[Author's note: Cassie's husband is cheating on her with a younger woman, Lily. Instead of confronting him, Cassie has been blackmailed by his lover into doing what she she's told. Cassie finds herself making strange, new friends, but are they here to help her, or to pull her further into submission?]
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RESETTING THE DYNAMIC
Cassie swilled the dregs of her coffee around in her mug while her mother talked. They were sitting in her mother's kitchen, the same as she had done every week almost without fail since Cassie and Damian had moved back home to start a family.
"Fine. I'm fine," she repeated for the second time.
"You're not. I know."
"I swear I am."
"Cassidy, you have never been a good liar."
Cassie folded her arms over her chest, instantly regretting the body language.
"If it's to do with you and Damian, just tell me. Heaven knows, I've had enough with your father. I'm not saying I have a degree in it, unlike you, but I know what I'm talking about."
Cassie sighed, playing with her mug again. It would be futile talking to her about Lily, about the cheating. She would go full mother hen and offer to storm over to Lily's apartment and deal with her, none of which would help.
There was only one way through this, and Cassie had a plan.
"Look, it would be a big help if you could look after the boys overnight on Friday."
"You going out?"
"No, staying in. But it's going to be a special night. I think it's what we need."
"Oh, honey, any time you want. You know that."
"Except cards on a Thursday."
"Okay, so any night apart from Thursday," her mother laughed.
For a moment, Cassie was caught up in a childhood memory of her blind, childish faith in her mother to solve any issue. Cassie reached out and hugged her.
"Thanks," she said, "It means the world to me."
---
Friday rolled around too quickly. Cassie had made her plans, choreographing the night's activities meticulously. She had dropped hints all week to ensure that Damian would be home on Friday directly from work, maintaining the fine balancing act between giving her husband enough information to ensure that he would be home on time but not enough that Lily's subtle probing over the week would clue her in to Cassie's plans for Friday. Lily could ruin everything, even with just the promise of a quickie after work. Cassie needed Damian fully focused on her tonight. The shadow of her nemesis loomed large over her plans.
Charlie was grouching about spending the night with his grandmother, but she managed to get them both in the car with their sleeping gear in plenty of time to drop them off as planned. She kissed them both as they stood on her mother's doorstep then dropped to her knees to enfold them both in a tight hug.
"Be good," she told them.
Be good, she thought as she drove home. Cassie was about to be the opposite.
She got home and went straight upstairs, stripping off her activewear and running the shower. She got it nice and hot, stepping under the torrent and letting it wash over her skin. Cassie paused for a moment, her head on the tiles as she felt the buzz of nerves in her stomach. Tonight was a big night; it had to go right. She had to show Damian what she could do. Cassie tilted her head up, letting the water spray onto her face, feeling a grim determination settle where the nerves had been. Yes, Lily was about to find out just what Cassie was capable of. That smug bitch was about to become history.
She took the razor from the little shelf and began to lather her body in soap, passing the blades over her legs until they were silky smooth, then turned her attention to her armpits. Cassie looked down her body, noticing the way that it had changed in the weeks since she had made the request to Aidan. Where before there was a soft curve to her belly, there was now definition. She contracted her abdominals and saw a ripple of muscle under the flesh. Her legs were no longer slack; her quads bunched tightly, giving her thighs a sculpted, honed look. She pointed a foot and saw how it trimmed her calf. It made her feel good; it made her feel powerful, at last.
Cassie's eyes settled on the patch of pubic hair between her legs. It was no time for half measures; she applied the razor, soaping up her crotch, working carefully between the folds of skin to go bare for the first time in her life. At last, she turned in the shower, directing the water over her bare crotch, feeling the sensation of the hot water over newly-sensitive skin as the soap washed away. She turned the water off and stepped out of the shower, drying herself meticulously.
Cassie looked at herself in the mirror, her eyes taking in the contours of the body in the reflection. Naked, toned, shaven: ready. She popped open the bottle of moisturiser and began to massage it into her skin until she was baby-soft everywhere, her fingers lingering over the freshly-revealed, smooth, pink skin of her mons as she delighted in the delicate sensitivity of her nakedness. She felt her arousal beginning to build.
