"You don't leave me much choice," she finally said slowly, trying to blink back the tears of frustration and shame that were rising to her eyes.
The lovely blonde looked from one to the other of the two McHenrys', trying to find some sign of pity or compassion in their faces, but found instead only two pairs of coldly amused eyes. Their cruel indifference in the face of her suffering filled her with resentment at the injustice of her situation, but she could do nothing but stare back at them, contempt blazing in her eyes. "May I go out to my husband now? Are you finished with me?" she said coldly.
"My dear, I hope I'm never finished with you," George leered at her naked body as she rose from the bed and walked toward the crumpled pile of her clothing on the floor.
"Oh, shut up, George," Marian snapped irritably, then turned to the miserable young blonde. "If you're going to sulk, dear, we can just forget this. You'll be no good to us or our guests like that. Would you rather we told your husband about your indecent behavior or are you going to accept the terms without whining?" Then, apparently satisfied that she had driven the spike deeper into Lynn's heart, the redhead went on. "All right then, give me a call on Friday and I'll tell you our plans for the evening."
"Yes, Marian," Lynn humbly agreed as, with downcast eyes, she hurriedly donned her clothes. "Where can I find Ed?"
"Ed? Oh, he's gone home," Marian announced with studied nonchalance. "He got bored with the show and told me to tell you to come home whenever you liked."
"Oh, no! When did he go?" Lynn cried out, her blue eyes wide with alarm. She prayed that he did not leave long ago, so that she wouldn't have to dream up some explanation for what she was doing. The rattled blonde didn't feel like she was capable of making up a believable story in her present state of mind.
"Oh, a few minutes ago," the redhead shrugged. "Don't worry, if you hurry, you'll probably be home before he has his coat off. Besides, even if you were a little late, I doubt our Ed would have any suspicions about his sweet little wife…"
Her last words were lost on the blonde who had grabbed her purse and hurried out of the room to catch up with her departed husband and, after the door slammed, the silence in the room was broken only by the sound of George McHenry's satisfied chuckling.
"Oh, stop snickering, you bastard," his flaming-haired wife suddenly hissed.
"Why, what's wrong, Marian?" the naked, balding executive inquired, a look of injured innocence on his face. "Everything went according to plan didn't it?"
"Not quite. You two were making so much racket in here that her husband got curious and stuck his head in the door before I could stop him," she said disgustedly. "He got a good look, but I'm pretty sure he'd rather die than tell her that he saw her balling with someone else."
"So, what's your problem?" he shrugged.
"Well, I got a good look too, George, and I can't remember the last time you fucked me the way you were laying into that little slut!" she spat out furiously.
"Oh, Marian, you're not just a little jealous because she's almost twenty years younger than you, are you?" George crooned mockingly, then smiled affectionately at the fuming redhead. "Aw, come off it, sweetie, you know there's just no one else like you. These people are just fun to play with, that's all."
"Well, maybe I am a little jealous," she muttered, slightly mollified by his words. "But from now on, we give her to the other men, you hear? If I catch you with that little bitch again, I'll force her husband's hand, I swear it. I don't care if it will ruin the fun. I won't -"
"Calm down, sweetie," George softly interrupted, rising from the rumpled bed to take her in his arms. "You know I wouldn't think of doing anything you didn't like."
"Do you really mean that?"
"Huh? Oh, sure, Marian, sure," he murmured, barely aware of what he was saying. His eyes had a glassy, faraway look and his brain was already busy with the plans of what he would be doing to her the next time he got that luscious little blonde, Lynn Waring, into bed.
CHAPTER 8
"Are you sure you'll be all right tonight, darling," Lynn anxiously inquired, struggling to keep her guilt out of her voice as she walked from the bedroom to the living room, buttoning her coat up right around her neck. It was a week since that terrible night at the Executive Club and Lynn was just about to leave to attend the McHenry's party. At this moment, it was all she could do not to break down and confess what she had done to her husband, but he had been so cold and strange with her this week that she was afraid he would just walk out on her if he ever knew.
"Oh, don't worry about me, honey. If Marian wants you to play bridge with her tonight, you certainly couldn't turn her down," Ed shrugged, not looking up from the newspaper he was reading. "Besides, I know you're anxious to develop your friendship with the McHenry's."
Lynn startled a little at the emphasis her husband put on the word friendship, then decided that she must be so upset she was imagining things. After what Marian had told her about this party, Lynn was afraid she was going to be forced to become "friends" with every executive in the company, but she prayed that it would not be that bad. The redhead had promised that Lynn would be amply supplied with the pale-green liquor she had drunk the other night and the young woman hoped that the strange drink would numb her enough so that her revulsion at what she had to do wouldn't show. She had tried to back out when she talked to Marian earlier that day and the older woman had threatened to immediately call Ed at the office. Just hearing the words had been enough to make Lynn recapitulate. There was no way out, except to submit to their horrible demands.
"Well, I'll see you later then, darling," she finally said, hoping against hope that Ed would suddenly demand that she stay home tonight. "If I'm not home early, don't wait up. Marian said these things sometimes go on until late into the night."
"All right, honey. Good-bye." Once again, he did not look up but concentrated on folding the paper so that he could read a particular article more easily.
The young wife felt tears well in her eyes at the cool farewell Ed had given her, but she knew that she deserved no better, even though he had no way of knowing about her betrayal of their marriage vows. And now, tonight, she would have to betray them again in order to preserve her guilty secret.
Struggling to control the wracking sobs that were threatening to burst past her lips, she muttered a hurried good-bye and rushed out the door into the winter night.
As soon as he heard the loud slam of the front door, Ed tossed away the paper he had been pretending to read and cursed under his breath. He'd pay back the dirty little whore if it was the last thing he ever did, he swore to himself as he rose from the couch and walked back toward the bedroom where she had been dressing. He wished now that he had just gone in and throttled the little bitch and McHenry too when he had caught them naked and fucking away like there was no tomorrow in that other bedroom on the second floor of the Executive Club. But, no, instead he had just stood there like a dummy and stared at his own blonde wife thrashing and moaning under his boss's pistoning cock, too stunned and hurt to do anything but gape at the horrifying vision. Of course, he had to admit that the main reason that he had even looked in that bedroom was for the added stimulation of watching another couple screwing, so that he could go right back and have another round with Marian; but with him it was different.