Chapter 3

As the doors closed behind them and before he could begin, Kari jumped in, saying, "Mark! You have to quit worrying about me so much. You know that you have wanted to be part of J.A.M. aluminum for a while now. This business is what you live for. And I don't want you to miss out on reaching any of your goals in life because you are worried about me in this EPOD program!"

"Let me finish!" she placed the fingers of her left hand up to his lips, as he was about to interrupt.

"I have to tell you that I am so turned on by the idea of EPOD, that I could just rip our clothes off and fuck you right here, even in front of these strangers. No. 'Strangers' is not the right word. How could you call people so open and willing to share intimate insights into their lives as these people have 'strangers?' After just a couple of hours, I feel like I have known them like forever." Mark tried again, but got no farther than the parting of his lips. He closed them again as Kari frowned at him and continued.

"As for your being involved with these 'unofficial' sexual activities, I knew when I married you that you approached sex differently than most guys. Just look at the way you handled my situation when we realized what had been going on and what was likely to continue going on without some type of intervention and help!

"Mark, I love you and I'll do whatever you want, but you need to know that I really want this! With all the craziness that we've been through these past three weeks ... well, five or six weeks in my case, I believe that we can not only handle all of this, but we can use it to help me balance out the multiple 'me's, ' with the added benefit of plenty of good sex with people who really care. I already love these people and their crazy openness, and based on what you've said this morning, and judging by that bulge in your shorts, I believe that you feel the same way. At least I hope you do."

Mark smiled down at her anxious, hopeful face, and, taking a breath, said, "Kari, Honey, in all honesty, I am turned on by all of this in the worst way. And, yes, I'd like to do this, too. I'd jump at the chance if it were just me, or if we were a 'just-off-center' couple who enjoyed a little variety in our sex lives. But you and I both know that our situation is a little more than 'just-off-center.'

"Honey, you were victimized individually more in just a few days than whole villages in Europe experienced during the entire Thirty Years' War. I know that I'm a bit overly protective of you, but let me explain my thinking here before we decide this. And yes, 'we' will decide this."

Kari relaxed slightly, as Mark took a breath to continue.

"First, I love you. You know that. Even though it has been only a few weeks, I became sure that first day and night that you were that special someone with whom I want to spend the rest of my life." This earned him a beaming smile and a squeeze of the hand in which Kari's rested.

"I owe you a confession, though. Even though you and I agreed to allow the situation at your work place to continue with all of its sexual weirdness, I had problems. Most days when you came home, I just pretended that I had worked through the day with only the anticipation of hearing about your sexual exploits at work in the evening. I pretended so that we could get turned on and satisfy our excitement together afterwards in bed. Actually, on those days, I was close to being a basket case because I was so worried about you. I was so very relieved when your sexual exploits turned out to be relatively benign."

"Mark, you never..." she began.

"No. I never told you because I did not want to interfere with your attempt to find your own boundaries. If you knew that I was worried, then you would have curtailed your activities out of concern for me. You needed to find your own limits in order to reestablish yourself as an independent, functioning person. And we both needed to know if Gary's treatments were effective in helping you to establish those limits."

Stepping forward to wrap her arms around his middle, Kari leaned her head on his chest, and said with a loving sigh, "How did I manage to find such a wonderful man? You know just what buttons to push, don't you?"

Looking up, she said, "Mark, I can't tell you how much it means to me that you love me and you care for my safety. But even more important to me is that you care enough to give me room to learn how to be me again. This time, though, it's more than just trying to go back to being the original, boring 'me' with a normal libido. I have to deal with what that creep did to me, trying to make me into 'Kari the Out-of-Control Slut.' And part of that means taking Gary's treatments and your love and understanding to try to strike a balance.

"We both agreed that the boring original was no longer acceptable since the slut genie had been let out of the bottle. Without safeguards I could end up screwed, blued, and tattooed, and spending my life as the bitch, cum dump, or worse of some unsavory character out to use me as a sex commodity.

"But, you and I also agreed that with reasonable limits in place we could continue to play the game and enjoy the benefits of some of the many things I've learned and begun to experience about sex since my libido switch was revved up to high gear. But I will need to be able to test those limits in a safe environment. And even though I can't understand how I know, I just know that THIS would be a safe environment for us. I already love these people and I want to be around them at least until you and I can determine what's in store for us in the long run."