Ever since Grant's phone call, Orlando had been feeling antsy. What if the girl in the morgue was Hannah's friend? What if she had met an untimely and cruel death?

Shaking himself out of these morbid thoughts, he tried to focus his attention back to the woman in front of him. Hannah had been in a daze ever since the phone call and he was genuinely disturbed. One moment they had been making out and then... Orlando sighed softly and ran a hand through his hair.

He watched her silently as she stared at something in her hands. Walking voer to her, he slowly pulled her into his arms, careful not to scare her away again.

"We'll get through this, Hannah, I promise," he whispered slowly and after a while the girl looked up at him.

"Why are you doing this?" she asked wide-eyed, a genuine frown on her face.

Orlando had dreaded the question because he didn't know an answer himself. 'Why indeed do I do the things I do?' he asked himself.

She felt strained and nervous and she was frightened that the woman who was lying dead on a cold slab in a morgue in LA was her friend Melissa. It was almost evening before Hannah climbed out of the plane which had taken her from New York to Los Angeles, she felt tired and dishevelled after having crossed two time zones and all she wanted was a hot bath and a goodnight's sleep.

"Are you ready, Miss Kaspell?" he asked and watched his friend Orlando as he helped Hannah into a light jacket. Orli looked dishevelled and as if he had not slept very well. But try as he might, Grant could not detect any tell-tale signs whether they had spent the night together or not.

Silently, they drove through town and when they had reached the morgue, Orli picked up Hannah's hand and squeezed it quickly. Slowly, they advanced on the steps of the city morgue and Hannah felt dizzy for a short moment. Orlando put a hand on her back and gently pushed her forward as they entered the morgue room. One of the medical examiners greeted them and led them to a refrigerators which were all the length of the wall.

"We've put her in here, Connors, but I've to warn you she's not a looker," the coroner said, chewing gum. He opened the booth. A sheet was spread over the dead body and Hannah drew in her breath.

What would she do if this dead woman was Melissa, her friend? she asked herself. What should she tell her parents? When the sheet was drawn away, Hannah gasped. One side of the face of the dead woman seemed as if someone had bludgeoned it but nevertheless Hannah was able to see that this woman was not Melissa.

"Good Lord," Orli murmured beneath his breath as he saw the face of the woman and his grip on Hannah's hand tightened.

"Miss Kaspell, is this your friend Melissa Caldwell?" Grant Connors asked and watched Hannah's pale face.

"No," she whispered and hid her face at Orlando's chest. "Thank God, this is not Melissa..."

Grant nodded towards the coroner who just shrugged his shoulders as he closed the refrigerator and walked off over to his desk.

"Let's get out of here!" Grant said and led them out of the building. Warm sunshine greeted them outside and Hannah took in a shuddering breath.

Orli took her hand and squeezed it reassuringly.

"Come, Hannah," he said. "You need a rest..."

Hannah only nodded in reply and Grant drove them back to Orlando's apartment. Orli and Grant conversed in hushed voices during the drive back and Hannah listened to them as if in a haze. All she could think of was that there was a minor possibility that her friend Melissa was still alive. When they arrived at the apartment block, Orlando thanked Grant and they exchanged a short look towards Hannah who still kept silent.

Hannah felt numb and stumbled after him as he climbed the steps to a porch of which several front doors were leading. She had no eyes for the beauty surrounding her, the very beauty that her friend had once described it to her over the phone. The whole apartment block was designed in the Mexican style, all bourgeainvilleas, cactuses and dry stones. There were a lot of plants in earthenware pots and the lawn in front of the block was constantly watered with sprinklers. But all she could see and feel was Orlando as he ushered her inside his flat.

Dusk was rapidly advancing, turning the room into russet hues of red and gold and the only thing Hannah wanted was to lie down on the inviting bed and take a nap. Orlando must have sensed that for he nudged her gently towards the bed and squatted in front of her after she had slumped down.

"You just take a rest, o.k.," Orlando whispered near her ear and Hannah nodded her head in response.

