Emmy sat in the garden in the afternoon sunlight and sipped her tea. She was lost in her thoughts again and that always made Paul smile. There was a time when she was so closed in, and now he felt he could read her like an open book.

“Earth to Emmy, come in Emmy,” he teased as he took a seat in the chair next to her.

She looked up and smiled, “Hey, you! You’re home early!” Her face lit up when she realized he was home.

“I missed my wife,” he said as he leaned over to kiss her.

“Mm, I missed my husband, too!” she smiled.

“I like the sound of that,” he grinned. “Want to go in the house and fool around?”

“I thought you’d never ask!” she said, nearly upending her teacup, as she practically jumped out of her chair to head for the house. She sighed, it was a beautiful house and she felt like a princess living here.

Everything had happened so quickly in the past year. She took a chance, met the man of her dreams, got engaged, bought a house, and got married all within a short span of time. Their relationship wasn’t perfect, but it was damn near close! Her life, once ruled by dark needs, was full of light and happiness.

That wasn’t to say she didn’t still crave and enjoy pain. Those dark needs were still very real. But now, she found joy and release in other ways as well. Paul had helped her find balance in her life and behind closed doors.

Once inside, Emmy headed upstairs with Paul following close behind. Before she reached the top, the doorbell rang. She sighed, “Oh, so close! Can’t we just ignore it?”

“Emmy I am sure whoever it is can see us through the sidelight,” Paul said. “It would be rude not to answer the door.”

“I guess you’re right, but I hope it’s a salesman so you can tell him we aren’t interested and then send him away!” she pouted.

Paul laughed and opened the door, “Hi, may I help you?”

A tall man with dark hair and dark eyes stood on the porch, “Hello, I’m here to see Emily. Is she at home?”

Emmy froze. She knew that voice, would know it anywhere, and it made her skin crawl. Suddenly, it felt like she could barely breathe.

“I’m sorry, but there is no Emily here,” Paul said sternly, realizing in an instant by Emmy’s reaction that this was Alexander.

“Of course,” Alexander scoffed. “I mean Emmy. I have something of hers that I need to return, and I’d like to speak with her please. It took a while for me to even find her.”

Paul glanced quickly at his wife who worked hard to pull herself together. He wanted, more than anything to send this bastard away. But he knew that Emmy needed to confront him if she was ever going to be rid of him in her mind. He looked at her with questioning eyes. When she nodded, he stepped aside and let the unwelcome visitor enter.

Alexander looked up at her as Emmy descended the stairs. “Emily. You look absolutely breathtaking, my dear,” he said as he looked at her like he wanted to devour her.

She prayed her voice wouldn’t fail her, “I’m not your dear and my name is not Emily.” She thanked God she sounded much calmer than she felt.

“May I come in?” Alexander asked, directing his question toward her.

“You are in, Alexander. What do you want?” she asked impatiently.

“Of course, I meant, may I sit down? I’ve a few things I need to say to you,” he looked uncomfortable, which made her feel better, somehow. It was nice to see him look so uneasy. Perhaps that made her petty, but she didn’t care. She nodded toward the living room and offered him a seat. She didn’t, however, offer any type of refreshment. He wasn’t a guest, after all, he was an intruder that had no business being in her home. But, she knew, in her heart, that she’d be stronger for having dealt with him, rather than turning him away.

“May we speak privately, Emily? I mean Emmy?” he asked, pretending he accidentally misspoke her name. But all three of them knew it was done on purpose to see if he could ruffle her feathers.

Paul was about to tell him he had five minutes when Emmy interrupted his thoughts, “No, we may not. I have no secrets from Paul. He knows who you are and what we were. So, whatever you have to say to me can be said in front of my husband.”

Paul suppressed a laugh and watched his wife confront her demons. He allowed his amusement to show on his face as Alexander shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

“Congratulations on your wedding.” He paused as if trying to figure out his next tactic. “You look well, Emmy. Have you had your breasts enlarged?” Alexander asked pointedly. “I don’t recall you being quite so voluptuous when you belonged to me.” He emphasized the last part as he stared directly at her bosom like a lecher.

“Is that what you came to say, Alex?” she called him by his nickname, realizing she had no need to address him respectfully anymore. “Surely you don’t think it’s acceptable to come into another man’s home and comment on his wife’s tits. You’re slipping, Al.”

