Chapter 6

It arrived a month later, delivered by a tuxedoed messenger who smiled briefly, then returned to the limo waiting at the curb. The package was large and black, its length and width secured tightly by a gleaming silver cable of ribbon. A single red rose was tied at the center with a shining knot nestled between clusters of menacing thorns. Steven stood behind the closed door for a full minute, not able to take a step, staring at his own reflection in the glossy surface.

"What is it? What's wrong?"

Elyse had come up behind him in her bare feet, and her voice startled him. He turned, holding the package carefully out in front of him as though it might be radioactive.

"Oh. That."

He lifted his eyes from the box. Elyse stood there in her robe, her expression at first calm, then apologetic. She seemed to be waiting for him to speak.

"Please don't go."

His voice sounded so small, as though he barely had the air to make the words come. He wanted her to move closer, to take the box and hurl it into the trash and assure him she could never go to him again. Instead she looked down at the box as though sizing its dimensions. Steven shivered as he imagined she was guessing its contents.

"You don't have to go. He can't force you."

She began to go to him, then stopped after several steps, lowering her head as she spoke. Her robe was undone, and parted a few extra inches in the front as she walked. His eyes wandered down over the trail of exposed flesh, the inner curves of her breasts, her flat belly, to the naked slit between her legs, now freshly shaved and parted slightly to reveal a deep red, pulsing core.

"You don't understand. He only sees me when I ask. I thought you knew that. It's me. I have to go."

"You don't have to go, damn it! I love you, but even I have limits! Just how much more do you expect me to take?"

Her expression changed to one of disappointment. Her eyes were filled with more sadness than he had ever seen.

"I know you have limits. I suppose I knew you would reach them eventually, that in the end you would leave. I need this, and I need you. I knew that I couldn't have both for long - or at least I feared it."

"I never said I was leaving - I don't know if I could," Steven said.

"Then please stay with me, please indulge me, for at least a while longer. You won't be sorry. I promise."

Her last words were delivered with sultry assurance. She smiled, and her eyes brightened. Unable to think, he extended the box, offering it to her. She moved to his side and slid the robe off her shoulders, holding it open, offering her body to him.