"A shudder passed ruthlessly again through his body, but the young woman seemed too thoroughly frightened to have noticed a thing; if she did, more li...kely than not she mistook it for rage. But the truth was that his skin was blistering on fire from the inside, and he was dying of the ache of his need - he had gone far too long without another sacrifice."Roxanna," came her whisper.A smile flickered across his face mingled with his suppressed pain. "Well then, Roxanna, how do you feel about. When I told mother about it she just recommended being careful to avoid an unwanted pregnancy.Despite her otherwise liberal views on sex, mother was very conservative when it came to what she wore at home. Until the time I am writing of I had never had seen mom naked or even in her underwear. At home she usually wore jeans or, in the summer, a light cotton dress. At night, after coming back from work she would have a shower and put on a demure nightgown to watch TV. We would often work together. Probably far enough from the city centre to avoid generating headaches for the city council, but close enough to attract the clientele who had wallets fat enough to keep the revenue flowing in. The low sun cast long shadows across the car park. Despite my earlier confidence my heart began to flutter as we stepped up the concrete steps towards the double glass doors. Stepping through the open glass doors, the club was empty. A tinny echo of a radio played music from the sixties. Only two. Constance had apparently stepped out, and I was asleep when Polly came to wake me for dinner with the Royal Family. Jet lag got to me this time, probably because my system was weakened by the plague germs still doing what germs do inside of me. I came around slowly, but because I knew my role, I hopped up to get dressed for a formal royal dinner party. Polly and Hawk were far too good to me for me to deny them anything they asked.Just as Constance finished helping me get ready for dinner, Polly.