by Ashe Barker
It was perhaps twenty minutes before she finally disappeared over the next slight brow in the road and dropped out of view. At last with a sigh, Ethan tore his gaze from the now-deserted road and back to the matter at hand—his geological survey of the spa site. He grabbed his tripod from the boot and quickly snapped the legs out, locking them in place and securing his camera on the top. He proceeded to position the equipment before capturing a few dozen images. He moved the camera about, photographing the site from every angle, also recording distances and gradients with a view to constructing a three-dimensional section model at a later stage. He worked quickly, keen to complete his site investigations and be able to return to the cool, air-conditioned comfort of his suite at the Totally Five Star to input the data into his laptop and start analyzing the information. He hoped to be able to provide James with preliminary survey results within a few days, sufficient for his friend to take a decision regarding further, more detailed work.
Satisfied at last that he’d completed all he could do here, today, Ethan dismantled his photographic equipment and put it all back in the boot of his hire car. He refolded the charts and tossed them in as well, took one last swig of his water then gratefully slithered back into the driver’s seat. He slammed the air conditioning on full blast as he reversed the car off the dusty roadside and back onto the asphalt. He turned the nose toward Marrakesh and headed for home. Or, at least, this week’s home.
He caught up to her maybe two miles farther on, still walking sedately along the dusty road, swaying gently on the donkey’s back. The animal struck him as the most placid of creatures, but still Ethan slowed as he came up behind them, careful not to over-rev his engine as he drew close. He passed them at a dead crawl, leaning down and forward to make eye contact again with the woman through the passenger side window. He lifted his hand in greeting this time, as did she. Once past, Ethan accelerated again but not hard. He flicked his eyes up to watch her in the rear-view mirror, enjoying his last vision of her before she slipped out of his sight.
He should have been watching the road ahead, not ogling a beguiling Berber peasant woman behind him. If he had been looking where he was going, he might well have spotted the pothole before he crunched his front nearside wheel straight into it. Amid the grating clatter of his suspension bottoming and the powerful jolt as the shock reverberated through the axle and up the steering column, Ethan fought to regain control of the vehicle. He might have succeeded if the tire had held out. But it didn’t, and he found himself hurtling off the road, out of control and heading with unerring accuracy toward the only obstacle for miles around.
He hit the olive tree with less force than perhaps he might have feared but still enough to spin the car around. Ethan lost his grip on the steering wheel and hurtled forwards, his last thought before he hit the windscreen that he really should have used the seatbelts provided. Pain exploded in his head, and the world went black.
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About the Author
Ashe has been an avid reader of women’s fiction for many years—erotic, historical, contemporary, fantasy, romance—you name it, as long as it’s written by women, for women. Now, at last in control of her own time and working from her home in rural West Yorkshire, she has been able to realize her dream of writing erotic romance herself.
She likes to write about people, relationships, and the general cock-up and mayhem that is most of our lives. She often writes about places she’s known but her stories of love, challenge, resilience and compassion are the conjurings of her own imagination, with a hefty dose of kink to keep it interesting. We all need to have a hobby.
Ashe loves to craft strong, enigmatic men and bright, sassy women to give them a hard time—in every sense of the word.
When she’s not writing, Ashe’s time is divided between her role as resident taxi driver for her teenage daughter, and caring for a menagerie of dogs, rabbits, tortoises, and Colin the hamster.
Email: [email protected]
Ashe loves to hear from readers. You can find her contact information, website and author biography at http://www.totallybound.com
Also by Ashe Barker
Carrot and Coriander
Red Skye at Night
The Dark Side: Darkening
The Dark Side: Darker
The Dark Side: Darkest
Sure Mastery: Unsure
Sure Mastery: Sure Thing
Sure Mastery: Surefire
The Hardest Word: A Hard Bargain
The Hardest Word: Hard Lessons
The Hardest Word: Hard Choices
A Richness of Swallows: Rich Tapestry
A Richness of Swallows: Rich Pickings
A Richness of Swallows: Rich Promise
Paramour: Re-Awakening
Jolly Rogered: Right of Salvage
What’s Her Secret?: The Three Rs
Totally Five Star: Chameleon
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