Raymond Travis - The seductive sister-in-law

Stepping out of the warm driving shower onto a plush yellow towel, Betty Howard lifted her thick honey-colored hair from her long delicately arching neck and looked at her youthful reflection in the full length bathroom mirror with an involuntary self-satisfaction. It was hard not to be proud of the wide-spaced green eyes gazing back at her, slanted slightly above high cheekbones, blinking back at her with a growing amusement; it was exhilarating to be such a beautiful young woman and beneath her quiet and modest temperament she enjoyed it. Though she would celebrate her twenty-sixth birthday this very summer, her fully curving voluptuous body was every bit as firm and taut as a teenager's – high-set round breasts curving down over a slender girlish waist to round luscious hips; a flat smooth stomach and full-swelling thighs; breathtakingly curved calves tapering down to small well-formed ankles.

But a look of pained bewilderment clouded the green eyes and she let the long slightly damp hair fall to her shoulders with an air of weary discouragement. She stepped closer to the mirror, gazing searchingly at the picture of perfection, and almost wished she were not so lovely; in that context she might be able to make more sense of Kent's peculiarly indifferent attitude towards her lately. It had been over a week now since they had made love and she was willing to accept that as natural after three years of marriage. But even when he did approach her nowadays, she sensed a certain lack of fire. It was almost as though he were performing a duty…

A high feminine squeal of laughter from the patio interrupted this depressing chain of thought. Betty wrapped a soft towel around her naked torso and lifted one of the slats in the venetian blinds with a long perfectly manicured fingernail, peeking out at her brother-in-law and his new bride who had arrived from out of town just that morning. Her eyes narrowed and focused more sharply on the strange picture confronting her: Bob's lean and muscular body was spread out on the chaise lounge in white swim trunks that contrasted with his deep tan and set off his silvery blonde hair while the petite dark-haired Shirley, in a snug black bikini that was at least two sizes too small for her, was trying to sit in Bob's lap. Her lushly curving buttocks slid down onto his pelvis and his arms swooped out to grab her by the elbows and cast her off. But she laughed and bounced right back onto the thickly bulging protuberance now fully apparent straining against his swim trunks. Betty blushed and stepped away from the window, exiting quickly for the adjoining master bedroom. This wouldn't do at all, her mind raced while she pulled on her slacks and shuffled her feet into sandals. Not in front of their new neighbors! Still zipping up her tight slacks, she hurried to the kitchen for the coffee she had left percolating on the counter.

Another squeal of laughter erupted from the backyard as Betty set the coffee pot onto the kitchen table. She turned and faced the window, running her fingers nervously through a stray strand of soft blonde hair. She didn't have the faintest idea how to handle the situation and in a moment she would have to say something! Although they lived in a secluded area on the North Shore of Long Island, their nearest neighbors might see the goings-on across the well-trimmed hedges that separated the long spacious back lawns from each other. She had nothing against a little innocent love-play – God knows she and Kent had once done it – but there was something flamboyant and very unsettling about the way Shirley and Bob were pawing each other right out in public. Kent's younger brother and his wife had come to stay with the Howards a few days ago and were planning to move into a place on the other side of Long Island as soon as the apartment was furnished and redecorated. Meanwhile, Betty was beginning to wonder what she would have to put up with, and she sighed to herself and leaned out the window.

"Hey, beautiful," Bob's low voice echoed across the lawn before she could speak. "C'mon out and join the party!"

Betty filled her coffee cup, set it in the saucer, and quickly pushed open the screened kitchen door. The late afternoon light cast long cool shadows across the grey flagstone patio, but the sun was still bright enough to be dazzling as it reflected in the kidney-shaped swimming pool behind Bob and Shirley.

"Nothing stronger than coffee for you, Betty?" Bob remarked as she approached the couple.

"I think I'll wait 'til just before dinner, thanks," she smiled and relaxed her lithely curving back into a lounge chair in front of them.

Shirley smiled demurely at Betty and raised her Scotch to full sensuous lips. "It's really wonderful to be treated so warmly, Betty. I almost feel like I were part of the family."

"God, honey, you are," Bob said, and leaned over to his new wife and gave her a softly brushing kiss. "Mrs. Howard, this is Mrs. Howard. You have already been introduced, I presume?" he chortled, running his fingers under the straps of her bathing suit that cupped her large smoothly uptilting breasts in little more than a thin strip of black cloth.

Shirley swatted him away, but Betty felt herself blush as she had earlier when watching the couple's sex play through the window, and forced a laugh to conceal her embarrassment. "I thought we'd put some steaks on the grill tonight. How does that sound?"

Bob stared into his drink for a moment, then lifted his eyes and studied the snug apple-curve of Betty's full firm breasts that protruded tightly against her blouse. "I think that sounds as delicious as you look. What do you think about that, baby?" he said, turning to Shirley, who had raised a hand to her mouth, suppressing laughter.

Betty Howard stiffened in her chair, unable to cope with the suggestive conversation. This new salacious side of Bob's personality was unfamiliar to her, and she wondered if his new wife, Shirley, didn't have some influence on his actions. Kent's younger brother had always been known as the shy one and at times Betty had thought that the two of them might have been better matched than she and her husband. But now she questioned her earlier feelings. She stood up from her chair and, looking down at the two of them, smoothed her blouse into the waistline of her tight-fitting slacks.

She excused herself and returned to the house. Lord, they had unsettled her so that she did need a drink, she thought, picking the newspaper off the front porch. She fixed herself a Scotch and soda and sat in the living room, sipping on it and scanning headlines. Later, she noticed that it was getting dark, and she set the steaks out on the backyard grill and rejoined Bob and Shirley on the patio.

"I guess it's time for that drink we were talking about," she smiled, having regained her composure.

"Now that sounds more like it," Bob grinned back, and poured a tumbler of Scotch into an ice filled glass. "And while you're enjoying yourself with it, I'll keep an eye on the steaks."

Bob shifted off the chair and strode to the sizzling grill at the edge of the patio. Betty couldn't help admiring the sight of her brother-in-law's long sinuous legs and the boyish roundness of his buttocks as he turned his back to Shirley and Betty seated in lounge chairs across from each other. Yes, she probably had been jumping to wild conclusions about changes in Bob's character when he had made those playful comments to her an hour earlier. She and Bob had always been like brother and sister. She was just nervous because of Kent not being home and his odd detached behavior over the past few weeks. As she sipped from her Scotch, she felt more warmly disposed towards Shirley; even though the girl was something of a sex-kitten, she had a rambunctious liveliness to her that she would find quite charming in less tense moments.