Kitabı oku: «The Millionaire's Inexperienced Love-Slave», sayfa 2

‘Are you saying I’m the first man to pay you this kind of attention since your husband died?’

‘I haven’t been with another man since Ray, if that’s what you’re asking. I don’t go out. And I don’t date.’

Her admission stunned Adrian. Five years of living by herself. Five years without male company, or sex of any kind. It wasn’t natural. Or healthy.

‘I find that terribly sad, Sharni.’

‘Life is sad,’ she said, and took another sip of wine.

‘You are coming out with me tonight,’ he stated firmly.

Her eyes widened before meeting his over the rim of her glass.

‘Am I?’

There was enough wavering in those two words, and in her eyes, to satisfy Adrian.

‘Absolutely,’ he said, just as their meals arrived.

CHAPTER FOUR

‘COFFEE or tea?’ Adrian asked.

Sharni looked up from where she’d been devouring the last bite of the simply delicious almond and plum tart.

Roland was standing by their table, patiently waiting for her decision.

‘Coffee, please,’ she said after dabbing her mouth with the white linen serviette. ‘Cappuccino.’

‘I’ll have a short black,’ Adrian told the waiter who swiftly departed to do their bidding.

Sharni could see why Adrian came here often. Not only was the food great, but the service was very quick.

‘So where would you like me to take you tonight?’ he asked.

Sharni sighed. She should have known he’d come back to that sooner or later. He’d very cleverly lulled her into a false sense of security over their meal by stopping the flirtatious talk and steering any conversation onto more impersonal topics such as food, politics and the weather.

Now, his eyes were back on hers again, their focus disturbingly intense. But oh-so-flattering.

He was right. She did find him attractive. How could she not? But Adrian’s charm for her was not just physical. It was the way he made her feel, as if he found her the most fascinating female in the world.

There was no use pretending she didn’t want to go out with him tonight. But the prospect was accompanied by a measure of fear. What if he tried to seduce her? What if he succeeded?

For the last five years Sharni had lived a sexless existence, that part of her body having totally shut down. She hadn’t had a period since she’d lost her baby, various doctors suggesting her lack of hormonal activity was caused by shock and grief. To be honest, she hadn’t given sex a second thought in ages.

Now, suddenly, she was very definitely thinking about it.

Was the wine over lunch to blame, or this man’s amazing resemblance to Ray?

She’d been sexually attracted to Ray from the moment. But they’d dated for several weeks before they’d slept together. Even then, it had been left up to her to make the first move, Ray having been chronically shy in the bedroom department.

Not so this man, she thought as she glanced across the table. He would know all the right moves.

If only he didn’t look so much like Ray…

‘We could have an early dinner then go to a show afterwards,’ he said, breaking into her ongoing silence. ‘Or a show first and supper afterwards, if you’d prefer. Have you seen The Phantom of the Opera? The musical, not the movie. They say this latest revival is better than all previous productions.’

Sharni had always loved the story of the phantom. She thought it highly romantic. Andrew Lloyd Webber’s music was marvellous too, echoing the uncontrollable passions that consumed the main character.

‘No, I haven’t,’ she admitted. ‘But—’

‘No buts, Sharni,’ he broke in. ‘Your sister gave you this weekend in Sydney so that you could enjoy yourself. It’s not much fun sitting in a hotel room by yourself, especially on a Saturday night. If you’re still worried about my being a stranger, then I’ll ring Jordan right now so that she can vouch for me.’ To show he meant it, Adrian pulled a silver mobile phone from his jacket pocket and flipped it open.

‘No, no, you don’t have to do that,’ she said hurriedly. ‘I can see you’re not some kind of creep.’

His handsome face showed shock. ‘I should hope not.’

‘I suppose it wouldn’t be much fun sitting in the hotel room tonight all by myself.’

‘So you’ll come?’

‘You’ve talked me into it.’

‘Fantastic,’ he said, smiling.

Her heart fluttered. So did her stomach. He really was utterly gorgeous when he smiled like that.

‘What about The Phantom?’ he asked. ‘Is that a goer, or would you prefer a different show? A play, perhaps.’

‘No, no, I love musicals.’

‘Would you like me to book dinner before or supper afterwards?’

‘I think supper afterwards.’

