A Room with a View

There remained the delicate matter of condoms: a commodity he didn't keep in stock. When he told her, she shook her head. "No. No need. I certainly don't need them any more - never liked them much, anyway. And I know all about the health question. But if you had answered differently when I asked you if there were any other women in your life we wouldn't have got this far. So no, we don't have to worry. And I think that's nice. Please go ahead just as we are - I want to feel the real you."

To begin, he asked her to kneel with the little pile of cushions supporting her stomach while lifting her bottom for his inspection. He would have liked to apply his tongue to the little pink hole but, remembering her earlier reticence, decided not to risk breaking the mood of rapidly rising carnality. He widened her knees slightly until her vulva could be seen, the labia still wet from her previous endeavours.

It would have been simple to plunge the full length of his penis inside, but instead he chose to tease her - and himself - by making the insertion by small degrees, pausing as he did so. Size had never been something to engage Julian's attention, but he supposed he was about average - whatever average was. By the time his offering was completely absorbed by Audrey's viscous interior, it was plainly enough because she told him so. "My dear, that is so, so good. Please hold it there for a moment." He did so, luxuriating in the sensation. After a while, though, he told her, "It's good for me, too. But would you like me to start moving now?"

Yes, she would. And so this curious copulation progressed: a middle-aged man and woman almost unwittingly finding their way towards a mutual pleasure that was emotional as well as physical; and all the while the most basic needs were requested and diligently delivered to the accompaniment of verbal exchanges that would not have been out of place at one of Audrey's coffee mornings.

The pace of his thrusting drew frequent approving comments. The sound of his groin slapping against the flesh of her bottom seemed particularly arousing for her. But again, Julian was aware of approaching crisis. He slowed, grasped her hips to hold himself in place for a few moments and then withdrew.

Uninvited, Audrey turned on to her back, scrabbling the pillows into place beneath her again. "Like this?" she asked. "Yes," he replied, "just like that. You're ready, aren't you?"

"I've been ready since we walked in the door. The waiting has been delicious, but I'm sure the best is still to come. Please take it as slowly as you can - though I'll understand if ... if it goes wrong."

Julian discovered that he fervently did not want it to go wrong. This woman who had been little more than a passing acquaintance had come to him with a deep inner need and had somehow found the courage to express it; in seeking to have it fulfilled she had offered herself with unstinting generosity for his pleasure, too.

Guiding himself into her, Julian summoned every ounce of concentration to prevent himself giving way to the urges generated by the contraction of her muscles around his rigid shaft. Once he thought he was sufficiently in control he began moving inside her, absorbing her reciprocal co-operation. Instinctively, she matched his tempo, making small sounds of pleasure as the pace and the forcefulness increased. They experimented with changes of position. Audrey rode on top, one hand grasping a nipple, the other titillating her clitoris; a strategic swivel of a dresing table mirror added visual excitement; she piled pillows under her stomach so he could ply her from behind; they switched to a scissors coupling, delighting in the opportunity that gave for them to take turns in stroking her protruding nub, now glistening with her juice.

From time to time Julian found himself murmuring, "Steady," while they both remained still until his composure returned. But with each resumption he was aware of the growing insistence from his testicles to deliver their load. They had returned to missionary position when Audrey, conscious of how great the effort was becoming for him, said, "It has to happen soon, my dear. Press against me while I move - it won't take long. And then as soon as I come, don't hold back any longer."

As she spoke, she began to wriggle, a series of subtle undulations to create the friction at the tip of her clitoris. Inexorable messages coursed throughout her nervous system until, in a great ecstatic convulsion, she clutched his buttocks, bucked and twisted, held him inside her until she knew his release, too, was unstoppable.

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The following week they agreed to skip lunch. Audrey came straight to the penthouse and within minutes they were naked on the bed. But it wasn't an unqualified success. The exchanges were feverish and sensual by turns and they both came. It was afterwards though that, lying side by side, they agreed there was already more to their relationship than sheer lust; they wanted to build on the unselfish intimacy of their first time. They decided to reinstate lunch at I Fratelli the following week. Audrey had explained that she could meet him every Thursday afternoon if he wished, which he unequivocally did. What excuse she made to Bob he didn't enquire. Did Bob guess what her regular absences meant? Did Bob want to guess? Julian preferred not know. He recognised that, this one aspect apart, Audrey was totally committed to her husband. And that was enough to know. No matter what anyone else might think, it seemed to work.

There was one small difference at the next lunch. Instead of facing each other across the table, Audrey insisted on sitting at Julian's side. The reason became apparent as soon as the waiter had taken their orders and departed. Taking his hand in hers, she slid it under the napkin on her lap where she contrived unobtrusively to raise the hem of her skirt until his fingers met cool flesh. When they had lingered briefly, she removed his hand and smoothed down her skirt. Between courses, she repeated the invitation but took evasive action when his exploration moved higher.

"What I like," she said, "is the service here. Nothing is rushed It's nice to enjoy one course and then pause before the next. That's the kind of service I like."

"Yes," said Julian, "I share your taste."

"Taste," she said. "I remember." Her smile was part recollection, part promise. Back at the penthouse, the promise was amply fulfilled, the sex even more varied than before, richer and more satisfying for the care each took with the the other.

The Thursday afternoon rendezvous soon became the focus of Julian's week, eagerly anticipated, fondly recalled during the intervening seven days. Occasionally it proved impossible to escape the demands of a client and seven days stretched agonisingly to fourteen. But after almost a year of regular bliss, they were facing a longer separation. Bob and Audrey were about to fulfil a long-standing commitment to visit relatives in Australia. They would be there for three weeks and then would stop off in Hong Kong and Singapore on the way back.

"Will you miss me?" Audrey asked after their final session before the unavoidable hiatus.

"More than I can tell you."

"But what about sex?"

"I'll be as patient as I can."

"You don't have to go without, you know."

"Maybe, but it's not a lot of fun on your own. Especially after what I've grown to expect from you."

"Julian, dear, what we have is very special. And it will be just as good when I get back. But I have a suggestion - if you like."

"Such as?"

"I could ask Lydia to be my understudy."

Startled, Julian said nothing.

"You remember Lydia?"

"No. Lydia who?"

"Roberts. She teaches modern languages at the grammar school. You probably met her at somebody or other's drinks party."

"If I did, I can't remember. But anyway - "

"Look, let me tell you. Lydia and I do aerobics together and during the holidays we often have coffee together. Which is how I know that she has been having an affair with another teacher. Lydia was always hoping he might leave his wife but it never happened, and now it's all over. The other day she told me in confidence that what she misses most is the regular sex. Do you see what I'm getting at?"

Julian thought he did. And he thought that later on he might just put in a call to his brother in Toronto.