The first time she tested the spirals on him was the next morning.

She had figured that the safest bet was in a neutral space, in a simple context where she was not likely to get carried away.  And she had honestly planned something around evening, maybe at dinner, but her impatience got the best of her.  She woke earlier than her alarm and lay in bed looking at his shoulders as the half-light of dawn filtered through the sheer curtains.  She smiled and sighed, then rose and wrapped her robe around her.

She made her way to the kitchen to start the teapot; she was already on edge and didn’t need the caffeine. She was halfway through the chamomile before she heard the thumping that indicated Jake had gotten up.  Temptation lit up her synapses and she resisted.  

She made it to the bottom of her teacup before she headed upstairs; it embarrassed her to feel so proud of that.  

After she threw the cup and saucer in the dishwasher rack, she wandered back to her room.  Jake had already finished with his shower and was wandering the closet in his towel.  She admired the view for a moment.  That inverted triangle of his shoulders and his waist, the way his ass pushed out the terrycloth...  She wasn’t hot to trot right now, but that didn’t mean her aesthetic sense was dulled.  Every day with him was a treat, and this was no exception.  All of the... dreams, the... other things... it didn’t change anything, it only made it better.  For him, too, she was certain of it.

“Hey,” he said.

“Hey.”

“You’re up early.  That’s not like you.”  He dropped his towel and pulled on his boxers.  

“A lot on my mind.”  She watched his nudity vanish with casual admiration.  Easy on the eyes.  She wished she had more hormones this morning.  Or any.

“Work?”

“Nah.”

He selected a belt from the rack and started looping it around him.  “Then... what?”

“I don’t know.  I—”  She closed the distance between them and put her arms around his neck.  “I think I might have something in my eye.”

“Oh?”

“Do you think you can look for me?”

“Sure, I...”  He emitted a sigh that verged on a moan.

“Do you see the spirals darling?”

“I... do...”

“My eyes are taking you deep for me.  And you can’t look away, can you?”

“Nnnnnooo...”

“How do you feel, lover?”

“I feel... good... right...”  And he did, at that.  She felt him stiffen against her hips.  Dammit.  This is turning him on.  Now I feel obligated to... help.

“Um... You’re aroused, aren’t you, Jake?”

“Yes.”

“Show me.”

His pants had barely been fastened, but now his fingers loosened them again.  On my command.  He dropped his trousers and his underwear, revealing the solidness of his cock.  She wanted to be wet for him, for this, more than anything, but could barely muster a lascivious lip-smacking.  But that didn’t mean he needed to suffer.

“Very nice, baby.  I want you to... I want you to think about... about how it feels when you... when you pleasure me.  When you taste me.”

A beatific smile spread over his face.  Not overtaking the blankness, really, just... enhancing it.  His erection was enhanced as well.

“Are you imagining it, Jake?”

“Yes.”

“How does it make you feel?”

“Devoted.”

“And excited?”

“Excited.”

“I want you to picture yourself on your knees for me.  Your face between my thighs.  That thrill when you take that first lick.  When your tongue swirls in my wetness.”

He moaned quietly, and his cock throbbed.

“How does it feel to eat my pussy, darling?”

“It feels good.”

“To immerse yourself in my flavor?  My aroma?”

“Feels... right...”

“You’re so aroused by licking me, Jake.  You’re so aroused you want to come.”

“I want to come.”

“Oh, you will. Your tongue is in my cunt, baby.  Your tongue is deep in my cunt and it’s making you come.”

“It’s...”  The pulsing of his cock escalated in intensity.

“It’s making you come now.”

“I’m—I’m coming...” Completely untouched, he erupted into the space in front of him, and she hurriedly grabbed his towel.  She wrapped it around his member so he didn’t make a mess of his work clothes.

“Good... good boy,” she soothed, smiling.  “I’m sure that feels better, doesn’t it?”

“Yesss...” he sighed.

She felt a flicker of satisfaction—not for herself, but for him.  And not a little thrill of power at being able to do that to him.  For him.  “You’re going to come back up from your trance, soon, love.  And when you do, you won’t... you don’t need to remember fantasizing about... about  licking me out.  You’ll get dressed, and go to work, and come home to me tonight.  And then it will be the weekend...” And maybe I’ll be recovered by then, because I really, really want to be after watching that.  “... and we’ll see if we can’t make us both happy again. Do you understand, Jake?”

“I understand.”

“Good.” She removed the towel from him, tossed it atop the tile where the puddle of his seed lay, and tucked him back into his boxers and pants.  “All right, love, come back up for me now, when I give you a kiss.”  She got up on her toes and kissed him, and the awareness sprang back into his eyes.

“Mmmmmm... what was that for?”

“You think I need an excuse to kiss my husband?”

“Not in the slightest.  But you’re crafty.  Maybe you want something.”

Oh, honey, if I wanted something I would be having you right now.  “Nope.  Pure innocence.”

“Huh. I don’t believe it.”  He glanced at the clock.  “But I have to get to work.  See you around dinner-ish.”

“I have late meetings.  You wanna pick something up?”

“Awesome!  I’ll get—”

“Not Espositos.”

“Dammit.”  The spicy Mexican food was his favorite but too much for her.  “I’ll find something else,” he grumbled.

“Always so attentive to my needs,” she giggled, and kissed him once more.  “Bye, love.”

“Bye, kiddo.”

***

She didn’t corner him that night like she’d half-planned to; they were both exhausted from work and when she walked in she found him crashed on the couch.  That looked so appealing to her that she scooted him over, grabbed an afghan, and joined him in drooling into the throw-pillows until they both stumbled off to the bed at some godawful time later that night.

The next morning dawned clear but cold, and she drew the comforter over her shoulder and snuggled closer to the warm husband-body behind her.  He threw his arm over her and pulled her close, reflexively, without waking.

Without waking.  Hadn’t that been a theme lately?  When she reviewed it in her head she realized with a start that she’d had more sex with sleeping Jake lately than with him awake.  At least fully awake; she wasn’t an expert on where that line was drawn or should be drawn, or even on the origin of his susceptibility to the—

power

—influence she now held over him.  All she knew was that he was dreamy and obedient when it came to her pussy... to licking her pussy... and that she had somehow leveraged that into the delightful jackpot of control that now dwelt in her eyes.  Whenever she wanted, she could have him; in any way she wanted.  From the evidence of yesterday, she could control his orgasms to the point where she could just talk him into one, and from experience she knew she could delay him so she could get her pleasure from him before he lost it.

