Chapter 6

Jenny opened her eyes slowly, wincing as the winter sunlight glaring at her intensely through the cracks in the curtain. For a moment as her eyes traveled the room, and she was unable to remember why she was in the spare bedroom. That was until she became aware of the warm body pressed against her. When she became more alert, she noticed that Nick's arm was wrapped around her and that he was snuggled into her back, his hot breath sending a tingling sensation down her spine. She closed her eyes and allowed herself to enjoy this blissful moment for just a while longer, letting the memory of last night wash over her. She recalled that they had been to . . . distracted . . . to make it to her own bedroom down the landing, and so they had burst into the spare room, which was just at the top of the stairs, their need for each other to great to bother going any further.

It was amazing - every single second of it embedded in her mind, making her sigh in contentment. It had felt so right; so wonderfully familiar . . .

But her eyes snapped open as realisation suddenly dawned on her - they were separated! She shouldn't have let this happen! Now the break up was going to be a hundred times harder for the both of them. That's why sleeping with an ex was never a good idea.

Dammit!

As gently as she could, she lifted his arm off her and wriggled out onto her feet, picking up her nightdress that had long since been discarded on the floor, and pulled it on, feeling self-conscious now that they were in the cold light of day. However, Nick didn't stir, which she was grateful for; she needed a moment alone to pull herself together. As quietly as possible, she opened the creaking door slid out onto the landing, padding downstairs to make some strong coffee. As she busied herself in the kitchen, try as she might, the memory of last night refused to leave. Obviously, the arguing and the close proximity had proved to much for them to take. If she was honest with herself, this is exactly what she'd been afraid of happening since they'd split up. She knew that were Nick was concerned, she had very little self control - that was why she had always kept her emotional distance from him since the day she had found the photograph of Claudia.

"There you are," Cutter's husky voice said, and she froze as she felt him walk up behind her, and rub his hands over her upper arms.

Then, without thinking clearly, she leaned back on him, enjoying the feel of him pressed against her too much to push him away. He ghosted his lips over her bare neck and shoulder, tenderly and lovingly, making her shiver. Caught up in disastrous second, she turned and kissed him, wrapping her arms around his neck. Next thing she knew, he had picked her up and put her on the kitchen counter, settling between her legs as the kiss deepened.

Jenny knew she could have happily continued, which in itself meant that she had to stop it, and try and get there relationship back to civility.

"Nick - " she began, pushing him away slightly. "We can't."

"Why not?" he asked, looking at her with love pouring out of his eyes.

"Because Abby will be dropping Ben off soon," she pointed out, pushing herself off the counter and turning to continue making the coffee.

He nodded slightly, although he didn't seem to be put off by her less-than-warm attitude. Instead, he hugged her from behind again.

"Last night - " he began, but she cut him off.

"Last night was a mistake," she stated in the most self-assured voice she could manage.

She felt his grip on her stiffen. "What?"

"It shouldn't have happened," she continued, still refusing to look at him. "We just got carried away - "

"Jenny, I'm your husband!" he pointed out in disbelief. "We weren't doing anything wrong!"

She turned around to face him, finding his close proximity suddenly unnerving, despite the fact that last night, they were much much closer. "So you think that just because we slept together, everything about Claudia has just gone away?"

"All I was thinking about last night was being with my wife!" Cutter exclaimed.

"It was a mistake," she repeated. "A mistake that I regret."

"I - I don't believe this . . ."

"Look, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have let it happen. I was stupid."

"You still love me!" he burst out. "I know you do!"

"Of course I do, and I probably always will," she replied, annoyed that she had to justify that to him after all that had happened. "But it doesn't change anything!"

"Why can't you just give us another chance?"

"You know why," she said in a firm tone. "And I think you should go."

"What?" he spluttered.

"I don't want you here when Abby drops off Ben," she explained. "It'll just confuse him."

"But I love you," he whispered in a cracked voice.

"Then why did you tape the picture back together?" she asked, reluctant tears pricking the corner of her eyes. "Why have you kept it all these years?"

"I - I don't know," he murmured, a helpless look in his eye. "I suppose I just wanted something to remember how you were back then. Something to prove I'm not mad."

"And that was worth ruining our relationship for?" she questioned numbly.

"No, of course it wasn't. But you know I love you. You know it, don't you?"

"I guess . . ."

"Then why can't we try again?"

"Because Nick, you might love me now, but for a long time when we met, you would have gladly erased me from existence to get Claudia back. And I can't get past that. I'm sorry."

He remained silent, his face screwed up, whether because of anger or sorrow, it was impossible to tell.

"So," he gulped after what felt like an age. "If there's no chance of us getting back together, what was last night about?"

She shut her eyes, unable to stomach looking at him while she said this.

"It was goodbye," she whispered, her voice quivering as she looked up at him again.

The hurt look in his eye was too much for her to bare, so she turned her back on him and looked blindly through the window out into the garden. From behind her, she heard a scuffling, and then finally a door slamming, telling her that he had left. Placing her hands on the counter for support, she sucked in a ragged breath, tears falling thickly and unstoppably down her face.

Why did she have to find that picture?

Cutter kicked the stones on the street in frustration as he walked home, feeling the same terrible emptiness he had since the day Jenny had threw him out. For one blissful night, he allowed himself to believe that things could go back to the way they used to be. But it obviously wasn't to be - Jenny had made that perfectly clear. It was a slip up on her part; probably due to how much she'd drank, or how lonely she'd been. And he doubted very much that he could show up on the next date she went out on and expect the same ending to the night.

