Stephen Nielsen’s Apartment, New Brunswick, Newark – Fifteen Years Earlier

Craigslist turned out to be goldmine, full of men seeking to have sex with crossdressers. Under Tessa’s tutelage, Stephanie learned how to post an ad in the Casual Encounters section and how to vet replies.

“There are a lot of wierdos out there and although you can vet replies sent via email, it’s best to use your mobile phone and receive texts. You can pretty much figure out who is genuine and who is wasting your time. A lot of email responses will be from guys who are just picture-hunters, requesting compromising pics,” Tessa explained.

Stephen had purchased a cheap laptop and a pay-as-you-go burner phone on Tessa’s advice.

“Keep your real identity and your femme identity separate from each other. It’s safer and more discreet. Have you ever watched Ghostbusters? ‘Don’t cross the streams’. That’s pretty much a rule with us closet crossdressers. You can’t post a phone number in Craig's and they have an algorithm that searches and removes ads that have phone numbers posted in them but it’s easy to beat,” Tessa helped Stephanie post her first ad in the T4M section under Casual Encounters.

Young attractive femme crossdresser hosting for NSA on evenings and weekends. D&D free genuine applicants twenty to fifty, no timewasters or picture collectors. Too Oh Won For Too Sux Ate Fife Fife Fife. See pics to see what is on offer.

This was Stephanie’s first ad and she attached some cheesecake shots to entice potential candidates.

Soon Stephanie was hosting men for sex most evenings and weekends and it became obsessive. She had a group of men whom she called her ‘regulars’. These were men whom she deemed compatible and were able to meet regularly at prearranged times. Most told her little about themselves but she soon realised that the majority were married ‘straight’ men seeking something spicy on the side.

Of course many of the responses Stephanie received were from timewasters but Tessa educated Stephanie as best she could how to sort the genuine trans admirers, as Tessa called them, from the bogus responses and those that looked a little shaky.

“The reality is, until the guy turns up at your door, you never know what you are dealing with,” Tessa explained the bleeding obvious.

The first couple of times that Stephanie hosted men in her apartment she had Tessa with her and they had posted an ad offering a threesome. Once Stephanie was confident that she knew what she was doing she began to host on her own. Tessa was tiring of Stephanie anyway. Terrance Bigalow was a married man who occasionally crossdressed as Tessa to engage in extramarital gay sex and she couldn’t keep up with Stephanie's voracious appetites.

There were a few abject failures who after the first meet were not invited back but Stephanie felt secure because all of her transactions took place on her private laptop and ‘burner’ cellphone.

The problem was that Stephanie was taking over Stephen’s life. Stephen spent most of his free time as Stephanie and his grades began to suffer and he wasn’t socialising. Although it was only a two hour drive to New Rochelle, Stephen didn’t get home much and Astrid Nielsen became worried about her son. She had heard about his falling grades and she contacted the Dean who had administrative responsibility for her son and the news was worrying to say the least.

Astrid immediately thought drugs were the problem, although Stephen denied it. Astrid decided that drastic action was required to steer her son back on the straight and narrow path of academic achievement and appropriate social interaction. She would limit Stephen’s access to the family fortune and cease paying rent on his apartment and force him to reside in the on-campus student accommodation and reduce his spending allowance and tie the amount of money he received to his academic achievements.

Before she did any of these things an event occurred that changed Stephen Nielsen's life drastically.

Although Stephanie had a bevy of admirers, mainly older married men, she still posted her ad in Craigslist looking for conquests. She adored the fact that some men found her irresistible and craved her company. It validated her femininity. She had also participated in group sex now and then when the mood took her. She was promiscuous, precocious and almost insatiable.

She received a response from a man named Oliver who claimed to be an experienced trans admirer who had a particular penchant for young crossdressers. He texted her and sent pictures to her email account. He was mid-thirties, handsome and seemed a perfect candidate. She arranged a meet with him and gave him the address of her apartment block but not the apartment number. As Tessa had taught her, the admirer did not get the apartment number until he was out front.

Stephanie was dressed in a sassy French maid’s costume she had bought at Party City. It featured a black satin dress with white lace trim and an attached white apron and a white lace headband and black velvet choker. She wore black transparent boy leg panties under it, black, fully-fashioned stockings and black high heels. She wore a blonde shoulder-length wig and her makeup was slutty. The costume had been specifically requested by the handsome man who had answered her ad and he had asked her if she was wearing it when he texted her requesting the apartment number.

When she opened the door there was no handsome mid-thirties man. Instead there was a fortyish, stout, muscular, big-bellied man with a boxer’s face and standing behind him was a skinny man with lank greasy hair around the same age and an obese man with a pockmarked face and permanent scowl.

“Hello princess,” Oliver pushed the door wide open before Stephanie could close it.

The three men crowded Stephanie inside and slammed the door behind them and locked it.

“Hey, this isn’t the deal!” Stephanie knew that her voice sounded high and whiney but she was scared.

“She’s hot Ollie, those pictures on the website didn’t do her justice,” said the greasy haired man who had already begun to undress.

“I’m going to fuck her brains out,” the obese man said stripping off his shirt to reveal pale white flesh that was also pockmarked.

“Come on guys. This isn’t what I was putting out there and you are definitely not the man in those pictures,” Stephanie said to Oliver who was ogling her openly.

“Hey, you advertised yourself as a tranny looking for a fuck, so look on the bright side. You're getting three for one,” Oliver chuckled.

Stephanie tried to bolt for the door but Oliver caught her by the wrist and swung her around. She landed face to face with the skinny, greasy haired man who clutched her in a bear hug and tried to kiss her. He chased her lips with his mouth and his breath was terrible. He eventually clamped his lips on Stephanie's and drove his tongue into her mouth while he frogmarched her into the bedroom. The others followed and closed the door.

The three men were naked and erect and Stephanie was terrified. She knew what was going to happen she just hoped that she wouldn’t be injured or worse. She had read about home invasions in the media and she silently prayed that all they wanted was sex.

“You go first Frankie, I want her to suck my cock,” Oliver said to greasy-hair and Stephanie paled.

“Frankie here is going to fuck you a little while you suck my cock and Jimmy is going to watch and take his turn next. If you fight us Jimmy is going to hurt you. If you scream or cry out, Jimmy is going to hurt you. If you try to bite or scratch, Jimmy is going to hurt you. Do you understand?” Oliver hissed holding Stephanie at arm’s length next to the bed.

Stephanie was too shocked and scared to say anything and she just hung there like a rag doll.

“Show her Jimmy,” Oliver said when Stephanie didn’t answer.

The punch to the midriff winded Stephanie and the pain was excruciating. Lucky for her it was a short, sharp jab and she recovered quickly.

“I understand,” Stephanie gasped for breath.

“Good. Now get on the bed,” Oliver pushed Stephanie onto the bed and he and Frankie pulled Stephanie to her knees.

“Check out that ass!” Frankie pulled the hem of Stephanie's French maid’s costume all the way up, exposing her rounded buttocks sheathed in the black transparent panties.

Stephanie had to endure being forced to her knees on the bed while Frankie took up position behind her and Oliver scootched down in front of her, his big cock dangling inches from her face. Oliver put his hands on Stephanie’s head and guided her mouth onto his quivering organ. A rope of pre-ejaculate dribbled from the eye and Stephanie tasted the salty-sweetness of it as her lips circled Oliver’s bloated glans.

At the same time she felt her panties being eased aside and suddenly Frankie’s long but thankfully slender penis slipped inside her anus. She thanked god that she was pre-lubricated in anticipation of sex when Frankie dug his fingers into her hips and began to vigorously fuck her.

Oliver entwined his fingers in Stephanie’s hair and began to fuck her face. He fucked her mouth so viciously that her wig came off in his hands and Frankie, Jimmy and Oliver all laughed at Stephanie’s distress. Jimmy tossed the wig aside and Oliver twisted his fingers into Stephanie’s dirty-blonde hair and tugged, forcing her face back onto his engorged prong.

