TEMPTATION SeXStoRY

Anyone viewing Judith Pritchard's life from the outside might have been forgiven for thinking she had nothing to complain about: a fine elegantly furnished house in a leafy suburb, with the almost obligatory swimming pool and three-car garage -- with cars of course. A husband, Magnus, who in his late forties was still a handsome man and obviously successful in business, although no one seemed to quite know what business, but it was usually reported to be "Something in the city." Then there was their son Payton, a fine looking boy somewhat after the manner of his father. By the age of eighteen he had not once been brought home by the police because of some misdemeanour, and his parents had never been called to the police station because Payton was there for some more serious offence. Payton had the added virtues of academic and sporting success at the expensive school his parents had sent him to. Every Sunday morning Judith, Magnus and Payton could be seen driving away at ten thirty for the eleven o'clock church service and at two o'clock in the afternoon Judith would drive herself to the church again to take a Sunday school class. Due to the success of Magnus' "something in the city" business, Judith had no need to work. In her early twenties she had graduated with distinction from the College of the Arts. The skills she had acquired at the college she now used to alleviate the ever looming boredom that threatened the leafy suburb women, who, like Judith, had husbands who brought home what once long ago would have been the bounty of the hunt. In short, Judith ran a few art classes for the local women. In addition she sometimes sold her own work, although the money was of no great matter. As well as the art classes Judith was heavily engaged in worthy charitable work, being chairperson of this, president of that, and secretary of the other. At the very personal level Judith had also been fortunate. Approaching her forties she was still a strikingly attractive woman. An oval face with a complexion that might be taken as a sun tan, but was in fact her natural colour; this suggested that somewhere in her past there was an ancestor with a dark complexion who came from warmer climes. Who that ancestor might be nobody seemed to know, but whoever it was they had served Judith well. Her features were perfectly regular, her upper lip short, her lower lip full. Her eyes large, dark, with a slightly solemn look, with thick eyelashes; and her abundant hair hung like two black curtains from a centre parting. Her figure was slender, and when seen in a bikini, long well-proportioned legs were on display, and as if in defiance of her slenderness her bikini top enclosed large beautifully formed breasts that in fact did not need the support of the top. It might be asked, how such a woman could find any cause for discontent in such circumstances, and certainly Judith, Magnus and Payton gave the impression of being a women's magazine ideal f****y leading a comfortable life. That indeed was how those who knew them or lived close by saw them to be. * * * * * * * * It has been said that if, like some divinity, we could lift the roof off houses and peer in, we would find that the idyllic image that is on public display might not hold up under such scrutinizing godly inspection. One is reminded of the serpent of temptation in the innocence of the Garden of Eden; the serpent that searched for the weakness in Eve; that weakness being the target for the serpent's enticement. Such notional serpents can be found in every human environment and circumstance awaiting their chance to strike, even in the seemingly paradisaical conditions of the Pritchard f****y; and let us be frank, that serpent of temptation does not in fact exist outside us, but is within us. The temptations arise out of our needs and desires and are fulfilled, if at all, when the situation seems most favourable. And so it was that Judith Pritchard was not the contented woman she presented to the outside world; but why was this so? The reasons might be traced to a number of factors. The first of these related to a problem many women face as they approach middle life. Stated simply, her marriage of some twenty years had become a habit, and in many respects a boring habit. Put bluntly Magnus has lost interest in the more intimate side of their marriage. Why Magnus no longer seemed interested in his attractive wife might have been because he sought his sexual gratification elsewhere; there are many men who seem to need this. He was after all good looking and financially well off, and this is frequently an attraction for young or even older women and a temptation for the man who is in that position. This however is purely conjectural, and his disinterest in Judith might have been some unacknowledged medical problem, or simply boredom with the same woman. Stated another way, Judith was a woman with considerable sexual needs, which needs her husband no longer fulfilled. The original passion that among