The weirdest thing about it was she had no idea what to do with it.

Her sex life had been entirely satisfactory, even great, before her discovery of his... special weakness.  It wasn’t like he had ever refused her anything, or shown a sign he wasn’t open to her bedroom ideas... whenever she had them.  Which... well, it wasn’t that often; she was embarrassingly vanilla.  Or at least had been, until...

Until she’d gotten a hypnotism kink.

The heat between her thighs started while she imagined him blank and kneeling for her, and she didn’t even have a result in mind: she was growing damp in her nightgown not from the idea of what he would do for her, but just from the idea that he couldn’t not do it, whatever it was.  She knew that was messed up... wasn’t it?  It had to be.

It disturbed her more than a little that she couldn’t bring herself to care.

She felt him stir behind her, roll away from her and onto his back.  She followed suit.  “Morning.”

“Hi,” replied blearily.  “Sorry I crashed on you last night.  Not sure why I was so tired.  Maybe I’m coming down with something.”

Maybe you’re spending a lot of time going down on something.  “It’s fine, baby, I was tired, too.”

“Yeah, well it wasn’t what I’d planned on.  There was supposed to be wining, dining...”

“Are you going to finish that phrase?”

“Realigning?”

“I don’t think so.”

“Undermining?”

“I’m not impressed.”

“Intertwining?”

“Mmmmm.” She kissed him.  “Better.  Still needs some work.”

“I’m out of ideas.”

“I’m not.  What do you see when you look in my eyes?”

“I see...”

“You see the spirals, drawing you in, don’t you?  Drawing you down.”

“Drawing... me down.”

She was horny as fuck, had been since she’d been contemplating this all morning.  Her body was telling her to rush, to grab him by the back of the head and shove him under the covers and smear her cunt into his face... but something else inside her wanted to slow down and enjoy every moment of the process.  And she listened to that something, this time, though it truly was a battle.

“Jake, are you falling deeply under my—”

control

power

“—hypnosis?”

“I am being hypnotized by you.”

“You certainly are.  Are you feeling... good, love?”

“I...”

“Do you... crave my pussy?”

“Yes.”

“Are you thinking about it?  About sinking your tongue into me?”

“Yessss,” his voice rasped.

“Worshipping me as... your... your...?”

“Worshipping your pussy.”

She shuddered at the phrasing.  “That’s... that’s good enough.”  Her patience was expired.  “Do it.  Lick me.”  She pushed the covers off and his shoulders down, and he didn’t need further instruction.  Then again, he never had.

His tongue was as mystical an experience as ever, but she needed more.  “Your fingers, too, Jake.  Deep inside me.  And your mouth... you...”  She was close to cresting, but... “Look!” she hissed.  “Look at me while you do that.  Look at me while I come on your face.”  And he did, he stared right into her eyes and it pushed her over to see him like this again, lost in her, his cheeks coated in her juices.  So hot.  “Jake, honey... come up here and fuck me.”

He obliged, as ever.  She kissed him, her aroma heady on his lips, and gasped as he entered her.  He thrust inside her powerfully, solid, and angled as she liked it, loved it.  She gripped him with the backs of her legs, held him while he bucked in the rhythm she loved.  “Don’t come yet... not... not yet.”  Her clitoris was jammed against his pubic bone, sending ripples through her every time he ground against it, and when those waves became too much, when she knew it was inevitable for her, she moaned at him, “Jake, awake fully... and come for me now.”  And she saw the look on his face spring into awareness as he did, as he thrust into her, not like a machine, but like the partner she’d married.  As he burst within her, their moans chorused together and she felt her internal muscles spasming around him.

He looked excited and intensely aroused, but also a little confused.  She drew his face down to kiss her, and he kissed her back, but his puzzlement was evident.  “What just...?”

Uh oh.  What the fuck did I just do?  “You... just made love to me, Jake.  I... told you sometimes you get... fuzzy... when you go down on me, remember?”

“I... yeah, I guess.  But I didn’t know... didn’t remember ever...”  He kissed her more fully now, but the vibe of the room had changed.  He slid out of her, gently, as ever, but he pulled back to look at her, too.  He doesn’t see the spirals right now, she thought.  But maybe he should.  “Jake, honey, I... will you look in—”

“It’s time to get up,” he said as he turned away.  “I need a shower.”

She felt the urge to chase after him, to turn his chin in her palm, to say the words that would make it all better.  

Instead she lay in bed with her guilt and her shame.  Not her favorite bed companions by any stretch, but they were the only ones there to console her in the afterglow. 

***

He didn’t avoid her that morning; emerging from the shower he was near-normal, if a bit pensive, but she did limit her interactions with him out of some odd sense of... embarrassment?  She wasn’t even sure where that came from; she had done much more questionable stuff with him since the whole thing had started, with some residual regrets, sure... but somehow, feeling actively seen by him in that moment was hitting differently.  In any case, when he asked to do something as mundane as go to the grocery store with him that afternoon she breathed a sigh of relief.  Back to normalcy: she could almost taste it.  

On the car ride they discussed an upgrade to her hobby room that had been a topic of conversation for over a year, and Jake seemed ready to move on it, to her pleased surprise. Their chat about the details was interrupted by the need to park and head into the store.

Like an itch she couldn’t scratch, the morning haunted her; not so much because she was worried about fallout—Jake seemed unfazed, in the main—but because she wondered how much was situational.  She had tried it in romantic situations, alone, in bed... it was all in a romantic context, or at least a couples’ moment, when you thought about it.  Would... would it work in a public place—like, here, for instance?

And once she had picked up that idea she found it impossible to put down again.

She kept up the argument with herself until they were alone in the rice and beans aisle, and her mischievous side won.  “Hey,” she poked as he grabbed some red kidneys and navies.  He turned around toward her and they slipped from his hands into the basket when he saw her eyes and heard her request to look into them.

