The Knapthorne Conspiracy by Malcolm Ballard (best english novels for beginners txt) 📕

“Kyle Lucas…” The words died on her lips as he kissed her, softly, and she responded, leaning into him. Kyle turned slightly, his hand going to the small of her back, feeling the hollow there. With his pulse beginning to race, he brought his hand around slowly, exploring the base of her rib cage under the soft, silky material of her shirt and their embrace took on a new intensity, their mouths locked in feverish endeavour until Bella pulled away. Flicking her head and brushing her hair back, she sought to catch her breath, running her tongue across her lips as she did so. A look of concern crossed Kyle’s face as he wondered what was happening.

“Finish your coffee and the brandy,” she instructed him with a sultry smile. “We might not get another chance.” He returned the smile and downed the brandy, leaving the coffee, and waited until Bella had finished. As she put the empty glass down he took her hand and pulled her towards him. Their mouths met and he tasted the brandy on her lips then on her tongue as they kissed with the tenderness and intensity of prospective lovers, sharing the fierce passion usually only enjoyed by the young. It had been so long since Bella had been with a man that she wanted to savour every moment but there was an urgency within her that she couldn’t deny. They were locked together, leaning back on the sofa and she felt his hand on her hip, pressing down on the bone, forcing her round, til her legs parted slightly. Bella reached out, breathing heavily as they kissed, found his thigh and began running her hand up and down, increasing the pressure. Urged on by her response, Kyle tugged Bella’s shirt from her slacks and his fingers moved to her bare flesh and she shivered at his touch. She pulled back to look at him and their eyes locked, each of them aware they were about to pass the point of no return. He held her gaze as he ran his fingers over her flat stomach, along the waistband of her slacks, then edged them down, feeling the delicate lace of her underwear. Quickly, she reached her own hand down in haste to free her belt and undo the zip, to make it easier for him. Now his hand had found the freedom it needed and Bella’s breathing grew ragged with the expectation of unparalleled pleasure from his probing fingers. With an uncontrollable gasp, she reacted to the shock of his finding the most intimate, secret part of her, and she forced her mouth on his. In the grip of excitement and anticipation, her hand was trembling as she struggled to free the belt at Kyle’s waist as the most exquisite of sensations coursed through her.

Kyle gave a long, low moan and slumped on top of her. Bella’s room was warm, the air unmoving, even though the window was open. They lay naked together, their bodies moist from exertion. The bed covers, a sheet and a duvet, lay on the floor where they had long since been discarded. Their clothes remained in the lounge, where they had been dropped or carelessly tossed in the heat of passion as first Kyle had taken Bella to the heights of ecstasy before she turned her attention on him. Hands and mouths had touched, caressed, exploring every opportunity for pleasure, exploiting them all until, as their activity became more frenzied, neither of them could hold back from the final act of consummation. To Kyle’s surprise, Bella had led him upstairs to her bedroom where they collapsed on the bed together in a fever pitch of excitement. Not fifteen minutes had passed when Kyle had given up, incapable of performing, and Bella lay beneath him stunned and disappointed, uncertain of what to say, his weight becoming unbearable.

“Kyle, I’m going to have to move,” she explained quietly, the words almost squeezed out of her. Suddenly the room had become like a morgue, drained of its high-energy, pulsating atmosphere as surely as if someone had pulled a plug. The silence was overwhelming. Kyle raised himself up slowly and climbed off of her, avoiding her eyes, and she could sense the tension in him, the anger bottled up inside. She watched as he walked to the door and disappeared along the hallway, not daring to speak as he left the room, then flinched at the sound of the bathroom door as he slammed it behind him. And this was the night she had looked forward to so much! Never in a million years would she have dreamed this was how it was going to end. Strike out climax and substitute anti-climax, she thought, with a mirthless, ironic laugh. Bella slipped out of bed and picked up the sheet and duvet, to give herself something to do, then she heard his raised voice. The room was still warm but she shivered. Realising that she was alone in her isolated home with a powerfully-built man who she really didn’t know very well at all instantly made her feel vulnerable. The fact that he was not only powerful but also seemed to be exhibiting signs of an anger problem had a disturbing effect on her. For the first time since she had moved into Willow Cottage, Bella felt seriously scared and the worst thing about it was she only had herself to blame. All too clearly now she could recall his unrestrained anger at the time of the accident. ‘What the fuck do you think you’re playing at?” The words echoed in her mind, spat out in rage as she had sat dazed and in shock. For the first time it made Bella wonder exactly how fast he had been driving at the time. Now knowing the way he drove, it would have been unlikely that he was going slowly through the village. She didn’t know what to