he fell morosely on the bed . she came over and sat down beside him . how old are you ? twenty-four - and fully grown as others can tell you . well , I &apos;m twenty-seven . still young in years perhaps , but pretty old in hours I can tell you . if I thought you were really in love with me I &apos;d never tell you , but as you &apos;re only in love with love I will . you &apos;re inexperienced and that &apos;s the truth . thanks for nothing . do n&apos;t get huffy . why do men always think they &apos;re great lovers by nature . to copulate is natural , to make love &apos;s an art . and I &apos;m no artist ? on the contrary ! all men are , but , like all artists , they need training . I &apos;ll roll up at the Polytechnic . Liszt and Tchaikovski were born geniuses but they had to learn how to read and write notes . love &apos;s a natural act . so &apos;s singing and dancing - but they still need training . to a woman the preliminaries of love are the most important and that &apos;s where art comes in . you have to learn what women like before you can bring out the best in them ! I &apos;d have thought that pretty obvious . do n&apos;t be vulgar . is n&apos;t it vulgar to want &amp;hellip; . I do n&apos;t know what things you do want ! no . the body needs food - but you cook it to enjoy it as well . the body needs physical love for many reasons but prefers it served with attraction . what else can a man do ? boy , are you kidding ! ah well , our love affair was short if not sweet . you mean you do n&apos;t want me any more ? do n&apos;t tell me you &apos;re willing to sacrifice yourself again ? for answer she pushed him back against the cushions and brought her face very close . do n&apos;t you want to kiss my lips ? anger and desire fought within him , blow for blow . her red mouth came closer and brushed against his lips , light as a feather . her voice came soft and sweet as a marshmallow : just brush them like this and this &amp;hellip; and this &amp;hellip; you &apos;ll feel the blood pulsing &amp;hellip; do n&apos;t attack a mouth as if you &apos;re dipping a mop into a slop-bucket &amp;hellip; always go much slower than you want to , it increases desire &amp;hellip; . and Desire came up with a straight left and Anger staggered &amp;hellip; . her lips parted and the tip of a pink tongue came slowly out and caressed his mouth from corner to corner , deliciously slow , back and forwards , slipping in a fraction of an inch and out again to the rhythm of a drum that had started somewhere inside his head . her voice was a gentle murmur , caressing him with words that were as sweet as they were naughty and nonsensical . Desire followed up with a couple of nasty rights to the face of Anger , who gave at the knees . her head moved slowly , her lips and tongue spoke a language he understood without having learned it . her tongue went in deeper and touched his own , gliding round it , pulling it in and letting it go . Desire uppercutted neatly and Anger took the full count . he looked up into her eyes and saw the immeasurable depth of eternity that God has put in there for man to lose himself in . he &apos;d taken over now and was looking down at her as she lay on his bed . her voice murmured on , soft and caressing as a kiss : look at my throat &amp;hellip; do n&apos;t you want to kiss it &amp;hellip; to follow its lines and taste my skin &amp;hellip; . he forgot time and place . he , the master , was gently led along erotic paths which he knew existed , but had never trodden . he learned how to use his hands , how to adore that body without haste , how to caress every inch with his mouth as well , to creep down along her smooth muscles till he lost himself in a rapture of kisses in places he &apos;d dreamed of , where life began to ooze and quickened his heart beat to a thunder . he looked at her . head thrown back in a pool of hair , her blood-red lips parted and the beating of her heart in the full throat . her mouth did things he thought no human being could stand without dying , but he went on living in an ocean of voluptuousness , that swelled and ebbed over him , under him , in him and through him &amp;hellip; . he was having a ball ! he twiddled the TV set with shaking hands . she sat calmly on the bed smoking a cigarette . his face was white with two red blotches . hers was flushed and lovely . O.K teacher ! was that any better ? you know it was ! you do n&apos;t need teaching , only a little coaxing . he sat down and ran his finger down along her spine . do you love me now ? like yesterday ! I &apos;m extremely fond of you . the fact that you &apos;re beginning to satisfy my physical wants does not change that . before long you &apos;ll give me the satisfaction that &apos;ll set me rocking on my feet , but I &apos;ll still be only fond of you . but you would n&apos;t marry me ? no . I &apos;m not your type . I &apos;d make you miserable . I mean that . I &apos;d very probably be unfaithful and that &apos;d kill you . then I &apos;d be unfaithful too , to teach you a lesson . it would n&apos;t work . you &apos;d do it to spite me . I would never do it for that reason . to me it &apos;d be immaterial whether you &apos;d retaliate or not . you &apos;d go crazy if that situation arose . pretty conceited , are n&apos;t you ? no , truthful . you &apos;re the faithful type . you &apos;ll marry a darned attractive girl and you &apos;ll never tell her of me , but you &apos;ll be grateful because you &apos;ll be able to give her all she wants by day and night . and that &apos;s a lot , considering that 60 per cent of all married women in the west never get full satisfaction . mostly because 40 per cent never expect to get real pleasure out of it and are convinced it &apos;s their duty to suffer the husband , and 20 per cent because