Chapter Seven

Angela rang five minutes after Daniel had left.
”Well?” she demanded.

“Would you believe that there are no details to report?” Jessie tried.
”What?” Angela was not only surprised, she was annoyed. “Four dates and he…hang on. Little Miss Honesty often twists her words around so she doesn’t have to lie. What happened, Jessie?”
”Would you believe nothing?” Jessie said, failing to keep the laughter out of her voice.

“When did he leave?” her friend asked.

“Five minutes ago,” Jessie gave in.
”I’m on my way,” Angela said.

When Jessie opened the door to her, Angela half groaned, half laughed.
”Oh dear God, LOOK at you!” she said. “He’s that good?” Jessie sighed expressively and smiled inanely.

“Thank heavens I’m here in time,” Angela bustled in. “Sit down. I have emergency supplies of chocolate with me. And about three hundred and eighty questions.” Jessie laughed, and laughed more as Angela got a notebook and pen out and looked expectantly at her.
”Question One,” she said. “Which of these words best describes him as a lover: tender, adventurous, demanding, generous, or kinky?”
”All of the above,” Jessie said, grinning.

“Oh shit,” Angela said. “Staying power? What are we talking here? A minute? Three minutes? Five?”
”About twenty minutes,” Jessie said, thinking about it. And that didn’t count all of the foreplay, now she thought about it, and he’d been hard for most of that, too.

“You can’t have been counting right,” Angela said.

“Well, I wasn’t really focusing on the clock at the time,” Jessie conceded. Angela opened her mouth to ask another question. “No,” Jessie laughed. “No more.”
”Why not?” Angela queried. “We agreed that I’d get details.”
”They’re private,” Jessie said primly, eyes still dancing. Angela looked at her for a few seconds, then got up and went to the kitchen.

“What?” Jessie asked. Angela’s mood had changed in an instant.

“You can’t fall for him,” she said. “He’s just going to hurt you, Jessie.”
”I know,” Jessie said. “Well, I think I know, but…it might be too late, Angela. I know that I had no intention of doing this, and that it would be madness to get involved with him, but…I can’t wait to see him again.”

“Well turn your television set on tonight,” Angela said. You’ll be able to watch him in action.” Jessie’s face fell.

“I’m sorry,” Angela said. “But great sex aside, you can’t forget who he is and what he does. And please don’t tell me that you’re harbouring some idea of getting him to give up his job?”

There seemed to be no answer to that.

…………………

Daniel rang that afternoon.

“It’s me,” he said, just the sound of his voice sending tingles down Jessie’s spine. “Can I come over again tonight?” Trying to talk through a lump in her throat, Jessie gathered her resources.

“I don’t think that would be a good idea,” she said coolly. There was a pause at the other end.
”No?” he asked. “Why not?”
”I just think it would be better if we didn’t see each other again,” she said, doing her best to keep the catch out of her voice..
”Aha,” he said, not sounding at all concerned, damn him. “Well, thanks.”
”Yes, you too,” she said.
”Bye,” he said, sounding almost cheerful.

“Bye,” she replied, sounding as depressed as he was supposed to be. She looked at the receiver after he’d hung up.

“Well that was easy,” she said to herself. Then she headed to the refrigerator for the emergency stash of chocolate Angela had left. She’d call Angela soon to tell her the deed was done, and that it had been depressingly, heart-droppingly easy. But first, a girl needed sustenance.

Half an hour later, there was a knock on the door. Angela, bless her, sensing her need telepathically. Jessie had just known her friend would be here. There was no way she’d let her suffer alone. She threw open the door, chocolate in one hand.

“Thank God!” she was saying. “I’m going to be as big as a house if you don’t take this off me!” Daniel reached in, plucked the chocolate bar out of her hand and threw it over his shoulder.

“Well, we can’t have that,” he said, taking advantage of her shock to move into the house and shut the door behind him.

“What are you…what are you doing here?” Jessie asked, eyes wide. “I told you that we shouldn’t, and you…you agreed!”

“Like hell,” he said. Then he picked her up off the floor, his arms around her waist, clamped his mouth to hers and walked blindly with her into the bedroom.

“This is not going to resolve anything,” she said when he gave her room to breathe.
”It’ll fill in the time nicely while we work on that,” he said, tugging her t-shirt over her head, tugging his own t-shirt over his head. As he was doing that, Jessie realised that it was his dazzler outfit that he was removing.

“You came straight from work?” she asked. He nodded.

“As soon as some silly woman said something like ‘I don’t think we should see each other again’, I lost all interest in work for some reason,” he said. “Oh good, a front opening bra. I do like these. Saves time.”

“Daniel, this is not sensible,” she said, trying to think while he ran his hands over her, almost dissolving her clothes as he went. She gave an involuntary laugh as he kissed her neck, and caught her breath as he pulled her jeans and panties down and cupped her bottom in his hands.

“If there’s any word I hate more than ‘sensible’, I’m having trouble remembering what it is,” he growled. “Now stop trying to think and just love me.”
”Daniel, I…”
”Shut up,” he said firmly, and put his mouth on hers to make it happen. She took immediate exception to that, but it didn’t make a scrap of difference, and within what felt like seconds, his hands, his mouth and his body were taking away any capacity she had to think. As his lips touched her nipple, she arched back in his arms.

“This is NOT sensible,” she managed again. He laughed, his mouth vibrating against her sensitive skin.

“Good,” he said, and kept going.

An hour later, sated and rapidly reaching the conclusion that breaking up with him was not going to as easy as she’d thought, Jessie managed to sit up.

“Look what you’ve done to my bed!” she accused. The covers were on the floor along with the pillows, and the sheets were a tangled mess.

“You helped,” he smiled, lying flat on his back and looking like sex incarnate.

“I did not,” she insisted. “You ravished me. Twice!”