He left her to prepare a bath and Hannah slipped out of her pumps and massaged her aching feet. That's how Orli found her some minutes later and before she knew what was happening he had picked her up and carried her into the bathroom. Hannah protested weakly but feeling his strong arms around her made her all mushy on the inside and in fact she snuggled up to him and sighed softly.

Slowly she undressed herself after Orli had left her alone and she groaned langurously when she stepped into the hot bathwater. She let soak herself and lent back against the tub. She could hear Orli working in the next room and she closed her eyes. For a long time she lay there just relaxing her flexed muscles, enjoying the fragrant water. She was so absorbed in her own thoughts that she did not hear the soft knock on the door and when it opened she turned her head sleepily.

Orlando was mesmerized with the sight of her, she had put her hair up into a soft chignon and the water covered barely the rosy twin peaks of her breasts. An embarrassed blush crept up to her cheeks but she made no move to hide herself from his savouring gaze.

Their eyes locked and when Orli came over to her without a word, sitting down on the edge of the tub, she felt a shiver of anticipation running through her. She wanted him, she wanted him with such intensity that her whole body ached. Of course, she knew that this was only because of the aftershock from the morgue but nevertheless she was certain that if he wanted her right then, she would submit. She watched as he slowly reached out to caress her cheeks with both hands, drawing soft circles on her milky white skin. She could feel that his breath was just as ragged as her own and when she arched her neck to put a kiss on his lips, she could feel the tremble of his body. The kiss was soft, almost innocent, but they were both aware of the strong undercurrents of passion. Orli was the first to draw away from her and he took in a deep breath.

"If you continue looking at me like that, I swear I gonna make love to you in the tub!" he spat out almost angrily and jumped to his feet. Hannah caught her breath. She was certain that he said that just to give her the impression that she was desirable, but she knew better.

"Don't Orlando, I'm a big girl. You don't have to lie to me just because you want to have sex with me. I know that after what we have experienced today we have to confirm to ourselves that we are still alive. But don't risk our friendship with talk of love, it's lust we both feel ..." she said firmly.

"How can you say this? Lord, Hannah, I'm not such an asshole! And for being friends..." He grabbed her hand and put it on the fly of his jeans. "I don't believe that a mere friend feels the way I do right now!"

Hannah gasped as she felt Orli's unmistakable male hardness pushing against the soft material of his jeans and against her fingers. He was so aroused that she could feel the heavy beat of his pulse against her hand.

"It's been like this ever since you fainted in front of me on your doorstep," he rasped. "You smile or you turn around or lick your lips, and I get so hot all I can think of is burying myself deeply inside of you. And if you give me any more crap about not being sexy to turn a man on I'm going to..." The words became a broken groan when Hannah's fingers moved over his male erect flesh. His hips moved reflexively, pushing against her palm. He finally caught her hand and put it against his lips.

"Enough," He said and kissed her fingertips gently. "I won't take you. Not before you come to me willingly."

Hannah closed her eyes for a moment, making her decision. She wanted him as much as he wanted her and for once she was certain that Orlando would cherish what she had to offer. Slowly she raised from the tub, hearing Orlando gasp. She blushed deeply in embarrassment but she ignored it and put her hands on his chest.

"Please," she pleaded and tiptoed to reach his lips with her own. "Orli, please..."

Orli's hands clenched at his side as he fought not to loose his control but when their lips met, Hannah's tongue probing for an entrance, his control broke. With hands trembling from the sheer passion he felt for her he picked her up and carried her back to the living-room. She was still wet from her bath, but neither Hannah nor Orlando minded that as he put her down on the bed and looked at her adoringly. When Hannah wanted to pull a sheet over her naked body, he stopped her.

"No," he whispered hoarsely. "I want to see you..." He bent down and with the utmost gentleness he touched her hands, leaving a fiery trail as he caressed his way up to her shoulders and neck. Hannah whimpered as she felt his hands on her skin and she arched her back to offer herself to him. Slowly, Orlando laid down beside her, suddenly aware that one false move could destroy the magic of the moment.

"Tell me what you like!" he whispered into her ear, as he nibbled his way across her jaw.

