A Muslim Woman

Many thanks to ChancesAre for editing the story and providing feedback and suggestions for improvement. The final story is immeasurably enhanced as a result.

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Yasmin assessed herself in the full-length mirror one last time. The woman staring back laughed and shook her head.

Really, she thought to herself, how did Tony ever talk me into coming to this party?

Smoothing the ruby red dress over her thighs, she deftly adjusted the hijab, taking care to ensure her hair was fully covered. Her tall, slim figure combined with her olive complexion and large brown eyes, made her a striking, somewhat exotic woman. Especially when she chose to wear heels as she had tonight. Over time she had grown accustomed to the looks she drew from men she passed on the street or who sat opposite her on the tube. However, her faith dictated that she present a chaste and virtuous profile in public and she tried hard to comply. Though thirty-one, she was still, at her core, a woman who had been raised in a conservative Muslim family and whose faith continued to have a central role in her life.

In truth, her faith was one of the reasons why it was so hard for Tony to persuade her to attend his birthday party. Knowing Tony, alcohol would be flowing freely. As a practicing Muslim, she tried to stay away from such events. The other reason for her reluctance was, however, much harder for her to admit...a small, but rapidly growing, physical attraction to Tony.

Though she and Tony had worked together, on and off, for almost nine years it was only in the past six months, since starting work at his successful IT company, that she had begun to think of him sexually. For some strange reason her mind, and body, now responded to his presence in a way that it never had in the past. It wasn't as if Tony had changed; he'd always been the tall, urbane gentleman, quick to witticisms and owner of a dazzling smile. It was just that she'd apparently never taken note of just how attractive and charming he was.

This attraction was at the root of a deep conflict which had taken hold of her over the past months. Her husband Yousuf was a kind and loving man who certainly didn't deserve a wife who had the kind of thoughts that were constantly crowding her brain these days. The problem was that Yousuf saw her as a wife rather than as a woman... or a lover. Never once in the five years they had been married had he made love to her. Instead, when they had sex it was as if he was following a script; a script solely designed around his pleasure. She yearned for him to just once allow his lust and desire to take over. For him to demand she suck his cock or bend over the kitchen counter so he could sink himself, groaning, into her wet pussy. Yousuf was, however, a traditional Muslim male for whom activities such as oral sex are haram, leaving Yasmin sexually frustrated and fantasizing about others, such as Tony, who, in her mind were more than able to give her all she desired.

The party was for Tony's fortieth, and only the fact that he had limited the party to a small group of his closest friends finally persuaded Yasmin to attend. Her relationship with Tony had grown after she joined his company and she often found herself sharing intimate details of her life with him long after everyone else had left the office. While she was well aware of the dangers that their friendship posed, both to her marriage and her career, she nonetheless enjoyed the insights into the "real" Tony that these conversations afforded. It was through these interactions that she came to understand that Tony was, in reality, a very different individual from that which he portrayed in his day-to-day life at the office.

The party was in full swing when she arrived at the restaurant a little later than she had planned. She found an empty spot at a table where a couple, who looked to be roughly the same age as Tony, were already seated. Diana and David turned out to be old friends of Tony's from his college days and she enjoyed listening to the two of them recount some hilarious stories of Tony and his escapades as they ate.

After dessert, Yasmin excused herself to freshen up. As she walked back to the table she decided it was time to call an Uber and head home to Yousuf. Her plan however was thwarted by David.

"Good, you're back," David announced. "Just in time for the fun." He was clearly a little worse for wear, having consumed multiple glasses of the excellent after-dinner Scotch.

"Oh, darling, I'm sure Yasmin doesn't want to get involved in all that nonsense," Diana, quickly interjected.

Yasmin looked from one to the other as she attempted to figure out the subject of this conversation. Diana, sensing that Yasmin was a little lost, was the first to speak up.

"Oh, ever since their Cambridge days, Tony and David and their idiotic male friends have had a stupid and, quite frankly, misogynistic tradition that the 'Birthday Boy' gets to kiss all the women at the party. David is just about to embarrass everyone by getting it under way."

Yasmin looked at the two of them incredulously. "No way. You're kidding me, right?"

