by Susan Lewis
'I thought it was Mum's Porsche.' He grinned. 'She gave it back. Right, I'm really going now. See you after Dan's football,' and ringing off, he pushed open the door of a lingerie shop where he and Julia had spent a small fortune over the years.
After selecting a transparent white negligee that would just cover the bottom, and a pair of hold-up stockings with lacy tops, he paid an unfamiliar assistant with cash, then gave a friendly wave to the shop's owner who was busy with someone else, before hurrying back out to the cab.
Minutes later he was talking to another client on his mobile, while mentally urging the traffic to do a Red Sea number to let him through to his four o'clock - or better still, just snarl up completely to stop him getting there at all.
When the cab finally arrived at Sydney Street it came to a stop outside one of the elegant town- houses that could easily have been mistaken for a private dwelling, but was actually a hotel.
'You must be Mr Thayne,' the receptionist said, finding his name on the computer screen as he came in through the door, 'you're not the first to arrive. Third floor, room 307.'
As the lift rose silently upwards, a dark mirror was showing him the reflection of a man who despised himself for being here, even though he could already feel the anticipation building. He thought back to the times when Julia had waited
for him in hotel rooms, or restaurants, even taxi ranks, or cinemas, for they'd often pretended to be strangers meeting by chance as part of an erotic game that would end up driving them nuts with desire. In all their married life he'd never been unfaithful, had never even wanted to, though he'd never been short of offers. In spite of the rumours that he put it about all over town, no-one could ever point to someone he'd slept with, because until a few months ago there had never been anyone, except Julia.
The first time it had happened, it had been as much for the physical release as to punish her for the way she was rejecting him, though of course she knew nothing about it. And God forbid she ever would, because it hadn't stopped where it should have, and though he promised himself every time it happened that this would be the last, it still hadn't quite worked out that way.
Using the memory of last night's disaster to still his conscience, he tapped on the door of room 307, then pressed down on the handle and walked into the room. It was spacious, and bordering on the baroque with its ornately carved bedhead and old- fashioned furnishings - not the kind of place he'd normally associate with the woman he was meeting, for her style was much more minimalist and twenty-first century.
She was standing with her back to him looking out of the window, her blonde hair twisted into an elegant roll at the nape of her neck, her arms folded in front of her. She wore a cream silk suit, matching high-heeled sandals and a perfume he knew well. As he closed the door and put his parcel
down he could already feel the erotic charge in the air, but knowing how she liked to play it her way he said nothing, merely waited for her to turn round.
Several more seconds ticked by until she drawled softly, 'Punctuality has its rewards,' and as she turned to face him she slipped off her jacket, leaving herself naked to the waist.
Desire cut through him like a whip, but he only watched as Sylvia reached behind her to draw the clip from her silky blonde hair. As it tumbled around her shoulders she started towards him, her pale blue eyes moving over him like the burn of ice.
'Is this a business meeting?' she said as she reached him.
'If that's what you want,' he responded, and placed his hands over the small, perfect mounds of her breasts.
She looked down to watch his fingers as they began toying with her nipples, pulling and squeezing, and rubbing them with his thumbs.
'I could make you my agent,' she murmured, looking up at him, 'but it will depend on how you perform today.'
'You know I'll do whatever it takes,' he answered gruffly.
Her eyes narrowed with pleasure. 'That's what I like to hear.'
He slipped a hand around her throat and tilted her head back to look at her. 'I've brought something for you,' he told her.
She glanced at the parcel and recognising the name she said, 'I don't want to put anything on today. I just want to take everything off.'
'Then don't let me stop you,' he murmured.
As she unfastened her skirt she started to smile. 'I have a surprise for you,' she told him, and letting the silk slide down over her thighs she stepped out of it and back a few paces so he could see all of her.
'Oh Christ,' he groaned, when he saw that the lips of her sex were as naked as the day she'd been born.
