Cheating Heart Prologue And Chapter One (Patreon)

Prologue

“For you, my love.” Michael slid the box across the table until it rested in front of her, tantalizing in its simplicity; an ordinary black box, four or five inches long, made from hard plastic. She smiled as she flipped the lid up without hesitation and peered inside greedily.

    “Oh honey,” Veronica said, reaching inside and pulling out a brilliant gold necklace, it’s centerpiece a lovingly carved jade heart, “It’s beautiful!”  

    “Do you like it?”

    “I love it!” She said honestly. “It’s gorgeous! Where’d you get it?”

     “I have my sources,” he said with a mysterious smile.

    “The craftsmanship is so intricate… I wonder where it came from?”

    “There’s a story behind that,” he said, settling back into his seat.

    “Oh really?” She said, arching her eyebrow with a grin.  

    “Indeed,” he said, his smile sly and pointed. “According to the story, the necklace was created by a powerful alchemist, as a gift for his beloved wife on their anniversary.”

    “Ohhh,” she said coyly, “and this beloved wife… was she beautiful?”

    “Very,” he said smoothly, “the most beautiful in the land, or so the story goes. In fact, that was the problem...”

    “Oh? How so?” Veronica asked casually, sipping her wine.

    “Well, it seems that the husband got it into his head that his wifey was cheating on him.”

    “Oh, I see… and what did our jealous husband do about that? Hire a private eye?” she asked, vaguely amused.

    “Nothing so simple… No, it seems our jaded alchemist put a curse on the necklace,” Michael said, a hint of amusement in his voice. “Or so the story goes.”

    “Did he now?” she replied, smirking.

    “According to the guy who sold it to me, anyway,” Michael said with a laugh.

    “And what, pray-tell, happened to our unfaithful wife?” Veronica said with a derisive snort. “Did she turn into a frog?”

He chuckled. “No, no, nothing like that. He just… made sure that no other man would be attracted to her.” He smiled at her, “and that she’d be forever by his side.”

    “Well… how romantic,” she said with a sardonic smile, sipping her wine.

    “I thought you’d enjoy it, and I just knew it was going to look good on you. Come on,” he said, grinning, “let’s see it.”

Smiling, she took it from the box and inspected it a moment before slipping it over her head and draping it over her slender neck. The gold chain across her chest, and the stone shone brilliantly from it’s position just above her cleavage.  

    “Absolutely lovely,” He said truthfully. “Happy anniversary darling.”

They kissed across the table.

Chapter One

“I think he knows about us,” Veronica whispered huskily, cuddling up close under the sheets and sneaking another quick kiss to Eric’s soft lips.

    “What makes you say that?” Eric asked, tightening his arms around her, the warmth of her supple body against his driving him wild.

    “Oh, I don’t know,” she said, rolling away from him and pushing the covers away to reveal her nakedness to the room. “Just little things—he’s been acting so weird lately.”

    “How could you tell the difference?” Eric muttered, lighting up a cigarette.

    “I’m serious!” she half scolded, rising and crossing the room to her vanity. She fished the necklace out of her jewelry box, smiling lazily as her eyes traced the lovingly carved outline of the jade heart and the tendrils of gold playing across its surface. “He just keeps making these little remarks… and he told me the creepiest story at dinner last night.” She fastened the chain around her neck and admired herself in the mirror, nude but for the gold chain with the jade heart dangling against her bare skin.

    “Do you care?” Eric certainly didn’t— he knew he had nothing to fear from Michael… Christ, the guy was old enough to be Veronica’s father. Sure he was in shape, but Eric knew the old man could never stand up in a real fight—not that Eric was even worried about that. Violence wasn’t in Michael’s character, and he was hardly the sort to dirty his hands with revenge. Eric had seen the type before.

    “Of course I do!” she said, turning toward him. “I married him because I loved him… It’s just that…”

    “Couldn’t keep up with you, huh?” Eric said suggestively. Veronica flashed him a patient smile.

    “Don’t flatter yourself, lover boy... I just like a little variety, that’s all.” She turned back to the mirror, grinning to herself. He rose from bed and crossed over to her, wrapping his muscular arms around her

    “Do you want to do this another time?”