"I know. It's incredibly juvenile and you'd think that they would have grown out of it by now. But every year we dutifully line up and kiss the Birthday Boy."

David responded loudly, "Oh, come on Diana, it's just some good clean fun. Never done anyone any harm!"

Yasmin looked at Diana pleadingly.

"Ummmmm, we're talking about a kiss on the cheek, aren't we?" she asked hesitantly. "I'm Muslim, married, and well... really, it doesn't fit with my beliefs."

"Don't be such a prude, Yasmin," David said, raising his voice even further, "Of course it's not a kiss on the cheek. Got to give the Birthday Boy a little fun, after all. Just slip him a little tongue!"

Yasmin was horrified and more than a little panic-stricken. What could she do? She didn't want to cause a scene by refusing to participate, however, both her faith and her upbringing were screaming loud warnings at her.

Thankfully, Diana sensed the dilemma Yasmin faced and came to her rescue.

"Quiet, you old goat! Can't you see that Yasmin is Muslim? I'm sure that even thinking about kissing a man other than her husband is embarrassing, never mind the thought of doing it in public, in a room full of strangers!"

Diana was right. Inside Yasmin was dying at the thought of kissing Tony, even as the warm, pleasurable feelings generated by those very thoughts were coursing through her body. She flashed a look of gratitude towards Diana.

"Look," said Diana, "why don't you join the end of the line, beside me. I'll have a word with Tony and make sure he understands the situation. You can just hug him or shake hands or whatever."

"Thanks. You are a lifesaver," Yasmin replied softly as David abruptly stood up and weaved his way to the front of the room.

Ten minutes later he had rounded up every woman in the room and had them standing in a line while he rambled on about how the tradition had started. Yasmin's heart raced and a million thoughts crowded her brain. Were all of these women really going to kiss Tony? Not just a peck on the cheek or even their lips but a full-on, no holds barred, passionate kiss? Surely they couldn't be so brazen, especially since so many seemed to be here with their husbands. She could only imagine Yousuf's reaction if she kissed Tony in such a fashion. What was Diana going to do? By the sounds of it, she had partaken in this ritual for a long, long time. But would she have the courage to allow Tony to kiss her openly in front of all of her friends? Then again, it sounded like all of her friends would be doing the same thing and that it would actually be Yasmin who would be the odd one out.

For a moment she considered yielding to peer pressure and allowing Tony to kiss her when it was her turn. After all, hadn't she, in her most private moments, thought about just how hot and sexy it would be to experience this very thing? Hadn't she reached down and fingered her moist pussy as she imagined being held tightly in Tony's muscular arms, his hard throbbing member rubbing against her?

But no! Much as she had imagined and fantasized about Tony taking her, she just couldn't be as brazen and slutty to kiss him in front of all these people.

Her body shook as Tony slowly made his way down the line. The tall, blonde woman three places up laughed and giggled with him for a few moments before stepping forward and draping her arms languidly around his neck. Yasmin watched in a mixture of fascination and shock as their lips met and Tony's hand slid down her back and onto her ass. They kissed for no more than twenty seconds, yet Yasmin easily felt the heat and ardor from where she stood, mesmerized.

A few moments later Tony was in front of Diana, taking her hands in his as he looked down at her. Despite her heels, she was a good five inches shorter than Tony and Yasmin giggled inwardly as she wondered just how they would ever manage to kiss.

"Happy birthday, Tony," Diana said, smiling up at him softly. "How many years have we been doing this now?"

"Oh, I'm not sure," Tony replied, "but I know I look forward to it every year."

He leaned forward as Diana stretched upwards, her head tilting to accept his kiss, lips parting to accommodate the tongue that snaked softly between. She emitted a low, soft moan as Tony drew her closer, crushing her against his chest. It was obvious this wasn't the first time they had shared such a passionate kiss, since their bodies melted into the others with an almost effortless ease.

Finally, Tony stood in front of Yasmin. Her knees were weak as she nervously contemplated what was about to happen. She sighed with relief when Tony was a perfect gentleman.

"Yasmin, I'm so glad you decided to come tonight." He leaned forward, kissing her gently on the cheek. "Thank you for playing along. I know this whole shenanigan must be difficult for you. Let me give you a lift home in a few minutes. That'll allow us to catch up a little."

