Annie

It was the first time the two women had been together nude. Annie often had seen Hannah nude when called in to Hannah's suite.

"You have a lovely figure."

"Thank you Hannah. Now let's relax and listen."

Toward the end Hannah cried, "Oh you're giving him the chance to get off the hook."

"That's a matter of opinion. My understanding is if you tell a person not to think of something they'll dwell on thinking about it acutely. If that is so Harry is now driving home thinking what does my body look like, how well am I likely to fuck and how soon can he fuck me."

"Oh my, you are anything but naïve."

"Thank you Hannah."

Hannah said, "Please take the recording back to repeat that last bit from the point of your suggesting he proceed at his own pace. We were talking later and I missed the ending."

When it finished Hannah said in awe, "God women are going to love this stuff you are generating for me. I could be currently writing my first best seller."

"Isn't that what your publisher expects from you?"

"Bitch," said Hannah and they laughed.

Annie was lying on grass under and red and white striped sky and viewing two suns while wondering what day it was when something began urging her to react. So she opened her eyes and heard her phone ringing.

It was almost 2 am and she found she wasn't outside but was in her bed and had been asleep.

Jesus, had something happened to one of her parents, or both of them, or her brother or someone in his family?

"Hi it's Annie."

"Hi Annie, I can't sleep."

"Harry, have you pulled me out of sleep to tell me that!"

"Please go easy on me baby. Ever since I left you a few hours ago my mind has been punishing me. Um I hope this is not offensive to you but let me ask do you have a bush, or a trimmed bush or are you clean shaven?"

"Harry!"

"I'm sorry to have disturbed you," he said woodenly. "Good night."

"No wait. I might be responsible for filling your mind with ideas. I shave but have a trimmed patch of blonde hair just above my clit for decorative purposes. I believe guys refer to it as the landing strip."

"Shaved eh. That's what I had been imagining. The other thing I need to know is when may I have sex with you?"

"Come here on Friday evening and stay two nights. Joseph and Elaine will be away at a law seminar and Hannah will be away on a discreet weekend."

"What's a discreet weekend?"

"She will be away and has asked me to divulge no details to anyone and that includes Joseph."

Harry sniffed and said didn't anyone run an uncomplicated life these days?

"Well I'll keep this simple Harry. We've talked enough. I want you to try to go asleep, thinking of bright stars on a soft dark velvet sky and tomorrow I suggest you call me about where you wish to meet me in the city for lunch."

"But I don't stop for lunch."

"Harry, you'll cope better if you try to lead a normal life. On Sunday at lunch you and I will talk about the differences you and your wife have in respect of your compatibility and see if we can work out a pathway to reconciliation."

"But I have this feeling I should marry you."

"Forget that thought Harry. I'm willing for you to fuck me but no way could I marry you. Your temperament has you riding too close to the edge for me liking so let's see if we can effect a reconciliation between you and your wife."

"I'm probably off you in a big way for brushing me aside like that.""

Annie snorted and told him to grow up. "Well Harry, since I'm so bad I'll not expect you to phone me about lunch in the morning. However if you do awake in a better frame of mind you'll have till 11:00 to call me about the lunch venue otherwise forget it and forget about having sex with me."

"What about the weekend invitation?"

"That rests on what you decide in the morning about lunch. Work it out Harry; I'm your friend and not your nursemaid."

"You are being awfully hard on me, what with the unsettling effect of my trial separation."

"Be a man and take control of your life. Good night Harry."

Annie cut the call and switched off her phone thinking Harry required a good kick in the ass. He surely must have been a spoilt little asshole as a child.

Harry called at 8:00 next morning to advise Annie where to meet him for lunch. He sounded pleasant and conciliatory.

Lunch was, er, forgettable principally because Harry appeared to lack social graces.

Harry arrived at the house on Friday evening very happy and very eager but he failed to ignite Annie all the time he was there, his treating of her bordering on indifference. Further, having sex with Harry at the helm was, er, very forgettable. In fact after the first time they did it Annie had to struggle to remember they had engaged in sex.

As Harry was leaving early Sunday afternoon he said, "We didn't talk about my reconciliation."

"You didn't raise the subject Harry."

"You are the one with all the ideas."

Annie sighed and said, "Harry it's your marriage that may require salvaging. If you can't do it by yourself then seek professional advice and management."

"Well what do you honestly think about my chances of reviving the relationship?"

Annie said she didn't know his wife or the kind of relationship that had existed between them and just how conciliatory they were in times of usual domestic difficulties.

"You don't need to know, just give my your gut feeling."

"Oh Harry don't press me; you won't like my honesty."

"Bullshit, you are wasting time posturing."

"Very well Harry this is what I think. Let your wife go. She's taken the first step to escape you and it's only fair she should not be impeded."