‘That’s great,’ he said with a satisfied glint in his bright blue eyes. ‘Now, after we finish our coffee, I’m going to take you across the street to a spot where you can have a proper look at my pride and joy. Then, after you’ve been suitably impressed with my brilliance at designing the outsides of the building, I’ll give you a quick tour of the inside.’

‘It’ll have to be very quick,’ she told him. ‘I’ll need some time before the shops close to buy a suitable outfit to wear tonight. I only bought casual clothes this morning.’

‘I could come shopping with you, if you like?’

Sharni could see he was very much a takeover type of person. ‘Don’t you have something else you should be doing this afternoon?’

‘Not really,’ he said. ‘I finished my latest plan to my satisfaction late yesterday. I always give myself a complete break between projects.’

‘For how long?’

‘At least a day,’ he said, laughing. ‘So what do you say? I have good taste in women’s clothes.’

‘I hate taking anyone clothes shopping with me,’ she said quite truthfully. ‘I prefer to trust my own taste.’

‘And an excellent taste it is, too,’ he complimented, his gaze admiring as he looked her up and down.

Sharni could not help smiling. ‘I think you are an incorrigible charmer.’

‘And I think you could do with a bit of charming. Ah, our coffee’s coming.’

‘Just as well. I need sobering up. I think I’m a little tipsy.’ It wasn’t like her to feel this light-hearted. Or this happy.

Once they’d finished their coffee, Adrian saw to the bill whilst Sharni picked up her shopping bags and stood up.

Oh, dear, she thought when her head whirled alarmingly. There was no doubt about it. She’d had way too much to drink!

CHAPTER FIVE

‘OH, MY!’ Sharni exclaimed. ‘That is one magnificent building.’

They were standing together on the pavement across the street, Adrian holding her shopping bags whilst Sharni shielded her eyes from the sun’s rays and gazed up at Bortelli Tower.

‘I never imagined anything this big, or this beautiful!’ she said with ego-stroking awe in her voice. ‘I love the grey colour of the glass you’ve used.’

‘The manufacturer calls it smokescreen. Naturally no UV rays can get through. Or heat, or cold.’

‘It’s gorgeous. And the hexagonal shape is just so unusual.’

‘I like it.’

She smiled up at him. ‘I dare say you do, since you designed it. How many floors are there?’

‘Twenty-five. The first ten are devoted to office space. There’s a health club and heated pool on the eleventh floor. After that, it’s all privately owned apartments, with lots of balconies to take advantage of the views.’

‘I bet they’re very expensive.’

‘They are. But Gino sold every one of them off the plan.’

‘Wow! That’s incredible. So what floor do you live on?’

‘The twenty-fifth.’

‘The twenty-fifth.’ She frowned momentarily before gaping up at him. ‘You live in the penthouse?’

Adrian loved her sweet surprise. ‘It was part of the contract I made with Gino when he commissioned my services.’

‘But a penthouse right in the middle of Sydney has to be worth millions! I didn’t realise architects got paid that much.’

‘Some of us do,’ he replied, thinking of the seven-figure fee he usually commanded for this type of job. ‘But Gino asked me to oversee the construction of the building as well, so the penthouse came as a bonus.’

‘Do you do that kind of job often?’

‘Sometimes. It’s great watching my designs take shape. But projects of this scale take a special sort of commitment. That’s why I was able to negotiate such a good deal with this one. Come on, let’s go back over the road and I’ll take you up onto the rooftop. The view from up there is incomparable on a clear winter’s day.’

‘Will that take long?’ she asked. ‘It’s getting on for two-thirty.’

‘I could have you up there in five minutes,’ he said. ‘And back down here shopping in fifteen, tops. All the lifts are the latest high-speed design.’

She still hesitated.

Adrian understood why. Sharni was a nice girl. And nice girls didn’t swan up to a man’s apartment within a couple of hours of meeting him. Not even if that apartment was a penthouse worth millions.

‘I promise I won’t make a pass, if that’s what you’re thinking,’ he reassured her. ‘I just want to show you the view.’

This was only partly true. What he actually wanted, more than anything, was the opportunity to spend a little more time with her. She delighted him as no woman had ever delighted him. It was a serious shame that she wouldn’t let him go shopping with her. He would have loved helping her choose the right outfit for tonight. A sexy little black dress, perhaps. With long tight sleeves, a short, bottom-hugging skirt and a low-cut neckline. Very low. The kind of neckline that needed a decent bust to show it off. Like the one Sharni had.

