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Chapter 12
Amelia-Rose sighed and, still with her eyes closed, drew John onto her and then into her private world where she was soon lost in a sea of almost forgotten sensations. His tongue was in her mouth and his arms held her hard against him. He made love efficiently and silently. He took what he wanted and gave her what she needed in return. She was desperately grateful for the explosion when it came that liberated her from space and time and left her shattered but calm.
As the afterglow faded, she opened her eyes to find John getting dressed.
"Going so soon?" Amelia-Rose said casually. "By the way, you definitely hit the spot," she said, smiling.
"I'm glad ... It was good for me too ... I'm sorry I have to go but I've a meeting ..."
He seemed distant. The methodical lover was now methodically moving on to his next challenge.
"What are you doing these days," said Amelia-Rose , " - lots of business I suppose."
John nodded and pulled on a sock.
"I'm doing quite a lot of business with Gerard." He struggled with his tie.
Amelia-Rose sat up in bed gathering the duvet around her in a sea of warmth resisting the urge to fix the tie for him.
"Something that puzzles me," she said, "is how you knew I was living here. I didn't exactly send you a change of address card."
"I'm not sure I recollect how I found out," said John.
Amelia-Rose frowned. She sensed he was holding something back. Suddenly, realization dawned.
"If you are working with Gerard, knowing that he is with Debra must be very hard," she said dryly. The temperature in the room seemed to have fallen by twenty degrees.
John shrugged his shoulders. His jacket was on and he was ready to go.
"It's business," he said. "The most important thing is the deal. If the business is right then you have to find a way of dealing with the emotional stuff."
"So Gerard ... he gave you my address..."
Amelia-Rose 's voice cut through the air like a knife and she continued.
"So I was part of the deal. He was having your wife so you would have his and then you'd be quits."
"Like I said, business comes first and people have to find a way of getting on!"
He was defensive but he hadn't denied her reasoning. It wasn't important to him. He'd got what he came for and was now ready to move on.
Amelia-Rose's breathing was unsteady again as the anger grew inside her and tears welled up in her eyes. She clutched the duvet, not for the warmth and coziness but as a defense. It was now her private domain that was all that protected her from the hurtful force that was lacing its black shoes up at the end of her bed.
Dragging the duvet with her, she left for the bathroom giving him hardly a sideways glance.
"John ..."
"What?"
"Just don't ever bother to come back ... ," she said, contemptuously.
She ran a bath. Then there was the sound of him trudging heavily down the stairs and the front door slamming. He didn't say goodbye.
Ironically, just as making love to John had slammed closed the door on her long relationship with Gerard, now the front door of her little cottage slammed closed to mark the end of a new relationship that had lasted only minutes.
Half an hour later, Amelia-Rose decided she didn't really care. He'd served his purpose and, when she inspected her emotions, she found that she didn't feel disappointed. He'd acted consistently with what she'd always expected of him and their bargain had been freely entered into. His personal agenda was of no consequence to her.
Resolutely, she dressed herself in jeans and a T-shirt with a sloppy green pullover draped across her shoulders. She found herself whistling a popular tune as she closed the front door of the cottage behind her. Despite everything, the whole encounter had been cathartic and had at least dispelled some cobwebs. She had to admit she felt great.
She decided to explore the path outside the cottage that led along the river and up the hill. Perhaps she'd even pop into the pub at the crossroads of the top. It was time she got to know the locals. They had to be an improvement on the people that had populated her past.
She also admitted to herself that making love to John had re-awakened desires that had long been buried while she'd was grieving for her lost marriage. Now the flame had been rekindled, she knew she was hungry for more.
"Watch out you eligible country yokels," she chuckled to herself as she trudged up the steep path, - "Amelia-Rose is on her way!"
What she didn't know was that John's red sports car was still close by. When John had closed the garden gate behind him, he'd been astonished to see a rifle pointing unwaveringly at him.
The fierce look on the man's face and the military camouflage clothes left him in no doubt that the man meant business and it was a business that was new to John.
Minutes later he was desperately regretting that he'd passively climbed into the boot of his car as he struggled to escape the water that rose around his chin. With pounding heart, he held his breath for as long as he could which was not long and he was still futilely trying to kick the boot back open when the darkness came.
Amelia-Rose sauntered on up the hill, whistling. Unknown to her, she'd passed the dumped and submerged car - and it's dead occupant. Hidden in the undergrowth nearby, the man in the camouflage jacket watched her go with satisfaction.
As her slight figure retreated into the distance, he mouthed the words silently to himself.
"Those that stay will pay!" He always said those words after every triumph. Her time would come too, he was sure!
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