She brought him down into the depths of trance using words and phrases that were becoming second nature to her now: “deeper into the spirals”, “worship”, “hypnotized by me” and watched as he sank.  When he was so far within himself that she felt safe, something perverse made her tell him to “Kneel!”

He did, of course; in this state, he had few filters (if any).  She wasn’t going to do anything truly perverse, but she couldn’t have, in any case: a child of indeterminate gender rounded the corner into the aisle, followed by her mother pushing their cart.  “Jake,” Emily said aloud, “can you get the basmati rice for me while you’re down there?”

“Yes,” he responded, and if the new arrivals noticed anything disturbing about his monotone they didn’t make it apparent.

“Thanks, love.  Bring it to me now, will you?”

He rose, bag in hand, and presented it to her mindlessly.  

She whispered in his ear, “Rise back to wakefulness, love.  You have been so helpful with the groceries.”

His expression cleared rapidly and, unlike this morning’s debacle, he didn’t seem to have any disorientation.  “Glad to help!”

She had almost expected him to say Glad to be of service and was almost disappointed he didn’t use that terminology, but she was relieved enough at the unqualified success that the thought didn’t stick.  She exhaled slowly and they finished the rest of their list.

Crisis averted, she thought.  I’ll just need to be more careful in the future.

***

“It was... I can’t even describe it.  I...” Emily gulped her pinot, not even savoring it.  They were at Vanities, a place with much atmosphere and much Napa Valley product, and Jocelyn had wasted zero time with preliminaries before diving into Emily’s latest experiences with hypnotized husbands.  Or at least just the one she had experience with.

Her companion was all eyes and ears.  “So, I don’t get it.  You’re telling me you can make spirals with your eyes now?  No offense, Em, I love you and I don’t think you’re trying to bullshit me but—”

“No, that’s not what I’m saying.  Not at all.  I told him, last week, when he was... um... under for me... I told him then that whenever I told him to look into my eyes, he would see spirals in there and be unable to resist sinking deep for me.  It... I’m not saying they’re really there.  That would be crazy.”

“This whole thing is crazy, Em.  Crazy hot, to be fair, but... have you maybe looked this up on the internet or something?  WebMD?”

“Pretty sure ‘man falls into hypnotic trance from eating pussy’ is not going to generate the medical web hits I’m looking for.”

Now it was Jocelyn’s turn to choke down her wine.  “No, I didn’t mean—I mean, of course if you phrase it like that, you’re gonna—”

Emily sighed. “Don’t you think I tried that, Joss?  It gave me a bunch of sicko porn sites no matter how clinically I phrased it.  At best I got AI-curated responses on how that was an uncommon trope but sometimes found in ‘femdom’ fiction and not medically plausible, then a useless reference to ‘MKUltra’, whatever the fuck that is, and blah blah blah... nothing.”  Well, some of the porn had been blisteringly hot.  But that wasn’t the point.  “It’s a non-starter.”

“You could try, you know, taking him to a real doctor.  Or a shrink.”

Emily couldn’t find the right argument to raise that didn’t sound too much like, But then they might fix it and that would suck.  She went with, “Maybe I will.  I dunno.  I don’t think it’s out of hand.  Or dangerous.  It’s... I dunno, just an extension of our sex life.  Playtime.”

“Your guys’ ‘playtime’ is definitely... sexy, I’ll grant you that.  I wish I could... well, that’s neither here nor there.  I will have to take your word for it.”

“Well, maybe you... maybe you don’t.”

“Don’t what?  Think it’s sexy?  I assure you I do.  If I could get Timothy to do that, I would soooooo—”

“No, I mean, you... don’t have to take my word for it.”

“Are you...?”  Jocelyn looked quiet for a moment.  “Em, did you just propose what I think you just proposed?”

“I don’t know.  I don’t know if I proposed what I think I proposed, let alone what you think I proposed.”

“Enough propositions.  God, I hated Logic class!”  Jocelyn drained her glass and leveled her gaze at her friend. “Emily, my dearest and closest friend and co-conspirator, are you suggesting that I watch you hypnotize and do naughty things to your husband?”

“Not... exactly.  You wouldn’t have to do anything, right?  Just me and him.  But... you could see it too. Help me analyze. And reassure me I’m not crazy.”

“That last one might be out of the question.  I’ve known you too long.”

“Ha, and also ha.  I’m serious.”

“I know you are, Em, and I’m... well, I won’t deny I’m tempted... a little.  It’s too much to believe, but I don’t think you’re lying to me and so I want to see with my own eyes for... for research purposes?”

“And because it’s hot.”

“Research purposes!”

“Okay, okay!  I agree to your proposal.”

“Your proposal!”

“My proposal.  Come over on... Saturday night?  And then we’ll see what we can see.  Okay?”

“I shall make my plans, Doctor Emily, and we shall endeavor to see the results of your mad science experiment.”  She poured again into both of their glasses, finishing the bottle, then clinked hers to Emily’s without bothering to wait for an official toast.

“Good.  Fine.  It’s a plan.  I’ll make... something.  Or Jake will.”

“I bet he will.”

“No innuendo from you.  Science!”

“Of course, of course.”  Jocelyn lowered her voice to a whisper and added, “And because it’s hot.”

***

“I’m still flummoxed you guys are hanging out at our place tonight.  It’s like I don’t even know you any more.”

“Huh?  What’s wrong with that?”

“Nothing, I’m just shocked you guys aren’t headed to or Images or Vanities or whatever super-secret place you guys have your... assignations.”

“Assigna—? You’re something else, you know?”

“I calls ‘em like I sees ‘em.”

“Or like you fantasize ‘em.”

“You say tomayto, I say tomahto.”

“‘Let’s call the whole thing off.’”

“Should I bail?  I mean, it is your girl time.  I can hit a movie or something.”

“No!”  That would entirely defeat the purpose.  She toned it down.  “I mean, I think that’s dumb.  It’s your house, too!  We’re only doing it here because...” Because there’s stuff I want to show her that shouldn’t happen in public.  “... because we don’t feel like getting all dressed up tonight.”

“Coulda fooled me.”

“You have no concept of ‘casual-but-presentable’, do you?”

“Isn’t that a ska band from the nineties?”

