Chapter 1

What if you had a watch that could give you everything you ever wanted? That could alter your reality? That could stop time?

Hell, maybe it isn’t a watch. Maybe it’s a genie, maybe a piece of alien tech. It honestly doesn’t matter. If you suddenly found yourself with incredible power would you, however obliquely, tell anyone what the source of it was? Especially as the old adage is true - absolute power corrupts absolutely. My name is Mike and this is the story of how I was corrupted by the impossible.

I will say though that when I first got the watch I didn’t know it for what it was. It was quite stylish, if old fashioned. A silver clockwork wrist watch that somehow didn’t come off as pretentious. Through artistically placed gaps in the casing you could see the softly whirring gears and slow moving hands. I really liked it, except I couldn’t figure out how to adjust the time on it. It was currently set correctly, but I wasn’t sure what I would do if it started running slow.

My wife Linda had gently ribbed me about the watch when I first got it. Saying that I was embracing middle age. I knew her far too well to think it was anything other than teasing though. We had been married at twenty, sweethearts all through high school and college, and even after eighteen years of marriage still joked around with each other.

We still played around in the bedroom as well, although not as much as I would like to. No matter how bright it is initially, time casts a pall on everything sooner or later. Which isn’t to say that sex has become a chore - rather that the frequency had declined, and we had become settled, less adventurous. I was determined to reclaim some of the excitement though. I had always had a very high sex drive, a fact that Linda had always enjoyed, vocally more often than not. But for many years we had stifled what we had, focusing on something else.

That focus point was our daughter Kara. She had arrived not long after we had been married; a surprise, but a welcome one. I will always treasure the memories I had of when she was younger, when I was both her hero and her best friend. When all she wanted to do was to climb into her daddy’s lap while I read her a story.

She’s too old for that now I’m sorry to say. Still small enough to though, as I’m fond of teasing her! She had inherited my wife’s height (much to her disappointment!), being barely over five foot two. I thought she was adorable, my little princess. Although I’ll admit I may be biased. Being over six foot three myself, there’s little I enjoyed in life more than enveloping my girls in a bear hug.

Kara was the spitting image of Linda when she was younger. They were both small and slim, but surprisingly curvy in the bust and butt department. Before puberty had taken hold, Kara had been like a fragile little stick. She had always been active with sports, and I had been constantly worried that she would hurt herself. Now I was more worried that some sleazy boy would take advantage of her trusting nature. And I’m not entirely sure I would blame him! Sometimes it felt like everywhere we went boys, and even grown men, would be ogling Kara. Linda always told me not to worry so much, that Kara wasn’t an idiot. But then Linda got checked out almost as much as our teenage daughter!

Coal black hair that reached halfway down her back, light blue eyes that seemed the same color of the sky, and delicate elfin features made Linda a woman that you definitely had to take a second look at. Lord knows I had. Linda had looked after herself with regular exercise, and it wouldn’t be too far of a stretch to say that Linda and Kara could pass as sisters rather than mother and daughter.

It was a good period in my life when the Watch came to me. I had worked in IT all my life, risen quite high, and had made some smart investments. It didn’t hurt that I could work from my home office more often than not. Linda was a successful financial adviser, and between the two of us we were very comfortable. Kara was in her final years of high school. Life was good.

The first time I discovered that the Watch wasn’t all that it seemed was an accident. I had always been a fidgeter, and my new favourite way to pass the time was to play with the bezel; it made a satisfying clicking sound as you spun it.

At the moment I was playing with the watch while I waited for Linda to get ready. We were going out tonight, a rare date night. And she was taking her sweet time getting ready. I didn’t really mind though. I liked to complain about how long she took to get ready more than it actually bothered me. Things had gotten easier once Kara got old enough to stay at home by herself; she had never really liked having a sitter, saying that it was weird having a stranger in her house, so for a very long time Linda’s and my romantic time consisted of necking on the sofa, and trying to be quiet while we fucked. In a strange way it had been like being a teenager again, except for a really, really long time. Sneaking around, trying not to make too much noise, not wanting to get caught.