Annie stepped back inside and closed the door, leaving Harry gaping.

Later Annie walked in on Hannah who was in the spa bath.

"Jump in darling. Please ignore the love bites on my throat and the scratches on my back and thighs. I was almost blown into tomorrow by Raymond's almost brutal sex."

"But did you enjoy it?"

"Yes, I had a magnificent time."

"Well there you go. Wait till I make coffee and then we'll play the tape of the rise and fall of young attorney Harry Chambers. He and I are finished."

"That surprises me. You two appeared ready to engage in a tumultuous affair. What happened?"

"Listen and all will be revealed. It could give you great ideas to shape the marital breakup of your heroine's parents, er after the heroine's wedding."

ZANE (Peter)

Annie accompanied Hannah to a fiction writers' convention at a resort 160 miles from where they lived. Hannah and an action-adventure author Zane Garnier were the principal speakers at Saturday night's dinner and both were two of ten specialists chairing workshops on the Saturday and Sunday of the weekend event.

A cocktail party on Friday was the opening event. Annie was standing alone, watching Hannah engaging with some of the organizing committee members, when a guy took her empty glass from her and said, "You are alone, spectacularly alone if I may say so, and I'm sure the reason for that is not excessive body odor."

Annie giggled and said he should fetch her a vodka martini.

"Certainly madam."

"It's miss actually. Zane I'm Annie."

"You know me?" he said in surprise.

"You photo is featured in the convention workbook and your nametag would have been a reminder if I'd forgotten what I read in the workbook. Is your name really Zane?"

"A good question, one I'm rarely asked. May I rest my head between your delightful breasts and whisper the answer?"

"Certainly not. I'm not into public spectacles. But you may nibble my ear and whisper."

Zane moved in with the smoothness of a gigolo, as if this was a daily occurrence. He rolled his tongue round Annie's ear and whispered his name was Peter until he began writing.

"How can I gain permission to get my hands round your breasts?"

He pulled away appearing ready to duck a slap but Annie looked bemused.

"You could try asking."

He grinned but before he could reply Hannah arrived and scolded, "Zane Garnier, trust you to zero in on the most attractive woman in the room."

"Ah Hannah," he said diplomatically, "Pardon me for having overlooked you."

Hannah smiled and said, "Darling be warned Zane is a little too old for you, has chalked up two divorces and appears addicted to adultery."

Too late, Annie was already focused on him. "Even so, would you recommend I take an interest in him?"

"Yes your interest in sex possibly almost matches his. With luck you might be dumped gently."

Peter said, "You two know one another?"

"Annie French is my research assistant, social secretary, creative director and companion but not my lover although she lives with me. Next question please."

"Would Annie be free to visit me at weekends by invitation?"

"Yes, give Zane your card darling. The convention convener will like to meet you and to ask you to be speak for five minutes at the start of the workshop tomorrow on the topic of human resources for writers and then sit on the panel leading that discussion group tomorrow and again on Sunday for the repeat three-hour presentation. All you have to do is to talk about your work role and answer questions. What is your response?"

"Very well, yes."

"Does that mean yes you'll will be introduced to the convener or yes you will accept panel involvement?"

"Yes on both counts."

"Oh thank you Annie. Kiss us and excuse us please Zane."

Zane, who appeared to be in his early forties, kissed Hannah and when he turned to Annie she darted behind Hannah and said goodbye it was lovely meeting him. His arms dropped and he looked at her intently for a couple of seconds, smiled and walked off.

"Annie, you fool. If you allowed him to kiss you I believe you would have been sleeping with him tonight."

"That's not the relationship I seek."

"So you are interested in him."

"Yes but please say nothing to him."

Hannah said nothing but she just smiled, as if knowing that's all Annie wanted.

Annie only saw Zane at a distance during the next two days apart from Saturday at dinner when he pulled up a chair and sat between Hannah and Annie for a few minutes, chatting to them and exhibiting now predatory behavior. When he rose to leave them he did say, "I'll see you around ladies, especially you Annie."

Hannah pulled her chair back closer to Annie and breathing heavily whispered, "There, he had the intelligence to know he is required to woo you."

All Annie said was Hannah may well be correct.

When Annie was driving Hannah home late Sunday afternoon Hannah said, "I was told you were very informative and an excellent contributor on your panel."

"Yes well it was no sweat for me and it's lovely being involved with people seriously seeking information. Incidentally several speakers described you are one of their favorite writers."

"Well that's important feedback for me. Having the respect of your fellow professionals is very desirable. But Mr Dark Eyes, did he reconnect?"

"No."

"You think he could be the one, don't you."

There was no reply.

"I thought so."

Annie remained silent until Hannah sighed and said, "Don't many writers dress frumpishly, I mean even when attending a formal dinner?"

