�Hello.� He wandered into the kitchen and flicked through the pile of mail in his hand.
�Hello� I wondered when you�d be home.� He stopped and kissed her before sitting down.
�Called home to fetch my mail. What are we having for dinner?�
�Fish.�
�Urgh.�
�Don�t start, you agreed that for the New Year you would start eating more healthily. Need to keep you fit now don�t I?�
�Forcing me to eat nasty things won�t keep me fit.�
She laughed. �I�m not going to argue with you, just eat the damn thing.�
�And she turned into my Mother...�
�What did I tell you about knowing how to treat a woman?� She lifted the pan across to the stove. �Anything interesting?�
�A few bills, advertisements � ah I may have won a cruise.� He smiled holding up a leaflet.
�Excellent, to somewhere hot I hope, I could do with a little sunshine - especially with all this snow.�
�Alright where do you wanna go?� He started to take his socks off and rub his feet.
�Oh I don�t know, somewhere blissfully quiet, endless beaches, maybe a cocktail delivered by some handsome barely dressed waiter� Jim I asked you not to do that in here.�
�What?�
�It�s hardly hygienic.�
�Sometimes you fuss too much � how long til dinner?�
�About half an hour.�
�Then I�ll go take a shower if that�s ok with you.�
�You don�t have to ask�� She shook her head.
�I know, just being polite.�
�So we�re going to have one of those kind of evenings then, with you being difficult.�
�Oh I don�t know, I may even fall asleep whilst watching sport on TV.�
�Ha, funny! Not if I have anything to do with it.�
�No damn soap operas.�
�Go now while you still can.� She turned her back on him and he couldn�t resist grabbing her waist and attacking her neck before he went upstairs.
* *
She had a mark on her neck, tiny, probably unnoticeable to the passing eye. On the softest part of her skin, the most sensitive, where his lips liked to tease. She always responded to that, either gripped his hand or his back or moaned his name urging him on. He�d never imagined she would be such a passionate person, all those years dating younger women because he believed there he would find ultimate satisfaction. But here, being with her, he�d really found it - that desire he�d only ever dreamt about before, always there, always unquenchable. No matter how much time he spent with her, how many times they made love or she told him she loved him, it was always there � a constant need. He glanced across at the clock, almost one in the morning, already. And still she lay across him; her legs entangled with his, soft and warm, welcoming thighs and a tight grip on his hand as she breathed deeply. He could feel her chest rising and falling against his; she must be asleep. He lifted her body to the side of him and slid out of bed, put on his dressing gown and made his way downstairs. He couldn�t sleep; too many things were on his mind. It was a New Year, he was hoping for some kind of ease stepping in to it, but things don�t change that quickly. Work seemed to lurch from one crisis to another and this latest business with Nick � well it brought it all back to him. Those endless blurry days of being nobody, not having one ounce of strength or inner decency.
* *
June reached her arm out across the bed, rolled closer to Jim�s side of the bed. But it was empty; surely it couldn�t be morning already. She moved back to her side and slowly opened her eyes to see the time, not even 2, she sat up and seeing the light under the bedroom door got out of bed. She tiptoed downstairs, shivering in the shirt she�d scooped up off the chair in the corner of the room � perhaps occasionally the odd piece of Jim�s mess wasn�t such a problem. The lounge was dark, as was the kitchen, but she could see the tiny red light on the kettle. She padded across the bare floor tiles and leaned against the door, her eyes slowly adjusting to the darkness. Jim had turned his chair so he could see down the garden, a cup placed gingerly on the corner of the table, his head leant back - perhaps he�d fallen to sleep. She moved toward him but as she did he turned and smiled at her. �Sorry didn�t mean to wake you.�
�That�s ok� anything wrong?�
�No, just couldn�t sleep.�
�Then why are you sitting in the dark?� She collected the cup and deposited it in the sink.
�Didn�t want to bother anyone � just, just thinking that�s all.� He looked up properly at her now, reaching for her hand. �And where did you find that?�
�Thrown to one side � as usual.� He pulled her round to the front of him and she slid down onto his knee. �Not hurting you am I?�
�You weigh nothing!� His arms circled her waist and he joined his hands, resting his chin on her shoulder.
