CHAPTER SIX
The next morning, Claire woke late. She moved her head slightly but stopped after a moment because it seemed to have triggered a chorus of small aching pains throughout her body. She held her head still and opened her eyes slowly. There were no other sounds in the room, no breathing but her own, and after a few moments she sat up carefully, holding her head, and looked around the room. She was alone. She slid out of bed, noticing that her body was bruised and the insides of her thighs red and chafed. She found her robe, put it on, and stumbled into the bathroom. No Grant there, either. She returned to the bedroom and saw the two liquor bottles and brimming ashtrays, mute evidence of the wild orgy the night before. The shame-seized blonde sank onto the rumpled bed with a groan,
