"Alright, that should do it," Bragnae said after she finished screwing in a pole mount on the floor of her bedroom. "Now we're ready for the pole."

"Pole coming through," Maxwell announced as he toted it across the room holding it proudly as if it were the Olympic torch. He screwed the pole in at both ends until it was secure. "Well, what do we think, ladies?"

"I can't believe you wanted to put this in your bedroom, Bragnae," Hana said looking at the new addition. "It's so... obvious."

Bragnae laughed. "Well, I do want Drake to notice it when he walks in. Plus, the bedroom is a more intimate place for this sort of thing."

"I mean, won't your staff see it when they clean your room?" Hana asked.

"Bragnae can unscrew the pole, and take it off while it's not in use if she wants to," Maxwell suggested.

Bragnae gripped the pole with one hand, and started to walk around it slowly at first, then began an exaggerated sexy strut making her friends giggle. She was excited to be doing something this erotic after having to be so careful and proper when she dealt with press or anyone outside of her estate. It was refreshing to do something fun, like pole dancing, because it made Bragnae feel normal. She wasn't trying to impress anyone with these skills, except for Drake, so she was looking forward to learning and practicing dancing on a pole with her friends. She felt even better after Hana volunteered to practice with her. Bragnae loved how open she was to trying new experiences especially when it meant they'd try them together.

"Let's get started, guys!" Bragnae shouted with excitement.

"What should we wear to practice in?" Hana asked, looking at Maxwell for an answer.

Maxwell pulled back in surprise. "Why do you assume that I'd know?" He asked defensively.

Hana chuckled. "I apologize. I wasn't trying to assume anything. I just thought you'd know because you're the self-proclaimed Wizard of Dance."

Maxwell stood proud with a hand on each hip as he puffed out his chest. "Good of you to notice, Hana. And you'd assume right, because I know everything there is to know about pole dancing."

"Then why did you act so defensive just now?" Hana asked.

Bragnae stepped forward closer to them. "More importantly, Maxwell, how do you know everything about pole dancing?" She raised an eyebrow as she smirked at him.

Before he began speaking, Maxwell let out a big sigh rolling his eyes at them. "Okay, maybe not everything, but I know enough to help you with your project, Bragnae. I spent all last night watching tutorial videos on pole dancing. I'm going to be your instructor!"

"You are on top of things, Maxwell! You rock!" Bragnae praised as she patted him on the back.

"As if I could fail you guys with dancing? Alright, enough talk. Ladies, I learned that this is best in sports bras and booty shorts. The more skin you have showing the better!" Maxwell told them.

Bragnae and Hana looked at each other with raised eyebrows in surprise at his last comment, but they both shrugged their shoulders agreeing to his recommendation. "Hana, you can borrow some clothes if you want," Bragnae offered.

"Oh, that's okay! I actually have those things with me," Hana replied walking out of the room to change.

Bragnae was a bit stunned that Hana would own a pair of shorts, let alone booty shorts. She slipped into her walk-in closet to change her own clothes. Bragnae pulled on a neon pink sports bra and a pair of tight, nylon shorts that revealed a sliver of her cheeks at the bottom. As she checked herself out in the mirror, she thought about Drake and how much he enjoyed seeing her in this outfit, and others like it, whenever they'd work out together. Bragnae felt a twinge of sadness ripple through her thinking about Drake. It had been four days since he left for Domvallier, but she missed him terribly. Having Hana and Maxwell stay with her was definitely helping, but it was still a challenge for Bragnae. She and Drake hadn't been apart longer than eight hours since before they were officially a couple. They did almost everything together, and loved it. So, for Drake to be away from her for three weeks, it was a very big deal.

For the past few nights, Bragnae considered jumping on a plane to surprise Drake, and stay with him for a week or two, but she did have responsibilities here in Valtoria and with the Royal Council that she couldn't abandon. Plus, Drake was right. This would be a good opportunity to really appreciate each other while they were apart. The night prior, Bragnae indulged in the toy Drake left her as she let him watch her use it over FaceTime. She blushed at the memory. Despite being very comfortable and open with each other, doing things like that over the phone was admittedly a bit awkward. However, she knew it was all they could do with him being gone, and it was better than nothing. And Drake seemed to enjoy it, which was truly what mattered to her. Bragnae shook off her disappointment at Drake's absence, and opened the closet door to join Maxwell again. Hana walked back into the bedroom a moment after Bragnae wearing a red sports bra and black shorts that showed more of her backside than Bragnae's did.

