All Chapters of No Return: Chapter 111 - Chapter 120

“So now you owe me.”Silvia frowned, suspicious.Jim smiled a little wider. “Now it’s your turn to gimme a couple of weeks, and come play my everyday woman in my everyday life. Not isolated in the middle of nowhere, not in the madness of a tour, not surrounded by your friends like frigging bodyguards, but my real everyday life. Don’t you think that’s the logical next step?”He would’ve loved to feel anything like laughing when he saw her gawk first, then gasp and frown again, as she still tried to believe her ears. He kept quiet, holding her gaping eyes with his mild smile, his fingers still toying with her hair.Silvia closed her eyes, breathing as deep as her racing heart allowed her to.He was right, of course.It was obvious that would be the logical next step for him.But everything had devolved into disaster with Pat only when she’d visited him in the US. When she wa

The boat floated in the broad quiet bay, the lake shores at both sides covered by thick woods that climbed up the steep slopes of the mountains.Jim grabbed two beers from the cooler and strolled back toward the stern, where Sean sat, determined to hold the frigging stick until he caught one frigging trout.The tour guide had noticed right away that his passengers were into fishing as much as he was into rocket science. He’d set their fishing rods, taught them the basics and let them be. He settled them at the stern and stayed near the prow, taking his time to pick the perfect fly for that perfect afternoon.Sean thanked the beer with a grunt, mustering his patience. Jim dropped himself on his camping chair, cap down to his eyes, and sprawled out, clearly intending to take a nap. Sean didn’t recall ever seeing him so easy and contented like he’d been over the last week. And it didn’t fool him for a minute.“She’s coming

It felt just so awful, the way the clock jumped back instead of moving forward as they crossed time zones to the west. And with every repeated hour of that endless night, Silvia felt she was losing all she knew and loved, to walk utterly alone into whatever the next days might have in store for her. She expected to feel that way, just like the irrational fear clutching and twisting her guts. She would’ve liked to be able to do something about her instinctive withdrawing into herself to muster her courage and breathe deep before such a leap.To make it worse, she felt oddly confined in that luxury seat that had her walled up like a baby pen. She could connect with the whole damned world, yet she couldn’t look straight at Jim on the next seat without bringing her feet down from the box under the TV shelf, sitting up and leaning in, past the ugly thing all around her head with more plugs and stuff, and the little counter between the seats.The moment she moved

The house was quiet in the warm silence of the sunset when Jim came out of the shower, still savoring such a gratifying homecoming. He felt as good as new after a good meal, quality sex and a nice nap. Silvia had gotten up while he was in the bathroom and he didn’t hear her around. He headed downstairs, guessing where he’d find her.It felt good, being back where he could enjoy the drops still dripping from his hair, down his chest and his back, without fearing to catch a virulent flu.There she was, of course, at the deck, the place that had caught her attention the moment she’d set foot on his house. Not because of the swimming pool or the comfy loungers or the small bar counter under the hay roof, but because of the view.She was wearing a black top and a light sarong, bare feet on the floorboards, arms resting on the railing, face to the sun setting on the sea, a cigarette between her fingers, her loose hair floating softly in the ocean bre

Deborah got an email when they were already driving into the city.“Club opening tonight,” she said, reading it. “Feel like going?”“Yeah, why not,” Sean replied. “Let’s go, dude.”They got no answer from the backseat. Deborah looked back and saw Jim sleeping with his head on Silvia’s lap. She was asleep too, her arms around him.Sean threw a punch to his brother’s legs. “Dude!”“Fuck you,” Jim grunted, eyes still closed.“Club opening. Tonight. We’re going.”“Yeah, yeah.”Back to Jim’s house, Silvia turned pale when she learned that he wanted to take her with him that night, which meant that he would show up in public with her. She fought the temptation of pleading exhausted, reminding herself once more why she was there—to be his everyday woman in his everyday life. If he wanted her by his side f