The Wanton Flower

“I don’t know what I was thinking,” she said as she later explained to her husband what had happened. She at least had to let him know about her foolish behavior in front of his students.

He nodded understandingly. “Hmm. What do you think made you do it?”

Jessica gave him a confused look. What could she say? That in the heat of the moment, it felt exciting to give the boys a good look? It just sounded too surreal to admit.

“I have no idea,” she said.

“Do you think it was because of the flower?”

“Uhm. I…” Jessica started. She had just about forgotten about the plant and its ascribed effect.

“Do you think it affected your behavior?” Oscar asked.

“I don’t know. I chased after the melon without thinking. I think it was just to save it.”

“But later, when they spotted you…” Oscar pressed. “Do you think it influenced your behavior then?”

Jessica shrugged her shoulders in a maybe. She recognized that voice. This was Dr. Bergman talking, curious for clues. Perhaps it was a mistake to participate as her husband’s study subject. But at least he wasn’t upset she had showed off before his students. The prospect that his plant might have an effect seemed to rejoice him.

---

Oscar turned out to be right about her duties. She had plenty of spare time between preparing meals, and she spent a lot of time reading under a palm tree. At this rate, she would finish all the books she brought long before the trip was over. Relaxation soon turned to boredom.

Tony had taken the students on an expedition to look for the plant the other side of the island, and Oscar was busy cataloging what they had collected so far. She decided to chat with Ben to pass the time. He was sitting in a chair at the beach, listening to the weather report over satellite radio.

“Any storms on the horizon?” she asked.

“No, sounds like we’re safe.”

“Am I disturbing you?”

Ben turned off the radio. “We get all weather info digitally these days. Just an old habit to listen to the report.”

He stood up and offered her his seat, the only chair available.

“Oh, I’m fine, thanks,” she said, and sat down in the sand.

He nodded and took his seat again. They stared at the horizon in silence.

“Sorry about your marriage,” Jessica said eventually, mainly to break the silence.

Ben hummed ambiguously. “Such is life.”

“You don’t seem very upset.”

“She was a friend I was married to,” he said. “Now she’s a friend I’m not married to.”

Jessica nodded. That happened to some couples, the spark just fading. She knew Ben was away a lot, so it was probably easy to drift apart. Then again, she and Oscar were apart a lot too, but they always managed to compensate passionately when they reunited. Her husband was very good at making her feel desired.

When Ben didn’t offer more, she decided to go for a quick swim. The sun made her wet body glisten as she returned a minute later.

“Are you looking for someone else now that you’re single?” she asked, and immediately regretted it. She didn’t consider them close enough to ask these personal questions, but she felt a need to drive the conversation. Ben was always friendly, but he’d never been much of a talker.

He smirked. “Looking? Isn’t that always OK?”

She giggled nervously. “Yeah, I suppose it is.”

His comment made her aware of how little she was wearing as she stood before him. The low-cut bikini top left a lot of her breasts exposed, with glistening droplets in her cleavage. Her refreshing swim had made her nipples apparent through the thin fabric, and somehow the notion that she was on display made them stand at further attention. The seated captain wore sunglasses that made it difficult to see exactly where he looked, but surely he was checking her out? The thrill wasn’t as powerful as when she’d given Liam and Adam a show, and to Jessica’s surprises, she craved more. Placing one hand on her hip, she closed her eyes and slowly ran her other hand from her head, down her neck and onto her chest. Could Ben tell she purposely posed for him?

Oscar was sorting out samples and taking measurements further up the beach. He seemed to have stopped his work to watch her sneakily pose for the captain. Realizing what she was doing, she waved at her husband and took off jogging towards him. He smiled as she approached, clearly enjoying the sight of his wife’s swaying body.

Jessica straddled him, pushing him back against the sand. She gave him a passionate kiss. Surprised by her unusual public display of affection, he seemed taken aback, but his lips soon responded. She didn’t stop him when his hand moved down over her ass, even though she knew Ben could see.

“You know…” she whispered. “There is no one onboard that boat. How about we go and use the cabin for something other than sleeping?”

“Oh, I’d love that,” Oscar said, and kissed her neck. “But I have to finish this before the others get back.”

She understood, but still pouted.

“There is a nice little waterfall not far that way,” Oscar said and pointed up the forest. “Maybe you want to check it out if you’re bored?”

