Open Writing

Their dessert was pitted litchis with ice cream and raspberry syrup. Carl took one look at his bowl and launched into an enthusiastic description of his last hunting expedition on a private game reserve near the Kruger National Park. He didn’t spare Ingrid's feelings in telling her how they slaughtered and skinned an antelope. In fact, he appeared to enjoy shocking her just to get a reaction.

Ingrid tried the same tactic on him but it failed dismally. "My nuisance of a sister-in-law has brought her illegitimate baby to stay in my house!" she announced. "Can you credit that?"

"What?" grinned Carl. "Is the baby a brat?"

"No, but …" Ingrid shifted in her seat. "She's under our roof with our impressionable daughters!"

"Oh, I see." His eyes twinkled as he poured strong coffee into their cups and pushed the sugar bowl towards her. “Well, they're probably not nearly as innocent as you like to think.”

"I beg your pardon?" Outraged, Ingrid grabbed the lip of the saucer and yanked it towards her across the tablecloth. What did he know about Caroline and Debbie, for goodness sake?

"I mean," said Carl, “I bet your eldest has already had her first sexual experience. What’s she, thirteen?”

“No,” Ingrid protested hotly. “Caroline is only twelve!”

“Twelve then. Same thing.”

“Maybe in Johannesburg but not where Steelesbury is situated. Honestly, have you ever been to our town, Carl? I don’t think so!”

“Okay, okay, I’ve never been there,” Carl grinned. “Your eyes go green when you’re angry, do you know that?” When she glared at him, he reached over and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “Now I’ve made you all hot and bothered. Shall we go back to my car?”

He was incorrigible. Ingrid wanted to be obstructive on principle but she really did need some fresh air after all the red wine. Holding on tightly to the stair-rail, she negotiated the narrow flight of steps that led up to the roof parking, pausing at the top to sway dizzily.

"Hey! Don't collapse now!" Carl's voice was full of laughter as he seized her hand and dragged her, protesting, towards the outer railing. Here, the wind blew clear off the city into their faces and she could see shoppers pushing their trolleys across the hot tarmac far below. “Better?”

“Yes, thank you."

Then, as if he had done it a thousand times before, Carl turned her around and took her in his arms. His handsome face came close, filling her entire field of vision.

Suddenly, Ingrid felt frightened. She tried to push him away.

“What’s the matter?” He sounded genuinely surprised but she couldn't believe he didn't know.

She blurted, “Carl, stop it! I’m not supposed to –”

His eyelashes dipped seductively. “Relax, Ingrid,” he murmured. “It’s just you and me. You’re gorgeous, do you know that?”

From somewhere below came the sound of taxis hooting at the stop street and the thud of hip-hop music. Ingrid felt her skirt whip around her calves but told herself it was fine, safely pinned between the railing and the man standing in front of her. Carl nuzzled the tip of her nose gently. Ingrid let her hands slide up around his neck. His lips travelled over her cheeks. His fingers explored her back. When his mouth found hers, she felt ripples of pleasure go up and down her spine.

In the moment when his tongue penetrated her parted lips, the wind gusted so strongly that she felt as if it would pick them up and carry them away. It whistled in the steel girders and roared in Ingrid's ears. Dazed by the pressure on her senses, she gave way to the tide of emotion that engulfed her. When, at last, Carl brushed his hand over her tousled hair and handed her three dislodged clips, she gave a shaky laugh.

Carl drove the Porsche back to the nursery with a glint of triumph in his eyes. He asked her, “Are you sure you won’t change your mind and come with me to Sun City?”

Ingrid shook her head. “Maybe another time.” It was just as well she had already made an excuse, she thought, or she would be a lost woman.

He patted her knee. “Mmm. I'll remember that. The Palace of the Lost City has a great swimming pool. We should go while it’s still summer, then we could swim in the dark.” He darted a meaningful look in her direction. “Or we could do other things.”

Dumbly, Ingrid wondered whether she had bitten off more than she could chew. This was going very differently from what she had envisaged when writing to Rosalie earlier in the week. She must have been out of her mind, thinking she could bring Caroline and Debbie to stay with this man! He aroused a dangerous animal in her. It could not be let loose near her children. It might even be too wild and unpredictable for her to handle herself.

Yet, sitting beside Carl in the passenger seat of the elegant white Porsche, she knew she would not be able to ignore it. Dangerous as it appeared to be, it was also strange and wonderful. Besides, it had an attraction stronger than anything her conscience could restrain. In fact, she felt as if she had been unwrapped. A powerful part of her that had dwelt in secret had been uncovered and brought breathlessly into the light of day.

That flight of passion in the face of the urgent wind had been intoxicating. It was real, raw, and unlike anything she had ever known before. She could not possibly give it up.

**

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