Adrian gave himself a mental shake when his train of thought began transferring messages to his body. Highly arousing messages.

Thank goodness it was winter and he was wearing a jacket.

His sudden upsurge in testosterone, however, urged him to take more control of this situation.

‘Come on,’ he said firmly, cupping his free hand around her elbow and steering her back towards the pedestrian crossing at the corner.

She didn’t protest, he noted, going along with what he wanted. As a woman sometimes did when a man took the helm.

‘This way,’ he said once they reached the kerb, and led her along the street frontage towards the main entrance of the building. On the way, they had to pass two shops, one of which was a very exclusive ladies’ fashion boutique.

As luck would have it, there, on a mannequin in the window, was an outfit that was absolutely perfect for going to the theatre. It wasn’t totally black. Only the skirt, which fell in floaty folds to mid-calf length. The top was purple, and beaded, with three-quarter sleeves and a deep, crossover neckline, which was subtly sexy.

Not so subtle were the black five-inch heels that the window-dresser had put on the model’s feet.

‘Oh!’ Sharni exclaimed, and ground to an admiring halt in front of the window.

‘You’d look good in that,’ Adrian said straight away.

More than good, but he didn’t want to gush. Women didn’t like men who gushed.

‘You really think so?’

‘I really think so,’ he said coolly. ‘Let’s go inside and you can try it on.’

CHAPTER SIX

SHARNI looked at herself in the dressing-room mirror and thought, Wow, I really do look good, just like Adrian said I would.

Not just good, Sharni amended as she turned this way and that, setting the black chiffon skirt swinging around her legs. I look sexy.

And I feel sexy.

Was it the wine she’d drunk over lunch? Or because the salesgirl had suggested she take off her bra?

Sharni’s curves rarely went without support, despite their not being saggy in any way. She’d never been inclined to show off her breasts in public, Ray having always liked her conservative way of dressing.

What would he think if he saw you in this top? Sharni wondered as she stared at her exposed cleavage.

He’d be shocked, she knew. Shocked and disapproving.

She felt shocked, too. Not by the way she looked, but by the way she felt.

Unbearably excited.

A tap on the dressing-cubicle door sent a nervous gasp punching from her lips. ‘Yes?’

‘Your husband wants you to come out and show him what you look like,’ the salesgirl called through the door.

Sharni should have denied he was her husband. But she didn’t.

Instead, she swallowed, then opened the door.

‘Oh, no,’ the salesgirl said, glancing down at her stockinged feet. ‘You can’t go out there like that. I’ll get you some shoes. What size are you?’

‘Seven.’

‘In that case the ones on the model should fit you. Wait here. I’ll go get them.’

The shoes were produced, with Sharni having to sit down to put them on. They were cripplingly high and sinfully sexy, each having a narrow strap across the front, with two more straps attached at the back which wound round her ankles and tied in a bow. She’d never in her life worn anything like them.

Sharni teetered at first when she stood up, having to keep her steps small as she made her way very slowly out to where Adrian was waiting, leaning against a counter in the middle of the boutique.

He straightened on seeing her, his blue eyes narrowing as they raked over her from top to toe.

Never had any man looked at her in quite that way before, not even Ray. The intensity of his gaze overwhelmed her, making her knees go to jelly.

‘Walk up and down a few times,’ Adrian commanded in that masterful way that made Sharni’s stomach flutter wildly.

Not a totally unknown state for her these days. But her nervous tummy was usually due to anxiety, not excitement.

Once she found her balance, her hips surprised her by developing a decidedly sexy sway. The effect on her psyche was amazing. Suddenly, she was a femme fatale; a temptress who commanded all male eyes be upon her.

But there was only one male Sharni wanted looking at her at that moment. And he very definitely was, with glittering blue eyes that evoked a heat in her that felt both shameful and shameless.

‘I told you you’d look great in that,’ he said, his voice low and sexy.

Sharni’s heart quickened its beat.

‘She’ll take it,’ he told the salesgirl before Sharni had a chance to come to a decision.

‘The shoes as well?’ the girl asked Adrian.

‘Absolutely,’ came his crisp reply.

‘You…you do realise I’ll probably never ever wear these shoes again,’ she said, even as she admired them.

‘Of course you will,’ he countered. ‘Every time you wear that fantastic outfit. Now go get changed, like a good girl, while I fix up the bill.’

