The New Rakes by Nikki Magennis Page A

until they sighed, finally, and fell back, looping slowly into the water.
    Then she spread out like an oil slick, the feeling rushing back into her limbs and her kneecaps stinging from carpet burns. She twisted onto her side and they came loose, doubled over and panting. The room was full of stars for a moment and Kara’s head swam; she’d been dropped, suddenly, back into the world of the living and it was a shock. There was sweat trickling down her back and drying already, and Mike in front of her pushing his hands into his hair, composing himself, steadying his breathing.
    Though she was trembling and as weak as a newborn puppy, Kara managed a smile. Whatever strange game they had started, full of undercurrents and secrets, she looked at his face, slack after the orgasm, and felt like she’d just won a round.
    Afterwards, she sprawled on the king-size bed and stretched out.
    ‘I could get used to this,’ she said. ‘Come here.’
    Mike glanced at his watch. ‘Much as I’d love to, I have things to do.’ He bent down and gave her a brisk kiss on the cheek. He was already tucking his shirt in and looking for his jacket.
    Kara bristled. She rolled out of bed and snatched her clothes from the floor, avoiding Mike’s eyes.
    She dressed quickly, feeling the ache in her arms and legs. Mike watched as she fumbled the buttons on her skirt and hunted for a lost shoe.
    ‘There’s no need to rush,’ he said. ‘They don’t rent these rooms by the hour, you know.’
    ‘Oh, I wouldn’t want to keep you,’ Kara said. If her voice was bitter, she couldn’t help it.
    He caught her arm as she headed for the door. ‘Call me,’ he said.
    Kara nodded. ‘When I have the time,’ she said, giving him an icy smile.
    Outside, the streets were full of rain and rushing crowds. The late-shift workers and the early drinkers mingled on the wide streets of the city centre, dodging salesmen in neon jackets and charity workers, sweeping past the buskers with their guitars echoing under archways and in doorways.
    Kara walked fast under the violet streetlights, her raincoat pulled tight and her collar lifted to cover her face. The burn from Mike’s stubble was hot on her cheeks as she went westwards, passing gusts of heated air from the shops with their open doors and smelling the first early-evening kitchen smells of garlic and grease and beer. Her legs, bare and tight in the cold winter air, were still aching, but her pussy had that tingling, well-fucked feel that put a spring in her step.
    She pulled out her phone and wrote a text with one hand as she walked, closing the other around the folded contract in her jacket pocket.
    ‘Meet me in Sleazy’s,’ she punched in. ‘I’ve got good news.’ She scrolled through the names in her phone, past Jon and Mike and Ruby, reached Tam, and hesitated. As she waited at a junction, she bit her lip and let her thumb hover over the send button.
    Around her, people surged forwards as the lights changed, bumping her shoulders. Kara snapped at someone, swore and marched onwards, skirting the traffic as it drove forwards and picked up speed.
    When she walked past a pub with the doors propped wide open and heard a blast of music thumping into the street, she smiled. The city was full of music, spilling out of every corner, and she was just about to turn the volume up even louder. Even as the rainstorm grew heavier around her, Kara felt her heart lifting and surging as she reached the motorway junction.
    Traffic swarmed under the flyover, flowing south over the river and east towards Edinburgh, streaming out in every direction from the heart of the city. Kara looked down at the cars and felt again the faint ache in her wrists, a reminder of her and Mike’s game. She remembered the noise he’d made as he’d come inside her and the rush and roar of the road beneath her sounded as charged and exciting as sex.
    Everything’s coming together, she told herself. Don’t lose your nerve. Taking a deep