It's Only Castles Burning Pt. 03

"I don't know," I answered, and then thought about sharing the conversation with Rafael, but finally I just repeated, "I don't know."

"Did we do the right thing?" she asked after another silence.

"I...I don't know. No. Hell, I don't know. It's so strangely alluring going in and so bizarre, so unbelievable coming out," I responded, and then added, "Did you...are you okay?"

"I feel very guilty," she answered.

"I was told you...uhhh...had a huge orgasm," I challenged her, recalling the prostitutes statement and wanting some details.

At first, she gave me a defensive look, but with a deep breath she admitted, "Yes...yes, I suppose it was."

"Which man?" I pushed.

"Clarence's was the big one," she clarified.

"You seem to like him," I said, letting judgment creep in for the first time.

"Don't go there. You were with Tanya again, and came inside her. She's not protected either!" she fired back, letting me know how much they had talked.

"Yeah...it wasn't smart," I agreed, feeling quite guilty now, too.

"Its obvious you want her. You left me at the bar to go to with her," she said in an accusatory voice.

"You were surrounded, and I felt awkward standing alone!" I shot back with a lame defense.

"And then you had sex with her. Was it good?" she asked,

"You had left with your men...," I started, and then decided it wasn't a subject I cared to debate. Instead, my thoughts returned to learning about the secret, so I tried again, "Where did you go?"

Allie eyes immediately found mine and for several seconds we stared at each other without speaking. I could see her mind was churning, and on several occasions her lips moved as if she was going to speak. However, each time she halted the effort. Finally, after a deep breath and a glance at the floor, her eyes returned to mine.

"It's not...you won't like it," she stated.

"Tell me. I want...need to know," I replied.

Once more, she went quiet for several seconds and stared at me before finally saying in a whisper, "I did something for Rafael."

"What?" I quickly responded, confused, but also feeling dread.

"I...I...with Tanya...we saw a man..." she started, and then paused. However, this time I remained silent and after an uncomfortable period, she continued, "We were with him."

Instinctively, I knew that Tanya's warning from long ago had been correct and my wife had been turned out by the Rafael. By her look and words I was certain that sex was involved and felt it was very likely that money had been a part of it, too.

I knew I should choose my words carefully, but in a split second a tsunami of emotion hit me and I blurted out, "What? Did you have sex with this man? What happened?"

There was a moment where I thought she might get up and leave, but in a forced, even voice, she answered, "I was with Tanya while he watched."

"You didn't...do it?" I followed.

For some reason, even thought she had been fucked to multiple orgasms by Rafael and Clarence, the thought of her with someone else was completely appalling to me.

"No, just your girlfriend, Tanya," she replied.

"Why, Allie? Why did you agree to it?" I demanded.

"I don't know," she said softly, and after a pause repeated her words, "I really don't know."

"Who was it? Tell me what this is about?" I pushed, realizing I was being made to pull out every detail.

"A black man...a foreigner. I think he was some kind of diplomat," she replied.

"Jesus Allie. This is all insane. Out of control! No more...EVER!" I said loudly.

"I know," she answered almost in a whisper.

Her statement defused my anger, and we sat together without speaking for several minutes before she got up and disappeared towards the bedroom. Needing time to think, I didn't follow her, and by the time I was ready to join her, she was already back asleep.

Later, I thought about contacting Rafael and confronting him about all that had occurred. Both Allie and I had been manipulated for his purpose and it was infuriating. In one single night, he very well may have destroyed our lives and I wanted to find out if it was for something other than his own entertainment. I was just about to head his way when another though struck me, and stepping outside, I found the saved contact on my phone and dialed the number.

"Hey," Tanya answered with a sleepy voice on the 5th ring.

"Hi, Tanya. Look, I was...uhhh...wondering if we could meet...you know maybe for coffee," I forced out.

"Now? Today?" she asked in a confused voice.

"Yeah...I was hoping," I replied.

"What time is it?" she asked.