Sharni flushed with the weirdest mixture of pleasure and embarrassment. ‘I can’t possibly let you pay for my clothes, Adrian,’ she protested. ‘It’s not right.’

‘What’s not right about it? I can well afford a few hundred dollars.’

‘That’s not the point!’

He smiled, then reached out to stroke a tender fingertip down her nose. ‘All right, sweet Sharni,’ he said, his eyes soft on hers. ‘You can pay for your own clothes. But this is the last time you get to pay for anything when you’re with me. Off you go and change now. But don’t be too long. Now that you have something suitable to wear tonight, you don’t have to waste the afternoon shopping. We can spend it together, doing something more interesting.’

He was like a steamroller, Sharni thought as she changed back into her trousers and jumper.

But it was exciting, being swept along like this.

What did he have in mind for this afternoon? she wondered momentarily before deciding she wouldn’t wonder. Or worry. About anything. Not even what it was about her that interested him.

After all, a man like Adrian would have no shortage of women—more beautiful than herself—throwing themselves at him.

This last thought did give Sharni something to worry about. Surely Adrian must have a girlfriend. Surely!

Should she ask him and risk bringing an abrupt ending to their time together today? Or avoid the question altogether?

Sharni was still dithering over this dilemma when she emerged from the dressing room.

Adrian’s satisfaction at the way things were going was temporarily derailed when he saw the expression on Sharni’s face.

He didn’t like whatever was going on in her mind, but didn’t say a word whilst she paid for her purchases. Experience had taught him never to tamper with a woman’s mind. They were minefields that could blow up in your face when least expected.

‘Let me take a couple of those,’ she said when they left the shop with him carrying all her parcels.

‘If you insist,’ he returned, thinking he would need a hand free to extract his key-card for the lifts.

‘I insist,’ she said, and took the two bags from the boutique.

They walked in silence over to the main entrance to the tower.

‘This way,’ Adrian said, the automatic doors opening when he stepped forward onto the entry mat.

Their reflection in the glass, however, showed that Sharni had ground to a halt behind him, that worried look still on her face.

Gritting his teeth against a flash of irritation, he turned and rejoined her on the pavement. ‘What is it?’ he asked. ‘What’s wrong?’

‘I…I have to ask you something.’

‘What?’

‘Is there anyone in your life who would be upset with you taking me out tonight?’

‘A girlfriend, you mean.’

‘Yes,’ she said, her eyes fixed unswervingly on his.

Man, but she would be a difficult person to lie to. Not that he had to, thank God. Felicity was definitely no longer his girlfriend.

‘Absolutely not.’

If anything, her frown increased with his answer. ‘I…I do find that hard to believe.’

Adrian’s frustration was tempered by the flattery within her statement. ‘There was someone till recently,’ he said, but refrained from saying how recently. ‘Let me assure you that there’s no one who could object to my taking you out tonight.’

Her sigh showed genuine relief. ‘That’s good, then.’

‘And if I’d said there was someone?’ he couldn’t resist asking.

Adrian empathised with the flash of indecision that crossed her face, because it echoed his feelings for her. Never in his life had he felt this strongly about a woman within hours of meeting her. He’d been attracted at first sight in the past. But this was more than that.

If there’d been some new man in Sharni’s life, he would still have pursued her.

‘No need to answer that,’ he went on before she could put her obviously muddled thoughts into words. ‘It was a silly question. Come on. I want to get you upstairs while the sun’s still shining.’

CHAPTER SEVEN

SHARNI TRIED to relax during the ride up to the twenty-fifth floor, but it was impossible. Something had taken possession of her when she’d paraded herself in front of Adrian in that sexy outfit, something that she’d pushed to one side when she’d changed back into her less sexy clothes, but which had emerged with a vengeance once she discovered Adrian didn’t have a girlfriend.

That something was desire. The desire to be kissed, and touched, and made love to.

Not since Ray had she met a man who’d made her feel remotely like this. Of course, Adrian did look exactly like Ray, which could explain the heat washing through her. Her body could be reacting to old tapes.

But somehow, Sharni wasn’t convinced. The sexual hunger consuming her body at this moment was much more intense than anything she’d felt with Ray. When Adrian asked her what she would have done if he’d said he did have a girlfriend, Sharni had been shocked by the realisation that she would still have come up here with him.

He’d promised not to make a pass. Yet she wanted him to. Quite desperately.

