He was so angry and so aroused he growled, “What the hell are you doing?” but she just sank deeper into the water and said, “I want you to soap me up.”

“You what?” he exploded.

She shook her head at him and pinched her lips into a tight line of disapproval. “You heard me. Soap me up.

“The hell I’m going to,” he said, and she rose up angrily out of the tub.

“You big jerk,” she cried as water poured off her naked body. “I’m asking you to do one simple thing, and all you do is use blasphemy!” She made a fist and said, “Now get over here and do as I say!”

Zane leaned against the door, crossed his arms, and said, “Make me.”

Narrowing her eyes at him, Jolene stepped out of the tub. Walking towards him, she grabbed a towel off of the rack and threw it onto the floor in front of his black boots. Kneeling in front of him she undid the button on his jeans and unzipped the zipper, letting his c**k spring free of its overly tight confines.

Jolene had never taken him into her mouth before. Because she was such a novice, he’d never forced her to blow him, happy to sink into her tight, wet pu**y every night instead.

He was shocked by her new brazen behavior. His arousal was so acute he was afraid he’d shoot into her mouth the minute she so much as kissed the head of his cock.

Running her fingers up and down his penis, she stuck the tip of her sweet little tongue out and licked him once, twice, and then suddenly sucked in several inches of him, moaning as she did so.

Instinctively she reached between his legs and cupped his balls, massaging them as she throated his c**k as well as any professional courtesan might have. Zane knew he was a goner, but he couldn’t do anything about it, so he just threaded his hands into her silky blond hair and pulsed deeply into her mouth, gratified as she swallowed every last drop of his come.

He didn’t know how long it was before he was done shooting into the back of her throat, but his legs were shaking. He didn’t have the strength to fight her, to show her who was boss, so he let her pull him into the tub.

He lay back against the rim and she straddled him and kissed him on his mouth, tasting his lips, playing with his tongue, nipping at his bottom lip.

“Jolene,” he said, “I’ve got to tell you something.”

Her face fell and her lips quivered slightly. He couldn’t keep from laughing out loud.

Did she actually think for one minute that he’d break up with her?

Didn’t she know he loved her more than life itself?

“Stop laughing at me!” She pounded his chest with her fists.

He grabbed her hands and held them still, saying, “What I wanted to tell you, you little fool, is that I’m in love with you.

Jolene grew completely still, then said, “Say that again?”

He reached for her face and pulled her down for a hard kiss. “I love you,” he growled as he took her lips again.

Already hard again, he plunged his c**k deep within her, taking immeasurable pleasure in filling her pu**y with his shaft, in shooting his seed deep into her womb, in hearing her cry out his name.

Later, as she lay on his chest, with her head in the crook of his shoulder, she said, “I love you too, Zane,” and he smiled and said, “Thank god,” vowing to go to church again the next day, to give thanks for the woman in his arms.

Candace saved her file, quickly proofread it, and then printed it off for the contest. Sealing the envelope, she went to the post office and mailed it.

Knowing Charlie was waiting for her to come back to his house, she put the contest out of her mind, stuffed her deception and guilt away from her heart, and got in her car to drive straight to heaven.

* * *

The next three weeks were amazing. Candace and Charlie spent nearly all of their time together and had even begun to collaborate on an erotic novel together. Were it not for the black cloud of her dishonesty hanging over her head, she would have felt complete joy.

The problem was, every time she had an opportunity to tell him about her manuscript, she couldn’t bring herself to do it. He was so damn good—so sweet and loving and tender—she hated the thought of ever seeing anything but love in his eyes.

Candace was desperately afraid he’d leave her if he found out how she betrayed the promise they’d made to each other. What had happened in their lessons was supposed to forever stay in their lessons, but by writing Jolene and Zane’s tale she had broken that pledge.

As the days dragged by and she didn’t hear a word from the contest judges, she began to irrationally hope that her entry had gotten lost in the mail. Or perhaps if she were lucky, the judges had hated it so much they just threw it away.

If Candace had it all to do over, if it meant preserving Charlie’s love, she never would have written the manuscript.

Every day more of her clothes appeared in his closet. He wanted her to move in with him, but she told him it was too soon for such a big commitment.

A voice in her head said, You would move in with him in a heartbeat if he knew what you had done and said he loved you anyway.

Candace shook the voice off, and tried to stick to her story about needing more time. He was getting harder and harder to put off with each passing day, as they discovered depths of passion and love in each other’s arms that neither had dreamed was even possible.

Her heart sank into her stomach as she saw the thick envelope waiting for her atop her pile of mail by the front door.

Feeling like she was suffocating, she picked up the envelope and sat down on the bottom step of her staircase. Sliding her finger underneath the seal, she slipped the papers out.

Dear Ms. Whitman, the cover letter read, we are pleased to inform you that you are the Grand Prize Winner of the 15th Annual Erotic Writer’s Contest! We hereby request your presence at the awards ceremony July 3rd. We are certain you will be thrilled to receive your medal and $10,000 check from our secret celebrity judge.

The paper fell through Candace’s hands. “Oh my god,” she whispered, “I won!”

She jumped up off of the step and screamed, “I won! I won!” and ran into the kitchen to call Charlie.

She stopped as everything crashed down around her. She couldn't tell him.

Tell him now, her rational inner-voice nagged her.

Unwilling to risk his love, Candace decided not to tell him about winning the award. And now she needed to think of a good excuse for why she was going to be busy on Saturday night.