She blushed, thanking him with a smile, and quickly returned to the table to collect her things. When Diana returned to the table a few moments later she thanked her once again for helping her out of her predicament.

"No worries. Tony and David are good men, but sometimes it seems like they never got past their teenage years," Diana responded with a wan smile. "Now I better go see if I can get that old goat home and into bed before he gets into any more mischief."

A few minutes later Tony escorted Yasmin from the restaurant, his hand at the small of her back. She felt guilty about him touching her in such a fashion, even as her body responded positively to his masculine gesture. Soon they were settled in his sleek BMW, heading southwest towards Twickenham, talking, rather aimlessly, about the party.

They were both a little tired and, as Tony concentrated on driving, Yasmin's eyes closed allowing her to be alone with her thoughts. Almost immediately, they took her back to the time she first met Tony. They were both working for a major financial institution in the city, Tony leading up a large software development project which was close to being rolled out to customers, while Yasmin was a newly-minted marketing associate assigned to the work. While she'd never quite figured out why, Tony had taken her under his wing from the get-go, making sure she fully understood the scope of the project and the benefits it would deliver for customers. He went out of his way to ensure she received credit for her work and, most importantly of all, had made sure that the project executives were keenly aware of every contribution she'd made to the success of the project.

It didn't come as a surprise when Yasmin learned he was leaving the organization to start his own software development company. His ambitious and entrepreneurial spirit was always evident and she knew from conversations they had had, that one day he wanted to be his own boss. The company that he created, SoftOne, develops software API's for banks and other financial institutions and was a great success almost immediately.

Over the past couple of years their relationship had blossomed into a friendship outside the office. They enjoyed drinks together and talked intimately about their backgrounds and upbringing. Yasmin was fascinated by Tony's time at Cambridge, an educational experience so different from that which she'd experienced while pursuing her own degree. Equally, Tony was interested in understanding the culture and norms that had shaped Yasmin. Through it all, it was evident to Yasmin that Tony harbored an unspoken attraction towards her. Despite this, and the issues that it raised regarding her personal life, she accepted Tony's offer of a position with SoftOne and was now a rising star in their marketing operation.

She was jolted from her thoughts by Tony's deep voice.

"Do you want me to drop you by the park, Yasmin? I know you'd probably prefer your neighbors not see you being dropped off by a strange man late on a Friday night."

She laughed as she looked him over. "You're really not that strange, Tony. Just a bit different. Yeah, why don't you pull into the lay-by and I'll walk down to the house."

She knew that most non-muslims would never understand, but being seen alone, late at night, with a man who isn't your husband just didn't sit well with who she was brought up to be.

Tony steered the car into the lay-by and, to her surprise, turned the engine off as he pulled on the parking brake.

"Thanks for coming tonight. I hope you enjoyed it," he said, turning towards her and smiling brightly.

"Yeah, I did. It was fun and I enjoyed getting to know some of your friends. Especially Diana. She seems like a really interesting woman and had some great stories to share about you."

"Yeah, Diana and I go way back to our Pembroke days. She took a first in medicine, you know, which isn't too surprising since I can personally attest to her knowledge of male anatomy." He laughed softly. "Don't look so shocked, we were consenting adults and it was before she got serious with David. Though, God knows, I'm not sure that would have stopped her. She's always been one to go after exactly what she wants."

Yasmin looked at him, a little embarrassed that he would admit so readily to having slept with Diana.

"I'm not a saint, Yasmin! Yes, I've slept with Diana." He shook his head from side to side, somewhat ruefully. "Actually, I've had quite a few of the women who were there tonight."

As she processed this information, Tony looked deep into her eyes, and before she knew what was happening his face was close to hers, his tongue running softly across her lips, probing and requesting entry.

Her surprise was total and genuine. To say she had no inkling that a kiss was coming would be an understatement, and to her eternal shame, her body responded and she accepted his kiss. Her lips parted, allowing his tongue to explore in search of hers. The kiss quickly became deep and passionate, his hand on her shoulder as their tongues dueled eagerly. By the time she regained her senses and realized what she was doing, she was too far gone to care. Tony's mouth was stirring feelings and desires she had sublimated for so long; her body tingled all over, her nipples were stiff and hard and, most shamefully of all, her most intimate parts were moist and wet.

