Alex and Penelope

Author's Note: I'd very much like to thank the many who had taken the time to write or comment on these chapters. For something that began as a little project with the intention of never seeing the light of day to be this well received has been overwhelming and humbling.

I feel that I should warn you that things will begin to escalate sexually between my characters, but there is a wonderful emotional payoff in the end, along with a major shift in power. Please visit my profile for my thoughts and notes on this story, and feel free to send me a message if you have any questions. While I won't be commenting below on my own chapters, I am personally responding to all messages I receive.

Thank you again, and I hope you continue to enjoy the ride Alex and Penelope are on.

***

Friday, Alex had mostly caught up with his workload. Mostly. He could never really catch up, even if he worked every hour of the day. He had Jessica confirming the companies he'd hired for tomorrow's party. He was letting Beverly and Reuben off later that afternoon for the remainder of the weekend, needing Reuben around at least until three to show guests in. He'd hired a catering company to do the grilling along with two bartenders and waiters to serve drinks and hors d'oeuvres. The majority of his guests had RSVP'd, confirming their attendance, which was far more than he'd hoped. It would be quite the party, and with a casual theme, he knew Penelope would feel like she fit in.

While working, he made the decision that he needed to talk to Penelope. The vacation had been fun; it had shut out the world around them. But things were returning to normal and Claire would be home a week from Saturday. They'd need to discuss what this meant for them. He thought a lot about what he would say, and there was much to talk about. Finally able to put his work aside, he dismissed Jessica promptly at five so he could join Penelope for dinner.

Penelope had spent the day outside, mostly around and in the pool. Andy had been ordered to work on the greenery around the pool so it would look fresh for Alex's party tomorrow. He'd been able to see Penelope in a black string bikini, and had spent most of his work fighting a hard-on. They had talked every so often, but not as much as the days prior. Mostly Penelope read a magazine, dipping in the pool only when the hot sun became too much to bear.

She was happy to find that Alex was done for the day and shared a wonderful dinner with him. After desert, Alex dismissed Beverly and Reuben for the night, then stood from the table. "Let's go upstairs."

Penelope was overjoyed. She'd thought a lot about the sex they'd shared the night before, and she'd become more and more convinced of her enjoyment. She was looking forward to trying it again, getting used to the size of him. She wanted to be perfect for him, even though the images of the beautiful women at the cocktail party still lingered. But he did want her, or they wouldn't be doing what they were, so she had that.

The rest she'd work at.

Alex climbed onto her bed and sat down, then patted the mattress for her to join him. She walked over and sat down, staring at him with large eyes. He loved those beautiful blue eyes; the wonder they held.

"I thought we should talk about a few things," he said.

Penelope's heart sunk into the pit of her stomach. This hadn't been what she'd expected. She hadn't known what to expect, but she'd hoped for more of what they'd done.

"Okay," she said, making her voice as strong as she could while bracing herself for a blow.

Alex noticed that she tensed and felt bad. She would hear some things she probably wouldn't like, but he hoped that most of it would be what she wanted. What

he

wanted.

"So, you've now had a week to see how hard I work," he began. She nodded in agreement. "That's what life is usually like. Sometimes, maybe twice a month, I have to leave for a few days at a time on business." He chuckled dryly. "Sometimes I'd leave with no business at all just to get away, but that's not going to be the case anymore.

"I married Claire too quickly. To be perfectly honest, I have no clue what I was thinking. To be even more honest, while I was single, I had women lined up at my door."

Penelope had suspected as much, but to hear it confirmed was difficult. She still had no idea what he saw in her. He could have

anyone

.

"I married her after six months of dating because she seemed different, but days after our honeymoon, she showed me who she really was," Alex continued, hating that he was discussing Claire with Penelope. But it had to be said. It had to be explained. "She turned out to be greedy and manipulative the second the paper had been signed. She spends her days trash talking her so called friends like she'll win a prize just for being the best. Everything she does is for herself, even the charity work, because that's what rich women are expected to do. But I need to be very clear on a few things."

Penelope held her breath, lightly closed her eyes, bracing herself.

"I don't love Claire," he said firmly. "I don't even like her."

Penelope's sigh was audible as her eyes lightly opened. It didn't make what they were doing right, but she was glad to know that it had been done because he was unhappy with who he was with. It meant she made him happy, and that was all that mattered.

"If she chooses to divorce me, she gets nothing," Alex explained, then took a deep breath. "If I serve her with divorce papers without real cause, she gets a half a million."

Penelope gasped. "What?" she cried, unable to control herself.

Alex chuckled humorlessly. "Now, if

she's

caught cheating, she gets nothing, and believe me, I have plenty of eyes looking out for just that. I want out, so her leaving or cheating is the easiest way. But if

I'm

caught cheating, she gets a quarter of a mil."

Now her heart had plummeted back down, as had her head. Staring at her feet, she shook it. "So you're saying that this . . . this is . . ."

"Over?" Alex asked, a grin on his face. Penelope looked up at him and nodded, obviously upset. He was glad he could assure her. "This is

far

from over," he said strongly, taking her hand. "I'm only telling you this so you understand. I'm going to put off serving her until we figure out what we're doing here, and that will take some time."

"But—" Penelope had been about to cry out the cost of such a divorce, but was immediately cut off.

"And I promise you that I will never purposefully let her catch us, if we decide to continue, just so I can get off cheap. I can't make any guarantees though that we won't be found out, so I want to leave this up to you. I want this to continue, and I believe that if it does, I will leave her for you no matter what the cost if you want me to. Ideally I want to keep pushing her away so she leaves on her own accord or ends up with another man, but that will take some time. But if in six months or so, we're still going strong and you still want this, the money is a small price to pay. Do you understand all that?"

Penelope nodded. So many emotions were flooding through her with this overload of information. She felt guilty that she was the other woman, but he was unhappy and trying to get out. She didn't blame him for wanting to wait; what they had was too new to make any large decisions upon, even though she was sure she was falling in love with him. Which brought her to her happiness. He wanted her. He wanted this to continue, and he'd talked about six months down the road, which meant he must expect it would last that long. This warmed her entire body. She couldn't imagine a day when she wouldn't want him.

She was also scared. Scared she couldn't meet his expectations. She was no debutante, nor a sexually experienced woman. She'd seen her competition, and knew that he could leave her any second for any one of them. She still didn't understand how she was so lucky to have his attention in the first place, just as she'd been unable to understand how he'd send her extravagant gifts as she'd grown up and decided to pay for her college.

There was also excitement. They'd still be together sexually; it wasn't coming to an end.

"So, what are you looking for?" she finally asked.

Alex nodded with a smile. It was the right question to ask. "I'm telling you that this is up to you. We can stop this now if you want. It won't be easy. We'll be sneaking around, but I will be with you every second I get. I've been apathetic in my marriage, not carrying if she stays or goes, but that's changed, and it's because of you. But I need to be sure, which means time. It's not the money. It's that Claire doesn't deserve to walk out of here with a penny. If you're willing to wait that out with me, I want to see what happens. You're going to be in college and you might change your mind about me . . ."

"No, I won't," Penelope argued vehemently.

"You can't know that," Alex said. "Which is another reason we'll need time to see. You might hate that I work as often as I do. You might hate that I have to leave on business. You might hate the things I show you and decide you want no part of them. You might find a guy in your class that you like and decide you want the consistency that offers."

"Still won't," Penelope said with a chuckle.

Alex echoed her laugh. "Okay, fair enough. So I'll lay this out again. Six months or so and we decide. It won't be an easy six months. Like I said, you'll have to be a secret, which fucking kills me, believe me. You can take your time in deciding, but you'll—"

Penelope needed no time. "I've decided," she interrupted. "I want to do this."

Alex tucked his chin in, grinning. But this was still only half of it. "Well, there's a little more," he said hesitantly.

