Private Pleasures

Chapter Nine

"No way!" Heidi Millar said. "Way!" Carla Johnson told her.

They were standing in a corner of the Egret Pointe Wine Shoppe. All around them were wine-racked shelves holding bottles of everything from Long Island, upstate New York, and California vintages to wines from Chile, Australia, and Germany, as well as the finest French Burgundies, Bordeaux, Merlots, and Chardonnays available. There was a popular California table wine known locally as Two-Buck Chuck, and an Opici California Barbarone that retailed for fifteen dollars a gallon jug. There was something for everyone at the Egret Pointe Wine Shoppe.

"It's not possible," the younger woman said. "You must be hallucinating. What the hell do you people smoke out here?" Her blond hair was darker than it had been in June. She obviously wasn't keeping it up for whatever reason.

"Look, I don't pretend to understand it," Carla said low. "All I know is that it works. The Channel offers you whatever fantasy you want. Just think about it, turn on the television, and it's there. You're there. I am not nuts, and this is the best-kept secret among the women here. We can't all be hallucinating, and incidentally I don't smoke anything. Never started."

Heidi's grey eyes were thoughtful, curious. "What's your fantasy?" she murmured.

"I'm Captain Raven, the pirate queen," Carla responded.

Heidi snickered. She couldn't help it. "You're kidding, right?"

Carla smiled a slow, wicked smile. "Darling," she said, "my first mate has a fourteen-inch dick that's two and a half inches in circumference, and hits my G-spot seven times out of ten. No, I'm not kidding."

"Fourteen inches?" Heidi's voice was awed. "You measured?"

"Yep," Carla drawled. "Look, so you're not into pirate fantasies. I've got one friend who does the penthouse, hot lover, and hot masseur thing. She enjoys threesomes. Another who puts herself in the forefront of carving out the nation of Israel. She made her partner a younger version of her husband. She's not a woman who would ever think of another man. One gal I know likes to do other women. She wouldn't do it in her own reality. The Channel lets you be anything you want to be, and do anything you want to do. Don't you have a fantasy you want to live out? You can't be just about marrying Jeff Buckley, honey. There must be something naughty or wonderful that you want to do, and without him. That's the great thing about The Channel, and that's why no men are aware of it. It's all about women and their desires, their needs. Sort of like a grown-up tree house club. And No Boys Allowed. Except the ones we create in our imaginations."

"And you get it by just calling the cable company and asking for it?" Heidi's look was thoughtful.

"Yeah," Carla said. Easy, now. She's hooked. Reel her in slowly.

"Does it show up on the cable bill? Jeff goes over everything," Heidi explained.

"Shows up as a movie," Carla told her.

"You've been pulling my leg, right?" Heidi said suddenly. "I mean you're Nora's best friend, Jeff says. This is a joke, right? Why would you be nice to me?"

"Listen, honey," Carla told the girl, "no one is mad at you. Jeff and Nora haven't had a marriage in years. One day one of them was going to decide it was divorce time. None of us ever really liked Jeff. We put up with him for Nora's sake on the rare occasions he showed up. Yeah, Nora's my best friend. I don't deny it. But even she doesn't hold you responsible for what's happened, although you really should have kept your mouth shut at J. J.'s graduation party, but that's in the past.

"You're stuck out here every weekend until Jeff puts the house on the market. You're bored. Jeff bring his Viagra this time?" she queried, and wisely refrained from grinning when Heidi shook her head in the negative. "So he's probably going to hit the sack early again tonight. And there you are watching The District. Rick will be snoozing early too. Men are like bears in winter. They like to hibernate. As for me, I'll be downstairs in my sewing and crafts room in the cellar. Or at least my body will. The body I possess in The Channel will be getting its little self fucked to pieces by that nice fourteen-inch dick that Caleb Snow possesses, and wields so skillfully."

"I still think you're kidding," Heidi said, but she sounded less convinced than she had earlier.

"Look, call the cable company, and ask for The Channel. If I'm joking, they won't know what you're talking about," Carla said. "But if they tell you you've got it from eight p.m. on, then you know I'm not joking."

"It could be something totally different than you say it is. Pets. Or decorating." Heidi shifted her weight nervously.

"And it could be just what I've told you, which it is. If it isn't, and you're unhappy, I'll talk to Rick about letting Jeff put the house on the market sooner. That's fair, isn't it?" Carla gave her companion a little smile.

"I could say I got it and didn't like it, and you'd never know," Heidi replied.

"I don't believe you'd do that," Carla responded. "I think you'd play fair."

Heidi nodded. "Yes, I would. Besides, I really am curious to see if this channel of yours exists."

"What's your fantasy?" Carla probed gently, casually reaching for a bottle of red wine from Long Island.

"I had a boyfriend in college, and we tried erotic-asphyxiation fucking. It was incredible! I've never had an orgasm like that before or after. Jeff isn't into stuff like that," Heidi said. "I love him, but geez, it's tough to get him to be creative in the sack."

The leopard does not change his spots, Carla thought to herself. "So, there's your chance. The Channel."

"Can I get a guy with a fourteen-inch dick too?" Heidi wondered.

"Just think about it, and he'll be there," Carla assured her.

"How do I get from here to there once I get The Channel?" Heidi asked.

"Just touch the screen when you see your fantasy coming up. You'll figure it out, honey. Let me know how you liked it. I gotta go now. Pizza night, and my pie should be waiting at Tony's."

"What goes with Chinese takeout?" Heidi wondered.