She sighed in mock-exasperation, then kissed him on the chest.  “You won’t get in the way.  We might even invite you to hang out, in fact.  I have it on good authority we kinda like you.  Well... at least one of us does, anyway.”

“I’m overwhelmed by that positivity.  And I won’t ask which one.”

“Probably for the best.”

“Okay.  I’ll try to stay out of the way so you can have your privacy.  And talk about boys.”

“We don’t talk about boys.” He raised a single eyebrow.  “Fuck you.  Our conversations could totally pass the Bechdel test.”

“I love you.  And because I love you I am not going to tell you how much I don’t believe you.”

“You kinda just did.”

“Oops.”  He didn’t look very sorry.  “At any rate, I’m just saying since you don’t have a convenient women’s room to retreat to when you need to ‘dish’—”

“‘Dish’?  What decade is this again?”

“— I will give you your space so you can dish without worrying about my eavesdropping.”

“That’s very generous of you.”  She kissed him again, just because.  “But I assure you, not only will we have other things to talk about besides icky boys, I’m not worried about you hearing anything you shouldn’t.”  She felt guilty phrasing it that way, the lie of omission blatant to her and lost on him, but... Well, she really didn’t want to corrupt the... experiment... with anything that could be seen as foreknowledge, did she?

“Well, okay.  I’ll pop in from time to time.  I’ll stomp so you know when I’m coming.” He demonstrated.  “Okay, so it doesn’t work that well on the carpet.  Should I hoot twice like a screech owl and once like a barn owl?”

“I think you can just clear your throat.”

He tried, then hawked loudly and spat something vile into the sink.

“Okay, the owl idea is sounding more attractive by the second.”

“No?”

“That was grody.”

“Jesus, now who’s stuck in another decade?”  He leaned in to kiss her and she brushed him away. 

“Let me finish my makeup, okay?”

“Okay, okay.  Doll yourself up for Joss.  I see how I rate.”  He moved off into somewhere else, probably the kitchen.  It sounded like he was practicing his stomping rather than his owl noises.

The doorbell rang just as she was putting the final touches on, and she closed her kit and wandered to the living room.  Jake had already opened the door and welcomed Jocelyn in.  They hugged briefly, then he handed their guest off to her with an overly-extravagant gesture.  “What do you want to drink, Joss?”

“Anything red, please.  I’m not picky.”

“Got it.  Watered down ketchup, coming right up.”

“With no ice!” They heard him say something that was probably “Dammit!” but he was officially out of earshot.  “Well, my dear, thus far I am seeing no changes.  You clearly haven’t seen fit to modify his obnoxiousness.  Yet.”

Emily colored slightly.  “That’s... I don’t want to change who he—”

Jocelyn stepped back. “Relax, hon.  I was kidding.”  She looked Emily up and down.  “I like the dress.  But then I have always had a thing for stuff that shows just a little too much leg.”

“Hey!  It’s very classy.”

“So you say.”

“You’re one to talk.  That top is showing your assets a bit too much for a simple, homey evening.”  Or maybe one that isn’t so simple.

“What can I say?  I’m hoping to get lucky later.  When I get home.”

“Does Timothy really need the advertising?”

“Sometimes.  He’s Playstationing tonight.  That’s sometimes hard to distract from.”

“Sad that the world has come to this.  Very sad.”

“I weep.”  Jocelyn helped herself to a place on the loveseat just as Jake emerged from the kitchen with a bottle and two glasses in hand.  He set them down on the coffee table as Emily took her place on the couch across from her friend.  “Thank you, Jake.”

“I deliver your Heinz 57 with great pride.”

“Ah... ‘57.  A very good year. What are your plans for the evening?”  She addressed Jake but watched Emily instead.

“I’ll just putter around the house.  Maybe stream something on the bedroom TV.”

“No Playstation then?”

“Huh?”

“Never mind.”

“I dunno..  Maybe even read.  Pornography, of course.”

“I would expect nothing less from you.  And, honestly, nothing more.”

He laughed, and then kissed Emily on the forehead.  “Okay, I’ll leave you two to it.  Call me if you need anything.  Or text.  I might not hear you over all the porn.”

“What loud noises would reading porn make?”

“It’s best you leave that mystery unsolved.”  He exited toward the master suite.

Jocelyn watched him go, seeming to assess every step.  “Well, if he’s different, it’s not obvious.”

“I told you, I don’t—”

“I know.  I’m looking for stuff you might not notice.”

“Like his ass?”

“I was not checking out his ass.  He’s your husband.  I have some respect.”

“Self-respect?”

“Seldom.”

Emily giggled.  The conversation and the wine were helping her nerves, but she was still a bit edgy.  “You’re allowed to look at his ass.  The beauty of the world should be enjoyed by all.”

“Ahem.  I was, I repeat, looking for details you might not notice.  His ass is not one of those.”

“True.  Especially in those jeans.”

“So... how do we... um... do this?  I mean, we talked about me coming over to... observe... but... I mean, are you just going to... I dunno... go hypnotize him in the other room and then bring him in, or... just do it all right here, in front of God and everybody?”

“I—Right here is... fine, I think.  I’ve been... practicing...”

“Practicing?”

“You know, in different places.  The grocery store the other day, you know, just to see if I could.”

“You’re lucky you came up with the spiral thingy.  Using your older method in the grocery store would have been... awkward.”

But not without a smidgen of heat.  “Definitely more complicated.  I do like the older method, though.”

“I can’t imagine why.”

“I’m sure you can’t.” She gulped her wine.  “I’m sure you haven’t.”

“I totally haven’t.  Repeatedly.”

“The spirals are definitely more convenient, though.  We couldn’t do this... experiment without them.”

“Oh, you don’t think Jake would randomly go down on you in front of me and relax enough to be entranced by it?”  She sipped the wine.  “You never know, maybe he’s an exhibitionist.”

“I... no.”  Not Jake.  “He has many kinks, but I don’t think that’s one of them.”

“Ah, well.  Maybe we can test that theory sometime.”

Wow.  “Not... not tonight.”

“Of course not.  That’s not the point of tonight.”

Emily got pensive. “And what is the point of tonight, then?  Professor?”

“That’s ‘Doctor’, please.  I didn’t go through four years of fake grad school to be addressed as anything less.”

