Jennifer stood in her shower, letting the stinging spray of hot water pelt down on her. She didn't really want to go to the fund-raiser tonight, but she didn't have much choice. The soiree was being given to raise money for The Cartwright Foundation, the one charity her father had always been extremely ardent in supporting. Since she was an only child, Jennifer was an honorary lifetime member of the charity's board of directors.
Thoughts of attending the fund-raiser, unfortunately, brought back memories of the night a few years earlier, when attending the fund-raiser administered the coup de grâce to her foundering marriage.
Months before the party, Jennifer had become aware there were problems in her marriage to Jonathan McIntyre, but at the time, she had no idea how severe those problems were.
She and Jonathan had been "an item" since they were toddlers. Her ex-husband's father, Seamus McIntyre was a close business associate of her father, and owned a farm not far from the one Jennifer's parents owned in the rolling hill country just outside Jamestown.
By the time both Jennifer and Jonathan were teenagers, it only seemed natural that they date each other. Then they went to the same college. After college, as much because their parents expected it, and because they were comfortable together, she and Jonathan got married.
Everybody said they were such a "cute couple," the ideal pair. They had money, both of them were very good-looking, and their future together seemed assured. At least that's what it looked like on the surface.
Two years into the marriage, after Jennifer's parents died in a plane crash, Jennifer opted to run her father's business herself, but Jonathan wasn't interested in horses, so she had to do it without much input or support from her husband. As time went on, she began to notice that Jonathan was growing more and more distant.
Then came the fateful night of the fund-raiser, which was held annually at the Cartwright mansion, an historic old home that once belonged to one of Jamestown's founders, and had been turned into a museum by the Jamestown Historical Society.
Mason Cartwright the last survivor of the family who built the mansion, endowed the foundation bearing his name. He started the annual fund-raisers when he was still alive and his will specified that the mansion must to be used annually for the fund-raising event after his death.
Most years, the organizing committee spared no expense to make the home appear like it had when the Cartwrights were living there. Jennifer thought about what happened the last time she went to the fund-raiser...
**********
After a delicious filet mignon dinner, Jennifer mingled, chatting with people she usually saw only once a year. A small orchestra began playing in the mansion's ballroom. Jennifer was looking for Jonathan, hoping they'd get an opportunity to dance. She had actually been looking forward to a romantic evening with her husband, hoping against hope that it might help stave off the separation she had begun to feel might be inevitable.
Then she spotted Jonathan, across the ballroom, having what looked like an intense discussion with Melissa Delahanty, the young wife of one of the senior partners in his law firm. Jennifer, noting how involved they seemed to be with each other, felt a twinge of jealousy and started across the ballroom toward them.
Before she got very far, a feminine voice said, "Jennifer!" Jennifer turned to see one of the hostesses, Muriel Carson, approaching her. "How are you, my dear?" Mrs. Carson exclaimed. "It's been ages since I've seen you! You know, we really should get together more than once a year. Come, we simply have to talk! You need to tell me everything that's going on out at the farm."
The older woman took Jennifer's arm and led her off.
Meanwhile, her husband's conversation with Melissa Delahanty continued.
"I thought you said you were going to call me, Jonathan," Melissa said, her voice sharp. She was a few years younger than Jonathan, pale-skinned, with a slim, girlish body. Her flaming red hair straight cascaded down her back, and reached almost to her well-formed buttocks. Her wide green eyes were set in a beautiful face that was sprinkled just enough freckles to make it interesting. Tonight, Melissa wore a clinging white dress that left no doubt as to the quality of her figure.
"Melissa, I really have been meaning to call you," Jonathan said. "It's just that I've been out of town. You should know that, I'm sure Benson's told you how busy we've been. You know how much I want to get together with you again."
"When, Jonathan?" she whispered. "I want that big cock of yours so bad I can taste it!" She moved closer to him and her body brushed against his.
Jonathan felt Melissa's actions rousing him the way her brazen actions and speech always did. "Well..." he replied, his insides roiling. "I..." It drove him crazy when Melissa talked dirty. Then he had an idea. He grinned. "You know, Melissa, I've been told there are twenty-two bedrooms in this place."
"Really?" Melissa replied. She immediately what knew he was suggesting and was thrilled. "You think you could show me some of them?"
Jonathan grinned and said, "I'd like to show you one, anyhow." He took her arm and they walked out of the ballroom. They went up the ornate staircase located in the main foyer, then proceeded down the darkened upstairs hallway.
At mid-point in the hallway, Jonathan checked one of the doors. It was unlocked. He opened it, grabbed Melissa, and pulled her into the room.
He closed the door behind them and they immediately came into each other's arms. Their lips joined and their tongues lashed deeply into open mouths. Smoldering embers passion that were rapidly stoked into free-burning fires of need.
Jonathan pulled back, panting. "Isn't Benson going to wonder where you've gotten to?" he asked Melissa, gasping a little. His hands roamed over her body, caressing her through her silky dress.
Melissa shook her head. "As long as there's plenty to drink and he has all of his golfing buddies to talk to, he wouldn't miss the end of the world," she replied. She pressed her body tighter against Jonathan's and rotated her hips against his middle. "What about Jennifer? Won't she miss you?"
"I saw her talking with Mrs. Carson," Jonathan said. "That should keep her busy for an hour or so."
