The Marigold Mark

Mary flipped a coin and landed on her sister Abigail next.

"Hey, I have to call you back, Elijah's trying to drown Esther in the tub. One hour." Abby was yelling over the screaming child in the background as she hung up.

Mary turned on the TV to a mindless reality show where the contestants were truly brainless. That or so well scripted to make Mary question how any of them successfully passed second grade.

Her phone vibrated. Abby started on a tirade.

"I'm glad you finally reached out. Do you know that Mom and Dad are beside themselves? They have been at church twice a day praying for your soul. I don't know that you've truly thought this through. I know you and Ben think you can avoid Hell just by not murdering people, but it won't be enough, Mary. We're willing to come to you, sit with you and Sean, try to help. We can even bring the pastor with us so you can move past this unsubstantiated anger you're holding within yourself. Just tell us when."

"Actually, I was just calling to ask what Elijah and Esther wanted for Christmas this year. I thought I'd start my shopping early." Abby's proselytizing was enough to remind Mary why she had looked to Ben as her first safe harbor. Mary doubted she'd fare better with Matt, but after that, she was back to considering hotels.

"Oh, you are getting a jump on things. Will you be doing Thanksgiving with Sean's family again this year?"

"The kids will."

"How utterly heinous. You're welcome here for Christmas if you drop this divorce notion with Sean and arrive as a united family."

"No thank you, Abby. I'll mail some gifts for the kids. Happy holidays."

Mary hung up in disgust. The call with Matt would have to wait for a time when she'd cooled off.

Mary picked up all her mail from the house she'd once shared with Sean while the kids shared dinner with him. She ate in the car on the sidewalk with Sarge while Jorge entertained Ollie at the manor.

"Sarge, do you think Jack would mind if I invited some friends over for the kids. I know Sam is missing his age-group friends."

"I'm sure he wouldn't mind at all miss, just tell me when you plan to have them over, so I know to expect them."

"I told you a long time ago to call me Mary."

"Boss-man said no."

Mary stuffed a handful of fries into her mouth. Wiping her greasy hands on her pants she flipped through the mail finding six postcards for the kids from Ben. Two for each of them, all from different cities. Mary envied his ability to live a nomadic life, free from personal attachments. She looked forward to his phone call the next day.

"I catch you at a good time?" Ben asked, while Mary scrubbed at a particularly stubborn stain of unidentified origin on Jenny's shirt in the laundry room.

"Now's perfect."

She filled him in on what happened with Sean, that she was currently staying with a friend, that Jenny had a requited crush on the boy her age they were living with, essentially everything except her late-night activities with Jack.

Ben told her all about his travels, about managing his work schedule remotely and finally about his husband.

"Hold on. You're married?!" Mary shrieked. "Where the hell was my invitation?"

"You were very much still under the thrall of our parents seven years ago. Didn't want the judgement from them at the time. Still don't, but it sounds like you're no longer at risk of inadvertently letting my marital status slip."

"Seven years?! Wait, is that the 'good friend and roommate' that came to Thanksgiving a few years ago?"

"One and the same."

"I wish I'd known; I was so cold to him."

"He remembers you chasing two toddlers around for hours. Trust me, he took no slight.

"So, this Jack guy. More wedding bells in your future? You know you sound positively moonstruck when you speak about him?"

"Well, that was the point of my original call. I'm worried that I'm not giving myself any space to breathe. I have only ever been with Sean. He's still technically my husband. What if I'm falling for a man because he's convenient and I just don't know how to stand on my own?"

"Sis, from what I've seen, you've been standing on your own for years. Just because Sean was there physically doesn't mean you were leaning on him emotionally. You said Jack's traveling now: are you managing without him?"

"Yes."

"Then who cares about timing. Do what makes you happy. If Jack makes you happy, then go for it. If he doesn't, then move on."

"He does make me happy."

"Then I wish you all the luck. You got this."

Sam's three friends had a blast exploring the house and yard. Jorge about tackled one of them to the ground trying to ensure he wore a vest in the woods, but that was the only incident.

