A Cunning Plan

By Padma Bear

At once playful, thought-provoking and very very raunchy, A Cunning Plan delivers "an excellently done exploration of a woman’s thinking process.” As one reader put it, A Cunning Plan is "a thinking man or woman’s erotica.” Another called it “clever, amusing, interesting and (oh yeah) provocative too."

Where are the lines that separate sensuality from shamelessness, teasing from manipulation, and fantasy from reality? How do you know when the next step is one step too far? Many people ask themselves these questions, but fewer people are willing to do the actual research.

Claire has the best of both worlds -- a brilliant research career and a vital relationship with her adoring husband Julian. But when she tags along on one of his business trips, he stands her up one too many times. An accidental exposure to a stranger in the hotel bar sets her brilliant and analytical mind flirting with an alternative plan – a plan she hopes might allow her to achieve something she’d been only dared dreamed about before. Will Claire's cunning plan end in a stunning success or lasting sorrow? You’ll have to all the way to the end to find out!

Warning: This book contains very dirty words, exhibitionism, somewhat kinky sex, potentially wayward spouses and cuckoldry fantasy, mild dominance and submission, and detailed descriptions of women's undergarments. It also contains a smart, independently-minded woman. If you're challenged by any of that, this book probably isn't for you. But if these kind of things turn you on, we think you'll like this book. Written by a husband and wife team, A Cunning Plan gives lovers of seriously naughty erotica from both sexes something to savour.

But our readers say it best. “[Claire's] thought process is very intriguing ... Weighing her options, moving into considerations she would not have considered at first, finding them not unthinkable.” Another reader told us: "I love how her thinking continues to build slowly, step by step. It is so authentic.” And another found it “Very well written, very believable." But our favourite comment went right to the point, describing A Cunning Plan as "a very thoroughly thought-out tale of an irked woman and her panties!”

Other readers said:

“I was captivated.”
“This is a wonderfully tantalizing story! "
"Please continue with your wonderful writing because you have me hooked.”
”Wish there were a six-star option!”
“...dazzle us with what is obviously some literary talent on your parts.”
“Interesting writing, very well done, undergirded by sound education(s), and two quite fertile minds.”

(All quotes above are independent, unsolicited and verifiable.)

Excerpt (Mild Spoilers):

"Still, it was fun to think about, and while her husband was off with his co-workers discussing the fascinating ins and outs of logistics and production integration, she could do a little in and out logistical planning of her own. All as a theoretical case study, of course. And it would make a good little story to titillate Julian with while she set him up for the comeuppance she had planned. "'Make it up to me' indeed", she thought. He'd pay for leaving her hanging in the hotel lounge while he went out drinking with "the team". Maybe she'd even present her planning scenario to him as if it were a real event and see how he reacted!"

...

"There wasn't a particular moment in which she knew that he knew that she knew what was going on, and no way to know if he had at the same time surmised that her mild exposure was deliberate. But at some point she got an unmistakable sense that they both understood exactly what was happening. With that realization came a mild jolt of panic, but also a sudden cascade of arousal that she felt intensely and palpably ... [Naughty Bits] ... It connected her to a primal longing, and allowing that longing to take hold of her made her feel paradoxically powerful and alive."

• Language: English
• Publisher: Padma Bear
• Release date: Sep 2, 2013
• ISBN: 9781301811670

Padma Bear

One night, as my wife and I were playing around a bit in bed, I asked her to tell me a little bed time story. Our first novella sprung fully-formed from her fertile and mischievous imagination. Things progressed from there of course, but what I most remember was her touching me as the story flowed smoothly from one scene into the next. She was playing -- or at least I'd like to think she was playing! -- to some of my favorite fantasies. Luckily, there is more than enough overlap in our two fantasies to keep us both satisfied! Her story was really amazing -- so good in fact, so well thought out and tidy -- that I immediately began thinking about using it for my first foray into erotic fiction. That was the birth of Padma Bear, as it were. We don’t write for fame and fortune. We just hope a few readers will find our work truly satisfying. If you’d like us to write more, we need to tell us how you liked it. Please help us spread the word -- and if you’re feeling brave, leave feedback on your favorite review site! We’d also enjoy hearing your feedback and thoughts directly.

Book preview

What other readers say about A Cunning Plan

I was captivated.

Wish there were a six-star option!

This is a wonderfully tantalizing story! Thank you, Padma Bear!

An excellently done exploration of a woman’s thinking process.

Clever, amusing, interesting and (oh yeah) provocative too. The writing is more than excellent. Please continue!

I think this goes on all the time. Just look at how short skirts are. This is a different kind of story -- one might say it's a thinking man or woman’s erotica.

I have seen it often. A woman plays, she just wants to see if she can turn a guy on and it gets out of her control. Please continue with your wonderful writing because you have me hooked.

Her thought process is very intriguing ... Weighing her options, moving into considerations she would not have considered at first, finding them not unthinkable.

Love it! I love how her thinking continues to build slowly, step by step. It is so authentic. Best line I have ever read here: There wasn't a particular moment in which she knew that he knew that she knew what was going on. Brilliant writing. Great command of words.

...dazzle us with what is obviously some literary talent on your parts.

