Treasured Submission by Maggie Ryan Read Free Book Online

eyes had vanquished the dervishes, replacing them with butterflies. The rapid flutter of their wings, almost as if they were delighted with tonight's subject, caused a not unwelcome tingle to begin between her thighs.
    Abigail's thoughts moved away from Elaine as she wondered whether this was what had been missing in her own marriage. Nick had proposed on the day of her high school graduation, and she had been positive that she had found the man of her dreams. It hadn't taken a year before she was forced to admit she had made a huge mistake. When she insisted on continuing her education, he had repeatedly told her that she should be concentrating on pleasing him instead of studying. Abby had tried to do both, succeeding in earning an English degree but failing miserably to make the marriage work. The night she told him she was thinking of accepting a job offer at the newspaper back in their small town, Nick had ignored her words but had rolled onto her and, after a few minutes of grunting as he thrust in and out of her until he came, had rolled off and announced she was not going anywhere. It was time to get off the pill and get down to the business of making babies.
    Having grown up surrounded by a family that loved her, Abby had been unable to visualize bringing an innocent child into a house without an ounce of love in it, especially in a strange town so far away from her friends and family. Sam had encouraged her to file for divorce, reminding Abby that she had been unhappy from the moment she and Nick had moved away. Abby had filed for divorce the next day. Nick's response had been typical to anything she seemed to decide. Shrugging his shoulders as he opened the refrigerator for another beer, he'd told her that he had a far better baby-making candidate just waiting in the wings, confessing without a hint of guilt that he had been screwing around on Abby almost since their first anniversary. Devastated, Abby had garnered every ounce of her courage and left, thankful she had a job with which to support herself, and grateful that she had someone who always seemed to listen and care for her. Sam had been there to keep Abby from falling into depression, insisting she had done the only possible thing to make sure the rest of her life was not as miserable as the past six years had been.
    Memories of Sam had Abby snapping back to the present. Why had this particular gift had been chosen? The two had grown up together and had always been able to talk about anything and everything. Why hadn't Sam talked about this evening's topic? What had Sam been thinking? There was no doubt in her mind that someone had a great deal of explaining to do. Once again Abigail's thoughts were pulled back to the discussion when she heard Dean speak.
    "I want to thank Russell and Karen for this next demonstration." Another couple stood and walked to the front of the room. Abby noticed that this couple was far older than Roger and Elaine. They both appeared to be at least thirty years older than most of the other attendees. She was surprised at this discovery but riveted to what was about to happen. Russell nodded to Dean and then turned to address the class.
    "Good evening. My name is Russell and this beautiful young woman is my wife of over forty years, Karen." Abigail smiled at the gentle way he held his wife close to his side, his arm around her waist. Karen gave a tentative smile and small wave of her hand to the class before looking up at her husband. Russell took her hand and said, "I know that most of you are just beginning your journey with domestic discipline. Karen and I have been living this lifestyle for our entire lives. We are from an earlier generation than any of you young people, and both grew up in homes where domestic discipline didn't even have an official name. It was simply the way a marriage was conducted. We chose to continue the practice in our own marriage. I just want to assure you that this has been a very successful path