so his eyes looked almost black with passion.
Everything was going to be all right. They were going to make love, and everything was going to be all right.
Slowly, he undid the button of her jeans and slid the zip down. He teased her, his fingers drifting over her midriff; Rachel made a small sound of impatience and tilted her hips.
âSomething you wanted, Dr Bedingfield?â he asked, his voice low and husky.
âYou,â she replied, her voice equally husky.
âI think that can be arranged.â He gave her a smile that managed to be teasing yet smouldering at the same time, and a thrill of desire ran down her spine.
It didnât take him long to remove her jeansâor her to remove his. Her top followed, then his T-shirt. And finally they were skin to skin. Rachel could still remember the first time theyâd made love in her narrow single bed at university, the heady excitement of exploring each otherâs body fully for the first time, learning where each other liked to be touched and stroked and kissed. That headiness had never quite gone away, for her. Even now, she thrilled at how good Oliverâs body felt against her own.
And right now he was all hers.
âRachel.â He breathed her name as he kissed his waydown her collar-bone, stroked the length of her spine, then finally took the hard peak of one nipple into his mouth.
Rachel couldnât help closing her eyes, concentrating on the sensations evoked by his clever mouth. All she could feel was Oliver, all she could sense, all she couldâ
âMum- mee !â
They both stilled.
âMaybe sheâll go back to sleep,â Oliver mumbled against Rachelâs skin.
As if to contradict him, Sophieâs wail grew louder. âMum- mee !â she sobbed again.
If Rachel could have cloned herself at that moment, sheâd have been happy. As it was, whatever she did she lost. Sophie was ill and needed herâRachel couldnât possibly desert her sick child. But Oliver... This was the first time in weeks theyâd been close. Who knew when her husband would let her get this close again?
Damned if I stay, damned if I go, Rachel thought, her heart feeling as if it had been torn in half. She pulled away from Oliver regretfully, and slipped her jeans and T-shirt back on. âIâd better go to her. Sheâs not well. If we leave her, sheâll get into a state and itâll take us for ever to calm her down again.â
âSure.â
âCan you bring a drink up for her and the infant paracetamol?â And maybe if Oliver stayed with her, maybe if they cared for their daughter togetherâthen maybe when Sophie fell asleep again they could take up where theyâd left off.
Though she knew she was kidding herself: he was already reaching for his own clothes. It didnât take a genius to know what heâd be doing while she was settling Sophie again.
Oliver brought up a spill-proof beaker of water, so it wouldnât matter if their daughter went to sleep still holding her cupâshe wouldnât get drenched and wake up again. He poured the infant paracetamol into a spoon for Sophie andencouraged her to take it. And then he uttered the words Rachel had been expecting and dreading in equal measure: âIâll just do a bit of admin while youâre here with Sophie.â
If only youâd slept just a few minutes longer, Rachel thought, rocking her daughter to sleep in her arms. If your father and I had made love, everything would have been all right. Now, who knows? Work will come between us yet again.
When Sophie had drifted back to sleep, and Rachel padded barefoot into Oliverâs office holding a glass of Merlot, her husband didnât even look up. âYou go ahead and watch the film. Iâll be in with you in a minute.â
His definition of âin a minuteâ definitely wasnât the same as his wifeâs, because he was still working when the
Douglas Preston, Lincoln Child
Etgar Keret, Ramsey Campbell, Hanif Kureishi, Christopher Priest, Jane Rogers, A.S. Byatt, Matthew Holness, Adam Marek
Saxon Andrew, Derek Chido