She watched his eyes drinking it in, then lifting one foot onto a chair she said, 'Don't you want to touch it?'
Going to her, he pushed his fingers between her legs, to find her already wet and ready for him to do whatever pleased her the most.
For a while she just enjoyed the sensation of his fingers inside her, then moving away she walked over to the desk and dipped a strawberry into a pot of cream, before turning back to him and putting it in her mouth.
As he watched her eat he began removing his clothes. Her eyes never left him as he opened his shirt to reveal the muscles of his chest, and strength of his arms, then she murmured approval of how hard he was, as he lowered his trousers over legs that were firm and powerful and still tanned from the summer in France. By the time he was naked she'd smothered her breasts in cream and was waiting for him to lick it off. He wasted no time before drawing first one, then the other nipple deep into his mouth, and as he sucked he took the cream from her and began smearing it between her legs.
Her eyes were catlike and sensuous as she
watched him, then sitting back on the desk opened her legs wide, ready for him to feast himself there too. Instead he put strawberries there, pushing them inside her, then feeding some to her before devouring the rest himself.
Her hand was reaching for him now, pulling his erection, guiding it towards her. As it touched her she moaned softly and let her head fall back. 'Give it to me,' she murmured. 'Give it to me harder than I can take.'
Her words inflamed him and as she circled his waist with her legs, she dug the heels of her shoes into his buttocks, and forced him into her so hard it made her cry out. 'Yes, oh yes,' she gasped, as he began slamming into her. 'Fuck me, Joshua. Make me scream.'
His hands were gripping her hips as he rode her savagely, jerking her body with all his might, making her back arch and her hair swing over the desk behind her. He met her coldly calculating gaze and wanted to hurt her more and more.
'You've wanted to do this for years, haven't you?' she taunted. 'You've been dreaming about it, tearing yourself apart over it. Well you're in me now, Josh. You're fucking me so hard ...' She gasped as the first wave of an orgasm began to break. 'Do it harder,' she urged. 'Make me come like I've never come before.'
He could feel her shuddering and clamping him in a way that was bringing on his own climax. He threw himself at her in long, rapid strokes, then short brutal thrusts. She was sinking back on the desk, moaning with pleasure, and bucking her hips against his.
'Yes, oh yes she murmured, squeezing her own nipple and letting her head fall back. 'You're big I'm so full of you ... Oh God,' she cried as he grabbed her knees and spread her so wide it hurt.
He was almost spent now, and knew that she was too, for the clasp of her inner muscles was growing weaker around him. His heart was thudding as though it might burst from his chest, while sweat poured down his back and his breath came in loud, grunting pants. Then the last of his climax was spurting from him, and as he held her fast, he ground her hard, waiting for the final ecstasy of release to subside.
When it ended he wanted to lie over her, to let his breath steady and his heart calm down, but he knew he didn't have the time and his mobile was ringing.
Without thinking he reached for it, and seeing who it was he instantly withdrew and turned away, tensing as Sylvia gave a murmur of protest.
'Hi,' he said, moving a
way from her and wondering what madness had made him answer this call. 'Everything OK?'
'Everything's fine,' Julia assured him. 'Are you in a meeting?'
'No. What's up?' he said, starting for the bathroom.
'I just had a call from Katya Young at Hodders. She wants me to edit Hamish Kincaid's new book.'
'Wow!' he responded, coming to a stop. 'That's great. Are you pleased?'
'Of course. I just wondered if it had anything to do with you.' 'Me?'
'I thought you might have had a chat with Katya, pulled a few strings.'
Swallowing his annoyance he said, 'Actually, the credit's all yours, so don't do yourself down.'
There was a smile in her voice as she said, 'Thank you.'
He wanted to get her off the line, but couldn't think how.
'Are you going to make it for Dan?' she asked.
'It's looking that way. I have to go now, I'll call when I'm on my way home.'
As he rang off he let his head fall against the bathroom door. 'Shit!' he muttered. 'Shit! Shit!'