"I'd try a domestic Chardonnay or white zinfandel," Carla suggested. "See ya around, honey." And she was quickly gone to pay for her wine and pick up her pizza.

Heidi Millar purchased the Chardonnay. Jeff didn't like pink wine, although she did prefer a zinfandel herself. She picked up the takeout at Wo Fat's and drove back to Ansley Court. Was Carla Johnson kidding her? How was such a thing as this channel possible? Still, would it hurt to try it? If it existed. And if it didn't, who was going to know? She just would say she didn't do it. Fourteen inches of meat, she thought. Jeff had been so preoccupied lately with the divorce, the house, and how the whole thing was appearing to the partners and the clients that he had really neglected her. They used to have sex every night. Now she was lucky if she could get him to get it up twice a week. She needed a good fuck, and she knew damned well she wasn't going to get it from Jeff tonight, or tomorrow night after they had driven back to the city, or any night soon. So why not try The Channel and hope it really did exist? Fourteen inches. Two and a half inches in circumference. A cock like that shoved up her would really feel good right now. She wanted some hot sex. And she wanted it rough. Thinking about her college boyfriend's hands about her neck squeezing, about her coming and coming, almost made Heidi drive off the road.

"Where have you been?" Jeff demanded in surly tones when she got to the house.

"Out picking us up a bottle of wine," she answered, going into the kitchen and setting down the bags. She could smell the Chinese, and her stomach rumbled in anticipation.

"How long does it take to pick out a bottle of wine in this town?" he demanded.

"Hey, the wine shop here is cool. It's got everything. I found that nice Australian white you like," she wheedled him. She held up the bottle as if it were a trophy, and gave him a quick kiss. "Now stop being so grumpy," she told him.

"What's this?" he demanded to know, holding up a narrow box.

Heidi flushed. "It's an e.p.t. test. Relax, I'm not pregnant. I was late, and I got nervous, but I got my period last week. I had it here so I could check this weekend if nothing happened."

"I told you no more kids!" he shouted, and then he slapped her. "Don't I have enough trouble without that? I don't want any more kids."

Stunned, Heidi's hand went to her face. Her eyes filled with tears. "Well, maybe I want a kid. Just one. Your kids hate me, and besides, they're grown."

"No kids," he told her firmly.

"You didn't have to hit me, Jeff," she quavered.

"Baby, I'm sorry." He gave her a quick hug. "It's this damned house! I hate it! I thought having her clothes packed away would do it, but Nora is everywhere in this house. I can't wait to sell the place, and be done with it."

"We don't have to come out here every weekend," Heidi said. "We're missing all the good parties now, you know. And we were invited to the preview of that new show last night. And there are at least two concerts coming up that I wanted to go to, Jeff."

"I can't leave the house alone on a weekend. It's safe during the week, but on the weekends the kids around here run wild," he told her. "There's nothing else for them to do but break into empty houses, drink the liquor, and trash the place. No, until I sell it, we're coming out on the weekends. Now, could we eat? I'm beat, and I want to go to bed. Jesus, that new toothpaste account is giving me fits. The music for the commercial just isn't right yet, and I can't figure it out."

"You will," Heidi soothed him as she filled their plates with the Chinese takeout. Carla Johnson had damned well better not be kidding about this channel thing. Jeff was beginning to look less and less like Prince Charming. Maybe after she'd had a good fuck she'd feel better. After all he was a partner, and he had bought the co-op, even if she was paying the bridge loan herself. She had made him put the co-op in her name. He really did love her. Well, as much as Jeff could love anything, but then, they made a great team. Creatively they were terrific together. And he usually looked good on her arm. Eye candy, she thought, smiling to herself. Until recently. The divorce was really wearing him out.

When they had finished dinner, Heidi put their dishes in the dishwasher, realizing that it was now full after three weekends. Pouring soap into the soap container, she turned it on. She'd unload it next weekend when they ran out of dishes. Housekeeping was not her forte. It never had been. But judging from Nora Buckley's well-kept, well-stocked kitchen, she was a Martha Stewart. I'll bet she cooks well too, Heidi thought. Jeff didn't seem to mind that Heidi didn't cook. She defrosted, and she reheated, and she ordered out, but cook? Who had time?

"Any dessert?" he asked.

"Fortune and almond cookies," Heidi said.

"Give me two almond cookies, and I'll finish the wine," he told her, pouring the remainder of it into his glass. "I'm going to bed. Sorry to leave you alone, baby, but I know you like The District." He put an arm about Heidi and gave her a kiss. "Night."

Heidi finished cleaning up, and then she went upstairs to shower. By the time she was in the black silk nightgown that looked as if it had been painted on her, Jeff was already snoring. Picking up the empty wineglass, she returned downstairs. Going into the den, she picked up the handset of the telephone. For a long moment she hesitated, and then she realized she didn't know the cable company's number. Looking around, she found the cable listing and dialed the number. She asked for The Channel, and other than her slight start when the operator called her Mrs. Buckley, it all went smoothly. Channel sixty-nine. Well, that was subtle, wasn't it? It was after eight o'clock. She turned on the television. The screen was dark, and then it lightened to show her a bedroom, dimly lit, with a large round bed in the center of it. Not at all hesitant, Heidi put her hand on the screen, and to both her surprise and delight, she found herself in that bedroom. Upon closer examination she saw the sheets were red satin. There was a mirrored ceiling above the bed. Heidi giggled. She had always imagined a room like this. There was something a little nasty, a little smutty, and very sordid about a room with a king-sized round bed with a mirror above it and red satin sheets.

