She loved him so much and kissed him with passion, hard, wanting to bruise his mouth. She was ready, her body throbbing. He turned her head gently and slid from beneath her, turning her over on her stomach, which was what he liked.

Fleur felt disappointment. She loved seeing his face when he came and he rarely let her. Then, feeling his trembling need to be inside her, she moaned gently as he murmured things she could not hear, nibbling gently at the back of her neck which always made her taut with pleasure. They came together and she did not hear what he cried out.

It was so good. So good.

David rolled off her, and Fleur, turning in his arms, longing to prolong the moment of rare intimacy, pulled his face down to hers to kiss his mouth.

He flinched. It was only a tiny, involuntary movement but it felt like a slap. Both their eyes flew open and for a second they stared at each other aghast. Fleur could not read what was in his eyes. Numb, she slowly pulled her body away from him. David reached out to touch her.

‘Darling…sorry…don’t look like that…I…didn’t mean…’

Fleur waited but he did not know how to finish the sentence. Eventually, she said in a voice that did not sound like her own. ‘You dislike me to kiss you like that. I revolt you…’

‘Fleur, don’t be so silly. You’re overreacting.’

‘Am I?’ It was as if Fleur had been blind to the truth and suddenly had bandages ripped from her eyes. ‘Am I? You haven’t made love to me for weeks, sometimes it’s months. You…you nearly always turn me over so I can’t kiss you. Now I know why. There’s something about me that repels you and I didn’t realise, wouldn’t see it…’

The tears were pouring out of her eyes and down her cheeks soundlessly and she turned to get out of bed, to run to the bathroom. David caught her arm and pulled her to him.

‘Fleur, listen to me!’

Something in his voice made her freeze. He was very pale, grey round the mouth, almost as if he was afraid. He closed his eyes for a moment, and then he said, ‘I love you more than you will ever know, Fleur. Of course you don’t repel me. I hate sleeping without you close to me. I love the feel of your sweet little body…’

‘You flinched…like a reflex action, just now when I tried to kiss you. I know…I know, whatever you say, that my body doesn’t turn you on. I’ve always known it…in my heart…that you don’t really like making love to me. I’m not sexy enough…I must have the wrong chemistry.’

She looked up and to her horror she saw tears in the corners of David’s eyes.

‘Have there always been other women?’ she whispered. ‘David, I need to know…I need to know this now, or I will go mad.’

He looked at her then, right in the eyes, and the pain there made her flinch this time.