Thanksgiving came and went, and Mary worried that Jack had still not returned. Sarge assured her that he'd received a prearranged signal the other day. Ollie seemed nonplussed about his father's absence. Said the length was pretty typical. On Mary's thirty-seventh birthday a box of thirty-seven marigolds arrived with a note from Jack that simply said, "For the birthday girl. - Jack"

Jorge shook his head in what looked like shock and disgust, and muttered "Marigolds. That prick." He then helped her find a vase, while she wheedled out of him that Jack had snooped around for her exact birthday before he had even departed.

Chapter 5

When Mary returned from the lawyer's office a week later on a brisk early December day, the house felt different. Like there was an energy pulsing through it that had been absent. The smell of bacon permeated the foyer. Mary tiptoed around the corner of the kitchen and spied Jack frying up a few strips of bacon.

She cracked a broad smile. "Welcome home, Jack."

"Mary! Aren't you a sight for jetlagged eyes. Everything go okay this morning? Making progress with the settlement?"

"How did you—"

"Sarge filled me in when I returned, said to expect you back from the lawyer around noon."

"Yes. Lawyer thinks things will be settled shortly after the new year."

"I look forward to celebrating with you." He was on her almost instantaneously, merely an inch of space separating them. "Have you done as I asked?"

She knew even without clarification that he was asking if she'd orgasmed without him.

"I behaved, Sir."

"Good girl. Have a seat and I'll make you a BLT."

"How was the trip?" Mary asked, a bit of tomato sliding down her chin. She grabbed a napkin and looked at Jack. Fatigue crept into his expression.

"More work than I expected. And there were some challenging personalities to work with. But I've done my part, and I can get back to my own life now. How was Oliver? I hope he wasn't too much trouble."

"Your son is a great kid. We had our own little feast for Thanksgiving while my kids were at the O'Connors'. Sarge and Jorge ate their weight in—"

Jack's alarmed face stopped Mary short.

"Did I say or do something wrong?" Mary asked tentatively.

Jack grabbed her hand and drew her up to his bedroom.

"Jack, what's wrong? You're scaring me."

"Mary, I didn't want to say anything before, because I didn't want to unduly frighten you, but you need to be less familiar with Sarge. I trust all our lives with him, but that doesn't mean I trust him with everything. I told you earlier that he wasn't exactly hirable. He can be a bit possessive of women if he thinks they like him in that way. I've tried to create the separation in his mind by making him think of you as an employer, but if you treat him like a pure equal, he may decide that you're his."

Mary's lower lip trembled in fright. "And you didn't think to tell me this before you left?"

"I didn't think it would be an issue. I'm not used to women like you, Mary."

"Which aspect, my friendly demeanor, my free will, or is it that I'm a women who follows your orgasm edicts without question? Does any of that differentiate you from what you've just told me about Sarge?"

Jack laughed. "I'm very used to women who do as I say sexually. Sarge wouldn't touch your kids, but you might find yourself wishing to see them again. I would never keep you from them."

"And you brought me all the way up to your room to tell me this because...?"

"Because he has no eyes or ears in this room."

"There are cameras?"

"Yes, Mary. Did you never notice them? Aside from the basement playroom feed we watched together."

She looked around the room.

"Not in here. Remember, your orgasms are mine and mine alone."

Mary squeaked, "In my bedroom? In my kids' bedrooms?!"

"Yes, and yes. They're only monitored for threats, Mary. The only people who have access are my team."

"Sarge saw me orgasm the first night then."

"No, he didn't. When I realized what you were doing, I shut off the feed."

Mary frowned. "Did you know? Before you even walked into the room?"

"Yes. I told you the kids were settled. I was checking to make sure everyone had what they needed. I happened to flick over to your screen as you lowered the vibrator beneath the covers. I shut off the feed and interrupted you."

"So, you would have known if I lied to you earlier?"

"Eventually."

"This is a lot, Jack."

"Then let's go finish our lunch and resume our lives."

Mary turned to leave, but Jack caught her arm. "Now that I'm back, I expect to see you here tonight. Am I clear?"

"Yes, Sir."

"Good girl." He released Mary's arm, and she walked back down the stairs, her feet leaden.

Jack asked about the visit with Sam's friends, resuming their lighthearted conversation from earlier. By the time she finished eating, Mary was feeling chipper again.

Ollie embraced his dad for minutes on end when he came through the door.

Homework littered the kitchen counter while Jack and Mary tripped over each other preparing dinner. The rhythm would return, she knew, as even by the end of the meal prep, they were better at anticipating each other's moves.