"Well, about time you showed up, Heidi," a rough male voice said, and he came from the shadows of the room. He was at least six feet six inches tall with broad shoulders and a wide chest. But his waist was narrow, as were his hips. "I'm Brad and I'm fourteen inches of hot meat." Reaching out, he pulled her into his arms. His hand ripped the front of her nightgown down, and he squeezed her breasts. "Nice, baby. Very nice."

"Hey, easy, big boy," Heidi said. "This is real silk not Lycra."

"Come on, baby, you like to be treated rough, and I know it," he replied, pulling her tightly against him. One hand was around her waist. The other was stroking her butt. "I know what you want," he murmured in her ear, "and I can give it to you. You know I can, don't you, Heidi? In a few minutes I'm going to spread your nice white body on those bloodred sheets. You're going to open real wide for me, aren't you, baby?"

Heidi could feel her excitement rising. Her heart was beating faster, and her clit was beginning to tingle just listening to him. She was already wet. "Yes," she whispered in his ear, and her tongue began to lick it.

"And when I get you like that, baby, I'm going to shove myself right up you and let you feel what a real man feels like. Not like that old-enough-to-be-your-daddy lover you've got, but a real man. You need a real man, baby, doncha?" His hand pushed between her legs, and he thrust three fingers into her vagina, moving them back and forth until she was moaning with undisguised lust. He laughed. "Oh, baby, you are hot to trot tonight, aren't you? It's your first visit to The Channel, and we're going to make it a memorable visit, baby." He withdrew his fingers from her cunt, and shoved them into her mouth. "That's the taste of hot pussy," he told her. "Suck 'em clean now."

Heidi sucked the big fingers, almost swooning with her excitement. He was wearing a black thong, and she could see the great big wad his dick made in the silky fabric. His dirty talk was so naughty, and she loved it. She looked up at him, fingers still in her mouth, and then she slowly pulled his fingers out from between her lips and said, "I'm a bad girl, Brad. What do you do to a bad girl? Huh, Brad? Huh?"

A grin lit his face. "Bad girls get spanked, baby." He held up his hand. "They get spanked with this."

"I'm not afraid of that old hand," she taunted him. Then her voice grew fearful. "But don't take the strap to me, Brad! Please don't!" Her lower lip quivered.

"So, you little bitch, you're not afraid of my hand," he roared. "Then it's the strap for you, girl." It appeared magically in his hand, a broad piece of leather at least six inches in width, the ends split into narrow strips that had been knotted. "Get over there!" he said, pointing to a high upholstered bench. He half dragged her across the room, threw her across the bench roughly, and imprisoned her wrists in two manacles attached to the bench's front legs.

"Ohh, Brad!" Heidi cried, but her eyes were bright with her desire.

"I'll teach you to defy me, you little bitch," he growled, and brought the strap down on her helpless buttocks.

She was almost ashamed at how much she was enjoying this. It was a part of her nature she had always, except on one or two occasions, kept hidden from public scrutiny. But here in The Channel she was able to live out her wildest desires. She squealed and pleaded as he brought the strap down again and again. The tiny knotted strips burned as they bit into her flesh. Some of them even curved under to sting her pussy. Finally she cried out that she would always be good, and he stopped. But then she felt his hands holding her steady, and his big dick pushing slowly into her vagina from the rear. Heidi squealed again, and then came, unable to help herself. But it was just a small climax.

Laughing, Brad released her from the manacles and walked her to the bed, his hand firmly gripping the back of her neck. "You're a little liar," he said. "You don't know how to be good, do you, Heidi? Say it! Say, 'I'm a liar.' "

"No," she said. "I won't!"

He slapped her hard. "Say it!"

"No!" He slapped her again, and this time her head snapped back. "No!"

His hand wrapped about her hair, and he yanked her head back as he began slapping her breasts hard, pinching the nipples. "Say it!"

"No!"

"Say 'I'm a liar,' baby." He reached down, and pinched her clit hard.

"I'm a liar!" she shrieked. God! This was wonderful. She could hardly wait for what was coming next. By some damned magic she didn't understand, he knew exactly what she wanted. "I want to be fucked," she moaned.

"I know," he said, "but first you're going to lick my balls. I like having my balls licked by a pretty girl. And if I like how you do it, then I'll give you what you want, baby. That's fair, isn't it?"

"If this is my fantasy, shouldn't I be in charge?" Heidi demanded to know.

"You don't want to be the boss, baby," Brad mocked her. "Out there in that other world you want to be the boss, but not here. This is where you're going to come so you can be the slave, be mastered, 'cause you need that, Heidi, and you want it. Then you can go back into your reality, and be a perfect bitch and get what you want there, which is power. You went after Jeff Buckley because you thought he could give you the power you sought. He was the perfect target with his big ego and libidinous nature, but you'll never be satisfied with him. If you marry him, he'll keep you on a tight leash like he has kept Nora. I'm the lover you've always wanted, Heidi. I'm in charge here. Do what I told you, you little bitch!" He sprawled on the red satin sheets, his long legs spread wide. "Get going, or I'll send you back right now."

Heidi believed him. She scrambled between his legs, reaching for his penis.

"Don't touch it," he told her. "I'll hold it up for you. You just lick."

"Please," she begged him, "I want to suck it! I want to suck it bad, Brad."

