The Pleasure of M Read Online Free

 in
 the
 careful
 dance
 he
 led
 hoping
 that
 she
 
would
 willingly
 come
 to
 calmer
 shores
 where
 pleasure
 can
 be
 confused
 with
 nothing
 
else,
 and
 eventually
 she
 did.
 To
 her
 initial
 insistence
 on
 a
 rougher
 type
 of
 imagery
 he
 
responded
 by
 turning
 the
 topic
 into
 a
 literary
 discussion
 on
 the
 works
 of
 the
 divine
 
marquis,
 Anne
 Desclos
 and
 A
 N
 Roquelaure.
 The
 next
 day,
 she
 found
 herself
 reading
 
the
 first
 of
 the
 Beauty
 books
 and
  that
 evening
 discussing
 it
 with
 Michel.
 She
 loved
 
books
 and
 again
 found
 herself
 bewitched.
 “What
 sort
 of
 person
 talks
 about
 sex
 and
 
books
  at
  the
  same
  time?”
  While
  she
  had
  vaguely
  known
  of
  the
  existence
  of
  such
 
books,
 she
 found
 herself
 quite
 surprised
 to
 realize
 that
 they
 were
 freely
 available
 at
 
the
  public
  library.
  He’d
  warned
  her
  that
  the
  book
  proceeded
  in
  a
  crescendo
  with
 
which
  he
  himself
  had
  not
  been
  able
  to
  fully
  engage
  as
  it
  progressed
  and
  that
  she
 
might
 also
 wish
 to
 un-‐suspend
 disbelief
 before
 the
 final
 chapter,
 and
 indeed
 she
 did.
 
She
 finished
 the
 book
 the
 next
 day
 and
 soon
 had
 a
 chance
 to
 call
 him.
 They
 spoke
 of
 
the
 book
 at
 length,
 their
 first
 shared
 experience,
 and
 of
 its
 many
 merits.
 He
 found
 it
 
exciting
 and
 arousing
 to
 hear
 a
 woman’s
 reading
 of
 the
 text.
 
    Michel
 tried
 to
 take
 life
 in
 stride,
 mostly,
 but
 in
 the
 weeks
 before
 he’d
 struck
 a
 fast
 
friendship
  with
  Alexander,
  he
  found
  himself
  pondering
  the
  possibility
  of
  exploring
 
other
 avenues
 in
 life.
 He
 wasn’t
 looking
 for
 an
 affair
 per
 se,
 but
 was
 clearly
 open
 to
 
the
  possibility.
  His
  marriage
  had
  of
  course
  never
  been
  a
  stellar
  to-‐do,
  but
  as
  their
 
only
 son
 was
 growing
 into
 a
 young
 boy
 it
 seemed
 that
 all
 physical
 contact
 between
 
he
 and
 his
 wife
 had
 ceased.
 While
 he
 was
 willing
 to
 accept
 much
 responsibility
 for
 
the
  situation,
  wrack
  his
  brains
  as
  he
  might,
  he
  could
  find
  no
  way
  forward
  or
  out.
 
Separation,
 because
 it
 would
 hurt
 the
 three
 of
 them
 terribly
 was
 out
 of
 the
 question.
 
But
 the
 corner
 that
 he
 and
 his
 wife
 had
 painted
 themselves
 into
 had
 the
 inertia
 and
 
gravity
  of
  a
  black
  hole.
  The
  relationship
  with
  his
  wife
  had
  begun
  with
  several
 
disastrous
 sexual
 experiences
 which
 they
 had
 separately
 vowed
 to
 overcome
 but
 in
 
truth
 never
 had.
 The
 fact
 that
 they
 were
 no
 longer
 interested
 in
 having
 sex
 with
 each
 
other
  was
  in
  his
  mind
  undeniable
  and
  in
  good
  part
  rooted
  in
  the
  also
  seemingly
 
undeniable
 fact
 that
 they
 did
 not
 enjoy
 having
 sex
 with
 each
 other.
 Such
 findings
 a
 
decade
  and
  a
  half
  into
  a
  marriage
  are
  hardly
  conducive
  to
  optimism
  and
  that
  did
 
lead
  him
  to
  contemplate
  the
  concept
  of