101 EROTICA STORIES by Vallen Green Read Free Book Online Page A

surprised and bitterly disappointed.
     
    “Is something wrong?” he asked worriedly after seeing the play of emotions on her face.
     
    “No,” she replied, sadness evident in her voice. “It’s just,” she trailed off with a sigh.
     
    “Just what?” he pressed on.
     
    “What does it say about my loving husband when one of his employees actually knows his wife better?” she asked sarcastically. The way she had emphasized the word loving made him want to laugh, barely managing to hide it behind a cough. “A ruby heart for my birthstone, a four-leaf clover for my Irish family history and a Batman charm because he’s my favorite super hero.”
     
    “And that you’re unabashedly in love with Christian Bale,” he quipped.
     
    “See,” she said with a scoff. “Marshall doesn’t know these things, yet you do.”
     
    Anthony kept silent as he watched her press her fingers against the jewelry. He had decided to buy her something that would have meant more than just some shiny new thing that she could show off, but he should have known that it would be so very uncharacteristic of a gift that supposedly came from Marshall Brooks. It was in having that thought in his head that realization dawned on him – Cassandra knew that it was him, and not her husband, who was behind all the other gifts as well.
     
    “I’m pretty sure that he thinks that a wedding, paying for gifts and having sex on occasion is all that comprises of a marriage,” she said, an edge to her tone that made him feel sorry for her. She raised her head to meet his gaze, a watery smile on her lips as she asked “Will you help me put it on?”
     
    He gently pried the box away from her grasp and plucked the delicate chain from where it sat. She lifted her arm and held her wrist out, her eyes cast down as he fastened the bracelet around it.
     
    “There you go,” he said, patting the back of her hand and guiding it to sit against her lap so she can see how the jewelry looked on her.
     
    “Thank you,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper. “It means a lot that someone actually listens to me.” Anthony opened his mouth to say something but opted to shut his mouth when she shot him a look. Cassandra touched the bracelet with her other hand, a wistful smile coming across her lips as her fingers traced each of the charms. “I’m not even sure if Marshall’s aware of these things, especially the Batman thing, or maybe even the Irish connection. My maiden name doesn’t exactly scream Irish, does it? Cassandra Adams – no, definitely doesn’t sound Irish.”
     
    Again, he wanted to go on his boss’ defense. The way she sounded as she talked made him think that sooner or later, she was going to end up saying how she wanted out of the marriage. And he could only imagine what it would be like once Marshall returned from his business trip only to find out that he was soon to be without wife number five. And given that he would have been the last to see her, Anthony mind end on the receiving end of his boss’ wrath. But while he felt a sense of fear in having to deal with his boss at a later date, his sympathy towards Cassandra kept him from speaking. So instead of saying anything, he kept all of his thoughts to himself as he listened to her talk.
     
    From how one upstart photographer met one of the most successful businessmen in all of the United States, to how he had pursued her, to how she had fallen in love, to how he proposed, to their wedding, and all the way down to how their marriage had come to a standstill – Anthony just took it all in without a single word escaping his mouth. He figured that in a marriage where it seemed that only one person gave a damn, what Cassandra needed most was someone who would just sit with her and listen to what she had to say and understand how she felt. And that’s what he did.
     
    At some point in their long conversation, they had moved from the bay window over to the couch; the almost