“Give me a while to recover and I’ll do it again,” he promised. He knocked her supporting elbow out from under her and caught her as she fell on his chest.

“This is how you should look all the time,” he said, gently brushing some hair back from her face. “Rumpled and warm and naked. And snuggled up next to me.”

“Daniel, we…”
”No,” he interrupted, leaning up over her, a finger on her lips. “Don’t you dare try to break up with me again.”

”But your job,” she said.
”Is my job,” he said. “It’s not who I am. Who I am is Daniel Sauniere, and I’m in love with you.” Well, that was direct and to the point.

“And when did this revelation occur?” she tried to keep it light, if only to avoid answering him. He smiled, a heart-breaker of a smile, his fantastic eyes warm on her, his hair falling around his face.

“The first glimmer of it was when a little slip of a thing wearing nothing but a dark blue man’s shirt touched my arm and told me I’d been scratched,” he said. Jessie chewed on her lip.

“Don’t do that,” he said immediately, leaning down to her. “Let me.” She giggled as he nibbled gently on her lower lip, and his eyes were full of laughter when he stopped it.

“I’m hungry,” she said. “I don’t suppose you brought any Italian food with you?”
”Are you kidding?” he responded. “I broke speed records getting here. I barely took time to tell Patrick I was going as I raced out the door.”
”You were concerned?” she asked, pleased to know it. His apparent calm acceptance of her break-up with him had hurt more than she’d been prepared to admit.

“I was frantic,” he said. “And angry. And determined to talk some sense into you.”
”You didn’t talk much,” she pointed out. He smiled.

“Well, to fuck some sense into you, then,” he said. Jessie’s jaw dropped.

“Daniel!” she protested as he laughed.

“I’ll make up for that comment,” he said. “You stay here. I’ll go make us some coffee and some toast. Just stay there, just as you are, okay?” Jessie looked down at herself, sprawled naked and wanton on the bed.

“Just like this?” she asked as he climbed off the bed. He nodded.
”You don’t want me to do this, maybe?” she teased, easing her legs apart further.

“Not if you want me to leave long enough to get us coffee and toast,” he said. She laughed and rolled over to retrieve a pillow from the floor.

Daniel was as good as his word, brewing the coffee, finding bread, butter, the toaster and a plate in record time. He looked around for a flower to put between his teeth, but couldn’t see any. He resolved to address that lack in future. But for now: he carefully balanced the plate on his forearms and picked up a cup of coffee in each hand. He was halfway back to the bedroom when the front door opened and Angela walked in.

It was difficult to know which one of them was more surprised, but Daniel recovered his voice first.

“I’ll just put this down,” he said, turning away and walking back to the kitchen, thereby ensuring that Angela got to see the back of his nude body as well as the full-frontal she was still trying to recover from.

“You’re probably here to make Jessie feel better about breaking up with me,” he said, picking up a sofa cushion and casually holding it in front of his groin.
”That was the general idea,” Angela said. “I have my own front door key, you see. I sometimes forget it, but this time I remembered.”
”Of course you did,” Daniel said.
”I’m taking it that the actual break-up hasn’t occurred as yet,” Angela went on.

“Oh no, it has,” he assured her. “A couple of hours ago, in fact. She was quite definite about it.”

“Ah,” Angela said. “Didn’t last long, it seems.”
”As long as it took for me to drive over here,” he said, starting to enjoy himself.

“Where is your car?” she asked. “There was no car in the driveway.”

“I parked up the street,” he said. “I didn’t want to give Jessie any early warning by letting her hear me drive up.”

“Oh,” Angela said, at a loss for words. The cushion was obscuring a vital part of his anatomy, but it was doing nothing to detract from the quality of the view. There wasn’t a straight woman alive who could have maintained or regained her composure when confronted with six foot six of naked Daniel Sauniere, his black hair messy from bed, his amazing eyes heavy with humour. She was doing her best to keep her attention on his face and away from all of that skin and muscle and breadth and height, and she was failing miserably.

Jessie saved the situation by appearing in the bedroom door, a sheet wrapped around her and trailing after her.

“Angela!” she gaped at her friend.
”You dropped this,” Angela said, holding out a battered half block of chocolate. “I found it on the front stairs.”
”He threw it there,” she pointed a shaky finger at Daniel.

“You threw chocolate away?” Angela accused him.

“Forgive me, I was under stress,” he said. And then, after fighting the twitching of his lips for a few seconds, he started to laugh. And kept laughing, sinking down onto the sofa, still hugging the cushion to him. Angela and Jessie exchanged looks. Jessie tried to convey confusion and regret and all sorts of other emotions with her eyes. Angela didn’t bother. She just mouthed the word “wow!” at her, and went to make another cup of coffee.

“Sit here,” Daniel said, reaching out and grabbing a handful of Jessie’s sheet as she went to walk past. “This is where the undressed people sit.”

“You could go and put some clothes on,” she pointed out.

“Why bother?” he asked, his eyes still merry.

“My sentiments exactly,” Angela agreed, finally recovering. “I don’t think he should go to the effort at all. In fact, I think he should put that cushion back on the sofa beside him.” Jessie tugged her sheet loose from his grip as he grinned.
”I’ll get you your clothes,” she said. It was only when she was back in the bedroom that she realised that they were not the ideal clothes for him to wear in front of Angela. She picked up the black jeans. They’d have to be enough, because there weren’t any briefs there; he obviously didn’t wear any under the dazzler gear. The t-shirt was out of the question. On his own, Daniel was enough of a reminder to Angela of her Institute experience. Jessie wasn’t going to have him upsetting her further by his choice of clothes. And if that meant that he had to stay half naked, well, that was just the price they’d have to pay. Dear dear.

When she came out, she found him trying to convince Angela to bring him his cup of coffee.

