Free Left for Dead: A Maeve Kerrigan Novella (Maeve Kerrigan Novels) by Jane Casey

words and I forgot all my reservations about him. I felt a slow twist in the base of my stomach that was lust, pure and simple.
    I led the way to my room, which was a miracle of tidiness after my cleaning spree the previous day, not that he seemed to notice or care. He put his phone down on the bedside table.
    ‘Come here.’
    I went.
    He took hold of me and kissed me again. This time he was very much in control and I went along with it. He tangled one hand in my hair to pull my head back, so I gasped a little, and his mouth curled into a smile.
    ‘You like that.’
    Before I could answer, he had pushed me back so I was leaning against the wall. He kissed me again, then started to unbutton my shirt, working fast, sliding it off my shoulders before I’d really realised what he was doing. Things were going too fast. I felt as if I’d gone on a nice safe carousel in an amusement park and ended up on a roller coaster. I’d never been with anyone like Gary before. All of my other boyfriends had been too nervous or respectful or ironic to be dominant, but it seemed to come naturally to him. Once again I had the uneasy feeling that I should call a halt before things went too far, but I couldn’t find the words, and I didn’t want to, and desire was driving out the logic from my brain. He pressed his leg in between mine, grinding against me and I felt faint with longing.
    And then Gary’s mobile rang.
    ‘Fuck.’ He dropped me and turned to pick it up, his face grim as he checked the screen. ‘I have to take it.’
    ‘What is it?’
    ‘Shh.’ He turned and held one finger up as he answered it. ‘Hi.’
    I crossed my arms and waited, trying not to look as if I was listening. He was silent, his expression unchanged.
    ‘Yeah. I know. I know. Look, I’ll be back soon.’
    The person on the other end talked, and talked, and talked. Gary mouthed
sorry
at me and I shrugged.
    ‘Okay. So you said. I know. About half an hour.’ He checked his watch. ‘Maybe a bit longer, but not much. See you then.’ He hung up, staring at the screen for a second or two afterwards.
    Playing for time
, I thought. Then he looked at me, his eyebrows knotted with worry.
    ‘Would you hate me if I left now?’
    ‘Of course not.’ I watched him check himself out in the mirror. ‘But why do you have to go?’
    ‘I need to get back to my house. Builder trouble from next door. They’ve damaged our roof.’
    ‘
Our
roof?’ I repeated.
    ‘Yeah. I’ve got housemates. That was one of them on the phone. She’s all right. A bit griefy now and then. She’d moan your ear off.’
    ‘Oh. Okay.’
    ‘She wants me to go back and sort them out.’ He shrugged. ‘What can I do? The landlord will kill us if we don’t pull them up on it. I don’t want them to naff off before I get the chance to have a word.’
    ‘Don’t worry. I understand. I’ll come down so you can get your stuff out of the car.’ I pulled my keys out of my pocket.
    ‘Actually,’ he said slowly, ‘I was wondering if you wouldn’t mind driving me a bit of the way to Isleworth. If you don’t mind. It’s just that it’ll be a pain to get there on public transport and I don’t want to take too long.’
    ‘Oh, sure. Fine.’
    ‘Thanks, Maeve.’ He crossed the room and held me for a moment, nuzzling my neck. ‘This is just going to make it even better, you know. The anticipation, I mean.’
    ‘Yeah, I know.’
    He pulled a face. ‘I’m going to have to get going, though.’
    ‘Ready when you are,’ I said sweetly, as if it had been my life’s ambition to act as his chauffeur. As if I didn’t mind at all.

6
    I was late getting to work the next night, this time because I’d slept in. Driving across London and back again at Gary’s bidding, on an intensely hot day, had left me as weak as a newborn kitten and just as sleepy. I ate half a piece of toast, showered and fell into bed, only to wake in the dark, completely disoriented. The whole day, gone. I missed it.