Checkout Girl

"You're not serious - that would be murder."

He shrugged. "More likely, if you caused any unpleasantness you would simply be put ashore wherever we happened to be."

"If I was put ashore then Sophie would want to come with me."

"Unless she thought it safer to stay aboard rather than risk ending up working in a Moroccan brothel," he said with a grin and for some reason I found myself smiling back. "So are you in or out - or do you want more time to think about it?" he asked.

Whenever Sophie and I fell out the biggest punishment that she could inflict was to deny me access to her delightful body. Over the years this had happened very rarely but that possibly only proves the effectiveness of the sanction. I could tell that my wife badly wanted to be on the cruise and if I vetoed it I feared a prolonged period on cold comfort farm - so although all my instincts cried for the answer to be 'out', I heard myself saying, "We're in."

Sophie got more and more excited as the time for out 'holiday' approached. She went on a spending spree that used up most of what she had earned on her back, buying very revealing evening wear, flimsy sexy underwear and the tiniest bikinis imaginable. When I queried the cost she just grinned and said simply, "You've got to speculate to accumulate."

All the male passengers made their own way to Marseilles where the cruise liner was berthed but a charter flight had been arranged to fly all the girls who would be aboard. Sophie and I arrived at Heathrow and checked in to join fourteen of the loveliest females that I had ever seen gathered together in one place. I think I have mentioned that my wife is exceptional to look at but in that company she looked far less outstanding than usual.

I set out on this cruise resigned to the fact that a lot of male flesh was going to be pushed up Sophie (not to mention the other associated activities that I preferred not to think about) but I believed that in the end it would all be worthwhile. If Derek's financial projection was anywhere near correct then we would have enough cash to cover the shortfall in our budget for well over a year and there would be no more need to steal or for Sophie to prostitute herself anymore. It was not the punters that I wanted to be rid of as much as Derek. The others were only passing meaningless incidents but he had established himself as a constant factor in our lives. It was as if he had become an equal partner in the 'ownership' of my wife, I as the husband with himself in the role of pimp, with all the privileges that entailed.

We went aboard fairly early in the day and once settled in our cabin, Sophie gave me the ground rules. "Five of the eight evenings I have to work but that leaves three others. Today I am going to spend with you and I am going to save all of the last day for us as well. That leaves one other day that could slot into the middle of the week sometime when I need a break. It's not compulsory to work afternoons but most of the girls are going to so I will too - in fact a lot of the girls are planning to put themselves on duty at every opportunity over the whole cruise."

Walking towards the entertainment room with Sophie for her first night on duty, I took an effort of will on my part simply to keep putting one foot in front of the other. The moment we passed through the door she hissed, "You go and find something to do," then stepped a few steps away from me and assumed a nonchalant pose as her eyes swept the room. Such was the imperative note in her voice that I obeyed without thinking but had not taken many paces when I saw three males already converging on her with a couple of later starters only paces behind.

It did not take long for her to disappear, arm in arm with a brash looking younger man. I almost ran to the bar and purchased a very stiff drink but when I gulped it down it tasted like bile. For the next hour I tried to keep my mind firmly concentrated on what was happening around me but it kept flooding with images of what Sophie must be doing with that flash git. When she left again with a different client almost as soon as she had returned, I realised that I was going to be in desperate trouble if I could not control my mind. My free berth entitled me to use of the girls so I began to wonder if the answer would be for me to pay my wife back in her own coin. As it happens, I was still staring sorrowfully at the point where I had last seen Sophie's departing back when a woman walked through the door and assumed that I was staring at her. She walked over, introduced herself as Louise and asked if I wanted company.

Out on the deck she asked which was my cabin and that put me on the spot. For some reason I found that I had a powerful inhibition against taking another woman back to the bed where Sophie and I were going to sleep, so I stuttered, "It's a bit awkward - can't we go to yours?"