Mary heaved a big sigh before opening Jack's door. She resumed her routine from before waiting for him to tell her to begin. But he didn't hand her the vibrator.

"Do you know what this is?" Jack held up an object that looked like a 3D spade on a deck of cards.

"No, Sir,"

"This goes in your butt. We're going to add this to your repertoire. Every night, you will prepare yourself for me, apply lubricant to the plug I set on the bed and insert it into your ass. When you're done for the night, you will set it on the tray in the bathroom. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Sir, but—"

"This is non-negotiable." Jack set the plug and some lubricant next to it on the bed.

He walked her through everything, step by step until she felt the plug stretch her slightly and then seat itself inside her. It was small, and not uncomfortable in sensation, but she was wildly self-conscious of its presence and Jack's pleased expression.

When she came, she could feel her ass clenching around the plug.

"Again," he ordered.

Mary finished her seventh orgasm in a puddle of flesh and bone at the foot of Jack's bed, when he finally allowed her to stop.

"I have missed this so much. Thank you for giving me this part of you. Now I hate to kick you out, but I am beyond exhausted, and you can't be here in the morning. The tray in the bathroom should be readily apparent, but shout if it's not."

Mary left Jack fighting his eyelids.

A week later, a slightly larger plug sat on the bed for her. A week after that, an incrementally larger one. When Mary had her period, Jack placed a towel under her while she wore a tampon, and there were no juices for him to lick, but nothing else changed.

The kids brought home holiday decorations which were hung on the tree alongside Ollie's handprint casting from when he was three and a few choice ornaments that were Mary's from her childhood. She'd left the rest with Sean.

Their Christmas Eve and morning traditions melded seamlessly, before Mary dropped her kids off with their father's and his family. With the pending divorce, Mary and Sean had decided to forgo the Disney trip for the kids and instead pandered to their kids' materialistic sides with extra presents.

Chapter 6

The court date was set for Mary's divorce, the settlement agreement settled for all but the children's custody. Jack helped her ensure that any assets or payments for her kids were structured in such a way that her kids would be the only ones capable of accessing the funds through gradual release as they came of age. Sean seemed appreciative of that and relented slightly in the negotiations as a result.

The final judgement from the court was that Mary would have primary custody of the children. Sean would have several major holidays with them, and a few weeks and weekends scattered throughout the year.

The last order of business for Mary was returning to Mary Lutz instead of O'Connor.

"Well, Ms. Lutz," Jack said from the doorway of Mary's bedroom. "The time has come."

Mary smiled back at Jack, she knew exactly what he meant. His promise of his ulterior motives. "Not tonight, Jack, please. Let me have one night as Mary Lutz, the independent woman who I haven't been since I was merely a child."

Jack's expression soured. His nostrils flared. "No."

Mary countered, "The kids will be at Sean's for the weekend, we can go all night and be as loud as we want then."

Jack clenched his jaw. "Friday night. There will be no chance to back out." He spun on his heels and walked to his room.

Mary laughed off Jack's resolution. "It's a date," she called out.

For the first time since living with Jack, she didn't go to him that night. She was a free woman. The liberation was exhilarating. Mary spun around her room with her arms spread until she was dizzy. Then, she jumped up and down on the bed for about two seconds before feeling the ache in her unsupported breasts. Finally, she crept out of her room and peeked in on her kids, Sam was still awake reading with his back to the door and headphones on, but Kara and Jenny were out cold. Mary smiled to herself and went to bed.

Jack sent Ollie with Sarge to a hotel while Mary dropped off her kids. The whole drive back to Jack's, Mary's stomach flip-flopped. She'd never had sex with another man, never even been touched by another man. Jack seemed to have oodles of experience; would he judge her, compare her prowess? She made up her mind to talk to him, tell him she wasn't ready yet. She knew he'd feel like she was stringing him along, so she tried to think of what she could offer him while he waited. Perhaps he'd have a suggestion.

Any plans to delay were stopped the minute she walked in the door and Jack threw her against the wall attacking her with his lips.

"You're mine," he said possessively, before scooping her up. She dropped her purse on the floor as he carried her up the stairs.

"Jack, I—"

"No talking."

He set her down in front of the locked door. In all her time there, she'd yet to see any construction workers working on the space. All the sexual build-up and he wanted to show her an active work zone?