"Lick, bitch, and if I like the way you do it, I'll give you a little taste," he commanded.

She crawled to where his balls, encased in a large hairy sac, lay pendulous between his legs. She licked at him, tentatively at first, and then with more assurance. She could feel the twin balls beneath the fleshy sac rolling around beneath her tongue. She took the sac in her mouth, pushing it about with her tongue. He groaned.

"That's nice, baby, that's nice," he praised her. "Okay, you can suck my dick for a minute or two," he rewarded her.

Carefully she released his balls from her mouth and eagerly replaced them with his engorged penis, moaning with pleasure as he filled her mouth and pushed down into her throat. She was in heaven. But for a little poke he hadn't even really fucked her yet, and it was still the best sex she had ever had. But she needed it all tonight. It had been so long since she had really been satisfied.

Jeff needed Viagara most nights to get it up. She really had to work to keep him going. And he wasn't sexually adventurous at all. She had thought he would be the perfect husband for her. Rich. Powerful. And able to advance her career. It was a compromise she had thought she could make, but now that she had found The Channel she wasn't certain. She was a helluva lot smarter than Jeff, and most of the pitches he'd been taking credit for in the last year were hers. He was running dry creatively. Heidi suddenly realized that she didn't need Jeff Buckley to get ahead. And she didn't need to go down on old men anymore. She knew she was clever enough to work the senior partners. Her mind flew back to Brad.

He was like iron in her mouth. She released him. "I want to be fucked," she said. "Now, Brad! And you know how I want it, don't you? I want it to be the best I've ever had. The absolute best, Brad. Let's use that big piece of meat like it was meant to be used." Heidi lay back, and spread herself open to him.

His face was impassive. He slid an overstuffed bolster beneath her hips to raise her up so he could get in as deep as possible.

"Tie my hands," she said suddenly to him. "Let's make it really exciting."

He took his black silk thong and bound her wrists over her head. "Not too tight?"

"Just right," she told him.

He crawled between her milky thighs, and began to lick her most intimate flesh. His fleshy tongue probed, and pushed. He flicked it back and forth over her clitoris, giving her several small clitoral orgasms. Finally he decided she was wet enough, and he slid between her legs, guiding himself with one hand, balancing on the other. His penis pushed slowly and carefully into her vagina. Inch by inch he moved himself up her love passage, driving deeper and deeper into the hot maw of her.

"Oh! My! God!" Heidi groaned as his huge cock filled her. She could feel herself stretching to accommodate him. "Oh! My! God!" He was going to tear her apart, and he kept plunging deeper, and deeper. This was the emperor of all penises. King Penis. And it was all hers. "Ohhhh!" He was moving on her. Moving back and forth. Faster and faster and faster. He was like a damned machine! It was incredible, but it could be better. "Do it!" Heidi told him. "Do it now! Ahhh!" He had hit her G-spot. "Now! Now!" she insisted.

"Very well, Heidi, my naughty bitch, you shall have your heart's desire," Brad said as he sat atop her, his cock buried deep within her fevered body. He looked down at her. Her eyes were closed with anticipation of the bliss to come. His big hands fastened about her slender throat, and slowly he began to squeeze as he continued to fuck her. His fingers pressed down slowly, letting her experience pleasure such as she had known only once before. Her mouth opened in a silent scream. Her face glowed with unimaginable, incredible passion. And when he saw that she had reached the apex of the experience, he climaxed in a fierce rush.

Heidi was unconscious, and his finger marks were visible around her slender neck. Brad rolled off of her and lay on his back breathing heavily. When he had recovered, he leaned over and untied her hands. She opened her eyes and looked up at him, confused at first, and then remembering.

"That was absolutely the best sex I have ever had," she whispered, her voice a little raspy. "How the hell is this all possible?"

"Do you really care?" he responded. "You just want a big cock, and I've got one. And you need a man who knows how to handle you, baby. I do." He got up, and pulled the black thong on. "I'm going now," he told her.

"But I don't want you to," Heidi whined at him. "I want more cock!"

Reaching out, he wrapped his big hand in her blond hair and yanked her up. "What did I tell you, baby?" He slapped her hard, and her head snapped back. "What did I tell you?" He slapped her again, and glared down into her face.

"You said I need to be mastered," Heidi whimpered.

"And?" His hand tightened in her hair.

"You said I'm the slave here," Heidi half sobbed. He was hurting her, and she found she was aroused by it.

The hand in her hair loosened, and he pulled her into his arms now, giving her a quick kiss of approval, caressing her butt softly. "That's right, baby. I'm the master. And as long as you understand that, we're going to do just fine." He let her go and walked toward the elevator door.

"Brad?"

"Yeah, baby?" The doors opened.

"You'll come back?" Heidi quavered. She couldn't bear it if he didn't come back.

"I'll be here when you come, baby," he told her. He stepped into the elevator.

"Wait! How do I get back?" she asked.

"You're on your way now," he told her as the doors closed.

And Heidi felt herself growing dizzy, and the sensation of falling. Her eyes closed just briefly, and then flew open. She was back in the den of the house in her chair. There was a test pattern on the television. Heidi clicked the channel changer off and got up. My God, she thought, her vagina felt sore as if it had been stretched by something very big. And her neck. She rubbed it. Then the realization began to set in. The Channel was real. Very, very real! Her heart raced with her excitement. I've got to go to bed, she thought silently. This can't be, and once I've had a good sleep it will all fall into place.