�So what are you thinking about, sitting here in the dark when it�s freezing.�
�Things��
�Serious things?�
He shrugged. �I guess.�
She lifted her head to get a better look at him. �You look tired, and worried. I hardly saw you today � did something happen?�
�No, not really.�
�That means something did.�
�It�s nothing, I just, I want to tell you but it won�t help.�
Her smile dropped. �What do you mean � are you in some kind of trouble?�
�No, don�t you think I�d tell you if I was.� He rested his hand against her cheek. �It�s somebody else � it just, well I�ve been thinking a lot about how I used to be, things that happened. That�� He glanced over to the side of the kitchen, where their dishes still lay, her wine glass. �It�s always there isn�t it, I mean when people look at me, it�s what they see.�
�No.�
�Well what they think.�
�Not if they know you � like I know you. You don�t think I remember how you were, having to see you in a cell. Having to see you so helpless, in so much pain, that innocent young man who I showed the ropes to��
He smiled now. �Innocent?�
�Well, slimmer��
�Hey!�
�That�s better, not so serious.� She kissed him, a slow long kiss, her hands wandering under his dressing gown.
He dropped his head back and breathed deeply. �Well Ms Ackland, you�re turning into a right slave driver.�
�And don�t you forget it.� She moved to the window to pull the blinds together then placed her hands on either side of Jim�s chair, leaning down to capture his lips. �You wanna go back to bed?� She whispered.
�Why?� He opened the top two buttons on her shirt and grabbed her waist pulling her down into his lap, her legs cradling around his hips.
�Who would have thought I could get to this age and enjoy sex more than I ever have?� That smile reaching right up into her eyes.
�What can I say, I can�t help being irresistible can I?� He grinned.
�Oh now that�s a turn off��
He gripped her tightly as he stood up, her arms around his neck, her legs still wrapped around him. Her fingertips were drawing over his skin, lighting each nerve ending until his entire body was shivering. He lowered her back down onto the table, so cool to her skin, the shirt slipping off as she lifted her body up to meet his.
* *
Jim groaned deeply, her name possibly, though incoherent. Lifted his head up and leant it back against the wall, his eyes half closed and a smile playing upon his lips. She watched him, caught sight of the clock on the bedside table and laughed to herself. Almost 3:30 in the morning, what had happened to them, behaving like teenagers in love after months together. She couldn�t remember feeling happier though. She leant forward and kissed him again. �See I told you I needed to keep you fit.�
His breathing was still heavy, deep and uneven so he could barely string a sentence together. �I do love you.�
She giggled. �Glass of water?�
�Please.�
*
They lay in the dark facing each other, June�s body curled towards his, his arm resting on her waist as she spoke. The sun would be rising soon, thank god it was Saturday, and they could lie in, have a late breakfast and try not to think about his Mother coming round for a meal in the evening. Not that he didn�t love his Mother but she had a penchant for criticism � he only hoped it wouldn�t be at June�s furniture or cleaning techniques, June wasn�t the type to bite her tongue if being put down. Of course she would be polite � but she�d hate every second of it.
�Are you even listening to me?� June�s hand touched his face.
�I was thinking about my Mother.�
�I like her.�
�I know.�
�You don�t talk about your family much.�
�You�re hardly a member of the Walton�s.�
�Smart arse�� She tickled his waist and moved closer to him. �I guess she would have liked to have been a Grandma.�
Jim shrugged. �I guess, but some things aren�t meant to be.�
�I guess.�
�You never wanted to be a parent did you?�
She turned onto her back. �Not really, it was something I kept at the back of my mind, just because you�re a woman doesn�t mean you think about it constantly you know.�
�It doesn�t?� He laughed.
�Fool.� She took his hand and held it tightly, playing with his fingers. �I�m sorry you wanted that.�
�Don�t be, I�ve never had set goals June, not for years, but now the only constant thing in my life is you.�
�Thank you.� She twisted her head over and kissed him. �You do realise we�ve been awake most of the night.�
�I do, talking and making love, what could be better?�
�Hmmm doing it on your cruise.�
�What? Rocking the boat�� he grabbed her waist and moved on top of her to watch her laugh.
�Jim you get worse.�
�All your influence.�
�Mmm.� She parted her legs so Jim could rest comfortably against her; he was ready to make love again � already. Her hands linked behind his neck. �And may I dare to ask just when you will be satisfied?�
�You�re complaining?�
�No, I�ve gone without the best for long enough. It�s about time I enjoyed myself � about time my body did.� She kissed him, very gently, teasingly. �Besides in a few months we will have passed this utter desire phase.�
�Oh I don�t know, in my estimates of relationships that phase should have ended about November time, yet we�re still here.�
�Ahh, and any explanation as to why?� She was pressing against him now, enfolding his body in her legs, more than ready to do it again.
�Well let�s just say�� he groaned as she pressed her breasts against his chest and dug a heel in his calf. �June�� His voice was shaky, but hers was deep and sure.
�Say what?�
�That this isn�t just attraction � this is something deeper.�
She grinned at his ironic expression.
�Oh, and you accuse me of being insatiable.�
�As if I am � I just know what I like��
�And who am I to deny you?�
