In that moment, she no
longer wanted to be anyone but
Belle. The climax, if only for that
brief time, transported Belle from
her mouldy, three-roomed flat to a
world in which she felt no shame, no
self-loathing—a world in which she
felt truly sexy, and genuinely proud
of who and what she was. For this.”
Belle paused for a moment, the true
significance of Harold’s appearance
in her life dawning on her for the
first time. She noted that at no point did
either man introduce himself to her,
retaining their comparative
anonymity whether intentionally or
not. Her breath
caught in her throat and she
faltered in her movements, swaying
dizzily against the edge of the bed. “You okay there?” The deep, smooth
voice startled Belle, rousing her from
the despair into which she was
rapidly plummeting. He led her into his ground floor flat,
and she marveled at the huge,
modern space. It
felt effortless to her, something she
was born to do, and it thrilled her
more than he knew to hear his
encouraging words of praise as she
moved for him, eager to appease
him.