But now we were finally reclaiming some of our outgoing past. Gradually anyway. Tonight consisted of going out to dinner with a nice bottle of wine and then to see how we felt. I had already reserved a room at a hotel nearby the restaurant if the night went that way. As I had mentioned, Linda could be quite vocal during sex - especially after a few drinks. And I wouldn’t want to shock poor Kara.

Anyway, back to the Watch.

“Linda, are you nearly ready yet?” I put in a solid sigh at the end, hamming it up.

“Almost. Halfway at least. I Think.” Linda’s voice contained her amusement.

“Halfway.” I said, deadpan. Halfway meant I still had quite a while to wait yet. I absently rolled the bezel of the Watch, spinning it back and forth. For a few moments I kept spinning it in one direction, further than I usually did; suddenly it wouldn’t spin anymore, meeting resistance. I tried going back the other way, but it seemed like the mechanism was stuck somehow. Great, I hope I hadn’t broken it.

“Halfway.” Linda repeated. Her voice had a solemn tone. “Tell you what stud, if you don’t like the end result I’ll pay for dinner.”

I grinned to myself. There was no way that I wouldn’t be impressed when she was ready. Linda could still get me going quicker than I would believe was possible. “Don’t worry, I’ll wait quietly.” Still playing with the Watch, I noted that it seemed to have a bit of give in it, as though it could no be clicked in. Maybe that’s how you set the time?

“Quietly? That would be a first!” As Linda was still talking I pressed the bezel inwards on the Watch. “Seriously though, I’m nearly -”

Linda cut off in mid sentence. I waited for a moment, assuming she had dropped something before getting curious. “Honey? Everything okay in there?”

Nothing.

I stood up, slightly worried, and moved to the bathroom door. “Linda?”

Still nothing.

I pushed open the door, thinking at the time that the resistance felt a bit odd, almost fluid. When I entered the bathroom I relaxed; Linda was at the mirror above the sink applying eye liner. I grinned to myself. I loved everything about my wife, especially how cute she was when she had to use things in a world that wasn’t quite scaled to her size. In this case she was leaning forward, standing on her tiptoes so she could see what she was doing properly.

I was silent for a moment, appreciating the view. Linda had a slinky, dark blue dress on, the kind with that sheer fabric that doesn’t reveal anything, but still hugs every curve a woman has. The way she was standing emphasised her rear, and it was almost obscene the way the dress clung to her ass like a second skin. I could see the faintest lines of the thong underwear she had on. I felt my cock lurch in approval - I was very much looking forward to this evening.

“Honey, you’ve made a mistake. Looking that good we might not even make it to the restaurant!” I took a few steps toward her, intending to embrace her from behind, pressing up against her in a manner that would leave no doubts to how much I liked her dress. But then I stopped, unease starting to hit me again. Linda hadn’t moved.

“Linda?” I touched her on the shoulder. She rocked ever so slightly, but was otherwise unmoved. Something wasn’t right.

I leant around so I could look at her face. Linda’s eyes were open, frozen in the act of applying her makeup. I must have stared at her for a good 30 seconds, not understanding at all what was happening.

“Honey?” I put my hands on her shoulders and shook her gently. She moved easily and pliantly under my hands, but her face was unchanged, locked in an expression of concentration.

Now, telling this tale you are probably wondering why I didn’t work out what was happening. And I like to think it didn’t take too long for me to figure it out. But at the time I was basically numb, not able to comprehend it. I ended up, after I’m not sure how long, hugging Linda from behind, almost leaning on her.

“Linda, please. I love you. Please.” I’m not sure how long I said this litany.

I was sitting on the floor of our room, leaning up against the bed. I didn’t know how long I had been there. I didn’t remember getting there. I had my head in my hands and was trying to hide from the silence.

I don’t know if you have ever been out in the wilderness, somewhere remote, somewhere with no people. But what strikes you first is the quiet. It is almost unearthly, being away from all the noise and background sounds of civilisation. But even then you still get the sounds of nature. Of birds, of wind in the trees. But here there was nothing. The only thing that I could hear was the sound of my own hyperventilating breathing.