“I withdraw my honorific.”

“Thank you.”  Jocelyn rolled the wine on her tongue for a moment before swallowing it.  “The point of tonight is for me to watch this whole Jake thing and see if it’s a hoax.”

“I’ve told you, it’s—”

“And I believe you don’t think so.  I do.  But it’s... I’m going to watch.  Carefully.”

“How carefully?”

“As carefully as my libido will let me.”

“I see.”  Emily sipped again and was close to the bottom, so she refilled from the bottle before her glass could notice the deficiency.  “Okay.  As long as we’re united on the goals.”

Jocelyn looked at her for a moment, her expression obscure.  “I think we are.”

“Well, then.”

“Well, then.”

“Honey,” Emily called out after the silence stretched on.  “Are you busy?”

“No,” he responded from the other room.  “I’m on my way.”

Jocelyn spoke up.  “We were just craving a bottle of chardonnay and Emily thought that since you were such a good sommelier before...”

“Somme-what?  Wait, were you telling her about our sex life?”

Emily froze, the banter a little too close to home.  “What?  No!  I... ‘sommelier’ is...”

“I know, baby.  I was just fucking with you.”

“Humph.”  Fine.  His attitude made her feel less guilt already.  Or maybe it was the wine.  He was about to head into the kitchen when she stopped him.  “Wait, don’t I get a kiss?”

“I suppose,” he said with faked reluctance.  He put his knee on the couch and went in for a smooch.

“Jake, darling...”  This was it.  “Look into my eyes.”

She half-expected something to go wrong.  Like when you finish that big setup in the yard that has tennis balls and rubber bands and it opens the shed door when you pull a rope... and then when you try to show it to your best friend, the rubber bands break and the door remains stubbornly shut.

Jake was opening, though.  He was opening, and blanking.  She felt that familiar thrill and helped matters along.  She touched his cheek.  It felt more intimate that way, less like she was doing something to him.  “Very good, my love.  Look deeper into the spirals, fall deeper into them for me.”

“Deeper...” he murmured, his face already softening into something compliant.

“Yes, falling deeper into my eyes.  Into the spirals.  Into...”  Obedience.  Service.  Worship.  Using some of these words in front of Jocelyn, in front of anyone, made her uncomfortable.  “Into my... control.”

“Into your control.”

Jocelyn’s breath hitched, but Emily only had eyes for Jake.  And Jake... well, he was captivated by those eyes.  “That’s right, dear.  The spirals are drawing you in, drawing you down.  They swirl so slowly, so perfectly.  You can’t look away.”

“I can’t...”

“You don’t want to look away.”

“I don’t want to...”

“You’re sinking deep... deeper into trance for me.”

“I’m being... hypnotized by you.”

“You are.  Deeply.”

“Deeply.”

“Jake, honey, you’re so deep now.  You only see me.  Only hear me.  You want to please me.”

“Only see you.  Only hear you.  Want to please you.”

She tried not to purr and failed. “Perfect.  Kneel on the floor for me, my love.” He instantly slid down the couch onto his knees.  She cupped his face and leaned into him, kissing him on the lips, then looked over his head to her friend, sitting across the room.  Jocelyn was alert and her hips unconsciously propped her torso forward, clearly interested.

Joss whispered, “Can he hear me?”

Emily shook her head.

“You sure?” she said a bit louder.

Jake’s expressionlessness continued unperturbed.  Emily nodded.

“Is he...?”

Emily’s smile inched broader.  “Jake, darling, are you blank for me?  Are you good, and right... and hypnotized?”

“I am hypnotized for you.”

“Good.”

“Oh, God,” Jocelyn whispered, and Emily saw her hand clenching on the arm of the loveseat.  It gave her a rush to see her arousal mirrored in the brown eyes and mocha expression across the room.

“Jake,” Emily said in a deep, sensuous voice she didn’t recognize in herself.  “Are you ready to worship?”

Jocelyn gasped but Emily barely noticed; she was as caught up in Jake—in his devotion—as he was in her, though perhaps not as helplessly.  Perhaps.

Jake didn’t respond with words.  He sank into her, handfuls of her dress gripped in his fists.  She hadn’t worn panties, she’d known how this was going to—

go down

—happen.  Her thighs parted, welcoming him home, and she ran her fingers through his hair, soothingly.  Not yet urgently.

She looked down on him, her Jake... her man... her supplicant... with a fondness and love that seemed almost painful, and a lust that was its own kind of agony.  His tongue thrust into her, just how she liked... deep, fucking her, and then slowly, building up speed, making its way back outside and upward.  He knew her body like he’d drawn the map to it, and he affixed his mouth to her clit instinctively, skillfully; she lost her serenity for an instant, inhaling sharply.  

When she finally exhaled again, her eyes were drawn to Jocelyn’s face over the top of him. Those full lips were parted slightly, teeth intercepting them over and over in a rhythm completely out of synch with Jake’s tongue but somehow still reminiscent.  As her hips started to move of their own accord, as she tangled her fingers in her husband’s hair, Emily could barely keep her eyes open as the pleasure built.  She did, though, if only to make eye contact with her—

audience

—best friend.  Jocelyn met her gaze with equal intensity, and Emily saw the other woman’s grip whitening against the chair arm, her legs pressed together in a way that was anything but prim.  A moan escaped her as she saw Jocelyn scan up and down, taking in the tableau of her, sprawled (in an elegant way!) on the sofa and Jake’s face between her thighs.  She felt certain Joss couldn’t see anything, everything... the skirt was loose and bunched about her hips, but Jake’s head was in the way of anything explicit.  She hoped.  Or at least she thought she did.

Whatever Jocelyn could or could not see, the woman was near panting as she watched Jake pleasure her.  And pleasure her, and pleasure—my God!—and seeing her ecstasy reflected in the face of her best friend somehow made it all the sweeter.  “Oh, honey,” she hissed to him as he plied her flesh with his tongue, “you lick me so well when you’re... when you’re under control.”  Her hips thrust into Jake’s mouth with abandon and the only reason she stopped staring into Jocelyn’s eyes was because her own eyes were squeezed shut as the orgasm neared.  “Under... my control.”