Alexander’s face pinched. “I see manners are no longer part of your repertoire,” he quipped.

“You’re trying my patience, Alexander. What is it that you need to say to me?” she huffed.

Paul got up, kissed Emmy on the neck, and whispered, “You’ve got this, Tiger! I’ll be in the kitchen if you need me.”

Alexander relaxed a bit when Paul left the room. “I see you’ve forgotten your training,” he sniped.

Fury rose in Emmy’s eyes, but she retained her cool composure. “I’m not just his slut, nor his property. I’m his wife! Giving myself to him for his pleasure didn’t mean denying myself a happily ever after, because I am everything to him, and he is everything to me. It turns out, you were the fool for not seeing the gift I had given you. You made me believe that I was nothing, that I should be satisfied with table scraps. Well, I deserve the whole God damned smorgasbord!”

“Emily, I…” he started, stunned by her anger.

She stopped him in his tracks, “It’s Emmy, not Emily, you condescending fuck! You don’t own me anymore, Alexander. You don’t get to sit in my living room and disrespect me. So, do us both a favor and tell me why, after all this time, you hunted me down. What was so important that you couldn’t call or write me a letter. You never even bothered to come after me when it might have still mattered. John did. Even Serena did. But not you.”

“I’m sorry for that, Emmy, I truly am. I was angry and hurt. You know, I didn’t twist your arm to be with me, Emmy. I seem to recall you signing a contract giving yourself to me, freely,” he said sardonically.

“Is that what this is about? The fucking contract?” Emmy asked incredulously.

“No,” Alexander said softly. “I’m sorry, I’m handling this badly. I’ve always struggled with how I felt about you, Emmy. I lied when I said I didn’t love you. But I can see you’ve done just fine without me.”

Emmy stood silent, unsure what she was supposed to say.

“I came to give you this,” Alexander said, handing her a bracelet.

Emmy looked at the silver bracelet he laid in her hands. “Where do you find this?” she asked. “This is the bracelet my grandmother gave me before she died. I looked everywhere for it. I thought it was lost forever. Why do you have it?”

“I’m embarrassed to admit that I found it recently in Serena’s jewelry box. I recognized it immediately. She said you gave it to her for safe keeping the night she put you in the cage at the club. I don’t know why she never gave it back. She had no answer for me when I asked her. She just said that you never asked for it back,” he explained.

“Thank you,” she said softly, choking back tears. She’d be damned if she would cry in front of him.

“Emmy, Serena and I are divorcing, and I’d hoped that maybe you’d give me another chance,” he said, softly.

Paul stayed in the kitchen but heard every word. He wondered if this was a good time to reappear in the living room. But he paused and listened to Emmy’s response.

“You seriously came here thinking you could lure me away from Paul?” Emmy asked, offended by his audacity. “I’m Paul’s wife. He chose me to warm his bed, to bear and raise his children, and to adorn his arm for others to see,” she said, repeating the words he had said to her so long ago about Serena when he told her she was only meant to satisfy his dark needs. “He doesn’t have any trouble telling me he loves me and showing me that I am worthy of love.”

“But can he give you the pain that you crave more than air, Emmy?” Alexander scoffed. “Can he whip you into submission and make you beg for more? Does he enjoy the piercings that I gave you with my own hands?”

It took every ounce of energy that Paul had to let her handle this on her own. He knew that if he stepped in now, she would never know that she had the strength to put Alexander in his place. But it was killing him inside to say nothing and do nothing.

Emmy surprised them all when she finally answered, “Paul gives me everything I need, pain, pleasure, love, tenderness, and so much more. And he gives them to me freely. I don’t have to beg for more because he knows my body so well, he knows exactly what how many strokes I need, what kind of implement to use on me, and exactly the right amount of impact to make me cum hard, every time. And, aside from my nipples being made to look even hotter with the nipple cages he put on me, I have no piercings on my body. They’ve closed and healed, like my heart. I was so angry at you for the longest time for not deeming me worthy enough to come after. But I just want to thank you now for showing me that you didn’t really care for me at all.”

“Emily, I love you!” Alexander said nearly frantic.

Emmy took a deep calming breath and said, “I don’t think you understand what that word means. And when I was with you, I didn’t either. But I do now, and I don’t love you Alexander, and I surely don’t need you. Thank you for bringing back my bracelet. It was a kind and decent thing for you to do. But now I need you to leave. Please don’t come back, Alexander. I’m happy now. Yes, I belong to Paul. But guess what? He belongs to me too. That’s how it works when people are in love.”

