cut in.
Alex laughed. “Glad to hear it. Hi, Michael. How’s it going?”
“Cool, thanks, Alex. Thanks for your advice on funding my junior fellowship application.”
“No problem. Call me anytime if I can be of any more help. Hope you have a good evening.”
He turned his attention to Carla again. “Hmm. Shark End? This place has had about a dozen name changes since I came to Oxford. Have you been in here before?”
“God, no. This is my first time.”
“I suppose there has to be a first time for everything.” His eyes sparkled. They were definitely the eyes that had mesmerized her from behind the mask at the party. Oh, it was him, and he knew exactly what he was doing and the effect he had on her, both in the cloisters and right now, the bastard .
Her reply was a whisper, unheard by Michael or Emma and her friends. “There does.”
“Perhaps it might not be as excruciating as you’re expecting.” She shivered, not with cold but with pure, unbridled lust. They were back in the foyer of that London mansion again, Alex circling his prey, Carla baiting him.
“You think so?” she murmured.
“Oh yes, I think this evening could turn out to be every bit as painful as you can imagine.” His breath was smoky in the night air. She shivered at the memory of what he’d done to her that night, at his fingers slipping down the front of her basque to tweak her nipple, at his hand pressing the seam of her leather trousers into her clit. At his threat to take her home and deal with her insolence in his own unique way. Despite the cold, the air seemed to smoulder around them both.
Emma waved frantically from the door. “Come on, Carla!”
Alex smiled benignly. “I mustn’t keep you talking. Your friends are waiting for you, and I must be getting back to college. I’ve got my own painful evening to get through.”
His voice was heavy with regret, almost as if he’d felt the weight of disappointment that had lodged in her own heart.
“Really?” she asked, wondering if his words had referred to meeting a woman, or, dare she imagine, having to leave her here at the club.
“I’ve got a deadline on my book, so it’s a late night and an early start in the morning for me. See you, and have a great evening.”
He was gone, a tall, dark figure headed for the alleyways that led from the main road to the colleges.
“Carla! Are you coming or not?”
Carla tore her eyes from Alex just as he melted into the shadows. “Yes. Coming.”
The streets were silent as Carla walked back from the club with Michael in the small hours. Emma had gone home with her student friend, so Carla was sleeping in her room. They walked through the side gate to St Bert’s and came across Gideon urinating in a flowerbed.
She winced. “That’s revolting.”
Michael grimaced.
“Watch out, I’m going to chunder!” They leapt away as Gideon threw up over the cobbles. It was clear he’d visited a kebab van in the recent past, and she gagged. Lights popped on in the room up above, and Carla realised that it was Alex’s.
“Is everyone okay down there?” A window opened, and he glared down at the quad. Carla backed into the shadow of the wall, hoping the cobbles would open and swallow her up.
Michael called up. “It’s fine. It’s only Gideon, pissed again. I’ll take him to his room.”
In the gloom, Alex’s reaction was impossible to work out, yet his tone betrayed his annoyance. “Good, but keep the noise down, please. People are trying to sleep and work.”
Carl gave an inner sigh of relief. She didn’t think he’d spotted her. “How embarrassing,” she said to Michael as they herded Gideon across the quad towards his room.
“Oh, don’t worry, Alex won’t give a toss. I just hope he wasn’t shagging someone.”
“You think so?” she asked casually.
Michael gave a wry smile. “Not really. I doubt it. He wouldn’t have come to the window if he was, and I wouldn’t bring a woman to this hole if I
Alex laughed. “Glad to hear it. Hi, Michael. How’s it going?”
“Cool, thanks, Alex. Thanks for your advice on funding my junior fellowship application.”
“No problem. Call me anytime if I can be of any more help. Hope you have a good evening.”
He turned his attention to Carla again. “Hmm. Shark End? This place has had about a dozen name changes since I came to Oxford. Have you been in here before?”
“God, no. This is my first time.”
“I suppose there has to be a first time for everything.” His eyes sparkled. They were definitely the eyes that had mesmerized her from behind the mask at the party. Oh, it was him, and he knew exactly what he was doing and the effect he had on her, both in the cloisters and right now, the bastard .
Her reply was a whisper, unheard by Michael or Emma and her friends. “There does.”
“Perhaps it might not be as excruciating as you’re expecting.” She shivered, not with cold but with pure, unbridled lust. They were back in the foyer of that London mansion again, Alex circling his prey, Carla baiting him.
“You think so?” she murmured.
“Oh yes, I think this evening could turn out to be every bit as painful as you can imagine.” His breath was smoky in the night air. She shivered at the memory of what he’d done to her that night, at his fingers slipping down the front of her basque to tweak her nipple, at his hand pressing the seam of her leather trousers into her clit. At his threat to take her home and deal with her insolence in his own unique way. Despite the cold, the air seemed to smoulder around them both.
Emma waved frantically from the door. “Come on, Carla!”
Alex smiled benignly. “I mustn’t keep you talking. Your friends are waiting for you, and I must be getting back to college. I’ve got my own painful evening to get through.”
His voice was heavy with regret, almost as if he’d felt the weight of disappointment that had lodged in her own heart.
“Really?” she asked, wondering if his words had referred to meeting a woman, or, dare she imagine, having to leave her here at the club.
“I’ve got a deadline on my book, so it’s a late night and an early start in the morning for me. See you, and have a great evening.”
He was gone, a tall, dark figure headed for the alleyways that led from the main road to the colleges.
“Carla! Are you coming or not?”
Carla tore her eyes from Alex just as he melted into the shadows. “Yes. Coming.”
The streets were silent as Carla walked back from the club with Michael in the small hours. Emma had gone home with her student friend, so Carla was sleeping in her room. They walked through the side gate to St Bert’s and came across Gideon urinating in a flowerbed.
She winced. “That’s revolting.”
Michael grimaced.
“Watch out, I’m going to chunder!” They leapt away as Gideon threw up over the cobbles. It was clear he’d visited a kebab van in the recent past, and she gagged. Lights popped on in the room up above, and Carla realised that it was Alex’s.
“Is everyone okay down there?” A window opened, and he glared down at the quad. Carla backed into the shadow of the wall, hoping the cobbles would open and swallow her up.
Michael called up. “It’s fine. It’s only Gideon, pissed again. I’ll take him to his room.”
In the gloom, Alex’s reaction was impossible to work out, yet his tone betrayed his annoyance. “Good, but keep the noise down, please. People are trying to sleep and work.”
Carl gave an inner sigh of relief. She didn’t think he’d spotted her. “How embarrassing,” she said to Michael as they herded Gideon across the quad towards his room.
“Oh, don’t worry, Alex won’t give a toss. I just hope he wasn’t shagging someone.”
“You think so?” she asked casually.
Michael gave a wry smile. “Not really. I doubt it. He wouldn’t have come to the window if he was, and I wouldn’t bring a woman to this hole if I
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