“Who’s Chloe?”
“The maid. Man, listen for once. That’s what I’ve been telling you this whole time.”
“You sly ass dog.
Ken laughed.”Don’t I know it.”
“Does Lana know about it?”
“Of course not. Would spoil everything.”
“And this from the man who says the secret to a successful marriage is being open about and sharing everything.”
“Trav, if I shared this with Lana, I may not have a successful marriage anymore.”
“Good luck with that. I mean it. You’re a crazy fucker, but good luck.”
Lana moved on to the bedroom. I see. Ken was definitely keeping something from her. Something to do with Chloe. That if Lana found out about it? May mean the end of her marriage.
She was sitting on the edge of the bed when Ken arrived, all smiles as he said a chipper good evening to his wife and disappeared into the bathroom. When he reemerged a few minutes later, he had his hand clasped around a black box with a red ribbon.
“I know it’s not quite Christmas yet,” he said, sitting next to Lana on the bed. “But I wanted to give you this away from family eyes.”
Detached from reality though she was, Lana took the box into her hands. Jewelry. The man had given her countless pieces of jewelry over the years. Earrings, necklaces, rings, bracelets… watches. Barrettes. Hairpins. Even a pair of nipple clamps one year. Yet she always counted on it being a carefully selected piece that her husband thought out well ahead of time. He never bought her something for the sake of buying it, or because he didn’t know what else to get her. Like the finch pendant he gave her for her birthday. According to their mutual personal assistant, Lana’s husband bought it two months before her birthday when he came across it in a store and thought of her.
The man has thought of me that recently…
“Thank you,” she said graciously, pulling the ribbon off the box and popping the lid. “This is sweet of…”
She looked at a silver collar.
Then she looked at her husband.
“Go on. Take a closer look.”
He said it so easily, as if it were no big deal for a man to buy his wife a sub collar for Christmas. Well, perhaps in their marriage it wasn’t. For ten years they had been kinky to the max, after all.
Lana lifted the collar out of the box and inspected it. A simple, silver collar at first glance. Of course, the quality was superb. Nothing but pure silver, and a tiny chain for gentle tugging. This wasn’t a collar to wear for serious play. It was the kind of collar for her to wear to The Dark Hour. The highlight, however, was the inscription on the inside.
“My Bunny.”
Something swelled in Lana’s heart. Or maybe it was in her gut.
“I know it’s not much, darling,” Why was Ken sounding so apologetic? Not every woman could say she got this kind of treatment ten years into her marriage. Most women were lucky if their men threw diamond earrings at them ten years in. “But I wanted to get you something special. For us.”
He gently took the collar from her hands, unclasped it, and held it up to her neck. Lana pulled her hair aside and felt the snug collar enclose around her neck. “Thank you. It’s lovely.”
She knew what this meant. She doubted she was modeling her new present. Ken wouldn’t have given it to her tonight if he didn’t have something in mind.
“It looks good on you. How does it feel?”
“Fine.”
“What’s wrong?”
Damn him for being so intuitive. Briefly, Lana wished she had the kind of husband who didn’t know his wife from being sick to healthy. Someone like Inid’s no good husband. The bastard who also cheated on his wife. Seemed to be a running thread in life.
“I suppose I’m feeling a bit glum lately, Husband.”
“Why is that?” His frown almost warmed her heart over. “Is it the… you know…”
Hilarious! They could talk about cum and saliva and God knew how many other body functions without flinching or blushing, but Kenneth Andrews still couldn’t say “period” without tying his tongue in a knot. Men were hilarious when they weren’t infuriating. “I suppose. I miss you.”