Chapter 10 #5
Suddenly Will shot to his feet. ‘Take me with you,’ he said urgently, his eyes burning into hers, his breathing ragged.
Kate stared at him, terrified she had misheard, or misunderstood. But before she had a chance to speak, he had crossed the distance between them and was kissing her with a desperate hunger. ‘Take me to bed with you,’ he breathed into her mouth.
‘Yours or mine?’ Kate kissed his throat, tugging at his T-shirt until Will raised his arms for her to take it off over his head. Her hands ran feverishly over the warm skin of his chest, while she kissed his mouth, his stubbly chin.
‘Whichever is nearest.’ Will shuddered as she grazed a nipple with her teeth.
But they knew they weren’t going anywhere.
They exploded against each other, lips, teeth and tongues clashing, hands tearing at each other’s clothes.
Kate felt the cool air against her skin as Will unhooked her bra, followed by his warm, caressing hands on her breasts.
She felt his body clench as she unzipped his jeans and took his cock in her hand.
But even as his kisses became more urgent, his hands less gentle, she felt the tension in his body and sensed his restraint.
Kissing her way down his chest, she dropped to her knees in front of him. He shivered as she kissed his taut stomach, his fingers digging into her shoulders as she curled her tongue into his belly button. He groaned jerkily as she took him into her mouth.
‘Kate…’ he breathed, stroking the side of her face. She heard a world of tenderness in that one word.
As she flicked her tongue around the head of his cock, circling it slowly, the quiet was shattered by a piercing, high-pitched shriek.
The next thing she knew, Will had given her an almighty shove and she was sprawled half-naked on the floor, with Tina glaring down at her, looking like the wrath of God.
He had his back to her and was zipping up his jeans.
Kate covered her breasts with an arm, scrabbling frantically on the floor for her bra.
Before she could get to her feet, Tina flew at her.
‘You fucking bitch!’ she snarled, claws out.
Will spun around in time to block her, grabbed her flailing arms and held her off. Tina struggled ineffectually to escape his grip, whimpering with rage.
‘Christ, sorry, Kate. Are you okay?’ Suddenly realising he had knocked her flying, he reached down to help her up. But as soon as he loosened his grasp on Tina, she broke free of him and hit out blindly, scratching his face and pummelling his chest and head.
‘Jesus!’ Will swore, holding an arm in front of his face. He managed to grab both her arms and held them behind her back. ‘What are you doing here anyway?’ he said, almost accusingly.
‘You bastard!’ she screamed, straining to break free of him.
‘I came back because I was worried about you! I thought you were upset about your father. But instead I find you here getting your jollies with this… this blimp!’ she spat, her eyes sparking fury as Kate scrabbled on the floor for her clothes.
‘What happened?’ she yelled. ‘Did you run out of food to stuff your face with so you had to gobble my boyfriend the minute my back was turned?’
With a supreme effort, she wrenched herself free of Will and lunged at Kate, grabbing a handful of her hair and jerking her head back so hard that Kate felt her neck would snap. She gasped in agony. ‘Can’t you last a second without shoving something in your fucking mouth?’ Tina screamed.
‘Let go,’ Will said, taking Tina’s wrist and squeezing it until she cried out in pain.
‘You shit!’ she spat, eyes blurred now with tears.
Kate seized her opportunity. With Will occupied in holding Tina off, she abandoned the search for her bra, scrambled to her feet and, clutching the top of her dress to her chest, shot out of the room.
‘Kate!’ Will shouted after her, but she kept going.
She took the stairs two at a time. As she reached the top, she heard the front door open. ‘Kate?’ Louise called after her, but she didn’t look back.
She ran along the corridor and into her room. Slamming the door behind her, she collapsed against it while heaving sobs racked her.
‘Oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck,’ she whispered to herself.
She had never been so humiliated. To be caught by Tina was bad enough, but what tortured her was Will shoving her away the moment Tina had shown up.
If Kate had ever been in any doubt as to how he felt about her, that had said it all.
He was happy enough to use her for a quick comfort shag when he was feeling down but to cast her aside like an old shoe when his bitch of a girlfriend turned up – as if she was nothing.
He had practically hurled her across the room in his panic at getting caught.
She had actually fooled herself into thinking it was her he wanted, not just somebody – anybody.
