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He began to drift off to sleep beside her and she could hear nothing but the steadying of his breathing, and the ticking of her bedside clock Oh, how she hated that little clock which ruthlessly whittled away the minutes they spent with each other Hands which crept round so agonisingly slohen Xaviero was absent that they seemed almost stationary But when he was here…well, that hen ti aith itself until the alarm on his cell phone reminded him that it was time to leave

Then, in the early hours he would prise hi on his clothes to slip out into the bal patiently at the end of the lane, ready to drive him the short distance to the hotel

‘Why don’t you…stay?’ she had ventured, on that blissful first night in his arms—when she had lain there dazed in the sweet after

‘I can never stay the night with you, Cathy,’ he had stated, his voice suddenly hard and resolute

Too full of emotion and pleasure to heed the unolden eyes, she had looked up into his face with innocent bewilderment ‘Why not?’

‘Because staying a whole night is a statement It implies a commitment which is not present—and to do so will compromise both of us’ He had lifted her chin then Stared hard into her eyes ‘And you know that this is nothing but a very temporary affair, don’t you—because I ?’

‘Yes Yes, of course I do,’ she’d said, trying to keep her voice fro to her—or keeping false hopes alive by pretending that there ht be some kind of future in it Because she had known from the outset that there wasn’t Far better to silorious and unbelievableonto a hopeless dream

Beside her, Xaviero stirred from his brief sleep ‘Cathy?’

She rolled over to face hi in the confined space of her bed, and her heart turned over with longing ‘What?’

‘This’ He slid her hand between his thighs until her fingers collided with his hotly aroused flesh and Cathy’s lips parted

‘Again?’ she whispered breathlessly

‘Sì, again,’ he agreed unsteadily