In the bedroom Jeff was snoring, but as her weight touched the bed, he awoke and rolled over. "You just coming to bed?" he demanded.

"I fell asleep in front of the television," she lied.

He began to fondle her breasts. "I'm horny," he said. "Let's do it." He pushed her nightgown up and rolled on top of her. He slept naked.

"Jeff!" Heidi protested. "A little foreplay would be nice."

"You're already wet, babe. I think my Heidi is horny too," he chuckled, and shoved his penis into her. Then he began to fuck her quickly, and within a moment he had come. He pulled out. "That was good," he said.

Heidi jumped up. "Good for who?" she hissed at him. "I sure as hell didn't get anything out of it. Wham! Bam! And no thank-you-ma'am! I am bloody tired of this."

He was on his feet. "If you didn't get anything out of it, it's your fault, not mine," he snarled. "Women say I'm good at what I do." He leered at her.

"Women who want something from you, you mean," she snapped back at him. "How many times have I told you a woman needs a little time. Five pokes and you're out, and you think I have had enough time?" She stormed into the bathroom and slammed the door.

Jeff followed her, and when he found the door locked, he put his shoulder against it and pushed it in. "What the hell has gotten into you, Heidi?" he demanded to know.

"I just realized that I don't need you anymore, Jeff," she said coldly.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean? I'm in love with you. I'm divorcing my wife. I went out on a limb to buy that damned co-op for us."

"You made the down payment with your kids' college money, and I've been paying the bridge loan while your divorce has been stalled," she shouted at him. "And for the record, I don't love you! And I'm not going to marry you, Jeff. And I'm going to Mr. Wickham Junior and tell him whose ideas you've been using for the agency's clients, and who has been writing the copy. And when I'm through I'll have a vice presidency, and you will be yesterday's headline story. Now get out of the bathroom so I can shower. There must be a bus that goes back to the city from this place, and I'm going as soon as I can." She gave him a shove, and then another.

Jeff Buckley's temper exploded. "You conniving little bitch!" he yelled at her, and then he began to hit her again and again.

Heidi screamed. When Brad smacked her around he didn't really hurt her, and she had loved it because Brad was her master now. But Jeff was hurting her. She felt a warm trickle of blood coming from her nose. She screamed again and, pushing past him, ran from the bedroom and down the stairs toward the front door. He was right behind her, roaring his outrage. She fumbled with the locks on the front door even as he grabbed her and swung her around to slap her again. Heidi reached out for the antique vase on the hall table and, gripping it in her fingers, slammed it down on Jeff's head. He stumbled back, dazed, and it gave her just enough time to get the door open. Then she ran across the lawn screaming at the top of her lungs.

Within minutes windows were opening in response to her cries for help. Jeff had regained his equilibrium and was trying to drag her back into the house. Heidi fought him like a tigress, and continued to shriek. Sam Seligmann and Rick Johnson, in robes, came from their houses to separate the combatants. Heidi flung her arms about Dr. Seligmann, sobbing. Sam looked somewhat startled as the girl in the black negligee clung to him.

"Don't let him hurt me again," she pleaded, her gray eyes overflowing with tears. "Please don't let him hurt me again."

"It's alright, my dear," Sam said. "Come with me now," and he led her across the cul-de-sac into his house.

"The bitch!" Jeff said angrily. "The duplicitous little bitch!"

"Trouble in paradise?" Rick said softly.

"Drop dead!" Jeff snapped and, turning, went back to his house.

Rick turned, hiding his smile, and saw Carla hurrying across the lawn in the predawn light to the Seligmanns'. He sighed, and followed after her.

Heidi Millar's face was a disaster. One eye was blacked badly, and her nose was still oozing blood as she held a cloth tightly to it. Rina was clucking sympathetically and trying too soothe the semihysterical girl. She waved her husband and Rick out of the kitchen, where they had brought Heidi.

"Go back to bed, both of you," she said. "Carla and I will help here."

The two men left, and they heard Sam climbing the stairs as the front door closed behind Rick.

"What happened?" Carla said, trying to keep the eagerness from her voice.

"Oh, Carla, it's wonderful!" Heidi said. "And then I came back, and Jeff wanted to, well, you know, and it was terrible the way it always is, and I just lost it. I mean, why should I have to put up with him when I've got The Channel?"

"You told her about The Channel?" Rina said, surprised.

Carla smiled, and nodded. "What happened?" she repeated.

"Well, I told him some home truths about how he was creatively dry, and I had been doing the campaigns his partners thought he was doing, and that I was going to tell them, and get a promotion, and that I didn't need him. Then he started beating me. I thought he was going to kill me. I honestly did."

"You have to press charges," Carla said softly. "You can't let him get away with that kind of violence." Her eyes met Rina's over Heidi's head.

"Yes," Rina agreed. "You really must press charges against him, my dear. I always suspected he was violent with Nora, though she would never admit it, poor woman. And Heidi, Jeff is what in my day was referred to as a tomcat, or a hound dawg. He never met a skirt he didn't lift, or try to lift. He wouldn't have been any more faithful to you than he was to Nora. I think you're well out of this. I'll call the police for you."

Heidi thought a moment. That would really screw Jeff with his partners, wouldn't it? She felt a smile, and then winced because it hurt her face. She sighed dramatically. "I guess I will have to press charges so he doesn't do this to any woman again. Do you think if his wife ever wakes up, she'll want him back?"

"NO!" Both Carla and Rina said with a single voice.

"Would you please call the police for me, Carla?" Heidi said.