"I'm afraid that I've got the same problem - my pal is already entertaining someone in there," she said, shrugging her shoulders. My first attempt at extra marital sex and already I had reached an impasse. I had absolutely no idea what to do until Louise looked up at one of the lifeboats swinging from its davit and said grinning, "Let's climb in there."

Now I admit that there was some excitement fumbling in the dark and the first touch of a different body. But that body was not as good as my beloved and once stuck into her my disappointed was compounded because there was no vibrancy - that tingle which Sophie's body seems to radiate quite naturally was completely missing. After about fifteen minutes (or possibly less), Louise began to gasp and squeeze my dick with the muscles of her fanny and this was enough to bring me off. At the time I thought I had got through to her and only realised as we were climbing out of the boat that she had simply used a professional trick to bring matters to a quick conclusion. As I helped her down to the deck, she said, "At least it's a first for me - I've never done it in a lifeboat before,," but then, rubbing her bottom ruefully, she laughed and added, " - all the same, I think I will tick that experience off as done and give it a miss in future."

I began fumbling in my pocket for some money but Louise shook her head telling me, "Don't bother, you strike me as a happily married man whose heart isn't really in it. Anyway, it was hardly the best fuck I've ever given."

It seems inconceivable after that, that I should try my luck with another female but I did. For some time after Louise I was able to watch my wife leaving to copulate different men with a degree equanimity but late in the evening the throbbing ache in my groin had returned. Just before midnight, a rather striking woman, sprawled herself on the couch near me and lit a cigarette. She had the longest legs that I had ever seen and her almost naked breasts were like two huge melons. In an instant I was overcome by lust and heard myself asking, "Are you busy?"

The woman stubbed out her cigarette with a look of irritation her face and without smiling asked brusquely, "Your cabin or mine?" I chose her cabin but the moment we were standing I realised that I had made a desperate mistake because in her stocking feet she must have been two inches taller than my 5' 10" and she was wearing five inch heels. I felt like a fucking dwarf beside her but I was committed. Perhaps she felt embarrassed as well because she stalked off expecting me to follow. At her cabin she opened the door slightly, paused and then said, "Shit, the tart I share with is already busy in there. It wouldn't bother me but the cow insists on keeping her business private."

I was about to tell her thankfully that we should forget it but before I could speak, she yanked open a door on the opposite side of the corridor, peered in and said, "This will do."

It was a linen store with wooden shelves on either side piled with sheets, towels and other laundry. The only other thing in the small room was a table. She walked forward, flicked her skirt up over her back, leaned her elbows on the table and splayed her legs back until her twat was the level that she expected my cock to be. There was not a stitch under her dress and the very erotic sight was enough to make me plunge straight in - but I very quickly realised that rather than a fuck she was only offering me a wet warm hole to masturbate in. It was actually far too wet - no doubt due to the men who had preceded me down that particular passage. I could have accepted the indifference but it upset me the way that she kept constantly looking at her watch - the whore no doubt knew instinctively that she would not get a good tip from me and was anxious to get out to find a better prospect.

I was awake and waiting when Sophie eventually turned up. She threw some money on the bed and invited me to count it. At a glance the notes all seemed to be twenties and a quick count told me that there were nine of them. Incredulous I went to the shower where she was already standing naked with the water cascading over her and asked, "Have you really been with nine different men tonight?"

"No - some of them gave me forty quid not just twenty. I've only had six - or possibly seven," she told me modestly.

Seven was bad enough. Unable to control the feeling that surged up inside me, I went back into the main cabin to make us a warm drink. As Sophie emerged wrapped in a towel, I had just started to gather up the bank notes that still lay scattered where she had thrown them. "Hey - this one is a fifty and it's wet through," I said with surprise.

Sophie laughed. "That guy was the last but one. He rolled the note up as if he was going to do coke and you can guess where he stuck it. He pushed it so far up that I had one hell of a job getting it out again - he stood there laughing as I had to squirm into all kinds of unladylike positions. I got my own back though - watching me had got him all aroused and he wanted to go again but I told the sod he would just have to get back in the queue tomorrow."