The lift whizzed to a halt on the twenty-fifth floor in no time at all, Sharni having no space to come to terms with the shockingly aroused state she was in.

When the lifts doors opened an extremely tense Sharni followed Adrian into an elegant, marble-floored foyer, which had a domed ceiling and a spectacularly modern chandelier hanging from it. Straight ahead were double French doors through which she could see a huge and equally elegant living area.

‘Put your parcels down here,’ Adrian suggested, placing the ones he was carrying beneath a glass-topped hall table on their right.

She did so, then immediately asked him where the bathroom was.

Suddenly, she needed to go. Quite badly.

‘That’s the guest powder room,’ he said, indicating a door on her left. ‘When you’re finished go on through into the lounge room and make yourself comfortable. I’ll join you shortly,’ he said, turning away and leaving her through the French doors.

The powder room had everything a multimillion-dollar penthouse would have: marble floors and walls, stylish firings and gold taps.

After she’d washed her hands, Sharni spent a couple of extra minutes combing her hair and refreshing her pink lipstick, all the while struggling to find some composure.

‘I look the same as the girl who left the beauty salon this morning,’ she said agitatedly to the reflection in the mirror. ‘But I don’t feel the same.’

Meeting Adrian had changed her. In ways she had yet to appreciate, or understand.

All Sharni knew was that she wanted Adrian as she had never wanted Ray.

This admission brought a wave of guilt. Because she’d had a good sex life with her husband, who’d been a gentle and considerate lover. On top of that, she’d loved him very much.

She didn’t love Adrian. She didn’t even know him. Not really.

You didn’t get to know anyone properly in a couple of hours.

No doubt he’d been presenting his best face to her so far today, impressing her with his decisiveness, his charm, and yes, the evidence of his material success. What girl wouldn’t be bowled over by a millionaire’s penthouse in the middle of Sydney?

But did all that explain the sexual cravings that were currently consuming her?

Sharni shivered as she stared into her too bright eyes and flushed cheeks.

‘What’s happening to you?’ she whispered.

Adrian waited impatiently in the living room for the powder-room door to open. In the end, he took off his jacket—the apartment was centrally heated—and draped it over the back of a chair, after which he started pacing around the room.

She was certainly taking long enough, he thought, his gaze continually darting her way. Finally, the door did open, but she was slow to emerge, moving over to place her handbag on the hall table before turning and walking even more slowly through the open French doors.

When her eyes met his across the room, Adrian immediately regretted his earlier promise not to make a pass.

Damn it all. Why had he chosen today of all days to play the gentleman? He never had before, not when he saw that look in a woman’s eyes.

Sharni was just as attracted to him as he was to her, he was sure of it. Given the situation, there was nothing to stop either of them acting upon the chemistry sizzling between them. They were both adults, after all. Both free to do what they liked, in bed and out.

Such thinking fuelled the passion that was already simmering just below the surface of Adrian’s cool façade. If only he hadn’t made that rash promise.

As she came towards him her hip-swinging walk stirred his hormones further. His belly contracted as he struggled to get a handle on his increasing desire, Adrian reminding himself that at least he hadn’t made any promises about tonight. He only had to wait a few hours and he’d be able to pull her into his arms and kiss her senseless without feeling like a total heel.

‘You have a very beautiful place,’ she said, finally dragging her eyes away from his to glance around. ‘You must have had it professionally decorated.’

‘A decorator came with the deal,’ he said. By the name of Felicity—that was how they’d met.

Frankly, he wasn’t that thrilled by what Felicity had done. Her colour palette had been on the bland side: mostly pale, neutral shades with only the occasional touches of green and yellow.

He’d given her a totally free hand, because he’d already been preoccupied with his next project at the time the penthouse was being decorated. Now, he had to live with the results.

‘It’s lovely,’ Sharni said.

‘It’ll do,’ came his indifferent reply. ‘Come on. Come out onto the terrace.’ Before I forget all my noble intentions and pounce!

Adrian slid back the nearest glass door, stepped slightly to one side and waved her through.

She glanced up at him from under long lashes as she hurried past, her expression a tantalising mixture of femininity and fear.

Adrian’s flesh reacted excitedly to both. Which rather shocked him. Why should her fear arouse him? Unless, of course, it wasn’t him she was afraid of. What if she was afraid of herself? What if she, too, was being besieged with almost uncontrollable desire?