"Hana, I never thought you'd have an outfit like that," Bragnae admitted. She noticed Maxwell look up from his phone and plant his gaze on Hana.

"I work out, you know. This is a great outfit for palates," Hana explained. "One could say the same for you, Bragnae."

"Touché," Bragnae conceded.

"Okay, ladies. Let's do a little stretching beforehand because I hear that this can make your muscles quite sore after a day of practicing," Maxwell suggested as the three of them began to stretch their bodies in various positions. "I think we should cover the basics today to really nail them down, and then tomorrow we can add more pole positions. Later on in the week, we can add flare to your moves, and start picking out a good song and outfit for you, Bragnae."

"Sounds like a great plan, Maxwell," Bragnae said, clapping her hands to pump herself up.

Maxwell moved to stand by the pole as the girls stepped back to give him space. "Okay, I wrote down a few key things to always remember when you are pole dancing," he began looking down at a piece of paper in his hand. "Standing on your toes is preferred as it makes your body look longer, and more elegant with your steps. The grip you have on the pole is also important. They call it a baseball grip, and it's supposed to keep you sturdy as you work the pole. You're also supposed to reach up high to place your grip – again to make your body look longer, but also to give you more room to shimmy with your spins," Maxwell said as he demonstrated his instruction. "And perhaps the most important thing to remember is to always throw your weight to the outside, opposite of the pole, so you don't slam into it while dancing."

The girls nodded in understanding as Maxwell continued. "So, let's start with something easy. It's a good way to warm up yourself and the audience. It's called an Outside Step. It goes like this," he said as he placed his notes on the floor.

Maxwell gripped the pole high with his right hand and began walking a slow circle around it. "You're going to push off on your right foot keeping it close to the bottom of the pole on the ground, and then swing your left leg around giving you momentum to spin around the pole. You'll plant your left foot on the ground close to the pole as well when you're finished with the step."

Hana raised her hand. "So, we're not actually spinning on the pole with this move?"

"No," Maxwell responded. "But you're giving the illusion that you are. It's kind of like a transitional move to an actual spin, but we'll get to that later. Give it a try ladies."

Bragnae stepped up to the pole first. She gripped it high with her right hand like Maxwell showed her, and lifted herself to her toes. She strolled around the pole once lifting her left leg as she pushed off on her right swinging gracefully around the pole. As she felt like she was getting the hang of it more with each repetition, Bragnae added a sexy strut as she came out of her step. She smiled at her small accomplishment as she received praise from her friends. She switched places with Hana who perfected the move as well.

"Great job, ladies. I have a feeling you both are going to excel at this," he said, taking the stage once again. "Let's try another move that is a sexy filler to help flow into the next move for your audience. It's called the Pirouette."

Hana perked up at the name as she eagerly watched on. Maxwell gripped the pole high with his right hand again, and brought his left leg up tucking his calf against his other thigh jutting his knee forward. He then moved to grip the pole with his left hand lightly. At the same time, he used his right leg to spin himself around dropping his left hand lower on the pole as he did it. He ended the Pirouette by gently leaning his body against the pole.

"I want to try this one first!" Hana shouted excitedly, moving Maxwell away from the pole briskly.

As he managed to balance himself after Hana's polite, but determined shove, Maxwell joined Bragnae to watch her. Hana took her starting position and nailed the move expertly with her first try. She repeated it a few more times with a big smile on her face.

"Who knew that something derived from ballet could be so provocative?" Hana marveled at her knew skill.

"Me next!" Bragnae said, making her way to the pole. She reproduced the position Maxwell displayed earlier, and tucked her head under her right arm spinning easily as she leaned back into the pole. She tried it again, but this time after she leaned back, Bragnae lifted her tucked leg out into a straight position dipping her head back as her long dark hair cascaded toward the floor.

Maxwell's eyes widened as Bragnae improvised her second dance move. "Wow... I like the flare you added, Bragnae. I didn't think we'd get to that until later, but don't stop now! I like where you're going with this."

Bragnae flipped her hair seductively as she pulled her body back into an upright position. "Drake is going to love this."

"Uh, yeah he will!" Maxwell said as he took a deep breath trading places with Bragnae. "Okay, are you ready to try spinning on the pole now?"

