Reasonable Bounds

However, I just stood there by the front door, still frowning. “I’m not stressed so much as simply sad. I’m thinking about Mindy crying just now. That wouldn’t be so bad, but I know that it’s just the start, since the boycott is just getting warmed up. There’s going to be a LOT of crying and sorrow in the days to come, and not just from her. We know how emotional the Gruesome Twosome get. I imagine that Min has gone upstairs to talk to them and the three of them are crying their eyes out right now.”

I looked at Cindy, who already had most of her clothes off. “So it’s better if you stop undressing, because I don’t see how I can get aroused when I’m in this mood.”

She continued to disrobe anyway. She wasn’t trying to do a striptease, as she seemed to think it was more important to make her nakedness a fait accompli before I could complain too much. “I understand how you feel, Master. But what’s the good of wallowing? I’ve read that the biggest problem for depressed people is rumination - meaning thinking about their problems too much - and the best cure is keeping their minds busy with other thoughts. As one of your cock slaves, I feel it’s my duty to put a smile back on your face, and the best way I know how to do that is through pleasuring your cock.”

She timed her undressing with the last of her comments. Once she was nude from head to toe, she struck a sexy, cheesecake pose, with a cocked hip and a hand behind her head.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t aroused in the slightest. “Cin, I appreciate what you’re trying to do, but this isn’t the time or place. There’s nothing wrong in wanting to wallow in sadness for a while. I’ll agree that excessive ruminating is bad, but sometimes it’s good to work through one’s feelings, like having a good cry.”

“Okay, I’ll tell you what. I’ll start a fire” - she nodded towards the fireplace in the living room - “and you and I can just cuddle and talk for a while. If you want to vent about your sad feelings, I promise I’ll be a great listener.”

I asked, “A fire? Why? It’s summer time, and we’re still on the tail end of a heat wave.”

She grinned knowingly. “True, but it’s easy to get cold if you’re completely naked like I am. And don’t think for one minute that I’m going to put my clothes back on. In fact, I want you to get nude too. That’s the price I’m going to have you pay in return for me listening to all of your wallowing.”

I reacted with pretend shock. “Mrs. Robinson, you’re trying to seduce me. Aren’t you?”

She caught my quote from “The Graduate.” She just smiled coquettishly and said, “Well, no. I hadn’t thought of it.” She struck another provocative pose. “Here’s the deal. We’ll talk, and that’ll help you take a load off your mind. And if, at some point, you start to get horny, I’ll be able to help you take another kind of load off. And even if you don’t, won’t it feel nice to just cuddle skin on skin in front of a roaring fire. I think cuddling is highly underrated.”

I couldn’t help but grin at that. “You’ve got me there. I’m big on cuddling, and I like relaxing in front of an open fire. But I warn you now that I’m not going to get aroused.”

Her grin turned into a knowing smirk that reminded me of Mindy. “We’ll see if you’re right about that. Why don’t you undress and get the fire started. I’ll go get us some wine, Oh, and since we never did eat dessert, what about some cheese and crackers?”

“Sounds good.”

A couple of minutes later, we wound up sitting together in a big easy chair. True, it wasn’t the Dream Chair, but it was a nice one, with just enough room for us to cuddle up side by side instead of her having to sit in my lap. I’d pulled it in front of the fire, which already was burning nicely. Cindy had turned the overhead lights off and wrapped us in a light blanket. At her request, I’d also moved coffee tables to either side of the easy chair, so we had a convenient spot to put our wine bottle, glasses, and food.

I sighed contentedly after taking a sip of the red wine she’d given me. “Aaaah. This is cozy. But I call foul. Clearly, you’re using inside knowledge to get to me. You know I’ve got a soft spot for cuddling in front of a fire with Min. You even knew about how we like to snack on wine and cheese. It’s true that we don’t do it naked, due to having Satan’s Spawn running around the house most of the time, and we don’t do it in the summer, but otherwise, this feels like the many times I’ve done this with Min.”

She said, “You’re right, I did take advantage of inside knowledge. I hope you don’t mind, because this is fulfilling a very big fantasy for me.”

“Really? How? All we’re doing is cuddling.” I had an arm around her and she had an arm around me, but we weren’t actively doing any fondling.

