Chapter 11 Temptation
"I'm not sure I want to ask," I began.
"I'm not sure I'm up to telling you the whole story right now, either. I just need to change my outfit, and we need to get downstairs for lunch. Lisa said it's just about ready.
Stephanie's outfit for the walk was fairly conservative by her standards, but she had no inhibitions for the rest of the day. She slipped on a tight backless minidress that once again showed off her perfect figure. She added a pair of flats, combed her hair, touched up her makeup and declared herself ready.
I could see in her eyes that something was wrong, and it became even more clear when we joined the others on the deck. Stephanie and Peter could barely look at each other in the eye, and Peter and Cassandra didn't appear to be speaking at all. What had this asshole done?
Tyler was finally up, and nursing his first coffee of the day. "Clearly you guys are better at holding your liquor than I am, so pick your poison."
Except for the Barolo with the steak the night before, none of us had had much red wine over the weekend, so I asked Tyler for some Pinot Noir. He pulled a couple of bottles from the back of his cellar and opened them. "I've been saving these for a special occasion. I think this weekend constitutes a special occasion. We had some great times, enjoyed some new experiences, and the prodigal daughter has returned."
Erin had just joined the party. She was wearing the same crop top as this morning, and as she caught my eye, she lifted it up slightly to show me her boob.
"I'm not so sure that top is appropriate for mixed company," Tyler said to her. "Who's the slut who taught you to dress like that?"
"That would be me, dear," Lisa said, and everyone laughed. Mother and daughter shared a smile that only I was able to decypher.
We gathered around the big table on the patio after loading up on salads and charcuterie over on the bar. There were seven of us, so the ongoing silence between Cassandra and Peter was less awkward. For her part, Stephanie was extra affectionate with me.
"How was the craft shop, ladies?" I asked innocently.
"Would you believe it was closed?" Cassandra replied, happy to talk about something other than her relationship. "They only open at 1 p.m. on Sunday. On a weekend in the summer! Good luck to them, because we'll be on the road home by that time."
"How was your walk?" Lisa inquired of Peter and Stephanie.
Neither one spoke up immediately. Finally Stephanie responded. "We threw around some ideas. I'm not sure we're on the same page yet, but we'll see how it goes."
I knew that was code for "We're not going to be working together, please stop asking." I'd get the details after lunch. Stephanie squeezed my hand and stroked my cock when she realized I'd understood her message.
Everyone but Peter, who'd be driving, downed three or four glasses of wine after undoubtedly swearing on their mothers' graves that morning that they'd never drink again. At one point, Stephanie's boobs fell out of her dress and quickly apologized, primarily to Erin.
"Nothing I haven't seen plenty of times before," the younger woman said.
Peter had already loaded Cassandra's multiple suitcases and his small bag in the back of his Range Rover, along with all the dishes and containers from last night's dinner, and the two of them bid us all farewell.
"Hang on to Michael," Cassandra declared to Stephanie as she gave her a big hug. "He's a good guy."
"I wish everyone would stop saying that," I blurted out. "One of these days, I'm going to believe it."
Peter gave me a pat on the back, but he didn't seem to want to look me in the eye.
As they drove off, it was just the five of us. "So what are your plans for the afternoon, you guys?" Erin was looking at Stephanie and me.
"Erin! That's not polite. It sounds like you're pushing them out the door!"
Erin apologized. "That's not what I meant. It's just that the sun is coming out, and I thought you might want to spend some time down on the dock."
Stephanie responded. "We'll see. I have to pack up and I want to change the sheets on our bed to save you the trouble, Lisa."
"No need," Lisa said. "Your very thoughtful husband told me he'd already done that, because he knew you'd insist on doing it."
"Michael and I also need to have a little talk, but we'll see how it goes. We want to be on the road by 4 so we can be back in the city by dinnertime. And sadly, I have some work to do tonight."
"Leave the cleanup to Erin and me," Lisa said. Go get yourselves organized and I hope we'll see you down on the dock soon. But first, come up to my room and I'll give you that purse I was telling you about."
I went back to our suite, and Stephanie went up with Lisa to the master suite to pick up the purse. As soon as Stephanie came in and the door was closed, she held me close and told me she loved me.
"What the hell happened out there between you and Peter?" I had to know.
