Free Act of Betrayal by Sara Craven

danger,' Jason said
    shortly. 'Does he make a habit of this?' She shook her head. ' I
    don't think so. Certainly I've never seen him like this before. I
    didn't realise how much he'd had.' 'With some people, it doesn't
    need much. Maybe he's one of them. Anyway, he's out for the count
    now.' His smile was thin. 'Poor little Laura. What a
    disappointing end to your romantic dinner.' ' I f foursomes can
    be said to be romantic. I'm sure Celia wouldn't agree with you.'
    'She probably wouldn't,' he agreed. 'She does rather demand one's
    exclusive attention. I wonder if she's worth it?' 'And I'm
    certain you're going to find out.' Her smile was a little ragged,
    but it was there. 'Maybe you shouldn't keep her waiting any
    longer.' 'I've no intention of making her wait at all,' he said
    pleasantly. ' I imagine she wouldn't thank any man for a
    protracted wooing. She scarcely falls into the shrinking violet
    category.' Unlike you. The words, unspoken, seemed to hang in the
    air between them. Then Jason turned on his heel and walked out of
    the room, and she heard his feet on the wooden stairs. She
    followed. On the second step from the bottom, her skimpy heel
    skidded on the narrow tread, and she fell forward with a little
    startled cry, her balance lost completely. His reflexes panther-
    sharp, he caught her, his arms closing round her, dragging her
    against the hard lean warmth of his body. For a second, or
    perhaps for infinity, he looked down into her anguished face, the
    grey eyes gleaming silver suddenly, then her mouth was possessed,
    plundered, ravaged by the passionate brutality of his kiss. Her
    lips parted in helpless surrender. She kissed him back, exploring
    his mouth as demandingly as he was seeking the moist warmth of
    hers. His hands were pulling at the smoky dress, dragging it off
    her shoulders almost down to her elbows, baring her to the waist.
    He lifted his head and looked at her, his eyes brilliant with a
    fevered desire, a hectic flush staining the high cheekbones. He
    said in a stranger's voice, 'AH evening. Oh Christ, Laura, every
    second of all evening . . . ' And on his lips the blasphemy
    sounded like a prayer. His head bent, and his mouth took full
    erotic possession of what his hands had uncovered. He was
    consuming her, she thought dazedly; draining the lifeblood out of
    her through her heated skin. A thousand little pulses all over
    her body were beating out the single word 'now—now—now' in an
    incessant, drugging rhythm. And then she heard, with her
    conscious mind, the muffled sounds of movement from above which
    reminded her that they were not alone. She heard Jason whisper an
    obscenity, and then she was free, swaying on her feet, her body
    languid with need, but free. His hands reached for her again, but
    only to drag her dress back into place. He said, 'We shouldn't be
    here.' Her voice shaking, she said, 'Where can we go?' His voice
    slowed to a drawl. 'Home, darling. Where else? Celia has coffee
    waiting for us, remember?' The shock of it was like a knife,
    slicing through flesh, bone and marrow. Her whole being seemed to
    shrink in humiliation as she realised she has offered herself to
    him and been rejected.

CHAPTER FIVE
    SHE awoke sometime in the night with a feeling of oppression.
    The bedroom seemed dark and oddly close, the air very still.
    Then, away in the distance she heard the sour threatening rumble
    of thunder and knew why she had woken. She hated storms,
    especially the unexpected ones, swelling up from nowhere in the
    dark of a summer night. As a child, she'd always pulled the
    bedclothes over her head, and lain there, trembling and stifling,
    hoping and praying that the lightning wouldn't find her. Too late
    to hope that now, she thought, staring into the blank darkness.
    Jason had come back into her life with all the fierceness of a
    summer storm, and the defensive wall she had erected round
    herself with such care had crumbled, showing her mercilessly