Page 6

“I have to go.” He had tried to say it softly, so as to avoid disturbing her entirely, but his throat was dry and what came out was a raspy parody of a voice. Her body quivered in surprise at the sound and her eyes fluttered open, glassy with unshed tears.

“But…but can’t you stay with me tonight?”

“You know I can’t.” In truth, he would have liked nothing better than to stay with her, but he knew Alice would be growing worried and it wouldn’t be long before she came looking for him. The thought of her finding them like this sent the first true shiver of fear down his spine, and with the idea of her barging through the door, dressed like Rambo and armed with enough firepower to orbit Schwarzenegger in mind, he gently pushed her aside and sat up. Rising to his feet, he quickly set about collecting the garments that were scattered across the floor. Yet his mind was only half on the task, and as a result, he had done up more than half of his shirt’s buttons before realising two of them were in the wrong hole. Even so, he couldn’t keep from cringing when the cloth touched his back. The skin there felt painfully raw and inflamed; he’d need to be careful Alice didn’t see the marks for a couple of days.

Finally dressed, though appearing curiously dishevelled, he straightened up and was about to leave when he heard the rustle of bedsheets.

“Please…Richard, promise me this wasn’t just a one-night stand,” Rebecca called out and despite his better judgement, he glanced back and his heart nearly broke at the vision of her sitting there, desperately trying to hide her nakedness by clutching the soiled sheets to her chest, her ivory skin almost glowing and big doe eyes sparkling pleadingly. Even after such a thorough fucking, she was no less a vision of innocence and purity, the sweetest of temptations.

“We’ll see,” he said, trying to keep his voice flat and features stern, hiding the sudden stab of emotion in his chest. He left without a backwards glance, shutting the bedroom door firmly behind him, doing his best to ignore Rebecca’s tearful sobs.