If I had my way, every morning would start like this—Adam, dirty-blond hair tousled and wearing nothing but a pair of striped boxer shorts, walking into the bedroom with breakfast on a tray and a red rose clutched between his teeth.

“Happy birthday, darling.” He set the tray carefully down on the bed next to me before leaning over to plant a long, slow kiss on my lips.

“Thank you.” I raised myself up to a sitting position while Adam pushed the plunger on the cafetiere and set about pouring two cups of coffee. The tray held a plate containing a couple of pains au chocolat, bowls of fresh fruit salad topped with yogurt, and a red envelope with my name scrawled on it in Adam’s messy handwriting. “You really are spoiling me.”

“Well, if I can’t do it today of all days, when can I?” He eased into the bed beside me and reached for one of the pastries.

I took a sip of coffee before turning my attention to tearing open the envelope. The card inside featured a simple, stylized image of a kingfisher—my favorite bird—and I set it on the nightstand. Just like Adam to go for something classy. I was sure to get more than enough cards with cheesy jokes and ‘30 Today’ slogans on them from my family and friends.

“Don’t take too long over breakfast.” Adam licked crumbs from his fingers. “I want to be away in good time.”

“Away?” I sat a little straighter, my interest piqued. “Where are we going?”

“Ah, now that’s a surprise. All you need to know is you won’t be needing your passport. Pack light, enough for three days, but make sure to include a nice dress for when we go out to eat. The navy one with the beading around the neck looks good on you.”

“Okay.” I reached for my fruit salad and dug in. Sun-ripened strawberries, sweet and juicy on my tongue, mingled with the creaminess of vanilla-flavored yoghurt.

Adam hadn’t given me any indication he was planning anything special to mark my birthday, apart from mentioning he’d do his best to take some time off work. I’d hoped he might be intending to spend the day in bed with me, but now I knew he had something more elaborate in mind. An overnight stay somewhere? Thinking about it, I couldn’t remember the last time we’d taken a trip anywhere. I kept telling him he ought to delegate more of his workload—why else did he employ staff?—but Adam had always been the hands-on kind of boss. A spot of rest and relaxation was more than overdue, wherever we might be spending it.

His breakfast finished, Adam pushed back the covers and clambered out of bed. “I’m going to take a shower,” he announced before heading into the en suite. I sat, coffee cup held in both hands, listening to the steady beat of water and trying not to let my mind drift to images of my gorgeous husband naked and lathering himself with the mint-scented shower gel he used. Tempting as the thought of slipping under the spray with him was, I concentrated instead on savoring my pain au chocolat, still warm from the oven, and wondered where Adam might be taking me.

* * * *

I didn’t linger over my holiday wardrobe, packing enough underwear for three days, a couple of thin T-shirts, my faded knee-length denim skirt, a loose-fitting shirt and the navy dress Adam had specified. I dressed for the journey in a strappy top and a pair of white capri pants. We were in the middle of a heatwave that was predicted to continue, at least into the following week, and it was far too hot in the city to wear anything other than the lightest of layers.

On impulse, I grabbed my vibrator and a bottle of lube from the drawer in the nightstand. After three years of marriage, our sex life might have well and truly gone past the honeymoon stage, but Adam and I still had a strong connection, even if work recently had left him too exhausted for much in the way of bedroom action. A couple of days away was just what we needed to make time for the games we hadn’t played in far too long—the ones where Adam took on the role of my dominant master, and I followed his every command to the letter. And if I dared to disobey those commands? Well, then things got rather interesting…

As I zipped up my wheeled suitcase, Adam came into the bedroom, dressed in a pale-blue T-shirt that stretched taut across his broad chest and a pair of jeans with rips at the knees. “Ready to go in ten minutes?” He tossed his car keys in the air and caught them. “We can check in any time after midday.”

“Of course. I just need to use the bathroom and I’ll be right down.”

He left the room, my case clutched in his fist, and I went to clean my teeth and apply a little tinted moisturizer and lip gloss. Satisfied with my appearance, I tied my hair in a loose ponytail, stepped into a pair of comfortable low-heeled sandals, popped my makeup and washbag in my handbag and joined Adam, who was already standing in the driveway, next to his sleek silver BMW.

He stowed my case in the boot while I made myself comfortable in the passenger seat. Already, the heat of the day was beginning to build, and he had the air conditioning cranked. Somewhere in the distance, a siren blared. I looked forward to leaving the crowded city, with constant noise and sticky nights that made sleeping so uncomfortable, behind and enjoying a little me time. Well, us time, I amended, as Adam slid into the seat beside me.

He adjusted the mirror, then turned on the Bluetooth stereo system and the dramatic strains of a Rachmaninov piano concerto filled the car’s interior. “Oh, before we go, I almost forgot…” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of black material.

I barely had time to register that he was holding a silk blindfold before he slid it down over my eyes, effectively blocking my vision.

“What…?” I began, but he put a gentle finger to my lips.

“I told you I was going to surprise you, didn’t I? Well, this is where it begins. I want you to sit back, enjoy the ride and leave everything else to me…”

I noticed a subtle shift in the tone of Adam’s voice, the one he always adopted when we played one of our games. Was this a clue as to what I had in store for me over the weekend? A delicious thrill shivered down my spine at the prospect.

