Liz exited the shower and toweled her weary body dry. It was nearly ten in the morning; if she didn't move a bit faster she would never be dressed in time for brunch. Her clothes were housed in a walk-in closet that consisted of more square footage than the majority of apartments available for rent in her price range. There were pieces from every major designer and more shoes than she could ever wear in one lifetime. Ira insisted on it. He gently reminded her that she was now the wife of a very wealthy man. She was required to dress the part even though they rarely socialized. Liz realized that it was his way of showing his appreciation and affection for her. It made her husband happy and she learned to live with his generosity.
Ira did not require that Liz join him for breakfast each morning, but she always chose to join him on those mornings after their bedroom disappointments. It was important to her that Ira feel the genuine affection she had for him despite the sometime strangeness of their life together. Ford was a big part of that strangeness. Sometime during the night he'd silently slipped out of bed. Liz didn't have to wonder where he was. Ford was with Ira, in place as though he had never spent two hours mutely working her over, leaving her tender and exhausted.
Liz had been dumbfounded the first time Ford had come to her after Ira's failed attempt at lovemaking. It hadn't seemed real to have a stranger calmly inform her that he had been sent to satisfy her sexual needs on behalf of his employer. The Master, Ford calmly relayed, deeply regretted his .... inaction ... earlier that evening. It was his desire that the Mrs. not suffer the consequences of his efforts. The Master asked that his wife remember the vow he'd made when they married - that he would see to her happiness no matter what. It was in that spirit, Ford went on to explain, that he would act in The Master's stead. Liz had been so stunned by the man's matter-of-fact tone that she'd sat there open-mouthed. Ford mistook her silence for permission and began to disrobe. The sight of the butler's bare chest jolted Liz from her shocked state and she quickly refused his attentions and sent Ford away.
Some part of her held on to the hope that Ford had, for his own twisted reasons, created the story of Ira's desire for Ford to act as his sexual substitute. But attempts to talk about the situation with Ira were met with a swift refusal to discuss the subject and a pained, awkward departure by him from the breakfast table. Eventually Liz stopped asking for an explanation and simply turned Ford away. She continued to turn Ford away ... until the night when Ira managed partial penetration.
The very unexpectedness of it caught them both by surprise. Liz froze as Ira cried out in surprise and excitement. Eagerly he pumped his narrow hips, attempting to seat himself fully inside his young wife. The action only served to dislodge the inch or so of semi-erect penis he'd managed to insert.
The next half hour was spent futilely trying to revive Ira's deflated erection.
Maybe it was the sadness she felt at Ira's absolute dejection that led Liz to a decision that she would not normally have considered. Or maybe it was the self-loathing she felt at having sold herself to a man old enough to be her father. Either way, when Ford appeared in her bedroom that particular night offering to "service her" on behalf of the Master, Liz mutely complied. She'd bit her lip until it bled, unable to do more than clutch the fine Egyptian cotton sheets and try to withstand the power of Ford's cold, impersonal, bruising thrusts.
She had barely caught her breath from the first unexpected orgasm, Liz recalled, when Ford levered himself up from atop her and coolly stripped the used condom from his flagging penis. He strode into the bathroom and, much to Liz 's dismay, returned with a damp, warm cloth with which he began to bathe her still-throbbing flesh.
"I can do that." Liz attempted to take the cloth from the butler's hand. Ford shook his head. "I wouldn't hear of it, Mrs." Calmly he passed the cloth over her tender flesh several more times. "There, now." Once more he disappeared into the bathroom.
The reality of what had just happened began to dawn for Liz. Her neck grew heated and she sat up and awkwardly wrapped the edges of the sheet around her naked torso. She steeled herself to hold her composure until the butler exited both the bathroom and her bedroom.
As if summoned by her thoughts, Ford stepped back into the room. "Ford-"
"A moment, please, Mrs." ....
Ford retrieved another condom from the tray, opened it and rolled it onto his reawakened penis. He pulled the sheet away from Liz's clutched fingers and pushed her gently but firmly back onto her back. "I am," Ford informed her as he lowered his hard body atop her once more, "ready to continue."
End Note: Elizabeth Brant Goldman - Audra McDonald
