of his, also married, which involved one or perhaps two brief but satisfying reunions a year. And he had also made the mistake, a few years ago, of bedding a secretary at Witherstone’s. The liaison had only lasted a couple of weeks, but the hassle afterwards had gone on for months, and culminated with him finding her, at her request, a job in a prestigious estate agency in New York.
All in all, though, Marcus considered himself to have kept to his side of the promise. He had never had what he would consider to be a proper affair. To be honest, he hadn’t really had the opportunity to have one. Most of the women he saw from day to day were colleagues or old friends or chums of Anthea’s. The clients he saw were generally rather grand and, more often than not, male. And the sorts of well-groomed women he did occasionally find himself ushering into his office were, in his opinion, almost too perfect to be attractive.
But this woman, with her flushed, unmade-up face, and her flashing eyes, and her infectiously energetic manner, was stirring in him an attraction which was as powerful as it was surprising. As though drawn by an invisible string, Marcus found himself silently leaning nearer to Liz. She seemed unaware that he had done so. He moved closer, tantalizingly closer still, and looked at her eyelids for signs of reaction. Her lashes flickered slightly. But her eyes remained closed. Surely she could feel his breath on her cheek? Surely she could hear the rustle of his jacket? Was she asleep?
Liz sat perfectly still, and willed Marcus to come closer. The champagne had robbed her of enough responsibility to let her sit in a happy stupor and wait and see what would happen. It wouldn’t really be her fault, she thought hazily, if she kept her eyes closed and pretended she didn’t know what was coming.
She could feel him moving towards her; could sense his face looming up in front of hers, and imperceptibly, she tilted her face towards his and very slightly parted her lips. Nothing happened, and for a second she thought she might have been completely mistaken. Perhaps Marcus had got up to check for Ginny again; perhaps he’d even left the room.
But then, suddenly, with no warning, she felt a strange pair of lips landing roughly on hers, and a hand cupping her cheek, and the exhilarating, shocking sensation of a warm, sweet, utterly unfamiliar mouth opening up and exploring her own. For a few delicious, seemingly endless moments, she responded blindly and pleasurably to his kiss; her mind blank and her body tense with delight.
His hands began to move down her body, and she began to shiver with pleasure. But the more his hands moved, the more her stupor faded, giving way to a hard, cold feeling of misgiving.
‘Actually,’ she murmured, as a hand began to circle her right breast; ‘actually . . .’ The hand stopped. Liz opened her eyes. She was looking at Marcus’s left ear.
‘Is something wrong?’ he whispered. His breath was hot and moist against her neck, and suddenly Liz felt constricted. She struggled out of his grasp, and leant back against the wall, with a damp patch cooling beneath her ear and her hair uncomfortably askew.
‘No, nothing’s wrong,’ she said, and had a sudden desire to giggle. She looked at Marcus. He was panting slightly, and looked concerned. ‘It’s just that, I don’t know . . .’ She made a helpless gesture with her hands. ‘I just feel a bit strange, doing this. Apprehensive.’
‘Don’t be.’ Marcus spoke firmly. ‘We’re not hurting anyone. You mustn’t feel guilty.’ He spoke almost as though he was trying to convince himself. Liz thought about this for a few moments.
‘Actually,’ she said, ‘I don’t think I do. Feel guilty, that is. I think I deserve this.’
‘Well then.’ Marcus bent his face over hers again, and Liz moved to meet his mouth eagerly. His hand found its way beneath her jersey, unzipped the top of her skirt and began to finger the top of her tights. Liz gasped, and sat bolt upright.
‘I’m sorry,’ she panted. ‘I don’t know what’s wrong with me.’ She gave a frustrated wriggle. ‘Everyone else seems to do this with no effort at all. You know, suddenly we found ourselves making love.’ She swallowed and pushed her hair back. ‘I don’t think I could ever just find myself making love. I think I’d have to decide to