Chapter 3

Monday morning. Not just any Monday morning. Seven a.m., woken by Also Sprach Zarathustra. A groan from the limpet clamped to me as I stretched out to silence the wakeup. I kissed the top of her head, her hair ... her gorgeous, auburn hair ... fragrant of woman. I knew Monday is Teri's college day for her Librarianship degree, and she didn't need to be up yet, so I gently disentangled myself and headed for the bathroom. I used the toilet and cleaned my teeth, ran the shower until the water was the right temperature and stepped under the spray, when the door opened behind me and Teri stepped in. She pressed herself against my back, reached round and held my cock. It was limp, but it didn't stay that way long.

"Husband, I know you have to get up, but that doesn't mean I get to stay in bed."

I turned in her arms, took her face in both hands and kissed her. She tasted of mint. "What happened to the timid, reserved Teri I used to know?"

She quirked a smile. Her eyes, that had been so dark the previous day, were bright green and glittering. "She met Jesus ... and married her soul-mate." She took the bottle of shampoo and began to wash my hair. I groped for, and found, the gel, and began to soap up my wife's sweet body. My short hair didn't take long and we swapped roles, though I admit I would have liked to continue to fondle Teri. Her hair wasn't very long, just above her shoulders, but it took longer than mine. Long enough that she was having fun with my once again hard cock. Well, that was fine by me. For a while, anyway. I had Teri.

"Teri..." I took her hands and gently removed them from my genitals. I lifted them to my lips and kissed her knuckles, "while I'd love to drag you back to bed, I really need to go to work."

She made a moue, but then smiled. "I know. I'm a little sore, anyway. Don't be late home, though, darling."

I dried myself and ran to the bedroom to dress, then downstairs. I'd got coffee and toast started when Teri came in, her hair still wet, wearing one of my t-shirts and panties. "I'll sort my hair out when you've gone," she asserted. "Is that all you're having?"

"Yeah – coffee and toast is my usual breakfast."

"I'd have cooked something. I'm sorry I delayed you."

I pushed my chair back. "I'm not." The toaster popped and I collected my breakfast, spread it with butter and marmalade and sat again. "Come here." I patted my lap. She sat on me and leaned back against me, but reached out, picked up the toast and held it to my mouth. I bit a mouthful. Two hands free! Scantily clad, delightful woman in my lap. Soft, smooth skin, round, firm, perfect breasts. She purred as I fondled her, and she continued to feed me. "Kitten," I said between mouthfuls. She giggled.

"What a difference a day makes, huh?"

"Wonderful difference," I assured her, "miraculous difference. I'll be saying 'thank you' to God every moment I'm not concentrating on something else."

I was a few minutes late leaving and arrived at the office out of breath. Brenda, the secretary I share with Don Sherwood, a colleague, looked at me with raised eyebrows.

"Oversleep?"

I grinned at her. "No. Big changes over the weekend."

"Really?"

"Oh, yes. Tell you later."

"Okay. Just a couple of urgent items on your desk."

I entered the office I shared with Don. He wasn't there, but I remembered he was at one of our periodic 'training sessions' in London for three days. I glanced at the 'urgent' items. Nothing too serious. I called home and arranged with Teri to meet for lunch at a bistro nearer the University than my office, then buckled down to work. After an hour or so, Brenda brought me a mug of coffee, carrying one for herself as well. She sat in the chair in front of my desk.

"Come on, then, Jim. Give!"

I lifted the mug to my lips and sipped. "Perfect," I sighed. "What have I done to deserve such an excellent secretary?"

"Probably rescued puppies in a previous life?" She shrugged and chuckled. "Come on. Stop trying to distract me."

"It seems I am now the pastor of an independent church," I said with a slight grimace, "a very small one. Plus I've acquired a wife. Unofficially. We'll be making it formal as soon as."

"A wife, huh? A bit sudden?"

"Just a bit. Come with me at lunch-time, and you can meet her."

"I'll do that. But..."

"You knew I was a lay preacher?" she nodded as I paused, "When Kathy walked out, I stepped back and started thinking. There's always been things I didn't agree with, or didn't like, about the church, but that's inevitable in any institution. But then people began coming to me who were also unhappy with their church, for whatever reason. We started getting together to study our Bibles and discuss things. Then, someone suggested meeting for worship together. I wasn't sure about that, but we did it anyway. We ... each of us ... had an experience of God; different, of course, as we're individuals. Part of mine was hearing I needed a partner. Part of Teri's was agreeing to be my partner. Put like that, it sounds ... I don't know ... forced, I suppose. But when we held hands and looked at each other, something clicked for both of us. I proposed, she accepted. Then she said we should make our vows right then in the sight of God and our friends, so we did."

Brenda frowned. "Are you sure? I mean, what sort of girl is she?"

"I would have said, 'timid and reserved' once. The change in her yesterday morning was ... dramatic," I said. "Now, I can't begin to imagine life without her."

Brenda's grunt was emphatic and sceptical. I just smiled and finished my coffee.

Jacques' Bistro was crowded, but Teri was sitting at a table with a pot of tea. I snagged an extra chair on the way across the room. It would be a little cramped, but we'd manage.

"Teri, sweetheart, I'd like to introduce Brenda Smith, my indispensable secretary. Brenda, meet Teri Newbould, soon to be Teri Bolton and the love of my life."