She gave him another kiss before dismounting him. This was a work expedition after all, and as much as she craved his attention, she had to respect Oscar’s other duties. She wasn’t as adventurous as her husband, but exploring a little sounded like a good idea. She grabbed a towel before taking off. If there was a waterfall, maybe she could go for a swim.

The waterfall turned out to be smaller than she expected, and the pond beneath it wasn’t even knee high. But the pristine scenery was beautiful, with lush ferns and shading trees. She sat on a rock dangling her feet in the water, feeling relaxed and carless.

A thought crept into her mind—wouldn’t it be even more rewarding if she took her top off? She didn’t know where the idea came from. It just suddenly appeared in her head. She discarded the whim, thinking she was being silly. But it didn’t leave her. Could the flower actually affect her this way?

And would it be so bad if she took her top off? Lots of women go topless even with people around. Couldn’t she allow herself to do it here, all alone in a tropical haven? Sure, she wasn’t far away from their camp, but that didn’t seem to bother her much. Not giving herself time to change her mind, she quickly unclasped her top. Pulse racing, she placed it on a rock beside her. She scanned her surroundings, both hoping and fearing someone would see her.

As she adjusted to the sensation, she grew more daring, deliberately shifting away from her top. If someone approached, she wouldn’t be able to quickly put it back on. That was oddly appealing to her. The alleged waterfall was more of a trickle, but it was well suited to shower a tropical naiad.

There were no practical reasons for her to be topless. The top wasn’t uncomfortable, and the canopy shaded the location enough that tan-lines weren’t an issue. Jessica simply wanted to be topless, despite the risk of getting caught. Because of that risk, even. She felt enchanting as the cool water caressed her skin.

The sound of a snapping branch cracked through the silence. Jessica’s heart raced. There were no large animals on the island, and it had to be a human coming her way. A man, specifically, given the crew of the expedition.

Jessica closed her eyes, pretending not to hear the approaching footsteps. The urge to cover up was barely noticeable, dwarfed by the desire to be seen. What would Oscar think if it was him? He hadn’t been upset when she told him about the see-through encounter with his students, but that had at least originally been incidental. How would he feel about his wife willingly baring her tits, knowing she could be caught by someone from his team?

And what if it was someone else? She shivered at the thrill rushing through her body, listening carefully for clues. Was someone staring at her right now, admiring her topless display? She could no longer hear footsteps. Unable to fight her curiosity, she opened her eyes, trying to appear casual. To her disappointment, she couldn’t see anyone. Maybe whoever it was had just passed nearby, heading for somewhere else. Or maybe he’d seen her and quickly turned away.

She was just about to gather her things and head back when her eyes fell on Ben. The captain was standing behind some ferns, staring straight at her. He didn’t seem to be hiding exactly, but he had stopped at a distance where he wouldn’t disturb her. How long had he been standing there? He seemed frozen in his tracks. Jessica’s nipples stood at full attention, demanding to be admired.

Ben’s mouth twitched as their eyes met.

“Sorry,” he said. “I didn’t mean to intrude.”

He spun around and quickly walked away. Jessica remained seated, chest heaving at the thrill. His abrupt departure made her realize how inappropriate she was, willingly letting him catch her with her tits on display. What was happening to her?

Eventually she headed back down to their camp. She fought the urge to remain exposed and put the top back on. She found her husband sitting on the beach, staring at the horizon. As he often did, he seemed lost in his thoughts, and didn’t turn as she approached.

“Do you mind if I join you?” she said.

He lit up as he saw her and gave her a tender kiss. “Could any man mind have you nearby?”

Jessica brazed herself. “I think I should tell you something.”

“Oh, yeah?”

“Nothing bad, I think. It’s just…”

Oscar gave her a curious look. “What?”

“Well, I took my top off.”

“OK.”

“And Ben caught me. He saw me topless. I don’t know if he was spying on me, or just happened to come by.”

Oscar nodded understandingly. “I see. That was kind of my fault.”

“What?”

“Well, I asked him to go check on you.”

Jessica gave him a confused look. “You did?”

“You know, to see if you needed anything,” Oscar said. His expression shifted from apologetic to intrigued. “So, you were topless?”

Jessica nodded. Oscar had never been the jealous or possessive type, but she was still surprised his questions lacked any hint of accusation.

