It began as a hug of consolation, but soon he pushed a little harder against her, and Lara found herself pushing back, although she could not say why. In all the times she had been with men, she had only ever given them what they wanted – no matter how much it disgusted her, no matter how badly it hurt – because the consequences of not doing so were even worse.
So was it fear that made her long to please the man who was taking her now? When he picked her up and carried her across the room, she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled her mouth to his, so that he had to jerk away, laughing, just to see where he was going. And then, very gently, he lowered her down to the bed.
4
Lara lay with her eyes shut, expecting at any moment to feel Carver's weight upon her, wondering if this would feel different to all the other times. It took her a few seconds to realize that he was not joining her on the bed. She opened her eyes to find him still standing, fully clothed, taking more money from a leather wallet.
'This is for you,' he said, placing the money on the bedside table. 'Twenty thousand dirhams. Now I must go.'
It took a second or two for Lara to understand what he meant. He was leaving her. She had failed somehow. He was going to return her to Khat and demand his money back. She sat upright, terrified, pulling a sheet across her chest.
'I no good?' she asked. 'No please you?'
'You were very good,' he said. 'That's why I'm setting you free.'
'But Khat, Mr Dey, if they find out-'
Carver held two fingers to her lips. 'Shush, don't worry, they won't cause you any trouble. Do you understand?'
Lara did not. All she understood was the price she would pay for failure. Her tears had returned as he took a hotel Biro from the table and wrote on a scrap of headed paper.
'Listen,' he said. 'This is important. Are you listening?'