Again, Penelope's heart sunk. Her emotions were pinballing rapidly. It was frustrating. She shook her head to clear her thoughts. "Okay," she said.

This was it. He'd thought about everything for weeks now and it had all boiled down to one thing. What he needed. What he required. Penelope could be what he'd looked for in every other woman he'd been with. They'd been fun, which was why it was so required.

A lady on his arm and a whore in his bedroom.

She needed to know in advance that he had certain expectations before any decision was made. He'd never been upfront about them before, but then again, he'd never needed to. He'd only really had experienced women. Women who would immediately do anything he asked. Whores. And that was all they'd been, never ladies. Penelope had that potential.

"You are so beautiful, Penelope," he began, easing into it. And he meant it; it wasn't just to get on her good side. She was more beautiful than all the plastic molding could ever achieve. "You came here having never really even been touched. A week ago you had sex for the first time. Last night you had sex again, and it was hard for you. Now it won't always be like that. It just takes experience. You have to be a little more adventurous each time, and I want to be the man who gets you there."

Back to feeling thrilled. "Yes, I want that too," Penelope agreed, trying not to sound too eager.

Alex sighed. "But do you really understand what that means?" he asked her. "We've talked about my past, so I hope it doesn't bother you when I talk about it now. The women I've been with have been there; they've tried everything."

And back to feeling inadequate. Penelope sighed.

"I want you to understand that that's what I need. I need a woman who will do anything I ask. Well, within reason. I mean, I'd never be cruel, unless you decided you liked that. But I will need you to try everything. That's a large reason why I want to give it time to really be sure, for the both of us." It needed to be said, and talking about it was a little tricky, but also exciting. He was telling her his plan to train her. "But I want to find out now if you are willing to try everything, even things that might make you a little nervous."

Like tying you to the bedposts. Sticking my cock down your throat. Ordering you to do something and receiving complete compliance. Taking you in that cute little ass. A threesome, maybe more.

"And again, you can take time to think about it, but what I'm saying is that; I want to be the man who teaches you. Who gives you every experience. If you're willing to try, we'll continue. If in six months, after you've tried what I show you, you decide it's not what you want, that's fine too. But this is why we're talking now. So you understand my marriage, where I stand on it, what it means. But also so you understand my expectations with you. What I need in a lover."

Penelope swallowed. She really had no idea what it all meant, but she knew she was in over her head. What could be possibly mean by

everything

? They'd done everything. She'd given him head, she'd received it. There wasn't an inch of her body that hadn't been touched. She'd had sex with him.

"And if I don't like something?" she asked tentatively, her voice shaking. "Would you drop me?"

Alex squeezed her hand, his heart warmed. He adored her. "First of all, I'll never

drop

you. I will take care of you for the rest of my life because I swore to the day you were born. You're the only person in my life I've ever truly cared about. But I don't think that's what you're asking . . ." Penelope shook her head. "Sometimes we do things we don't like in the bedroom because it's what the other person wants. So there's that. But if there are a few things you don't want to do again, I can live with that. It's just that if you don't want to do most things after you've tried them, well, sexual compatibility is extremely important in a relationship. So while I wouldn't

drop

you, I think we'd both probably agree that we're not compatible." He could see Penelope's hurt, and that was the last thing he wanted. "But I don't think that will be the case. And that's why we're going to give it a long time before we decide. I just need to know soon if you're willing to try."

And Penelope decided, almost instantly. She wouldn't just try everything. She would do anything he asked even if she didn't like it, simply because she liked him. She understood what he meant when he'd said that sometimes you do things you don't like just for the other person. She'd done that before with friends, with her parents. She could certainly do that in the bedroom for him. Anything he wanted.

"And you don't have to decide tonight. Like I said . . ."

Penelope smiled at him, sure of herself. "I've decided," she said. "My answer is still yes."

Alex narrowed his eyes. "Yes, you're willing to wait things out, knowing that Claire will still be in the picture until we've figured out the details?" He needed complete confirmation so there would be no questions later.

