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.

Then he

simply swaying in towards him. He leans to me, finishing the movement, tilting his head to the side as

He tastes of sunshine and fresh air, strawberries, and vanilla. His hand cupping my cheek, his touch is soft, his mouth pressed to mine in a gentle, almost chaste

more, but this time, his mouth opens over

me again, then away out to sea. “I wanted to do that the other night, but I thought maybe I’d be moving too fast,” he

say to him. It’s a long time since anyone kissed me

put that down….” Emma drops the semi-rotted fish she is holding, letting it fall to the sand. Archie immediately seizes the initiative and starts

to smell

roll too, competing for the stinking thing, then

up.

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 rid of the worst of the

an ice cream?” I suggest, waving vaguely towards the bar further along the

good,” he replies, with the kind of smile that suggests that ice cream is just an excuse for

as he smiles, his face transforms. He becomes

I juggle change in my pocket. “What are you

sure. What have they

a bitter chocolate and sour cherry that’s to

that’s a bit powerful for me.” He sniffs. “I’ll

Of course you will….

but I

being fair to you. You want

But…. You’re nice….

Is ‘nice’ what I

beach again, eating cornets, licking away

do?” he asks. “For a living, I mean? If you

all. I was a pastry chef. I know it’s one of those dream jobs for a lot of people, but I hated it. I’m starting a new job in a

“Something different?”

I’m being taken on as a concierge in one of the office blocks in

a

one that went up so quickly after the old headquarters got

“My sister-in-law works there. What made you pick

their front desk, so I’ll be seeing people all the time. And

said something about that too.

Well, maybe I’ll get to