Sylvia was regarding him from the desk, where she was sitting with her long legs demurely crossed and her hands spread out either side of her. 'I take it that was Julia,' she said mildly.
He turned to look at her. 'She's been asked to edit Hamish Kincaid's next book,' he told her, not quite knowing why.
Sylvia looked impressed. 'That's good news,' she responded. 'She must be pleased.'
His eyes closed as a terrible wave of guilt swept over him.
'Go and shower,' she advised, and leaned forward to take off her shoes.
A few minutes later he was standing in the bath under a fierce cascade of water when she sauntered in to watch, parts of her body still smeared with strawberry juice and cream. Her readiness for more was as easy to read in her eyes as it was in the response he could feel tightening in his groin. As they looked at each other he continued to wash, until finally he pulled her in to join him and they
watched his hands soaping her, and the water washing it away.
'I don't have time,' he told her gruffly, as she circled his neck with her arms and hooked a leg around his waist.
'Just put it in,' she murmured.
He slid into her, then caught her before she lost her balance, and thrust into her again.
'I have to go,' he said. 'I promised Dan.'
She looked up at him, and reaching behind her turned off the water. 'For a bastard, you're a good man,' she told him.
'Don't you believe it,' he muttered, sliding gently in and out of her. Then forcing himself to pull sharply away, he stepped out of the bath and grabbed a towel. A moment later the shame of mentioning Dan's name while he was inside her, and the guilt of being where he was when Julia called, overwhelmed him to a point where he could barely wait to get out of there.
Hearing Sylvia climb out of the bath he kept his back turned, and continued to dry himself, until she came to stand so close behind him that he could feel her nipples against him.
'Josh,' she said, as he moved roughly away. 'It's only sex, remember?'
Lifting the towel he began rubbing his hair.
She put a hand on his shoulder and turned him to face her. 'We discussed this,' she reminded him. 'We agreed. It's best for Julia if you come to me for sex, because with anyone else you'd be running the risk of all kinds of complications. With me you know there'll only ever be this.'
'And that makes it right?' he said cuttingly.
'Josh, we're doing it because we care about her. When she's ready to sleep with you again, this will all be over. No-one will be hurt, and no-one, but us, will ever have to know.'
His eyes were still harsh as he looked at her. 'Don't you have a conscience at all?' he challenged.
Her face relaxed into a smile. 'Of course, when it's necessary,' she responded. 'But my motive isn't what another woman's might be, to split you up so I can have you to myself. It's to stop you looking elsewhere and keep you two together. And OK, to have some fun myself, because you're not the only one who's wanted this for a long time, I have too.' She continued to smile and regarded him with mounting amusement, seeing that his conscience was still punishing him. 'I wish she knew how much you love her,' she said. 'Correction, I wish she could make herself believe it.'
'She used to,' he answered, turning away. 'I don't know what made her stop.'
Sylvia reached for a fresh towel and began to pat herself dry. 'Actually, we kind of discussed that at lunch today,' she told him.
Hating the fact that she and Julia had so recently been together, he left the bathroom and began gathering up his clothes.
'We're all of the opinion,' Sylvia said, following him, 'that's me, Pauline and Julia, that it's tied to Shannon being almost the same age now as Julia was when her father left. On a subconscious level she could be reacting to the fear that you're going to do the same thing.'
'With no justification,' he said tightly. 'I mean,
what have I ever done to make her think I'm going to abandon her, for God's sake? And if she knows what she's doing, why the hell doesn't she stop?'
'I believe she's trying, but it's not easy, and being impatient with her doesn't help.'
'Nor do holidays, surprises, constant reassurance or seventeen years of total fucking fidelity.'
Letting that pass, Sylvia sauntered over to one of the sofas and sank luxuriously into it. 'It's interesting, this call from her father,' she said, picking up an abandoned pot of cream and spreading what was left on her breasts.