“That doesn’t sound like something you’d do,” Oscar concluded.

“I know.”

“Do you think it’s because of the flower?”

“Uhm, I guess, maybe. As you say, I don’t normally do things like this.”

“But you decided to put it back on?” Oscar asked, looking at her bikini top.

“Yeah, but to be honest with you,” Jessica began, and gave him a guilty frown. “I didn’t really want to. At least a part of me that wanted to remain exposed.”

She felt the thrill rush through her as she revealed her strange desire to her husband.

Oscar hummed. “I see. But you could control it?”

Jessica recognized that voice. Hello, Dr. Bergman.

“What if...” Oscar continued. “What if you didn’t control it?”

“What do you mean?”

“Maybe the effect of the flower can be controlled through willpower.”

“I suppose,” Jessica said.

“Do you think you could make yourself more open to it?”

“Uhm, I guess I can try,” Jessica said cautiously. Wasn’t she already responding strongly to the flower?

“Excellent!” Oscar exclaimed. He gave her a pleased smile and kissed her on the forehead. “You’re the best.”

They sat in silence, holding each other as they looked out over the ocean. Jessica leaned her head on Oscar’s shoulder. Supposedly, she was doing her husband a favor by testing his natural stimulant, but it felt a lot like a treat for her. The effect she felt was subtle, and it wasn’t like new desires popped into her mind. She just felt more aware of them. Whims she usually wrote off as stupid or outrageous suddenly felt appealing. And now Oscar wanted her to be more open to these desires.

When she noticed Tony and the students approaching, she realized she’d better get started on dinner. It was after all why she came along on the expedition, even if other matters seemed more relevant to her now. Oscar and Tony discussed the daily harvest of flowers, and Liam and Adam listened to their mentors. Jessica asked Ben to help her prepare the food.

“Sorry about before,” the captain said eventually. “I didn’t mean to spy on you.”

Jessica raised an eyebrow. “I thought you said looking was fine?”

“Yeah, but… Uhm. But I didn’t intend to…”

“Whether or not you intended to,” she said. “You still did. And finding topless woman in the forest isn’t something to feel sorry for, is it?”

For once, Ben seemed perturbed. Jessica was surprised by her own audacity. She didn’t usually tease like that. She realized she was bothered by his apology. It didn’t sit well with her, even if he meant well. Couldn’t he just indulge in a healthy voyeur-exhibitionist exchange without implying something improper happened? They went back to chopping vegetables in silence.

When Oscar helped her do the dishes after dinner, Jessica told him about her conversation with Ben. She knew she was being irrational, but her husband seemed keen to know how she felt.

“It’s no big deal,” she assured him.

“No, I understand,” Oscar said. “If you are to feel open to the effect of the flower, we have to be accommodating.”

He wiped his hands and joined the rest of the group, who were enjoying a beer on the beach.

“Listen up, everybody,” he said. “First off, great job today. We have collected more than two thirds of what we set out to do. Tomorrow morning, Ben will take Tony over to the neighboring island to look for more plants while the rest of us catalog today’s harvest.”

The others hummed in agreement.

“Secondly,” Oscar continued. “As you know, Jessica has kindly agreed to be part of our trials. It is crucial we all support her and don’t make her feel reluctant to the flower’s effect.”

The group nodded cautiously, throwing glances at Jessica.

“Don’t get your hopes up,” Jessica said, and giggled nervously. Her comment was meant to tease them about their buoyant expectations of the flower’s potency, but it could just as well refer to scandalous things they might wish her to do under its influence. Either way, she was no longer convinced their hopes were unfounded.

“Of course,” Oscar said. “But this is a great opportunity to get some first-hand experience of someone trying the wanton flower. I don’t want anyone discouraging any behaviors it may promote. We can learn a lot.”

The group again nodded, this time with more enthusiasm. Her husband’s words spun in Jessica’s mind afterwards. What kind of behaviors was he thinking of? All she had done so far was a bit of incidental flaunting. But a hunger had awakened inside her, urging her to push further.

---

When it was time for bed, Jessica realized she hadn’t washed the saltwater out of her nighty after her morning dip in the ocean. She thought briefly it maybe was the flower making her forget, giving her an excuse to sleep topless. But she knew enough about biochemistry to discard the idea as nonsense. She put a tank top on instead.

