changed physically. He’d tried the various remedies, Viagra et al., but he couldn’t handle the massive headaches that were a side effect for some men. So what was the solution? Marriage wasn’t just about sex, there was so much more, but she had needs. So did Keith, for that matter; his need for kinky stuff grew even if he couldn’t perform the way he used to. The extracurricular activities were an answer for both of them. She actually believed it kept them together.
“And so,” she said, cutting out all the justification, “when I went on a business trip, he told me to do it.”
“How did that feel? Emotionally. Mentally. The whole bit.”
Now that was a question no one had ever asked, not even Keith. She rolled her lips between her teeth despite the effect it would have on her lipstick. Then she gave him the truth. “It was incredibly exciting. And terribly frightening. For some reason, I couldn’t have an orgasm. Afterward I just wanted to get out of there as fast as possible.” She always went to the man’s room, never took him to hers. “I didn’t call my husband until it was over.”
“And then?”
She never got this in-depth. Most men didn’t ask. Most of them didn’t care; they got some hot nookie on a business trip, then they were gone. That was fine with her. She didn’t ask if they were married, but she did choose men who weren’t wearing wedding rings. But how much to tell him? This wasn’t dirty talk. It was deeper, revealed more about herself. “I made myself come while I described every detail for him, and it was the hottest thing I’d ever felt. I’ve discovered the best part is when I tell him about it, his reactions, and then it’s really all about us and not the other man.” Maybe that was saying too much. She smiled, trying to take the bite out of her confession. “Does that make you feel like a sex object?”
A low laugh rumbled in his chest. “I’ve never been a sex object before. It might be interesting to try.” He paused to drink his beer. “How many men?”
“Only ten.” Ten one-night stands in three years. It felt kind of slutty.
“You do this only on business trips? Never at home?”
“Just on trips. That way there are no complications. It becomes an event.”
“I’ve never been a woman’s event.”
She’d always thought green eyes were especially expressive, but she could read nothing in his. And nothing on his face. “There’s always a first time,” she quipped, sorry the moment the words were out. It sounded ingratiating. Or flip. Or…hell, she didn’t know how it came off to him, except that she was growing more self-conscious. Perhaps this discussion was a bad idea.
“Have you ever done it with more than one man at the same time?”
“No.” Nor had she played around on every trip. Sometimes she didn’t meet anyone who excited her. She traveled mostly to meet with suppliers, sometimes with customers, and she didn’t cross that boundary. It was usually someone she encountered in a hotel restaurant or bar, or if she was sightseeing in a city that interested her. Men seemed to love approaching a woman who was eating alone. But she’d never had two men hit on her at once.
He tipped his head, gazing at her steadily, and now there was definitely a blaze in his eyes. “That would be amazingly hot. To call up your husband and describe everything to him. All that down-and-dirty visceral language only one man can use with another. Maybe I’d have to send him a video.”
Zoe had to wet her throat with a long sip of wine. “I don’t think I’m quite ready for that.” And yet…
He dropped his voice. “But it intrigues you, doesn’t it,” he said softly, not questioning, knowing.
Beneath the bodice of her dress, her nipples tightened. “Yes.” The word was little more than a whisper.
“We would search for the man together. Not this conference.” He waved a hand. “Another hotel. I would already know your likes and dislikes. I