other things had produced Payton, had from Magnus' point of view, died. Sadly this is a situation that many women experience, and the question is, what to do about it? One option is to seek a lover. This option often leads to complications and getting found out: the lover is seen arriving and leaving at regular intervals; the lover's car is seen parked where it is not expected to be; the neighbour who whispers in the husband's ear; the lover who wants more than an affair and eventually exposes his desire too openly, and even meeting a lover in a hotel or motel room does not guarantee that the couple will not be seen by someone who knows them. Given her otherwise comfortable circumstances, getting found out was not a desirable outcome as far as Judith was concerned, since it might mean an end to her life-style. Another option is masturbation, an option frequently adopted by sexually deprived women. This was the alternative Judith embraced. It did to some extent relieve her sexual frustration, but with its limitations it was for her not the "real thing" when compared to warm flesh and bl**d contact. To continue my serpent imagery, it was at this point the serpent of temptation saw the weakness, but it also saw another weakness and opportunity, but at first it moved cautiously. * * * * * * * * This temptation was centred upon Judith and her son Payton. Always the fond -- some might say overly fond -- mother, as her husband's sexual interest in Judith faded she felt no longer loved by Magnus. As an alternative Judith turned to the other object of her love, Payton. This alternative was well targeted. It was true that in his early teen years Payton had been rather embarrassed when his mother wanted to continue the hugs and kisses of his c***dhood days; but as the end of his teen years drew near and maturity took over, Payton not only came to accept his mother's desire for physical contact, but often actively sought it. If it is thought that Payton's desire for physical contact with his mother derived from an absence of sexual activity in his life, then this must be immediately contradicted. Payton had gone through that fumbling adolescent time of sexual experimentation with girls, and had also been fortunate enough to have had a delightful affair with an older woman whose husband was an international representative for a large company, and as a consequence was often away from home. The affair came to an end when the husband was promoted and was no longer travelling the world. The liaison had, however, been a learning experience for Payton during which he was taught how to satisfy a woman sexually. It was an experience that he could not have gained if his sexual partners had been limited to girls of his own age. This of course raises the question whether all young men should be introduced into their sex lives by older women, but this issue must be left aside as we pursue the events that took place in the lives of Judith, Payton and Magnus, and of course our imagined serpent. To be clear then; that Payton did not accept his mother's affectionate advances, nor did he seek that physical contact because he was sexually starved, it can therefore be said that he had a genuine love for his mother, and this found its outlet in their physical closeness. As Judith increasingly experienced sexual deprivation, and the more she felt unloved by Magnus, the more she turned to Payton for the affection she needed. What the initial sexual content of this was is difficult to say, but in almost every male/female relationship there is a sexual content, either by attraction, aversion, or perhaps eventually a neutral stance. It should be added that in gay relationships similar constraints apply. What Judith came to see was that Payton was attracted to her, but she was sophisticated enough to know that this attraction often exists in a mother and son relationships, and is usually a passing phase in the development of the son. Taking into account that Judith was approaching the dreaded forties, a time when women question their looks and their ability to attract a male, then to have a man almost half her age attracted to her gave her a much needed ego boost, even if it was her son. As Judith would now be the first to admit, she played on Payton's attraction to her, but at the time there seemed to be no harm in this. After all why shouldn't a son find his mother attractive, and for that matter why shouldn't a mother find her son appealing? It was with this realisation that Judith felt free to seek even more frequent physical contact with her son. This, perhaps, was the thin end of the serpent wedge. When she hugged Payton she could often feel his hard manhood pressed against her, and her vagina became uncomfortably wet as it prepared for penetration; kisses lingered longer, and sometimes she briefly agitated her pubis over Payton's hard and seemingly substantial manhood. Judith in her need both enjoyed and was frustrated by these contacts with Payton, but went out of her way to try and