‘Or ports in a storm.’
‘In any weather at all.’
The next hour rushes by. I feel younger, more wanted, more playful, and, most of all, desired. Although I’m over ten years his senior, Zac manages to keep the conversation buoyant with his flirtatious wit. I can see how he found his way past Tor’s icy defences.
Now and then, his hand rests gently on my leg for the briefest moment, but the touch is enough to make me hunger for more. At 9.30 p.m. his eyes hold mine, he takes both my hands (his are soft and warm), and says, ‘I know this is an incredible liberty, and that we’ve known each other barely an hour, but you are exquisitely beautiful, effortlessly brilliant, and extraordinarily brazen, and I have this insistent desire to kiss you.’
Chapter48Zac
It’s only Thursday evening, and I’m in a black cab whizzing through the bright and busy streets of Mayfair, the warm buzz of a cocktail in my head, an attentive and beautiful companion silent at my side, with nothing but the anticipation of forbidden pleasure ahead.
The visceral frankness of our purpose excites me. Zac has played me well and I feel as though my body is lit up with Christmas lights. He kisses me softly as we drive slowly up the Strand and by the time we reach his apartment, we are already intimately acquainted, fuelled by months of marital disappointment.
In his sleekly designed living room, we drink a beautiful Meursault, and he tells me he deals in art and antiques. He speaks passionately about Fra Angelico’s frescoes and Donatello’sDavidwith such insight, I’m sure he’s recently looked it up on Wikipedia.
On his plush velvet sofa, he runs his hand down the back of my head and kisses me again. Having been let down by Stephen so often, I don’t think it’s unfair of me to enjoy a little pleasure while helping a dear friend.
With his lips on my neck, and his hand inside my dress, he suggests we retire to his bedroom. I whisper ‘yes’ and he leads me theatrically through a set of double doors. The bed is like astage set – crisp linen, ruffled velvet throw and subdued lighting. Opposite the bed is a large mirror. I can’t help it, I want him with every single cell of my body.
I nod coyly and head for the ensuite. The bathroom is impersonal and scattered with high-end products. I wonder how to manage the next part of my operation. I’m feeling so awakened after the drinks, the blue eyes, the kisses and roving hands, that if he wasn’t liable to video our session and blackmail me, I’d probably let nature take its course. Tor speaks highly of his ability.
But Zac is masking – something I know all about. He’s faking it, and although he’s good at it, I can feel the lizard below the surface and see the cold reptile eye of the predator.
He will make light work of my soft flesh. I feel myself tingling. However, business must come first. I put on perfume, reapply lipstick, adjust my hair, and return to the bedroom.
Rather self-confidently, Zac is lying completely naked on the velvet throw, a wide boyish smile on his face.
‘Presumptuous,’ I say.
‘Just a little warm,’ he replies.
I take in his body, not without pleasure. He’s clearly worked hard on it and such endeavour does deserve admiration. It’s admirably honed, but I’m more taken with the velvet throw, which is a subtle duck-egg blue. Perhaps this is a sign of age, when the quality of fabrics becomes more interesting than the shape of a body.
‘Do you do this often?’ I say.
‘No,’ he lies. ‘I just feel a real connection with you, and that doesn’t happen often.’
‘No, it certainly doesn’t, and does the age gap bother you?’
He scoots across the bed, puts his arms around my waist, then slips his hands down to my hemline.
‘I think it’s super sexy. Wisdom and beauty perfectly in tune. And you?’
He doesn’t really want to know what I think. I don’t like to be duped by anyone, and the fact that I want to let him take advantage of me annoys me.
‘Do you like to play?’ I say, taking control of my feelings and pinching his lips with the nail of my forefinger and thumb. My sexual desires are suddenly replaced by a strong urge to keep pressing my nails until they break through his skin. I resist. ‘Maybe just a little tie and tease?’
His head tilts, his smile broadens, and he makes an appreciative sound. I can see him calculating the additional value of this fetish when he shows me the video. I open his wardrobe, pull out a selection of silk ties, and hold them up. ‘Does sir like floral or stripes?’
‘Oh, stripes, I think,’ he says. ‘As long as you don’t leave any marks.’
Zac doesn’t realize what’s happening because he thinks he’s the predator. He’s felt invulnerable his entire life, and women have no doubt added to his godlike sense of self.
I tie each limb to the bed at wrist and ankle using knots that Hollis taught me for climbing. Once he is incapacitated, I use the fifth tie as a blindfold, then I leave him and return to the living room to look around.
He calls me back and I explain in a seductive tone that I now control the tempo and he will have to wait for me. There’s nothing else in the apartment. Nothing personal in any drawers. If I were to hazard a guess, I’d say this is rented under a false name solely for the purpose of bedding and blackmailing wealthy targets.
I find his laptop on his desk and open it. It is locked with a password. I walk back into the bedroom with the laptop in hand.
