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Sarah stopped, turned Kendra to face her, and kissed her hard. Kendra’s legs weakened. She didn’t want to let Sarah go, but she had to, or she would miss the train. She eased back, still feeling the warmth of Sarah’s breath against her lips. She stared into the darkness, and her stomach dropped. They were taking too big a risk here, now. “Don’t. We need to be careful.”
Sarah looked around, indicating with her arm. “No one can see us, not even with the strongest camera lens,” Sarah said and half-smiled. “Believe me, I know.”
“We have to get you to the station,” Kendra said and resumed walking.
They turned onto the road and the streetlights intruded like a spotlight on what they’d just done, and even though the paths were vacant of people and cars, Kendra made sure there was a bigger space between them as they walked side by side. “I’ll be in early,” she said at the station entrance.
Sarah nodded. “I’m going to work from home for a couple of days.”
Kendra swallowed down the emptiness.
Sarah smiled. “I’ll see you at my house for the dinner party?”
Kendra took a deep breath. “Sure.” She didn’t want to turn away.
Sarah looked over her shoulder towards the concourse as the announcement came over the speaker. “I’d better go.”
“It’s a long wait until the next one.” Kendra smiled.
Sarah smiled. “I’ve got to go.”
Kendra nodded but didn’t leave her spot until Sarah had reached the platform. “Night, Sarah,” she said.
“Sleep tight.” Sarah’s words echoed through the concourse.
Kendra smiled at the warmth Sarah’s words created. She doubted that there was any chance of her sleeping a wink though. She would be on the first train into London and until that time, her mind and body would be fully occupied with what she would like to do with Sarah.
She’d work hard and keep herself fully occupied, and hopefully, her desire would subside a bit so she could contain herself. There was so much more they needed to talk about, parameters that needed to be set around this thing they had now acknowledged.Bullshit.She set off home with a spring in her step and a smile on her face, and an absence of conscience about what she knew would come next.
11.
SARAH SWIVELLED HER CHAIRand looked up through the window of the office in her Belgravia house at the deep blue sky fading quickly towards darkness. She could have been in the Alps enjoying a rum hot chocolate and the company of a woman whose name she didn’t need to know, and that would have been safe. The image didn’t affect her until Kendra became that woman and brought the movie to life with vivid colours and surround sound, and it stirred that sense inside her she’d always known was there but had managed to suppress. She needed more than a casual affair. If she tried to define what was different about her connection with Kendra, it would be impossible to label. She’d never denied her sexuality to Mark, but she had to the rest of the world, including her parents, and that was a can of worms she needed to keep well and truly sealed. She wasn’t ready to admit who she was to the world.
She closed her eyes, and the memory of Kendra’s kisses filled her with a warm glow. She’d missed seeing her and had spent time guessing what colour scheme Kendra might have worn over the last two days, while trying to concentrate on the tedious paperwork that bored the life out of her. Blues or greens would highlight her eyes but with Kendra’s skin tone, she could make any colour look good.
She’d sensed the tenderness in Kendra’s touch, understandably tentative given the circumstances but with a need equal to her own. She’d seen the craving in the way Kendra had looked at her throughout the evening and known it in the way her body responded to Kendra’s piercing gaze. Her clit pulsed. She opened her eyes and corrected her sitting position to find some relief.
She stood and looked down to ground level, beyond the shrubs and trees that had yet to show their full summer splendour, and was reminded that this wonderful property was overlooked by others equally as grand. If she squinted, she might see movement inside the first or second level windows of one of the houses across from theirs. It wouldn’t take much for an interested reporter to capture what went on inside the house, and while they might respect her boundaries when it came to her interactions with her family, she doubted they would exercise any discretion whatsoever should she be photographed in a compromising position. Not that she intended to get caught, she reminded herself. Jeremy, knowing about her lifestyle, had warned her about the press. And what had she done? Kissed Kendra.
Yes, she’d had a few whiskies, but she could hold her drink and couldn’t use that as an excuse. She knew the questions that would be asked; she’d thought them through before. How could you do this to your family, Mrs Thompson? What were you thinking? What about your career? How could she answer when her impulses were driven by something so deeply ingrained that she didn’t feel as though she had control over her actions. But Kendra, of all people. Her bloody admin. Why did she have to be so damned desirable?
She rubbed her head in her hands and turned towards the office door as it opened.
“You all right, love? I brought you a cup of tea. People will start arriving in an hour or so.”
Mark was so wonderful, so understanding, and so caring. She smiled at the dusting of flour that had stuck to the stubble on his cheek. She rubbed his arm. “I’ve got a couple of things I need to read, then I’ll come and help with cooking.”
He put her tea on the desk and kissed the top of her head. “The master chefs are already onto it, so don’t you worry. Reece is making fairy cakes, or something, fairy-ish or cake-ish. You really don’t want to know. He’s fine. I bribed him so he’s quids in. Abi’s doing a sweet tart—all eco-ingredients, naturally.”
She saw immense pride in his broad smile and wished she felt for him what she felt around Kendra. Life could be cruel, making things almost perfect but not quite. Except for Ellie, Sarah had never faced temptation this close to home, but Ellie was so long ago, and Sarah had learned her lesson without it costing her. It was a lesson she’d seemingly forgotten. She’d failed to face temptation with Kendra before passing the first hurdle. She couldn’t even put it down to some reckless moment induced by temporary insanity. She’d known exactly what she was doing, even down to accepting the offer to go and look at the impact of HS2 and the other local issues that weren’t her highest priority. If Kendra had been someone she’d met on holiday, away from it all, she’d have made a pass at her over their first coffee. She had exercised some restraint, hadn’t she?
The doorbell distracted her thoughts. That would be Jeremy, arriving early to brief her how to handle their guests, no doubt. She didn’t need him looking over her shoulder all night, especially since Kendra would be here. He had eyes like a bloody hawk. Any sign of anything, and he’d be on her back. He was protective, always had been, but like almost all aides, he didn’t do what he did out of some altruistic leaning but based on what he would gain as a result. She trusted him to a point, but she didn’t need him spying on her to make sure that absolutely nothing got in the way of her election campaign and the subsequent bolster to his career. She needed to feel good. It drove her on. And Kendra made her feel alive, beyond the job, beyond family. Alive in herself.
She drank the tepid tea and headed downstairs. She’d prefer something a lot stronger but had to keep her wits about her this evening, because charming her guests to part with their money in support of her campaign required her to be sharp and engaging. All smiles and ambiguous promises, and she would have them eating out of her hand. Kendra’s voice jolted her as she entered the kitchen and caught sight of her helping Abi. Her insides vibrated, and she turned her attention to her daughter. She cleared her throat, put her cup by the sink, and sneaked a peek into the pot that Abi was stirring with a wooden spoon.
“Smells good,” she said and inhaled Kendra’s perfume. “Really good. What is it? Hi, Kendra.”
“Evening, Sarah.”
