A spot of paint on one of Mahui's tribal tattoos proved difficult to remove. Bob scraped at it with his fingernail when the washcloth proved itself unable to do the job. Suddenly, and without warning, she grabbed him by his arm. Inhaling deep as her grip tightened, she forced him to keep his hand in place.

"What?" he asked into her wide open, dark brown dilated eyes.

"Nothing," she blurted. "You startled me. That's all."

She released him, and he went back to scraping the spot with his finger. She grabbed him again within seconds, her other hand fluttering near her loins. He held her by the hips as she writhed, keeping her from accidentally launching herself off the chair and into the tub.

An amused look grew on his face as she shot hot glances at his body, it being clad only in grey briefs.

"Are you having an orgasm?" he asked.

"No! Just be careful."

"Uh-huh," he said, disbelieving. "Hold still now."

"Okay," she managed to gasp, closing her eyes tight.

The next lurch was undeniable. Mahui sputtered and twitched when Bob placed his thumb near her groin, bracing his hand on her inner thigh to scrape hard at the paint. Her pubic mound swelled as her vulva became engorged.

The scent of her pheromones filled the room. "You're cumming," he said with full knowledge.

Mahui grinned. "Well, maybe a little."

Bob gently squeezed her shoulders and placed his chin near her ear. "We'll leave that spot alone," he said with understanding. "You can work on it later."

Still in the throes of ecstasy, she rested her head against his. "Yeah. Thanks." she said after sighing.

The tender moment passed and he helped her to her feet, making her stand on a hand towel. Besides the washcloth and the soap, and a half-used roll of toilet paper, the tiny towel was the only thing to be found in the vanity. He used it to dry her feet and shins while she held his head with both hands, keeping herself from falling into him while he labored.

They both found joy in having his face so near her crotch. "Go to the bedroom and get dressed," he said to it. "I'll clean up in here."

After sensuously squeezing his head, Mahui did as she was told. Bob watched her silver pantied ass disappear through the door. He cleaned the yellow paint from the tub using the soap and towel, then joined her while dripping wet.

Rather than having gotten dressed, Mahui had folded both his clothes and hers neatly into small piles. They sat in a corner on the foot of the bed, while she lay on the other side with her head on the pillow. The scent of her hair and perfume mixed with that of fresh soap on her legs and the honey roiling her loins.

Bob breathed it in, enjoying himself fully. He carefully lay beside her, placing his head on the pillow near hers and angling his body so they didn't touch.

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"Do you think the party is still going on?" he asked, to share pleasant conversation while the air dried them.

"I don't care. I'm not going down there. Everyone's talking about me by now, with Benjamin crawling around on the floor, enshrining those stupid prints."

He looked at her bare feet. "Where are your shoes anyway?"

She pondered for a moment, then sort of half laughed. "I don't know. Where I left my glass of wine, I suppose."

Bob sighed. "I wish we had some wine right now."

Mahui glanced his way. "Me too."

She gently rubbed her knuckles against the back of his hand, until he made her stop by placing his on hers.

"So you're husband is Tuigamala, huh? Plays football for the Raptors?"

"Yeah."

"The season hasn't started yet. It's not even pre-season for another three weeks."

"He has to prepare," she explained. "You know. Training and playbooks and stuff."

Bob thought for a moment and released her hand. "I see. That must be tough." They lay in silence a while longer, before he turned to face her more fully.

"Were you brainboarding with him when we met? I mean, before you ran into the woods?"

Mildly perturbed, Mahui grabbed Bob by the wrist. "Are you bitwatching me?" she asked, searching for the electronic spying device.

Bob took back his hand. "I'm not even wearing one. I took it off so it wouldn't get wet."

"Then where is it now?"

"In the bathroom. Thanks for reminding me. Where's yours?" he asked after she huffed.

"Mine's in my purse. I left it in my car."

"Why? I mean, you know. People do usually wear them."

"I don't. I hate the thing."

"I don't much like mine either," Bob said for the sake of agreeing. "I almost never look anyone up. I'd much rather get to know them the old-fashioned way."

Mahui glared, trying to not be confrontational. Bob parried with a smile.

"You know," he quipped to disarm her. "By talking face-to-face."

"You will learn to hate your bitwatch, just like I hate mine." She stared up at the ceiling. "The more you brainboard with your mate, the more you'll curse the damn fool thing when the link is gone. You'll blame it for your sour mood, then people will use theirs to look you up, to figure out why you're pissed."

"So you were brainboarding with your husband just before we met," Bob guessed with certainty, since Mahui hadn't answered his question. She grit her teeth as he carried on. "You can be honest," he explained. "I was boarding with my wife too, throughout the whole fashion show."

He placed his hand again on hers. "Right up until we met."

"Uh-huh," Mahui said. "And so?"

"So I understand how you feel. It was the first time for me, doing it for so long, and while she was far away. It hurt when Tylene cut the link."

Bob felt Mahui's head nodding on her side of the pillow. "Yeah. It hurts when they leave."

Bob presssed for more information. "It's weird boarding that way, isn't it? When they're not in the room with you."

"You can't do it together without a therapist. You'll go insane with your mate in your head for that long if you're not with someone who knows how to help."

Bob disagreed but said nothing.

"It's easier when they're far away," she said. "Like talking on the phone."

"You know," Bob said with sudden realization. "At the fashion show my dresser had me take off my bitwatch to get the sleeves of the outfit I modeled to lay straight."

"While you were brainboarding?" Mahui asked.

"Yeah, and then I had to go to my car to get something, and I lost the link to my wife."

"I'm not surprised," Mahui countered. "You have to be near either her bitwatch or yours to keep the link alive. Who was dressing you?"

"His name was Steph."

"You'd think he would know better."

Bob stared quietly at Mahui as she calmly stared back.

"Does everyone know Tylene uses boarders?" he asked Mahui's close face.

"Sort of. It's kind of her secret thing."

Bob turned his head to stare at the ceiling. "It's not much of a secret if everybody knows."

"Just don't talk about it. She could get in trouble."

"I don't think it's that bad."

"Misuse of brainboard technology can cause a therapist to lose their license. Plus they may take yours away." Mahui rose up on an elbow to get Bob to look at her. "Not everyone is a big fan of married couples using them. If they knew how much we brainboard with our spouse, they might never let us link up again."

"Huh," Bob said to the ceiling.

Mahui returned her head to her side of the pillow and joined him in staring at the ceiling.

"And that would really suck," she said. "I'd miss my man so much."

"Yeah. I'd miss my Seas too."

"So please," Mahui begged. "Keep it to yourself. Okay?"