Illicit Affairs by Holly Dixon

Twenty-One

The red lightpassing through the slits in the blinds flashed, matching the tempo of the lovers’ heartbeats. Nate and Ava lay bare upon the chesterfield sofa, their bodies glistening from sensual sweat as they came down from the third or fourth high in the last couple of hours. They were silent as they held hands, the soft feeling of touch bringing warmth and comfort as fingers idly glided between fingers, having conversations words could not convey and palms traced like roadmaps to the soul.

Nate admired her beautiful body lying against his, naked and breathless, golden tresses tumbling across her pert tits as she dreamily stared up at the ceiling with a just-fucked wetness between her legs.

He walked his fingertips up the ladders made by the shadowed black and red stripes on her thigh and continuing upwards, examining every inch of her flesh from the small scar on her arm that he knew was from the contraceptive implant to the purple kisses dotted across her tummy.

“What does this say?” Nate’s voice was husky as his fingertips ran down the side of Ava’s rib cage across white ink that he had first thought was a scar but upon closer inspection had realised it was a dainty white rose with words etched down along its stem.

“It’s a quote by a poet,” she replied softly, her face turning to nuzzle into the space beneath his chin as she spoke against his throat. “‘Beauty is a curse the rose knows well; always picked first yet never a chance to grow.’”

Nate pondered the meaning behind this, wondering if Ava was that rose—chosen for her looks and body but never anything more than that. Had anyone ever touched more than this woman’s body? However, then his mind drifted to their predicament. No matter how beautiful this moment felt, it would never have the chance to blossom for there was no place for Ava in his life. That slot was already taken.

“I think you should go now.” Nate’s voice was suddenly distant, colder than he had intended as he sat up and coaxed Ava to get off him.

“Yeah, can’t be having any more sleepovers here; I doubt my neck could handle another night on this sofa.” Ava chuckled, disregarding his melancholic tone as she stood up and stretched her long body upwards.

“No, we cannot,” Nate uttered in agreement, his brow creasing over almost as though he had been wounded as he watched her perfect flesh stretch over muscle and bone. He wanted to grab her and pull her down to him just once more but resisted the urge.

The pair began getting dressed again, Nate helping pull the zip up on her dress as Ava played with the messy curls over her shoulder.

“I take it you’re staying at the Beaufort Hotel?” Ava asked, her voice holding a slight insinuation that made Nate’s eyebrows jump as did the zipper up on the nape of her neck.

“Yes,” he stated with a dry tone, stepping back and shoving the red tie, which was stained with Ava’s sultry aroma, into his suit jacket.

“Oh, it’s just around the corner from me. You know I was think—”

“Ava, this won’t happen again,” Nate ruled, his words like a needle scratching across a record. He would give anything for her to fall asleep in his arms tonight but knew it was out of the question. He could have winced at the pained expression on her beautiful face when she snapped around to look at him.

“Excuse me?”

“I think you heard me; this cannot happen again. I don’t have time for this arrangement, and quite frankly, you’re a distraction that I don’t need,” Nate attested, standing up straight before turning his back to her, unable to bear another second of the hurt on her face that she was masking well. He needed control over this situation.

“A distraction?” Ava squawked, her heart beating faster yet again this evening as she stood with her hands on her hips, glaring at the back of Nate’s head. “I wasn’t looking for roses and romance, Brooks.”

“Good. Then you’ll have no issue accepting that this was a one-time event.”

“Event?” Ava’s tone grew ice-cold and bitter. “Look, mate”—she bit the word in her thick accent—“I wasn’t looking for anything out of this either, but you don’t have to treat me like used goods.”

“I meant no disrespect,” Nate tossed, idly packing his briefcase without making eye contact. “I am just being clear on my standing and re-establishing a rapport between us. We already discussed the dangers of this type of engagement, Ms. Archer.”

“Oh, I see,” Ava scoffed, stood there with a scowl as she crossed her arms. “Fuck me like it’s part of my role and responsibilities, like it’s what you’re paying me to do.”

“Hardly.” Nate finally peered up at her, his eyes narrowing slightly in annoyance before he stood and walked past her.

“You’re not going to tidy the mess?” She pointed to the scattered and crumpled documents over the floor and his desk. “Wouldn’t want anybody finding out your dirty little secret, Mr. Brooks.”

“I’ll sort it in the morning.” Nate sighed a tired sound, waiting idly by the door with a key in his hand. “Ms. Archer, I’d like to go now, please.”

