grateful that he was still big and firm within her, 
that tears came into her eyes. 

The ugly past was done. And she knew that with Zane at her side she could 
look the future in the eye, unafraid. Her tensions were gone, at last. She 
was vibrantly and wholly feminine-and she would never doubt that again! 


THE END