He unlocked the door and pushed her through the doorway, so she stumbled and almost fell to her knees.

"Hey! I could have gotten hurt!" she screeched before looking at her surroundings. It was a sex room, the kind in nightmares or fantasies, depending on how one viewed the paraphernalia. Mary decided it was firmly in the camp of nightmares for her.

She turned to leave. Jack shut the door behind him with a bump of his hip. "No, Jack. I'm not—"

He wrapped his arms around her and smothered her protests with his mouth. Mary tried to fight back by punching him, but he held her too closely. She tried to knee him, but he lifted her, swept a leg behind hers and tackled her to the ground. The hardwood floor was unyielding.

"Not like this. Please, Jack." Mary didn't even realize she'd begun crying until the words stuck in her throat. Jack had begun removing his clothes as she spoke. "I'm not ready for this. I don't want our first time to make me hate you."

Jack paused in the removal of his belt. His countenance softened. "I don't want you to hate me either." He stood and replaced his clothing.

Mary gathered her shoe that had been knocked off in his takedown of her. He had stopped when she finally said no. He had stopped. He was a good person that just got carried away with lust in a terrifying sex dungeon. But he wasn't a rapist. She forgave him without a second thought.

"Maybe we can go relax in the hot tub with some wine. You can tell me why the fuck you have a room like this, and we can work up to making love."

Jack held the door for her, and she left hastily. Jack locked the door behind him, and she went to put on her bathing suit for the hot tub.

Jack handed her a glass of wine, but before stepping in said, "Hand me your bathing suit."

Mary turned up the jets and disrobed. Jack wrung the top and bottom and threw them on the floor. To Mary's dismay he turned off the jets and climbed in.

He didn't try to touch her though, he just sat appraising her, sipping his wine, waiting for her to speak.

"Did your past wives like that stuff?"

"They liked pleasing me. I think you do, too."

"Did you use everything in there on them? What even was half that stuff? Do you intend to use it all on me?"

Jack grinned deviously. "No. Would you like to go back up for a demonstration? And, yes."

"No, thank you."

"I will fuck you in that room, not today, but someday soon. I call it my Gentleman's Parlor."

"You're sick."

"You have no idea." Jack winked.

Mary downed half her glass in one gulp.

"So what do we do, now?"

"Now," Jack removed his swim trunks, "we start with a blow job."

"I've never done that before."

"I'll show you. Come closer."

"Here? In the water? I'll drown. You're not even hard yet."

"Yes. Here and now. Put your head under and wrap your lips around my dick. Don't let your teeth touch me and I'll move your head for you."

Mary had never been a particularly good swimmer, so she inhaled deeply, pinched her nose and lowered herself under the water. The chemicals stung her eyes as she located his dick. She opened her mouth to wrap around his dick and sucked water down her windpipe. She surfaced and choked out the water, her lungs burning.

"Try again without plugging your nose this time," Jack said when she'd mostly gotten her breathing under control. She glared at him. Based on their earlier interactions with the vibrator, and the butt plug, she should have expected him to be adamant in his expectations.

She owed it to him. After all he'd done for her, she needed to at least try for him. She didn't plug her nose and got as far as wrapping her mouth around him while he placed his hands on either side of her head before she pushed off the bottom of the tub and stood up gasping for air.

"I'm sorry, Jack. I can't hold my breath that long."

"You'll learn," he said simply. Gratefully, he didn't ask her to try again. He placed her wine glass in her hand, picked up his, clinked the glasses and said, "To next time."

Mary felt like she had seriously let him down. He barely looked at her naked body. She felt like she'd been a let-down of a fantasy for him and resolved to do better. "Jack, why don't we go upstairs to your bedroom. There's something I've always wanted to try."

Jack tilted his head to the side, contemplating. He answered her by standing up, extending his hand to her and as she stepped out of the water, throwing her over his shoulder and walking up the stairs completely naked.

Mary laughed watching his tight buns move from her prime vantage point. "You are absolutely incorrigible."

He threw her down on the soft mattress and asked, "What did you always want to try?"

Mary suddenly found herself embarrassed. She'd once broached the subject with Sean when they were eighteen and he found it too risqué. She never tried again. Her face heated with the shame of voicing her desire. Jack encouraged her with a sparkle in his eye. "I wanted to try having sex with me on top," she blurted in one word.