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drawing a stuttering breath.
    Carefully he peeled the duvet off himself, and sat up on the
edge of the bed. The hardness of his curved erection pressed into
his stomach. He stroked the length of it proudly and caressed his
balls with his fingertips.
    He was feeling good. Alive. He stood up. It swayed in front of
him. It was huge, throbbing urgently. She would love every painful
inch of it.
    He glided out of the bedroom, his feet creeping along the deep
carpet. Moments later he was at the far end of the hallway outside
Claire’s bedroom. He pushed the door open.
    Claire’s teddy-bear nightlight glowed in the darkness, casting
enough of a dim glow to allow Joe’s eyes to see into the room.
Claire’s petite figure was curled up in a ball underneath the
quilt. She moved when Joe opened the door, lifting her head to
see.
    She had not been asleep, but had been ready, waiting fearfully
for this moment.
    ‘ Claire, you’re awake,’ Joe whispered, as if surprised. ‘I was
checking to see if you were okay, darling.’
    ‘ I am, so go away please.’ Her voice trembled.
    Joe stepped into the room, clicking the door closed behind
him.
    Claire stiffened and drew the cover up to her chin. Joe took
two steps across the room to the bed and settled down on the edge
of it. Claire emitted a little whimper of fright.
    ‘ Its okay, sweetheart,’ he reassured her. He reached over and
stroked her hair. ‘It’s okay, don’t worry.’ The whimper
metamorphosed into a despairing groan. ‘Now be quiet, honey. ..
come on, don’t be afraid. . . you know you like it as much as I do.
Give me your hand.’ She drew away from him, but he grabbed her with
great strength. ‘That’s it, come on . . . touch me here - and don’t
forget, it’s our little secret, so let’s make sure we don’t wake
your mummy up.’
     
     
    This was the first time Kruger had been into one of the homes
Felicity shared with Bussola. It was the one on Ocean Drive, South
Beach, facing the Atlantic. The other two houses were too far away
for Kruger to have been driven there in such a short space of
time.
    Had he been less inclined towards wringing her neck, Kruger
might have enjoyed the Grand Tour of the house that Felicity gave
him. Impressed to see what crime could buy in terms of material
possessions. As it was, the whole shooting match passed him by;
even the less-than-subtle pause in one of the bedrooms when
Felicity’s body language screamed out the word ‘screw’. When he
didn’t respond to the invitation she gave him a look like he was a
piece of shit and carried on with the tour.
    He dutifully followed, brooding intensely, aware that the two
goons were lurking in the background shadows, ready to pounce
should Felicity give the signal.
    Eventually they sat in a huge conservatory overlooking the
outdoor pool (there was an indoor one, naturally). She poured him a
very colourful drink which tasted like paraffin.
    ‘ Why the hell have you dragged me out here?’ he wanted to
know.
    ‘ You’ve been avoiding me, Stevie.’
    ‘ I haven’t. I’ve just not got round to returning your
calls.’
    ‘ Same as,’ she said childishly.
    ‘ And anyway, what earthly reason would I have to call you,
Liss? As far as I’m aware, our marital business has been finalised.
You stung me for more than you deserved, I paid up, we’re even, you
married Bussola.’
    ‘ Aw, it’s not about money,’ she said with a flutter of her
hand. ‘I got more money now than I ever had in my life. I’m rollin’
in the stuff.’
    ‘ In that case,’ Kruger cut in, not one to miss a chance, ‘how
‘bout giving me back that quarter of a mill your shyster lawyer
screwed outta me?’
    Felicity snorted dismissively. ‘Spent it. Every last godamned
cent - as a gesture to our short, momentarily sweet, then very sour
marriage.’
    ‘ That figures,’ Kruger responded with a bitter tone, recalling
a marriage that had been pretty much a shambles from day
one.
    They had met at a point in