He followed her out onto the terrace, his mind in turmoil as his frustrated body began to create havoc with his conscience.

‘Oh my!’ she said breathlessly as she gazed, first at the rooftop pool and spa, then out at the view.

Adrian already knew it was a magnificent view, the penthouse’s enviable position providing a wide panorama of the city, with Sydney’s famous icons clearly visible: the Harbour Bridge, the Opera house and the Botanical Gardens, all of them bathed at that moment in the soft afternoon sunshine.

But none of them drew his eyes. Only her.

It was no use. His desire was too strong to deny. To hell with his promise not to make a pass. To hell with everything!

When he moved up behind her and cupped his hands possessively over her shoulders, her head jerked around to stare up at him with widening eyes.

‘I’m sorry,’ he said thickly. ‘But I have to do this.’

Sharni froze as he turned her into his arms.

The surety that he was going to kiss her brought panic. Because she knew, if he did, she would be lost.

Her eyes pleaded for mercy but he ignored them, his left hand lifting to slide around her neck under her hair, his right hand cupping her chin, holding her face solidly captive in readiness for his descending mouth.

Her lips parted in a belated effort to voice a protest. But all that accomplished was to leave her mouth more vulnerable to his advances.

His kiss was far from gentle, in no way resembling Ray’s kisses. Adrian’s lips ground against hers, his kiss a branding on her mouth and inside her mouth. The forays of his tongue were aggressive and deeply sensual. Soon her head was spinning, her heart thudding loudly behind her ribs.

One kiss dissolved into another, then another, his hands dropping from her face to wrap around her back, crushing her against him. Her own arms responded by looping around his neck, her fingers entwining together, then pressing down to stop his head from lifting.

She didn’t want him to stop kissing her. Not ever!

He didn’t stop. He somehow managed to keep kissing her, even after he scooped her up off the terrace and carried her inside. By the time he lowered her to her feet—in the master bedroom, she was to discover later—Sharni’s desire had moved beyond the need for just kisses. By then her body was sending messages to her brain for more intimate contact than mouth to mouth. She needed him inside her. And she needed him now.

Her mouth wrenched away from his, her desire-glazed eyes dropping to the black leather belt around his waist. It didn’t seem shameless to undo that belt, just necessary.

Her fingers were clumsy with their speed. His, too. Together they stripped each other from the waist down, their carnal urgency having no patience with undressing any further than necessary.

Neither of them stopped to think once enough clothes had been removed. They fell onto the middle of the bed; he was on top of her. Sharni cried out at his rough penetration, a cry that echoed her desperate need. She didn’t care that he wasn’t gentle or considerate; she wanted him to pound into her. Wanted him to fill her to the utmost, over and over.

Which he did. Madly. Mercilessly.

It was wild and totally without thought. A raw, primal mating. An expression, not of love, but of the most primitive lust.

They came together, an experience that Sharni had never had before.

For an amazing length of time, her body was buffeted by twin pleasures: that of her own flesh spasming in helpless ecstasy, and the feel of his explosive, almost violent release.

The sensations were stunningly satisfying. Mind-blowing, in fact. Sharni was in seventh heaven.

Till Adrian muttered a four letter crudity.

All of a sudden, reality returned with a soul-shattering thud. Because what he’d just said was exactly what they’d just done.

Her eyes flew open to look almost despairingly up at him.

‘Sorry,’ he grated out.

Shame made her grimace, her head turning away as a distressed sound punched from her lips.

‘Don’t do that,’ he bit out. ‘What we just did, Sharni. It wasn’t wrong. Foolhardy perhaps, since I didn’t use a condom. But not wrong.’

Shock sent her head whipping back to face him. His not using a condom simply hadn’t occurred to her. But now that it had…

‘Oh, God,’ she sobbed, and stuffed a white-knuckled fist against her mouth.

‘I promise you,’ he reassured her hurriedly. ‘that I do usually practise safe sex. God knows what happened just now, because it’s never happened before. Things got out of hand. But I don’t regret it. And neither should you. You needed that, Sharni. It’s not healthy, going without sex for five years. The only problem I can see is if there’s a risk you might fall pregnant. Is there?’

She couldn’t speak. Just shook her head from side to side in the negative.

‘Are you sure about that?’ he asked, a frown in his voice. ‘You said you hadn’t had sex in five years, so you wouldn’t be on the pill. Unless you are for medical reasons. Are you?’

Again, she shook her head.