Chapter 10: Adagio mas non troppo

In the morning, I woke up to some low moans; Jenny had woken up and was feeling her body’s reaction to our lovemaking. She was still clinging to my body, and her arm was around me.

“My love, this night I slept well, after all these nights turning and turning, but don’t you like me anymore? I don’t think that you kissed me goodnight!”

I protested.

“First, darling, you closed your eyes and were fast asleep before I could do anything, and I did kiss you goodnight, even when you did not respond ... If anybody has any reason to protest, it is me. Falling asleep in my arms while I was talking to you, not giving me my kisses: do you want to argue who is more at fault?”

She shook her head.

“I’ll not argue with you...”, but I heard her mumbling “ ... you should have woken me up.”

Maureen had also woken up and turned me around.

“Jenny, you forgot your duties!” and offered me her lips for a kiss and then pointed downwards; it was fun to say good morning there, too.

“Jenny, first you say good morning according to House Rules, and then you can start arguing!”

Jenny looked at her and then took another deep breath. “Good morning, my love.” She leaned forward to kiss me and then repeated the gesture once more, only this time I spent more time on those soft tips (but they did not stay minute for a long time) than on her lips. Finally, she went back and sat against the headboard.

“Well, James, what are the plans for today?”

I looked at the clock.

“We have time for breakfast. Then Maureen has to go to her office, I back to the company and I’d like to suggest that you go, too. You stayed longer than the days we agreed, and I’ll talk to the HR people to see what we can do. Then you might look at what the temp has been doing and prepare for next week. The planning for the Sales Meeting in Honolulu is behind schedule, and we need a firm hand to get it back. At night we could either go out for dinner or stay home, so just decide what the two of you want.”

Jenny grinned. “James, once in a while, you live in another world. Maureen, what do you think?”

Maureen smiled maliciously.

“You seem to be still asleep, James, otherwise you would not have asked that question, but if you insist, we can go out for dinner...”

Both looked at me with mirth in their eyes. How to get out of this?

Often the attack is the best defense.

“You have told me often enough now that I’m your Lord and Master – and not always in a very convincing tone – and tonight, alas, out of the generosity of my heart, I wanted to offer you a choice. Since you make fun of me, I want my due deference. When I come home tonight, I want you kneeling on the floor, touching your heads on the floor. When I enter, I want you dressed appropriately for the evening, and you will offer yourselves to my desires. Dinner will be ready, and you will serve me as I deserve. If all of this is satisfactory, I might give you the boon of my pleasure. Is this understood?”

They looked at each other and almost burst out laughing, but at the last moment, they managed to put on an obedient face.

“Yes, Lord and Master. Kneeling on the floor: check. Dressed appropriately: check. Offer ourselves to your desires: double-check. Dinner served: check. Boon of your pleasure: triple check. Anything else, oh Lord and Master?”

Somehow they had turned this around in a way that gave me no idea what might happen to me at night, but I was confident that it would be fun.

Jenny slowly stretched, lay on her back, and tried once more. Seeing that I was looking at her, she whispered: “James, can I stay in bed today? You abused me, you fiend. Everything hurts, especially in certain parts down south. I want a dark place, silence, a hug, and some warm towels. Do something, James!”

I was worried, but looking at her, I also saw a smile of satisfaction. Maureen had woken up to her, too, and was grinning.

“You wanted it, my dear. Now you pay for it. You enjoyed seeing me walking with a certain discomfort, so it is your turn now. Get up, darling, have a hot shower, and you’ll survive!”

Muttering dark threats, Jenny crawled out of bed and moved slowly to the bathroom. I waited for a moment and whistled just for fun, but she ignored me. Maureen laughed.

“There is nothing you can do now, my love. Just get double your kisses tonight?”

I bent over and kissed her and then gave my favorite spots a hello-good-morning kiss and went to the bathroom to see whether I could help Jenny. She had turned on the hot shower, and I saw her wondering whether she wanted a friendly hand or not, but at the end, she asked me to join her.

“Be gentle, my love. I don’t regret one bit what we did last night, and I want to repeat it in the future. Today, I need a gentle hand that washes my body and hair, which doesn’t tempt you or me. Please?”

Well, washing her gently definitively tempted me, but I could control myself. She seemed to improve and moved a bit easier. She saw my concern and repeated: “Don’t worry, my love. It’s only uncomfortable, not painful – at least not very much so. It’ll get better, and I’ll remember it during this day why I feel this since it was a night of glorious lovemaking! Now, have your shower; do you want that I call Maureen to join you?”

That tempted me, too, but I declined. Jenny went to dress, I shaved and looked for my business suit. It was the same uniform as always, dark blue, white shirt and a narrow dark tie, and I wondered whether one day I might manage to become adventurous and select a pale-colored tie? Or a light blue shirt? Not this day, however. When I looked in on Jenny, she finished putting on her blouse and skirt, and we went to the kitchen where Maureen had prepared breakfast. It was certainly an interesting contrast to see two people dressed to work and a third one just wearing a little frilly apron!

Jenny sat down carefully, and Maureen suggested getting a soft cushion for her chair at the office since that had helped her the last time! She went over and hugged Jenny.

“Perhaps the next time, once is enough?”

Jenny grinned and replied that once was good, but twice was better: her spirit had recovered! Suddenly Jenny looked at the clock and jumped up.

“We’re late. Hurry!”

Apparently, my timing was different from hers since I had thought we still had time before rushing off, but I forgot that she had to go to her apartment, change and be in the office before me. Then she vanished, but not before kowtowing.

“‘Boon of your pleasure’ tonight, oh Lord and Master?”

Maureen grinned.

“It seems that we’ve woken up a most agreeable monster, my love. I’m looking forward to tonight, too. By the way, how did you come up with ‘boon of your pleasure’?”

“I always loved the tales of Scheherazade, my love, and the ways you find ways to fulfill my fantasies is giving me more than pleasure; they give me happiness and joy. I pray every day that I’m worth your love and trust and that you’re as happy as I am.”

“My love, Jenny is right. Once in a while, you seem to live in a different world, dark and somber. How can you doubt that you’re worth our love? Actually, how can you dare to doubt this, after all the proof we’ve given you? And how can you question that we might not be happy? James, I’ve never been so happy in my life as in these days, and I can speak for Jenny: she feels the same way. So get out of these shadows and come back to our life, where the sun is shining every day!”

She pulled me close and kissed me with all the emotion she could show. I responded with my own feelings, and in the end, she was satisfied that I was her James again. I tried to explain myself, however.

“Maureen, we all have our idiosyncrasies. We Germans, especially we from the north of the country, are often introverted and question ourselves all the time. We’re never satisfied, never content, always expecting for something bad to happen, always looking to improve. I’ve learned from you that I can be happy, and Jenny confirmed this, but even so ... There’ll be moments, and at that time, I’ll need your love, open and visible, to tell myself that I’m not alone anymore.”

She hugged me once more.

“Darling, I’ll show you my love always, open and visible, even and especially when you are in a funk. Wait for tonight: we want to receive the ‘boon of your pleasure’! But enough of this: we have to get up and do our duty, Count de Winter.”