Red Orchids Ch. 04

He thought of Alicia Keel briefly and then pushed the irrational thoughts away.

"Hello?" Mark called out and sat his briefcase down by the closet door. He loosened his tie and walked through the living room. The television was off and the smell of pizza lingered in the air. On the kitchen counter were two opened boxes of Round Table pizza. Mark felt his stomach rumble as he leaned over the boxes to see what was there. He was about to grab a slice of pepperoni pizza when he heard a splash out in the back yard.

Mark went to the window and saw Shannon in the swimming pool. She was backstroking across the shimmering surface, her pale body illuminated by the soft blue lighting of the underwater bulbs. Ghostly distortions rippled across the bushes and in undulating patterns as she effortless glided through the water. Mark couldn't help but look her over as she passed him.

She wore a dark bikini bathing suit. The twin patches of fabric that made up her top were joined by thin spaghetti straps and barely contained her mountainous breasts. They were laying flat against her body as she turned her closed eyes to the night sky and stroked. He had imagined her body being something spectacular when he first met her, and in the month following her employment here, he had taken every opportunity to drink her in. But this was the first time he had seen her in a bathing suit. For a woman in her forties, she looked remarkably fit and tight.

Mark took a bite of the pizza and watched her touch her fingers on the far end of the pool and then flip over underwater. She reemerged and began backstroking to the diving board. Mark felt his cock begin to stir in his pants as he watched her. He put his pizza down and rubbed himself gently. He imagined touching her and licking her tits. He knew that he had to have her and he hoped if he played his cards right, it would happen before Ellen got home. He smiled to himself and opened the sliding glass door.

"Mr. Gordian," Shannon said as she swam, her eyes still closed. Mark was surprised by her seemingly precognitive abilities.

"Ms. Merele," Mark smiled and walked along the sidewalk that framed the large pool, his hand casually planted in his pockets. He asked, "Has Ellen come home?"

Shannon didn't break her slow swimming strokes as she passed the middle of the pool, "No, not yet. She said she and her friend Sheila were going for drinks."

Mark snorted and shook his head. "That figures."

"Mrs. Gordian sounded stressed," Shannon said as water rippled around her hourglass figure tantalizingly, "I imagine she just had a rough day, being as she's still getting used to the grind."

"Mrs. Gordian," Mark said, "Has a lot of rough days."

Shannon finished her exercise and swam to the ladder by the diving board. Mark met her there as she climbed up and he received a generous view of her swinging, dripping wet breasts. He offered her his hand and she took it. They stood in front of each other for a moment in an awkward silence. Shannon clearly had no inhibitions about her body as she stood practically naked in front of him. Mark quietly counted every bead of water dribbling down her perfect body. Her nipples were hard under the wet blue patches of her string bikini. The outer ring of her large areola was visible on her left breast as the bathing suit top had moved during her swim. He could also see the outline of her pussy through the small panel of her bathing suit bottoms.

"Well," Shannon smiled warmly as she ran her hands through her wet red hair, "That doesn't mean we have to have a rough day, right?"

"Of course," Mark nodded, his eyes still glued to her breasts. He then noticed an empty liquor bottle beside the lounge. He picked it up and saw that it was the whiskey Ellen had been downing the night she slapped him. The night he had met Marlene Henson. He held it up to Shannon, who only shrugged innocently.

"A little nip never hurt anyone," Shannon smiled innocently, "I mean, Maddie is already asleep and I thought I'd be done before you got home."

"Don't sweat it Shannon," Mark waved her off casually with one hand and chucked the empty bottle into the bushes, "It'll be our secret."

"More secrets?" Shannon cocked a brow and walked to the lounge chair where a large red towel was spread out. She grabbed it and began drying off. She said, "I keep so many of your secrets already."

Mark tilted his head, "I don't understand."

Shannon smiled knowingly and said, "I think you do, Mark."

Mark suddenly wondered. Did Shannon know about his affairs? Could she have somehow figured out what he was up to with the three women he kept on the side of Ellen? Mark didn't see how, but something in Shannon's eyes made him think she knew more than he ever suspected. His heart froze. What if she knew what he planned to do? But then how could she? He hadn't told anyone.

And then he thought of Alicia Keel again.

"I don't have any secrets," Mark smiled amiably.

"Really?" Shannon humored him and walked past into the house, her ass swaying invitingly. As paranoid as Mark was beginning to feel, he followed her in, his eyes glued to her buttocks and the skimpy g-string that separated her cheeks.