In the bedroom, Cassie had laid her purchases out in the bed. Her fingertips brushed the leather, the nerves once again buzzing deep inside her. She picked up the rope, feeling the softness of its cotton threads as she drew it through her hands. Finally, she picked up the black satin eye mask. Tonight, Damian was going to see another side of his wife. He was going to find out how clever and inventive she could be, and how shallow Lily was in comparison.
Picking up the stockings, Cassie stretched out a leg and pulled one on, sliding the sheer black mesh up her calf and over her knee easily. She tugged the stocking top up her thigh until it was nestling just beneath her crotch on her smooth, bare skin. Her hand brushed over the material, feeling that curious sensation of touching without touching on her skin. It sent a thrill of anticipation through her. She picked up the other stocking and quickly slipped it on.
The outfit came with a thin, black satin g-string. She slipped that on next, pulling it up until the black material settled snugly over her pussy. The thin strip of fabric was just enough to cover her lips, and she was glad that she had chosen to shave herself: the effect was spectacular. Elated, she did a twirl, catching the reflection of herself in the full-length mirror on the wardrobe door.
The memory surged in her, but she repressed it. No, that woman cowering in the dark behind the door was history. The sexy, toned woman in the mirror would never need to go there again: she would retake her rightful place on the bed, beneath her loving husband, after she had won him back.
The bustier was next. She held it up to her chest, feeling the strange, cold sensation of the dark leather against her naked skin. The fastenings at the back were tricky, trying to direct each hook through its respective eye, but she could feel the tightness of the bodice as each one snagged into place. Her breasts were compressed together, a pair of soft pillows held in place by the patterned, black leather. She ran a finger along the valley between her breasts, imagining her husband's kisses there later.
The last piece was the black leather microskirt. She stepped into it, tugging it up over the opaque mesh of her stockings, wriggling her hips to pull the skirt over her bottom. Cassie tugged at the zip, feeling the compression as the leather became taut over her shapely buttocks. She smoothed the material down with her hands, her fingers brushing over the leather and then down to the fine mesh of her stockings below. Cassie closed her eyes and stepped into her high heels.
She walked across the bedroom with her eyes shut, brushing against the bed, until she stopped in front of the wardrobe. She could feel the tension in her core: finally transformed and ready to do battle for her man. Cassie straightened her body, brushing her hair back from her face, and opened her eyes.
In the mirror, she saw someone she didn't recognise. The blonde in front of her pouted, arms on hips, her gorgeous figure adorned with a sexy leather bodice and tiny matching microskirt that only came down to mid-thigh. Her legs were trim and shapely in their matching opaque black stockings, contoured and sculpted by the black stiletto heels. Deep inside, Cassie felt her body react: a thrill of arousal and a feeling of power. The ropes and the blindfold were for Damian. Tonight, he was going to meet his new wife.
She strode confidently across the carpet, legs swishing in her new stockings, balancing effortlessly on her high heels. She paused, then went over to the wardrobe, stepping inside to select a dark blue maxi-dress. Smiling, she pulled it down over her head, covering herself down to her ankles. Damian would meet his wife at the door and see nothing more than high heels and a hint of her stockings. She was going to have fun tonight, teasing him.
Cassie stepped out of the wardrobe and took one last look in the mirror, fussing with her hair until she had it falling around her face in untidy blonde ringlets. The plan was simple: Cassie would give Damian a night for the history books, and then, as they cuddled in the dark, their limbs entwined and their passion sated, she would tell him that she knew about Lily. She would ask her husband to make a choice: a full, rich life with his creative, stunning wife, or an affair with his harlot. She would deliver the ultimatum, call his hand, but only when she was sure she was holding all the cards.
---
She checked the time again: six o'clock. Cassie was waiting in the kitchen, leaning up against the table, enjoying the unfamiliar feeling of the blue dress against her stockings, the tightness of the leather outfit underneath. Cooking dinner had been hard, but she had resisted the temptation to step out of her heels, opting instead to prepare the coq au vin fully in character, ready for the moment her husband came through the door.
But six o'clock was late. A gnawing doubt began to grow in her mind: what if Lily had gotten to him first? Damian could have her astride him in the car, in the carpark right now, milking his manhood with her supple body. It was the one factor she hadn't been able to control, and if he came home to receive second helpings from Cassie, the effect would be ruined: she needed her husband to be begging for sex by the end of the night.