Stephanie knew that her only hope was to satisfy these men’s desires and hopefully she could escape unscathed or with as little damage as possible, her belly still ached from where Jimmy had punched her.

Frankie was fucking Stephanie with long slow strokes, enjoying the feel of her tight anus stretched around his steely rod whilst Oliver delighted in the feel of her lips gliding back and forth along his shaft while Stephanie’s tongue slathered at his glans, the tip of it ticking his fraenulum.

Stephanie was using every trick she knew to try to get these guys off so they would finish and leave. She looked up at Oliver with her frightened green eyes, her red lips distended around his turgid shaft whilst she fellated him, trying her best to induce sympathy but also to illicit his climax. She pushed back and gyrated her panty-clad buttocks into Frankie's groin as his cock slid in and out of her rhythmically.

Stephanie felt almost disembodied. It was like she was in a trance, standing beside the bed, watching her doppelganger being ravished. Worse still she was becoming erect. Frankie's slim banana-shaped phallus was the perfect shape and size to light up the pleasure receptors in her prostate, the base of his organ elicited sparklets of delight from her stretched sphincter. It didn’t help that Jimmy had his hand between her legs, stroking her erect organ through her gauzy panties.

It was a nightmare, come true. As much as Stephanie despised these dirty hooligans she couldn’t prevent her body responding to their ministrations. Frankie knew how to fuck and he was enjoying every second of defiling Stephanie’s tight, slick anus. He would push his cock all the way inside in her and jiggle his cock, stretching her sphincter, feeling the velvet sheath of her rectum clench and release his hard cock. He gazed at her plump white buttocks, sheathed in the transparent black panties, her back arched, skirt hiked up, her blonde hair mussed, Oliver’s fingers entangled in the locks as he forced his cock in and out of her mouth.

Frankie was close. This bitch was young, pretty and vulnerable. He knew that she was only cooperating out of fear and terror but that excited him even more. He saw the wicked grin on Jimmy’s face as he stroked Stephanie’s cock through her panties, forcing her to endure the sexual stimulation that she hated herself for experiencing.

“I’m going to blow my load Ollie,” Frankie huffed as he fucked Stephanie harder and faster, pulling her buttocks into his groin as he pounded his cock in and out of her tight orifice.

“Wait for me. Make sure you get this Jimmy,” Oliver hissed as he forced his cock down Stephanie’s throat.

Stephanie didn’t understand what Oliver was telling Jimmy to do, she was just relieved that he had let go of her cock and scooted off the bed. She would realise later and regret it for the rest of her life but for now she was in sensory overload.

Frankie might be raping her but he was doing so with so much finesse that she couldn’t help enjoying the feel of his manhood sliding in out of her tight cleft. His glans pressed on her prostate and his shaft ignited the pleasure sensors along her anal walls and around her sphincter. She didn’t even mind that he was gripping her hips so tightly that his fingers were bruising her flesh.

Oliver bellowed and suddenly Stephanie’s mouth was filled with hot, musky milt which she had no choice but to swallow as Oliver gripped her head still and forced his cock deep inside her mouth. Her anus rippled and undulated involuntarily as Frankie howled and pulled her ass hard into his groin as his cock quivered and filled her tight hole with his scalding issue.

To her dismay and disgust Stephanie creamed her panties. Unable to suppress the wantonness that coursed through her countenance as Oliver filled her mouth with his semen and Frankie’s cock juddered and released in her tight rectum, her body surrendered and an orgasmic seizure wracked her and overwhelmed her. Her panties became soaked with her creamy discharge as she climaxed right along with the men defiling her.

She was given no time to recover. As soon as Oliver removed his penis from her mouth and Frankie’s cock slipped from her battered anus, Jimmy leapt on the bed and rolled her over onto her back. Oliver held her wrists, stretching her arms out to hold her down while Jimmy lifted her legs up high and tore away her panties. He plunged his thick, bloated organ into her dilated hole and began to vigorously fuck her.

The three men raped her repeatedly, using her body as a playground. They forced her to do things she had never dreamed of and to her horror she climaxed repeatedly as the three men illicited pleasure along with the pain. She endured the onslaught for hours until the men were finally sated. They left her curled up on the bed, her costume tattered and cum-soaked, her nylons shredded and her face a mask of ruined makeup infused with cloying semen.

To make matters worse, Jimmy showed Stephanie the video he had taken of her being spit roasted by Oliver and Frankie.

“This will look great on Pornhub,” he sniggered.

“Nah, just kidding. We keep our videos private, so long as the girl keeps her mouth shut, don’t we Ollie,” Jimmy said to Oliver who had just finished getting dressed.

Oliver sat down on the bed and forced Stephanie to look at him.

“Look. We know where you live. We have your phone number. We have the pictures and the video. We can come back and do this any time we want to, so it’s best you keep your mouth shut and we will do the same. See you around toots,” Oliver had the audacity to kiss Stephanie full on the lips.

The three men left the apartment and Stephanie lay on the bed wracked with shame and guilt.

Her anus felt like it was prolapsed, her jaw ached, she had bruises and scratches all over her body but the external damage was nowhere near as bad as the damage to her mentally. In the short term she changed the locks on her apartment and had a security chain fitted and she visited the free clinic and mercifully was found to be STI free but she lived the next few days in constant fear.

The consequences of the sexual assault were immediate and devastating. Stephanie purged.

Purging is a term used to describe a period when a transwoman who is living a double life as male and female suddenly feels overwhelmed and stops expressing her female identity. Stephanie threw away her female clothing and accessories, she deleted all her online accounts; factory reset her laptop and burner phone and sold them to a pawn shop and began to live full time as a man. She moved out of her apartment into student accommodation and cut all ties with her contacts.

Stephanie no longer existed.

Stephen’s grades improved immediately as he devoted himself to study and began to socialise with his peers. He met Mary Granger in his third year of college and they began to date. Mary was very attractive and she dressed the way he liked his women to dress: skirts and dresses, usually with heels. She paid attention to her appearance and always wore makeup and was seldom barelegged, favouring sheer pantyhose or opaque tights.

Importantly she didn’t think it strange that Stephen liked to fuck her while she wore her nylons and would often take her while she was fully clothed. She understood that Stephen had a fetish for her being dressed that way and she didn’t mind pandering to it. She would cure him of that little peccadillo once they were married. He was handsome, wealthy, intelligent, a caring lover and he was going places. He was the perfect catch.

They married right out of college and using his brilliant academic record and Astrid’s family connections Stephen secured a position as an investment banker with a prestigious firm.

The couple made the decision before they were married that neither of them wanted children and unencumbered by family commitments they both worked hard and enjoyed the fruits of their labours. Although disappointed that she didn’t have grandchildren, Astrid Nilsen was happy to see her son settled down with a comely, intelligent woman and to see him become very successful in his chosen profession.

Mary took on a number of administrative supervisory positions before settling down to work at one of the state’s preeminent medical facilities and she enjoyed everything that her life with Stephen had to offer which included a very satisfying sex life. Stephen still had a predilection to fuck her while she wore her nylons and she pandered to his fetish and purchased a small collection of sexy lingerie and exotic hosiery which she wore for him when the occasion suited her.

Stephen and Mary had a very happy marriage and lived in an opulent house in New Rochelle, not too close but not too far from Stephen’s mother. Everything was going wonderfully well, until out of nowhere Stephanie returned.

Westchester County Court – The Trial – Day Two

“The prosecution calls Robert Martello to the stand,” ADA Gerald Thatcher stood stoically behind the prosecution table.

Some members of the jury leaned forward in anticipation of the evidence about to be presented. Large video screens had been brought into the courtroom and positioned so that the judge, jury, defence and prosecution could see them clearly.

