Part 01 - First Steps

Elliot and Claire had been married for five years. They had met soon after Claire finished university. Their relationship wasn't perfect but it was a strong one. They made each other laugh. Traveled when they could and rarely went to bed angry. They were close. The kind of close where silence didn't feel empty and touch came easy. Soul mates is a term that is often thrown around but in their case it rang true. They were best friends and lovers.

Claire was 29, quick-witted and beautiful in that way that snuck up on people. Shoulder length chestnut hair and sharp green eyes that didn't miss much and softened when she smiled. She exuded a confidence that made her seem taller than she was. Elliot was 31 and handsome in a quiet way. If Claire was a 10 he wasn't quite there but was certainly an 8 or 9. Athletic but unassuming. His presence more steady than commanding. Not flashy, but dependable in a way that made people trust him. He was her calm and she was his fire.

They made love often. Passionately, tenderly, sometimes rough and sometimes slow. They experimented a little in the bedroom though not to any extreme degree. Their sex life was good but mostly vanilla, and certainly not prudish. But there was something Elliot had never told her. A thought that had lived somewhere between curiosity and shame since his late teens. Something he'd kept buried for years, not because he didn't trust her, but because he wasn't sure how to say it without changing everything.

"Can I tell you something?" he said quietly, fingers tracing idle circles along her shoulder.

Claire turned toward him, curious. "Of course."

He took a breath. "I've been thinking about something... for a long time," he admitted. "It's... hard to explain and kind of strange, but I want to try."

She smiled that small, teasing smile she used when she sensed he was tiptoeing around something. "Strange like... illegal? Or strange like sexy?"

He laughed nervously. "Somewhere in between."

"Now you've got me interested," she said, propping herself up on one elbow. She kissed the corner of his mouth.

"It's... something I've been thinking about for a long time. Years, honestly. It feels weird even saying it out loud."

She propped herself up on one elbow. "Okay... go on."

He hesitated. "I think... I want to see you with someone else."

There was a beat of silence. Her expression didn't change much but her eyebrows lifted slightly, not in judgment but in surprise. "You mean like... a threesome?"

He shook his head. "No. Not like that. Just you. With another man. And me... either watching or just knowing it happened. I don't want to sleep with anyone else. I just want to see you... really let go. Be wild. With someone who isn't me."

Claire tilted her head, searching his eyes for the joke. There wasn't one.

She blinked slowly. Processing. Not recoiling. Just... thinking. "You want me to cheat on you?" she asked, more analytical than upset.

"No, not exactly," he said quickly. "Not like you're doing it behind my back, unless you wanted to of course. I want it to be something we agree on together... but separate. I just want to feel that helplessness. To see you own it. Take control. Tease me with what you've done... what you're capable of. I want to feel what it's like to know you're doing it. That you're choosing someone else over me and I can't stop it."

Claire didn't speak for a while. She rolled onto her back, staring at the ceiling.

He waited. Anxiety building. Usually he felt like he knew exactly what Claire would be feeling or thinking, but after his bombshell, as she laid back processing what he had revealed to her, he really wasn't sure oif anything at this point in time.

"I'm not sure if I'm flattered or insulted," she said eventually, but there was a thread of amusement in her voice. "It's not something I expected to hear tonight," she said, her tone even. "But I'm not upset. Just... surprised."

He nodded. "I get that."

"And you've thought about this? Like really thought about it?"

"Since college," he said. "It's always been there, under everything. I never said it because I didn't want to scare you. Or lose you."

"And you really think you'd be okay with that?"

"I don't know," he admitted. "But I think about it. More than I probably should. It's something that has always been there at the back of my mind, from before we even got together. But it just feels like it has grown into something I felt I needed to share with you. We only live once after all and the more I've thought about it the more I feel like it's something I should at least tell you about and share with you."

Claire turned her head. "So what, you just want to feel jealous?"

"I guess that's part of it" he said. "But it's more than that. I want to feel helpless. I want to see you... in control. I want you to tease me with it. Taunt me with what I gave away while you get a new experience. Something different. Maybe something better than what I could give you."

She studied him. Not judging. Just seeing him.

She was quiet again. "So you want me to take the lead. Be more in charge... more sexually free. Like a hall pass, but you don't get one, while I could just go have sex with whoever I wanted, whenever I wanted, and just leave you hanging?"

He nodded, nervous. "Yes. Kind of. More... confident. More in control. I've wanted this for as long as I can remember, Claire. I don't even fully know why. I just know it excites me. It's not even something we would have to do. Just something we could explore and see where it takes us."

Claire rolled onto her back, letting the ceiling absorb her thoughts. She wasn't offended. But the idea felt strange. Empowering and intriguing.

"Would you really be okay with that? Me with someone else?"

"Who knows. Probably not at first but if we went down this route that would be my problem not yours." he said.

"Not that I'm saying yes... or no, but IF we did this, you wouldn't throw it back in my face?" She looked over at her husband.

"No, and if I ever did I'd expect you to shut it down. No question. My idea after all, right? I asked for it." He gave Claire a pensive smile. "Like I said, I just felt the need to share it with you. If you're not into it you're not into it, but I thought it could be something we could play with. Spice things up a bit."

Claire shot him a look of mock anger. "Not that we need it." he added hurriedly smiling at his wife who broke character and smiled back before reaching out for him.

"Okay," she said finally. "We're not promising anything. But I'm not shutting this down either. I want to understand it. Understand you."

He felt like he could breathe again.

And so, a new part of their marriage began, not with fireworks, but with curiosity.

She didn't say yes that night. But she didn't say no, either.

And over the weeks that followed, something shifted.

Claire began to lean into his desire like she was discovering a new side of herself. In bed, she'd whisper in his ear, asking who he imagined her with as they had sex. She'd tease him about her exes as they made love. Drag her fingernails down his chest and ask if he ever imagined her with someone bigger, someone rougher. His cock would throb at every question.

"You really want this," she murmured one night, straddling him, grinding against him, her voice smoky and curious. "You want me to use what I have... and leave you begging."

He could barely nod. "God, yes."

Soon, their games evolved. Claire began to speak more freely, slipping into fantasies he hadn't dared voice. "Who do you think would fuck me better?" she whispered once, lips brushing his ear. "Your boss? That guy from spin class? Or maybe..."

"... maybe our neighbor?" she teased a few nights later, watching his reaction.

Elliot stiffened. Claire's lips curled into a smile. "You know, I catch him watching me sometimes. He's tall. Built. Always flashes that smug little smile in the elevator."

"You've noticed?" Elliot's voice was a hoarse whisper, a mixture of dread and lust.

"I have now," she purred. "Would it turn you on... if I flirted back?"

He couldn't speak. She laughed softly, pulling his hand between her thighs. "I think it would."