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in scarlet. With shoulder length ebony hair framing her perfect features. She looked a little pale in the light from lamps around the fountains, but so did everyone who was illuminated by them. She wore a full length red dress that, while quite conservatively cut, couldn't disguise her sensational figure. She did not look cold wearing just that dress despite the frigid air. Absently Fulton wondered whether she had some sort of coat to wear if the rain started to come down again.
    They had been chatting and dancing together for a short while when Francesca asked Fulton to walk her to her flat just off the square to collect a jacket. Fulton agreed and was teased by his friends when they saw him.
    "You're in there," Karl said giving Francesca a lingering look.
    Francesca took Fulton's hand and led him away from the frivolities towards a block of flats. He followed along more than willingly and they entered the building. The block was in a good state of repair which quite surprising Fulton. Although he couldn't imagine someone like Francesca living anywhere decrepit. But he couldn't really imagine her living here. She seemed like a woman with a certain amount of class, used to living somewhere more upmarket. Unbidden came the image of Francesca as some sort of old fashioned aristocracy who had deigned to mix with the peasants, the vision seemed to fit though she didn't seem stuck up in any way. 
    They stopped outside the lift and Francesca pressed the call button. Her nails were long and shiny reflecting a distorted image of the lobby on their surface, they were painted the same vibrant colour as her dress and matched her full lips.
    She turned to face Fulton and he felt his heart catch in his chest. Her eyes pierced his soul and there was something like a predatory gleam behind them. Fulton’s body started to react at the dark promise behind that gaze. She licked her lips and stepped closer to him. The scent of her perfume provoked his nostrils. His head swam as he felt heat wash over him.
    "I didn't invite you to come with me because I needed a jacket," she whispered.
    Fulton was about to speak when Francesca put a finger to his lips. At that moment the lift arrived and Francesca pulled him inside by the front of his shirt.
    She pressed the button for her floor and the lift moved up after the doors slid closed. Francesca tumbled into him as the lift jerked into motion. Her arms wrapped around his body. She tilted her head back to look into his eyes and Fulton had to lower his lips to hers.
    They were still kissing when the lift stopped and the doors opened. Francesca capered around him and drew him along after her. They entered her flat and she smiled at him enticingly.
    "I'm afraid that there isn't time for us to get back to your friends before midnight," she said mock apologetically with a mischievous little smile tugging at the corners of her mouth and large chocolate eyes.
    "They'll manage without me," Fulton replied, looking at his watch. It was less than ten minutes to twelve. He couldn't work out where the time had gone.
    "If you want to see them you can go out on the balcony. If you yell they might hear you and you can still see the New Year in together." She tossed him a can of lager and showed him to the ledge.
    They were six floors up but Fulton scanned the crowd for his friends. Francesca sidled up beside him and put her arm around his waist. Fulton was having no luck spotting the others. There were just too many bodies down there for him to locate three individuals who might not be stood together.
    "Over there," Francesca said pointing.
    Fulton looked where she indicated and sure enough there they were. Fulton pulled out his telephone and keyed in Karl's number again. He watched his friend answer and told him where to look. He saw Karl talk to the other two and all three started casting around.
    It was Dylan who eventually noticed the pair waving on the balcony and he gave the other two a nudge. Lewis took the