It came on her powerfully, and she didn’t mean to press Jake into her cunt so hard but, God, she needed to do it, needed to grind against his face, needed to use him so bad right now, needed to show... she saw her friend watching raptly... to show.

Her orgasm was as delicious as she’d expected, and though she tried to stifle her cries they leaked out through her teeth.  “Jake, love, you can stop now.  Just... just rest your head there.”  She caressed his cheek, damp as it was with her flavor.  “Just... rest.”

Jocelyn blew out her cheeks, then rose.  “I’m just gonna... uh... the bathroom.”  She placed her hand on Emily’s shoulder en route, her head held high, deliberately not looking down at her... lap.  She squeezed for an instant, perhaps a second longer than necessary, then slunk into the rest room and closed the door a bit too fast.

Emily couldn’t help but smirk, and if she could hear some panting behind the door and then a muffled moan... well, she didn’t see any reason to mention it.  For now.  As she wiped Jake’s face with the hem of her skirt, she heard the sink run, footsteps approaching the door, then hesitation.  A doubling back to flush the toilet before emerging.  It was a nice attempt at subterfuge, Emily granted, but neither of them were fooled that the other was fooled.

“Jake, my love, it’s time for you to go to bed.  I’ll be along soon.”  He stood without question and walked off.

“Bye, Jake,” said Jocelyn with a nervous giggle, but he was as blank as before and did not respond.

There was quiet in the room now that the elephant was gone from it, but it didn’t last.  “That was... what was...”

“Intense,” replied Emily.  “I know.”

“I...” she laughed.  “I believe you, now.  I mean... I believed you before, I did, but this...”

“I know.”

“I... I have to go.  There’s a lot to ponder.  We can talk later, but for now... I should go take care of Timothy.”

“Take care of him?”  Or you?

“Yeah.  You can’t be the only one who has fun tonight.”

“I’m not.”

“You gonna go... reciprocate for Jake, now?”

“In my own way.” She rose, and gave Jocelyn a hug.  “He’ll love it.”

“I have no doubt.”  She pushed back, they stared at one another for a few seconds.  “Good night, Em.”

“G’night, Joss.”

***

Emily awoke to the brightness of a sunny winter day, the curtains parted in just the wrong spot to allow her to ignore the light.

Her phone hummed with a message notification.  It was from Joss.  

Still can’t stop thinking about last night.

Emily didn’t know what to say to that, so she ignored it while she went through her morning routine.  Eventually her friend followed up with It was so intense, repeating her phrasing from last night.  Not to mention scientifically valid.

She laughed at that and replied, I’m glad you enjoyed the experiment.  Will you co-write the journal article with me?

Sure, but I get top billing.  You’re too close to the matter to be objective.

And you’re not?

Hey, I just watched.  Very dispassionately!

Oh?  Would Timothy agree about your dispassion when you came home?

Maybe not.  Did Jake get his... comeuppance?

He has no grounds for complaint, I can assure you.

I am assured.

Emily hadn’t been sure her own passions would rise to the occasion when she had followed her husband to the bedroom after her friend’s departure, but he had risen to his own occasion and it was obvious from the tenting of his trousers, and the flashbacks as to how that had come about had kept her edgy and unsatiated.  He’d lain prone, unseeing, when she entered, and she’d unzipped him and pulled off his clothes, setting him free.  Free and solid.  She had licked her lips.

“Jake, can you hear me?”

His voice had been soft and calm.  “Yes.”

“I want to give you what you want, love.  Want to make you happy.  What... what do you want?”

A pause, and then: “Your pussy.  I want... need your flavor again.”

A shudder had accompanied renewed desire at his words.  I will never, ever get tired of hearing that.  “Very well, dear heart.  It’s time for you to worship me again.”

She’d climbed onto the bed, straddling his head with her thighs, lowering herself to his eager mouth.  So eager.  His tongue had made love to her cunt as if their bodies had a passionate love affair of their own, separate from the persons attached.  Her hormones had dwindled over the past hours, but all she’d needed to do was recall the details of the demonstration: the thrill of being watched commanding him, the look on Jocelyn’s face when she saw what Emily could do and how she did it.  That post-session trip to the rest room, the strangled cry and what it had implied... images she didn’t want to acknowledge but which had pushed her over the top while his mouth caressed her and his hands on her buttocks pulled her close.  She’d pinched her nipples for extra stimulation, but it hadn’t been necessary: just fun.

“Jake,” she had grunted, in animal throes.  “Jake, you can come for me, now.”  He moaned into her pussy and she repeated, “Come for me.  Now.”

And he had; the evidence was thick and messy and delicious moments later when she’d dismounted him and glanced down.  I love that I can make him do that.  Using just my eyes and my words.  And my pussy.

She’d talked him into a nice sleep—a real one this time, complete with mild snores.  She’d wondered idly if she could somehow make him stop the buzzing noises, but that had gone nowhere in her exhausted state.  She’d curled up beside him and dropped into her own slumber.

Now he was somewhere in the house; she could hear him moving about, likely dealing with the dishes if the clanking sounds were any evidence.  She was working on an old needlepoint project that was dusty with months’ neglect, but she would chase him down later and give him a kiss for last night.  Or just because.  

There was a new text message, and she read it before her phone even stopped vibrating.

So... should we do a second experiment?

Emily could feel the hesitation in that question, could imagine the conflicted thoughts and feelings which had gone into finger-typing it on a screen.  Could understand it, because she was experiencing it herself, right now.

Same time next week?

Yes.  A pause and then a second reply arrived: Should I bring anything?

Just yourself,  Emily typed.  Dress up nice and I’ll provide wine.  And the rest.

Don’t worry.  I’ll be very good.

Somehow I doubt that.

***

“Holy shit.  Clearly it’s another night at the bar for you and Jocelyn.”

“Bar?  I’ll have you know Vanities is no mere bar.  No classless tavern.  Or saloon.  It is a genuine lounge.”

“I stand corrected.  Jesus, you’re pretentious.”

“Hey!”  She selected a pair of shoes that could be categorized uncharitably as come-fuck-me pumps but which she preferred to think of as glamour heels.  “I resemble that remark.”