The defence had filed a motion to suppress the forthcoming evidence and argued fiercely that the pictures and video found on the laptop and phone discovered in the hidden compartment of Stephanie’s desk were prejudicial and blatantly inflammatory. The prosecution had argued that the evidence supported their view of Stephanie Nielsen's moral character, establishing a pattern of promiscuous behaviour and bolstered their claim that the defendant and the deceased were involved in a tumultuous relationship and had fought frequently about Stephanie’s philandering.

Judge Vogel had dismissed the motion to suppress but had applied the caveat that nothing pornographic was to be presented openly in her court and the prosecution had been obliged to submit their exhibits to the judge for prior approval before they were presented to the jury.

A short weedy pale man took the stand and took the oath of affirmation.

“Mister Martello will you state your occupation to the court?” the ADA began.

“I am a forensic investigator who works for Doctor Richard Webb, the head of the Forensic Identification Unit. I specialise in information and communication technology,” Robert Martello’s voice was high and whiney and he was the epitome of a geek right down to the pen protector in his shirt pocket.

“Let’s go first to the laptop found hidden in the defendant’s desk in her home study,” the ADA walked around from behind the prosecution’s table.

William Sanford’s chair scraped on the floor as he pushed it back. William was about to object about using the term hidden as it implied dishonesty and unscrupulousness but Stephanie had argued with William during one of their many meetings that denying that Stephanie kept her double life and adulterous activities secret would only inflame the jury once the evidence that supported the claim was presented to them.

Stephanie put her hand on William’s wrist and gently squeezed it, intimating for him to remain seated. Mary Nielsen saw the intimate gesture from where she was sitting behind the defence table and grimaced.

“The Sony Vaio laptop was an older model. I was able to establish that it had passed through several owners before it ended up in the possession of the accused. I established that it had been purchased at a pawn shop three years ago,” Robert said in his squeaky voice.

“It was password protected but I was able to bypass the password in a few seconds,” Robert sounded smug and Gerald Thatcher moved him on quickly.

“Tell us about the emails you found on the device,” Gerald Thatcher addressed his witness.

“The emails were stored in folders. In a folder named ‘Jeremy’ I found a succession of emails. Chronologically they recount Stephanie Nielsen’s first contact with Jeremy Wallace on an online dating site three years ago. The defendant sent a succession of pictures of herself to Mister Wallace and proposed that they meet, and I quote: ‘on neutral grounds’ at a New York hotel sometimes referred to a ‘hot-sheet’ motel. Mister Wallace agreed to the meet and sent pictures of himself to the accused,” Robert used a laser pointer to indicate the text in the emails on the screens.

“With your permission, your honour?” Gerald Thatcher nodded at Judge Vogel who nodded in return.

A series of oohs and aahs rumbled through the court as a succession of pictures of Stephanie Nielsen appeared on the screens. At first she was dressed quite sophisticatedly and presented as a very attractive lady who could easily have been mistaken as a businesswoman. As the slideshow progressed so did the sordidness of the pictures until finally pictures of Stephanie Nielsen dressed in a red bustier, red satin panties, nylon stockings, high heels and not much else, lying provocatively on a bed holding a dildo to her mouth, appeared on the screen.

Stephanie stared stoically ahead knowing that every eye in the courthouse was looking at the screens and then at her.

A succession of pictures of Jeremy Wallace appeared on the screen. He was dressed only in Speedos but the pictures didn’t garner as much excitement as the pictures of Stephanie had done.

“As you can see the two agreed to meet and they exchanged mobile phone numbers,” mercifully the provocative pictures were removed from the screens and screenshots of the email trail replaced them.

“The defendant purchased a prepaid mobile phone at a gas station around the same time that she purchased the laptop. Such phones are often referred to as ‘burners’ because they cannot be traced to the owner,” Robert added.

“As is evident in the email trail, supported by evidence gleaned from the accused mobile phone, the two entered into a sexual relationship and ceased meeting in the motel and began to meet secretly at Jeremy Wallace’s apartment,” a series of emails and text messages flashed across the screen.

Judge Vogel had agreed to a proposal from the prosecution that their witness be allowed to summarise the contents of the emails found on Stephanie’s computer with the stipulation that the defence could object anytime they discerned that the witness’s summation was incorrect.

Having read all of the emails and texts that the prosecution intended to tender as exhibits William Sanford had agreed. He did not want the witness reading the scandalous and provocative emails out loud in the court. The jury were to be given a folder containing hard copies of the email, texts and images for them to peruse during their deliberations.

“And what other email messages did you find?” Gerald Thatcher found it hard to suppress a smirk.

“Another folder was labelled ‘Casuals’ and it contained email messages sent back and forth between the defendant and numerous men. They were themed similar to the emails found in the ‘Jeremy’ folder. Ms Nielsen would receive a response to an ad she had placed on a dating website and if she found the candidate suitable they would exchange pictures, exchange phone numbers and arrange a meeting, usually at a hotel, motel or in some cases at the candidate’s domicile,” Robert Martello pointed to a succession of emails as they appeared on the screen.

“These advertisements that Ms Nielsen placed; can you tell the court about them?” the ADA asked.

The screens flashed again and this time a webpage appeared.

“This is the defendant’s advertisement in the now defunct Craigslist Personals section under Casual Encounters heading T4M,” Robert pointed to the screen nearest the jury.

Mature attractive ‘passable’ transvestite looking for NSA with mature men aged thirty to fifty. See pictures to see what is on offer. Hotel meets or your place, I do not host. NPNC. Discretion required and guaranteed. If compatible we exchange phone numbers and go from there.

Another series of pictures of Stephanie ranging from cheesecake to almost, but not quite, pornographic in nature accompanied the ad and the court got to see them all.

“This is the defendant’s Grindr profile. We found the app on her phone,” Robert continued and the screens changed to show Stephanie’s profile on Grindr.

Stephanie’s Grindr profile was similar to her Craigslist listing and included the obligatory raunchy pictures. Robert Martello had been instructed to delete the pornographic pictures of Stephanie performing fellatio and being sodomised.

“Objection your honour, the defence has already stipulated that my defendant met Jeremy Wallace on an online dating site and that she advertised on other sites,” William Sanford got to his feet.

“Your honour, this evidence is crucial to the prosecution’s premise that the accused had been in a long term relationship with Jeremy Wallace and that they had argued about Ms Nielsen’s promiscuity,” the ADA countered.

“Objection overruled but make your point soon councillor, this courtroom is not the place for show and tell,” Allison Vogel had seen enough pictures of Stephanie Nielsen dressed in lingerie posing provocatively.

“Very good your honour, just a few more questions for my witness,” Gerald Thatcher bowed to the judge to hide his triumphant smirk.

“Please explain the acronyms for the jury,” the prosecutor asked.

“Well NSA means ‘no strings attached’, T4M means ‘trans for men’ and NPNC means ‘no picture, no chat’. These are common contractions used on internet sites,” Robert explained.

“How many men did Ms Nielsen actually meet up with from these sites?” Gerald Thatcher asked.

“That’s impossible to say but putting together the email trails and linking them to text messages in her phone, around fifty men over a three year period. With the exception of Jeremy Wallace it appears that Ms Nielsen only ever met these men once and then the relationships ceased,” Robert Martello explained.

“So based on the email and text message traffic you estimate that Ms Nielsen had sexual encounters with over fifty men in three years,” it was not a question, just the ADA throwing fuel on the fire.

There was murmur around the court when Robert Martello had said over fifty men. Both Stephanie and Mary Nielsen bowed their heads and could not look at the jury or the gallery.

“Moving along, what else did you find of relevance on the devices other than the back and forth messages between Ms Nielsen and her suitors arranging one-off meets?” the ADA was on a roll and ready to put another nail in Stephanie Nielsen's coffin.