What made it even worse was the knowledge that she was in the wrong.
However much she disliked Tina, Will was her boyfriend, and she was entitled to be furious to find Kate giving him a blow job.
In fairness, she acknowledged that Tina had every right to beat her to a pulp in the circumstances – which made it all the more humiliating.
Kate didn’t know how long she lay slumped inside the door, crying her eyes out.
Finally, she picked herself up and sat on the bed.
Starting to shiver, she pulled on a jumper over her dress and contemplated her dilemma.
She knew she had to get away. She couldn’t face Will tomorrow.
She couldn’t bear to see the cagey morning-after look on his face, and she’d die if she had to have the last-night-was-a-mistake conversation with him.
Besides, Tina would claw her eyes out if she got another chance.
She had to find a way. As she sat there, she heard Louise go into her room along the corridor and perked up a little.
Help was at hand. Kate might not be able to arrange a quick getaway but she knew a woman who could.
Louise’s room was a couple of doors down from hers. Kate tiptoed down the corridor and knocked softly.
‘Kate!’ Louise’s welcoming smile faded as she took in Kate’s stricken, tear-streaked face.
‘I need to go home!’ Kate said urgently, her voice trembling. ‘Can you get me out of here?’
‘Well, sure…’ Louise said hesitantly, giving her a puzzled look.
‘Now?’ Kate said emphatically. ‘Tonight?’
Louise didn’t hesitate. ‘Yes,’ she said simply.
Tears of gratitude sprang to Kate’s eyes.
‘Come on, I’ll help you pack,’ Louise said briskly, and bustled Kate back along the corridor to her room.
Kate was glad of the help. Her hands were shaking so much, she couldn’t fold anything.
She threw clothes willy-nilly into her suitcase, which Louise took out again and folded neatly before repacking them.
Her tour-manager muscle kicked in and she moved through the room like a tornado, quickly stripping it of Kate’s belongings and packing them into the two cases she had brought with her.
Instinctively picking up on Kate’s need for secrecy, she bundled her out through the kitchen so they wouldn’t have to pass the open living-room door where Tina was still screaming and throwing things at Will.
Once Louise took over, it all happened so fast that Kate felt dizzy.
Though it would strike her as peculiar later, she was grateful to Louise for not asking any questions.
She didn’t try to talk her out of it or tell her to sleep on it.
She didn’t try to persuade her that things would seem better in the morning – Kate knew they wouldn’t.
She simply accepted that she wanted to leave and set about making it happen.
* * *
Fifteen minutes later, they were racing towards the airport, Louise occupied on her mobile for most of the drive, making arrangements.
‘There’s a flight in two hours,’ she told Kate. ‘We should be able to get you on that if we hurry.’
Overwhelmed with relief, Kate found she couldn’t stop crying. She turned her face to the window and watched the tears rolling down her face, while Louise babbled on the phone, periodically passing her tissues.
* * *
Though she was bursting with curiosity, Louise refrained from asking Kate what had happened.
She could make an educated guess anyway: she had arrived to find Kate disappearing upstairs half-naked and Tina screaming at Will like a fishwife while trying to break the entire furnishings of the house on his head.
When they got into the airport building, she left Kate queuing at the check-in line, while she went to the ticket desk. Moments later she shoved a ticket into Kate’s hand. When Kate had checked in her bags, Louise walked her to the gate.
‘I must pay you for the ticket,’ Kate said, fishing around in her bag.
‘No, you won’t,’ Louise said brusquely. ‘A return airfare was part of the deal, remember?’
‘Well, yes, but—’
‘No “buts”,’ Louise said firmly. ‘There’ll be a car to meet you in Dublin. The guy will have a card with your name on it, so look out for him. His name’s Dave.’
‘Oh, there was no need for that,’ Kate said, tears springing to her eyes again at Louise’s thoughtfulness. ‘I could have got a taxi.’
‘Don’t be silly. You’re in no state to deal with a taxi driver.’
There was just time for a quick hug before Kate had to run for her plane.
‘Take care,’ Louise said.
‘Thanks for everything.’
‘You’d better run.’ Louise let her go. ‘And call me,’ she shouted after her. ‘You have my number?’
Kate nodded, waving as she disappeared.