She responded, “True. But not all fantasies have to be about sweaty, wild sex. I’ve known for years and years about your and Mindy’s ‘cuddling in front of a fire’ tradition, and this has been a daydream vision for me more times than I care to admit. And now it’s happening, for real! I don’t know if you can tell how thrilled I am, but for me this is about as good as it gets. I mean in my entire life! It may get AS good as this, but I can’t imagine it getting any better.”

“Wow. Why?”

She snuggled herself up against my side in a way that was both intimate and enticing. “Because of what it symbolizes, and what it shows about how you feel about me. Sure, I love that you use and dominate me sexually. I’ve more than made peace with the fact that I’m sexually submissive. I wouldn’t have it any other way. So if you’re offering more of that, my answer is ‘more please!’ But cuddling like this goes beyond that. This is what two people in love do. We’re naked and touching each other, and we could end up having sex, but we don’t necessarily have to. It’s a joy in and of itself just to be together.”

I nodded, and stared into the fire. “Indeed. I like that a lot too. And I would have thought I’d feel guilty doing this with you instead of Mindy, especially tonight, after seeing her cry, but for some strange reason that’s not bothering me too much.”

Cindy murmured hopefully, “That’s because you know that she would want this to happen right now. What would make her madder than a wet hen is if I just left you alone to wallow. Even if you want to feel sad, it’s a different thing if you’re doing it with someone you love cuddled up next to you.”

“Very true. And by the way, ‘madder than a wet hen?’ Did you get that from Sue Ellen? I’ve never heard anyone else but her say that.”

Cindy grinned. “I suppose I did. I like her colorful Southernisms. They’re so her.” She turned her head towards me, causing me to turn my head enough to for us to make eye contact. “Anyway, let’s let the sadness out, together. You’ll feel better later.”

“Yes, let’s. But before I unload on how I feel about the sex boycott making everybody sad, there’s something I’ve been meaning to talk to you about for some time, but for some reason, something always comes up.”

She took my flaccid penis in hand and briefly lifted it up and then let go of it. “Usually this. Quite literally. But please continue.”

There was a pause as I tried to gather my thoughts. “It’s about Ruby. Well, you and Ruby. One day, Ruby was your daughter alone, and then the next day she was my daughter and Mindy’s daughter too. How do you feel about that? I mean, yes, we’ve talked about that some, but I feel like we haven’t talked about that enough. As a result, I think we’re still walking on eggshells to some extent. For instance, Ruby has refrained from calling Mindy ‘Mom’ or ‘Mother, ‘ and I think that’s out of concern that she would hurt your feelings.”

Cindy and I had been staring into the fire, but she made eye contact with me again. “I’m perfectly fine with the change. In fact, I see it as a 100% positive. You have no idea how tough it’s been on me trying to raise her all by myself. Even when my ex who shall not be named was in the picture, he wasn’t much of a father. But another way to look at it is that I didn’t raise her alone, because you and Min were there all along. This just formalizes a reality that’s existed ever since Ruby was in diapers. For instance, you were her real father figure years and years before I divorced you-know-who. Why do you think she spent so much time at your house since forever?”

I pointed out, “Well, there’s the huge crush she had on me, not to mention that she and Shelle are basically joined at the hip.”

“Yes, but they could be joined at the hip at my house or anywhere else. And yeah, her crush on you had a big part to do with it, but your house was the de facto hangout spot well before she hit puberty.”

“What are you trying to say?”

“You’ve been her true dad all along! You’ve been both the best and the only real father figure she’s ever known. That’s one reason why I’m so overjoyed that this harem has come together like it has. For a long time, I felt it was tragic that our true family would never be truly and formally realized, due to all the social rules against it. But now it is! To me, that’s just as great as the sex. We’re not just a harem of beautiful women dedicated to serving your cock. We definitely are that, no doubt, but we’re also a real family!”

This inspired her so much that she suddenly repositioned, winding up sitting on my lap with her face up to mine. She moved in for a kiss and we spent the next minute or two necking.

However, I wasn’t done with the discussion. Once my lips were free again, I said, “You make it sound so easy. And I guess it is when it comes to me, since I’m the only father figure in sight, now that your ex is long gone. But I’m more concerned about a potential bumping of elbows between you and Mindy. What about that? So far, there hasn’t been much problem because you two haven’t had any serious disagreements. But what happens when you want Ruby to do one thing and Min wants her to do another? I can already see them trying to play you off each other.”

