His hand crept to his fly, his fingers hesitant on the zip. Suddenly, his grandfather’s voice was loud in his head, his taunts blocking every other thought. ‘Call yourself a man? What’s keeping you, little boy? Scared of a woman who can’t even fight back? All you’re good for is dockside whores like your mother’ He bit back a sob. Now his desire was insistent, impossible to ignore. He’d show the old man. He reached inside his jacket and pulled out the packet of condoms he’d been saving for later. Eagerly, he ripped open the foil package. He smoothed the latex over his erection, his craving making him ham-fisted. Then he was on top of her, thrusting clumsily against her dryness.

She stirred. Her eyelids flickered, showing the whites of her eyes. It didn’t matter now. He was in control. There was nothing she could do. He gripped her by the throat, gasping as his climax approached more swiftly than he would have believed possible. He could see her oesophagus spasm as she fought for air, but he continued relentlessly.

Now her chest was heaving, the lungs fighting to snatch some oxygen to keep the heart pumping. Her eyes were bulging, tiny pinpricks of red blossoming in the whites. Her animal panic was wonderful to see, because it was all down to him. Suddenly her body went limp, and he came immediately, his spine arching in a violent spasm. The release was like a veil lifting from his mind.

What had he done? He’d blown it. He’d killed her already, and he hadn’t completed his task.

Furious with himself, he rolled off the table and stood leaning on his fists, his breathing ragged. What was he thinking of? He had a plan, a mission, and he’d failed. He’d killed her, but in the wrong way. A wave of despair washed through him. The old man had been right. He was a pathetic failure, a poor excuse for a man.

He stared down at her body, cursing himself for a fucking fool. Then he noticed a tiny flicker of movement in her throat. Was it a pulse? He reached out tentatively. His fingers felt the faint beat of blood. It was going to be all right.

Hastily, he reached into the holdall and raced through his final preparations. After he poured the third bottle down the funnel rammed into her throat, he checked her pulse points. No question about it. She had paid the price.