The enticing aroma of vegetarian curry greeted Mariam Kamal as she finally arrived back at her apartment late Sunday evening, all the fatigue and stress of a very demanding workweek swept aside by the sensation. For three years, Kamal’s Baked Goods had been in business, delivering all manner of breads, pastries and desserts across the city, and every year, the week of Valentine’s Day was the most demanding. Well, all that hard work did pay off; the bakery’s doing better than ever! the Persian beauty reminded herself, hanging up her winter coat and letting the scent of her favourite meal lure her onwards. Yes, it had been a good week.

And thanks to a certain beautiful redhead, the night looked to be even more promising…

“Honey, I’m home!” Mariam called out, any further greeting dying on her lips as she beheld the veritable feast that had been set up in the kitchen. There was vegetarian curry and garlic toast and sticky rice and a Caesar salad big enough to feed a family of four, and even a bottle of red wine to go with it. It all looked wonderful, of course, but as celebratory dinners went, it was more than a little overkill for just two people.

Though any complaints she might have had faded to nothingness at the sight of the woman responsible. In place of her usual satin, blouse, black leather pleated skirt and knee-high boots, Andrea Maurer stood clad in a French maid’s outfit straight out of the fantasies of an oversexed teenager boy, complete with a low cut to show off her generous cleavage, a skirt so short and flimsy it might as well not have been there, white silk stockings to accentuate her long legs and a pair of high heels. It was all Mariam could do to keep from drooling, and Andrea clearly knew it, a cheeky smile emblazoned on her face as she curtseyed low enough to offer her lover a better angle of her chest. “Welcome home, Mistress,” she purred. “I’ve prepared a wonderful meal for you. I hope it will be to your liking.”

“I’m… I’m sure it will,” Mariam stammered, blood thundering in her veins. “It does seem like you made a lot of it, though.”

At this, Andrea’s sultry, confident façade began to crack. “Well, at first, I just wanted to make the curry. But then I thought that by itself might be a little boring, and I though a nice bottle of red wine might help you relax after your rough week, since you’ve never really been a devout Muslim, and--”

Quickly, Mariam stepped forward, taking her lover’s trembling hands in her own. “Take a deep breath, babe,” she said, all foreplay discarded. “What’s going on?”

“I haven’t slept around. Believe me, I would never do something like that.”

“I never thought you would,” Mariam assured her. “Listen, babe, I’m flattered that you’d go to all this trouble for me. Overkill or no, I really appreciate it.”

“Good. Good, I’m glad,” said the beautiful redhead, offering an uncertain smile. “I just… I love you, Mariam, and I never want you to feel unappreciated, or that I’m taking what we’ve made together for granted. I’m not Monique.”

At mention of her former lover, a flicker of anger made itself known on Mariam’s beautiful features, and she quickly smothered before it could grow, drawing Andrea into a loving hug. “It bothers you that you don’t know what happened between me and her, doesn’t it?”

Andrea could no more lie to the woman she loved than she could keep the sun from rising. “A little. I don’t mean to pry; your past relationships are your business, and I know you’d never let them interfere with what we have now. It just seems like this Monique hurt you, and I don’t want to unknowingly make the same mistakes she did.”

“Babe, you could never do what Monique did,” the Persian beauty insisted firmly, tilting Andrea’s head up so their eyes met. “You’re kind and you’re smart and you’re generous and you’re trustworthy, and you’re a far better person than she could ever be. One day, I’ll tell you everything that happened, I promise. Just not… not now. It’s been a long week, and I don’t want all your hard work to go to waste.”

“Fair enough,” Andrea acceded, glancing over to the kitchen table, down to her attire, and back again. “You’re right, I think all this is a little overkill.”

“I’m certainly not complaining,” Mariam assured her, her good humour restored. Dusky hands traced the naked curves of Andrea’s bottom, provoking a gasp of pleasure from the redhead. “Let’s have our supper for now, and afterwards, I’ll see to your punishment.”

“P-punishment?” squeaked the redhead.

With a lupine grin, Mariam pinned her lover against the wall, lips tracing the long curves of her neck. “Did you think I wouldn’t notice the speck of dust on the dining room table? A good maid would’ve kept this place spotless. Seems I must teach you to be more diligent in the future.”

“Please, have mercy, Mistress,” Andrea whimpered, throwing herself into the role of a sexy, submissive maid with aplomb.

“Maybe if you convince me you’ve learned your lesson. Don’t worry, you’ll have all night to prove it…”