extend them, but in ways that she hoped seemed risk-free. For example, from his c***dhood mother and son had often swum together in the pool, and afterwards lain side by side on air mattresses, with Judith clad only in a bikini and Payton in rather brief swimming shorts. Nothing was different now, except that she noticed Payton paying increasing attention to her, her breasts in particular. For her part Judith could not but help see Payton's substantial erections that seemed to be inspired by her. Still nothing might have come of this because as part of her psyche Judith had a fixed idea about i****t and its powerful taboo, and she could never imagine a situation in which she might conquer this taboo, unless of course Payton tried to **** her, in which case she might...but no, that was not to be contemplated. Still the serpent of temptation lurked and waited; although the fact that the physical contact encouraged by Judith became ever more frequent, and that it became progressively more fervent, suggested to the serpent of temptation that the time to strike was drawing near. To use a common aphorism, because Judith enjoyed and encouraged the physical contact she was eventually "hoist by her own petard." Put crudely, the contact made her horny, leading to ever more frequent masturbation and sexual fantasies about Payton. * * * * * * * * How long this state of affairs with mother and son might have continued in the home environment is difficult to say. Certainly something would eventually have taken place, but what might have happened must remain forever unknown, because something intervened, something outside the home environment, to shape an outcome. It chanced that one of the women in her art classes had hired a houseboat on the River Murray for a fortnight. The woman and her husband had taken frequent houseboat holidays and she was given to pointing out, rather delicately, how romantic her husband became on such occasions. A few days out from the trip it had to be cancelled because the husband had been taken sick with pleurisy. Cancelling the boat meant the loss of the substantial deposit and during the art class she asked rather casually if any of them would care to take over the booking. The idea of taking over the boat had an instant appeal for Judith because earlier in their marriage she and Magnus had several times hired a houseboat. They had even thought of buying one of their own, but this had never happened. The thought ran through Judith's mind that if she could get Magnus away on such a trip it might restore some of the "romance" to their marriage. Alone on the houseboat and in one of the isolated places the river afforded, Magnus might find a renewed interest in her. Rather impulsively Judith said she would take over the boat for the fortnight's hire. Sadly her optimism was doomed to disappointment. Magnus would not go on the trip, using as his reason that he couldn't leave his business at such short notice, adding rather f***efully, "I don't know what the hell got into you, agreeing to take the boat." No amount of persuasion could move Magnus, and Judith, unusually for her, lost her temper and said, "If you won't come I'll take Payton." This drew sneering remarks from Magnus about Payton being a mother's boy, and if Judith wanted to take the trip with Payton it was okay with him, but don't expect him to pay for it. At those cutting remarks Judith resolved that she would ask Payton to join her on the boat. Payton, who was between high school and tertiary studies which were yet to commence, agreed to the arrangement, and Judith was not altogether displeased that her plan to get Magnus away for a romantic fortnight had failed. Her thought was that she and Payton would have a lot of fun. Plans were made, supplies bought, and all was packed into their Land Rover, and on the appointed day they were off. A river usually provides two alternatives for travelling, upstream and downstream. From the place they took the boat from going downstream meant travelling through several riverside towns and generally the more inhabited areas, and it was for those who could not bear to be more than ten minutes away from fast food outlets and other urban facilities. Upstream had far fewer inhabitants and long stretches of wild country, and the nearest town upstream was one hundred and fifty kilometres away. Judith and Payton elected to go upstream. At a cruising speed of eight kilometres an hour it took them a couple of hours to clear the more inhabited area but then they were moving into the wild country, and this was for those who enjoyed the peace and isolation; an isolation that became increasingly obvious the further they went. * * * * * * * * At around five o'clock they pulled into the bank and tied up. As the motor stopped a peace broken only by the sound of birds and the current rippling against the boat seemed to take them into its warm embrace. An evening meal prepared and eaten, mother and son sat in companionable silence out on the stern deck as the