With nothing else to do but follow my husband’s suggestion, I settled deeper into my seat. Thanks to the blindfold, I had no clue as to which direction he might be taking, or how long it would be before we left the city behind. Lulled by the classical music and the barely audible hum of the BMW’s electric engine, I let my thoughts wander. Where might Adam be taking me? I hoped for somewhere on the coast, with fresh sea breezes to cool the summer heat, and long barefoot walks along the beach. Or maybe he’d chosen one of those adults-only hotels, with discreet waiter service and high-end spa facilities. I smiled to myself at the thought of us sharing a couples’ massage or relaxing in a bubbling hot tub with a glass of prosecco on hand. The vision changed again, and now I pictured us glamping, spending time in a quiet forest retreat where we could get in tune with nature.

When the car pulled to an unexpected halt, I was jolted from a pleasant daydream where we were strolling hand in hand through a field of gently waving barley.

“Are we there already?” I reached up to pull the blindfold from my eyes, but Adam stopped me.

“Not yet. We’re just taking a little comfort break. Don’t even think about taking that off while I’m gone.” I heard the car door slam and assumed we must have pulled up at a service station so Adam could use the facilities. I wondered how busy it might be, and whether anyone nearby could tell I was wearing a blindfold. I itched to take it off, but Adam had given me an instruction, and I knew I would be in trouble if I ignored him. Although that might all be part of the game…

Even so, I did as I’d been told and waited for him to return. The music had changed to Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, one of Adam’s favorite pieces. I closed my eyes and let it soothe me, telling myself anyone who passed by the car would simply assume I had on a sleep mask and was taking a nap.

A couple of moments later, the car door opened. “I’m back. Did you miss me?”

I listened to the noises of Adam getting into his seat and pulling the door shut and waited for him to start the ignition so we could continue our journey. Instead, I felt him fumbling with the button fastening of my capri pants.

“Hey, what are you doing?” I tried to sit up in my seat, but Adam held me in place with one strong hand. “Somebody might see us.”

“Exactly.” He chuckled. “How many times have you talked about this, Molly? About me pleasuring you with someone else watching. Or several someones?”

As he spoke, he pulled down the zip of my trousers and slid his hand inside, so it rested over the top of my lacy underwear. He was right. One of my favorite fantasies involved Adam fucking me while another man—or men—watched us before joining in. The thought of Adam ordering me to please these unknown men in whatever way he specified drove me wild with lust. However, we’d never made any attempts to turn this into anything more than a story we shared to turn each other on. We’d watched TV documentaries about dogging—couples driving to some public spot so they could have sex in their car before an enthralled audience of strangers—and it all seemed a little seedy and full of danger. I’d never thought Adam would act on my fantasy and bring it to life.

Still, it seemed as if he was hesitant to go any further. “And you’re fine with this, aren’t you?”

I knew if I said no, he’d stop at once, and we’d be on our way. But as his palm lay warm against me, his fingers so close to my pussy, I didn’t want him to stop. “Yes,” I told him, my voice barely above a whisper.

As he pushed his hand down into my panties and parted my lips, slick with desire for him, I let out a little whimper. Adam laughed at my reaction. “Oh, who’s my naughty girl?” He stroked the tip of his finger over my clit, his movements slightly impeded by my clothing. I thought about easing down my trousers and underwear, giving him full access, but somehow that felt too risky. We could be alone, we could have other people nearby—I really didn’t know—and the thought left me on edge as much as it excited me.

“Do you like this? Like what I’m doing to you?” Adam’s voice was a seductive growl in my ear and something clenched low in my belly in response.

“Yes,” I managed to stammer out before his mouth landed on mine in a hard, searching kiss. If we had an audience, this was a show for them. He wanted people to see that even if he shared me for a little while, I was his. I responded to the rough press of his mouth on mine, moaning against him. Somehow, our surroundings didn’t matter. I loved what he was doing to me, two fingers pressing up inside me while a third continued to rub my clit in a figure of eight, and I reached over to wrap my hands around him and drag him even deeper into the kiss.

Pressure built in my core, stoked by the steady in-and-out motion of his fingers. I didn’t care if anyone might be watching as I moaned and begged him to keep going. In my imagination, men were coming closer, pressing their faces against the window, watching with rapt attention and shouting out encouragement as Adam’s skilled caresses took me closer to the point of no return. Almost before I knew it, I was coming, gasping out Adam’s name and clenching hard around his hand.

He pulled away and found a tissue to clean me up, then zipped up my capri pants.

“You can take off the blindfold.”

I did as Adam said. When I looked around, I was surprised to see we weren’t, as I had believed, in a car park surrounded by other vehicles. Instead, we were in a layby on what appeared to be a quiet country road, half-shielded from view by a low hawthorn hedge. The strangers watching, pausing on their way back to their cars to enjoy the sight of Adam bringing me to a swift, uninhibited orgasm—they had all been in my imagination. Though I couldn’t deny the thought that other people might have been there added to the excitement of the moment. Even now, a small, secret part of me wished Adam had been telling the truth, and we hadn’t been alone.

“You…you tricked me,” I murmured, glancing over to take in the sight of Adam’s satisfied grin.

“No, sweetheart, you tricked yourself. I just told you what you wanted to hear, and your mind filled in the rest. It’s a pity, though. The show you put on was worthy of an audience. You look so beautiful when you come.”

“Well, I hope that’s not the only time it happens this weekend. And maybe I can return the favor.”

“Oh, I’d expect nothing less.” He took the blindfold from my grasp. “Now, let’s put this back in place, and we’ll be on our way.”