Very well written, very believable.

Well-written, and provocative.

Interesting writing, very well done, undergirded by sound education(s), and two quite fertile minds.

This is a very thoroughly thought-out tale of an irked woman and her panties!

Once again, I am impressed with the caliber of writing. Excellent.

An enjoyable if dark read. I don't have to agree w/author's point of view to appreciate good writing.

Most enjoyable - well written amusing and erotic.

"Excellent writing! Again, very well written. I will look forward to your next venture.

Direct verifiable quotes from online commentators on earlier versions of this story appearing online. We’d love to hear your feedback too! Please support independent internet authors by purchasing this revised and edited ebook edition, rating it online, and telling others about us!

A Cunning Plan

Padma Bear

Published by Padma Bear at Smashwords

Copyright 2012, 2013 Padma Bear

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

CHAPTER 1

An Accidental Exposure

Claire looked at her watch. Almost eight. Over the last hour and a half she had gone from amused to annoyed to pissed off to hurt and back again several times. Right now she was just feeling resigned. Her mobile rang.

Hi, baby. I am so so sorry. Jack had a couple of things to go over with me, and then I needed to catch the rest of the team before they went off to party.

She decided to play it cool. After all, it was rare to have this time away from the children; why spend those precious moments arguing?

It's okay, I'll get over it. I'm sure you can find a way to make it up to me.

She said this with a light wink in her voice -- thinking that would get him out of the corporate office and over to the hotel lounge just that much quicker. Maybe they'd still have time to have a couple of drinks together before the concert started. She had just about salvaged the situation in her mind when Julian ruined it again.

So, yeah.. that's just it. I'll have to make it up to you later tonight. In bed.

The wink in his voice landed like a lead balloon. He may have been shooting for cool and alluring paramour but he landed on expectant and horny spouse. Claire found herself moving past pissed off and hurt to quietly enraged as she listened to him drone on.

You see, the VP for Operations -- you know, that Tom guy I was telling you about on the plane? -- kind of an asshole, but he holds a lot of sway around here, and it turns out he's going out drinking with the gang tonight. You know I just can't miss this opportunity to present the ideas I've been working on for meshing production and logistics. Okay? Now, I know this is probably going to piss you off, but you have to understand that this is the whole reason we're on this trip in the first place. Right, sweetie? Sweetie?

She was debating whether to go with Plan A: Hang up, go up to the room, find a chick flick on the TV and pout. or Plan B: Launch in to a full-on tirade, unloading the last six months worth of accumulated demerits right then and there. when an inspiration hit. Plan C: Ah, that's okay, honey. There is plenty to keep me occupied here.

Oh, okay.. great. Was he really going to get off that easily? Well, I'll um.. see you later then. I'll try not to be too late, sweetie. Two or three beats and the barb hooked. Wait, what do you mean, 'plenty to keep you occupied?' At that point, she quietly ended the call, a slightly self-satisfied smile on her face.

What did she mean, actually? Was there anything behind her improvised baiting? She didn't know herself. Well, whatever.. that will teach him to blow me off when I'm ovulating she laughed to herself.

But come to think of it, she did happen to be swimming in a pond full of decent looking guys at the moment. The couple were staying at a nice, somewhat hip downtown hotel, and the lounge crowd was definitely a step up from the pudgy population of washed-out white-collar wage slaves that she was used to seeing the few other times she'd tagged along on one of Julian's business trips. Instead, around her were seated attractive, nicely dressed, interesting men -- and as always, it was mostly men who were hanging out in the bar later at night -- most of whom looked like they could hold up their end of a conversation. A lot of the guys there were slightly older. Late forties, early fifties, fit. Some sort of upscale professional conference must be in town, she mused. Probably that Sustainable Urban Planning thing she'd seen on the convention center marquee.

And they didn't seem like the typical corporate types either; those men's men who had an eerie way of making her feel like she was little more than a vagina with a pretty face. Actually, some of the guys in the place looked so cute that she wouldn't mind if they were thinking about her vagina while making small talk, she giggled to herself. Hell, maybe I'd even show that guy the whole package, and ask him his opinion!

At this point she realized that this line of thought was a sure sign that she'd had two vodka tonics too many. She was hardly that kind of woman and this mental exercise lay clearly in the finger-fantasy realm. Probably time to initiate Plan A -- with a bit of digital self-stimulation thrown in and a lot less pouting. And yeah, she'd find a way to have Julian make it up to her, and she'd already begun thinking of how to give him less than he was hoping for in return. Much less. One way or another, payback was going to be a bitch.

Still, she wasn't quite ready for bed -- even if the idea of touching herself was tugging at her elbow a bit -- so why not work out the details of this Plan C a bit? Just as a little thought experiment to get the juices flowing? The thing is, she had noticed that more than a couple of the better looking guys kept glancing vaguely in her direction. In particular, one guy's glances had been a bit more frequent and more than a bit clumsier than the others. He had wavy salt and pepper hair and was wearing a bold rep tie with a beautiful pale grey suit. But it was where he was glancing that may have subtly initiated her current train of thought. She was seated at one of the high tables near the bar and while most of the cast of imaginary suitors had the grace to point their glances in the