dusk closed in. A lone kangaroo appeared some twenty metres away to drink from the river; a large group of corellas went skimming and shrieking by to their night roosting place. It had been too late when they tied up for swimming or fishing, but Judith suggested that the next day they should stop earlier at a suitable place for those activities. That sat on in the growing darkness until a glow appeared behind the trees on the opposite bank and the moon rose slowly, bathing everything in a blue light and silvering the rippling water. As if by some mutual agreement mother and son rose and went into the boat interior and prepared for bed, each going to their own bedroom; Judith lay awake for a long time that night, considering her situation. For a long time she had hoped that Magnus would somehow be restored to her as a lover, but his refusal to come with her on this trip seemed to have finally drawn a line under the sexual aspect of their marriage. It was a sad conclusion but somehow it seemed to free Judith of certain inhibitions. She told herself that masturbation was not enough and her sex life was not at an end; she would not be denied and there would be someone to give the love she needed and that she was prepared to give. Masturbation might not be enough, but she had to masturbate herself to orgasm a couple of times, and her climax fantasies were a strange mixture of Magnus and Payton, before she finally fell asl**p. Her dreams that night were an extension of her masturbation fantasies, the mixture of Magnus and Payton. In those dreams she had her arms stretched out to Magnus but he was continually receding from her. Payton, naked and his large penis erect, was saying repeatedly, "I want you...I want you..." as Judith pulled back whispering, "No darling...no darling...we can't..." * * * * * * * * In the morning Judith awoke with a start, her vagina was wet with desire and her whole body seemed to be crying out for sexual love. She could hear Payton moving about the boat, and simply hearing him drove her into a frenzy of masturbation. Her fantasy no longer included Magnus. It was Payton who was penetrating her as she climaxed, and when she relaxed after her orgasm she wept because Payton had only been a fantasy and not the reality she so desperately needed. She could smell the aroma of her masturbating activities and rising from the bed she hurried to the shower where in the midst of showering she had to masturbate again. As she returned to her room she could smell frying bacon and eggs and Payton called out, "Breakfast's ready." The day was already warm and Judith, anticipating a swim later, put on her bikini and went to the dining and living area. Payton was just serving up breakfast but there was a pause when he first saw his mother. What she was wearing might be described as a bikini, but it was a very minuscule bikini which went by the description "string bikini." Anticipating that Magnus would be on the houseboat with her, Judith had bought the garment in the hope that it would seduce Magnus, and it had required Judith to spend time carefully removing all her pubic hair. The garment was hardly designed for swimming, but that had not been its purpose from Judith's point of view. It barely covered those two main erogenous zones, her genitals and breasts. It was small wonder Payton stared, but then Judith has reason to stare at him, or at least a part of him. He too had apparently anticipated a swim later in the day and had put on his swimming shorts. Certainly his shorts were nowhere near as sparse as Judith's string bikini; however, they were totally inadequate when it came to concealing the erection he got as he gazed at his mother. Their gazing at each other's barely concealed sexual organs lasted for about half a minute, but for mother and son it seemed to go on for a long time. Despite all the physical contact they had engaged in over recent months they had never been so exposed to each other, nor had their desires been so blatantly on display. The tension was broken when Payton suddenly returned to serving breakfast and Judith began to chatter uneasily about what they might do that day. The aim, they decided, was to travel upstream for an hour or two until they found a suitable sandbar where they could fish and swim. They seemed to be embarrassed in each other's presence as they tried to conceal their feelings, and so conversation tended to be disjointed. After breakfast Payton started the engine, the boat was untied, and they turned upstream. Judith seemed to be the first to recover from the emotions she had been experiencing, but the direction her conversation took indicated what was really going on inside her. "Darling," she said, "do you remember when we all went house boating together when you were little?" Payton said he did remember, adding that they had been happy times and he'd wondered why they'd stopped. Judith said that life had got busy and "When your father did have time for a break he always wanted to go overseas." That