Before Alexander could protest, Paul stepped into the room and said, “I don’t need to cheat on my wife, and I don’t need to make my submissive feel like she is unworthy. And I am the luckiest man in the world because they are the same woman. You got greedy, and you lost everything.”

Alexander looked cross but said nothing.

“Thanks for bringing my wife her treasured bracelet. Now it’s time for you to go, Allen,” Paul added.

“My name is Alexander.”

“Yes, I know, and my wife’s name is Emmy, but you can’t seem to remember that even though you say you love her,” Paul said dismissively. “You’ve overstayed your welcome.”

Alexander got up and walked towards the door. He hated that Paul was right, he had gotten greedy and now he had lost everything.

“For what it’s worth, I hope the two of you are very happy together,” Alexander said quietly.

“It’s the three of us actually,” Emmy said impishly. She watched his eyes widen as it dawned on him what she meant. “My boobs are bigger because Paul and I are going to have a baby!”

“Oh, um, congratulations. I’m very happy for you,” Alexander said. Then he turned and left abruptly.

Paul put his arms around Emmy, “I thought we weren’t telling anyone that we are pregnant yet.”

She smiled, “I know, but it just sort of slipped out. I guess I needed to wipe that smug look off his face.”

He hugged his wifely tightly and said, “I’m proud of you. That couldn’t have been easy.”

“It was actually easier than I thought it would be. I never loved him. I meant it when I said that I didn’t know what that word meant until I met you,” she said, kissing her husband gently on the lips.

He swatted her butt playfully, “If I’m not mistaken, we were headed upstairs to fool around.”

“Only if you promise to spank my ass!” she said seductively.

“Yes, but only with my hand,” he agreed.

When Emmy started to protest, Paul reminded her that she’d agreed to several compromises in their play habits during the pregnancy, mostly for Paul’s peace of mind.

Once upstairs, Paul put her over his knee and spanked her just hard enough to give her butt a rosy hue, making him rock-hard and causing her pussy to glisten. He moved her to the bed, blindfolded her, and use the bit gag in her mouth. Then he tied her to the bed using the silk sashes he’d bought just for that purpose.

She looked delicious lying there all helpless and lush! The pregnancy weight was adding subtle curves where none had existed before and caused her to be even sexier in his eyes. He’d promised her he’d still give her what she needed, but he found new ways to satisfy her dark needs and his own. He picked up the new crop he had purchased and gave her a few terse smacks on her bare mound. Then he used the other end of the crop, which was a delightful, feathery ball, and teased her everywhere. He ran it slowly along the insides of her thighs, across her mound, up her tummy and around her beautiful breasts.

“You know, you’re going to need to let me take the cages off soon so your nipples can heal before the baby needs them to nurse,” he said softly as he circled each one with the feathers. He watched her back arch and her hips rock and secretly patted himself on the back for discovering that she enjoyed his relentless stimulation with the feathers almost as much as she enjoyed being whipped.

“I need!” Emmy started, panting. She did her best to talk with the bit in her mouth.

“What do you need, Emmy?” Paul whispered in her ear, his breath hot on her neck. He took the bit gag off so he could kiss her. Their tongues danced erotically until she broke off the kiss to beg.

“I need you to fuck me!” she cried out. “Please, Sir, don’t make me wait.”

“Such an impatient little slut! Yes, I will give you what you need, but only because I need to be inside you!”

He slid into her gradually, an inch at a time, and moved in and out of her as if in slow motion. Her arms and legs were still secured. He loved knowing he had complete control over her and could prolong the sweet agony for as long as he liked.

Eventually, he felt his own need rising inside of him and he grabbed her hips firmly as he fucked his wife faster.

“You make me so fucking hot, Emmy!” Paul growled. “I need to cum inside you and fill you with my seed!”

Her hips met every thrust as they panted and cried out, coming hard together, two mind-blowing orgasms becoming one.

Afterward, he untied her and cuddled next to her. “You make me so happy, Emmy.”

She smiled and nuzzled closer, “You make me so happy, too, Paul.”

As the skies outside gave way to night, they held each other, each of them knowing that falling in love had brought their dark needs into the light. This child inside her would grow up loved and happy because his parents had learned how to love and be happy, and how to balance the dark and the light.