Cindy slid the light blanket off and let it drop to the floor. “Excuse me, Master, but I’m plenty warm now that the fire is burning bright. Is that okay with you?”

I ran my hands up and down her sides. “It’s fine. Although I think you just want me to see and touch all of your fantastic uncovered body.”

She smiled knowingly. “There’s that too. To answer your question, sure, there will be problems like the one you mention. But here’s the thing: Min and I are VERY like-minded when it comes to parenting. She and I have probably talked to each other as much or more about the difficulty of raising Michelle and Ruby as she and you have. We know all their tricks, including them trying to play us against each other. We know the importance of presenting a united front, which includes you, by the way. Nothing is going to change, except that we’ll be officially acknowledging the reality that’s been there all along. So I’m not worried at all.”

I persisted, “But it’s not that easy. Yes, you’re got three wonderful daughters now, including Nicky.”

Curiously, she growled approvingly, and then fastened her lips to the side of my neck. She applied a powerful suction that I felt all the way down to my toes!

“But!” I hastily added, trying hard not to be distracted from the point I was making. “Ruby is always going to be your favorite. Sure, you can say they’re all equal, and you should, but the truth is you’ll feel a special connection with her. She’s got your genes, you breast-fed her, you spent much more time with her since the very beginning, and so on. That’s only natural. I’d feel the same way if I was in your shoes. So aren’t you going to want to have a special say in matters that concern her?”

Cindy continued to sit on my lap, and lightly ran a hand over my chest. “Yes, I’ll admit there’s a special connection there. It would be pointless to deny it. I want that to continue, because there’s no harm in us being extra close. But a special say? No. Like I said, we need to present a united front. Furthermore - and I can’t stress this enough - I’m part of a harem and you’re the master! Which means that YOU are the one with the special say. For instance, if Min and I want one thing for Ruby and you want another, and we’re stuck in our positions after talking it out, then what YOU want is what goes.”

She lightly poked my chest a couple of times to emphasize her key words. “Because you are the motherfucking MASTER! Yes, I’m the mother of three girls now, but you’re the master of us ALL, and that trumps everything!”

I asked, “But what if I insist on something you and Min strongly disagree with?”

“That’s already happened, as you well know, with your dating stinky boys stance. But here’s the thing. We know you very, very well, and we know that you’re a smart, reasonable guy. True, sometimes you take a foolish, stubborn stance, but you come around once you have time to adjust. My point is that on all the big things, you, Min, and I are all in agreement already. I’m sure there will be times when you put your foot down on something that I really don’t like, but that’s part of the price of being your willing and wanton cock slave.”

She made that last comment with evident gusto, as if she liked being forced to do things against her will.

I said, “You say that’s part of the price, but what’s the benefit?”

She snorted mirthfully. “You’re kidding me, right? Just look at me, right here, right now, sitting naked on your lap! Like I said, it doesn’t get any better than this. You’re my one true love, and you’re my master! That’s better than having you exclusively as my husband. Much, MUCH better! It’s like I get all the benefits of having you as a husband, plus more. I get to share you with my best friend and my daughters, and together we get to live out all our greatest submissive fantasies with you. Just thinking about being dominated by you for years and years to come is getting me worked up.”

She looked down at my crotch, and took hold of my penis. “And I can see something is arousing you as well. Is it all this master and slave talk?”

Sure enough, my dick had gotten fully erect. I hadn’t even realized it happened until she pointed it out. I protested, “No, of course not. I think it has more to do with the fact that you’re sitting naked on my lap in the darkness with the fire behind you and outlining you. So sexy! You look like a nude beauty in some opening musical scene to a James Bond movie. I really mean that.”

I brought my hands back to her sides. “Except that I can smell you. So feminine and alluring. And I can feel you too!” I began slowly running my hands over her, mostly exploring her hips and tummy.

She smiled widely. “Thanks for the compliment. I love it! But I also find it adorable how you try so hard to deny how you enjoy dominating us. You think it’s unfair or sexist or something. You wonder how I can sincerely love being enslaved to you, I can tell. If only you could tell how great it feels!”

She tilted her head back, as if in sexual ecstasy. “Gaawwwd! The worst sex with you is at least ten times better than any I ever had with my ex, just because we’re doing it as master and slave. You could lay there dead as a doornail, doing nothing, and merely thinking about my submissive status would get me hotter than an oven. In fact, I’m sorry, but I just can’t take it anymore!”