“No, I don’t think it’s good to encourage laziness in men,” Angela was saying, a twinkle in her eyes. “You come right over here and get it, there’s a good boy.”
”You just want to watch him walking back again,” Jessie said.

“And that’s wrong in what way?” Angela demanded. Daniel stood up, still grinning, and took the jeans Jessie offered him. He also put the cushion down, and Angela watched, unabashed, as he stepped into the jeans and pulled them up, turning away to tuck himself into them before zipping them.

“Show’s over,” he said, walking to the kitchen counter himself.

“Oh, I wouldn’t go that far,” she said, looking appreciatively at his chest. He laughed as he picked up the two mugs and the toast plate again.

“I suppose since she’s here we’ll have to consume this out here instead of in bed,” he said to Jessie.

“I think that would be polite,” she agreed, sitting down on the sofa.

“So,” Angela said, sitting down on the one remaining chair.

“So,” Jessie seconded.

“She’s not breaking up with me,” Daniel said. “Just so you know.”

“Is that true?” Angela asked Jessie.

“Well, he made it very difficult,” she said. “Even though I tried to explain that it was the sensib…Daniel! Stop that!” He’d hooked his finger into the cleavage revealed by the sheet and tugged her towards him, spilling her coffee as he did. He kissed her, holding her there, an open-mouthed, deep, passionate kiss.

“Every time you say the “s” word, that is going to happen,” he warned, letting her go. “That coffee didn’t burn you, did it?”
”Like you’d care!” she said, trying to sit up straight again, trying to breathe after that assault on her senses.

“I care,” he said. “I’ll kiss it better, wherever it’s burnt you.” Jessie rolled her eyes at her friend and was surprised to see that Angela was smiling.

“What?” she asked.
”Him,” Angela said. “He’s so cute. No, not physically, because ‘cute’ is not the word I’d choose to describe that body, but the way he’s behaving. He’s all gooey and romantic.”
”And he’s right here, in case you’ve forgotten,” Daniel said, waving one hand at her.

“You would have been the last person I would have expected to be like this,” Angela said. She amended it. “Well, the second last person. Your good friend Patrick would be the last.” Her tone changed as she said his name.

”He’s been known to be gooey on occasions,” Daniel said. “Although he’d kill me for telling anyone.”

“I don’t believe it,” Angela said. Her smile had faded.

“Believe it,” Daniel said. “He has a soft side. He just doesn’t show it often.” Angela shook her head, unconvinced.

“He can’t do the job he does and have a soft side,” she said.

“But you just pointed out that I do, and I do the same job,” Daniel said, committing the unforgivable sin of being logical in an argument.

“You’re obviously exceptional,” Angela said. She looked down at his groin and her lips curved. “In more ways than one, I might add.” More to entertain her than anything else, he went to cross his legs, then gave up and picked up the cushion again, putting it on his lap.

“Would you meet him?” he asked.

“Him?” Angela asked, still pointedly looking at his groin. “I think we’ve already met.”

Daniel cleared his throat. His eyes were full of laughter, but he kept going.

“Patrick,” he said. “In a social situation. Would you meet him?”
”No,” Angela said, at the same time as Jessie did.

“I don’t think it would do any good, Daniel,” Jessie explained.

“It can’t do any harm,” he said. “I can’t imagine there’s anything he could do to make Angela like him less than she currently does.”
”He has a point,” Angela said. She considered it for a while, sipping steadily on her coffee.

“Alright,” she said, surprising Jessie. “As long as you don’t tell him who I am, or who I was, or what my connection is to that hell hole. It might be cathartic for me to deal with him as a normal human being, rather than a helpless prisoner.”
”Done,” Daniel agreed. “Should I go out and get us some food now?” Jessie shook her head.

“There’s enough here for the three of us,” she said.

“Two of you,” Angela amended. “I’ll leave you to it.”
”No, stay,” Jessie implored. Angela shook her head, smiling.

“I have a book to finish, and you have,” she looked Daniel over from head to foot, slowly. “Mooore than enough to keep you occupied, I’m sure.” With a laugh, she put her coffee cup down, got up, and walked to the door.

Jessie followed her, motioning to Daniel to stay where he was.

“I did try to break up with him,” Jessie whispered. “I even thought it had happened, but then he arrived here, and I thought he was you, and…” she looked helplessly toward the bedroom.

“It’s okay,” Angela laughed, wrapping her arms around her sheet-clad friend and giving her a squeeze. “You can keep him. We’re just going to have to work on getting him a new job.”

“But you didn’t think that was possible,” Jessie reminded her.

“We’ll have to make it possible,” her friend replied, with more than a touch of the assertive skills that had once characterised her behaviour as an investigative journalist. With that, she left.

“Well, there’s nothing like showing yourself naked to your girl’s best friend to break down barriers, is there?” Daniel said, standing up and walking over to her.

“I don’t think she’s recovered from the view yet,” Jessie said. “I know I haven’t.”

“I’ve found that the best way to overcome any shock about nudity is to experience it often,” Daniel said, unwrapping the sheet.

“Is that based on your Institute experience?” Jessie asked. He grinned and shook his head, triumphantly dragging the last of the sheet away from her.

“Personal experience,” he said, picking her up, cradling her in his arms.

“You were going to feed me,” she protested. “You definitely said something about food.”
”Later,” he said, carrying her back to the bedroom.

……………………

It wasn’t the Italian restaurant this time. It was an even more expensive place, high profile, but with private rooms. It took a lot of money to book one of those private rooms, less than two weeks after the afternoon when Jessie and Daniel broke up so successfully. They’d spent every second night together since then, eating, drinking, laughing, talking and messing up the bed a lot. Angela had come to dinner with them one night, expressing great disappointment that Daniel wasn’t naked again.