Stephanie's eyes started to well up. "At first, it was fine. I asked him why he thought he needed a new ad campaign. Apparently there's a new hotshot chef in town who's opened a couple of trendy restaurants, and all of a sudden they're the places everyone's going for special occasions. Peter's business is way down. He's a long way from being unprofitable, but he's not making the money he's used to."
"So I know it's difficult when you're out in the woods instead of sitting in a boardroom looking at spreadsheets and creatives, but did you offer him anything?"
"I've always found that no matter what you're selling, people sometimes need to be reminded of the special memories in their lives. We've celebrated lots of birthdays and anniversaries at Peter's establishments. I suggested a campaign like that is what he needed."
"And what did he say to that?"
"He hated it." Stephanie lowered her eyes. "And then he got a bit rude, suggesting that I wasn't very smart and that I'd only gotten where I am because I'm beautiful. I thought I was beyond all that, but apparently there are still a few male chauvinist pigs out there."
"By this time," Stephanie continued, "We'd arrived at the beaver dam that Lisa told us about. I was pissed off and turned to walk back. I didn't care if he joined me. In fact, I would have preferred that he didn't."
"He caught up to me and started apologizing. He told me things aren't going so great with him and Cassandra. Apparently she told him last night that she wanted to be less of a slut, and he was upset by that. I guess that's her most attractive character trait, for him anyway."
I thought back to my conversation with Cassandra on the island. Maybe she'd taken my advice to heart.
"Anyway, then he started talking about that time when Lisa tried to set us up. I didn't tell you then, but I might as well do it now. He took me to a fancy restaurant — not one of his own — and we had a nice dinner. He'd rented a suite at a hotel next door and invited me up for a nightcap. I'm still sorry that I agreed to go."
"I don't like the way this story is going," I said quietly.
"No, don't worry, nothing happened, but only because I refused. As soon as the hotel room door was closed, he was all over me. I pushed him away and he complained, telling me that he'd laid out a ton of cash for dinner and the room and I'd given him every indication that I would fuck him. Maybe Lisa had gotten his hopes up, but I certainly didn't say anything."
"He persisted, grabbing my ass, kissing me and touching my breasts. The only way I could get him off me was to slap him hard on the face. He was more shocked than hurt, but I seized the opportunity to get the hell out of there."
"I ran for the elevator and pushed the button. Of course it was going to take way too long to arrive, so when I saw him come out of the room and run towards me, I shouted in a loud voice that if he took another step, I was going to cry rape, and then he'd be really sorry."
"He knew I was right, so he headed back to his suite. Except the door had closed behind him, and he'd forgotten his key. I heard him swearing, but by then, the elevator arrived and I got the hell out of there and came home to you."
"You were already asleep, which was too bad, because I came to the realization that night that the only man I'll ever want to be with is my husband, and I desperately wanted to fuck you right then."
"You know you always have a free pass for that," I joked, even though the story I'd just heard was far from funny.
"I haven't seen him much since then, but for professional and social reasons, I didn't want to shun him completely. I had no idea that Cassandra was bringing him with her this weekend, so it was awkward for me. Especially now."
"What do you mean?" I asked. "Is there something you're not telling me?"
"Peter started apologizing for what he'd said earlier, and for that night when he took me out. But then it got a bit creepy. He told me that if I'd just submitted to him that time , we would have ended up together and I would have been richer and happier than I could ever imagine. Again with the disrespect for a woman who wants to work hard for her money."
"He grabbed me again and forced me onto the ground, just off the trail. My only chance to escape was if somebody else wanted to see that beaver dam this morning. Even if I yelled, only the chipmunks and squirrels would have heard me."
Stephanie was getting weepy as she continued her story. "I know that I told you I ended up enjoying it when Tyler forced himself on me yesterday, but that doesn't hold true for every guy who does that. I knew that he might hurt me if I fought too hard, so all I could do is tell him "No" as he took off my clothes and dropped his jeans."
"The sex was painful, not just because my pussy is sore from yesterday, but because I couldn't get wet for him. That proves I'm not at all into him. But he seemed to enjoy it, and fucked me for a couple of minutes before he told me he was going to cum. I begged him to paint my tits, thinking that the dirty talk would turn him on, and it worked. Truth be told, I didn't want his cum inside me. He finished, without once asking if I'd enjoyed it, and I used my t-shirt to wipe myself off."