“We found a plethora of digital images and video of Ms Nielsen having sex with men. I have been instructed not to put those pictures on display in court but the jury has access to them for deliberation purposes,” Robert sounded smug again.

“Back to the texts and emails if you please,” the ADA steered his witness.

“Here in these texts and email messages you can see that about a year before he was murdered that Jeremy Wallace was imploring Ms Nielsen to give up her promiscuous lifestyle and enter into a monogamous relationship with him. He even suggests that Ms Nielsen leave her wife and move in with him permanently,” a succession of emails and text messages appeared on the screen to support Robert Martello’ supposition.

“Can you show us Ms Nielsen's responses to these messages?” the ADA asked his star witness.

“Ms Nielsen basically replies that Jeremy Wallace’s proposals are ridiculous. Although Jeremy espouses his love for Ms Nielsen, Ms Nielsen says that they are nothing more than long-term part-time lovers who find each other mutually compatible and that she has no intention of leaving her wife,” Robert Martello points to a series of email and text messages yet again.

“Are you saying that Mister Wallace proposed that Stephen Nielsen live openly and permanently as Stephanie Nielsen and that they live together publicly?” Gerald Thatcher asked.

“Not only that. In these emails here he proposed that Ms Nielsen undertake gender reassignment in order to do so,” Robert Martello pointed to another series of emails.

“And what was Ms Nielsen’s responses to these proposals?” the ADA asked.

“She declines the proposal and in this email here she describes the proposal as ludicrous,” Robert Martello pointed to the damning replies.

“Nothing further, I tender the witness your honour,” Gerald Thatcher sat down; the damage had been done.

“All of this: the dating site advertisements, the alleged clandestine meetings with suitors in seedy hotels, the relationship between Ms Nielsen and Mister Wallace all occurred while my defendant was still outwardly presenting as a man named Stephen Nielsen who sometimes dressed as a woman to meet men for sex. She had not yet transitioned and changed her gender had she?” William Sanford proposed.

“Objection; relevance?” the ADA got to his feet.

“Only a couple more questions your honour and I’ll get there I promise,” William pleaded with the judge.

“Get there soon Mister Sanford,” her honour warned.

“Has the FIU been monitoring my client’s email, online activity and emails since the murder?” William asked.

“Objection, facts not in evidence,” Gerald Thatcher was livid.

“Overruled, the witness may answer,” Judge Vogel did not appear to be happy that the defendant was still under police surveillance.

Robert Martello stared at Gerald Thatcher dumbfounded that the defence knew about the ongoing surveillance but the ADA just nodded at him.

“Given that this is a murder investigation and the accused was granted bail and was considered a flight risk, we asked for and were granted a warrant by Judge McGregor to monitor the defendant’s online activity,” Robert Martello admitted.

“And isn’t it true that my client has shut down her accounts on these websites and has been actively removing salacious online content and has closed the email address she used prior to her being arrested?” William Sanford closed in on Robert Martello where he was seated in the witness box.

“That is correct. Her online activity at the moment is best summarised as boring or what we call vanilla,” Robert Martello further admitted.

“So, one might draw the assumption that Stephanie Nielsen, the transwoman sitting in this courtroom, is a totally different person to the crossdresser Stephen Nielsen whose pictures and private messages you displayed upon those screens,” William growled angrily.

“Objection, this witness has no way of knowing the morality, behaviour, or lifestyle of the defendant based on her online presence,” the ADA argued.

“Exactly your honour. None of this evidence points to the character of my client,” William Sanford glared at the ADA.

“But it sure shows us the kind of person she was!” Gerald Thatcher griped angrily.

“Sit down both of you. The objection is sustained and we are finished for the day,” Judge Allison Vogel rapped her gavel.

“Counsel, chambers!” Judge Vogel pointed angrily to William Sanford and Gerald Thatcher.

The Offices of Stone, Lyman and Sanford – After Day Two of the Trial

“They crucified me in court today William,” Stephanie sat in William Sanford’s office close to tears.

They were alone in the Offices of Stone, Lyman and Sanford, working late, preparing for day three of the trial.

“I got Judge Vogel to quash the surveillance warrant issued by Judge McGregor and she’s pissed that the warrant was issued after your arrest. I could have had it quashed well before the trial but I needed the jury to see that you are not the woman you were before your transition,” William sat next to Stephanie and took her hand in his.

“You know our trial strategy Stephanie. We allow the prosecutor to paint you as a scarlet woman before your transition and we will bring in Doctor Strauss to explain why. At the moment the jury are condemning you, but when Helena gives her evidence I expect them to become sympathetic,” William Stroked Stephanie’s hand.

“You had to see all that horrible evidence again. You’ve seen the pictures and the messages. You know what I was,” now Stephanie was crying.

“Exactly Stephanie, what you were. Not what who you are now,” he leaned in and kissed Stephanie softly on the lips.

Stephanie responded by putting her arms around William and intensifying the passion. The kiss became long and languid, Stephanie craving compassion and validation after having her character ripped apart in court earlier that day. Finally William broke the kiss.

“Let me take you to dinner. We can talk about anything but the trial,” William proposed.

“And risk being seen out together publicly by the paparazzi? Wouldn’t they have a field day with that! I can see the headlines now: ‘Handsome single attorney seen dining with tranny whore accused of murder’. As if those vultures haven’t got enough garbage to feed on after today’s fiasco,” Stephanie’s anger flared.

“We knew that today would be testing for both you and Mary and please don’t refer to yourself as a tranny whore. You are not that person. That was someone you used to be, not who you are now,” William did his best to calm Stephanie’s nerves.

They kissed again and the kiss slowly became passionate and intense.

“Make love to me William. I just want to forget about today, even if it’s only for a little while,” Stephanie gasped around their open-mouthed kiss.

William lifted Stephanie out of her chair and took her to his desk, never breaking the kiss. Their need was immediate and Stephanie clung to him, her kisses frenetic, her passions intensifying, her wants palpable. She broke the kiss and spun around and bent over the desk, lifting her skirt out of the way while William dropped trou and stepped between her legs.

For an instant the pictures he had seen of Stephanie in flagrante delicto with a succession of strangers sprang to mind but he cleared his head of them. This wasn’t that woman and he knew it. When he had first met Stephanie he was repulsed by her. Then they had become lovers… now he thought he might be falling in love with her.

He eased aside the gusset of her black satin panties and saw that she was ready for him. She had pre-lubricated herself, he could see the glistening emollient in her puckered bud and he pressed his cock to it and pushed.

His cock slid inside her and Stephanie gasped as he filled her void. She pushed back and wriggled her ass. She wanted it to be quick and sordid and William was happy to oblige. He gripped her hips and jackhammered his cock in and out of her tight cleft until he felt his climax about to overwhelm him. Stephanie put her hand to her mouth to stifle a scream as she felt William’s cock explode deep inside her anus. She ejaculated into her panties at the same time that William filled her with his creamy seed.

The sex was short, intense and almost violent. It was what they both needed. William took tissues from his desk and caught the flow of spunk from Stephanie’s ass when he pulled his cock out of her. He wiped her ass and handed her a wad of issues so she could pat at the puddle of ejaculate clinging to the front of her panties. They both cleaned up as best they could, a little embarrassed by the interlude. They normally took their time when they made love, lingering over the delight, building their passions until they both craved release but sometimes they just couldn’t contain their animal desires.

With their decorum restored Stephanie picked up her handbag and William threw some files in his briefcase ready to leave.

“I’ll come by your hotel around nine,” William leaned in and kissed Stephanie on the cheek not wanting to ruin her freshly applied lipstick.

“I’ll be waiting for you,” Stephanie left the office first and William waited five minutes before he departed.

Secrecy and decorum where essential at this stage of their affair.