They were all dressed up for the dinner in the restaurant, Daniel in black trousers, white shirt and a black jacket that made him look edible as far as Jessie was concerned. She was wearing a gold dress that bared most of her shoulders and fell in simple but very flattering lines over her body. Angela wore a close-fitting green silk dress, a hangover from her days as a redhead, but a colour that still looked beautiful with her pale skin, hazel eyes and dyed brown hair.

Patrick walked in not long after they’d arrived, looking like any heterosexual’s woman’s fantasy in a charcoal single-breasted suit that had obviously been tailored to fit him to perfection. His hair gleamed, and his eyes caught the light as he saw them and smiled.

“Nice and private,” he said. “Well chosen.”

“We do our best,” Jessie said. He leaned across the table and planted a kiss directly on her lips.

“Good to see you again, baby doll,” he said. She glared at him, making him grin, and then opened her mouth to introduce him to Angela, whose face had tightened as he approached. Daniel beat her to it, standing up to move further around the table to give the newcomer some room.

“Angela, this is Patrick. Patrick, Jessie’s best friend Angela.” He sat down again. Patrick leaned across the table again and took Angela’s hand in his. His smile flashed brilliantly. And then his face stilled, as if in surprise.

“He never forgets a face either,” Daniel said apologetically. Angela looked away, mouth in a tight line.

“Not one as beautiful as yours, anyway,” Patrick recovered. “For any past wrongs I’ve undoubtedly committed, I apologise. Can we start again tonight?” Jessie reached over and took Angela’s free hand and squeezed.

“I don’t think so,” Angela said honestly, but she looked back. She squeezed Jessie’s hand in return. “But we can try, I guess.” Patrick smiled again, and released her hand. He sat down.

“Good,” he said. “So, what looks good on the menu? God, I’m hungry.”

“He eats like a horse,” Daniel said.

“And that’s not the only thing I have in common with it,” Patrick said sweetly, while perusing a menu. Daniel snorted with laughter, Angela said nothing, and Jessie sighed, trying to change the subject. Anything to do with sex was not a good subject.

“Adolescents,” she said.

“We’re both older than you, grandma,” Patrick pointed out. “And what are you wearing? Stand up and show me.”
”No,” she said flatly.

“Oh come on. Please?” he tried again. She sighed again, louder this time, and stood up.

“Very nice,” he approved. “Turn around.” She shot him another sharp look. “Please,” he added, grinning. “Yep, that’s good. That colour looks great on you, baby doll.”
”I swear, if you call me that again, I’m going to throw my wine on you,” she threatened, sitting down again.

“So,” he said, turning to Angela. “You know what I do for a living. Fill me in on what you do.”
”I’m a writer,” she said, her voice controlled. “I write crime fiction.” Again his blue eyes narrowed.

“You’re not Angela Myers?” he asked. She nodded as a genuine smile spread across his face. “I love your stuff!” he said. “Tell me, what’s going to happen with Inspector Grimstead in the next story?” His enthusiasm was obviously genuine, and against all the odds, Angela found herself relaxing, just a bit. Jessie watched while listening in, and marvelled anew at Patrick’s charm and ease of manner. For him to be able to divert Angela from her memories of what he’d done, he had to be a master. Which, of course he was. By the time the waiter arrived to take their orders, Angela was jokingly rejecting Patrick’s pleas to give him the entire plot line for the next novel. But she was still leaning away from him, her body language signalling that she was not at ease.

“You didn’t tell me she was Angela Myers,” Patrick accused Daniel, once they’d ordered. “I’d have brought along her book for her to autograph.”

“That would have made a change for you,” Jessie said. “Normally everyone’s hounding the two of you for autographs.” He shrugged.

“That’s just celebrity,” he dismissed. “This is talent. Next time I see you, I will have your book with me.” Angela nodded, which Jessie thought was a very good sign.

Anonymity was too much to hope for, and when the waiter came back, he almost apologetically asked for autographs.

“On condition that you don’t let any of the other patrons know we’re here,” Daniel said to him, and he nodded fervently. He wasn’t all that old, although he was doing his best to appear sophisticated.

“The only thing is, I sort of told a few of the people in the kitchen,” he said. Patrick rolled his eyes.

“Only small groups at a time,” he instructed. “If there’s a crowd, everyone will come back here.” The waiter nodded and left, eyes bright with excitement. Within minutes, the chef was at their table, begging them to sign the night’s menu.

“I don’t miss a show,” he said, his plump face red. “Well, I missed three shows when I was in hospital with my heart attack, but my friends taped them for me. Tomorrow you have the corrupt safety inspector, the redhead, yes?”
”To be honest, I don’t remember,” Patrick said. “We just show up, do our thing and leave. But thanks for watching, Guido. It’s people like you who make it all worthwhile.” Beaming, the chef left.
”It’s people like you who make it all worthwhile,” Daniel mimicked in a high voice. Patrick grinned. Then he turned to Angela.

“Redhead,” he said. “You were a redhead, weren’t you? Long hair, lots of curls?” She looked down at the table.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “That was stupid of me.” And clumsy, which Patrick wasn’t. Jessie looked at him, wondering why he was deliberately reminding Angela of what had happened. There had to be a reason. Angela looked up again and shook her head in disbelief.

“What is it with you two?” she asked. “He remembered me, too.” She stabbed a finger at Daniel. “How do you remember everyone?” Patrick shrugged.

“It’s pretty intense,” he said. “But I don’t remember every woman. Just the ones who make an impression on me. Well hello, little girl. Should you be wandering back here all on your own?” The manageress of the restaurant, fifty if she was a day, made a complete fool of herself by giggling.

Daniel joined in that time. While the woman was fawning over Patrick, Daniel quietly stood up and walked behind her, and as she was reaching for the napkin Patrick had just signed, he caught her wrist and turned her round. She squealed as he leaned down and made a point of sniffing at her neck, at her perfume.