“Ms. Archer,” Ava repeated, the use of his formal title for her causing a sting of offence deep in her belly as her teeth ground together.

He wants to act formal when his dick just informally fucked me?!

With arms crossed she breezed out of his office and gathered her belongings before marching to the elevator. The doors pinged open and Ava stepped inside but frowned when Nate remained grounded in place.

He doesn’t want to be seen with me—got it, grreaaat!

Her finger punched the button on the wall, but Nate’s suitcase stopped the doors from closing, giving her a pathetic fleeting feeling of hope.

“Ava,” he said beseechingly, his eyes warming for a brief second and making her head tilt up expectantly. “Please…don’t tell Sam.”

Ava favouredthe one-night stand but never once had she felt like the person being tossed aside. Not until Nate. It sucked having that shift in power; it made her feel reduced to nothing more than a used cigarette. He had lit her up, burned her hot, took her high, and then tossed her aside like ash.

The following days twisted at her stomach and messed with her head as Nate blanked her like her existence was a fleeting thing. He avoided her and only contacted her when he required something at work. It made her feel cold, the warmth never managing to reach her bones, but in some twisted sense, it was whenever she looked up to see Nate that a flicker of heat licked at her skin only to be replaced by the arctic breeze of his shoulder.

To make matters worse, Nate was spending a lot of time with Charlotte Forbes. Sometimes the blinds would be shut but it was worse when they were open and Ava saw that snobby-mouthed woman laughing away, her eyes eating Nate up and making Ava snarl at the idea of all the flirtatious things she was saying to him. Why would Charlotte even be smiling when her stepson took his own life and the Murder Investigation Team was breathing down her neck? Oh, that’s right…because with the second trustee out of the way she was the main executor to all her late husband’s accounts. Life for her was peachy. For Ava, not so much.

“Hello, earth to Tinkerbell?”Sam waved her hand in front of Ava’s face, making her slowly drag her dazed expression off the water drops trickling down the cafe window.

“Hi,” Ava said after a moment, her lips feeling heavy as she pushed them up into a smile.

“Alright, what is going on with you this week?” Sam glared, sitting back in her chair and crossing her arms.

“I don’t know what you mean.”

“Oh, aye right, don’t act the goat. What’s happened?”

Looking up into her friend’s ivy and amber orbs, Ava hated the fact that as much as she wanted to offload to her friend she couldn’t. It wasn’t as much trying to be faithful to Nate as it was fear of her friend’s judgement. Would Sam be disgusted in her for sleeping with their boss?

“I hate men,” Ava affirmed with a sigh and leaned forward to cup the warm tea on the table.

“What the fuck has he done?” Sam gasped, sitting upright in her chair, her rings tapping on the table as she grasped it. “I’ll skin that ginger bellend if he’s hurt you!”

For a fleeting moment, Ava dropped her jaw, about to ask how Sam knew about her and Nate, before quickly realising that her friend presumed it was Peter that she was referring to.

“We had sex, amazing sex, the best sex I’ve ever had really,” Ava mumbled as though finally confessing this fact to herself, “and now, in the office, he’s acting as though I don’t exist.”

“What a bloodybellend!” Sam cursed and Ava saw that fire burning in the amber in her gaze. “He was the one wanting to stay back for breakfast! Does he not want anything more now?”

“He called it off! The sex, he said it wouldn’t happen again and now I just can’t help but feel used,” Ava fumed, her nostrils flaring as she shook her head. “And it doesn’t help that he’s now getting awfully cosy with that bloody Forbes woman.”

“That wee arsehole! That explains why he came out of that meeting room all flustered with that Forbes woman that looks like she could crack a nut with a Kegel!” Sam growled, getting herself more worked up over Ava’s situation than Ava herself. “You know, I reserve this word for the absolute crème de la crème but that man is a complete…” She hesitated for a second looking at Ava before blurting it out in the middle of the cafe, “A complete cunt.”

“Samantha!” Ava flinched, the sharp word making her cover her ears.

“I know, I know, but he is! That is proper cuntish behaviour!” Sam attested before sending apologetic eyes to an older woman who tutted and shook her head at Sam before returning to her jammy scone. “If I were you, I’d get even.”

“Get even?And how do I do that exactly?”

“Get the fancy knickers out, the short skirts, and make that cu—” Sam coughed on the naughty word before saying, “man realise just what he is missing out on.”