After lunch on the third day I went automatically to the forward sun deck but Sophie headed instead towards the rear having already told me that she had made one date from the night before and hoped to find at least one other admirer during the afternoon. It was a case of 'out of sight- out of mind' because I sat for quite a while soaking up the sun and drinking with no sense of stress. After a couple of hours I did feeling the need to speak to her but having checked both our cabin and the rear sun deck without success I accepted the fact that she must be busy quite pragmatically. I was back in the cabin when she walked in and called out "£350," as she headed for the shower. During dinner I got more and more uptight as the meal progressed because I had decided that it would depress me too much to try sex again with any of the other females and I had no idea how I was going to get through the evening.

We dressed and headed towards the entertainment room but half way there I said I had forgotten something and dashed back towards the cabin. This was just pretence - I just couldn't face walking into that den of debauchery at my wife's side and then have to part from her. I was only a couple of minutes behind but when I arrived it was to find that short delay was enough for Sophie to be already surrounded by men. She made her choice quickly and disappeared. Already trembling, I grabbed a drink and seated myself on a long couch in a position from which I could watch the door. I was wound up tighter than a spring and found myself checking my watch compulsively every couple of minutes.

Just under the hour my wife reappeared and I was flooded with an almost surreal feeling of relief but the sensation dissipated just as rapidly when she turned on her heal and left again with a different male arm possessively round her shoulders. "You've certainly got the hot's for Sophie," said a voice at my side and I turned to find a very attractive fresh faced girl grinning at me. "You are not on your own though," she went on, "I don't know what the girl's got but the men are like flies round a honeypot - or would 'dogs round a bitch in heat' be more apt?" I smiled acknowledgement of her remark but did not answer. "If you want her that badly then you ought to join the scrum - you never know you might get lucky."

I had intended to keep my own council but this was too much. "She's my wife and I'm the only bastard on board who's not allowed to go near her," I complained bitterly.

"You poor sod. Then why the hell are you on board - it's killing you." Emotion welling in my throat stopped me speaking and my distress prompted the girl to lean forward and put her hand on top of mine. "I've got a regular boy friend and we are going to get married but I wouldn't let him within a mile of this boat. I do escort work to pay us both through university."

"How does he feel about that?" I asked, felling instant fellowship with this unknown boyfriend..

"Well although he knows that I sleep with some clients, he thinks it is only the odd one but I screw them all if they want it. I save up several fees and then tell him that one rich client has given me the lot - I also let him think that the guy is pretty old and rubbish in the sack. This cruise for instance, Jonathan thinks it is a millionaire paying several girls £1000 to sail with him - he actually said to me 'than means it won't be your turn more that three or four times all week'. While I'm away I know he will play around, fuck a couple of girls and tell himself that it evens the score - if he knew how many different pricks I will have had up me by the end of the week he'd go stark raving bonkers."

"Yes but you are only doing it for the money. Just watching Sophie I can tell she is thoroughly enjoying having all those men after her - and I thought that she loved me."

"You are confusing sex with love. Contrary to myth it is men who make that mistake far more than women. A woman's instinct is to share herself around." The girl paused and said, "I've got to make the offer - would you like me to console you?" then when I shook my head she smiled, "I thought not - you are basically the monogamous type like Jon. Look I'm Faith and I'm reading anthropology at university

and I've got time to spare so how would you like a walk on deck - you can either unload your troubles or I can tell you all about my thesis on human behaviour - you might find it relevant."

"Thank you, I'd like that." I said. We walked right to the prow and leaned on the rail, watching the black water as it split on either side of the vessel.

"The conventional wisdom is that men and women are equally promiscuous," Faith began. "That theory says that men have a basic instinct to spread their seed as widely as possible and women are equally programmed to go with a lot of men trying to ensure the best father for her child. I think that is a load of crap. I doubt if a single male since the start of time has consciously thought about spreading his seed - a man's only imperative is to get his end away as often as possible. As for women - to ensure good offspring, wouldn't it make more sense to grab the best mate possible and stick with him?"