“That smells like an invitation,” he said, his voice deep. Delighted, the woman was trying to think of something smart to say, but inspiration was slow in coming to her. Daniel wasn’t helping, either. He kept sniffing, moving down from her neck to her cleavage, amply displayed by her black dress. She laughed and tried to push him away with her free hand.

“Cat,” Patrick said in his ‘King Dazzler’ voice. “Beatrice is a good woman. You can’t have her.”
”Why not?” Daniel asked, slanting a look up at the woman. “Why can’t I just turn her over my knee and give her a good spanking right here?”
”Because there’s not enough room,” Patrick replied pragmatically, while the woman laughed in mock horror and struggled – just a little.

“So I’ll take her out into the main restaurant,” Daniel shrugged. “Come on, Beatrice. Wanna play?” He released her hand, put his arms around her waist and lifted her off her feet.

“No!” she protested. “Put me down, you bad cat!” Laughing, Daniel put her down, bent down again and kissed her cheek. “Wanna autograph instead?” he asked.

Once she’d left, still smiling and watching him warily, he sat down.
”There, that should stop all of the women from coming back one at a time,” he said. “If they have any sense, they’ll travel in twos and threes now, and we won’t be interrupted all night.” It worked. Two small contingents of women arrived, followed by a pair of men (one of whom was obviously gay and eyed off Patrick as if he were a particularly tasty dish), and after that, they were on their own.

“How do you put up with it?” Angela asked. Jessie, who’d been worried that all of the references to the show would be worrying her friend, was relieved to hear that she sounded genuinely interested. Daniel answered.

“It’s part of it,” he said. “We’ve both made a fortune out of it, so we’re hardly in a position to grumble.”
”It’s a pain sometimes,” Patrick admitted. “But if the recognition stopped completely, it’d feel odd. So tell me, Angela, why am I thinking a man’s name when I look at you? I don’t know why it is, but I’m just getting this connection.” Jessie kicked him under the table, but only by the flicker of his eyes towards her did he acknowledge it.

“Trust him,” Daniel said softly in her ear. Yeah right. Like she’d trust a snake!
”My name used to be Andie,” Angela said. He nodded.

“That fits,” he agreed.

“He’s even better than you are at remembering details,” Jessie said to Daniel, wanting to say something to change the subject even slightly. It didn’t work.

”I’m fairly sure I had more to do with Andie than he did,” Patrick said, raising his wine glass to his lips and looking at Angela over the rim of his glass. “Yes?” She hesitated, then nodded. He smiled ruefully. “I thought so,” he said. “Just my luck. A beautiful, talented woman, and I’ve traumatised her badly in the past.” He leaned over the table towards her. “What can I do to fix it?” he asked. Nothing, Jessie thought. Absolutely nothing. But she’d reckoned without Angela, who had recovered her fighting spirit, it seemed. She smiled an evil smile right back into Patrick’s blue eyes.
”Oh, let me count the ways,” she said. And suddenly, Jessie knew exactly what King Dazzler was doing.

His strategy became even more obvious, at least to her, as the night went on. Most of the time they just talked and laughed, enjoying convivial chatter, but every now and then, he would bring the conversation back to the topic Jessie would have thought it wisest to avoid. He was doing his best to actually remind Angela, and every time he did it, he made some sort of reference to reparation, to her paying him back for what he’d done. And each time, Angela looked more and more interested. He was even calling her ‘Angie’, a nickname she never allowed, because it was so close to what her name had once been.

“I can see what he’s doing, but why is he doing it?” Jessie whispered to Daniel.
”He likes her,” he explained. “And he’s obviously not going to be able to take this further until they’ve cleared the air.”
”So what’s he going to let her do to him?” she asked.

“No whispering, you two!” Patrick insisted. “If there are any secrets being told, I want to be in on them.” The expression in his blue eyes told them that he knew very well what they were whispering about. “I want to be in on everything, don’t I Angie?” He slipped an arm around her shoulders, and although she stiffened slightly, she didn’t make him move it.

“From memory,” she agreed.

“Want to tell me everything I did to you?” he asked.

“No,” she said.

“Want to make me pay for it?” he asked in the same tone, bringing a smile to her lips.

“Yes,” she replied.
”Got some ideas in mind?” he asked, humour in his voice this time.
”Definitely.”
”I thought you might have,” he grinned. “Let’s go.” He pulled a slim wallet out of his jacket, extracted a credit card and tossed it to Daniel. “Dinner’s on me,” he said. “If I don’t show up for morning briefing, send help. Angie, shall we?” He stood up and held his hand down to her.

“Angela,” Jessie felt the need to intervene. “Is this wise?”
”No,” Patrick answered for her.
”I’m talking to Angela,” she said, steel in her tone.
”Probably not,” Angela answered this time. “But I’m going to enjoy it.”
”Can we talk privately for a minute?” Jessie asked.

“No need,” Patrick said. “Let me tell you what she’s going to say, Angie. She’s going to say that it’s very unsafe to go off with someone bigger, stronger and meaner than you are, particularly someone who’s treated you badly in the past. She’s going to warn you against going anywhere alone with me. Am I right?” Jessie sighed.

“He’s not meaner than me,” Angela said. Both Patrick and Daniel grinned.

“And tonight, I will do only what I’m told. I promise,” Patrick said to Jessie. “And you know that I’m very good about keeping promises.” With a wink at her, he clasped Angela’s hand in his own and led her out of the restaurant.

“I don’t think I should let them go,” Jessie said, worried.

“I don’t think you can stop them,” Daniel responded. “Although it might be fun to follow them. I’d say Patrick is in for a long night.”
”And a painful one, I hope,” she said. Daniel shook his head at her, smiling.