"Rina will do it," Carla said. "Tell me what happened last night."

"His name is Brad. He's big. All over. And I'm going back," Heidi said. "I can get it in the city, can't I?"

"Sure can," Carla responded with a smile. Nora was going to be so pleased.

And Nora was pleased. She had imagined someone like Caleb Snow because she had known Carla would mention his attributes to Heidi, and Heidi would want someone like Caleb. And the elevator had opened to reveal Brad. She had given him his instructions. And of course he had obeyed her, but only after he had struck a deal with her of payment for his favor. He was a bisexual, and had seen Rolf in the stud pool of The Channel. He wanted the blond Austrian. Nora had agreed. She knew very well that it wouldn't be long before Heidi was enjoying a threesome with both young men.

The elevator doors to the penthouse opened and Brad stepped out.

"Have you entrapped her?" Nora asked him as he entered her domain. "Did you give her everything she wanted? I do want Heidi happy in The Channel. Will she be back soon?" Her questions came quickly.

Brad nodded. "Yes, ma'am, I gave her just what she wanted," he said with a wicked grin. "She'll be back. I left her begging for more. Now, give me what you promised me."

"Rolf," she called, and the young blond arose from the couch and came across the room. "I want you to go with Brad now. You're his."

"Why?" Rolf asked.

"Because you make Kyle jealous, and I don't want him unhappy. Because Brad has done me a favor, and I'm repaying him." She patted his cheek. "You've been such a good boy, but I don't need you anymore."

Rolf shrugged. His eyes were on the bulge in Brad's thong. "Good-bye, Nora," he said, and without another word he followed Brad into the elevator.

When they had gone Kyle came from the bedroom. "What have you done?" he asked her. "And why did you give Rolf away?"

"Carla introduced Heidi to The Channel. I suspect she won't be so interested in Jeff anymore now that she's seen the kind of sex she can have here. And once she dumps him, the question of my getting my house back becomes a moot point. I considered the type of man Heidi would like, using Caleb as a model. A rough, good-looking guy with a great big dick. Brad appeared, and in exchange for Rolf he became Heidi's fantasy. Heidi's a lot more sexually adventurous than my soon-to-be ex. Brad saw to it she had the best time she's had in years. By tomorrow when she wakes up she's going to be rethinking her options. I'd put money on it," Nora gloated.

"Who's going to massage you now, Red?" Kyle asked, smiling.

"You are," she said. "Get the oil out. I want you to spoil me, darling. I am feeling very happy tonight."

"No more other men?" he asked.

"For now. I won't make you any promises, however," she told him.

"You love me," he replied.

"Maybe," Nora responded. "I still don't trust your gender, darling Mr. Gorgeous."

"Then I'll have to spend eternity convincing you," he said softly.

"Eternity is a long time," Nora noted.

"Yes," he agreed, "it is." He took her hand, and led her into the bathroom. "I'm going to give you the best massage of your life, darling," he promised her.

Nora smiled. Variety was nice, but having Kyle so totally devoted to her was even better. And here in The Channel they would always remain the same. And he would always be exactly what she wanted him to be. It was a perfect world. And then the phone rang. "Get it," she ordered him.

Kyle picked up the handset. "Yes?" He listened, and then he said, "She'll be there, Margaret. Give me half an hour. Okay." He set the phone down. "Mr. Nicholas wants to see you, Nora. And I'm to come with you. We'll have to put the massage off until later, Red. I'm sorry."

"Pick something out for me to wear," Nora told him, and he nodded.

When they were both dressed Nora found herself in a pair of butterscotch-colored silk slacks, beneath which she wore a cream-colored silk thong, which emphasized her butt beneath the trousers. Her cream silk shirt had a deep V neck and long sleeves. She had slipped a pair of leather sandals on her feet. Kyle was wearing beige linen pants and a white shirt with the sleeves rolled up. He had oxblood leather penny loafers on his big feet. He styled her hair in a tailored chignon. His dark hair was wet and brushed back. They entered the elevator, and pushed the red button as the doors closed.

When they opened again the pair stepped out into the elegant office. It was quiet but for the two women at their workstations. Margaret was there to greet them. "Come along, you two," she said, moving briskly down the room to the double doors. "They're here, Mr. Nicholas," she said, ushering them into the elegant office.

He came forward, a smile on his face. "Come in! Come in!"

Nora saw there was a bottle of champagne in a bucket on the butler's tray, as well as three slender flutes. She looked at Kyle, but he shrugged and shook his head.

"My dear Nora," Mr. Nicholas said, taking up both her hands in his and kissing them. "I am astounded! And very impressed, my dear. It was a brilliant plan. Flawlessly executed, and I never had the slightest hint of what you were doing. Of what you were capable." He poured the champagne into the flutes, gave Nora one and Kyle one, and took the third for himself. "I salute you, my dear Nora!"

"Mr. Nicholas, I have no idea of what you are talking about," Nora said, confused. "What have I done?" She set the crystal flute of champagne down on the butler's tray.

"My dear girl, please don't be modest. There is no place for modesty in a devious mind such as yours," Mr. Nicholas said, smiling. "Or perhaps there is."

Nora sighed. "I honestly don't know to what you refer," she repeated.

For a moment he looked surprised. Then he set his champagne down. "Did you not arrange to lure Heidi Millar into The Channel, my dear?" he said.