My mind a blank, my hand started fidgeting of its own accord. Without even really realising I was doing it, I went to start fiddling with the Watch like usual. When it wouldn’t turn, I remembered that I had pressed in the bezel. I stopped what I was doing and stared down at the Watch.

Surely not...

With a trembling finger I pressed it.

“- done, I’ll be right out.”

Linda’s voice, as well as the seeming inrush of sound from every direction, filling the empty void of silence, would have knocked me on my butt if I wasn’t already sitting down.

There was a brief flurry of commotion from the bathroom; from the sounds of it Linda was hurriedly putting everything onto the counter. She came out of the bathroom quickly, dress swishing around her ankles. She knelt by me and flung her arms around my neck, hugging me to her tightly.

“Oh honey, I love you too!” She gave me a a big kiss on the cheek, gave the lipstick mark she left behind an apologetic thumb rub, then moved more sedately back into the bathroom to continue getting ready.

I looked at the entrance to our bathroom where Linda had gone. I looked down at the Watch. I very slowly moved my hand and pressed the bezel again.

The quiet returned.

I pressed a second time and and once more I could here Linda getting ready.

Either I was having an aneurism, or the most incredible thing ever was happening to me.

I activated the Watch and got up, walking once more into the bathroom. Linda was still at the mirror, she looked like she had finished and was just double checking everything was in place. I was a bit bolder this time, more inquisitive. Still freaking out mind you, but I had it more or less under control.

Linda’s dress was very low cut at the back, stopping just above the base of her spine. I’ve already mentioned how delectable her ass looked in it, but it was very flattering on the rest of her as well. Linda has a very narrow waist considering her height and her curves. I could see a hint of the dimples that were just above the curve of her buttocks. The dress wasn’t too low cut at the front, showing only a bit of her generous cleavage, but it was mostly designed to wow from behind.

I placed a hand at the small of her back. Her skin still felt the same; cool, silky, and smooth. I pushed her gently forward, ready to catch her if it looked like she was going to fall.

Instead she simply leant forward slightly. It kind of looked as though she compensated for the change in balance.

“Linda? Linda!” I shouted right by her ear. “Can you hear me?”

There was no reaction. I looked into her eyes. I shaded one from the bathroom light and then exposed it to the light again. Her pupils didn’t contract at all.

“So this isn’t something scientific or rational then.” I mused aloud to myself. Curious, I continued gently pushing Linda forward. At the point where I was sure she would lose her balance, she steadied herself against the counter with her hands. I did the eye test again, but there was no reaction.

At this point Linda was basically bent over at a right angle over the sink. I admired the view for a moment before placing a hand on my wife’s ass. The dress was so sheer that I may as well have been feeling her bare skin. I didn’t feel guilty about taking liberties - we were very physically affectionate. As long as we weren’t around Kara we both basically acted as though the others body was fair game.

I stood there in our bathroom, somehow moving in a frozen moment in time, while feeling up my wife’s delectable rear. It was surreal. I thought about Linda’s reaction when I deactivated the Watch for the first time. It was like she has heard me. Although, she only seemed to have reacted to my telling her I loved her over and over. Not the calling her name or shaking her. I glanced down ruefully at my hand still feeling her up. This might take some explaining.

I got Linda upright, approximately where she was beforehand. I considered leaving her bent over, but thought it might be a little much. I went and stood by the doorway, not obvious, but so I could see her. I deactivated the Watch.

Linda rocked on her heels slightly, regaining her balance. She paused what she was doing and reached behind her, putting her hand on her behind in an explorative manner. She had a quizzical look on her face, but with a small shrug she continued. Apart from that, she didn’t register that anything had happened. Was her coming out and telling me that she loved me a coincidence?

It occurred to me that I was very rapidly becoming blasé about this impossible happening. But I had used it a few times in quick succession with nothing untoward happening. Unless you count the crazy fact I was somehow stopping time. Someone once told me that the human races superpower was adaptability. That we could get used to anything eventually. I guess that was true.