“All that aggression,” he said. “What say we use Patrick’s card to buy ourselves a bottle of their best champagne and then you and I can take it back to your place and find a more productive outlet for all of that strong emotion?” Jessie was still concerned, but she looked at him then, into those deep, wicked green eyes of his. Her lips curved in response.

“That’s definitely a yes,” he said, standing up immediately.

…..……………

Patrick made it to the briefing, but there was no doubt that he looked tired.

“Mim is going to have to break out the makeup for you this morning,” Daniel commented as they were walking together to the studio.

“Shut up,” he was told. He laughed. Patrick managed a grin himself, but only just.

“So – big night?”
”I don’t want to talk about it,” Patrick said. “There I was, congratulating myself on how well my strategy had worked, thinking that she might have a bit of bondage, a little pain, maybe some kinky sex in mind…”
”And?”

“Suffice to say, you should never throw yourself on the mercy of a crime fiction writer,” he said. “They have fiendish imaginations. Oh God, someone turn that sun down.” He brought an arm up to shield his eyes, and wasn’t quick enough to snatch it back when Daniel caught his forearm.

“More makeup,” he grinned.

“Just shut the fuck up,” Patrick responded, wrapping his fingers over the marks on his wrists where the ropes had cut in. “And stop laughing, or I swear I’ll order the other dazzlers to kill you.”
”Or deliver me to Angela?”
”I don’t hate you that much,” Patrick said. “Although I definitely had unpleasant feelings towards you when I walked into that restaurant and saw exactly who Jessie’s friend was. You didn’t even warn me!”

“I promised I wouldn’t,” Daniel said. “Sorry about that.” Patrick shook his head.

“You knew I was obsessed with her when she was here, didn’t you?”

“It was a bit hard to miss,” Daniel admitted.

“And you let me walk blind into that,” Patrick said. “Just great. Great loyalty, great…”
”I didn’t think you’d mind seeing her again,” Daniel interrupted.

“That part you were right on,” Patrick said. “But you should not consider yourself forgiven.” He grinned, giving lie to the words. “Not after the night I’ve just had.”

“Give me details,” Daniel said, grinning back.
”What, so you can laugh some more? Not a chance,” Patrick responded. They were at the door of studio. Daniel shrugged.

“Angela will tell Jessie, Jessie will tell me,” he said, opening the door and walking through. He looked back. “And I’ll definitely laugh some more.”

“Fuck,” Patrick said expressively.

.......................

“So, what happened?” Jessie demanded. Angela, smiling like a cat who’d disposed of several canaries, rolled her eyes.

“It was a night to remember,” she said.
”Start at the beginning and tell me everything,” Jessie insisted. Angela laughed and shifted so she could sit comfortably on her feet. They were in her tiny living room, ensconced on her sofas, coffee mugs in hand and chocolate cookies on the table.

“When we came in, he stood right there on that mat,” she pointed to it. “And stripped to the skin. Slowly, out of that magnificent suit, with that cocky grin on his face all the time.”
”He’s not shy, is he,” Jessie commented.

“Why would he be?” Angela responded. “You’ve seen his body. Apart from your Daniel, he’s the most beautiful man I’ve ever seen. I was almost speechless.”
”You’ve seen him before,” Jessie pointed out. Angela shook her head.

“He only ever unzipped his fly when I was in that place,” she said. “I only got to sit on him, I didn’t get to see him. No, I’d never seen him naked before. Yum.” Since she reached for a cookie as she said that, it wasn’t clear whether the last comment was about Patrick’s body, although Jessie suspected it was.

“And what happened next?” Jessie asked. Angela laughed, scattering cookie crumbs.

“Well, after I’d looked him over very, very thoroughly, and he’d made it clear that I could do whatever I wanted, short of cutting bits off him, I tied him to my bed with ropes.”

“And then…?” Angela’s smile turned very wicked.
”Let’s just say that all sorts of things were involved. Oil, ice, household implements, wax…”
”What household implements?” Jessie asked. “Back up!” Angela shook her head, her tongue poking mischievously between her teeth.
”You can see for yourself,” she said. “I took lots and lots of photographs.”

“Bless you,” Jessie laughed. “Lead me to your computer.”

She spent the next fifteen minutes shrieking with laughter and full of admiration for her friend’s inventiveness. Patrick had managed to keep his sense of humour intact through most of it, but there were a few photographs where it was clear that he was not totally enjoying himself. In one of them, his head was back, his perfect jaw tense, the impressive muscles in his shoulders, arms and legs tight as he strained against the ropes that bound him. He had an erection that was worthy of a photograph all on its own.

“He really is incredible to look at,” Angela sighed.

“What had you done to him to make him look like this?” Jessie demanded. Angela just smiled.

“Oh come on!” Jessie insisted. Angela shook her head.

“Well at least tell me whether you…you know…with him.”

“No!” Angela seemed appalled at the thought. “I wasn’t out to give that gorgeous bastard any pleasure at all.” She smiled. “I must remember to watch ‘The Shame Game’ tonight,” she said. “I want to see how tired he looks. “Want to come over?”
”I am not watching that show,” Jessie insisted. “And I can’t believe that you could, either!” Angela shrugged. “He’s always looks so drop-dead gorgeous. I want to see him looking like he’s had a very hard night,” she said. Then she chuckled. “Which he definitely did, poor dear.” She grinned at Jessie. “What?” she demanded.

“This is a side of you I haven’t seen before,” Jessie said, smiling back. “And I’m not at all sure that I like it.”

……………………………

At one level, Daniel was amused that Patrick slept for almost eight hours straight that day. At another level, he was annoyed, because it was a night when lots of extras were coming in, and one of the two senior dazzlers had to be on duty. Which meant that he couldn’t visit Jessie. And he had really wanted to, because he knew she’d been meeting with the school Board that day.

