Having returned to the Clairidge Hotel in London, Sarah was trying her best to not blame Jess for the feelings she had back at Silkcrest. Though they both had just spent a marathon night of lovemaking, she could not exactly tell why she did not feel closer to him, and in fact, felt a coolness from him now which she tried to blame on their exhaustion and lack of sleep. As they got back into the opulent suite and tossed their things onto the sofa at ten-thirty that morning, both opted to try and recoup some of the rest they lost on Derek's estate.

Jess gave Sarah a warm hug and led her over to the inviting bed. She could tell by his sluggishness and silence that it was sleep he now craved instead of sex, and this was both to her relief and liking as well. Before she could even undress herself and slip on the another silk teddy she had brought for the trip, Jess had already drifted off into a deep sleep.

Having a powerful and uncharacteristic headache from the night before did not help her with her attempt to sleep herself. And when she did finally drift off, she felt Jess slipping out of bed quietly.

"Jess?   What time is it?

"Hey, princess, go back to sleep. It's around twelve . . . but you need your rest."

"And you?"

"I've got this damn business meeting today. Over lunch at one-thirty. I can't miss it baby. So just chill here until I get back."

"And if you don't?"

"Just stay in bed and get your beauty rest. Or . . . get out and shop until you drop."

"Come on, Jess . . . I didn't come to England to shop."

"OK. Listen. I've got more great plans for us this week. Just have to mix some business with pleasure these days. Got some pressing issues . . . really. Things pretty important, Sarah."

"Alright, but . . . "

"No., I promise. No more horses. No more creepy mansions. I could tell that wasn't really your thing out there."

"I think it was just . . . more about your friend. I don't know. Bad vibes, I guess. He was  just . . ."

"Eccentric, I know. But he's got a great heart, you know. . . and he's super . . . influential financially."

"Whatever, Jess. Just come back soon."

"Look. We've got the whole London clubbing scene to expose you too tonight, Angel."

Jess was dressing quickly now as he spoke, obviously in a hurry to make his meeting somewhere apparently across town. Sarah's nature—perpetually shy, did not like his phrase, 'expose you to.'

"Go checkout the underground spa here, Sarah. It will energize you."

"After last night . . . I could definitely use that." She smiled across the room at him, a little embarrassed

"You were great, sweetie. A real tiger."

"Oh my gosh. Be quiet!  Glad you remember that. I barely can."

"Just get your sleep and you'll be fine. Better  than fine in a couple of hours."

He walked up to the mirror and adjusted his collar, then grabbed his coat and left the bedroom in a rush. "See you soon, sleepy head!"  he shouted back at her.

She heard the front door of the suite open and then close.

* * *

After an hour or so of more, deeper sleep, Sarah awoke to the music of the sound system in the bedroom. It was gentle lounge music and had apparently been pre-set to go off at three o'clock in the afternoon. Getting up, she made her way into the shower to help her fully recover and begin the late-started day.

Stepping out and putting a towel around her, she went to the closet to choose something of the limited apparel she had brought with her to England. She only needed now some simple jewelry, suitable to wear while awaiting Jess's unpredictable arrival.

While she reached for her bag on the sofa to find something, Jess' heavy travel bag fell off onto the floor. As it did she saw his tablet computer slide out onto the carpet. As she picked it up, she held it in both hands. Her curiosity compelled her to pushing the small power button to activate it. At first feeling guilty that she had such an impulse to check on Jess' private life, she realized just how much she truly did not know about him. Who really was this man with whom she had been sharing so much of herself? 

Setting the tablet back on the sofa and waiting until she was fully dressed, Sarah picked it up again and sat on the bed amassing the nerve to activate it . At least, she reasoned, she might see what he had chosen as his screen wallpaper. As the small screen lit up, she could see he had a number of unfamiliar apps on his desktop. The screen-saver was that of a light gray Lamborghini sports car, and just below it she could see his email icon--obviously the one he used the most. Once again she questioned if she had any right to pry into Jess' life. But like before, she quickly justified her curiosity with a need to find out as much as she could about this man she was falling deeper in love with. Of course I should, she reasoned.

Would his messages be mostly from business contacts? Other women?  Possibly one other woman exclusively?  Sarah ratcheted up her courage to find out. She clicked onto the email icon impulsively. A series of incoming mail appeared in a long list. Happily, she did not see any women's names. But there were at the top of the list three messages from Derek, each showing an attachment. Having left Derek's equestrian estate only hours before and seeing the messages were dated that very morning, her curiosity got the best of her. Without hesitation she opened the latest message with an attachment. The communique read:

"Once again Jess you scored a goal! The video clips of you and Sarah are tremendously erotic. They'll make me a hero with my contacts. See for yourself, good man."

Sarah was stunned at what she read and even felt nauseated at the prospect of what she might see through opening any the attached video clips. Gathering her courage, she clicked on one and a small movie began to play out  with sound on the tablet screen. It featured her and Jess naked in the well-lit bedroom of Derek's guest suite. To her horror, it showed them on the bed in the midst of their most active sexual moments, her own moaning blaring out.  Sarah held her breath. She could see the video clip, one of many,  was a long file, obviously from some hidden camera positioned from a stationary point above the bed. The camera had been obviously been  directed to where the two of them would be that long night. She could see the quality of the film was super high definition and the well-lit bedroom revealed every impassioned thrust of Jess and captured each breathless and impassioned sound made by Sarah—all during the the several seconds that she could stand to watch and hear it.

She quickly stopped the video clip and could see there were two more separate files, each lengthy and obviously capturing more of their lurid and heated all-night lovemaking. Sarah shut off the tablet completely and threw it on the bed. In her quiet hysteria, she was not quite certain how to react, outside of a full rage of emotions that were building inside her with a feeling of nausea. These were coupled by a debilitating sense of disgust. How could this man she trusted and had given so much of herself to, mind and body, have betrayed her so much?  How could he have been so depraved to be a part of such a perverted and evil thing? Just the thought of Derek seeing all he had of them throughout the night—and claiming he had plans to share the clips with others, caused Sarah to run into the bathroom sick to the point of retching into the sink.

When she had come to her senses about what all of this meant, and knowing she could never see Jess again, Sarah got back into the shower to clean herself of an uncleanliness that she knew could never completely wash off. Staying under the cold water until she stopped crying, she began to set out her plans as to how she would both make it back to California on the earliest available flight, and rid herself forever of Jess Danford.

* * *

Text and e-book copyright © 2015 Califia Montalvo

All Rights Reserved