The Pleasure of M Read Online Free Page A

affairs,
  but
  interestingly
  enough
  with
  the
 
thought
 that
 maybe
 if
 she
 had
 an
 affair,
 things
 might
 improve.
 He
 loved
 his
 wife,
 but
 
love
 does
 not
 always
 suffice,
 and
 with
 the
 thought
 of
 the
 stress
 and
 unhappiness
 of
 
his
  marriage
  turning
  into
  a
  permanent
  prospect,
  he
  let
  his
  mind
  wander
  into
 
uncensored
  directions
  rooted
  in
  the
  dreams
  he
  had
  as
  a
  teenager
  of
  what
  his
  life,
 
sexual
  and
  otherwise,
  would
  be
  like
  someday.
  He
  had
  truly
  expected
  to
  be
  happy
 
and
 that
 had
 been
 his
 main
 ambition,
 to
 the
 derision
 of
 many
 Parisian
 friends
 most
 
of
 whom
 already
 aspired
 to
 the
 traditional
 French
 dream
 of
 a
 wife,
 a
 mistress
 and
 
two
  dogs.
  But
  over
  time
  his
  vicarious
  sex
  life
  turned
  into
  prolonged
  celibacy
  and
 
he’d
  lost
  his
  virginity
  to
  the
  woman
  he
  would
  marry.
  He’d
  had
  dreams
  of
  a
  union
 
endowed
  with
  a
  sustained
  sex
  life
  enriched
  by
  his
  past
  experiences
  and
 
experiments,
 and
 now
 he
 pined
 for
 the
 times
 when
 he
 thought
 he
 would
 be
 happy.
 
Alexander
  had
  of
  course
  no
  idea
  that
  this
  was
  the
  psychological
  backdrop
  against
 
which
 he
 was
 to
 make
 his
 offer,
 but
 Michel
 knew
 a
 sign
 when
 he
 saw
 one
 and
 seized
 
the
  chance.
  He
  immediately
  accepted
  and
  was
  quite
  amused
  as
  over
  the
  next
  few
 
days
 Alexander
 would
 come
 see
 him
 furtively
 at
 work
 and
 half-‐whisper
 injunctions
 
and
 rules
 such
 as
 “no-‐one
 must
 know
 of
 this”
 or
 “don’t
 believe
 everything
 she
 tells
 
you”.
  The
  remark
  about
  how
  she
  liked
  kinky
  stuff
  surprised
  him
  in
  that
  he’d
  not
 
suspected
 that
 Alexander
 liked
 such
 things.
 Then
 again,
 why
 would
 he?
 Men
 do
 not
 
share
  their
  sexual
  preferences
  in
  casual
  conversation.
  But
  he
  had
  to
  notice
  once
 
again
 that
 one
 does
 not
 view
 people
 quite
 in
 the
 same
 way
 when
 armed
 with
 such
 
personal
 information.
 Alexander’s
 apparent
 emotional
 disarray
 prompted
 Michel
 to
 
invite
 his
 friend
 to
 lunch
 for
 a
 serious
 conversation,
 just
 as
 his
 liaison
 with
 Catherine
 
was
  about
  to
  begin.
  Michel
  had
  already
  ascertained
  a
  number
  of
  things
  and
  told
 
Alexander
  as
  much,
  namely
  that
  Cathy
  had
  been
  his
  mistress,
  one
  of
  several,
  that
 
Alexander
 himself
 was
 the
 driving
 force
 of
 these
 liaisons,
 all
 sexual
 and
 flirting
 with
 
forbidden
  pleasures,
  innocent
  surely
  but
  not
  known
  as
  commonly
  accepted.
  “With
 
her,
  I
  opened
  Pandora’s
  box”
  Alexander
  had
  confided.
  “Everyone
  thinks
  she’s
  two
 
steps
 away
 from
 being
 a
 nun,
 and
 she
 was
 until
 she
 met
 me.
 Then
 she
 turned
 into
 a
 
different
 person.
 But
 I
 can’t
 take
 it
 anymore.
 My
 wife
 nearly
 found
 out,
 and
 when
 I
 
swore
  to
  her
  that
  I
  was
  not
  having
  an
  affair,
  I
  meant