The Offices of Stone, Lyman and Sanford – Six Months Before The Trial

Stephanie Nielsen sat across the conference table from William Sanford who had the case files arranged neatly in front of him. William was flanked by two associates who had done the grunt work wading through the discovery provided by the DA’s office. Stephanie was flanked by Mary on one side and Edward Trent on the other.

Today Stephanie was wearing a modest dark skirt-suit, a white blouse, tan hosiery and heels. Even dressed demurely she was a striking woman with her defined features, full red lips and shock of platinum blonde hair.

Mary was also a very attractive woman. Her build was similar to Stephanie’s although she wore her hair in a brunette bob. She too wore a suit, hosiery and heels, although Mary’s suit was bone and her blouse dark blue. Their perfume competed, the luscious grapey-jasmine and tuberose shadowy floral scent of Stephanie’s Dior Poison juxtaposed to the sharp bitter citrus and rosemary intertwined with salty, sea nuances of Mary’s Aqua di Giò.

William Sanford wondered, not for the first time, why any man would betray a woman as beautiful and sexy as Mary Nielsen or even contemplate becoming a woman to spite her. There was much about Stephanie Nielsen that William didn’t understand and from what he had read in the discovery documents and seen in the visual imagery gleaned from her computer, he found her to be a despicable aberration.

That aside, the case was intriguing and he felt that he could mount a solid defence and Stephanie was wealthy which was just as well because beside the exorbitant fees his firm charged and the cost of the trial would be substantial.

Although Stephanie sat directly across from him, William addressed Edward Trent.

“I have reviewed the discovery and the facts of the case Edward and I believe that your client stands a half decent chance of acquittal or in the worst case scenario we could ask for a plea bargain down to manslaughter,” William opened proceedings.

“Of course I will need to hear your client’s version of the facts, interview other witnesses and retain expert professionals with specialised knowledge who can provide impartial opinions on specific matters to formulate a valid defence argument,” William continued.

“So you will take the case?” Edward sounded relieved.

“Provided your client deposits this retainer in my firm’s account, I am willing to proceed,” William slid a note across the table to Edward.

Edward read the note and then passed it to Stephanie.

She cleared the throat and spoke for the first time.

“My name is Stephanie Nielsen, Mister Sanford, and I am sitting directly across from you. Please don’t talk about me in the third person while I am in the room. When we first met you told me that you have defended some of the most depraved individuals in the State of New York. I know that is how you see me and I can accept that. I just ask that you treat me with the same courtesy and respect that I’m sure you offer to your other depraved murder suspects,” Stephanie said levelly.

“I will arrange to have the retainer transferred into your firm's bank account this afternoon,” Stephanie slipped the note into her purse.

Edward Trent broke the ensuing silence.

“In that case I will leave you with your client. Good luck William. Good luck Stephanie,” Edward Trent leaned across the table and shook William Sanford’s hand.

When Edward left the room he looked like a man who had been reprieved from execution at the last minute.

“If you will excuse me, I would like to talk to my client alone,” William nodded at Mary and his two associates.

Mary too seemed relieved to be leaving the room. The associates shuffled some paperwork and filed out leaving William and Stephanie alone.

“We are going to be spending a lot of time together over the coming months. We are going to be discussing the most intimate details of your life and for this collaboration to work we must trust each other. We don’t have to like each other but we have to be able to work alongside each other amicably,” William said and got up and moved around the conference table and sat down beside Stephanie.

“Why do you despise me?” Stephanie whispered.

“I don’t despise you. I just don’t understand you. You need to make me understand you because in a few months you are going to have to make a jury understand you. Is that clear,” for the first time William looked Stephanie directly in the eyes and was captivated by how green they were.

“Crystal clear,” Stephanie replied looking directly into William’s deep, dark-brown eyes.

There was something trusting about him. His rakish good looks, his bespoke suit, his commanding voice and his confident demeanour made Stephanie feel safer than she had felt since her arrest.

“Good. I need your permission to interview your doctors and your psychologist. I want to know everything there is to know about your mental state at the time of the murder and the background and history of your gender issues,” William became business-like and placed a series of documents and a pen in front of Stephanie.

Stephanie signed the documents without even glancing at them.

“You didn’t even read them,” William pointed at the documents.

“I don’t need to. I trust you,” Stephanie handed the pen back to William and their fingers brushed briefly when he took it.

“Feel free to wipe your hand William, I won’t be offended,” Stephanie gave William a knowing smile.

He knew then that she had seen him wipe his hand on his trousers while waiting for the elevator in the corridor outside Edward Trent’s offices.

He gave Stephanie a wry smile and tucked the pen inside his suit pocket.

“I’ll arrange another conference after I have interviewed the medical professionals,” William stood up and Stephanie was surprised when William held her seat for her when she stood.

He walked her to the door to the conference room and Stephanie held out her hand to him. William took it and gently shook it. She looked into his deep brown eyes again while they shook briefly and he held her gaze.

“Thank you William. I hope I won’t be too much bother,” Stephanie blushed.

William gave her a genuine smile and he placed his hand lightly in the small of her back as he guided her out the door.

“One more thing Stephanie, don’t wear that perfume at trial, it distracts me,” his smile widened and Stephanie's blush deepened.

William Sanford sat at the conference table deep in thought. What was it about Stephanie that made him like her? He had seen the most damning evidence of her infidelity. He had seen proof that she was conniving, secretive, sexually depraved and promiscuous. But there was something about her in person.

She came across as sincere and honest and likeable. Had something changed, besides the obvious physical manifestations, since she’d had gender reaffirming surgery and gender reassignment? Was she now a different person to the man dressed as a woman who had met with Jeremy Wallace on the evening he had been murdered? Was she really a murderer? Was it all a farce to garner sympathy?

The legal wheels began to turn in his brain and he was already thinking about a trial strategy.

His mind flickered briefly to the image of Stephanie when he they first met a week ago. The pretty petite woman with pert breasts and those long legs sheathed in shimmery glossy tan nylons as she strode the short distance across the meeting room before she sat down beside Edward Trent.

He shook his head to clear the image and reminded himself that he had a dinner date tonight with a stunning young paralegal who had made it abundantly clear that sex was in the offing.

Outside the law offices Mary sat patiently waiting for Stephanie. Since her husband’s arrest she had taken up smoking again and had snuck outside for a cigarette before returning to the hard wooden bench where she sat and pondered the future. Her ‘husband’ was now a woman and their marriage a sham. She only stayed with Stephanie out of loyalty. They had agreed to a no fault divorce once the trial was over regardless of the outcome.

Stephanie came out of the office and sat down beside Mary.

“Does he want to fuck you yet?” Mary asked bitterly.

“Don’t be silly, he despises me,” Stephanie replied softly.

“I see how men look at you. You’re beautiful and sexy and exotic. They’re all wondering what you have under that skirt,” Mary sighed.

Stephanie could smell the cigarette smoke on Mary. The last year had been devastating for Mary, and Stephanie still loved her and felt immensely sorry for her.

“You know I haven’t been with anyone but you since I was arrested,” Stephanie whispered.

“But you have been with plenty over the last three years,” Mary hissed.

“Men Mary, never another woman,” Stephanie explained for the hundredth time.

“Like that makes it any better. I think I would have felt better if you had fucked half the secretaries in your office rather than what I’m facing now,” Mary grimaced.

“I told you why it happened. We have both been to see Helena Strauss. She explained to you about my gender dysphoria,” Stephanie tried to take Mary’s hand in hers.

“All the times you asked me to wear pantyhose or stockings and sexy lingerie to bed I thought it was because you wanted me to look and feel sexy. I never dreamt that you wanted to wear them yourself,” Mary chuckled ironically.

Her demeanour changed and she took Stephanie’s hand and they walked together to the elevators.

“Now that you’re a woman and you look nearly as gorgeous as I do, maybe we can pull a nice handsome man and have a threesome. You’ve still got your dick and it would make for an interesting interlude I’m sure,” Mary sniggered.