"It's almost four in the afternoon," I told her.

"Shit...okay. Where do you want to go?" she responded.

We agreed to meet at a diner that we both knew, and when the call ended, I went back inside and started to prepare for the rendezvous. Fortunately, Allie was quite happy to maintain a separation, as we were both still struggling with events, so when the time came to leave, I merely told her I was going into the office for a couple hours.

I had been sitting in a booth in the diner for almost twenty minutes when Tanya stepped through the front door looking remarkably different. Dressed in simple jeans, a sweatshirt and minimal makeup, she looked far different than she did when she was dolled up in one of her sexy outfits. Still, she had a natural attractiveness than shone through and I stood when she arrived. We had just finished exchanging pleasantries when the waitress approached and while I ordered black coffee, she decided on a full meal.

"Uhhh...Tanya. Look, I want to talk about last night," I started.

"Afraid you knocked me up?" she replied as an impish smile came to her face that reminded me of Allie.

"Well...uhhh...no...I wanted to talk about my wife. What happened when you left with her," I clarified.

There was a clear look of annoyance on her face, and it took her a moment before she said, "What did she tell you?"

I explained the conversation we had when she returned home the previous night which included my wife's admission of an encounter with Tanya. As I explained things, I could see that she was becoming agitated, and after I finished, she immediately responded.

"She's full of it," she spat out and then continued with, "We played for about five minutes and then she got fucked. Got fucked good and loved it."

"What? She didn't say that...who was it?" I countered as my body went numb.

"Some African political dude I think, but who knows. I warned you," she replied, reinforcing my fears.

"Damn. Why would she do that?" I responded, although the words were mostly rhetorical.

"Why? Cause Rafael wanted to turn her out. Honey, your sweet little wife loves to get nasty and fuck, and she certainly likes black dick. Rafael has been talking about her with Shaan for a long time. That's why I told you about it," she stated, and when she saw me looking at her dumbfounded, she added, "Plus, he thinks you owe him for helping with your job."

"Help? He probably got me fired!" I declared.

"Not in his view. At least not from what Shaan says," she replied.

She had given me lots to process and after several minutes of quiet contemplation, her food arrived. Even though I had much more I wanted to ask, I knew if I pushed too hard she would likely be less inclined to talk to me when I needed information. So we had a casual conversation about other subjects while she ate her food. It was when she was almost finished that she shifted back to the subject of the sexual encounters and then dropped a bomb shell on me.

"You know you're the first guy to cum in me in years," she said, indicating I was something special.

As she spoke, her face changed until she was showing a vulnerable look. Knowing I needed to play it the right way, I took her hand in mine and stroked it several times before responding.

"Why, Tanya?" I asked.

"I don't know, maybe I'm just stupid," she replied and forced out a small laugh.

As I drove away from the diner, I realized that Allie, Tanya and I had all used the claim of stupidity to describe our actions. However, in reality, I knew it was just a false position to avoid the real reason, and if the two women were like me, it meant it was something they struggled to understand.

"What the fuck Rafael? Really why in the world would you do this after all the things I've done to try and fulfill your goals?" I asked, while fighting back my emotions.

It was Monday afternoon and I was sitting in his small office, ignoring the beer Tilde had set before me. Since talking with Tanya, I knew the next stop needed to be Rafael. Dozens of scenarios had played out in my mind about how to deal with him, but once seated I was unable to think clearly and just blurted out in frustration.

"What the fuck are you talking about?" the black man replied, although I knew he was completely aware of what I meant.

"My wife...my boss...what the hell?" I shot back.

"I already told you that you were going to get what you wanted with your legal business. Trust me, there ain't no worries there. Plus, you got to fuck the boss' wife! Shit my friend, you got your way," he said with a laugh.

"And Allie? What did you do with my wife?" I challenged him.

I wanted him to get defensive. I wanted him to deny his efforts, but instead he wore them like a badge. He grinned at me openly and showed no shame as he started to speak.