'It might be if he'd said anything,' he responded, keeping his back turned as he pulled on his trousers.
'Yes, but why now, after all these years of silence, when he might have been dead for all anyone knew?'
'I guess only he knows the answer to that.'
'I suppose it was him who called,' she said, casting him a look from beneath her lashes.
He barely caught the question as he combed his hair in the mirror and wondered if it would dry by the time he got home. If it didn't, and Julia was there, he'd say he'd snatched a quick fifteen minutes at the gym.
'Do you think it was him?' Sylvia prompted.
He shrugged. 'I don't see what anyone would gain from pretending to be,' he replied, grabbing up his jacket. 'Speaking personally, I hope it was, and I hope he calls again, because God knows I'm prepared to grasp at any straw that might bring back the woman I married.'
She looked up at him as he came to stand over
her. 'And what if she doesn't exist any more?' she asked.
Since that wasn't a prospect he was prepared even to consider he dismissed it, and let his eyes drop to the join of her legs. 'That was sensational,' he murmured.
Still watching him she rotated a finger around one of her nipples, then lifted it to her lips to lick away the cream.
Taking his cue he stooped to pull first one, then the other nipple into his mouth, while she let her head fall back against the sofa to enjoy the sensations.
When finally he drew away she looked up at him with maliciously teasing eyes. 'Is it as good as this with Julia?' she murmured.
Because she'd asked him that before, he was prepared for it, and knowing it would be less than gallant to tell her that what they had didn't even come close to what he'd shared with Julia, he simply said, 'You're different.'
She smiled at that, then laughed softly.
'This has to be the last time,' he told her, looking into her eyes.
'Of course,' she responded, and continued to smile as he checked he had his wallet and house keys before stooping to kiss her goodbye.
'I'm sorry to leave like this,' he said, glancing at his watch, 'but I have to get home for Dan. I'll settle up on my way out.'
She gave him a little wave, and watched him go, only remembering after the door had closed behind him that she'd forgotten to mention the harp-shaped vase Julia had admired earlier. But it
didn't matter, she could always bring it up the next time she saw him, for as much as he mi
ght tell himself it wouldn't happen again, she knew as well as he did that it would - and because he'd seemed so delighted with her naked pussy, she decided she might not let it grow back again just yet, for she had to confess she rather liked it too.
It was early on Sunday morning. A languid sunlight was seeping through the curtains, while the street outside was quiet with just a few birds singing and an occasional car passing. Julia was lying beside Josh in their king-size bed listening to the steady rhythm of his breathing, and mulling over the chat they'd had last night about finding her father. She wasn't particularly convinced that her problems were connected to his disappearance, but she'd agreed to consider it, mainly for Josh, and because a part of her would delight in proving her mother wrong and revealing her father to be the gentle and loving man she remembered - not to mention alive.
In some ways, she could almost feel excited about the search, for she longed to show off Josh and her children, and have them know her father too. Strangely, she didn't even seem to be as afraid of seeing him again as she once had, but that was easy to say when the prospect was hardly imminent. Nor would it be for a while, because she'd soon have Hamish Kincaid's book to edit, which, considering the stature of the author, was going to require total absorption as well as every trick and nuance of her professional skills. Receiving that commission had boosted her morale no end, even
if Josh had made it happen. She had to admit this was unlikely, for her reputation as an editor had long preceded his success, so she really must stop allowing all this self-doubt to keep dragging her down.
Hearing a floorboard creak outside their door, she waited for Dan to come in, but a moment later she heard him on the stairs, obviously going up to Shannon's room at the top of the house. She smiled to herself. He'd be off to check that his sister was all right after the unholy row she'd had with her father last night for coming home twenty minutes past his eleven-thirty curfew. She'd probably hoped Josh would be in bed by then and not notice, but he'd been right there in the hall as she'd come through the door, like an avenging Victorian father, and the scene that had followed wasn't one Julia cared to recall.