"What do you mean?" Hannah inquired bewildered. "Mathew never..." She broke off when Orli put his thumb against her lips.

"Shh, Mathew doesn't know about how to make love. I want you to tell me what I should do. What are your dreams?"

"Kiss me," Hannah whispered.

"Where?"

"Everywhere," she admitted with a blush. Orlando smiled and put a soft butterfly kiss on her shoulder.

"Here?" he inquired hoarsely, smiling to himself as she sighed a passionate "Yes." Hannah had not known that kisses could be so adoring and hedonistic at the same time as he started kissing her. His caresses went on and on until she was drifting on a wave of pure pleasure.

"Do you like that?" Orlando asked as he kissed her navel and Hannah nodded.

"Yes, but..."

"What?"

"Never mind."

"What?" he pressed her in a raspy voice, nibbling at her nipples.

"I want to feel you against me," she whispered softly. He levered himself up on his elbows and penetrated her eyes with his.

"Unbutton my shirt," he demanded in a repressed whisper of his own.

Hannah hesitated only a second before her fingers unfastened the first button of his shirt. She sighed, a soft yearning sound, when his chest was revealed. His sun-kissed skin glowing in the blazing sun of the afternoon and the sculpted muscles beneath it. Slowly, she pushed the fabric of the shirt over his broad shoulders and arms and arched her back to put a kiss on his chest which caused a deep rumble from the depth of his chest.

"Hannah, my love..." he groaned and lowered himself onto her until his hard chest met with her soft breasts. "I want you..."

"Yes, yes..." she repeated again and again. Suddenly, they turned on each other hungrily and in their haste they almost ripped his jeans. When he lay naked on top of her at last, Hannah shifted her legs, opening herself up to him. When he felt her liquid fire with the tip of his maleness, he tried to restrain himself.

"Hannah... no." But when she pushed her hips against him, feeling her softness and moisture, bathing him with her heat, he could not wait any longer. With a single powerful thrust of his hips he took her, burying himself deeply inside of her. She was ready and tight, surrounding him like a vise. He knew he had to slow down to give her as much pleasure as she gave him. But first he had to leave her, although he loved the feeling of her all around him, he was a man of conscience. Propping himself up he eased out of her, showering kisses onto her face and neck, down to her breasts. Fumbling for a condom, he sat up.

"Fuck," he whispered when his hands shook so much. Hannah propped herself up, an enticing sight and with a soft laugh she helped him getting ready. When they lay together, something shifted between them. The laughter had died down, and an urge that was both strange to them over took them. The need for each other was raw, all compassing.

Orlando plunged into her again, their coupling raw, animalistic, rough. Thrusting into her, he kissed her so hard that they both had to gasp for air after a while, while they moved in unison. He had never experienced anything like this. This was no act of love, this was too raw, too rough and yet it was what they needed right now. They needed to confirm that they were still alive, that perhaps Melissa was still alive, the experience in the morgue leaving them both afraid and unsure of their existence.

At the fringe of his conscience, he knew he had to slow down, that he was using her like her ex-boy-friend, but her tightness, the moisture gripping him like the tightest vice, drove him on and on. Hoisting her hips to himself, he knew he would leave bruises on the flawless skin, but at this very moment, he didn't care.

He came with all his might, pleasure burst away from him repeatedly, wildly, touching him to the deepest roots of his soul. He called out for her as he poured himself into her, knowing only the wild release of his passion and the woman who was the origin of it.

Hannah heard his ragged cry, felt the trembling of his body as she held him tightly as his climax made her shudder in return. She cried out his name, squeezing her arms and legs around him as she felt herself careening over the edge. Her heart was drumming wildly, her brain dizzy and she asked herself if she had just died. But she could still feel Orlando all around her, inside her, his heart beating as wildly as her own, his breathing also as laboured as her own.

'So this is what I have missed,' a small voice inside her mind told her, as the first tears of relief and anger welled up in her eyes.

After a long while, Orlando's ragged breathing steadied and when he stirred as though to roll away from her she held on to him. She wanted to keep him inside of her, feel him. She did not want it to end... ever. Orli raised his head slightly and kissed her gently on the mouth, savouring the heat of the afterglow. The raw emotion, the anger, the fear, long having seeped from his body like his seed.