"Are you trying to imply something?" Mark asked as she walked into the kitchen and turned on the light.

"Mark," she looked at him as she closed the blinds looking out into the back yard, "Really now. How long did you think you could keep it a secret?"

'Oh fuck she knows,' he thought wildly.

"I'm sorry," he shook his head.

Shannon placed her towel on the counter by the pizza boxes and slid her hands up his stomach, over his chest and to his neck. She pressed her wet body against him, soaking the front of his slacks, shirt and tie. Shannon looked into his eyes with her impenetrable stare of emerald and seemed to look right through him. Her fingers caressed the sides of his neck as she parted her full lips and said, "I'm not stupid, Mark. In my line of work, you figure out who is keeping secrets and who isn't. And you are carrying a big one."

"I am?" he said, unable to move.

"I see how you look at me," she whispered in his ear, "I saw you masturbating in your bathroom this morning and heard you say my name."

Mark blushed for the first time since he could remember. "I, uh-"

"Shhh," she put a finger to his lips, "A man with secrets needs to play it safe. Now, we both know secrets about each other, right? I had a little drink before I went swimming, and you have a very active sex life outside your marriage."

"I've never cheated-"

"Shhh." Shannon said again and squeezed his bulging crotch, "I know a cheater when I see one. I think Ellen probably knows it too, though she hasn't come around to admitting it yet. You cheat on her, don't you?"

Mark knew he should keep on denying it like a politician at an inquiry. But instead, he opened his mouth and heard himself say, "Yes I do."

"A lot?"

Mark nodded, not sure if he was aroused by the admission or scared. He figured he was both as she kneaded her palm over his aching cock. He said, "Yeah, I guess I do."

"I could get my license revoked for drinking on the job," Shannon traced a finger over his hard body through his wet shirt, "And that would be bad."

"I told you, your secret is safe," Mark insisted.

Shannon smiled suggestively and said, "Maybe we need to make a pact, Mark?"

Mark hesitated and then smiled, "Like what?"

Shannon hugged him close to her, her breasts pressed up against him in large fleshy mounds. She purposefully kept her crotch against his, letting the material of his pants soak not just from the chlorinated water but also from the fluids of her own arousal. She looked thoughtfully at the ceiling and then grinned broadly. Shannon went to the curio cabinet in the dining room where Ellen kept their wedding china. She opened the glass door and removed the chalice he and Ellen had shared at the wedding reception.

"Sometimes," Shannon focused on the elegant crystal cup, holding it just in front of her breasts, "An agreement can be sealed with a drink of both parties blood."

Mark suddenly stepped back a little, "Blood?"

Shannon laughed, "I don't drink blood, Mark."

"That's a relief," he said nervously.

"But," she continued and stood inches away from him, the glass between their bodies, "The agreement between us needs to be special."

"Okay," Mark said, "I have a bottle of '79 Merlot in the cellar."

"No, Mark," Shannon shook her head, "It has to be something from you."

Mark felt a strange anticipation in his stomach. He said, "Oh?"

"I have a thought," she said and then sat the cup down on the counter. She tugged at his belt and unbuckled it as she held his gaze. Mark had never felt hornier in his life than he did right now as he watched this half naked sexual fantasy unzip his pants and let them fall to the floor. She then tugged his boxer shorts down, her hands sliding over his ass as they fell to join his pants. His powerful eight-inch cock sprung back and forth in front of them as she unbuttoned his shirt and loosened his tie.

"Uhm," he began, not sure why he felt suddenly shy, "Shannon?"

"It's all about secrets, Mark," she looked into his eyes and grasped his hard meat with her left hand. She began stroking him back and forth, kneading his swollen head with her palm. Mark closed his eyes and shivered as her soft hand rubbed his cock in a sensual rhythm. She put her free hand on his chest and pushed him back against the counter, his hips thrusted out so she could really get a good grip. As his nipples hardened in the warm evening air, she said, "We could have such a beautiful secret."

Mark reached out and began massaging her breasts. He pushed the fabric of her top back and exposed her giant tits to his touch. He cupped them and tweaked her nipples between his fingers as she pulled and rubbed his dick, occasionally fondling his swollen balls. She leaned forward and kissed him as he squeezed her tits. A rush of pure lust swam over him as she jerked him off.

"I want your cum, Mark," she whispered and pinched his head a little, "I want to know that we're in this together."