Oscar and Tony had given her the privacy of the cabin to get change for bed. She first found it odd, given Oscar’s speech about not suppressing her potential response to the flower. But it didn’t mean they would instigate anything. That was up to her. Her top didn’t cover her ass, and yet she chose to put on a pair of string panties.

“I’m done!” she shouted.

Rather than hiding under the blanket, Jessica faced away from the door, and proceeded to brush her hair. Her body tingled with anticipation as Oscar’s and Tony’s voices approached. Their conversation stopped as they entered. Pretending nothing was out of the ordinary, she continued her strokes with her essentially naked ass on display.

Tony lay down on his bed, and Oscar on theirs. She guessed her husband could tell her appearance was purposely flaunting. See never wore string panties to bed back home. What excited her the most was showing of her exhibitionism for him. Occasionally, he had hinted over the years she needn’t be shy about showing off a bit. She began to see he had a point.

Tony was reading a book, but Jessica could tell he wasn’t very focused. Her hair was thick but straight, and it didn’t need many strokes to sort out. Yet, she continued to prance around. She constantly caught him glancing. Good, she thought. Knowing her body captivated him gave her a strange sense of upper hand in their bickering.

Oscar lay in the middle of the bed. It felt to Jessica like he was giving her the choice to either wedge in behind him like the night before, sheltered from Tony’s eyes, or take the edge side, close to their roommate.

“Scoot over,” she said, waving Oscar towards the wall side of the bed.

As he made room for her, she acted on a whim, and grabbed the hem of her top, yanking it over her head. Her boldness shocked her. She kept her back towards Tony, but it still felt daring to stand there in nothing but her string panties. Oscar stared wide-eyed at her. He had admired her tits many times before but having him do it right next to Tony thrilled Jessica on a different level. She grinned at her husband, excited to be so brazen in front of him. He smiled back and invitingly lifted the sheet on her side of the bed. Jessica giggled as she lay down next to him, covering her breasts with her arm until she was covered under the sheet. She pretended not to notice Tony’s hopeful eyes following her every move.

The stirring prospect the sheet might slip and expose her during the night made it hard to fall asleep. And when she finally did, her slumber was restless. Heavy rain smattered against the roof and woke her up in the middle of the night. Realizing where she was, she looked down to see if she had become exposed, but she had not.

Maybe it didn’t have to happen by accident? Her breath grew heavy as she slowly peeled the sheet down, exposing her chest. Her husband had rolled over during the night, but Tony lay on his back, head tilted towards her. The moon lit up the cabin enough to give him a clear view of her breast, perky nipples pointing to the ceiling. If he’d only opened his eyes.

In a moment of shame, she quickly covered up. What was she doing, lying there hoping her husband’s friend and colleague would see her exposed tits? This was exactly the type of preposterous whims she normally ignored. It seemed the flower was affecting her impulse control.

But impulsive could be good, right? The exposing incidents of the day had added an erotic shimmer to her life. And hadn’t Oscar asked her to be more open to the flower’s effect? She yanked the sheet down again.

Her sudden movement made Oscar turn over. Jessica nearly covered back up again, but her husband still seemed to be asleep. And nothing in his behavior so far suggested he would get upset if she flaunted herself again. Increasingly daring, she removed the sheet completely. If Tony woke up, she wouldn’t be able to quickly cover up.

She felt like in a dreamy state. The combination of somnolence and darkness always gave the night its particular temperament. Now it blended with a sense of divine sensuality. For a long time, she just lay there, relishing her secret exposure.

As if acting on their own accord, her hands moved softly over her body, spawning goosebumps as they roamed. The first few times her fingers passed over her panties, she merely continued down her thighs or back up over her waist. But eventually they lingered. Her fingers traced the laced hem, mapping exactly how little she was wearing.

As if cheekily testing the waters, her fingers began nudging the elastic waistband. She bit her bottom lip as she prodded. Titillation spread through her body, taking control of her actions. In a moment of daring lust, she clutched the front of her panties with one hand and stretched the hem down. She gasped as the air caressed her pussy.

Heart beating, she held her exposing pose for a few seconds before releasing the hem. What was she doing, flashing her private parts like this? But the thrill was addictive. Hooking her thumbs into the waistband, she pulled down again. This time she raised her hips and pulled her panties down. She left them around her thighs, and daringly raised her hands to her chest to prolong the time it would take to cover up.