I nodded to show that I was following her argument and Faith warmed to her theory. "I contend that men have two opposed acquired tendencies but women have only one. The very earliest human societies were undoubtedly similar to certain present animal groupings such as sea lions, stags and wolves where only the dominant male is allowed to service all the females. So for untold ages, there were relatively few performers and for the vast majority of men sex was a spectator sport - unless they settled for buggering each other. They worked with the women, even fell in love but then had to watch while the big cheese fucked them. For these same millennia women got used to being part of a group of females all serviced by the same male and this explains why nowadays the wives of sportsmen, entertainers and other successful men can stay happily married for years to a serial adulterer."

We stopped to watch what we thought was a dolphin and then Faith continued, "Time moved on and it got more equitable with all males pairing off with a mate. But this did not stop the dominant male whenever he felt like it from taking any woman he fancied - the target's mate was simply chased to the corner of the cave where he had to watch while the larger male satisfies his lust. As for the woman, she may love her mate but this does not mean she won't enjoy being fucked by the dominant male and that's how sex and love became separated in the female psyche. Next we come to war - are you still with me?"

Once again I indicated that I understood her very succinct argument. "War has been going on almost continually somewhere for thousands and thousands of years and there are two common factors in all wars - men get killed and women get raped. Once again those losers who do survive as prisoners have to watch as wives and daughters open their legs for the victors. This endless repetition has imprinted certain instinctive behaviour patterns on behaviour - females are programmed to submit to any male who demands her and men are subconsciously resigned to having their women fucked by other men. I said earlier that males have two acquired tendencies and I would like to illustrate this. If you take a low level wolf and artificially promote him to leader of the pack he will take quite naturally to the position and immediately start claiming all prerogatives - I think this proves that both dominant and subservient roles are present in all males. In human terms, consider a man who has been faithful to his wife for twenty years but then wins the lottery - how long do you think it will be before he is dipping his dick into lots of willing women?"

"And the single acquired tendency of women?" I prompted.

"To spread their legs wide and willing whenever the situation demands it," Faith said simply, "But over countless generations women have developed a defence mechanism to held cope with being constantly forced to submit - they have learned to enjoy being screwed whether it is with their loved one or not. Most women faced with a problem that can be cured by dropping their knickers will quickly resort to that solution without even considering any possible alternatives. Over all time I doubt if very many women have managed to get through the whole their lives without at some time giving sex to escape from an unwanted situation"

I could see the relevance of the story to me and it did help me see my lot from a different perspective.

"Out of interest, have men developed any defence mechanisms?" I asked.

"There is one but I'm not sure that it is a good one. Many men with promiscuous wives convert the pain into a kind of masochistic pleasure and eventually come to take a perverted pride in their cuckold status."

I wished that I hadn't asked. "I've got to go but you are a nice man and Sophie is a fool if she drives you away," Faith said softly, leaning forward to kiss the side of my face. She moved away but then turned back to say, "You could try smoking - it might help." I was about to say that I had given up years ago and did not want to start again when I realised that she did not mean tobacco.

Back the lounge I investigated one of several pedestals dotted about the room. On the top of each was a dish containing white powder, another full of various pills and a small basket piled with generously thick joints. I grabbed a joint and very quickly found that it was to be my salvation. With the help of the drug I was able to sit and during the next two hours watch my wife leave in the company of two more men with the acid pain of jealousy reduced to just a dull ache in my gut. It even allowed me to cope with the following overheard conversation. A man sitting just behind me was saying, "Have you tried Sophie yet? The girl loves it - she is definitely one who is not just working her passage. I know for a fact that there had been four in front of me tonight but from her enthusiasm I would have sworn I was the first if I didn't know different." To this a second voice replied, "She's magic - I had her this afternoon. I don't usually lose control quickly but I came far too soon and I'm sure she was as disappointed as I was. Sophie could give a corpse a hard on. I'm not saying what she did to get me stiff again quickly but believe me - no woman has ever done that to me before."