was true, but Judith now suspected that the intimacy of a houseboat was what Magnus had wanted to avoid. "Do you remember how we used to swim naked in those days?" Judith asked. Payton did remember, and asked why they shouldn't do it now since there was no one to see them. Judith added enthusiastically that, "You always feel so wonderfully free when you swim in the nude." That may be true and many who have experienced nude swimming have said the same, but some might question Judith's motives in raising the subject and Payton's in taking the matter further and suggesting they might do it now. The serpent of temptation must have been chuckling salaciously. * * * * * * * * A couple of hours travelling up river and Judith spotted a sandbar on a bend in the river. "There," she said, "there, downstream of that sandbar." Payton nosed the boat into the bank adjacent to the sandbar; they tied up and Payton cut the motor. As on the previous day silence, apart from bird noises, took over. The trees and foliage were thick on both banks and it was as if they were in a world of their own, their private Eden. Payton inflated two air mattresses on the stern deck and lowered the swimming ladder. Judith emerged from the interior of the boat carrying two towels. Hesitation was obvious. They had agreed they would swim in the nude, but neither seemed ready to strip off the little they were wearing. As if to delay the moment Judith said, "Darling, we haven't had lunch, do you think we should have it before we swim?" Payton, trembling slightly despite the heat of the day, took the initiative and saying, "No, I think its best if we swim now," he took off his swimming shorts to stand naked in front of his mother. His penis was partially erect and Judith gazed at it, fascinated, as she slowly removed her own sketchy swimwear. Naked in front of her son the effect on Payton was almost immediate. What had been his partial erection now became full blown. Judith's experience with the male sex organ had been limited to that of Magnus'. That penises varied in size had never occurred to her. Now, as she gazed at Payton's penis she was on a fast learning curve, they did vary in size, very markedly, and she wondered if she would be able to take a penis of that size into her vagina. With a sharp intake of breath Payton turned away from Judith and climbing down the swimming ladder struck out for the opposite bank. Judith watched him for a few moments, overcome by the emotions that were shaking her, then she too descended the ladder and began to swim, but not to the opposite bank like Payton. Judith, content to let the water cool her, swam languidly close to the boat, occasionally stopping to hold on to the ladder and look at Payton's progress. He reached the opposite bank and began the return swim. Judith climbed up the ladder and hastily drying herself she lay down on one of the air mattresses that were shaded by the stern awning. She heard Payton arrive back at the boat and through half closed eyes she watched him as he climbed the ladder. His swim seemed to have done nothing to cool his sexual arousal because his penis was still hard and erect. When he was standing on the deck Judith could see that his eyes were averted, not looking at her. He picked up his towel and for a moment he made a move to go into the interior of the boat, and then seemed to change his mind. He dried himself and then lay close to her on the other mattress. Lying on his back he closed his eyes and appeared to go off to sl**p. * * * * * * * * Judith lay on her side looking at Payton. His penis was still erect and in Judith's eyes is was beautiful. The serpent's moment had finally arrived, and inside Judith there began a dialogue between her serpent and her conscience. "Does the i****t taboo say that you must not touch your son's penis?" her serpent asked. "No," was the reply, "it says that I mustn't have my son's penis and cum in my vagina." "Then why not touch it," the serpent continued, "you know you want to, and after all, you made it, and just touching it can do no harm." "But suppose he wakes up?" "What if he does, you know that his erection is because he's seen you naked, and so why would he object if he awoke to find you touching it?" Judith saw the truth of this and reaching out with her hand she gently touched the tip of Payton's penis, feeling its smoothness and warmth. Precum was seeping from his urethra and Judith glanced up at Payton. His eyes were still closed and he had not stirred. With her forefinger Judith gathered a little of the precum and transferred it to her tongue, tasting the clear and viscous liquid. It was good and enticing and Judith took a little more of the precum onto her forefinger and tasted again. Once more she glanced at Payton's face. His eyes were still closed and Judith wondered if she might take the head of his penis into her mouth and suck the precum into it. "He'll never know," the serpent whispered. Judith moved to take his penis into her mouth and began to suck very cautiously. The precum seemed to flow more profusely and Payton gave a low moan and the serpent said, "It's all right, he's having a wet dream." This encouraged Judith to be less cautious and she sucked harder and wrapping her fingers round the thickness of Payton's penis she began to tenderly massage it. It was wonderful; she was fondling her son's penis and tasting his precum, and the serpent murmured, "You've wanted to do this for a long time so enjoy," and Judith knew this to be yet another truth. She wondered how Payton would feel about his mother enjoying his penis, and almost as if in answer she felt hands behind her head holding her to the penis and the voice of Payton, "Oh mother...mother..." Payton had awakened or perhaps had never been asl**p at all, and startled Judith tried to pull back from his penis, but his hands held her to it, and he spoke again. "I love you...I love you...I want you..." "He wants you," the serpent hissed, "you know what that means; he wants his penis in your vagina, he wants to put his cum in you and..." "No...no..." Judith's other self cried out, "not that, not i****t, it's taboo." "So whose to know?" the serpent replied, "A lonely place, no one to see or hear, and you've wanted it to happen for a long time; you've dreamed about it, and didn't you secretly hope it would happen when you asked Payton to come with you on this boat, the two of you on your own?" Although Judith had not consciously planned to seduce Payton, the serpent's words exposed a deeper layer of her consciousness. Yes, she had hoped one day to feel her son's penis in her vagina as they gave physical expressed to their love, but still Judith feebly struggled against the serpent; "It's forbidden," her conscience cried weakly. "No," the serpent said firmly, "nothing is forbidden here, all is innocence here, and you are free to fulfil your slightest desire." The hands behind Judith's head relaxed, and she drew back from Payton's penis and looking up at him she saw the light of love and lust in his eyes. He reached down and she felt one of his fingers begin to circle her clitoris, as he said, "Let me come in you mother, I want you so much." His lips closed over one of her nipples and sucked it. Judith felt hot waves of love and desire course through her and she knew she must have him, must have her son even if only this once. Judith, aroused even before Payton began his tender stimulation, gave voice to her one remaining doubt. "Darling, you're so big and I'm very small down there, be gentle with me." "I'll be very gentle," Payton murmured. Judith parted her legs and raising them bent them at the knees to expose her genitals to her son. Payton came between her legs and the head of his penis probed for the entrance to her vagina. Judith reached down and guided him into her, holding her breath as she anticipated the pain his penetration would cause her. As he had said, Payton was very gentle as he eased his penis slowly into her. There was no pain as her vagina expanded to receive the thickness of his penis, and Judith murmured, "It alright darling put it all in me." As Payton pressed his whole length into her he kissed Judith deep and tongue probingly, one hand caressing her breast. His penis began to move in her vagina and the penetration of his tongue in her mouth seemed to keep time with his thrusts into her vagina. Judith, long deprived of sexual satisfaction, and now enjoying that most beautiful of all sexual encounters, that between mother and son, she quickly felt the approach of her orgasm and with it a kind of delirium took hold of her, she broke from the kiss and she began crying out and giving voice to her deepest and most primitive desires. "Come in me darling...come in me...put your sperm in mother...fill me...make a baby with me...make me pregnant...I want you darling...I need you...oh God...yes, yes, yes..." She felt the pulsating of Payton's penis as he drove his sperm deep into her and heard his cries, "Ah...ah...I love you...I love you...ah...ah..." For Judith the world seemed to gyrate for a few moments and as she climaxed she wept for joy; this for her was the pinnacle of sexual encounters, love and lust as it should be. The most beautiful of all sexual couplings, that between mother and son. * * * * * * * * Post-coital peace descended on them but they did not separate; they wanted to extend the love and exquisiteness of their sexual coupling. "Strange," Judith thought, "it was never been like that with Magnus; as soon as he finished ejaculating in me he always withdrew immediately." Payton was looking down at her and again he said, "I love you," and then kissed her, his hand still fondling her breast, as if they had not just finished their sexual intercourse but were engaged in foreplay. Shyly Judith asked, "Did you like doing that with mother?" "It was fantastic," Payton replied. "No regrets?" "Never," Payton said. "There, I told you," Judith's serpent said, "no heavenly policeman has come to arrest you and you've had a wonderful experience, so now enjoy each other for the rest of the trip." With those words Judith's serpent departed, having fulfilled its mission. "And at the end of the trip what then?" Judith wondered, but the thought dissolved as Payton began to move in her again, bringing her to another climax as he poured his seed into her. This time when they had finished Payton did withdraw from her. Her vagina was full of his cum and as it started to seep out of her he took some of the sperm on his fingers and touched it to his lips, and then touched it to her lips. It was then the incredible happened, something Judith even in her most fantastic dreams had never known. Payton knelt between her legs, and putting his hand under her buttocks raised her genitals and bending over them, started to lick her there. This was an act of love like no other and the mere thought of Payton tasting and smelling their combined sexual emissions drove her into yet another frenzy of love and lust. She clutched his head to her, holding it until her brought her to another orgasm. As he withdrew from her she could see Payton's lower face coated with their juices and she took his face between her hands and started to lap them with her tongue, but this was not enough for her. She bent over his penis and taking it into her mouth, sucked and licked it until Payton ejaculated and she swallowed. "Yes, the serpent was right," Judith thought. It was as if they had found a new Garden of Eden in which there was no guilt, no retribution, only love and the desire to express that love in the most intimate way possible for a man and a woman. * * * * * * * * What Judith forgot and the serpent failed to mention, was that in the first Garden of Eden there was retribution. For Judith and Payton there was retribution but it was to be delayed as they, freed from all sexual inhibitions, enjoyed the fullness of their love and bodies. Travelling, fishing and swimming took a definite back seat over the following days, as mother and son, having once discovered each other sexually, engaged in a bacchanalia of intimate exploration, and having discovered every physical nook and cranny of each other's bodies they knew where maximum pleasure could be given and received; and they found it good. Somewhat like the Lotus Eaters of Greek mythology, Judith and Payton were devoted to pleasure and luxury, although in their case it was the pleasure and luxury of sex, not eating lotus flowers. In short, mother and son were almost literally lost in each other. However, this constant flow of love and its physical expression, perfect though it was, came to an abrupt halt on the day the boat had to be returned to its base. Mother and son had found in each other their sexual fulfilment, but from now on what had been done freely and fearlessly on the boat, would now have to be carried on covertly. This was not particularly difficult since Magnus was frequently away from home "on business." It did however stultify the freedom of love they had previously experienced. It might be described as an "inconvenience," but it was petty compared to what awaited them. Two weeks after their return Judith at first suspected and then was certain that she was pregnant. That the pregnancy was the result of copulating with Magnus was impossible since Magnus had not been near her sexually for months. Her pregnancy could not be long concealed and Magnus would know she had been impregnated by a lover. In order to hide the fact that her pregnancy was the result of an i****tuous affair it was decided between mother and son that Judith would admit to an affair, without naming the father of her coming c***d. Strangely Judith's pregnancy, which might in the circumstances have put off the lover's ardour, only seemed to increase it. Despite the difficulties mother and son both admitted that they were delighted by the impregnation, and this seemed to spur them on to even more frequent sexual couplings. * * * * * * * * The time arrived when Judith's condition could no longer be hidden from Magnus. Like many men who themselves are not above a few affairs, Magnus was furious. Strangely it was not the fact that his wife had taken a lover that infuriated him, so much as the fact that Judith or the lover had taken no precautions against pregnancy. Was that because Magnus wanted a justification for an affair or affairs of his own? Nothing can be said for certain about that, but it is notable that on the grounds of her pregnancy Magnus divorced Judith, and not long after married a girl half his age. The serpent that seemed to have disappeared did make a further appearance, and in such circumstances that might just cause one to think that it did have an objective rather than a subjective reality. It occurred when Judith and Payton gazed enchanted at their new born daughter. Judith heard, or thought she heard, the sound of sibilant laughter. Silently she thanked the serpent for leading her into temptation and thus enabling her to find the love that she had so earnestly longed for.