"YES!" The girls shouted in unison.

"I love the enthusiasm! Alright! This next one is called the Fireman Spin," he began. "You're going to set it up like the Outside Step, and as you swing your leg for momentum, you're going to grip the pole with your other hand, about waist level, and tuck both legs up gripping the pole with your knees as you spin down it. After you do one revolution, place both feet on the floor, and stand up as seductively as possible."

Maxwell demonstrated the dance move, and offered Bragnae the pole next. She eagerly stepped forward and walked around the pole once. Her left leg swung forward sending Bragnae into her spin as her knees held onto the pole as instructed. She allowed her body to make one full rotation as she planted her feet firmly on the floor below. Bragnae rolled her hips up as she stood to complete the move. Hana did the same surprising no one with her sudden skill for pole dancing.

"How are you feeling so far? Do your muscles ache?" Maxwell asked them.

"I'm feeling fine," Bragnae answered.

"Me too. No aching muscles yet," Hana added.

Maxwell clapped his hands together. "Alright! Let's keep going, then! We'll cover a few more moves, and start to turn them into small routines."

Drake stepped inside the small trailer outside of the construction zone to rest in the air conditioning after lending a hand to the painting crew who was down a few men for various reasons. Even though it wasn't a part of Drake's duties as a member of the Royal Council, he didn't mind helping the workers in order to meet everyone's goal of getting the complex ready for its grand opening. Unlike many other nobles in Cordonia, Drake was certainly no stranger to hard work. In fact, it was expected of him growing up. He developed many useful life skills as a child that continued to evolve as he became an adult giving him an advantage in surviving not only the courtly life, but when he was on his own as well.

"Son, you're going to have to make your own way in this world. You can't always rely on others to help you, so you need to make sure you know how to survive," Drake recalled his dad telling him. "I'm going to teach you to fish and hunt, how to use tools and resources around you, and how to protect your home and family. These life skills are important for any man to know."

Drake smiled at the memories of his dad that flooded his mind. These were the words by which Drake lived his life. Despite some of his father's lessons thought to be considered as tough love to some, he knew the advice and experience he was receiving was worth it. Although Drake never really saw himself settling down with someone before he met Bragnae, he always wanted to be able to do the same thing for a son of his own someday. Or even a daughter. He didn't care. Drake learned so much from his father over the years, and even though he felt prepared as an adult with all of his dad's passed down wisdom, he still missed his father terribly. He often thought about the things he'd wished his dad could see and do with him. He wanted his father to meet Bragnae, and his dad's grandson, Bartie. He wanted to share experiences with him as a grown adult, man to man, so he could show his dad everything he retained, and make him proud. God, I hope I'm making him proud. I hope he sees what I'm doing, and knows how hard I'm working for my family.

As he took a drink of cold water from a bottle, his mind raced over the never-ending to-do list for this project. Drake didn't think he'd be asked his opinion on what to do with unused lands in Domvallier, but when Rashad approached him the day he left for his honeymoon with Bragnae asking him if he could help decide the best option for the people of this humble duchy, he couldn't help but feel honored. Giving back to the people is what Drake wanted to do most with his new found role in his native-born country. Growing up as a commoner taught him many things, but most of all, he learned to appreciate the simple life, and he knew very well that nothing was handed out for free. As a member of the Royal Council and a Duke in his own right, Drake now had the power to make positive changes, and to continue the mission he and Bragnae decided to pursue by focusing on the people of this country. The hard-working people who were actually the backbone of Cordonia – the laborers, the farmers, the small business owners. These people, in addition to the monarchy itself, helped Cordonia to function and thrive. These were the people Drake sought out to help, to fight for. He wanted them to know they weren't alone, and if building a community Recreational Complex for them made a difference in their lives, then he was all for it.

The Domvallier RecPlex, as it would officially be called, was designed and built with the people in mind. Both Drake and Rashad wanted to honor the people of this duchy, and give them a place to unwind after a hard day's work, where they would have a designated place to swim, play various sports, exercise, play pool and commune with their neighbors. The RecPlex would charge only a small annual fee to its members in order to keep the facility up and running, but other than that, this place was meant to be an entertaining and healthy way to have fun in the community without draining the pockets of its citizens. The land itself was donated by Rashad and his family. Despite his friendship with several other nobles who look down upon commoner folk, Rashad actually shared a lot of the same goals as Drake when it came to the people. He had a vision of what a thriving Cordonia would look like with a happy king and happy citizens. Perhaps this was why it was so easy for Drake and Rashad to get along. Of course, Rashad had grown up as nobility, and some of his tendencies reflected that, but overall Drake couldn't complain. After all, he had seen worse, and compared to the others, Rashad was a breath of fresh air.

