"Lisa Tuttle & Steven Utley - In the Hole" - читать интересную книгу автора (Tuttle Lisa)

screeched at her, somehow conveying the accusation that the two of them
were paying a trick on him. Heath retreated, unable to blame the old man for
his mistrust, only too aware of himself playing a part, pretending to be
somebody who no longer existed. He went outside and stood under the
tree carved with heath loves cara forever.

That night, because she felt it important that they talk about their
lovemaking, he described several scenes he recalled from X-rated films,
presenting them as his own fantasies. He got her to act out one scenario,
and she proved gratifyingly eager to do as instructed. At least, he knew he
ought to have found it gratifying, but, as before, every word he spoke and
every act she performed at his command served only to deal his libido
another bruising blow. He felt like some dirty-minded puppeteer and knew
that if she ever again did exactly anything he suggested, ostensibly of her
own accord, he would be too aware of his own impatient, flat, whispering
voice to enjoy it.

I ask for too much, he thought. In the hole, with his life stripped down
to mere survival, physical wants were basic: the feel of sunlight on his skin,
clean water, enough food to fill his belly, the chance to stand upright and
walk around. Now he took all those things for granted, and this beautiful,
loving woman could not satisfy him. Nor could he shake the feeling that,
whatever she might say, he disappointed her as much as she disappointed
him.

After Cara fell asleep, he rolled away from her and out of bed and
padded quietly down the hall to the bathroom. He meant only to relieve
himself without disturbing anyone, and he could see well enough by the hall
light. He let the door fall quietly shut behind him, and darkness enclosed
himтАФnot total, but the nearest thing to complete darkness he had known
since the hole.
 For a moment it threw him back to an earlier time; the last few days
became no more than a particularly vivid, extended dream. Then, as his
eyes adjusted he saw a thin line of light marking out the bottom of the door,
and he breathed again in this world. Although naked, his skin was clean, still
smelling of the soap and deodorant he had used earlier in the day, and he
was in CaraтАЩs house, and darkness not forced on him held no terrors, only a
promise. He sank to the softly carpeted floor, and waited as he had waited
before, and she did not disappoint him. When he opened his arms, she
came into them as ready and eager, hungry and passionate, as she had
ever been before, her lips and tongue going everywhere her fingers
explored, and with a groan of pleasure, a cry of relief he could not stifle, he
fell back...

The light was everywhere, dazzling, almost as shattering as CaraтАЩs
shriek.

Was it disgust that made her scream, or jealousy? What had she
seen, exactly, when she opened the bathroom door?