“Shut up,” Stephanie squeezed Mary’s hand and they stepped into the empty car.

Stephanie kissed Mary affectionately just as the door opened on the next floor.

A young man entered the car, obviously embarrassed by what he had witnessed: two beautiful mature women kissing.

“See?” Mary whispered and Stephanie stifled a laugh and patted Mary chastely on the buttocks.

Westchester County Court – The Trial – Day Three

The prosecution rested as soon as the court came into session. ADA Gerald Thatcher had three other witnesses on his list. One was the building superintendent at Franklin Manor who would verify the security footage and also claimed to have seen Stephanie Nielsen in the building a number of times over the last three years but the defence had stipulated to the affair between Stephanie and Jeremy so his testimony was not really needed.

The other two witnesses were the coroner and another forensic expert who didn’t really have anything additional to add to the evidence already presented. Gerald Thatcher was well aware that overdosing juries with boring forensic testimony sometimes sent the jury into a coma and often alienated them. He thought he had proved his case.

“The defence calls Doctor Helena Strauss,” William said confidently, calling his first witness.

Helena Strauss presented as a fastidious woman, small in stature but confident and officious. She wore a grey suit, black opaque tights, low heels, very little makeup and her hair was pulled back in a severe bun. She looked like the caricature of a phycologist.

William allowed Helena to introduce herself to the court and offer her credentials as an expert witness.

“I have a doctorate of psychology from Harvard University. I have worked with a variety of presentations including complex trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder. I currently specialise in cases involving gender dysphoria, body dysmorphia, anxiety, depression and interpersonal relationship difficulties,” Helena finished her introduction.

“How long have you known the defendant, Stephanie Nielsen, Doctor Strauss?” William began.

“I first met Stephen Nielsen, as he was then known, about three and half years ago. Stephen came to see me, referred by his private physician, for psychological issues regarding gender identity,” Helena said confidently.

“May I address the jury your Honour,” Helena turned to the judge.

Gerald Thatcher was about to object but he too knew that continually interjecting put the jury offside.

“Briefly Doctor,” Allison Vogel nodded at Helena, as two highly respected professionals are want to do.

“For the remainder of my testimony I am going to refer to defendant as Stephanie and use feminine pronouns regardless of whether or not I am talking about her presenting to me prior to, or after, her gender reassignment. Deadnaming, as we call it, can make transgender people feel disrespected, unsupported, and invalidated. It can also make them feel like you don't care enough about them to use their chosen name. I hope you won’t find that confusing,” Helena spoke to the jury as if they were equals, careful not to talk down to them.

“This issue has already been explained infinitum your Honour. I request the witness continue with her testimony without continually going over old ground,” Gerald Thatcher couldn’t help himself and realised his mistake when both the witness and some members of the jury gave him indignant stares.

Judge Vogel waved a hand, indicating for the prosecutor sit down. There had been no formal objection and Allison Vogel was keen to hear what Helena had to say.

“Can you tell us about Stephanie’s gender issues as you call them?” William had spent hours deposing Helena and knew exactly what she was going to say.

There is an idiom among lawyers that you never ask a witness a question unless you know what their answer is going to be. Doctor Strauss had been called as an expert witness at many trials and she didn’t need much coaching.

“Stephanie came to see me because she was beginning to feel the strain of suppressing her gender identity. She was a classic case in that she showed signs of incongruence between her sex assigned at birth and her gender identity when she was young. In almost all cases this presents as crossdressing because putting on clothes of the opposite gender is the easiest way to change your outward appearance,” Helena began.

“This usually begins with the wearing of feminine undergarments and hosiery. The garments feel nice against the skin. They are comforting and later they may arouse the subject sexually. This is different to those who have a fetish where the fascination is with the object itself, such as a fetish for stockings or panties or high heels. For those with conflicting gender identity issues the undergarments validate the subject’s femininity and they soon move onto wearing outer garments, shoes, makeup and wigs. The subject will work hard at projecting an outwardly feminine persona and give themselves a female name,” Helena continued.

“If this trait continues into adolescence and adulthood they almost always seek to engage sexually with men. The sex is of course satisfying but it also validates their femininity. If a man finds them attractive enough to want to have sex with them, then they must be ‘passable’ in the eyes of the man. So now the subject also has to deal with sexuality issues,” Helena explained.

“But not all crossdressers would qualify for this diagnosis, is that correct?” William Sanford interjected.

“Certainly not. There is a broad spectrum when it comes to trans feminism. I have mentioned the underwear fetishists, often called ‘hairy panty-wearers’ who are fascinated sexually with ladies undergarments. Then there are fetishic crossdressers who present themselves as feminine as possible but once again only for the purposes of sexual gratification. There are even heterosexual, agamous, crossdressers who do not find dressing as a woman sexually gratifying. They are heterosexual men who just derive comfort from wearing ladies clothing,” Helena spoke directly to the jury so she would be understood.

“Most transgender women pass through the crossdressing stage and although they exhibit similar traits to their transvestite sisters, in their minds they actually become the woman they always wanted to be. They will exhibit distress related symptoms of being a woman trapped in a man’s body. Their only recourse is gender affirming surgery and gender reassignment so that they can live full-time as a woman,” Helena paused and took a sip of water.

“Can we get specifically to Stephanie Nielsen?” William guided Helena back on track.

“By the time she was eighteen Stephanie was already living part-time as a woman although she was still what we call closeted. That is she hadn't come out and kept her feminine identity secret. Like most of her ilk she sought the company of other crossdressers because they understand each other. Stephanie engaged sexually with men, seeking validation from those who have a penchant for her type. She did not identify as homosexual because she only had sex with men when she presented femme,” Helena continued.

“However, supressing her feminine identity led to classic symptoms of dysphonia including: anxiety, depression, and eating disorders as well as promiscuity. The more men she had sex with, the more it validated her gender identity you see. Her attendance at college became sporadic and she ceased studying so her grades suffered and also she became socially isolated. It is hard work being a closet transvestite, living two lives,” Helena commented.

“In my opinion, and as is often the case, Stephanie would have either come out of the closet and acknowledged her gender dysphoria and sought help or she would have spiralled into psychosis and possibly become suicidal,” Helena said gravely.

“What did happen?” William asked.

“Another outcome, and what occurred with Stephanie, is that a traumatic event can force the subject to dispel the outward manifestation of their feminine identity and drive it deep inside their psyche. In other words they shut it away and deny its existence,” Helena replied.

“And what was this traumatic event?” William asked, looking at the jury for their reaction.

“She was raped,” Helena said loudly and clearly and a gasp rippled around the courtroom.

At the defence table Stephanie bowed her head and Mary registered shock. Stephanie had never told Mary about the assault that had happened to her while she was in college.

“This was never reported to your knowledge?” William sounded concerned.

“Transgender women are four times more likely to be raped than their cis counterparts and if they are closeted, like Stephanie was, they almost never report it. Also, put into context that Stephanie was promiscuous and regularly having sexual congress with strangers she met online. I doubt that the police would have been inspired to pursue the allegation,” Helena said sarcastically.

“Objection your Honour; speculation. The witness’s expertise in phycology and gender issues is acknowledged but she has no direct knowledge as to how the police would have handled an investigation that went unreported,” The ADA shot his feet.

“Sustained. The witness may provide evidence only on what she knows to be factual and is not to speculate,” the judge said firmly and Gerald Thatcher scored a point.

“Please continue. What did Stephanie do next?” William smiled at his witness, encouraging her to ignore the objection.

“She purged herself of everything to do with her feminine identity: she threw out her clothes and accoutrements, she deleted her online identity then she closed her mind and suppressed her dysphoria and lived life as a man fulltime. She made new friends, found a wife and worked hard at being a good husband and provider,” Helena explained.

