They talked about the conference over the table at first then as the evening wore on, Sharon spoke less and less. She was feeling light headed, dreamy, a heat and excitement running through her veins.Across the table, Bryan watched her with those hypnotic eyes while they drank their coffee.'Liqueur?' he suggested as the wine waiter arrived with his rattling trolley of bottles.She hastily shook her head. 'I have already drunk too much wine. I don't want a headache in the morning', she looked at her watch. 'In fact, I think that I should be on my way to bed now, we have to get up very early and there's a very crowded day ahead of us'.On their way to the lift, she paused to look out through the main doors at the Rome night.'It's stopped raining.What I wanted to do this afternoon was take a walk round the city, but I couldn't go out in all that rain'.'Why not take a short stroll now?' Bryan suggested.'It's much too late and I haven't got my jacket with me', she said. But she was dra
Sharon felt cold indeed. What had she been thinking? How could she have allowed this arrogant man touch her the way he had? What a mess. He must think that he had her where he wanted her.She had always known that he was dangerous to her but she had not really known the extent of the danger.What weakness could have made her lose herself, her self control and all this way?She could not look at him, she did not know what she would find in his eyes, mockery? scorn? triumph? condescension? She did not want to know. She just did not want anything to make her feel lower than she was already feeling just then.'Come to my room, Sharon's, Bryan said with an urgency that made her stiffen.She turned on him, her face white now. 'I feel sick, do you know that?' she broke out. 'You got me drunk and you knew that I was not used to drinking and you kept pouring wine into me, right the way, through dinner. You had this in mind all the time, didn't you? You set me up and it nearly worked. I almost
Sharon had her breakfast in her room: black coffee,orange juice, a couple of rolls with black cherry jam.She may have slept badly but like she had already decided, it was nothing a careful make up job would be unable to hide.She made up and her make up hid most of the evidence of her bad night. She put on the clothes she had delibrately picked which was smoothly tailored dark grey suit, short jacket, straight skirt with a crisp white shirt under it, to make herself fade into the crowd, mostly men, in city suits who would be attending the conference.Even her auburn hair was pulled back austerely from her face but she could do little about her long legs in their sheer black stockings. Men always starred at them. a car was coming at eight-twenty to take Bryan and herself to the hotel where the conference would be held, so she left her room at eight- fifteen.Bryan appeared a moment later, elegant and formal in a dark city suit, red and white striped shirt with a stiff white collar an
'So is there any man in your life', Gerhard asked again as Sharon looked at him saying nothing but smiling.She shook her head.'Not at the moment. Have you met the girl of your dreams yet?'He laughed. 'I keep hoping, but so far not luck'.'Maybe you are too difficult to please!''I have been brought up to expect the best', he agreed with wry amusement. 'No doubt you are right but never mind, I enjoy my life. I'm free, single and love to mingle as they say'.'You still watch that program on TV?''All the time. When I work at home, I have the TV on the music program blaring, it helps me think and keeps with awake during long nights'.'I wonder how people managed before recorded music!'Sharon said thoughtfully.Gerhard told her how his parents had their own personal chamber orchestra.Sharon ate her salad slowly as she listened to him. She had just finished her salad when the delegates started moving away towards the conference hall. The conference was starting again in fifteen minutes'
Gerhard stood up as she got to him, kissed her on both cheeks gravely.'Thank you for joining me. All the men are going to envy me tonight, having you for a partner. That dress is very sexy and you look breathtaking in it'.'Thank you, Gerhard', she said sitting down, brushing down her filmy skirts as they hissed silkily around her legs.'Ehat would you have to drink?' he asked summoning the waiter.Remembering what happened with Bryan the previous evening, Sharon ordered a mixture of orange juice and mineral water and stayed off wine all evening.The meal was superb and Gerhard kept her continuously amused and it would have been a wonderful evening had she been unable to see Bryan's face from where she was sitting.By some stroke of bad luck, however, he was seated facing her, on the next table. She had to avoid letting her eyes wander that way or she found herself all too often looking straight at him.Everytime it happened, she felt a strange dizzying lurch, as though her sense of
Sharon looked at him with disgust. He's really got guts. Coming to drag her down for breakfast but she did not doubt that he would do it too. His arrogance was becoming intolerable.'Get your foot out of my door!''Are you trying to get me to lose my temper? Bryan ground out between his teeth.'What happens if you do?' she asked. ' Ate you going to turn into a monster and tear us into pieces?'He wasn't amused, a dark colour went round his face as he said coldly, 'Very funny'.On an impulse, she said, ' You were wrong about Gerhard you know. He was a gentleman all through the evening unlike some people I know'.Bryan laughed without humour. 'But that was because I got you out of there before the evening ended'. His gaze slid from her face to her neck, her shoulders and her breasts.His eyes flared with rage, 'If you had come back here with him in a taxi late at night, looking like that, he wouldn't have just seen you off to your door and said goodnight. That dress is an invitation to
The erotic shock of feeling his fingers in her wet self caused her to get away from him.'I must have been out if my mind', She said, ' I can't.....'She made for the light switch but Bryan caught up with her before she could reach it.'Don't run away from it now, Sharon', he said in a smoky voice, 'Not now that we've got this far. His arms went round her from behind, pulling her back against his half naked body and she shuddered as their flesh touched, skin to skin, the roughness of his hair, the masculinity of bone and muscle imposing themselves, making her conscious of her own femininity.'I should never have let you touch me', she said, as much to herself as to him, hating herself because she felt the undeniable rise of desire again.'You're not a virgin?' he murmured, kissing her neck, pressing himself against her.'What's that got to do with it? I don't just sleep with anyone....''I never supposed you did. I wouldn't want you if I thought that you had', he said and his hands co
When Sharon woke the next morning, Bryan was gone and she might almost have thought that she had dreamt the night before except that as she sat up in the bed, she saw a note a note lying on the pillow next to her and recognized his bold and distinctive handwriting.The message was brief, almost curt. 'Breakfast downstairs at seven forty five. B'.That was all it said. He hadn't even said good morning nor even signed with his name, just with an impersonal initial.There was no indication whatoever of the intimacy they had shared the previous night.She ran a fingerprint over the writing,as though she were touching him and felt her inside dissolve completely.She thought of Bryan and images of the memorable night they had ran through her mind and she trembled.She wished that he had stayed behind so that they could have had another session. She knew that if he had still been there, she would have thrown herself at him again. At least she would have been the one to initiate it this time