As soon as the thought of her 'next date' popped into his head, he squeezed his eyes shut against the pang in his heart. Yes, she would be sure to be going on another date soon - she was just the type of woman who could make men do whatever she wanted. It was one of the many things that they had argued about when they had got married.

x x x

There had been an anomaly in a water park that had caused quite a bit of pandemonium; a pack of Rapters had came through, and although there were no deaths, there were several eye-witnesses, one of which was proving rather difficult to persuade that what he had seen was not a creature, but a gimmick gone wrong. Cutter had called Jenny to come down and work her PR charms on him, as he for one couldn't get the obstinate man to budge.

"Hi, Mr . . .?" Jenny said as she approached the man in question, using her most disarming smile as she extended her hand.

"Wilson," the young man informed her, shaking her hand with trepidation.

"Wilson," she repeated with a nod, perching on the seat in front of him. "My name is Jenny Lewis, it's a pleasure to meet you," she added, settling back down on her seat and looking up at him with a rather seductive look on her face. "I bet you've had a nasty scare today, haven't you?" she asked him, her voice laced with false pity.

He gulped and nodded, wringing his hands together and giving off the distinct image of a man who had been deeply rattled.

"I'm sure this has been a very traumatic experience for you," Jenny continued in a gentle voice.

"Yes it has," he said in a shaking voice. "And like I told your friend," he shot a look round at Cutter who raised his eyebrow. "I'm not signing anything until I've seen my lawyer. I know my rights."

"But you're not in any trouble Mr Wilson," Jenny explained, casually crossing her legs, intentionally making the slit in her skirt expose her thigh. Cutter saw the man's eyes travel down, and a reluctant pulse of jealousy flared up inside him. "In fact, it's quite the opposite," Jenny continued, making the man's head snap up as though he'd remembered himself. "But I need you to promise me that you won't tell anyone what you saw today."

The man hesitated for a moment before replying. "I think people have the right to know that dangerous creatures are wandering around London - "

"And I think that's very brave of you," Jenny whispered, leaning forwards slightly and suggestively playing with her necklace. "To want to protect people. But the fact of the matter is Mr Wilson that if you tell anyone about this, you'll be doing more harm than good. We can't do our job's properly if we've got to deal with public outcry and hysteria. Surely a smart man such as yourself can understand that?"

"I . . . I suppose . . ." he stammered, his eyes following the movement of her necklace.

"And if you expose us and our work, you'd be putting my job on the line," she continued with a false sigh as she bent down to pick up her brief case, exposing the plunging neckline of her blouse. "And I'm sure you wouldn't want to put me in a compromising position would you?" she asked in an innocent voice as she straightened up.

"Um . . . well . . ." he mumbled, obviously picking up on the double entendre there.

"And if you could just help me out," she interrupted, blinking up at him with her big brown eyes, "I'd be eternally grateful."

"Um . . ." he said again, looking hopelessly at her as she sat back in her chair, surveying him with expectation. "Well, I suppose I do that . . ."

"Wonderful," Jenny said curtly as she reached into her briefcase, pulling out a copy of the Official Secrets Act and handing it to him.

She stood and rounded his chair, sweeping her hair to the side as she leaned over him. "I need you to sign here . . ." she pointed at the paper on his lap, "here . . ." she pointed at another point on the form, " . . . and here," she finished looking around at him with a smile. His eyes, which were previously looking down her top snapped back up at her, and he nodded immediately, taking the pen that she offered him.

Jenny stood back and watched him as he scribbled his signature, and whether purposely or not, she avoided catching Cutter's eye. When the man had finished, she hurriedly filed the Official Secrets Act away in her briefcase, flashing him a glorious smile.

"Thank you Mr Wilson," she said with a wink, and then she walked off, leaving him looking dazed in the care of Becker and his men.

Cutter followed her, still seething as he caught up to her pace.

"Close one right?" she said conversationally as they rounded a corner.

"Aye," he said through gritted teeth. "Maybe next time you can give the guy a lapdance? You'd probably get him to agree much quicker."

She stopped walking abruptly and turned to face him, looking confused. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"You know exactly what I mean," he snapped.

She laughed, despite there being nothing remotely humourous about the situation. "Are you actually jealous?"

"Watching my wife throw herself at some guy? No, I'm not the least bit jealous," he retorted sarcastically.

"I was doing my job!" she exclaimed, looking offended. "I do what I have to do to keep our secret - "

"Clearly," he stated coldly.

"What the hell is your problem?" she demanded, crossing her arms tightly.

"My problem is that I thought that when you married me, all this ridiculous behaviour would stop."

"Ridiculous behaviour?" she repeated in a disbelieving tone. "Listen Nick, my job is to persuade people to keep quiet about what they see. And if sometimes I have to flirt with some idiot to get the job done than so be it. My job description hasn't changed just because I happen to be your wife."

"That's funny, because I thought married women carried themselves with a little more dignity than that," he spat.

"Oh grow up Nick!" she snapped, giving him a dirty look before stalking off.

x x x

Cutter scowled to himself at the memory; it was hard enough having a good-looking ex-wife, let alone one that was practically seen as a goddess by men. She was sure to meet someone else soon, and then all hopes of a reconciliation would be dashed. And what would he have left? He was terrible with women, even if he did have any desire to date again, which he certainly did not. In fact, the mere thought of being with another woman made him shiver with disgust. Obviously, Jenny didn't feel the same way - she couldn't do, not if she went out with that guy last night. She was ready to move on, and despite what had happened last night, she had made it clear that she didn't want him anymore.

And that made him feel like life wasn't worth living.