Choosing Her Lover

*****

‘An Illusion of Happiness’

A Tale of BDSM Erotic Romance

And the Meeting of Strangers

Part Two

An Illusion of Happiness

As I stroll across the sands, a familiar figure jogs towards me, a small dog trotting alongside; a terrier that looks as though it has been assembled from a junkyard of other dogs.

As the runner approaches, he angles my way. Drawing close, he pulls to a stop, huffing.

“Hi, Kirstie,” he says, “I was hoping I’d run into you. How are you?”

His face is severe. Ben is not an unhandsome man, but his natural expression is unsmiling, which detracts from his looks, making him appear austere, perhaps even puritanical.

And is that just an appearance….? Or is that really the man?

“Hi, Ben. I’m good. You?”

“Yeah, I’m great. Mind if we join you for a bit?”

“We?”

He nods down toward his dog. “Scruffy wants to make friends….”

True enough, Scruffy is making moves on my Meg, who rumbling low, curls up a lip, unimpressed by this rag-tag terrier.

“…. and he’s not the only one.”

“I’d love you and Scruffy to join us. I was about to have some coffee actually.” I hold up my flask. “Want a cup?”

“Great idea.”

Sitting on the dune, close to each other, we sip coffee. The wind blowing into our faces sends my hair streaming over my shoulders. It feels very comfortable, very natural.

to sea, not speaking. Then he turns

him. He leans to me, finishing the movement, tilting

sunshine and fresh air, strawberries, and vanilla. His hand cupping my cheek, his touch is soft, his mouth pressed to mine in a

back for a moment, holding my eyes, then he leans into me once more, but this time, his mouth opens over mine, and he pulls me in tightly to him, holding me at the waist, drawing

breaks away, he looks at me again, then away out to sea. “I wanted to do that the other night,

say to him. It’s a long time since anyone kissed me in that way. He doesn’t just want a

drops the semi-rotted fish she is holding, letting it fall to the sand.

leap up. God knows I don’t want the car to smell of that on

to roll too, competing for the stinking thing, then Scruffy joins in the melee, and chaos

leaps up.

have retrieved the fish, tossing it as far out into the waves as Ben’s long-armed throw can manage, and persuaded the dogs to play in the water long enough to get

I suggest, waving vaguely towards the bar further along

that suggests that ice cream is just an excuse for hanging around

his face transforms. He becomes an

change in my pocket. “What

sure. What

chocolate and

me.” He sniffs. “I’ll have the

Of course you will….

but I think you’ll always

I’m not being fair to you. You want something you’re never going to get

But…. You’re nice….

‘nice’ what

along the beach again, eating cornets, licking away the dripping

asks. “For a living,

dream jobs for a lot of people, but I hated it.

“Something different?”

on as a concierge in one of the office

certainly a change.

Haswell Building. You know, the one that went

he comments. “My sister-in-law works

I’ll be on their front desk, so I’ll be seeing people all the time. And the company has a good reputation for training, and especially for

eyebrows. “Yeah, the sis said something about that too. She’s

Well, maybe I’ll get to meet