He had of course noticed for a few weeks that she had not answered the door to him with the same teasing, brimming-with-life sexiness. No longer did he hear her run along the hallway and then have her confront him in her thin slip and press her firm ripe breasts into the backs of his hands.

But he was far too wrapped up in his relationship with Maria to pay much heed any longer to young Mrs Pearson, the former object of his fantasies. It had never really registered with him that she, more often than not, spoke now from behind the closed door, asking him just to leave the cake-boxes on the doorstep. Nor that he had often passed her sullen husband in the street around noon each Saturday, looking hung-over and rough, scowling and slouching his way towards 'The King's Arms'.

Nearly six months had gone by since that eventful rainy Saturday when he had first brought Maria her pies, and, to his everlasting astonishment, had finished up with his cock deep inside her. Since then the pair of them had fucked like rabbits - always on Saturdays and sometimes during the week as well. Nor had it been just sex. They talked for hours, arguing sometimes, laughing more often, sitting in silence on occasions, lost in their own private heaven, happy in the joy of their existence. And when his parents had gone off on holiday at Easter, he and Maria had gone to a cottage in the Lake District, and had walked and talked and wined and dined and cuddled and made love, and found such delight in sleeping together in the same bed of a night, for a whole wonderful week.

No, he hadn't paid a lot of attention to young Mrs. Pearson on the top landing for a very long time...

'I teenk she very unhappy', Maria said one Saturday as they cuddled together in bed with the rain lashing against the window. 'Her 'usband, he dreenk too much. He shout and he swear. Very bad things he shout at her. And he heet her. I see bruises. I hear her crying. He no good!'

'Why doesn't she leave him? Why doesn't she just up sticks and go?' David voiced what seemed to him to be the clearly obvious thing to do.

Maria looked at him sadly, 'Dav-eed, is not easy for a woman to leave. Where she go? How she leeve? And she feel ashamed... Is not easy. I know.'

David looked at Maria as he realised what she meant. 'You... I mean Aitken. he... he.'

Maria put her hand to his lips, 'Shh, Dav-eed. No speak of thees. Is over for me... And I am loved. I 'ave you... Past eet is past... But for Ellen ees now... She very un'appy. And she very young... I worry she do somet'ing. I want you 'elp her. Want you 'elp her feel good about 'erself. Then maybe she leave heem.'

David stared at her uncomprehending. 'Me? What can I do? I've hardly spoken to her.'

'But you like 'er, Maria reached below the covers and fondled his balls, ' you tell me you... how you say... you fantasise about 'er. You like make love to 'er.'

David turned and kissed her eyelids, his cock hardening against the soft warmth of Maria's plump thigh, 'That was before. Before I knew you', he whispered against her eyes, 'I never think of her now. I have you. I love you. You know that. I want you. Now!' He threw back the covers and rose up, straddling her. 'I want to make love only to you. Now!'

With a strength that surprised him she pulled him over, reversing their positions, and sat down hard on his belly so that his hard cock was squashed under her ample buttocks.

'No, Dav-eed! You leesten. I want 'elp thees girl. She is good girl. Very un'appy. I know. I talk with 'er. She think it all 'er fault. She think 'er life finished. She need someone to love 'er. To make 'er feel like woman again. Like you make me feel. I want you do that. For 'er. For me.'

She spoke with a fierceness that alarmed him, almost as much as what she was saying amazed him. But before he could speak, she raised herself, reached down and, grasping the thick hard pole that was his cock, she slowly impaled herself on it, sinking inch by inch, until she again sat with her belly against his, and the entire length of him deep inside the warm velvety burrow of her cunt. He gazed down the length of his body to where they were joined, to where the black curls of her luxuriant hairy pelt mingled with his own lighter pubic hair. He and Maria were one flesh.

He felt the entire length of his stout tool gripped tight as, kneeling over him, she spread her legs wide and flexed her vaginal walls before lazily arching back. The warm soft globes of her bottom rested on the tops of his thighs and he reached up to fondle the round luscious fullness of her breasts, then pinched each hard erect cherry-nipple between his thumb and forefinger.

'Dav-eed', she rocked forward and bent to kiss him, 'my Dav-eed.' Her tongue probed deep into his mouth before she disengaged her lips and, holding his face between her hands, gazed earnestly into his eyes as if she wanted to peer into his innermost soul.

'Have you 'eard of po-lee-gamee, Dav-eed?' She was moving her bottom now, riding on his distended cock in exquisitely slow, tantalising, circular movements. He felt gigantic inside her.

'I know about that... Mormons did that.when there weren't enough men to go round', he felt each word gasping out of him as she squirmed and ground down on his hard, needy member. 'What has that to do with me?. With us? I love you. I don't need any one else.'

She bent again and offered her breast and he craned up to take her nipple into his mouth. 'And I love you, my Dav-eed. I need you. You are my man. You will always be my man. My love.'

She was riding him harder now and she arched back, moaning and thrusting. He could feel the upsurging sweeping up in his groin. Then Maria slowed and sat back on his thighs. He attempted to keep on thrusting up into her but she pushed him back flat on the bed.

'Dav-eed., I am 44 years old. I have never been so 'appy as with you. But you go to University in two mont's and I... ', she hesitated and he saw that she was crying and he started to speak. She put a hand over his mouth. ' When you gone, I 'ave no-one again. I need 'ave someone. I t'eenk Ellen Pearson need someone. I want her be with me. We 'elp each other. We... how you say... console each other.'

He stared up at her, his hands slowly caressing the smooth soft skin of her lower back, and round the swell of her bottom, before moving round so that his fingers slid through the silky black forest where his cock passed out of sight to be lost in her belly.