“You resemble a fucking hottie is what you resemble.”  He ran his hands up her neck and into her hair, scratching his fingers through to her scalp— carefully, to avoid wrecking her coiffure handiwork.  It felt divine.

She visibly discarded several retorts before settling on, “Thank you.”  She moved over to her  dressing chair and slipped her feet into the black patent leather delicacies.  “In any case, we’re not going out.  We’re drinking in.”

“Here?  Again?”

“I dunno.  I guess I just don’t feel like the bar lately.”

“Lounge.”

“Whatever.  Something...” Inconvenient. “...boring about it.  I like the homey-ness of right here.  With,” she said as she kissed his lips, for once equal to his height from the shoes, “my gorgeous husband.”

“Which one is that?  I haven’t met him yet, have I?”

“He’s hiding in the coat closet.  Very shy.”

“Can’t blame him for being intimidated, with you in that outfit.”

“He shouldn’t be intimidated.  He should be intrigued.”

“That slit intrigues me.”

“As well it should.  I’m pretty sure it’s designed to.”

“Well-designed.”

“Uh huh.”  The doorbell rang or he might have gone further, she could tell, but instead he kissed her forehead and left to let in their guest.  Emily could hear the greeting, and part of the commentary; she was glad that her best friend and husband got along so swimmingly.  It really made so much of their relationship so much easier.  She didn’t feel like she had to choose between them or alienate the one regarding the other.  Joss hadn’t always liked the men in Emily’s life and, truth be told, the fact that her best friend genuinely liked Jake had been a huge point in his favor when their relationship had gotten serious and edged toward engagement.

That was in the past, however.  The now was more electric.  Perhaps more dangerous.  She left the bedroom with a confident stride and a tiny, dark pulse that felt a little like dread.

Jocelyn, too, had dressed a bit up for the occasion; Emily almost laughed at how in synch they were without even comparing notes in advance.  However, while Emily’s outfit was quietly seductive, her friend’s was more demure.  Light blue, certainly classy, but the skirt was definitely a bit shorter than last time, the blouse buttoned up a bit less.  No fuck-me pumps, however; the beige footwear Joss was wearing were a mere two inches in height.  Safely within the range of “politely sexy”, not attention-seeking.  

Joss saw her hostess glancing up and down and returned the regard with a small nod of acknowledgement: a woman’s silent approval.  “Emily, babe.  You look great.  Life is treating you well?”

“Jake is treating me well.”

“That is no surprise.  He’s a good man.”

“The best.”  She looked over at Jake.  “Don’t get smug, I’m just being nice.”  

He laughed out loud.  “How’s Tim-Tim?”

“Very glad he’s not here to hear you call him that.  He might punch you, and that would be awkward for future double date nights.”

“Timmy?”

“If he punches you, I will not chastise him.  At all.”

“Timoteo?”

She turned, exasperated, to Emily.  “I take back the ‘good man’ comment.”

“As you should.”  She tittered, the bundle of nerves in her belly emerging in her inability to repress it.  “Jake, can you get us the ‘Sirine?”

“Wow. Breaking out the good stuff!”

“It’s a special occasion.”

“It is?”  He looked bemused.

“Yeah, I’ll tell you about it when we get our booze.”

“Ha.  Okay.”  He left for the basement where they kept her favorite vintages.

“Special occasion?”

“Second Observation.  It’s almost a holiday.”

That brought forth a laugh from Joss.  “You... sure you’re up for this again?  I mean, I’m game, but it’s not my husband we’re...”

Watching?  Seducing?  Mind-fucking?  “Observing.”

“I mean, that’s the name of the holiday, right?”

“Right.”  

The cork popped in the kitchen and they heard him get out the glasses.  He walked back in, balancing them precariously on a tray with the bottle and some cocktail of his own creation, and he set the whole structure down with a flourish and a mock-bow.  “Ze drinks, zey are served, madames.”

“I don’t think you are allowed to pretend to be French unless you pour first.”

“Oui, oui!  Zis is one of our finest—”

“Or at all, really.  Joss, do you want me to pour if it means an end to his atrocious accent?”

“Please.”

“But non!”

“Drink your whiskey sour or whatever, dear.  I’ll handle the bottle.”

He pouted, but at least he pouted in American English.  “Fine.”  He knocked back a good third of the booze like a tantrum, and coughed slightly when it hit his throat.  

They both watched him closely, meaningfully, as his breathing resumed normalcy, and in the midst of his recovery the two women came to a silent agreement.  Jocelyn nodded at Emily, not so much in agreement as acquiescence.

“Jake, honey, it’s time.”

“Huh?”

And with her instructions to sink into her eyes, he was gone.

The mood was different this time.  Emily could feel it, like a ghost in the house, and she could tell from the way the other woman moved, how she sat, that Jocelyn could feel it too.  She concentrated on talking Jake down into a soft, pliable trance, on using gentle motions of her hands to bring him down to sit on the couch.  She sat close to him, close enough that he could have heard her whispering, but she spoke aloud instead, confidence in every syllable.  “There’s no one here but us, is there, Jake?  No one here but you.  And the spirals.  And my voice.”

“The spirals and your voice,” he almost chanted.

“Very good,” she replied.  “Keep sinking deep into a hypnotized trance for me.”

“Hypnotized.  For you.”

“As you go deeper, you become more and more—” 

Calm, she should have said.  Dreamy.  Even aroused.  But in a moment’s weakness, darkly aware of the effect it would have on her friend, she thought, Fuck it.  In for a penny...

“—obedient.”  She felt the tension in the room.  Jocelyn’s breath didn’t hitch, not exactly: it was hard to interrupt your normal breathing when it wasn’t happening.  “Keep staring into my eyes and tell me when you become completely obedient for me.” She wished she could glance over at her audience, wished she could see the throat that had emitted that strangled noise between a moan and a cry, but she needed to make sure her husband had her eyes to enthrall him.  To compel him.

“I am completely obedient for you,” he finally stated.  Like it wasn’t insane at all, like it was the weather report.  Cloudy with a 70% chance of pussylicking.