When Zane failed to call Annie next day she moped a little for a couple of days and then was over it.

The next weekend she attended a high school reunion with her best friend Deborah Walters and husband Jack and her biggest reunion of all was with Gloria Shanks who was visiting for two weeks from Ireland. Gloria invited Annie to join her family for Christmas in Dublin and for Gloria's twenty-fifth birthday. Gloria said her parents and some other relatives would be there but Annie had met most of them.

Christmas was two months away and Annie arranged to combine the visit with a 10-day vacation of Eire and Northern Ireland. Two weeks before she left she was mortified when Zane Garnier called her.

"Hi it's Zane."

"Oh hi Zane I wondered had you remembered me?"

"I've had thoughts about you from time to time, usually when the pressure's off. What about you?"

There was no reply.

"Annie?"

"Why dwell on it when you believe you have been abandoned?"

"Jesus."

"I'm a straight-shooter Zane so don't ask me direct questions unless you can cope with direct answers."

"I'm sorry. I've been involved in getting a new novel underway and in a promotional tour to publicize the launching to grab a slice of the Christmas market."

"I can understand that Zane and I guess people react to pressure differently. But I do work with a writer who when under pressure seeks diversions like taking on a new lover. Also you carry a phone constantly don't you?"

"I'm sorry."

That was a simple apology but Annie felt its sincerity.

"Thank you for saying that. It makes me feel better about you. I'm the kind of person unless my switch is kept turned on my light goes out."

"Jesus, I now understand why Hannah employs you... as a stimulus."

Annie's smile was back.

"I'm calling to invite you to spend time with me over Christmas... all Christmas if you are available."

"Oh Zane," Annie said, and burst into tears and sobbing told him she'd committed to spend Christmas in Dublin with one of her best friends.

Annie quickly recovered and they chatted and the call ended without any arrangement being made to meet although on Christmas Eve Zane thrilled her by calling her in Dublin.

Hannah called Annie very early on Christmas morning and thanked her once again for her beautiful gift of a hand-embroidered bed cover.

"My gift to you will be delivered late," Hannah promised.

* * *

Annie arrived at Newark Liberty from London early afternoon and was met by Zane.

"Oh what a surprise," she said, jumping and kissing him, one foot raised and he brushed the side of her hair away and kissed her again.

Annie smelt a rat but said nothing, expecting all to be revealed.

As they waiting for her luggage Zane handed Annie a letter. She recognized the handwriting.

"Welcome home darling. My Christmas present to you has arrived a little late. It's probably standing beside you. Love Hannah."

A bolt of energy/excitement ripped through Annie and shakily she handed the Christmas card to Zane who glanced at it and smiled.

"Yes I know. Isn't she lovely? She has booked us into a suite at The Hotel Plaza Athénée for two nights but arranged for that to be converted into two rooms if that's your wish."

"A suite is fine by me," Annie said huskily. "You are invited to share."

"Gladly," he said.

They hugged and he buried his face into the side of her neck, leaving Annie free to spot her two bags.

They were booked into the Classic Suite with sitting room and when the porter left stood a little awkwardly until Annie said, "I feel like a shower. Please join me if you wish."

"I wish."

She held up her arms to be undressed and that classic surrender meant showering was delayed.

They lay side-by-side on the bed with Zane kissing her and gently kneading a breast until Annie lifted a lead and shuffled her bottom hip closer, allowing Zane to feed in his dripping erection. That was the first time Annie had touched it, holding the bottom half to avoid it ramming home in one big push. She wasn't particularly concerned about dick size although shied away from over-sized ones. This one was slender and breathtakingly long and not long after they settled into a steady rhythm Annie had her breath taken away as she zoomed into her first orgasm.

Later she tightened around the dick still plunging in and back relentlessly and watched Zane's eyes bulge a bit, her face darken and tighten and her reached down, grabbed the upper ass cheek and bellowing pulled her even closer as his eyes rolled up partly into their sockets and that took Annie into her biggest gush of the session. She felt his semen leaking from her and running down her thigh.

She sighed, "God that was beautiful."

"Lady you sure can fuck."

They showered and lay on the bed nude, drinking wine, Zane fiddling with one of Annie's breasts but when she reached for his dick he smacked her ass and said, "There's plenty of time for that tonight. Get dressed. I'm taking you to Barneys and Bergdorf Goodman to buy you a present to mark the time was first came together, er romantically."

"Ooooh."

The romance continued but it would be almost another two years before Zane and Annie married.

By then Hannah's booming book sales had lifted her to celebrity status. She found a very suitable male adviser and personal assistant to replace Annie. Karl was only twenty-four but of course Joseph refused to call him anything else but Toy Boy.

THE END