"Well, yes," Nora answered slowly. "I thought if she saw she could have her fantasies without my husband, she would decide she didn't need him. Oh, I want the divorce, but if Jeff didn't have to buy her a co-op, he wouldn't want my house. I even had Carla tell her about Caleb Snow's attributes. Most women are curious to try a penis that size at least once. I thought Heidi is young, and the young women today are so much more liberated sexually, at least in public, than my generation was."

"But it was you who created Brad, my dear, and had him go to her, wasn't it?" Mr. Nicholas said.

Nora nodded. "I thought she would want a fantasy man of her own and then I considered the kind of man Heidi might want based on what I know of her," Nora explained.

Mr. Nicholas smiled, obviously pleased. "And she found her fantasy, thanks to you, my dear. Heidi is a young woman who enjoys erotic-asphyxiation sexual activity."

Nora looked confused.

"Explain it to her, Kyle," the administrator said, and Kyle did.

"Oh!" Nora exclaimed. "That certainly wouldn't be my idea of fun."

Mr. Nicholas laughed in spite of himself. Then he grew a bit more sober. "Do you understand what you have set in motion, Nora? Perhaps you don't, but I see much promise in you, my dear. Let me tell you what has happened in your reality. Heidi returned from a most satisfactory visit to The Channel. She went upstairs to bed, where your husband was now awake, and demanding sex of his paramour. She acquiesced, for if the truth be known, Brad deliberately left her hungry for more of what he had given her earlier. But your husband was swift, and selfish in his needs. He gave no thought to Heidi, and she suddenly rebelled, berating him. There was a physical confrontation. She fled screaming into the cul-de-sac that is Ansley Court, awakening your neighbors, who took her in and advised her to call the police."

Nora's gray green eyes widened.

A small smile touched Mr. Nicholas's lips. "Your friends are encouraging her to press charges, and she will. Now, my dear Nora, you have a most unique opportunity set before you, and how you react will decide your fate."

"I don't understand," she said.

"Let us sit down," Mr. Nicholas replied, and picking up his champagne, he sipped at it thoughtfully. "Assault and battery are not particularly serious charges in general, but you know your husband, Nora. His public persona is most important to him, and even more important to the advertising firm in which he is a partner. There will be some rather negative publicity with regard to the violence done to Heidi Millar by Jeff Buckley. Messrs. Wickham and Coutts will be more than displeased. You, the long-faithful wife, and Heidi, the naive young woman he romanced and took advantage of, will be the victims of an ambitious, greedy, and sexually rapacious man. Your husband's reputation will be ruined. He is scarcely at an age where he can start all over again, is he?" Mr. Nicholas concluded softly.

Nora nodded slowly.

"You and your children are the sole beneficiaries of your husband's will, my dear." Mr. Nicholas continued. "If he dies, the house is yours. However, he could sell the house to mount the rather expensive defense he might have to mount in an effort to stay out of jail. His resources are stretched right now. "Mr. Nicholas murmured. "Of course the shock of Heidi's betrayal, coupled with the shock of learning that Sleeping Beauty has awakened from her slumber, could kill him, couldn't it?" The administrator smiled at her. "Jeff has always been prone to hypertension."

His dark eyes were cold and fathomless, Nora noted. "I can't take advantage of Jeff," she said.

"Yes, you can," Mr. Nicholas told her. "This is the man who was casting you aside after twenty-six years of faithful devotion, my dear. This is the man who was attempting to put you out of your house, who wanted to impoverish you, and your children, just so he could marry a younger woman. Someone not much older than the daughter you bore him. Doesn't he deserve to die?"

Nora was silent. She had wanted revenge, and now she had her chance. Wouldn't her life, the children's lives be better without Jeff? J. J. could go to college without having to worry. Jill could have her three years at Duke Law paid for, and not have to take time from her studies by working. And I would have my house, Nora thought.

"Listen to him, Red," Kyle said softly. "You don't have to sacrifice yourself any more, baby. We can be together. He doesn't deserve to live."

"If I agreed," Nora said slowly, "how would it happen? He's a bastard, I know, but I don't want him to suffer."

"And we don't want him to run up too large a legal bill," Mr. Nicholas said with a sly smile. "I think on his second night in jail your husband will suffer an acute coronary. He'll die in his sleep, my dear, dreaming of you as you and Kyle make passionate love."

"He'll know it's me?" Nora asked. She liked that idea very much.

"Yes, he will, because you want him to know," Mr. Nicholas responded.

"Yes, I do!" Nora exclaimed. "I do!"

"Then it shall be as you wish, my dear, and you will not feel guilty at all, I promise you. Your husband is only getting his just deserts," Mr. Nicholas assured her.

It was so simple, Nora considered. And no one would ever know. Then she said, "But I'm in Shorecrest. They won't let me out when I wake up. They'll want to keep me a few days, I'm sure."

Mr. Nicholas thought a long moment. "When you awaken you will be fine. It will be as if you had just been asleep. There will be no weakness or atrophy in your limbs. Everything will be normal. Your pulse. Respiration. Everything. You will insist upon going home. They will insist on keeping you. You will compromise by remaining one night. Then your lawyer will see you are checked out, and you will go home. It is quite simple, my dear."

"Do it!" Nora told him. What was the point in her suffering any longer? She owed herself and her children this opportunity, and she was going to take it.

"You do remember that you owe me a favor, my dear, don't you?"

Nora nodded. "And now I will owe you a bigger one," she said. What could he ask of her? That she be one of The Channel's sex slaves for a time? So be it! She'd do it gladly if Mr. Nicholas could solve her problems. She was so tired of struggling against Jeff Buckley. She just wanted to be free of him.