Now she could look over at the other woman, could see her flushed cheeks, those hands clutched in her lap, the skirt hiked up a bit too far but not moving any further.  Jocelyn’s hands were gripping each other so tightly her forearms were trembling.  Emily smiled at her, and it probably wasn’t too predatory.  Probably.  “On your knees now, darling,” she said, and for an instant she wasn’t sure who she meant.  Or if Jocelyn wasn’t.

Jake believed it was him, clearly, as he slowly lowered himself to the floor in front of her, and she began running her hand through his hair gently as he knelt calmly before her, unhurried and attentive to whatever his mind could see in her eyes.  She didn’t even command him, this time, just slid her hand around the back of his head and drew him between her legs, the slit of her skirt parting around her thighs to give him the space he required for his devotions.  He knew what to do, knew his role.

She paid closer attention to Jocelyn.  The other woman held her gaze; she couldn’t see the spirals Jake saw, but was riveted nonetheless.  Emily felt she should close her eyes and let her imagination drift, as she’d used to during cunnilingus, but she was getting more of an erotic charge out of watching Jocelyn watching her than mental fantasy pictures had ever delivered.  Her best friend’s legs were crossed and Emily could see her pressing her thighs together firmly.  The visual was so hot, coupled with Jake’s expert tonguing, that Emily gripped the back of his head and ground into him.  Joss gasped and uncrossed her legs, sliding the hem of her skirt upward to reveal unconscionable amounts of shapely leg, but stopped when she saw that Emily had noticed.  

Joss was biting her lip, looking at her with what looked like a request.  For permission.

Emily nodded, once, twice, and Jocelyn lost no time.  Her hand dashed its way into the depths of her panties, and her fingers began circling rhythmically; if they were not quite synched in time with the motions of Emily’s hips or of Jake’s tongue... well, they were in the same ballpark.  The vision of her best friend fingering herself right in front of her, the knowledge that the reason she was masturbating was an acknowledgment of Emily’s control of Jake, control of the situation, control of the whole fucking room... that was more than enough to push her into the throes of a colossal orgasm... of another, of firecracker climaxes the likes of which she’d seldom achieved before. Jake’s mouth greedily licked her slickness into his mouth, and the copious fluids of her intense arousal gave his activity a perverse and sloppy sound that in other situations would have embarrassed her but just now made her feel wanton and grind against his face even harder.

Jocelyn followed her over the edge, and while Emily had a best friend’s knowledge of her proclivities, she hadn’t expected Joss to be a screamer.  Or at least a heavy moaner; the noises she produced when her hand motions halted and her body tensed were as uncontrolled as they were raw.  They looked at each other as their panting leveled off and she gently made Jake stop.  Jocelyn lowered her hemline to normal levels, and Emily was about to follow suit... then simply didn’t.  After that experience... precisely what could she possibly have to hide?  And why should she want to?  She splayed her legs lewdly and let Jake’s head rest on her thigh, almost daring the other woman to look, or to say something.

Joss didn’t take the bait.  She calmly composed herself and wiped her hands on her blouse, letting out a sigh.  Emily had no idea what was going through her best friend’s head at this moment, but now was not a good time to ask, she thought.  Perhaps it never would be.

She looked back down at her beloved Jake, so soothed, so loving, so good for her, and wanted nothing more than to kiss that mouth, those lips that had brought her such pleasure, that always did.  “Jake, come back up now.  Come up for me.”

The blankness on his face left as he did come up.  His eyes moved around, seeing where he was, what condition she was in, he turned his head and saw... “Em?” he said, incredulously.  What... Joss?  Did I just...?”

Fuck.  No no no no nonono no.  Not now.  She gripped his chin with her hand as he tried to wrench it away, to look at the other woman in the room incredulously.  It was almost too slick with her musk, she almost lost him then, but she used both hands, she yelled to him, “Look, Jake.  Look at my eyes.  Look, dammit!” and he did. His concerned face went slack, and she guided him back to peace, to submission, to oblivion.  “Jake, darling, there’s nothing to be worried about here.  Nothing to worry about.  Nothing happened.  You don’t have to remember anything about what you saw.”  She knew she sounded frantic, even to herself, and slowed down.  “It’s just you and me in this room, that’s all.  Just you and me.  You won’t remember seeing anyone else, seeing anything else.  You won’t remember.”  The enormity of what she was doing hit her like a ton of bricks and she hedged.  “You won’t remember... for now.” Her voice cracked on the last word.  “Do you... do you understand, love?”

“I won’t remember.”

“For now.”

“For now.”

She let out her breath with the relief at his monotone.  “That’s very good, Jake.  That’s very, very good.  Now, I want you to go into our bedroom, and I... I want you to lie down in the bed and go into a deep, restful sleep, and when you awaken in the morning, you will recall that we... we made love and went to bed after... after Joss left.  Can you do that, baby?”

“Yes.”

Whew. “Good night then, love.”

“Good night.”  He stood up, less like a zombie than just someone who didn’t care what was going on around him, and walked into the bedroom.  They heard the springs of the mattress squeak and then nothing more.

“You...” Jocelyn swallowed hard.  “You... fucking erased him.”  Her voice was hoarse and held hints of something else that was hard to hear right now.

Emily wasn’t sure what to expect when she met her best friend’s eyes.  Horror?  Fear?  Disgust?

She wasn’t prepared for arousal, but there it was, plain and exposed.  And reverence.

“Not... erased.  Just... walled off.  Hidden.  Just... until I figure out what I’m going to do with it.  Just for now.”

“For now.  Of course.”  Joss stared hard for another moment, then shook her head as if coming out of a daze.  “I should... I should probably go.”

“You don’t have to, I mean...”  Her heart wasn’t in the offer, though, and her guest could tell.

“Yeah, I know, but it’s late.”

“Okay.”

The other woman stood and came over to her, placing a hand on her shoulder before kissing her forehead.  The whole thing felt like deja vu to Emily, though the faint aroma emanating from Jocelyn’s hand was new.  She wondered if she would be able to smell it on her blouse later.  “Bye, Em.  We should... we should talk soon.”

“Yeah, we really should.”  Both of them were looking at the bedroom door.  “Bye, Joss.”

Her friend left, closing the door gently.  Her friend, her confidante... her audience... Her co-conspirator?

Emily sat silently for a long time before turning off the light and joining Jake in their marital bed.