Part 15 (1/2)

He walked the streets of Buda until sunset Exciteh the crowds The city's sounds see

On Batthyany ter he spotted Krisztina on a bench beneath a stone statue She wore the saht waist and volu back on her hands, she see up at the sky Markus Thury watched her for a while before he approached He wanted to set this ie of Krisztina in his mind, wanted to capture the scene as accurately as he could He would enjoy reliving it later

The sun had slid below the hill and the sky was darkening, patched here and there with purple cloud At the s of apart called in fro heat, Krisztina's forehead shone with a light sweat He wondered how long she had worked before corime, but her hands and forearms were clean and rahere the oxalic acid she used to bleach the laundry had scoured them

Krisztina spotted hi her head to one side Markus drew up in front of her, blood pureeted his arrival with a smile

'You're late,' she said, scowling 'I've been waiting here nearly an hour'

'There was a problem at the yard It took a while to sort out'

Krisztina leaned forward and sniffed his breath 'That's a lie You've been drinking Where did you get the '

He opened his ht better of it 'OK, I admit it Lukacs came to see me at the boatyard Told me he needed a favour and took et out of Budapest for good, that ouldn't see hie for hio'

'Good'

She started walking, and Markus raced to catch up 'Good?'

'Yes, good You've been spending far too ht you liked hi her forehead 'When have I ever said I liked him? When has either of us ever said that?'

'What do you rily thrusting out her chin 'What do I ed your tune ”Let the dim-witted hulye spend his coin if he wants to, Krisztina,”' she sneered '”A few of his dull tales are worth a night of good drink” You think you're being so clever, Markus I'll admit I was taken in by hi you just ashim You just don't see it' She twisted away from him and strode up the street

He followed 'How can he be using one and that's that Where are we going anyway? What are we doing? I'd like a drink too but we can't afford that'

He grinned at her 'Oh, yes we can Look' From his pocket he withdrew Lukacs's purse

'Where did you get that?'

'He gave it to ave it to you?'

'I swear, Kris I don't kno his oodbye at the dock, he looked ave me this He asked oodbye Said he wished you a good life, and that he hoped the purse would give us e needed to achieve it'

Her mouth fell open 'He said that?'

'What a hulye, eh?'

Krisztina stared at hi moment Then she shook her head 'Markus, ill I do with you?'

He grinned 'Walk with me Up to the woods'

'The woods? At this tier to her lips, jingling the purse of coins in his hand 'There's so I want to ask you, Krisztina'

Now herto read his face He saw her chest swell in expectation Arht of the day faded, shadows began to gather under the trees Birds sang evening songs, calling to each other in the branches above Markus found a co Krisztina's hand, he eased her down on to a patch of soft azed down the hill The waters of the Danube gliaps in the trees 'It's beautiful here,' he said 'So quiet'

'You're going soft, Markus Since when did you start appreciating nature?'

He smiled then, and said, 'Kiss me'

Krisztina squinted at hi, she pushed hi out around his waist '”Kiss me,” he says' Her eyes sparkled as sheon his chest 'Well, seeing as you asked so nicely'

Krisztina bent down and opened her ressively, the exciterabbed his hair and thrust her tongue deeper into his ainst him The pressure was exquisite, unbearable

Markus reached up and took her breast, feeling for the first tiers and when, through the fabric of her dress, he dragged his thuainst hisintoxicated him He slid his hand up to the warm damp skin at the slope of her breast, and then snaked it inside the front of her dress Krisztina kissed hiency, but as he quested further under her clothes she reared up, out of his reach

Laughing, she wiped her etting a little hot Maybe you should cool down'

He frowned Pulled her to hiain she pulled back

'What's wrong?' he asked He could feel the heat on his cheeks, the pulsing of his blood

Krisztina rearranged the front of her dress, bent and bestowed upon him a final chaste kiss 'You said ould wait Said you wanted to'

'I did?'

S, she nodded

He stared up at her, her scent filling his head This girl, so earthy, so rich, so visceral, tantalised hie of her as she straddled hi out above her head Markus snorted 'I lied'

Grabbing her by the arms, he flipped her on to her back and reversed their positions He seized the front of her dress and tore it open Her breasts spilled free Soft white flesh Dark and puckered nipples

Krisztina screamed He pinned her to the earth by her throat She scrabbled in the dirt with her free hand, and before he ers found a rock She clubbed him with it Sparks exploded in his head and he nearly lost his grip on her But he caught her wrist and bashed it against the ground until the rock flew froers

'Filthy kurva,' he told her 'You've teased h'

When it was over, Markus rolled off her and climbed to his feet He buttoned his trousers

On the ed her knees and stared up at hiri to her mouth Her voice trembled 'What will you do?'

'About what?'