they never dare talk or do it by daylight . they do n&apos;t dare tell a loving husband they only begin to like it when he &apos;s already had his fun and prepares for sleep . they do n&apos;t dare tell him to find out what she wants . they do n&apos;t know that tastes differ just as much in sex as in anything else . it &apos;s man &apos;s duty to find out and experiment . O.K . now look in your tea-leaves again and tell me what &apos;s in store for yourself ? have I never told you ? end of the year I &apos;m marrying Mason , the sculptor . his affair with Charlie was the best period in his life so far . Sheila , who was a disconcertingly observant little pigeon for all her reserve and innocence , once hit the nail fully on the head when she said he looked as if he had everything he wanted in life except money . that was true enough - for a while that is ! he &apos;d thrown his pride to the wind and accepted Charlie &apos;s superiority in seduction . and it was hard to imagine a prettier teacher . nothing gave him greater pleasure than to watch his improvements in her face , when she would genuinely sigh and toss her lovely head in sweet agony . to observe the colour rise in her cheek and hear her breath come faster , to see the slight beads of sweat come out on her glistening skin and see her move with uncontrolled rhythm . to have her twist in an attempt to receive a caress he was purposely withholding , to hear her deep-throated moan of full satisfaction and feel her shivering , clawing surrender . not so dusty , she might say afterwards , drawing at a cigarette . it &apos;s a wow ! he said . she kissed him motherly : you just wait till you teach the girl you really love . he did n&apos;t protest any more to say he loved her because he knew it to be untrue . instead he said : will that be better ? she nodded : it &apos;s man &apos;s nature to teach and to teach those we love is double pleasure . and she might add : and do n&apos;t forget to leave the lights on . you lose half the fun when you fumble in the dark . she had many direct comments like that . once she quietly pushed him back when he kissed her too fully and too soon : oi , not yet , you oaf . what do you think my mouth is ? a billposter &apos;s bucket to be plunged in at random ? he &apos;d learned to laugh when something went wrong or the situation became ludicrous , as when they were both caught in the raw when he &apos;d forgotten to lock his door and Derek had walked in unexpectedly . they &apos;d just had time to nip into the bathroom and stood there shivering for fifteen minutes while their guest was smoking a cigarette waiting for him . at last Derek got tired and left . just in time , erupted Charlie . if he &apos;d stayed any longer I &apos;d jolly well have asked him to join us . I &apos;m so darned cold I could do with two men . you perverted sex-maniac , you would n&apos;t dare . show me what you can do and I &apos;ll tell you if you need help . once he came back to the subject of her marriage and asked her why she was going to marry her sculptor . because I love him , of course . what do you think ? but he &apos;s a lot older , is n&apos;t he ? I suppose so . what attracts you ? it can n&apos;t be physical ? of course not ! I love him for what he is - he &apos;s so great I &apos;m a bit scared of him - a woman must be a bit scared to be really in love . that &apos;s why you could never love me ? correct , ducky ! you just wait till you meet the girl who thinks you &apos;re a god . it &apos;ll make you feel like one ! you think that sculptor &apos;s a god ? perhaps , in a way . all I know is that I need him . he kissed the heart beat in her throat . but how about the physical side ? you &apos;re quite an erotic little beast ; can he satisfy that ? you youngsters always overestimate yourselves . you can take it from me that he can and does . but even if he were impotent I &apos;d still love and want him . there are sides to me you &apos;ll never know . do n&apos;t you feel guilty living with me ? often ! do n&apos;t you ? Mary had married her bill broker some time ago and he now shuddered when he remembered the clinical weekends he used to spend with her . he often used to try to imagine her reactions if he had once treated her as he did Charlie , but his imagination failed . the efficient little Mary would probably have called it a shocking waste of time and told him to get down to business ! Charlie , who was perfectly at home at all sorts of artistic circles , had amongst others wangled him a membership ticket for a small club for artists only . it was situated in the attic of a huge old-fashioned house and lit by candle-light , which made it seem very romantic through a glass of something or other and which made it impossible to check bills very carefully . Charlie and he sometimes went there for a meal and a dance . the food was good and the three men in the corner made just sufficient noise on a piano , an accordion and a set of drums , to enable the patrons to cling together and call it dancing . there was never any rock and rolling at the Chipsteak club . its members did not care for physical exercise . there were a number of hostesses who changed constantly . they certainly did not belong to the class of hostesses usually associated with small clubs ; on the other hand , many a member had often found them very amenable if given sufficient time - and attention . Charlie knew practically every one there , from the big Irish painter who sat glued to his corner every night from opening at eight till closing at one-thirty , to the latest addition to the staff of hostesses . these girls soon lost interest in him when they found he was neither a painter nor an assistant film-producer and left him alone to contemplate the motley lot from a corner . 