Excerpt from Ophelia Rising

‘We need to respect each other’s boundaries.’

His voice was cold, his hair still damp from the shower. He had his back turned, but she could see his fists clenched as if trying to restrain a powerful force within him. There was tension all through his body; the broad neck stiff, the biceps tight against his shirt, his muscular back strained. Despite the apparent defiance, however, he refused to meet her gaze. He moved his head to look down the garden.

Outside, the wind was just beginning to swirl restlessly around the conservatory windows, hurling russet leaves against them, causing dark clouds to travel with speed across an unsettled sky. The water moved in urgent ripples across the pond, like an ocean at high tide, causing its delicate water lilies to jostle uncomfortably against each other.

She could see half of his face in profile, while the other half was reflected in the blustering scene beyond the glass. The eye on her side was like a hawk’s – intelligent, watchful, restless. And angry. He was cornered and he knew it.