“Absolutely, I–”
Suddenly, Ashley shot out of her seat and hurried to grab her backpack. “Shit! I’m going be late! I want a list of those books later! Thanks for the talk, Mom!”
“Anytime, honey,” Jen said as the sound of her daughter’s rapid footsteps quickly faded, swiftly giving way to the thud of the front door slamming shut.
She sat alone at the table and reflected on what she’d just heard. Ball gags and nipple clamps? Who exactly was this Mr. M?
Chapter 4 — Temptation
One Week Later. 8:45 PM.
Tom’s occasional shift changes had turned into his new schedule over the past week, and as bad as it may have sounded, Jen kind of liked it. Her husband’s 8-4 hours had been replaced by 2-10, and that resulted in her rarely encountering him these days. And not feeling even a hint of sadness over seeing less of him had to be a sign, right? That things were officially dead?
She’d also reflected on the conversation that she had with Ashley last week. It was time to finally accept her responsibility for the way that her life turned out. As much as she loved Tom at the beginning of their relationship, he still lacked the vital qualities she required. Unfortunately, she wasn’t aware of how important those traits were at the time.
Her biggest regret in life involved not marrying someone who possessed the mentality she desired, and Ryan’s arrival certainly didn’t help to curb her frustration. Suddenly, every guy at the gym was sexier to her as well. She saw men everywhere she looked–real men. Men with muscles, passions, and dominant personalities. Forty-seven-year-old married fathers shouldn’t play video games and overindulge in fast food, and it was unbelievable that Tom didn’t feel the same way.
And then she almost slipped.
It all started three days ago at the gym. She was midway through her leg and butt workout when she headed over to the water fountain to grab a drink. It was an opportunity to allow her body a few minutes to cool down as well.
“What are you doing tonight?”
She reached out to retrieve a paper towel from the dispenser on the wall, using it to wipe away the sweat from her brow. The dreaded Bulgarian split squats were next on her list. It was an exercise that she knew not to skip, but was awfully tempted to anyway. They were just so difficult!
But someone blocked her path back to the barbells.
This Italian-looking kid had come out of nowhere. Why was her route obstructed by a college-aged hunk in a red tank top and black basketball shorts? And more importantly, why couldn’t she tear her eyes away from him?
His arms were chiseled with visible veins bulging all the way from his biceps to his forearms. His shoulders were thick and wide, but his body was lean. His face possessed a rough scruff that perfectly complemented his dark, curly hair. It wasn’t his looks that captured her attention most, however. No, her inability to look away came courtesy of the unmistakable confidence which oozed from him.
“Excuse me?” she asked.
“What are you doing tonight?” the young stud repeated.
She flashed him a polite smile before tossing her paper towel into the garbage can. “Um…I’ll be at home.”
“At home?” he questioned, his grin oozing of self-assurance. “That doesn’t sound very fun to me.”
She took a step to her right, but it was matched by the young man who continued to stand in front of her. He had some rather choice words for her as well.
“I’m going to take you out.”
She couldn’t help but laugh as she looked up into his brown eyes. “You’re going to what?”
“I’m going to take you out,” he repeated coolly. “We’ll grab a coffee and then go back to my place. Hang out for a while.”
She responded by raising her left hand into the air to flash her wedding ring.
“And?” he asked, not deterred in the slightest.
How couldn’t he see that she was taken? “And?”
“Yeah. And?”
“I’m married, sweetheart,” she smiled before attempting to take another step to her right. He once again matched it.
“Is your husband out there?” he questioned, glancing toward the weights.
She responded with a chuckle.
“Not a gym guy, huh?” he asked. “How does that work? You work hard to take care of your body, but your husband doesn’t?”
“My marriage is fine,” she answered, doing her best to hide any hint of a lie. She never had the best poker face.
The muscular college student had a clear mission, and he decided to inform her of his plan. “You seem like a real straightforward kind of woman to me. I get the impression that you aren’t someone who has time for games and bullshit, so I’m going to be straightforward with you too.”
She couldn’t deny that she was caught off guard by the boldness of his words. This wasn’t how men behaved in her life.
“I’m going to give to you whatever you’re not getting at home,” he said.
Her jaw dropped.
“And you won’t remember your husband’s name after I get done with you,” he finished, his focus never straying from her timid eyes.
“You’ve got some balls, you know that?” she remarked, blown away by his brashness.
“Oh, you have no idea,” he told her with a grin.
She took a step back, only to be matched with a step forward from this younger man. This repeated until she found herself with her back against the wall as his large frame towered over her petite body. She couldn’t believe that she’d spent years wishing for a man who took what he wanted, but now didn’t have any clue how to react to the arrival of that exact kind of guy in her life.
“Anthony,” he finally introduced himself from only a foot away.
“Jen,” she said quietly. She had a pressing issue that she needed to address as well. “And I’m old enough to be your mother.”
His eyes meticulously moved along her body before settling on her face. “You don’t look like any mom I’ve ever seen.”
She instinctively bit her lower lip before glancing down at the floor. What was she doing? Why was she tempting herself like this? What good could possibly come from flirting with someone more than twenty years her junior?
“When was the last time you got what you wanted?” Anthony asked.
“I have everything I need,” she answered with her eyes still positioned on the black tile floor below.
She felt his presence draw closer as he reached his arm out and pressed it against the wall to her rear. She was trapped, but she wasn’t sure if she would be in a hurry to escape even if she had a way out. Her situation was fun in an extremely inappropriate way.
“I’m talking about what you really want.”
“And you can give me what I want?” she asked, finally glancing up at the stud standing mere inches in front of her.
A confident smirk appeared on his handsome face as he shook his head lightly. “No, I’m going to give you things you had no idea you wanted. Things that have never even crossed your mind before.”
“And how do you know what I want?” she inquired.
His grin turned to a smile before he divulged his mindset. “Every woman wants the same thing, but unfortunately, there aren’t a lot of guys out there who can give it to them.”
“And what exactly is it I want?”
The college student leaned in even closer until his mouth hovered beside her ear. “To get fucked within an inch of your life.”