Jessie could hear the back door banging lightly, randomly, in the October breeze blowing around the house. The jamb always swelled in the fall and you really had to give the door a yank to shut it. This time they had forgotten. She thought of telling Gerald to go back and shut the door before they got too involved or that banging would drive her nuts. Then she thought how ridiculous that would be, given the current circumstances. It would ruin the whole mood.

What mood?

A good question, that. And as Gerald turned the hollow barrel of the key in the second lock, as she heard the minute click from above her left ear, she realized that, for her at least, the mood wasn’t worth preserving. That was why she had noted the unlatched door in the first place, of course. For her, the sexual turn-on of the bondage games hadn’t lasted long.

The same could not be said of Gerald, however. He was wearing only a pair of Jockey shorts now, and she didn’t have to look as high as his face to see that his interest continued unabated.

This is stupid, she thought, but stupid wasn’t the whole story, either. It was also a little scary. She didn’t like to admit it, but there it was.