“But for a person who is genuinely gender dysphoric this hardly ever works in the long term. Around three years ago she could no longer keep these feelings suppressed and Stephanie re-emerged and would not be restrained. The overwhelming kinaesthesia of being a woman trapped in a man’s body became overpowering,” Helena took another sip of water.

“She reverted to her old ways but this became even more problematic because Stephanie was a successful married business professional so that part of her life was conducted in the utmost secrecy. She began to live two separate lives,” Helena disclosed.

“This time though she went about it a little differently. She used online dating sites just as she had before to meet men but she only ever met them in hotels and only ever met them once. She used every opportunity to sneak away and be herself but she was extremely cautious. She had so much to lose you see?” Helena used a hand gesture to emphasise her point.

“But that wasn’t the case with Jeremy Wallace was it?” William now wanted to move onto the specifics of Stephanie and Jeremy's relationship.

“No. Stephanie and Jeremy formed a special relationship. They were lovers but more than that, they had a special bond. Jeremy had no interest whatsoever in Stephanie’s male counterpart, in fact he insisted that Stephanie never talk about Stephen. Jeremy never acknowledged that Stephen existed outside of her feminine persona as Stephanie,” Helena answered William’s question and knew where he would be going next.

“But Stephanie continued to see other men?” William led his witness.

“Yes because of her insecurity she felt validated when men desired her. The more men she bedded, the more her feminine psyche felt vindicated,” Helena nodded sagely.

“But she and Jeremy argued about that, is that not right?” William was steering into dangerous territory but he had to address the damning emails between Stephanie and Jeremy.

“Yes. Stephanie faced a terrible dilemma. She still loved her wife and would do nothing to hurt her but she also adored Jeremy and felt conflicted about cheating on them both,” Helena explained.

“Forgive me Doctor Strauss but I’m confused. Stephanie was conducting a clandestine affair behind her wife’s back but also felt that she was being unfaithful to Jeremy?” William desperately wanted the jury to understand Stephanie’s state of mind.

“That’s right. She was hopelessly conflicted,” Helena replied.

“But after Jeremy was killed, Stephanie came out to her wife and in fact finally undertook gender reassignment,” William asked the question he knew the ADA would ask under cross-examination.

“It sounds almost callous to say but with Jeremy gone and Stephanie’s secret life exposed, there was no reason for her not begin to live her true life,” Helene said matter-of-factly.

“And do you know if Stephanie is still promiscuous?” William asked.

“During our counselling Stephanie told me that she been monogamous since she came out as a transwoman,” Helena said with self-satisfaction.

“And Stephanie never expressed to you any violent feelings towards Jeremy or anyone else?” William could sense that the jury had heard enough from this witness.

“Stephanie is a gentle soul and in my opinion incapable of committing murder or any act of violence,” Helena looked at the jury with sincerity.

“Your witness,” William nodded at Gerald Thatcher.

The ADA went straight on the attack.

“So this woman who has been living a deceitful, double-life for most of her life, hiding it from her family and friends and her wife, a woman who is promiscuous in the extreme, capable of ongoing dupery, deceptiveness and is unfaithful to both her wife and her lover, is incapable of violence?” Gerald snarled at Helena.

“It’s more complicated than that counsellor as I have explained in my testimony,” Helena’s hackles became raised.

“So I am to understand that even though Stephanie Nielsen knew that Jeremy Wallace was hopelessly in love with her and was willing to, what do you call it, come out of the closet, as a man in love with a transgender woman, Stephanie Nielsen continued to see other men, fully aware that this angered and distressed him?” Gerald did not back off.

“As I said before, I have already explained that,” Helena would not be shaken and the ADA took another tack.

“The defendant has obviously agreed for you to break doctor patient privilege to give this testimony?” Gerald raised his brows.

“Obviously,” Helena sniped back.

“But you haven’t established an alibi for your patient have you? Other than giving us a potted history of deceit, lies and promiscuity, you haven’t really helped your patient's defence at all have you?” Gerald said mildly, taking the heat out of his attack.

“That is for the jury to decide. I am up here to explain Stephanie Nielsen’s state of mind,” Helena replied, with a self-satisfied smirk.

“You are up here as an expert witness, are you not?” Gerald changed tack again.

“I have presented my credentials to the court and I am Stephanie Nielsen’s consulting psychologist,” Helena sounded smug, which wasn’t usually her demeanour but Gerald Thatcher was getting to her.

“And how much are you being paid to tender your expert testimony?” the ADA approached the witness.

“Objection your Honour,” William Sanford got to his feet.

“On what grounds Mister Sanford, you know that the ADA has asked a valid question,” Judge Vogel waved away the defence counsel’s objection.

“I was paid ten thousand dollars,” Helena said calmly.

“So your intimate knowledge of the defendant’s personal life was espoused for a significant fee, even though you present yourself as a sympathetic friend and confidant,” Gerald growled.

“Objection!” William flew to his feet.

“Withdrawn,” the prosecutor had made his point.

“So now that Stephanie Nielsen has undergone gender reassignment, everything is hunky dory?” the sarcasm in Gerald’s voice was evident.

“Transwomen usually require ongoing mental health support in the early stages of their transformation. I would also add that the trauma associated with being accused of murdering her lover and dealing with the fallout of her being so publicly outed has created quite a stressful situation that will need ongoing clinical and moral support,” Helena became calm once more.

“Yes… this transformation and reassignment. Has Ms Nielsen undergone bottom surgery?” Gerald asked snidely.

William guessed that the ADA would call into question the full extent of Stephanie’s gender affirming surgery and had discussed it with Stephanie at length. William believed that he would be able to suppress the question if it arose but Stephanie insisted that if they did suppress it, it would look like she had something to hide and told Doctor Strauss that if she was asked, she should answer truthfully.

The ADA waited for the objection and when none was forthcoming he prompted the witness.

“Well?” he asked knowingly.

“No but studies that assessed transgender women as an aggregate found that only four to thirteen percent undertake bottom surgery. Consensus among experts places the number at around twenty percent. Bottom surgery isn't something all transwomen want or need in order to feel happy with their body. Most find that being able to present themselves outwardly as a woman reduces their dysphoria,” Helena was ready for the question.

“So Ms Nielsen could easily transition back into a man if she wanted to, say, after the trial?” Gerald asked pointedly.

“Objection, relevance?” William got to his feet once again.

“Evidence suggests that less than one percent of transgender people who undergo gender-affirming surgery report regret,” Helena responded before the judge could rule.

“Nothing further,” Gerald Thatcher said flippantly and took his seat.

Radisson Hotel, New Rochelle – After Day Three of The Trial

Stephanie lived in a suite in the Radisson Hotel where she would stay until after the trial, it had been agreed that Mary would get the house as part of the divorce settlement. After the verdict Stephanie would move to somewhere permanent or go straight to prison. Negotiations were already underway as to where Stephanie would be housed if she were found guilty. The prison system was still coming to terms as to where and how to incarcerate transgender inmates.

The door opened and William Sanford entered the suite. Stephanie had slipped him a passkey so that he could enter and leave the hotel discreetly. If he came during the day his presence was easily explained as a lawyer visiting a client but late night rendezvous’ might be a little harder to explain.

Stephanie was lying on the bed dressed all in white: white satin panties and brassiere, a translucent white peignoir, white hold-up nylon stockings and white high heels. She looked stunning and William hurriedly undressed and joined her on the bed.

“We did well in court today,” William snuggled up to her.

“Shut up and kiss me. Make me forget about this nightmare,” Stephanie wrapped her arms and legs around William and pulled him close, his cock rubbed against hers through her slinky panties as they kissed.

Safely ensconced in the hotel there was no rush and they took their time making love. William kissed Stephanie softly whist gliding his erect penis along her bloated appendage, the ethereal fabric of Stephanie's panties stimulating their cocks, the tips of their tongues just touching.