Mr. Nicholas smiled at her. "I don't want you to worry, my dear, because everything will be taken care of for you. I am happy to see you have not forgotten your obligation to me. Now run along and prepare yourself for your return to your own reality, Nora. The next few days will be busy for you. Be patient. It has been a pleasure having you as a longtime guest here in The Channel."

She and Kyle returned to the penthouse. Nora looked about. Was the sky beginning to lighten beyond her windows, or was it her imagination? "You promised me a massage," she said to Kyle, smiling up at him seductively.

"We haven't got time," he told her, taking her into his arms. "I'll miss you."

"I'll only be gone a little while," she promised him. "And after that, we will be together every night."

"For eternity," he said.

"Yes, for eternity," Nora agreed. "Hold me tight, Kyle!" She was beginning to feel herself slipping away from him. Her head was spinning faster, and faster, and faster. She was suddenly unconscious, and then her eyes flew open. She was lying in a hospital bed in a room with pink walls and a floral border. She didn't move for several minutes, and then she turned her head to her right. She could see the dawn staining the eastern sky, and a winter garden beyond the window. There was red-twigged dogwood, bright among small patches of melting snow.

Nora sat up gingerly. Slowly she swung her feet over the edge of the bed. She wasn't dizzy. In fact she felt damned good. As if she had had a wonderful long rest. She was past questioning what had happened, or if The Channel was real. She had a part to play now, and she had to remember that she was supposed to have absolutely no idea of what had happened to her. A call bell. There must be a call bell. She looked about. There it was. Reaching for it, she pressed it and waited. And while she waited she put her feet on the ground and began to walk around. She wasn't in the least fuzzy in her head, or unsure on her feet. She drew the IV on wheels along with her.

The door to the room opened, and a woman in a uniform stepped through. "Mrs. Buckley!" she exclaimed. She hurried over to Nora and attempted to put an arm about her waist. "You shouldn't be up like this!"

Nora pulled away from the woman. "I am fine," she said, "but you will understand I am somewhat confused. Where am I?"

"Please sit down, Mrs. Buckley," the woman in the uniform said. "You're at Shorecrest."

"The nursing home? What in heaven's name am I doing here?" Nora demanded.

"What do you last remember, Mrs. Buckley?" her companion asked.

Being in the arms of the sexiest man you could ever imagine, Nora silently thought, but then she said, "Ordering a cable movie, and sitting down to watch it," she told the woman.

"You obviously had some sort of seizure, or brain incident," the uniform began.

"How long have I been here?" Nora said.

"You were at the hospital for ten days, and then moved here six weeks ago. What is the last date you remember?"

"It was New Year's Day," Nora said. "What is today's date, please?"

"It's March first, Mrs. Buckley." She took up Nora's wrist in her hand to check her pulse. "I'm Elda James, the night nurse on this wing. Well, your pulse is quite normal. Would you mind sitting back on the bed. I want to check your blood pressure, and the cuff is over there. I'll also unhook you from your IV."

Nora got up and walked across to the bed to sit down. The nurse fastened the blood pressure device about her right arm and quickly pumped it up. When she had her answer, she unfastened it and put it back in the holder. Then she undid the IV.

"What is it?" Nora asked her quietly.

"One fifteen over seventy-five," the nurse said. "Very normal. Normal on the low side." She made a notation on the chart at the foot of Nora's bed. "This is amazing, Mrs. Buckley. You seem to be absolutely fine. When Dr. Seligmann comes in he is going to be very surprised, and delighted. Would you like me to call your husband?"

"No. I'm not certain where he is," Nora answered the nurse. "Let's wait for Dr. Sam, and let him do it."

"Please get back into bed now, Mrs. Buckley. I know you feel fine, but just as a precaution. Are you hungry? The kitchen is just getting going for the day, but I could get you some tea and pound cake from the nurses' room."

"That would be lovely," Nora agreed. A mirror. She needed a mirror. She wanted to see what she looked like now. She watched the nurse bustle out, and then slipped from the bed and went into the bathroom. She stared at her face in the glass. She looked fine. Younger if anything. But her hair had faded. She'd have to have it colored this week. She found a brush in the medicine cabinet, and brushed the hair out. Then she braided it into a single plait. Yes. Her face definitely looked younger. And it was stress free after how many years? She left the bathroom, and climbed back into bed just as Nurse James came back into the room with her tea and a plate with a slice of pound cake on it.

"I didn't want to give you too much," she said. "We've been feeding you with the IV twice a day." She set the plate and mug down on the side table. "I'll have to leave you. I have patients waking up, and rounds to make before the seven a.m. shift comes in. I hope you won't mind."

"What time is it?" Nora asked.

"Almost seven now. I'm kind of behind with you, but oh, Mrs. Buckley, this is really a miracle!" And with a smile she hurried out.

A miracle. Nora wondered if such a word would really apply to what had happened to her. To them all. The kids! She had to call the kids.

She missed Kyle. She missed her apartment. She missed the endless and delicious sensuality she experienced when she was in The Channel. It had become a part of her, and she was irritable now not being a part of it. Can something like The Channel be addictive? But she already knew the answer. The Channel was like a narcotic, which was why once you were introduced you kept going back. And I have lived for weeks in The Channel, Nora considered. I'm suffering withdrawal. But it won't be forever. I just have to get through today and tomorrow.