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Back The Cliff House Save as PDF
Chapters (64)
  1. Cover
  2. Booklist
  3. Title Page
  4. Praise
  5. Dedication
  6. Prologue
  7. CHAPTER ONE
  8. CHAPTER TWO
  9. CHAPTER THREE
  10. CHAPTER FOUR
  11. CHAPTER FIVE
  12. CHAPTER SIX
  13. CHAPTER SEVEN
  14. CHAPTER EIGHT
  15. CHAPTER NINE
  16. CHAPTER TEN
  17. CHAPTER ELEVEN
  18. CHAPTER TWELVE
  19. CHAPTER THIRTEEN
  20. CHAPTER FOURTEEN
  21. CHAPTER FIFTEEN
  22. CHAPTER SIXTEEN
  23. CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
  24. CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
  25. CHAPTER NINETEEN
  26. CHAPTER TWENTY
  27. CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
  28. CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
  29. CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
  30. CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
  31. CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
  32. CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
  33. CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
  34. CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
  35. CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
  36. CHAPTER THIRTY
  37. CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
  38. CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
  39. CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
  40. CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
  41. CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
  42. CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
  43. CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
  44. CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
  45. CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
  46. CHAPTER FORTY
  47. CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
  48. CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
  49. CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
  50. CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
  51. CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
  52. CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
  53. CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN
  54. CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT
  55. CHAPTER FORTY-NINE
  56. CHAPTER FIFTY
  57. CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE
  58. CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO
  59. CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE
  60. CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR
  61. CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE
  62. Epilogue
  63. Acknowledgements
  64. About the Publisher

She climbed off the bike and held her arms out to the side, turned around and around, her palms outstretched, laughing as she spun. When she stopped she found he was smiling at her. She smiled back then walked over to the bike and stroked it. She looked down at her hand on the leather seat. A couple of inches from his. Her fingers were slight in comparison, her skin pale against his, which were stained yellow where he held his cigarettes. There was a ring on his middle finger, wide and silver, marked with Celtic shapes. His wrist was narrow but strong, the tendons clearly visible.

She inched her finger closer, until it grazed him, lightly, barely at all.

Neither of them breathed. Then his finger lifted so it hovered over hers then lowered slowly. She didn’t move. Didn’t want to break the spell. He stroked her. Electricity raced up her hand and arm and over her neck and shoulders.

She raised her face and looked at him. His eyes flicked left and right over hers. Then he moved his hand to cup her cheek.

‘What about Tamsyn?’ she whispered, leaning her face into his hand.

‘What about her?’

Edie hesitated. ‘She has a crush on me. She kissed me. That’s why I came to check on her.’

Jago nodded. He didn’t look surprised.

‘I don’t want to hurt her any more than I have.’

‘She won’t find out.’

He bent his head to kiss her and she gripped the bike, worrying her knees might give way, worrying how childish she’d appear if they did.

She opened her mouth. The tip of his tongue touched hers. His lips were soft. His breath tinged with smoke. His hand went to the back of her head. Pulled her tight to him. His other hand held hers. It was like nothing she’d felt before. Every part of her body tingled. He pulled away from her and smiled, then stroked her hair out of her eyes. She leant against his hand and smiled back.

CHAPTER FORTY

CHAPTER FORTY

Tamsyn

August 1986

I locked the door so Mum couldn’t come in and ran the hot tap. While the bath filled, I stood in front of the mirror and undressed, then turned my shoulder towards the mirror and picked at the edge of the dressing which Mum had reapplied the day before. I wasn’t allowed to get the tattoo wet, not while it was recovering, so after I’d had a peek, seen the redness was subsiding and the gunk had disappeared, I pressed the dressing back down to make sure it didn’t get splashed.