After the fun start with Angela, it hadn’t been a good day at all for Jessie. Several of the Board members were very welcoming to her, and one of them apologised privately for the fact that she’d been sacked, but as a whole, the group seemed both wary and standoffish.
”It’s not in the interests of the students for you to come back,” Brad Clarence, Board Chairman said.

“In what way?” Jessie asked.

“They have been unsettled by your departure and are only just becoming used to the substitute teachers,” he said.
”You’ve employed substitutes?” she said, noting the plural. “How many?”
”Three,” he said. “We realised that the workload was too much for one person, so we have two teachers present at all times now, staggering the hours.” The hours weren’t the only things that were staggered. Jessie had been arguing for years that she was too busy to be able to give enough quality time to each child.

“Surely then, I could ease back in?” she suggested. He shook his head.

“To be blunt, Ms Porter, the school doesn’t want to be associated with someone who was an inmate, however briefly of the Shame Institute.” One of the other men, an older on who Jessie knew to be a lawyer, cleared his throat warningly.
”Although that’s not, of course, why we will not be renewing your employment,” the Chairman added hastily. “That is purely because of the welfare of the students.”
”Even though I was erroneously and unfairly dismissed,” Jessie said.
”That is an issue for you to take up with the courts,” Clarence said primly, his small, wet mouth drawn up into a parsimonious pout. He was a small man, very polished, with somewhat effeminate mannerisms. An accountant, he ran the school as a business, and was considered to have done an exceptional job of balancing the books. As a leader, he was less successful. Jessie knew she had no chance of getting his agreement, but it was nothing to do with the students or her worth as a teacher.

Twice, Brad Clarence had asked her out. The first time, she’d rejected him gently, telling him that she didn’t think it appropriate for a teacher to go out with the Chairman of the Board. The second time, he had cornered her in her classroom, told her wasn’t taking no for an answer, and attempted to kiss her. She’d managed to wriggle free and to tell him, this time in no uncertain terms, that she would not be going out with him. In the struggle, she’d accidentally knocked his briefcase to the floor, it had fallen open, and some questionable magazines had dropped out. Initially, Jessie hadn’t even realised that they were questionable. She’d read the ‘Bond’ part of one title and thought it was something to do with stocks and shares. By the time she realised that the leather and rope-clad woman on the front had nothing to do with those sorts of bonds, it was too late to pretend that she hadn’t seen it. Relations had been strained between she and the Chairman ever since, and she suspected that he was taking great pleasure in this meeting.

“So, if that’s all,” he said, ticking off that item on his agenda.

“No, it’s not,” Jessie said, standing up. “Out of respect for many members of this Board, and out of courtesy, I will let you know now that I will be taking action with regard to unfair dismissal. I’ll be doing this because it’s the right thing to do, and I’ll also be doing it because I have a genuine commitment to the children here. I believe I can make a difference in their lives, that I was making a difference in their lives, and I want the opportunity to do so again. Goodbye, everyone.” She managed to get out of the room before she burst into tears, and her cab driver watched her with worried eyes in his rear vision mirror all the way back to her house.

……………….

Late that night, there was a knock on her door, and she was not surprised to find Angela there. Her friend took one look at her, and folded her in her arms.
”They don’t deserve you,” she said. “I’ve brought more chocolate.”
”Great, I’m going to be unemployed and fat,” Jessie said. “I’ll put the coffee on.” They were halfway through the block of chocolate when there was another knock on the door. Jessie looked up, hope in her eyes, then sighed. No, it couldn’t be him.

It wasn’t, but it was almost as good.

“Special delivery,” Patrick said, holding out a huge bunch of flowers. “A large man woke me up and insisted that I bring these to you.” Jessie, her arms full of the flowers, her face buried in roses, carnations, chrysanthemums and assorted greenery, beamed.
”You couldn’t just replace him so he could come here instead?” she asked without thinking. Patrick laughed.

“Oh, that’s just lovely, that is!” he said. “I drive thirty-five minutes on only twelve hours sleep, after a night you would NOT believe, and…oh. Hello.”
”Hello,” Angela smiled from the sofa. Then she burst out laughing as Patrick pretended to whimper.

“Come in,” Jessie laughed as well. He shut the door behind him and walked over to the sofa, but instead of sitting down, he tugged Angela up out of it.

“Something I meant to do last night,” he said, and kissed her, pulling her up hard against him, up on her toes, her body squashed against his as he gave her a long, hot, passionate kiss. “There,” he said, drawing back. “From memory, we didn’t get round to that.” Angela was concentrating on catching her breath.

“No,” she agreed. “I’d have remembered that.” Golden hair shining, blue eyes gleaming, Patrick sat down and patted the sofa beside him. He appeared to have regained control of the relationship, Jessie noted. Then she saw the speculative look in Angela’s eyes and smiled as she turned away to put her flowers into several vases. This battle was going to rage for some time.

“Ready for the next round?” Angela said. Out of the corner of her eye, Jessie saw that Patrick’s expression didn’t change. His smile stayed firmly in place.

“Whenever you are,” he said. “Please hide all kitchen utensils, Jessie.”

“You’re not finished with him?” Jessie asked her friend.

“Nowhere near,” Angela said.

“She’s never going to be finished with me,” Patrick said. Angela chose to ignore the ambiguity in that statement.

“I’ve been thinking,” she said, grinning when Patrick immediately groaned. “You know that network I used to be big in? ‘Go-Getters’? I’ve told you about it.” Jessie nodded.

“All of those successful women who dropped you flat when you were charged,” she said. Angela’s lips tightened.

“Yes,” she said. “Well, I’m still technically a member. And I’m in possession of an interesting little piece of information about their next function.” She turned and smiled directly at Patrick. “They’re having a ‘Bacchinalia Festival’,” she said. “With lots of wine and food. And bottomless waiters, for some reason.”