Penelope sucked in a deep breath. "Yes," she agreed.

"And yes, you're willing to let me teach you. Train you. Do anything I ask at least once?" Now it was Alex holding his breath, knowing that if he could get her to agree with this, he would be living out his ultimate fantasy.

Penelope nodded. "Yes," she said.

Alex couldn't have been more pleased. Oh, the things he would show her. He'd be the one to teach her everything, and she would comply with his every wish. He knew it. She'd been scared with each new thing he'd introduced, but she'd never told him no. Not only that, she'd worked to learn, like the night with the porn.

She would be exactly what he wanted.

"Good," he said. It was still light out, and they had all night and well into the morning. And he'd use every second of it. "Why don't we take a bath together, then you can show me everything you've learned so far."

Penelope could barely contain her excitement. It had all been a lot to take in, but she felt like she finally had answers to the questions that had been haunting her. Yes, he wanted her. Yes, this would continue even though he worked long hours. Yes, this would even continue when Claire came home. She'd been so sure that it would all end, and she still felt guilty about the last one. But it also made her feel naughty. She actually liked that it was a secret, something they shared with no one. Just like when Alex had been on vacation and she'd felt like they were the only two people on the planet. The secret made her feel like that.

And Claire? Claire had looked at her with such disdain, such distaste. It was hard to feel too bad after that, as well as knowing how unhappy he was. How she'd been sucking him dry emotionally and financially.

Alex drew the bath, which took time with how enormous the tub was. Once filled to the brim, they climbed into the hot water so that Penelope leaned against Alex's chest. He held her close, rubbing her skin while they relaxed together, just enjoying the moment. He was glad they'd talked everything through. Even more glad that she'd immediately agreed when he'd expected her to need some time. He still believed she didn't have a clue what she'd agreed to, but only time would tell. And if she changed her mind, then it wasn't meant to be. It dawned on him that it would kill him to lose her, but he'd still take care of her regardless. See that she graduated, see that she lived a comfortable life. See that she got everything her heart desired, even if he was left miserable and alone without her.

His decision over keeping Claire around hadn't been an easy one. He wanted out, especially with Penelope in his life now. But if Penelope left, he'd return to his apathy regarding Claire, pushing her away until she'd finally slip up and either cheat or leave. He had zero guilt over cheating on her since he despised her so. He also knew without a doubt that she'd cheat on him eventually, if she hadn't already. And when she did, he'd know about it immediately. After all, she'd cheated on her boyfriend with him before they were married. It was in her.

While soaping up Penelope, he paid special attention to her breasts and pussy to get her warmed up. He decided against washing her hair as he didn't want it wet later. When he'd finished, she spun around and gave him the same treatment, then they climbed out of the tub to towel dry.

When they entered her bedroom, Penelope stood with the towel around her, unsure of what to do. He'd said she should show her what she'd learned so far, but it was hard for her to initiate anything. At a loss, she looked at him where he sat on the edge of her bed, and asked, "Uhm, where should I start?"

Alex chuckled and leaned back on his hands. "That's up to you," he said, enjoying putting her on the spot. Eventually he'd take the lead, but he wanted her to begin just so he'd see what she'd do.

Awkwardly, Penelope approached him. Once against his knees, she wrapped her arms around him and kissed him gently. He didn't touch her, but he did kiss her back. She tried to think of what a woman with sexual confidence would do, then came up with something.

She stood back up to untuck the corner of the towel at his waist, then spread the sides open on the bed so he sat there naked. She looked down at his penis, finding it only half erect, and placed her hand around it, massaging it with her fingers. It grew in her hand, to her delight. She was learning.

"That's a good start," Alex said with approval, then frowned at her. "Though I think I'd be much more entertained with this gone." He reached up and pulled the corner of her towel. It unraveled and fell to the floor at her feet. "Much better."

Penelope looked down at her naked body feeling insecure. She sunk to her knees before him, mostly to hide herself. It still felt weird being totally naked in front of him to look at without him touching her body.