"We are," he managed as his breathing picked up. He could feel himself already close to the orgasm.

"Your secret," Shannon said as his cock stiffened into a granite rod, "Is my secret."

Shannon picked up the chalice and held it in front of Mark's cock. She quickened her jerks and pulled on him as he began moaning, his mouth wide open and gasping for air. The veins in his thick shaft were bulging out and pulsating with sexual energy as he gripped the edge of the counter, his knuckles turning white. Mark gritted his teeth and orgasmed hard. His semen rocketed into the crystal cup, ejaculating from his purple head in long ropy spurts. He heard the liquid spatter into the cup as she pumped his semen from his balls. His entire body tingled. Shannon worked her hand back and forth, milking him for all he was worth until she finally could bring no more from him.

Shannon raised the glass up and looked at the generous amount of cum in the cup. Mark had filled the cup up half way with white, milky semen. Shannon shook the glass a little and brought it to her nose, inhaling the scent of his ejaculate. She opened her eyes and smiled at him, his dick still in her hand. She said, "We'll seal our agreement with a drink from this cup."

Mark nodded obediently.

Shannon tipped the glass up to her full sultry lips and let half the sticky, hot fluid slide out of the cup and into her mouth. As she pulled the chalice away, a sticky translucent string of his cum stretched from the edge of the cup to her bottom lip. Her tongue snaked out and she slurped the excess into her mouth. Then she handed the cup to Mark, who held it in his hand for a moment. He thought it was ironic that he should be doing this with the very cup he had held in commemorating his union with Ellen. It had once held wine, but now held the nectar of his adultery. Mark smiled and downed his own salty sweet semen in one gulp.

"See now," Shannon slid her arms around his waist as his shirt fell away and down his powerful arms, "We're partners."

Mark leaned in and kissed Shannon full on the lips, their mouths still coated with his spunk. Their tongues rolled and slid together as they shared a hot, needful kiss that guaranteed their ceremony of secrecy would be followed by a lot of sex. Mark wondered for a brief moment what they would do if Ellen walked in. But as Shannon slipped her bikini bottoms off, he realized he didn't give a flying fuck.

Ellen would be dead soon anyway.

***

"I don't know what to do," Ellen said, stirring her drink with one finger.

Sheila shrugged and took a drink of her virgin margarita, "Well, you're in a pickle that's for damn sure."

The bar was loaded and noisy as the hardcore Sunday night crowd boozed it up and reaped the rewards of their long workweek. Sheila knew that they were out of place here, two businesswomen in a sea of country-western hat heads. They had been getting hit on routinely since the moment they walked in, despite her pregnant belly and the wedding ring on Ellen's finger. Men with large ample guts, flashy boots and tight Wranglers pulled over their doughy bodies had been laying their best lines on them to the point of annoyance. Sheila had finally told their most recent would-be suitor that they were lesbians, and since then they had been able to enjoy their drinks and talk.

"You think Henry is telling the truth?" she asked.

"Are you kidding?" Ellen said, "Henry is probably one of the last honest men on Earth."

"Fifteen women?" Sheila shook her head, "God, I'm having flashbacks of my ex."

Ellen smiled weakly, "The thing is, I'm not all that upset. What does that mean?"

"It means that Mark isn't good enough for you, and you know it. Don't feel bad."

"How could I be so blind?"

"It happens baby," Sheila rubbed her shoulder, "Take another drink."

Ellen downed her Tequila shot. It was her fifth in ten minutes and already she was feeling like she might fall over. She turned the shot glass upside down and slammed it to the counter, "Bartender, give me another."

As the bartender filled her another glass, Sheila said, "The guy's an asshole. He's been giving you the fuckity-fuck at home while playing Dr. Feelgood to the rest of the town."

"And what about Henry?" Ellen asked, "Here's this wonderful, sexy and kind man who thinks the world of me and I can't do anything about it because I'm married."

"Who says you can't?" Sheila laughed, "Mark's already thrown the vows out the window. Why can't you take your life back?"

"Oh shit," Ellen shook her head, her speech slurring slightly, "I don't know."

"You like him?"

"If it wasn't for my marriage I would've fucked him nine ways 'til Tuesday."

"That's one way of putting it," Sheila smiled at her friends inebriation, "Then go to him, Ellen. You've given a lot of years to Mark for nothing. I say divorce his ass, take Maddie and leave."