Regardless, she continued to kiss him. In the moment, she wanted him. She wanted him to hold her, kiss her... and yes, she'd be lying if she said she didn't want him to take her. The spell was only broken when his hand moved from her shoulder. She knew where it would go next.

"Tony! We can't!" she cried, pushing him away. "Oh my God, what are we doing? I'm married, Tony. Do you know what it means to be a married Muslim woman? Do you know what we've just done?"

He looked back at her calmly, a quizzical smile on his face.

"Calm down, Yasmin. It's okay, it was just a friendly kiss."

"Friendly kiss! Tony, there's no such thing for a Muslim woman. Oh, God... I need to go!"

Her mind raced and the anxiety over what she had just done made her breathless. She needed to get out of the car! What if someone had seen them? What if anyone ever told Yousuf what they had witnessed? She threw open the door and ran from the car, totally distraught by what she had allowed to happen.

The rest of the weekend was just as unsettling. While Tony wasn't the kind of person who would ever let on that they had kissed, there was a constant sinking feeling in her stomach that Yousuf would somehow find out. She felt so guilty at the betrayal that kissing Tony so passionately represented in her mind. Yet it was difficult for her to forget the feelings that the kiss stirred in her body. Why didn't she feel those things when Yousuf kissed her? Why was it she never had visions of being bent over and fucked hard by Yousuf in her mind?

One half of her brain wanted desperately to call or text Tony so she could understand what had happened and work through her feelings. The other was more circumspect, telling her it would be much better to talk with him face to face on Monday.

Late Sunday afternoon she went for a long run. She needed to clear her mind and prepare for seeing Tony the next day. She knew they needed to talk and she spent most of the early part of the run rehearsing the conversation. At the five-mile mark, she rested on a bench and texted Tony. Within minutes she had a response suggesting they have lunch together the next day, at a quiet restaurant close to the office.

The next morning, Yasmin took extra care when it came to choosing what she should wear. Finally, she settled on black slacks, a black satin blouse, and a bright red hijab which she felt gave her a suitably chaste look.

She arrived at the restaurant ten minutes early, hoping she might snag a quiet table towards the back, away from the majority of diners.

Tony arrived five minutes later, breezing into the restaurant in his usual self-assured fashion and smiling brightly as he approached.

"Yasmin, how are you?" he asked, leaning in to kiss her cheek. He was more than a little surprised when Yasmin pulled back, offering him her hand instead. "Well, this is nice! Dinner on Friday and lunch on Monday. We must stop meeting like this, Yasmin."

She scowled at him. "Stop it, Tony! How can you act so nonchalant!"

"Oh, Friday," he said, looking a little perplexed. "Don't worry, I haven't even thought about it, and I'd certainly never say anything to anyone. It was just a friendly kiss."

Yasmin shook her head and looked down at the table. "Tony, you don't understand. What we did was wrong, totally wrong! I'm ashamed that we kissed, I don't know what to do."

"Don't do anything. It was a moment of weakness for both of us. It happened, it was nice, it's done! Nothing more to say or worry about."

"Tony, it's haram in Islam for members of the opposite sex to be alone together, let alone kiss! What are we going to do?"

"Look, first of all, you need to calm down," he said, looking around quickly to check on whether they were being observed. "Second, we're consenting adults. It was just a kiss! Let's put it behind us, Yasmin. Nobody is ever going to know."

She took a deep breath, attempting to calm down and pull herself together. "Okay, I'm sorry. Can we just pretend it never happened?"

Tony grinned. "Of course! What was it that never happened?" He asked with a little laugh.

The remainder of the lunch went smoothly, all thoughts of the scandalous kiss seemingly banished from their minds. Yet beneath the polite conversation, the kiss with Tony continued to eat away at Yasmin. Why had she responded to Tony's kiss so readily? How had the kiss set her entire body on fire so easily? And, perhaps most importantly of all, why did she wish Tony would simply scoop her up and make her his for the afternoon. Even later that night as her husband claimed her, it proved impossible for her to push the idea from her mind that it was Tony who was above her, feverishly pounding his thick cock into her warm, welcoming pussy.