'I don't understand', he said softly, ' you know I want you to come with me. There is nothing to keep you here. You can buy a house in Cambridge. We can live together. You said you would think about it. Why are you so concerned now about Ellen Pearson?'

'Dav-eed', she bent and kissed him sweetly, ' I concerned because I see een her, myself. I want let her know eet can be deefferent for 'er. But I need 'ave her trust me. I need her to understand that I know how eet ees with 'er. And that I care. Eef that ees to 'appen, I need to find way to break down barrier she 'as put all round her. You can 'elp do that. I sure of thees. Dav-eed, I want you do thees for me. Eef you love me, you will do.'

She sat back again on his thighs and gazed down on him, her face serious and solemn.

'But I hardly know her', he said in an exasperated tone, ' she used to tease me and laugh at me. How could I manage to have her take me seriously. She'd laugh in my face if I tried anything - or tell my mother. She thinks I'm just a boy. I don't know why you want me to do this. It's... I don't know what it is. It feels wrong.' he ran out of words and lay back staring sadly up at her.

'You are wrong, Dav-eed', Maria took his hands and placed them on her breasts, 'and you are no boy. I feel you beeg and 'ard, eenside me. You are man, thees I know. And I know you man because of way you are weeth me. Not just because you fuck like man but because you act like man. You all man, my lovely, Dav-eed. Now say you do thees for Maria, and I tell you how you can do and I tell you why I know she weel have you.'

She rose slowly up, raising her bottom and he felt the long length of his cock sliding out of her until only its large head remained captured, and was held by the puffy pink wet lips of her hairy hole. Then, just as slowly, she sank down and he watched his engorged cock being swallowed by her greedy cunt.

'Say yes, Dav-eed. Say you will do thees for your Maria', she demanded as she began to rise again.

'Yes! Yes! he moaned loudly, as he grasped her bottom cheeks pushing her downwards as he at the same time thrust hard and fierce up into her.

'Oh! Oh! Dav-eed! Dav-eed! I love your cock inside me. Dav-eed! I always be your woman. You give me life back. With you I... I... woman'. She began fucking him in earnest now, urging him to match her thrustings as she ground down on his bone-hard thick member. 'Fuck me! Fuck me! Oh Dav-eed! More! More! MORE! '

She was out of control now. Frantic. Frenetic in her abandon, and his fingers dug deep into her buttocks as he sought to push further inside her. He felt as if his cock was as big as a tree growing inside the succulent, gripping, warm-wet cocoon of her cunt...

Then she screamed as the orgasm boiled up and exploded within her, ' Jesu! Jesu! God! Oh! Go... o... o... odd! Dav-ee-eed!' And he came too, in a great burst of passion, loudly and triumphantly, his throbbing, pulsing cock spouting great gouts of semen deep into the hidden wanting innermost recesses of her womb.

Slowly, as if the life was drained from her, she collapsed on top of him and he held her, feeling her breath on his skin as she lay with her head on his chest. He kissed her hair and traced his finger round one small ear as they lay there, unspeaking, lost in their love for each other.

He stood in the middle of the room and looked around him. Outside the drizzle-drenched streets were deserted. The room itself felt desolate, for she who gave it light wasn't there. David gave a little shiver and hugged his coat closer to him.'

'This is the first time I've been here without her', he thought, ' I wonder where she is. I wonder if she's thinking of me and what I'm doing. I wonder if she's imagining me with Mrs Pearson.'

She would be. That he knew.

He himself had lain awake into the early hours of every morning since she had made her unbelievable proposal, wondering how it would be and worrying about if, and how, what she had demanded of him and what he'd agreed to do, would affect their relationship. He had come to her flat, near to desperation, two evenings ago, and had poured out his worry to her. And she had reassured him and they had made love and he had gone home happy and had slept like a top for the first time that week.

Next morning his misgivings had returned. Now they plagued him as he waited.

Somewhere in the building a door banged loudly and David moved swiftly into the hall and listened. Footsteps sounded on the stair and as they passed Maria's door, he walked back into the room and stood behind the long window curtain, peering down into the wet street.

Pearson's figure lurched out on to the pavement and began a shambling shuffling run across the road, coat-collar drawn high up against the cold rain. David continued to watch until the man disappeared between the doors of 'The King's Arms', then he took off his coat and laid it on the settee, picked up the three cake-boxes and walked quickly into the hall. Closing the flat door behind him he stood for a moment, adjusting to the gloom of the stairway. The only sound was the thumping of his heart. He began to mount the stairs.

'Who is it?' her response to the door-bell was so quick he was taken by surprise.

'It's me. It's David. From the baker's. I've got your Saturday order.'

There was a pause, then, 'Just leave them at the door. I'll get them in a minute.' Her voice seemed lifeless without any of the vibrancy he had once associated with her. He walked back along the landing clumping his feet, then, at the turn of the stair, he tiptoed back to the door and waited.

Her appearance shocked him somewhat; her face seemed much thinner and there were great dark circles round her eyes and a suggestion of bruising high up on one cheek. An over-sized shapeless woollen jersey and an ankle-length thin skirt, hid from view the charms that had so often filled his fantasies. Her feet were bare.

They stared at each other, he searching for how to explain his presence, but she spoke first.,

'I said to leave them at the door. Didn't you hear me? Why did you pretend to walk away?' She sounded plaintive and he thought she was going to cry. A great sadness welled up in him and all his premeditated opening speech was forgotten as he spoke without thought.

'I was worried about you. I wanted to make sure you were all right.' She stared at him and her eyes filled,

'I'm fine. Here. Give me the stuff!' She stepped forward and held out her arms towards him. And as their eyes met it was as though they both recollected, both at the same time, those earlier occasions when she had teased him. When, full of her own happiness and so proud of her sexuality, she had thrust her breasts against his laden hands.