Read Online Hearts of Stone by Mark Timlin - Free Book Online Page A

more.’
    â€˜Wait.’ She took a condom out of her handbag, undid the foil, and expertly fitted it on me. Then she rolled over and lay with her legs open, and pulled the G-string to one side. ‘Come in me,’ she whispered.
    I did as I was told.
    She pulled me down close and whispered. ‘Fuck me, Nick. Fuck me hard. Batter me, you bastard. Come on.’
    I did as I was told again. I fucked her as hard as I could, and she loved it. She entwined her arms and legs around me, pulling me tightly into her body, and we found a rhythm that excluded everything in the world until I felt like a bottle with its cork about to explode, and she knew and, as I came, she came with me, and as she did she screamed my name in my ear.
    We collapsed into a sweaty tangle of limbs and lay still, breathing hard. She leant up on one elbow and put her mouth so close to my ear I could feel her breath inside my head. ‘That was great sweetheart,’ she said. ‘The best. And I swear I don’t say that to any of the boys. Now, have a sleep and I’ll take care of you.’ And she reached over and pulled the duvet off the chair and tugged it over us.

14
    I don’t know how long we lay there for. Maybe half an hour, maybe longer. I was half asleep, half drunk, and half speeding like a car in neutral with the accelerator pedal hard on the floor. Then Kylie got up, prepared another warm flannel, disposed of the condom, and gently washed me again. ‘After-sales service?’ I said.
    â€˜That’s right.’ When she’d finished, she said, ‘I’ve got to go to the loo. Can I borrow your shirt?’
    â€˜Sure.’
    She put it on, and picked up her handbag and went to the door. ‘I won’t be a minute,’ she said, and blew me a kiss.
    I sat up and lit another cigarette. It tasted lousy. I was getting a headache and my mouth was dry. I picked up the champagne bottle and shook it. Empty. I swung my legs over the side of the bed and put on my socks and shorts. I got up and pulled on my trousers and put on my shoes. I went to the window and pulled back the curtain. The room I was in was at the back of the house. It was surrounded by dark office blocks, but the sky was red with reflected light from the city. I stood there looking into the blackness until Kylie came back. She’d washed her face and put on fresh make-up. She took off my shirt and picked up her basque from where she’d thrown it.
    â€˜Do me up, will you?’ she asked. I did up the hooks at the back and she produced a fresh pair of stockings and a clean G-string from her handbag and bundled up the dirty ones and pushed them to the bottom of it. ‘You don’t mind all this, do you?’ she asked. ‘You can go back downstairs if you want to.’
    â€˜I don’t mind,’ I said.
    â€˜Good. I hate men who fuck and run.’
    I had to laugh. I picked up my shirt from the bed where she’d dropped it, and put it on whilst she finished dressing. It smelt of her perfume and her sex. ‘Got a comb?’ I asked.
    â€˜A brush.’
    â€˜That’ll do.’
    She took a hairbrush from her handbag and gave it to me. There was a lot of blonde hair caught up in the bristles. I went over to the mirror and brushed my hair back into shape. Then re-tied my tie and put on my jacket. She checked herself in the mirror too and, once satisfied, we were both ready.
    â€˜Let’s go see how the party’s doing,’ she said.
    We went downstairs, where the music on the speakers was louder and faster. When we got into the club it was much busier than when we’d left. There was an older, brassier woman behind the bar, there seemed to be more girls around, and half a dozen men in suits were drinking at the bar or talking to the girls.
    â€˜Business is booming,’ I said.
    â€˜It’s quiet tonight,’ said Kylie, waving hello to a couple of the punters. ‘Stay here. I