“Sounds interesting,” he said.

“Very,” she smiled. “I was thinking that I would show up with you as an attendant. Nude, of course.”

”You or me?” he asked. She rolled her eyes.

“You could wear a mask, but nothing else, other than a few little items.” He held her gaze.

“Such as?”

“None of your business really, but I’ll tell you anyway,” she said airily. “I thought we’d tie something around your balls, just a light little bell that tinkles when you move and draws the attention down.”
”My being nude would probably draw the attention down anyway,” he pointed out.

“We want to make sure of it,” she said. “And maybe a sign around your neck encouraging everyone to do their bit to keep you in a permanent state of arousal for the night.” His smile faltered just a little, but Patrick was considerably tougher than his choir boy looks would have indicated. Any number of Shame Institute prisoners could have vouched for that – including Angela.

“Do I get to remain anonymous?” he asked. “Keep the mask on?”
”Until the end of the night,” she said magnanimously. “At which point it would have to come off so everyone knew who they’d been fondling and tormenting.” She turned in her seat to look into the kitchen. “What do you think, Jessie? A stroke of brilliance, or a stroke of brilliance?”
”Less emphasis on the ‘stroking’, please,” Patrick said. He turned to look over at Jessie as well, because Angela had a confused look on her face. Jessie did not look impressed, or happy.

“No,” she said firmly. She picked up a tray with coffee mugs on it and carried it over to them.

“What do you mean, no?” Angela asked. “I’d bring him here first, so you’d get the chance to play as well.” Jessie looked at Patrick, who looked back steadily, trying to read her expression.

“No thanks,” she said. “I don’t want to be any part of it.” Angela looked taken aback.

“But…”
”No,” Jessie said, shaking her head. “If you do that to him, then you’re playing the same game as he did. I seem to be saying this a lot lately, but two wrongs don’t make a right. If you continue to treat him like a sex object, if you belittle and humiliate him like that, then you can’t condemn him for what he does.”

“Jessie,” Patrick intervened, sounding serious for once. Angela was looking completely shocked now. “If this is what Angela needs to do in order to forgive me, then it’s okay. I’m not saying I’m going to enjoy being handled roughly by a room full of the women who turned their back on her in the past, but there is a poetic justice to it.”
”It’s not forgiveness,” Jessie argued. “It’s retaliation, and Angela’s better than that.”
”No I’m not,” Angela argued.

“Yes, you are,” Jessie insisted. “The fact that Patrick is willing to let you do that sort of thing to him tells you that he’s sorry. No matter what you do, you will never be able to erase the memory of all of the things that happened to you – even all of the things he did to you. So, I think you need to decide whether you want to say goodbye to him now, or say goodbye to the past. Either way, it’s time to move on.”

“That was some speech,” Angela said. “Especially considering that you know how much I hate being lectured to.” She stood up. “I’ll decide when it’s time to move on, Jessie. And right now, I’m going home. No. Don’t get up. You’re not coming with me.” Patrick sat down again. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow if you want to call me.” She looked back at Jessie. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow, too.” She left.

“I didn’t do that very well, did I?” Jessie sighed.

“Au contraire,” Patrick said. “You did it far too well. You hit home.” She felt his hand touch her shoulder and looked up into his face. “I would have gone along with whatever she wanted to do,” he said. “Well, I think I would have. The woman has an impressive and terrifying imagination, but my intent was to go along with it. I like her. I was attracted to her when she was in the Institute, and I like her even more now that I’ve had a chance to get to know her a little.”

“That’s good,” she said, sliding her hand over his. “I’m not sure she’s ever going to like you, though.” He shook his head at her.

“Of course she will,” he said confidently. “Haven’t you heard? I’m irresistible.” He grinned. “Well now, Angie’s gone, and Daniel’s not here, so what do you think we should get up to, Jessie?” She grinned back.

“Don’t even think it,” she said.

He sighed and relaxed, arm stretched along the back of the sofa.

“If only I hadn’t had to make that promise to Jake that night,” he said.

“Patrick!” Now Jessie was starting to feel uncomfortable, a fact he was well aware of. His grin still in place, he looked straight at her, and she realised he really was just teasing.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I seem to be saying that a lot lately. At least I don’t have as much to apologise to you for.”
”You have enough,” she said darkly.
”What?” he asked, for an instant looking genuinely baffled. Then his face cleared. “Oh, the brush thing,” he said. “Ah, don’t blush, Jessie. That’s nothing.”
”Nothing! You didn’t just use the brush on me, Patrick. You…”

“Nothing in the scheme of things,” he interrupted. He leaned forward, forearms on his knees, golden hair flopping over his forehead. “I vote that we forget it ever happened. And since it’s an embarrassing memory for you and a very nice memory for me, I’ll be giving up a lot more than you.” He held out his hand. “Deal?” She put her hand into his.

”Deal,” she said. “Can we do the same with all of the rest of the stuff that involved my being undressed in front of you?” He smiled in a way that made her want to squirm. She suppressed it. To do him justice, he held her gaze, and didn’t let his own slide down to look at the rest of her.
”If we have to,” he said, holding onto her hand when she would have tugged it away. “But I’m not giving up the image of you giggling and wriggling around on the table while the four of us tickled you.”
”Oh!” Jessie tugged on her hand again, finding it locked securely in his strong grip.

“That one’s too precious to part with,” he said mischievously. He let go of her hand and stood up, turning away from her to put his coffee cup down.

“I’d better be going,” he said. Jessie hesitated, then decided to go with her instincts.

“There is a spare bedroom,” she offered. He turned back, surprised.

“Thank you,” he said, meaning it. “But I’m going to Angie’s place.”
”She’s not going to let you in,” Jessie said. He nodded.

“Yes she is,” he said with his usual confidence. “If it takes all night, she’ll let me in.”