Teri completed the move to her feet and held out her hand to Brenda. I stifled a smile as they metaphorically circled each other like a pair of dogs meeting for the first time. Sitting didn't reduce the tension much. Nor did ordering our lunch. However, I watched as they sparred verbally. Brenda, mid fifties, a little heavy but still attractive and very happily married, and Teri, late twenties and looking younger, superficially mousy despite her rich colouring. Teri held her own easily, I saw, and was happy to let them sort out the feminine equivalent of dominance games. By the end of our meal they were chatting easily.

We parted, though not without a kiss for me that, while 'U' rated, left no doubt as to whose property I was. Brenda and Teri exchanged pecks on the cheek. I thought, 'That went well.'

Brenda and I made our way back to the office.

"I was sceptical," Brenda admitted as we walked, "but you've a keeper there. I don't think Teri's going to think the grass greener elsewhere. How old is she, anyway?"

"Twenty seven, almost eight," I said. "Nine years between us."

"No big deal," Brenda muttered thoughtfully.

"Hope not," I responded.

A few phone-calls and an appointment with the Register office the next day. An afternoon's work and home, to find Teri in the kitchen. "Bolognese," she said with a smile, "half an hour to let the flavours blend and you have a shower, then we'll eat."

I crossed the room to kiss her, her mouth so sweet, her lips so soft and yielding, her breasts firm against my chest. "Oh, Lord..." I murmured, "Teri, I love you so much, I can't believe..."

"I know," she giggled. "Go ... shower. I'll show you how much I love you by feeding you, then you can show me how much in bed. How's that?"

I kissed her again. And again. "Sounds like a plan. Though..." She pressed herself against the growing lump in my trousers and wriggled. I broke away and shook my head, smiling. "Unless you want to be bent over the table right now..."

"That would be bad, how?" She took a look and a stir at the bubbling pan on the stove and reduced the heat. Deliberately, she slowly began to unbutton her blouse. She had on no bra, and slipped the blouse off her arms. Went to the table, bent over it and flipped her short skirt up. No panties, either, and her vulva was glistening with moisture.

You can be sure I was behind her with my trousers and boxers round my ankles very fast, and my rigid cock slid into her easily. We both groaned. I reached under and grasped a neat tit in each hand, and began to thrust. I think she was climaxing after my third thrust and I didn't last much longer. I stood there and she pressed back against me; I could feel her after-shocks. I fondled her breasts. "Oh, Teri..."

She straightened up, holding my hands against her firm mounds. By twisting slightly, she invited another kiss, which I joyfully shared. My cock dropped out of her limply.

"Jim, you make me feel so sexy, so completely a woman."

"Good. Because you are. For me, completely ... Woman."

"Well ... now we both need to shower, lover."

It took rather more than half an hour. A combi boiler is a wonderful thing, providing limitless hot water at mains pressure, but we were both a little wrinkled by the time we were drying each other. Teri trotted to the kitchen in front of me. I followed. Well, wouldn't you? Naked woman? Naked beautiful woman? Naked beautiful woman with whom you're in love? Wiggling bottom?

Thus I watched her drop spaghetti into boiling water, boil the kettle for tea. Supper was great, the view ... spectacular. But have you ever tried to eat spaghetti without looking at what you're doing? Every time Teri looked up and saw me devouring her with my eyes, she giggled. I told Teri of the appointment I'd made with the Register Office and we gathered the documents we were going to need for that before retiring. I was surprised to find it was perfectly possible to make love to Teri again before we slept.

Tuesday morning we managed to get up, showered and dressed without further sex, if not without much touching, and we went our separate ways after breakfast. The Register Office made no difficulties. Our marriage would be formalised four weeks from Friday, in the morning. We had time to visit a jewellers, where we found a slim ring with a small, but good, solitaire diamond and chose plain gold wedding rings. They needed to be resized, but we'd be able to collect them the following afternoon.

That evening, I suggested we spend some time with our Bibles in prayer. It was incredibly intimate and satisfying and when I suggested it might be a regular thing, Teri agreed, smiling, with alacrity.

Wednesday evening was our customary Bible Study meeting, but the first half-hour was taken up with the ladies cooing over Teri's ring, and another few minutes by our exchanging wedding bands. After that, Ben asked for time.

"We ... Isabel, Yvonne and I ... we would like to have a little ceremony, like Jim and Teri, to mark our three-way commitment. We know it can't be legal, but that isn't the point. We'll have contracts drawn up so we have equal rights to property, so Yvonne is protected. If everyone is happy with that, we'd like it to be on Sunday. Seeing Jim and Teri's rings, we'll do the same, I think. We hadn't thought of that." He looked at the ladies each side of him, who were smiling and nodding enthusiastically.

Phil spoke up. "It seems to me that our whole fellowship is based on tolerance of relationships that are not mainstream," he commented. "This suggestion seems perfectly in line to me." Everyone else was nodding and making agreeing noises.

"Thank you ... Phil, everyone." Ben's voice cracked, and his two ladies wrapped themselves round him.

By the time we'd shared bread and wine again, sung a song or two and prayed together, it was getting late and we all went our separate ways. Teri and I got home, did our bed-time routine and fell, naked, into bed without bothering with a shower. I didn't care that Teri tasted a little stronger than usual; she tasted delicious anyway. Our joining was every bit as wonderful as it had been before. We slept wrapped around each other. If we were stiff when we woke, it was worth it.