"I don't know," Ellen whispered and then downed her shot. She winced and grimaced as the alcohol burned down her throat and flamed in her stomach, "Tequila... te-kill-ya..."

"I think we should get you home," Sheila said, "You've had enough for one night, Ms. DeMornay."

The reference to the incident with the waitress shocked Ellen, the impact of her sudden realization acting like a strong cup of coffee. She sat straight up and frowned, remembering how the waitress at the Starlight Café had said she looked like Rebecca DeMornay. The girl had seemed to so nervous and out of sorts when it happened. And then Henry had told her this morning that one of the women Mark was cheating on her with worked in the café.

"What's her name," Ellen snapped her fingers, "The waitress?"

"What?"

"At the Starlight Café," Ellen told her, "The one who said I looked Rebecca DeMornay."

"Oh," Sheila thought for a moment, "Uhm, Alice? Alison?"

"Alicia," Ellen said, "Her name was Alicia."

"So?" Sheila asked.

"I don't know," she said, "But Henry said one of the girls Mark was seeing worked at the Starlight. What if she was so nervous because she recognized me as Mark's wife?"

"Oooh," Sheila cocked her eyebrow and then lowered her voice, "Isn't she the one who turned up dead last month?"

"Yeah," Ellen said, her voice a thousand miles away.

"You don't think that-" Sheila began, feeling guilty for even suggesting what her mind was screaming.

"Mark killed her?" Ellen pushed her shot glass away.

"Well, yeah."

"No," Ellen shook her head, "No, I don't think so."

But there was a part of her mind that worried. Worried a lot.

***

Mark's tongue snaked into Shannon's mouth, searching and twirling around her own. He pushed her further back against the bed, making sure to press his cock against her inner thigh. His knee butted up against her and massaged her pelvic mound. Mark could feel the radiant wet heat seeping from her cunt. She raised her hips to meet his grinding body. Shannon's huge tits shook and jiggled as they mashed together, their naked bodies slick with perspiration and need.

Mark's hand slid down to the petals of her sex, cupping her pussy and pressing his fingers against the silky meat. Her entire body tingled as their tongues danced together wildly. She was panting like dog, her sex drive overtaking her rationality as she drank in his presence. Every inch of her body, inside and out demanded his touch and screamed for his flesh.

Mark's fingers roamed her lush body, feeling out her curves and memorizing her anatomy. He lowered his mouth to her skin, licking and sucking at every erogenous zone he knew of. He pulled at her nipples with his teeth, gently, lengthening them and twisting them in his mouth. Shannon moaned loudly as the pillows fell off Ellen's bed to the floor. She could feel her pussy beginning to leak on Mark's leg.

"I want you so badly," he whispered.

"Take me," she ran her hands through his hair. She thought of Ellen and wondered if she might walk in on them.

He pulled her arms up over her head, holding them together in one hand, moving his body over top and grinding his hips against hers. Her head rolled from side to side, breathy exclamations of her need spilling helplessly from her swollen lips. Mark reached over and opened the nightstand drawer beside the bed. He pulled out a long length of velvet fabric. He started tying her wrists together.

"This is kinky," she licked his lips"

"You have no idea," was his mischievous reply.

"You like control, don't you Mark?"

"Yes," he said as he finished tying her wrists to the head bedpost.

His mouth descended to her breasts once again and sucked tenderly at her nipples. His hands ran down her ribs to the narrow dip of her waist, and then moved apart again as they glided over the curve of her hips. Shannon smiled to herself while Mark licked down her belly and circled her navel. The air around her exposed and swollen sex was thick was a sweet musk Mark couldn't resist. His cock hardened as he inhaled her, stiffening to an almost painful length. Mark gave her soaking slit one long lick, savoring her flavor. She moaned loudly, straining against her bonds as she pushed her hips towards his face.

Shannon spread her legs wide open exposing her shaved lips.

"Eat my pussy," Shannon pleaded.

"Like this, baby?" Mark teased her clit with two fingers, coaxing her clit from its hood.

She cried out. "Yes, oh yes, more..."

"More, like this?" Before she could even prepare, Mark sank two fingers deep into her hot pussy, as far as they could reach. Shannon cried out and thrusted her hips involuntarily. He pulled his fingers out and then shoved them quickly back in again. She gasped at the invasion, and as he curled his fingers to discover her g-spot, she unleashed a puddle of thin, slippery juices that soaked his hand.