Punishable Offenses

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without prior written permission from the publisher. For information contact: Pink Flamingo Publications www.pinkflamingo.com P.O. Box 632 Richland, MI 49083 USA Cover Image © Roman Kasperski www.romankasperski.de Email Comments: comments@pinkflamingo.com Prologue The most passionate of love affairs grow out of excruciating lust, that feverish throbbing that begins deep in the body and soon rises up to overtake the heart, and finally captures the soul in its furious embrace. Sometimes it’s just a single glance across a crowded bar, a smile of tender empathy between friends, the brush of a hand against a thigh or the exhilarating high of fantasy that starts that infernal beating of desire. This love affair began differently than most, born solely from raw physical need, coupled with a fervent psychological requirement so suppressed that even careful scrutiny would not have unearthed it in Madeleine’s psyche. Never in a million years would she have guessed what lay dormant within her—until the moment that the fire exploded in her body. Had their paths never crossed would she have uncovered this well of grave secrets? Or would her life have been less profound, drifting thoughtlessly onward through the usual activities of life, toward typical conclusions? Romance. Marriage. Children. Middle-age. Death, eventually. So many things hinged on that capricious moment of her indecision aboard the yacht. In that one-act drama decisions were made without her choosing, the course of her life irrevocably altered and something deep and troubling within exposed – if only for a fleeting moment. Awakened briefly, then left to softly slumber until another fortuitous moment years later when, shaking off that uneasy sleep, that strange something once again made its indisputable demands. This next time the passion would refuse to be suppressed.