He began to put his sopping jacket back on, not looking at her as he spoke. ‘I drove from Glasgow because I love that road. But the bloody hire car got a flat the other side of the bridge. So, I walked, thinking the hotel was closer than it was.’ His turquoise eyes settled on her now, taking in her T-shirt, her tousled hair, her bare legs. ‘I’m sorry, did I wake you?’

She thought of the car, another long, wet walk away. But she knew, even if the car had been parked right outside the hotel’s front door, even if he had a cosy room lined up along the corridor, it wouldn’t have made any difference to her decision. All of her intentions deserted her the instant she allowed herself to meet his gaze. Like a magnet to metal, she found her body pressed tight against his, felt his lips meet hers, his hands caressing her skin through the thin cotton of her T-shirt.

Maybe because Jared sensed, from Connie’s reluctance to let him in, that he was on borrowed time – and because she definitely knew they were – their lovemaking felt even more charged. Slow and exquisitely lingering, his fingers found places on Connie’s body she didn’t even know she had, enticing her to the peak of arousal – time and time again – until she was a tangled mass of feeling, no longer solid flesh.

It took her a long time to come down afterwards. The room felt hot and confining, her skin too sensitive to touch. She wanted air, but the hotel window wouldn’t open more than an inch. She flopped back onto the bed in the semi-darkness, the only light falling in a weak glow from the bathroom. Jared was lying on his side watching her. He reached out his hand, placing it against her bare thigh.

‘Mmm,’ he said, smiling.

Connie closed her eyes. In that moment, she didn’t care about anything. She couldn’t think of herself as a bad person, or an unfaithful wife, a coward and a liar. She was just sensation.

‘It’s late,’ she heard him say, ‘or early … There’s light outside,’ he added.

She didn’t want him to leave but, turning her head, she saw the glow of the digital clock saying 05:17. She groaned. ‘Thank goodness they’re going home today. I just have to hold it together until I’ve seen them off.’

His fingers were stroking her thigh in soft, circular movements. ‘Then what?’

‘I’m on the sleeper. Leaves at seven tonight.’

‘Well …’ Jared said, rolling over until he was lying on top of her, a strand of hair flopping on her cheek as he bent to kiss her ‘… that sounds suspiciously like an opportunity to me.’