As Drake continued to relax, he heard the door to the office behind him open. He turned his head to see Sam walk in, and stop abruptly as she spotted his face.

"Oh, Drake! I didn't know you were in here," Sam said, startled. "I was just going over the inventory checklist. Looks like we received everything that was ordered for the RecPlex."

"That's good," he said as he turned back around. Great. Just keep walking. I don't really want to talk to you.

Drake listened for Sam to continue her path out of the trailer, but all he heard was silence. What is she doing? I'm just going to leave. Just as Drake lifted himself out of his chair, he noticed Sam start to move as well.

"Hey Drake, can I talk to you for a second?" Sam asked from behind him.

Drake sighed internally. Now what? I swear to God, if you try to hit on me again... "What's up?" he asked plainly as he turned slowly to face her.

Sam took a moment before she spoke. "I just wanted to apologize for what I said to you at your estate last week," she said fidgeting with a paper in her hand. "It was completely uncalled for, and it was unspeakably rude of me to say."

"Not to mention disrespectful to me and my wife," Drake added with a stern tone.

Sam looked down at her shoes swallowing hard. "Yes, it was. I'm ashamed of my behavior."

Yeah, I fucking doubt that.

Sam caught Drake's eyes again as she spoke next. "Since we still have to work together for the next couple of weeks, I would appreciate it if we could move past this. I'd like to work with you without it being awkward," Sam said, leaning her body against a table that separated them. "So, what do you say? Do you forgive me?" She offered him a soft smile.

Drake eyed Sam cautiously as she spoke. Her words did not match her body language. As she pressed herself against the table in front of her, Drake noticed that she also slightly pushed her breasts out towards him in her skin tight navy dress. You probably don't think I notice what you're doing, but I do. I don't believe you for a second. But for the sake of ending this conversation, I'll agree to that.

"As long as you don't ever forget that I'm a happily married man, then sure. All is forgiven," he said firmly. For now... unless you do something stupid again.

Drake watched a smile spread across her face. "I won't be making that mistake again. Thank you, Drake. That means a lot to me."

Drake nodded in her direction. "Well, I'm going to get back to work."

"As will I. I'll see you around," Sam said, picking up a pile of papers, and walked back into the office.

Drake shook his head and made his way to the door of the trailer. He looked at his watch. Only a few more hours until I'm finished, and then I can call Bragnae.

"Shit!" Bragnae cried as she crashed to the floor.

"And... that's why we added the mat," Maxwell said as he hurriedly helped Bragnae up. "Do you want to try that one again, or is falling twice enough for one day?"

Bragnae gritted her teeth and rolled her shoulders. Her back was on fire from two straight falls she had after attempting the Air Inverted move, which was supposed to end with her holding onto the pole with both hands as she hung upside down with her legs spread wide on either side of the metal rod. Instead, as soon as she threw her weight up over herself, she also threw off her balance and fell to the ground.

"No, I want to try it again. Third times a charm, right?" Bragnae brushed off the pain she felt, and took a deep breath before placing her hands on the pole again.

Maxwell and Hana stood back and watched cautiously as Bragnae hoisted herself up once more. She used her core muscles to lift her legs up as she slowly tilted her upper body back allowing her straightened legs to fall above her. Bragnae tightened her grip on the pole as she parted her legs on either side holding her body steady. She hung there for a few seconds until she slowly lowered her legs back towards the floor with her upper half to follow. With her feet placed delicately back on the mat, Bragnae smiled and raised her arms in victory.

"Great job, Bragnae!" Hana cheered.

"You are one determined lady," Maxwell stated. "Now that you've gotten that move down, it will help you get into other inverted positions. Why don't you take a break from that, and show us the Outside Step with an Arch again."

Bragnae moved around the pole pushing off with her right leg allowing her left leg to swing her body around quickly as she dipped herself back. She arched her back and pushed her pelvis toward the ceiling with her toes while letting one hand fall above her head, still holding onto the pole with the other. After a few moments, Bragnae slowly dropped to the floor letting her muscles rest.

"I think we should call it a day. What do you say, ladies?" Maxwell asked.

"Sounds like a good idea. We don't want to break Bragnae," Hana said, looking over at her friend who was still resting on the mat.

"Yeah," Bragnae said, finally sitting up. "If we want to do this again tomorrow, we're going to need to stop now."

"And I'm starving," Hana added.

"Ooh! I'll order a pizza!" Maxwell whipped out his phone and pulled up a search engine.

As the girls went their separate ways to change their clothes, Maxwell placed an order for a pizza to be delivered. Before long, dinner arrived, and the three friends set up camp in the theater room. Instead of sitting on the reclining chairs, they decided to sit on the floor together, picnic style. Hana grabbed a blanket and laid it down on the floor as Bragnae grabbed a few pillows.

"I've got the pizza!" Maxwell attempted to say with a mouth full of food.

"Hey, Bragnae, when does your staff return?" Hana inquired. "Not that we need them, but I was curious since they haven't been around the past few days."

"Drake and I gave them a month of paid time off while he was away," she began. "We figured since I'd have you guys here, and Drake and I would want some privacy when he returned, we'd just give them this time off."

"Wow, a whole month. I bet they don't mind that at all," Maxwell commented.

"Well, what should we watch?" Hana asked eagerly as she settled into her spot on the floor.

Bragnae skipped over to the shelves that housed her and Drake's movie collection and began her search. "Maxwell, are you down for a chick-flick?" Bragnae asked hopefully.

"Sure! You know I don't care. I love all movies, except maybe the really scary ones. Other than that, bring it on," he explained.

"I trust your taste in movies, Bragnae. Whatever you want is good with me too," Hana chimed in.

Thinking back to her first night without Drake, Bragnae remembered a few movies she couldn't quite bring herself to watch in her then fragile state. Hmmm. Which one should we start with? How about a classic from my time. She grabbed a movie from the shelf and popped it into the Blu-ray player. As she sat down to join the others, the movie opened on a stuffy Los Angeles party with Richard Gere driving an expensive silver sports car looking for directions to Beverly Hills.

"Oh! Pretty Woman! Great choice, Bragnae. Hana, have you seen this movie before?" Maxwell asked.

"No, I don't believe so. What is it about?" Hana replied.

"Well, it's about a hook—" Maxwell started to say.

"Shhhhh! It's about love, and it's a good movie. That's all you need to know, Hana," Bragnae said, interrupting Maxwell.

The three of them ate their pizza and enjoyed the movie together laughing and repeating one-liners.

"Big mistake. HUGE. I have to go shopping now," Bragnae said, imitating Julia Roberts' character.

"Hey, asshole! Just because she's a hooker, doesn't mean you can talk to her like that!" Hana screamed at the television.

Maxwell and Bragnae pulled back in surprise at Hana's outburst. "Did you just call him an asshole?" Bragnae asked her cautiously.

"... Well, he is!" Hana replied, pointing at the screen.

"You are like a whole new person, Hana," Bragnae admitted, trying to contain her laughter.

"I get it from you, Bragnae," Hana sneered lovingly at her friend.

Later, as Richard Gere climbed the fire escape to 'rescue' Julia Roberts, Bragnae's phone rang prompting a FaceTime call from Drake. Ah! He always has great timing.

Ignoring the last few minutes of the movie, Bragnae swiped her phone to answer his call. "Hi honey! How are you?!" She asked enthusiastically looking at Drake's handsome face that filled her screen.

"Hey, beautiful," Drake replied. "I'm doing just fine. What are you up to?"

"Is that Drake? Tell him we said 'hi'!" Maxwell practically shouted as he clumsily climbed over pillows to get close to Bragnae. "HEY DRAKE!" He said loudly with his face halfway in the camera's view.

Drake chuckled. "Hey, buddy."

Bragnae situated the phone so Drake could see all of them. "There. Now, you don't have to ambush me to talk to him," Bragnae declared.

"How are you, Drake? Are you having a good time over there?" Hana asked him.

"Not as much as the three of you are apparently. I wish I was there," Drake answered.

"We do too! This slumber party would be much better with you here, Drake. But don't worry, we'll come stay with you and Bragnae again as soon as you return from your trip," Maxwell said with a wink.

Drake narrowed his eyes. "There's no way in hell that's happening, Maxwell."

"But, Bragnae said we could!" Maxwell retorted.

Bragnae gasped at Maxwell's accusation. "I would never agree to that! Stop making shit up, Maxwell." Bragnae stood up taking the phone with her. "Okay, everyone. Say goodbye to Drake. It's my time with him."

As Hana and Maxwell yelled their goodbyes, Bragnae stepped out of the theater room and made her way upstairs. "So, how was your day?" She asked her husband.

"It was long, and exhausting. Some of the painters didn't show up, so I offered to help them finish the job," Drake explained. "And I'm actually kind of sore now." Drake rubbed the back of his neck trying to alleviate some of the pain.

"Awww, I wish I was there to rub your muscles. I could make it all better," she said with a wink.

Drake smiled at her. "If you were here, Bragnae, I wouldn't even remember my name, let alone that my muscles were sore. I miss you so damn much."

"I miss you too, Drake. It's only been 4 days, but it feels like a month," she whined as she pushed open the door to her bedroom. Being careful not to turn the phone in the direction of the new pole in their room, Bragnae walked to the bathroom and shut the door.

"What did you all end up doing today?" He asked.

I harnessed my inner stripper-goddess to surprise you later. "Maxwell had us doing a new work out he discovered. It was fun. And then we watched a movie and had dinner."

"That sounds nice. So, my day had surprising moment today," Drake began. "Sam apologized for hitting on me last week. She wanted to move past it and the awkwardness of it all, and asked me if I could forgive her."

Stupid bitch. Shouldn't have even done it in the first place. "Oh yeah? What did you say?"

"I told her as long as she remembered that I was happily married, we could move past it," he explained. "I still don't trust her though."

I bet she's just saying that to get back on his good side. "Good, because I don't either."

Bragnae moved to sit on the bathroom counter, and flinched at the extreme pain that was settling in her muscles from hanging onto a pole all afternoon. Drake seemed to notice right away.

"Are you alright?" He asked with a concerned look.

"Uh, yeah. I guess I'm kind of sore from today too," she answered, trying to sound as vague as possible.

"What kind of work out did you guys end up doing, anyway?"

Think quickly, Bragnae! "Oh, you know Maxwell. He had this new dance routine he wanted us to learn."

A smile returned to Drake's face. "So, are you going to show me your new moves?"

Bragnae bit her lip slightly. "Maybe I will when you get home."

"Alright, fair enough. You should probably soak in a hot bath tonight, and relax," he suggested.

Feeling inspired by his words, Bragnae walked over to the tub, and turned on the water. "That's actually a great idea."

"Well, don't let me stop you. I'll let you go, so you can enjoy it."

"Unless..." Bragnae teased. "... You want to watch?"

Drake leaned forward in his chair. "Watch you take a bath?"

"Well, more like watch me get started," she said, offering him a playful smile.

Before he could respond, she had already placed her phone down, so she could undress in front of him. She gingerly removed her top realizing just how sore her muscles were from the day as she tried to still make her striptease look sexy for Drake. She turned to pour bubble bath into the water when she heard Drake gasp.

"Bragnae! You have a big bruise on your back! Where the hell did that come from?" His voice filled with alarm.

Shit. Didn't really think this through, did you? Bragnae quickly checked herself in the mirror before responding to Drake. "Oh, I didn't even know I had that. It must have been from when I fell today while we were dancing." Please don't ask me more about this.

"Maybe you should stop doing this crazy dance that Maxwell wants you to do if it's going to hurt you," he firmly recommended.

Bragnae nodded as she lit a few candles and switched off the lights. She grabbed the phone and stepped into the tub that was now full of delightfully warm water with ample bubbles. She eased into the bath, and watched Drake's expression change immediately from concerned to excited.

"Do you like what you see, cowboy?" Bragnae asked, biting her lip.

Drake felt himself stiffen as he studied Bragnae's face, then his gaze traveled to her neck, and then to her chest. He was mesmerized by the slow waves of bubbly water softly lapping against her seeing only the tops of her breasts. The bubbles masked the rest of her body, unfortunately for him. For a moment, Drake allowed his imagination to take over throwing in memories of him and Bragnae having sex in that same tub countless times before. He recalled a time when he pulled her out of the water, and laid her back against the corner seat. The cool air against her wet skin caused her to shiver, but he quickly warmed her up using his tongue to expertly make her come all over him.

