‘Yeah,’ he said with resignation. ‘Your heart. OK. We should get back on the road.’
He hauled himself off me and began putting his clothes to rights.
I had little to do in the way of dressing, so I simply tilted the chair back up and smoothed my skirt back down over my lap.
‘Keep it up,’ said Damian suddenly, flipping it up my thighs. ‘If you sit on it, you’ll stain it. I can just wipe the seat clean, no problem.’
‘How, er, practical.’
‘Nothing practical about it,’ he said, pinching my thigh. ‘Just like the thought of you, naked and oozing my juice over there. It’ll add a certain something to the rest of a tedious journey.’
‘Pervert.’
‘Pot, kettle, black.’
He turned the key in the ignition and crawled to the end of the layby, easing out on to the quiet road again. Pleasantly exhausted now, and relieved of all the angst-related muscular tension of earlier, I threw my coat over me and shut my eyes.
When I opened them again, it was nearly midnight and we were in Portsmouth.
‘Christ, was I asleep all that time?’ I jerked upright and looked through the windscreen at Albert Road, decked out with snow and Christmas trees and staggering drunks – a heartwarming scene indeed.
‘Sleeping Beauty,’ confirmed Damian. ‘I was going to wake you with a kiss, but you’ve spoiled my fun now.’
‘I’ll go back to sleep,’ I offered, scrunching my eyes.
‘I’m going to kiss you anyway. Might as well stay awake now. Your place is only around the corner, isn’t it?’
‘Yeah, second right.’
The huge Victorian villas split into flats loomed against the flat, dark sky until we reached mine. Unusually, there was space to park outside and Damian pulled up, took off his chauffeur gloves and said, ‘Well, then.’
‘Well, then.’
‘This is where your adventure ends. Alice has left Wonderland.’
‘More like Blunderland. And who are you, then? The King of Hearts?’
He smiled, a little sadly. ‘Off with her head,’ he said, reaching out to stroke the back of my neck.
I didn’t know how to leave him. Actually, what the hell was I thinking?
‘Surely you aren’t planning to drive all the way back there tonight?’
He shrugged.
‘Stay the night at mine. You’re more than welcome.’
‘Are you sure? Would that be OK?’
‘Of course it would. Seems like the least I can do, after you’ve brought me all this way in the dark and the cold.’
All we did that night was sleep, after a tot of whiskey each and a bit of snogging on the sofa that we were too tired to take anywhere.
We even forgot to eat, and consequently I was awoken the next morning by the rumbling of Damian’s stomach, which my head had somehow ended up right beside.
‘Breakfast?’ I asked him, popping my head out of the covers and catching him in a huge yawn. About three seconds after suggesting it, I remembered that I had no bread, milk, or anything, having expected to be enjoying His Lordship’s hospitality for the whole week.
‘Don’t mind if I do,’ said Damian, but instead of demanding a fry-up he reared up, pinned me down and slithered his way along my body until his mouth found my pussy.