This continued until Stephanie’s panties were wet with pre-seminal fluid and then William broke the kiss and began to explore Stephanie’s body with his mouth. She removed her peignoir and lay back and let William tend to her. His lips and tongue moved from her mouth to her earlobe which he nuzzled playfully and then nipped, causing Stephanie to flinch, not so much with pain but with lust.

He moved down her swanlike neck, softly caressing the delicate skin with his lips, the tip of his tongue picking up the almost bitter tang of her perfume. He spent some time there.

“Mmm, you know I love that,” Stephanie entwined her fingers in his mane and encouraged him to move on.

He did so and explored the hollows of her clavicle and while he did so his hand lightly brushed her yearning cock, still swathed in satin. It was a perfunctory graze, just a tease to make Stephanie moan which she did. He followed the hollow of her breast bone down to her magnificent bosom. He lapped at the soft inviting baps, carefully avoiding her sensitive nipples and areolas, teasing her. He used his fingers to stroke one of the inviting orbs while he used his mouth on the other.

He traced the fine silver scars under each of her breasts where she’s had implant surgery. They knew each other well enough by now not to be embarrassed by bodily imperfections but even so Stephanie yanked on William’s hair in a vain effort to guide his mouth to her nipples which were achingly susceptive and finally William relented and took her nipple in his mouth and sucked on it, flicking his tongue across the berry-like protuberance while his fingers flicked and fondled the other.

“You bastard, that feels so good,” a shiver of wantonness caused Stephanie to shudder.

William caressed her cock lightly through her panties and then released it.

“You fucker… stop teasing me,” Stephanie whined but William knew that she enjoying every second of his ministrations.

He continued to work her breasts with his mouth and his fingers, swapping from one to the other until Stephanie's moans became a continual growl and then he moved on down across her flat creamy-skinned belly, briefly lingering at her bellybutton which required investigating with the tip of his tongue, despite Stephanie pushing on the top of his head trying to guide his mouth to the ultimate destination they both knew it was going to.

William reluctantly left the delights of her belly and his mouth continued along her delicate frame until it was inches from the lump in her panties. He ignored it and instead continued his journey, neglecting her aching genitals and found the crease where her legs joined her torso.

He investigated the crease with his lips and tongue while his fingers caressed her thighs, smoothing her nylon stockings along her flesh, igniting little fires of intense pleasure.

“Do it, you fucker!” Stephanie yanked at William's thick locks and he smiled and submitted to her request.

He lapped at her engorged penis through the sleek panty material, running his tongue along the length of it, teasing her scrotal sac with his fingertip until she drummed her feet on the coverlet and only then did he pop her cock out of her panties and take it in his mouth.

The first time William had fellated Stephanie she had implored him not to because she suspected that he was only doing so out of a sense of duty and would be repulsed by it but it turned out that William Sanford was actually pretty good at fellatio and he didn’t mind it one little bit. If he was going to be in a relationship with a transwoman then there was no part of her body that he intended to leave unexplored.

Stephanie had taught him well and William slid his lips up and down her shaft while his tongue concentrated its efforts on the head of her penis, lapping at her tender frenulum and the corolla, occasionally licking the bulbous glans. He heard Stephanie sigh and her fingers relaxed, stroking his mane rather than yanking it now that he was pleasuring her how she wanted him to.

He worked his mouth up and down her cock, swallowing the sweet nectar of pre-ejaculate, his finger lightly caressing her scrotum which was still ensconced in her slithery panties.

“Oh that is so good,” Stephanie sighed as she felt waves of delight emanate from her throbbing organ.

“Oh my god!” Stephanie squealed as William slid two fingers inside her anus and began to massage her prostate with his fingertips.

Stephanie was pre-lubricated with K-Y Liquibeads and his fingers slid in easily. He worked them in and out of her tight cleft, briefly stopping to caress her prostate and then went back to fucking her ass with his fingers whilst his mouth worked her hard cock. His cock was pressed against her leg, rubbing against her stockings, leaving silvery trails of precum on the almost transparent yarn. He loved rubbing his cock on her nylon-sheathed legs and Stephanie was very obliging. She too loved to feel his cock pressing against her stockinged gams.

Stephanie was writhing on the bed, grunting, growing, mewing and moaning like a slattern in heat. Wavelets of pleasure were pealing out from her anus and prostate, joining the ringlets of delight thrumming from her fully-engorged phallus, her whole body was lit up with withering ripples of pleasure as a corollary of orgasmic sensations washed over her body like the groundswell of a tidal wave.

Stephanie shrieked and twisted her fingers in William’s tousled mane as she fucked his mouth, unleashing a torrent of warm, musky milt into his mouth which William swallowed greedily while he worked his fingers in and out of Stephanie’s tight sphincter.

He didn’t wait for her to fully climax before he quickly spun Stephanie over on her belly and mounted her, lying on top of her, driving his steely rod into her tight anus, fucking her vigorously, emptying his scrotum inside her as she stained the sheets with the remainder of her issue.

He pressed her into the bed and pounded at her, his pubis slamming into her soft buttocks, his mouth clamped on her neck, sucking on it like a vampire as he felt her anus clench and release his cock spasmodically, milking him of every drop of his seed.

Stephanie cried into the pillow, feeling the weight of the man she adored laying on top of her, his cock juddering as the last of his spunk filled her aching asshole.

It had been a long and withering session and they both lay panting in the afterglow of tremendous sex. William was content to lie on top of Stephanie until the sweat began to cool on his body and then her rolled off her and pulled her close, kissing her softly, uttering words of adoration.

After a while they made love again, this time tenderly looking each other’s eyes as they pleasured each other. Both of them on verge of saying something that would be life changing but neither of them uttered the words. The trial loomed over their heads like the sword of Damocles and they were too scared to commit to each other until the verdict came in.

After their lovemaking William donned a robe and went to the minibar and poured them both a drink.

“I’ll put Mary on the stand tomorrow followed by you. Are you going to be ready?” William asked as he climbed on the bed and lay down beside her.

“Tell me again why Mary has to testify?” Stephanie took a long pull on her gin and tonic.

“She will be a character witness and will testify that you were a loving husband without a violent bone in your body,” William said for what had to be the twentieth time.

He had only ever known Stephanie as a transwoman and still found it difficult to think of her as once being a man who wore women’s clothing and had sex with other men. During his lengthy conferences with Doctor Helena Strauss, William had come to understand about Stephanie’s past, her issues with gender dysphoria and why she became promiscuous.

William had been single all his life and he had fucked so many women that he had forgotten most of them so he was no angel himself. He had never been in a long term relationship and he was still coming to terms with his relationship with Stephanie. At first he had despised her for who and what she was and then he became curious. He had never dreamed that he might fall in love with her; if that’s what this was. Neither of them had been willing to discuss a future together after the trial.

“What will you do after the trial and all this is over?” William asked Stephanie.

It was the first time they had talked about what might happen to them after the trial.

“Maybe I’ll settle down and marry a nice man. Someone far removed from my past life. Definitely not a lawyer,” Stephanie teased William, running her stockinged toes up and down his calf.

“I can still work as a broker. I could advertise myself as the ‘Tranny Trader’. Wouldn’t that be a hoot,” she took a long pull of her drink.

William took the glass from her hand and put it on the nightstand.

“I’m a nice man. Maybe I can change your mind about hooking up with a lawyer,” he slid his hand under the sheets and stroked Stephanie’s cock through her panties and felt it begin to engorge.

“Shut up and fuck me again,” Stephanie moaned and rolled over on her back.

William left the hotel in the early hours; he leaned down and kissed a half-asleep Stephanie on the cheek before he left.

“Don’t forget about what I said about wearing that perfume,” William whispered.

“I won’t,” Stephanie mumbled and fell back to sleep.

She had worn it every day in court deliberately because William had asked her not to.

To be continued…