"The lovely Ms. Allie. Yes sir, that girl loves to fuck. I knew it was there and each time it gets better," he started.

"It's my wife you're talking about," I replied indignantly.

Ignoring my statement, he continued talking, "I thought it was time...thought she was ready, so I sent her out on a date with Tanya. Now, she was nervous about it, there's no denying that, but you could see how excited it made her, too. It took some pushing, but not as much as you think."

"A date?" I asked as if I didn't understand.

"Yeah, a date. A chance to have sex for money," he said as his eyes turned steely.

"You prostituted my wife," I replied, fighting the urge to leap from the chair and grab his throat.

"I gave her the opportunity. She spread her legs, and damn sure took the Franklins when it was over," he responded with a snicker.

"This is so fucked up...so goddamn fucked up," I answered as I felt all the energy draining from my body.

My mind flashed back to the beginning. To the evening with Allie when she tried to counsel me on the dangers I was getting into by agreeing to work with the black man. Our conversation had been about legal and ethical issues, and while those hadn't occurred, the outcome of my involvement was proving to be far worse. In a strange way, I had made a deal with the devil, and now I was going to lose everything that was important; my wife, potentially my job and certainly my dignity.

"It's over...no more of this shit," I announced, although it felt like I was merely speaking to myself.

"Let me remind you that you contacted me after making this decision before. So, don't get all high and mighty on me," he stated, and paused to let the message sink in before continuing, "Look at your boss. He's a freak, and let me tell you he damn sure ain't the only powerful man in town with secrets."

"We're not like that...and I'm worried about Allie. It's going to be hard to get her through all this," I replied.

My words brought a chuckle from the black man, and then he delivered another devastating message, "She'll be fine...trust me. She ain't worried about the sex...more likely about you! Simmons already asked her to be his lover and she was eager to say yes. Now, she was getting a thorough dicking at the time, but I bet she's still ready. Plus, now that she's been turned out, I plan to call on her skills every now and then. Maybe you can put that genie back in the bottle or maybe not...we'll have to see."

It was several more days before I saw Mr. Phillips. We passed in the hall and as soon as we made eye contact, I saw a nervous expression appear on his face. Just an hour later, I was summoned to his office and his secretary immediately closed the door behind me when I entered.

"Steve, it seems that we have something of shared indiscretions," he said, indicating the subject if the conversation.

"I...seems so," I responded nervously.

"Of course this is not ideal for either of us, but I hope I can count on you to be discrete. You can be certain you will have my silence," he said.

"Mr. Phillips, you can take comfort in the fact that I have no desire to share the information with anyone, nor does my wife," I replied.

My message appeared to lift his spirits and the tension in his body waned noticeably. There was an awkward silence that lasted for almost a minute before he spoke again.

"You now have seen first-hand why our client yields so much power in the community. He has an uncanny knack of always being at the epicenter of events," he explained.

I was filled with trepidation on the drive home Friday afternoon. All week, I had kept my knowledge of Allie's deceit to myself. It had been difficult and I'm sure my forced civility had not gone unnoticed. However, it was time for a confrontation and I had decided that the start of the weekend, when we would be together without commitments for several days, would be the best time.

There were grocery bags on the counter when I walked in and Allie emerged from the back of the house within seconds of my arrival. By her look, I knew she read the seriousness in my expression, so when I suggested we get a glass of wine and talk, she accepted it without responding.

"Look, there's stuff on my mind...a lot to discuss, but before we start, I think it would be best if we started with total honesty," I said, and when she slowly nodded, I continued, "I know you had sex when you left Rafael's"

"Yes," she answered immediately, with no attempt to deny it.

Her quick response caught me off guard, and I looked at her without speaking for several seconds before saying, "Allie...I...why? I don't understand. Why?"

"I don't know...it seemed exciting at the time. But...I don't know," she replied, and I could see by her body language that she was forcing herself to be assertive.

Again, I let her words sink in for some time before I replied, "Are you Simmons' mistress?"