His attention was brought back to the present moment when he watched Bragnae reach for something out of frame. When she pulled her hand back, she was holding the dildo that he left her.

"Looks like you have a pleasurable night planned for yourself," he stated, adjusting himself in his pants. The mere sight of Bragnae holding the toy drove him nuts, let alone the thought of how she was going to use it.

"No... tonight is about you, my sexy husband," Bragnae said, gripping the dildo firmly in her hand, and bringing it to her lips. "Go ahead and whip that bad boy out, and give him a few strokes for me."

Drake's body filled with a sudden excitement at her suggestion, as he eagerly undid his zipper, and reached in to free his throbbing cock. With the phone in one hand, and his dick in the other, his eyes were glued to his gorgeous wife on the screen as she proceeded to drag her tongue down the side of the dildo in her hand. The soft orange glow of the candlelight danced on her wet skin as she moved slowly. The water splashed her gently every so often while she continued to taunt him in her temptress ways. Drake stroked himself at a steady pace watching Bragnae as she slipped the tip of the toy into her mouth and tightened her lips around it. A tingly sensation shot down his spine prompting him to increase his speed.

With his breathing rapidly increasing, he intently looked on as Bragnae dragged the toy down against her mouth letting it linger on her bottom lip. She tilted her neck back, and slowly slid the dildo down towards her breasts, which she deftly lifted out of the water. Drake stroked himself even faster watching the water and stray bubbles roll down her breasts and off her nipples into the bath again. She slipped the toy in between her full breasts and slowly moved it up and down against her. Bragnae still had her head tilted back as if she were experiencing pleasure herself, or so Drake chose to believe.

"You're so fucking hot. Keep it right there, baby," he told her.

Bragnae used the slickness of the soapy water on her olive skin to rub the toy against her chest even faster now as she let out a sexy moan. Drake could feel himself tense up as he braced himself for the pleasure he'd been seeking. As Bragnae exhaled another moan, he did as well. Drake closed his eyes and felt his body shudder as he finished himself off. After enjoying another moment quietly to himself, he looked back at Bragnae who was now looking up at him through her eyelashes with a smirk on her face.

"Thank you, Brenna. I needed that," he said with a smile.

"You are welcome, my love. You should sleep better tonight," she said with a wink.

The couple eventually said goodnight to each other as Drake dropped his phone and leaned back into his chair. Damn it. I need to get back to her soon.

The next week and a half surprisingly flew by for Drake and Bragnae. Bragnae perfected several more pole dancing techniques, and even began applying them as a routine. She felt confident in her abilities to significantly impress Drake when he came home. In that time, Hana and Maxwell accompanied Bragnae to the palace to meet with the Royal Council and King Gabriel for their monthly meeting, and soon they departed her estate leaving Bragnae to prepare for Drake's return with one week left to go.

As the RecPlex came together more and more each day, Drake found himself busier trying to keep up with the progress which was ahead of schedule. All of the sporting equipment and exercise machines had been moved in, the pool was filled, and electricity and plumbing for the entire facility was up and running. Drake spent the last few days helping Rashad organize the inspections needed before the grand opening.

"I think that will about do it, Drake," Rashad said, patting him on the back. "We're ahead of schedule and there's not much left to do until these inspections get done."

"That's great! It didn't seem like we'd get this far in the beginning, but I'm proud of the work everyone put in to speed up this timeline," Drake said.

"I can be here when the inspectors come by. Why don't you go home to Bragnae? I'm sure she's missing you by now," Rashad suggested.

Fuck yes. "That'd be nice, Rashad. Are you sure you don't need me for anything else?"

"Not a thing. I'll call you after we receive the inspector's report, so you don't need to stick around."

"Sounds good. I'll see you next month for the grand opening," Drake said as he shook Rashad's hand.

"See you then. Thanks for all your help, Drake. We couldn't have done it without you."

With that, Drake raced back to his hotel and began packing his bags. He called the airline to reschedule his flight for later that day, and knew exactly who to call next to share his good news.

"Hey, Maxwell."

"Hey, Drake! What's going on, man?"

"I need your help with something. We finished everything earlier than expected, so I get to come back to Valtoria today," Drake explained.

"Wow! That's great! Bragnae will be thrilled!"

"She doesn't know I'm coming home yet. And I want to surprise her. Will you help me?" Drake asked.

"Of course I will, buddy. And I know the perfectway to do it!"