Free You're Mine Now by Koppel Hans Page A

not in a steady relationship, you look the way you do and as far as I’ve understood, earn pretty well too. I assume you take whatever opportunities come your way. And if you don’t, I suggest you change that and do it while you can. We are over. It was you who kissed me, not the other way round. You asked me to your room.’
    ‘And you came. You weren’t exactly hard to persuade.’
    Anna shook her head.
    ‘Whatever, here and now, it’s over. I have a daughter, a husband, a family. And I don’t intend to risk that for something that isn’t real.’
    ‘Isn’t real?’
    ‘We’ve slept together a few times. Don’t make it bigger than it is.’
    ‘So you think it’s okay for you to fuck around when you feel like it? A bit of a change to spice up a tired sex life at home. A flat stomach, as opposed to Magnus’ belly.’
    Anna froze.
    ‘How do you know what my husband is called?’
    ‘Ever heard of the internet?’
    Anna pulled on her pants and put on her bra with brisk, agitated movements. Erik observed her, slightly superior.
    ‘I was going to check how old you were,’ he said. ‘On birthday.se. It said that you shared your address with Magnus.’
    Anna glared at him.
    ‘That feels really creepy, you know.’
    She pulled her blouse on over her head like a sweater. They hadn’t taken the time to undo the buttons when they ripped off each other’s clothes. She turned her trousers the right way round and put them on, bent down for her socks, put them on standing as the mattress was low and she didn’t want to sit down. She had no intention of staying a second longer than she needed to.
    ‘So you know where we live?’ she said, and went past him, out into the hall.
    ‘I wasn’t exactly looking for the information.’
    ‘Erik,’ she said, as she stepped into her shoes. ‘It was exciting, an adventure. Don’t make this harder than it is.’
    She took her jacket down from the hook, looked at him.
    ‘Promise.’
    He was standing poker straight, almost shaking. Anna nodded at the glass in his hand.
    ‘Careful you don’t spill it.’
    He looked down, held his arm out and crushed the glass with his hand. It broke and the water splashed on to the floor. Anna looked at his hand and then up at him. He stood there holding his bleeding hand out in front of him, without taking his eyes from her.
    ‘Jesus, are you all right?’
    She took a step towards him, caught his wrist and led him quickly into the kitchen. She held his hand under the cold water and pulled out two shards that had got caught in his skin, inspected the cut, which filled with blood as soon as his hand left the running water.
    ‘What happened?’
    Erik looked at her without answering, watched her concern and care with fascination. Didn’t pay any attention to his bleeding hand.
    ‘You’ll need to get a doctor to look at that, you’ll need stitches. Did you do that on purpose?’
    He didn’t answer.
    ‘You need to go to hospital.’
    ‘It’s not that deep.’
    ‘Have you got any bandages?’
    ‘I don’t know.’
    She looked around the room, spotted a tea towel, opened it up and saw that it was dirty.
    ‘There’s clean ones in the cupboard.’
    Anna got one out, rinsed his hand under the cold water again. The blood flow wasn’t as intense any more. She squeezed together the edges of the wound.
    ‘Maybe it’s not so deep after all. Keep your hand under the water. Have you got any disinfectant?’
    He shook his head.
    ‘Alcohol?’
    ‘No.’
    ‘All right,’ she said, and turned off the tap.
    She dried his hand with kitchen roll and tied the tea towel tight around the wound. She sat him down by the kitchen table.
    ‘We haven’t talked about work,’ Erik said.
    ‘No, and I don’t think it’s a good idea that we do.’
    ‘What do you mean?’
    ‘I don’t think we should work together.’
    ‘You mean you and me?’
    Anna didn’t answer.
    ‘What am I supposed to do then?’ Erik asked. ‘I have to get this contract.