LITMIR.BIZ

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recognised the man standing in the shade of a tree. As she stood, transfixed, he started to walk across the road towards her. Though he was the very last person she wanted to talk to, she had to face him. Had to know why he had come back. Descending the steps, she walked to the gate and waited, arms folded defensively.

      Gary Benson stopped on the other side. He was a nondescript man, who was already running to seed. ‘Hello, Sofie,’ he greeted her as if only days had passed, not years, and she looked at him coldly.

      ‘What do you want, Gary?’ she asked abruptly, but her coldness, as ever, went unheeded.

      ‘You. Only you.’

      She knew from before that anger got her nowhere, so she strove to remain calm. ‘You can’t have me. I’m spoken for, remember.’ The broad hint made him laugh delightedly.

      ‘You saw me in the photo. I hoped you would. You looked lovely in white.’

      Sofie drew in an angry breath. ‘You had no right to be there. It was a private wedding.’

      Gary did as he always did and ignored what he didn’t want to hear. ‘How could you marry him? You belong to me! You love me!’

      She shook her head, heart quailing as she heard the same old words. ‘No, I don’t. I love my husband, not you.’

      ‘You think you do, but once he’s gone you’ll realise you made a mistake. Things will be better then. You’ll see,’ he informed her complacently.

      To Sofie he was making no sense at all. ‘He’s not going anywhere. You’re the one who’s going to go away. Go away and stay away,’ she commanded him, in as firm a voice as she could muster. Gary merely smiled.

      ‘You know you don’t mean that, Sofie.’

      There was no getting through to him, and that made her want to scream with frustration. ‘I do mean it and, if you don’t stop bothering me, I shall call the police.’

      He grinned, with the supreme confidence of the sick mind. ‘They’re useless. Besides, I haven’t done anything. You know I’d never hurt you. I adore you. I just want us to be together.’

      She laughed in his face. ‘You can’t be serious!’ she derided and for perhaps the first time she really saw him angry.

      ‘Don’t laugh at me, Sofie. I don’t like people laughing at me!’ he berated her, then turned and stomped away, anger in every step.

      Sofie watched him go down the road and around the corner. Her mind was seething. Somehow she had got through his thick skin and hurt him. Maybe that would be enough to make him stay away. A seed of hope started to germinate inside her. Maybe this time she had actually won. Smiling to herself, she ran up the steps and into the house, feeling more hopeful than she had been an hour ago.

      

      That evening Sofie prepared one of Lucas’s favourite meals, as this was to be their last evening together for at least a week. He had to go away on business and she wanted to make tonight special. Whilst the dinner was cooking in the oven, she slipped upstairs to take a long, relaxing bath, leaving her skin soft and delicately scented. Then she changed into cream lounging trousers and a silky vest top. Glancing at her wrist-watch, she saw time was getting on and, humming to herself, she skipped down the stairs and went into the lounge to mix a pair of fancy cocktails.

      Lucas arrived home some fifteen minutes later and, as soon as she heard his key in the door, her body began to tingle with anticipation. Picking up a glass in each hand, she walked out into the hall to greet him.

      ‘Hi,’ she said huskily and, setting the glasses down on the hall table, slipped into his arms before he had even set his briefcase down. Arms around his neck, she hugged him tightly, taking in the scent and feel of him so that she could remember this moment during the long days he would be away.

      ‘Hi yourself,’ Lucas replied with a laugh, dropping his briefcase and enfolding her in his strong arms. ‘What brought this on?’

      Sofie let her head fall back so that she could see him and laughed softly. ‘I missed you, that’s all,’ she told him, pressing her lips to his neck and jaw in a series of tantalisingly brief kisses.

      ‘I missed you, too, caro,’ he told her, and moved his head just enough to capture her lips with his own.

      There was no way Sofie could hold back when she knew they were about to be parted for the first time since they had married. She kissed him with all the depth of love she felt for him, igniting the passion that was never far from the surface. If Lucas was surprised, it didn’t last long. Soon he was swept away, returning her kisses with the equally powerful love he felt for her.

      When they drew back a short while later, neither had any interest in eating.

      ‘I don’t know about you, but I have no appetite for food right now,’ Lucas growled sexily, and Sofie stroked her finger across his lips.

      ‘I thought you’d be hungry. I have a casserole in the oven,’ she teased, sending him a sultry look from beneath her lashes.

      He grinned, but there was no mistaking the heat of passion in his eyes. ‘I am hungry…for you. Let’s go to bed,’ he suggested and, taking her agreement for granted, swept her up in his arms.

      ‘Let me turn the oven down. We can eat later,’ she countered quickly, and he carried her through to the kitchen so she could turn down the heat, then back out and upstairs to their bedroom.

      Once there, clothing was tossed aside carelessly in their eagerness. Desire mounted swiftly as, naked, they tumbled on to the bed and reached for each other. Knowing that tonight was going to have to last her until he got back gave a greater depth of passion to Sofie’s every kiss and caress. She wanted to show him without words just how very much she loved him, and the result was scintillating. All their senses were heightened, so that the room echoed to their mingled gasps and sighs of pleasure.

      Nothing else existed in the whole world other than the two of them as they rolled over, limbs tangling, glistening bodies gliding against each other. Hot breath mingled as increasingly erotic kisses were exchanged, driving their senses wild and tightening the coils of desire inside them. The conflagration was burning too hot and bright to last long. Driven by a powerful need, their bodies came together, fitting perfectly, moving as one towards the desired moment of release. It came in a white-hot explosion that made them both cry out as they hurtled into that realm of space known only to lovers.

      Aeons later, their hearts began to slow their frantic beating and reality returned once more. Sofie turned into Lucas’s arms, holding him close. This week was going to feel like for ever.

      Suddenly heartsick, she snuggled up to him and closed her eyes. ‘I wish you didn’t have to go away,’ she sighed, and he pressed a kiss to the top of her head.

      ‘I’d rather stay here, too, but it’s only a week. It will go in a flash. We’ll have a whole lifetime together after that.’

      His words comforted her like nothing else. ‘Hmm, a whole lifetime…sounds good,’ she murmured, yawning. A week was nothing. She was just being silly.

      She hadn’t intended to sleep, but their lovemaking and her busy day got the better of her. Before she knew it, she was fast asleep. A moment later, Lucas joined her.

      

      For the next couple of days Sofie kept herself busy with work. The photographer she worked for was fully booked and consequently gave her plenty to do. She missed Lucas terribly and couldn’t wait for his nightly telephone calls. The sound of his voice made her feel less lonely, even if it couldn’t fill the gap in their bed at night.

      When Wednesday came along, she cheered herself up by telling herself it was only a couple of days until Lucas returned home—a feeling that vanished when he rang that evening.

      ‘Sorry, caro, but I’m going to have to stay a few days longer. Things aren’t quite going to plan,’ he told her, and her heart sank to her boots.

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