‘So,’ she asked, rearranging herself on the settee, ‘what’s your vice?’
David looked at her, taking in the smudged lipstick, the rumpled satin, the tangles in her hair. She smiled, wide and honest, at odds with the painted skin and manicured talons.
‘I’m not sure,’ he admitted. ‘I just came to-‘
‘Fuck?’ she asked, still smiling. She sighed and shifted, her whole body rolling, necks, breasts, hips, thighs. With her head tilted back she brought the heel of her palm to her mouth and swiped away the last of her lipstick, leaving a red streak across her wrist.
‘No,’ said David quietly. ‘Not for that, no.’
‘Then what? To save one of us from this life? Is that why you came here tonight, in the hope that one of us can be salvaged from the fallen?’ She laughed like falling china. ‘Trust me hun, none of us want to be saved. We’re quite content where we are.’
‘I know,’ he nodded. ‘That’s not why I’m here either.’ He slid from his seat onto his knees, crossing the space between them so his face was in front of her’s, his fingers hovering centimetres from the bare surface of her arms. ‘I’m not here to fuck you,’ he said, ‘I’m here to worship you.’
She shivered beneath him.’Oh really? How do you intend to do that?’
They were touching now.
‘I’ll show you,’ he said, grip tightening. ‘I will show you in every way possible, and once I have, once we are done…’ he stared at her, eyes dancing. ‘Everyone else can burn.’
Carol J Forrester - Writing and Works 
Demon haunted David seeking to burn out his vice. I really enjoyed reading this. It reminds me of a Regency romance/thriller when damaged men sought out soiled doves.
I’m glad you enjoyed it, to be honest I wasn’t sure where I was going after the first line and finding an ending that didn’t feel too sudden was tricky. It’s great to hear someone enjoyed it.
I’m currently reading more of your short stories. Why did you decide to end your stories with a half-sentence?
Habit I guess. I should try and do it less, but endings aren’t my strong point with short stories. They always end up reading like chapters from something longer.
This is a great read. I particularly like this simile: She laughed like falling china – it contains such a strong suggestion of destruction.
I’ll second this. I rarely read a simile that I actually think works, but this one is really neat. Funnily enough though to me it suggests playfulness, the high pitched chime of falling china.
I prefer your take on it to mine – I thought of the china sliding off the shelves as the Titanic sunk…