Instantly, I could see her tense and a strange, surprised look filled her eyes. Amazingly, it was this question, rather than playing the prostitute, that caused the greatest reaction.

"Why..." she started, but I cut her off.

"Rafael told me you agreed," I forced out.

"That was just talk..." she started, but once again her mannerisms gave her away.

"Have you seen him? Since last weekend?" I demanded, once again interrupting her reply.

"No..." she stated, but my eyes bore into hers and she stopped, took a deep breath, and then admitted, "Yesterday."

"My God, Allie...my God. What has happened to us? Why are we even married? This is insane," I cried out, suddenly losing my control.

My words started an avalanche of accusations and counterclaims about who wanted to go to Rafael's, our individual indiscretions, motivations and what it meant to our marriage. However, she had no defense for her call girl action or her clandestine meeting with Simmons, which soon had her in tears. I had never been able to deal with her crying, so after several minutes, I took her hand and tried to console her.

"Why Allie? Just tell me why?" I begged.

"I don't know," she said once more, this time as she sobbed, and then after catching her breath she finally provided a glimpse when she admitted, "It was...it seemed so exciting...we were both doing it...and I guess I got too excited."

When I heard her words, I instantly went back to the messages that Rafael had delivered. I knew she was telling the truth, the black man had seen it and suspected what it meant. However, as he described, the difficulty would be putting the genie back into the bottle, which left me nervous about where to go.

"Allie, what do you want?" I whispered softly.

"To be married...to be your wife," she replied immediately.

So, there I was, with a crying wife on my arm stating clearly that our relationship was what mattered while the incessant voice of Rafael whispered in an irritating way that Allie was a needy woman that desired decadent sex.

"Did you have sex with that black...diplomat?" I said in a low voice.

"Did you cum in Tanya knowing she wasn't protected?" she countered, and with that, I knew that with Rafael it was all about constant manipulation.

"Yes, I did," I admitted.

"I did," she said in such a low voice it came out as a whisper.

Six months later, I made partner at Brooks, Snead and Dawson, the second youngest in the history of the firm. I knew it had a great deal to do with Rafael, but I sensed that it wasn't something borne of fear. Rather, in the eyes of the senior partners, I truly was a kindred spirit. Of course, Rafael demanded a celebration that turned into another decadent evening at his party pad.

Despite his stated goal of going legitimate, it began to become apparent that he wasn't going to give up his existing enterprises. It was a subject of several conversations at the law firm, but it was rationalized that we were only supporting the legal undertakings so my work continued. In fact, he had proved to have a good sense of value and these acquisitions were doing quite well, which encouraged him to do even more. Amazingly, my involvement with Rafael became something of a status symbol amongst the insiders in the community, and more and more I found myself being treated with deference.

"Where do you want to go to dinner," I whispered into the dark hair.

"Asian. Thai or something spicy," she replied.

An hour later, Tanya and I were seated in a nice restaurant having just ordered our food. My wife was with her lover, Clarence Simmons, and I had more or less made Tanya mine so I wouldn't be left home feeling stupid. It was an indulgence Rafael allowed because of the Simmons situation. You see, the night where I had unprotected sex with the young prostitute had indeed resulted in a pregnancy. At least that's what I was told, although when she claimed a miscarriage a month later, I had my doubts. In any event, word somehow got to Allie, who went apoplectic. She basically stated she was going to submit to being the black man's mistress, and now feeling hugely guilty, I was lucky to get her to agree to limit it to twice a month.

As far as the prostitution, I utilize Tanya to keep abreast of what's going on rather than discuss with Allie. She has told me of two other occurrences since the diplomat. One was a traveling business man while the other was a professional basketball player who kept her right up until the time he had to leave the hotel for the shoot around. Fortunately, Simmons isn't happy with it either and has put pressure on Rafael which has greatly limited things. Occasionally, I'll get motivated to try and put the genie back in the bottle, but knowing how she looks when she is getting ready to go to her lover, I realize it isn't going to happen.