    “Hell no! We’ve only got tonight anyway; he’s back tomorrow afternoon.”

     “I guess we’d better make the most of it, then…” he slid his hands over her soft tummy, his fingers trailing down her front.

She broke away laughing. “Uh-uh, buddy! You promised me dinner tonight!”

    “Aw, come on!” he said, grabbing her hand, “just another quick one before we go…”

But she pulled away and dashed into the bathroom, her plump bottom jiggling adorably behind her. “Dream on, hot stuff! I’m starving! I can’t think about anything else until I get some food in my belly.”

    “Tease!” he said, only partially faking his disappointment. He stalked back to the bed and sat down.

    “I suggest you get ready,” she said, closing the door, “I want to get down there as soon as possible!”

     Unnoticed by either of them, the jade heart began to glow softly.

“Mmmm,” Veronica grinned, pushing another forkful of pasta into her mouth.

    “Good?” Eric asked, taking a sip of wine.

    “Delicious,” she said with her mouth full, and they shared a laugh.

    “Feeling better?” he asked, raising a suggestive eyebrow.

    “I seem to be regaining my strength,” she said with a coy smile. “I think somebody is in for a workout tonight.”

    “I think I’m up for the challenge,” he smirked, brimming with confidence.

Veronica smirked back playfully, and Eric felt his heart skip at her perfection. She sighed, lusty, playful, the epitome of sexy sophistication… a woman at the peak of her social and sexual powers about to flirtatiously seal the deal. In a few minutes, they would ask for the cheque, opting to skip coffee and dessert… they had another kind of after dinner treat in mind.

    “Me wike oo’s c’nfi-dence,” she slurred childishly. Eric narrowed his eyes quizzically at her. The baby talk was cute, but it seemed oddly out of place in the conversation (to say nothing of the fact that Veronica had never baby-talked for as long as he’d know her.)

    “Pardon?” he asked, not sure he’d heard her right.

    “Er… sorry,” she said, forcing a smile. “I, er-- I t’ink I might need a little dwink.”

She tipped her glass to her lips and took a quick sip of wine… which promptly began to dribble out between her lips, down her chin, and onto her chest. Eric watched, frowning, as Veronica vainly dabbed at the liquid with her napkin while it dribbled down between her breasts and stained her dress.

    “Veronica?” he asked, vaguely concerned. “Are you feeling OK?”

She wasn’t sure… Veronica had a strange, dizzy sensation, and she was beginning to feel a little disoriented. But she didn’t want to be a downer and ruin their evening, and she was sure it was just a passing sensation. So she flashed him a shaky smile. “I-I’m fine… I just have a wittle… er… a little headache,” she said slowly, taking a careful sip of water.

They continued their meal… at least, they tried… Veronica just couldn’t seem to hold her fork… or keep her hand steady-- consequently, she wound up with food smeared all over her lips and chin. Eric found himself staring, increasingly alarmed at her behavior. Veronica looked over at him, embarrassed by her behavior, but unable to help herself. It was beyond a shaking hand… it was almost as though she was forgetting how to eat properly.

Sensing her discomfort, Eric quickly flagged down the waitress and asked for the check. Across the table, Veronica was looking visibly distressed… her face was smeared with sauce, and the front of her dress had a large, reddish brown stain trailing down the front. Even her hands were dirty, and she (seemingly unknowingly) had left a large hand print on the front of her outfit. She looked down at herself, then looked to him, pleadingly, seemingly totally ignorant of what she should do next. Somewhat reluctantly, Eric found himself leaning over the table and doing a quick clean of her mouth and hands with his napkin.

By the time the waitress came back with the cheque, she’d been largely cleaned off and was almost looking like her old self… but her dress was still a mess, and Veronica blushed when she felt the waitress give her a long look. Even Eric was looking at her strangely, and she was squirming uncomfortably in her chair.

     “Um… Veronica?” he said, unsure what to say next.

She tried to respond, but she found herself mumbling around something that had been shoved between her lips. Glancing down, she realized that she was sucking her thumb.

Veronica practically spat the appendage out of her mouth, shooting Eric a frantic, helpless look across the table.

Eric paid in cash and quickly bustled her out the door.