"I'm sorry," he whispered hoarsely. "I've never lost control like that but when you..." He broke off when he noticed her tears. His head jerked up and he studied her face intently.

"Oh, God, Hannah, did I hurt you?" Hearing his raw emotion, Hannah tried to smile and caressed his cheek with her fingertips.

"You didn't hurt me, Orli," she answered his question huskily.

"But you're crying," he said in a harsh tone. "I must have hurt you like hell..."

"No, you didn't. It was the thought that you wanted me, feeling you fill me up with your need and having you so close inside of me made me cry. I feel so incredibly alive and happy..." she whispered against his lips as she kissed him.

"Lord, I came so hard that I couldn't wait for you," he pecked her nose. "I'm sorry you must think I use you just like..." Hannah put her fingertips against his lips and shook her head.

"Don't compare yourself to him, Orli. It wasn't like that. You made love to me something which he never did. I feel cherished and priced and what can a woman want more than making love to a man who cannot restrain himself..."

"You are too generous, love. But I promise you I make up for this." And as he was saying this he moved inside her, already hardening again. "Do you feel what you're doing to me, Hannah?"

"Yes," she whispered as her breath rapidly grew faster. This time, Orlando took his time, teasing her with his caresses, with his tongue, his lips, his hands, his body. Hannah watched him helplessly as he savoured and sampled her with evident pleasure, touching her nipple with the tip of his tongue, suckling at it. His name came out like a ragged cry, begging for more and Orli was only too ready to comply. Slowly he moved inside her again but this time Hannah demanded more, she pushed her hips against his, driving him crazy with her sensual movements and her sexy moans. And when she reached her climax his name flew from her lips in a broken cry. She had never felt like this before and she would have felt afraid about this shattering experience had it not been for Orlando's strong arms holding her gently.

Hannah awoke slowly, unconsciously seeking the warmth which lay beside her and stirred beneath the sheets. Orlando smoothed back her tangled hair and put a soft kiss on the tip of her nose. All through the day he had laid awake watching her, assuring himself that their lovemaking had really happened and that he had not damaged her too much after the first raw, wild bonding. He had winced every time he had noticed more bruises where his hands had roughly handled her. He had made up to her for that, having made love to her innumerous times since then, but he still felt like an asshole and now as Hannah stirred, he felt the sudden urge of wanting her raging through his veins again. She was like a drug to him, temptress and virgin all rolled into one.

"What time is it?" Hannah asked sleepily and cuddled up closer to him, taking in his scent.

"Almost six o'clock," he answered and started nibbling at her earlobe. "We stayed in bed all day ..."

"Mmh, I like that. I like that very much..." Hannah admitted and she turned around to seek his lips.

Soon they were both engulfed in passion again and their love making was hot, dirty and beautiful. It took them a long time before they were able to take a shower and after Orli had phoned a Chinese catering service, Hannah sat crossed legged on the bed and brushed her hair. She was wearing one of Orlando's shirts and when he watched her like that he groaned inwardly. Making love to her had only whetted his appetite for her not diminished it. He needed her as much for his survival as he needed drink and food.

Orlando started when the door bell rang and checking he was at least half-way presentable, he walked up to the door and opened it. He frowned when he saw Connors standing in front of it with the Chinese take-away boy behind him.

"Hi Orlando, I see I come at the right time," Connors said and passed by the actor and deeper into the apartment.

"Hello, Miss Kaspell," he said and Hannah stood up slowly.

"Hello, I'm sorry ..." she said with a blush and her hands seemed to stretch the flaps of the shirt even more to hide her legs. "Excuse me for a moment while I get changed."

Connors smirked at that and walked over to the sofa while he watched as Orlando was carrying the food into the small kitchenette.

"Want to join us?" Orli asked and Connors shrugged non-commitedly.

"No, thanks. I will return home soon and Myra is waiting with dinner," the policeman said. "I just wanted to ask a few questions before I head home."

Orli frowned at that and after he had put