The night before her most recent appointment with Oksana, Eve had not slept well. Since the phone call to Bill she had felt… rattled. An uneasiness had settled over her and she couldn't quite put her finger on its root cause. Or perhaps she might have been able to, if she'd had the time or the quiet to really ponder it. Her spur of the moment suggestion of pizza for dinner had been met by a rapturous response from Leo and frustration from Niko. It wasn't that Eve didn't like Niko's 'Famous Shepherd's Pie' just that they had been subjected to it rather a lot over the years. And anyway, how was she supposed to know he had already prepared something?

Eve had sailed through the evening, humouring Leo with a game of Go Fish on the living room floor whilst they both awaited the doorbell that would signal the arrival of dinner in all its greasy, cheesy, finery. Niko had watched from the sofa, ipad in hand, and offered occasional words of gaming advice to whoever seemed to be losing at any given moment. Eve focused entirely on the game, entirely on putting on an enthusiastic front for her son, entirely on avoiding acknowledging the knot of discomfort she could feel in her gut. Leo was convinced. Niko was not.

At 7.30pm only a handful of crisped up pizza crusted remained of dinner. Leo's cheeks had been wiped clean of oily smears before he had been tucked into bed with a story from Eve. And that knot of discomfort had grown to an unavoidable tangle. Eve tramped back down the stairs from Leo's room, her feet feeling almost as heavy as her heart – not that Eve was admitting its weight – and re-joined Niko in the living room.

"All tucked in?" Niko asked, lowering his ipad.

"He's exhausted, I think." Eve nodded.

"Or just full of pizza." Niko remarked.

Eve grunted noncommittally as she lowered herself onto the sofa next to Niko.

"Want to talk about it?" Niko asked.

Eve looked at him in confusion.

"Talk about what?" She replied.

"Whatever provoked the sudden desire for junk food, the animated game of Go Fish, reading the bedtime story…" Niko listed off.

"I do the bedtime story sometimes!" Eve defended.

"The phone-call in the car?" Niko suggested, ignoring Eve's defence, with his eyes firmly fixed on her.

So they had seen Eve in the car before Leo had banged on the window with the table tennis bat. Niko had seen her on the phone, had seen her reaction after ending the call. Eve huffed out a laugh.

"That was just work." She responded, reaching for her book that she had spotted on the coffee table in front of the sofa. She hadn't read a page of it in over a month, but suddenly she wanted something to look at other than Niko's suspicious expression.

"Bad news?" Niko prompted, "You didn't look too happy when we met you."

"Oh, a client has been misbehaving. Bill just called to keep me up to date." Eve replied, attempting to keep her tone casual.

Why was she feeling like she was being interrogated? She could just answer truthfully. She could say that her favourite client somehow managed to coerce a prison staff member into sex. And yet, Eve didn't want to talk about that.

"Bill?" Niko replied, his eyebrows rising in surprise. "I didn't know you were working with him again."

"Yeah. At the facility out in Hertfordshire. I told you that." Eve mused, flipping through her book looking for the dog-eared page she last read.

"You didn't tell me that." Niko replied quietly.

"Are you sure?" Eve asked, "I thought I did."

"No. Which client was it?" Niko probed.

"Hmm?" Eve mumbled, playing for time and casting around for her glasses.

"Which client had been… misbehaving?" Niko clarified. "Your glasses are in the kitchen." He added.

'Thanks." Eve breathed and stood up to go and find the glasses in question. She knew Niko though, and he wasn't about to let his question go unanswered.

"Oh, it was Anthony," Eve called over her shoulder as she left the room, "I told you about him, for sure. The cat strangler. Remember?"

Niko didn't reply, or at least if he did then Eve didn't catch it. She reached the kitchen and pulled a glass from the cupboard and then ran the cold tap until it was icy. Her cheeks felt warm. She had just lied to Niko for no apparent reason. She was irritated by his persistent questions, so she lied to him. That wasn't fair, and she knew it. He was only trying to be interested in her work after all.

Eve ran her wrists under the cold tap and then filled her glass with water and returned to the living room. Niko had returned to his ipad and looked up as Eve entered.

"You should invite Bill over for dinner." Niko suggested as Eve took her seat next to him once more.

"Uh… Sure. Yeah. We can do that. OK." Eve agreed hesitantly, placing her water on a coaster on the coffee table.

"Or not?" Niko replied, eyeing Eve questioningly.

"No! Yes. We should. That would be nice." Eve nodded emphatically.

She liked Bill. He had visited the house before, albeit years ago, it wouldn't be odd for her to invite him for dinner. It felt odd though.

"Perfect. I'll cook." Niko said decisively.

"Thank God." Eve muttered and Niko laughed good-naturedly before returning his attention to the screen in his lap.

Eve sighed and glanced around the room before lifting her arm to check her watch. She felt restless. Yes, she was tired, but it felt as though if she let herself unwind then that feeling she had been trying to quell would manifest into something she didn't want to address. She needed distraction.

"Where are your glasses?" Niko asked, looking up from his ipad yet again.

Eve hadn't brought her glasses back from the kitchen with her. She had meant to, but now she thought about it, reading wasn't going to be enough to distract her from her thoughts. She reached for Niko's ipad and pulled it out of his hands, throwing it gently onto the sofa cushion next to her. Niko looked at her in bemusement until she rearranged herself to climb into his lap where she settled herself and lifted her arms onto his shoulders, letting the fingers of one hand play with the hairs at the nape of his neck.

"Do you know what we haven't done in a while?" Eve asked teasingly.

Niko smiled at her and pretended to think for a moment.

"Well, Dr Polastri, I would say there's a few things we haven't done in a while." He said, matching Eve's tone.

Eve leant down towards his ear.

"Don't call me that." She whispered before pulling back slightly and redirecting her lips to his.

Some time later, Eve remained awake. She was lying on her back in the bed she shared with Niko, who was snoring more loudly than usual next to her. Evidently their earlier activities had satisfied him into a deep sleep. Eve had had no such luck. She watched the expanse of Niko's bare back rise and fall, rise and fall, before averting her gaze to the ceiling. The room was dark except for the light that filtered in from the yellow-y streetlamp outside, and the occasional sweeping illumination from the headlights of passing cars. Eve remembered when sex with Niko had been fun, had been intense, had felt... better, more connected. It wasn't that it was bad now, just increasingly rare and more perfunctory than indulgent.

Tonight's dose of intimacy had been no different but it had served a purpose. Now though, there was no more distraction and Eve's mind was wide-awake. The discomfort remained and sent intermittent waves of cloying heat through her body. It was anxiety. Eve knew that. She knew it from professional experience and she knew it from personal experience. And yet its cause was unclear. Why should Bill's news of Oksana's recovery fill her with anything other than a distant relief that her client was on the mend? It hadn't though. It wasn't distant relief, it was much… nearer than that. Eve had felt a swell of relief at Bill's affirmation of Oksana's recovery. This anxiety wasn't stemming from there. It came from the latter part of the update.

Oksana had slept with the nurse. She had convinced the nurse – a person whom Eve had not even met – into her bed, presumably, and she'd had sex with her. It was a gross overstepping of boundaries on the part of the nurse. By rights Eve should feel repulsed that someone in a medical capacity would do that. But she wasn't repulsed, she was… sympathetic. She could understand how it happened. And that was unacceptable.

Eve was not annoyed at the nurse. She was annoyed at Oksana.

Oksana, who had been so weak in that hospital. So warm to the touch – though that could have been the remnants of fever – so funny despite her clear pain when Eve visited her, so obviously touched at the gift that Eve had put considerable effort into supplying. Oksana had held Eve's hand in order that she stay with her. She had been vulnerable and Eve had enjoyed her like that. Sure, Oksana had also been a little shit at times during the hospital visit, but Eve hadn't minded. Oksana was spirited. That was the word Eve had used, almost affectionately, when she was talking to Bill earlier.

What on earth was wrong with Eve? Now, lying awake in the early hours of morning, she took stock of her actions. Oksana had reeled her in, just like she must have done with that nurse. Well, not exactly how she had with the nurse, but still… Eve had fallen for Oksana's tricks. She had lapped up Oksana's dynamic personality and amusing games. When Oksana had wound up in the hospital, Eve had been stricken with worry. Eve had rushed to visit her. That in itself was an absurd move. It seemed so clear to Eve now. How had she just ploughed on through, without stopping to wonder what the fuck she was thinking? And the gift! Jesus. Oksana had Eve wrapped around her manipulative little finger.

It had to stop. Eve had to renew her grasp on professionalism and, apparently, reality. In the morning she would conduct her appointment with Oksana like she would with any other client. Because that's exactly what Oksana was. There was nothing special or different about her, she was just another client. Eve would be cool, calm and collected. Oksana would just have to deal with it.

And with a conclusion reached, with the uneasiness reclassified as anger, Eve finally closed her eyes and waited for sleep to take her over. And yet it didn't. And the uneasiness remained. And Oksana had slept with that fucking nurse.

The appointment had, briefly, gone to plan. Eve had caught sight of Oksana's smiling face when she had first entered the room, and she had at once focused her attention on her notebook instead. She had been professional, she had asked a question, she had stated her purpose and she had… entirely underestimated Oksana Astankova. Did Eve really think it would be so easy to revert to a standard psychologist/client relationship? To put aside her anger at Oksana's behaviour and carry out her job as she would with any other client? She must have been more sleep deprived than she had previously thought.

Eve's brusque questioning had sparked Oksana's ever-lurking rage and from there, the appointment had descended into petty quarrelling and slinging of insults and accusations. Tempers had frayed like old rope, the fibres snapping one by one until the tension had proved too much for the final thread. It was… not professional.

Oksana had accused Eve of jealousy. Which was, of course, ridiculous. And Eve had asked if she was insane. What kind of psychologist asks a client that? A terrible one. Not the kind of psychologist that Eve prided herself on being. The whole appointment had got out of hand, a wildfire had been sparked in the dry tinder of their interaction and Eve, supposedly the one in charge, had to attempt to bring it under control. The flames were beaten back, but Eve would prefer them extinguished altogether. Somewhere along the line she had behaved somewhat questionably after all, only now she wasn't sure when that was. Was it the hospital visit and the gift that had blurred the lines, or the irrational response to Bill's update? Jesus, surely Oksana didn't have a point? There was no way Eve was jealous. No.

"Tell me your name." Oksana said with a daring smile.

Eve was jolted from her thoughts. So it had come back to this, she mused, she should have seen it coming. Oksana was quite fixated on this redacted piece of information that she clearly deemed so imperative. Could it do any harm really? If Oksana had ready access to the internet, she could unearth Eve's first name in a matter of seconds. And Eve knew Oksana's name after all. When Eve thought about her client, she thought of her as 'Oksana' not 'Astankova'. When she had breathed it out accidentally only a couple of moments earlier, it had felt good. Oksana was quite a beautiful name, the word felt nice to form on her tongue. Shouldn't Oksana be allowed that privilege too? Eve didn't really think she was in any danger from Oksana. Besides, at this point Eve had classified Oksana, amongst other things, as impulsive and irritating, but had yet to see evidence of her being a genuine threat.

"Eve." Eve said, before the decision to divulge it had even fully formed in her mind.

Oksana's smile slipped momentarily and then spread slowly until even her eyes were creased with it.

"Eve." She repeated, drawing the name out more quietly than Eve had ever heard her speak. "Thank-you."

Eve nodded and cleared her throat.

"It's, uh, probably best not to call me that in front of Mr Pargrave." Eve suggested with an awkward half-smile.

"OK, Eve." Oksana replied pleasantly.

And it was nice to hear, Eve realised. Her name on Oksana's lips seemed right in a way that Eve hadn't expected. None of her clients had called her anything but Dr Polastri. But, try as she might, it seemed Eve was incapable of treating Oksana like just another client.

"Have you ever fucked him? Mr Pargrave?" Oksana asked, her tone that of somebody enquiring whether Eve had seen a recent film.

"What?" Eve gasped, "Of course not."

"Good. I wouldn't like it if you had." Oksana replied earnestly.

Eve wanted to follow that up. It was in her nature to dig deeper when people, especially her clients, put forth little snippets of insight like that. Oksana wouldn't like it if Eve had been intimate with Bill. There was a lot to unpack there. The statement was a psychologist's dream, but Eve held herself back. She was painfully aware of the implication.

Oksana's earlier accusations had rubbed a raw nerve that Eve had been wilfully ignoring. Eve had not liked hearing that Oksana had slept with that nurse. That was the rock bottom root of it. And what did that suggest? Oksana was right. The signs all read 'Jealousy' in dazzling neon. Oksana may be comfortable enough to say that something physical between Eve and Bill would make her unhappy. But Eve was not willing to admit how that base human reaction was reflected in her own response to Oksana's little indiscretion. It was unethical.

Eve altered her position in her seat. She uncrossed her legs and then crossed them the other way. Truth be told she was a little sore. It had been a while since herself and Niko had done anything more than sleep in their bed, and Eve had rather had to hurry things along the night before, purely for distraction's sake. Now, she was regretting it slightly. She probably could have been… readier. Eve shifted further back in her chair and winced minutely. Oksana's eyes narrowed as they watched Eve. They were almost always on Eve. It was both unnerving and perhaps a little exciting.

"How is your husband?" Oksana asked curiously. Eve, not for the first time felt like Oksana had just read her thoughts. It left her exposed.

"He's great." Eve replied quickly, "But I think we've spent enough time discussing our respective… partners today."

"I do not have a partner." Oksana pointed out.

"No. OK." Eve agreed. It was on the tip of her tongue to suggest that Oksana did have, according to her own words, a lot of sexual partners. When Oksana had first said that, Eve had chalked it down to probable bravado. Now she wasn't so sure. She didn't want any further confirmation of it. Oksana, it seemed, really was able to guess where Eve's mind had gone to.

"Sex does not mean anything." Oksana said authoritatively.

"What do you mean by that?" Eve asked, her curiosity piqued. This was an avenue of thought that she was happy to explore. This could even broaden her understanding of her client. Finally.

"It doesn't have to mean that you actually feel something for a person." Oksana shrugged.

To Eve's ears, that sounded akin to a kind of explanation, an excuse almost, for Oksana's actions earlier in the week.

"Well yes, casual sex is certainly one form of sexual intimacy." Eve agreed. "Do you believe that sex can ever mean something?"

Oksana thought it over.

"It is useful. I use it to get what I want." Oksana explained thoughtfully.

"You use it for satisfaction and release?" Eve queried, that would make sense. Being imprisoned was undoubtedly a stressful way to live.

"No!" Oksana snapped. "For… information, protection… sometimes extra dessert when it is chocolate pudding day."

That, Eve had not been expecting.

"It's not great chocolate pudding, you know? But most of what we eat would not be fit for my father's dogs back home." Oksana mused, her lip curling back in disgust.

"So sex is a commodity" Eve stated, disregarding Oksana's chocolate pudding analysis. "It's currency?"

"Yes." Oksana approved.

Eve longed to ask what Oksana had got out of fucking the nurse. She hankered after that information almost ravenously, but she reined herself in. That episode needed to be sectioned off with yellow tape and left untouched for closer inspection at another time. Or perhaps doused in petrol and set alight. So Eve tried a different tack.

"You told me once that if you had a partner, somebody to buy perfume for, you would know exactly what kind they would like. That sounded as though it would be quite an intimate relationship. Would sex be just a transaction in that scenario too?" Eve pressed.

She was back in her element now. This exchange felt the closest to a regular appointment Eve had ever come with Oksana Astankova. Oksana Astankova who was smiling at her from the opposite chair with a look in her eye so intense that Eve wanted to look away but couldn't.

"Well, Eve," Oksana started, speaking slowly and pronouncing Eve's name purposefully, "In that scenario, I think sex would be very different."

"How so?" Eve prompted.

"When you love someone, you just want to please them. You want to give them what they want. Lavish them with attention and affection. Worship their body. Being allowed to do so, that is the reward." Oksana finished, her eyes still locked on Eve's, but she was no longer smiling now, just watching.

The hairs on Eve's arms stood up and Eve finally broke eye contact with Oksana to pull the sleeves of her blazer down, glancing at her watch as she did so and forcing out a chuckle.

"So, no chocolate pudding necessary then?" Eve asked, surprised at the ghost of nervousness in her voice.

Oksana rolled her eyes, unimpressed.

"No, Eve. No chocolate pudding. Just really good sex." Oksana clarified, though it seemed a somewhat redundant clarification as far as Eve was concerned.

There was a singular courtesy knock at the door before it opened and Bill stepped into the room.

"Hello, hello," He said jovially as he looked between the two women in the room and then adjusted his smiling face accordingly, "God it's tense in here. Do you need a bit longer?"

"No, no," Eve rushed out, "I think we're done for the day."

Bill nodded and then looked at Oksana expectantly. Oksana smiled sweetly.

"I think we've made some real progress today," she nodded innocently, "A couple of important revelations, wouldn't you say, Dr Polastri?"

Eve had no response to that but a tight-lipped nod in the affirmative. Oksana was right after all, important revelations had been made but they had left Eve feeling even more rattled that the day before