Last Resort (63 page)

"

"For us?"

he whispered.

Tes, for us,"

she smiled.

"But until we do go \ l don't see any reason why we shouldn't at least try tQ

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make the most of what we have here."

His eyes were imbued with irony. T love you/ he said.

Looking down at him, she started to smile again, but her lips faltered as his hand moved in under the hem of her dress. Then, bringing his eyes back to hers, in a voice that wasn't quite steady he said,

"I want to make love to you."

Desire instantly masked the laughter in her eyes and sliding down the bed to lie next to him she rolled into his embrace, pressing her body into his. They kissed for a long, sensuous time, allowing the needs of their bodies to flow unattended as they held each other tightly. Feeling his hardness straining between them, she lowered her arm, opened his shorts and took him in her hand.

As he groaned into her open mouth she opened her eyes and watched his face tense, his long lashes fluttering as his desire mounted.

Then his eyes opened too and, gazing far into hers, he rolled on to her, pressing his hips hard into hers before moving down her body with his mouth, unbuttoning her dress as he went. When she was naked he silently took off his own clothes, then lay over her again, enclosing her body with his. It was a long time before he entered her as they lay there kissing and looking into each other's eyes and feeling the need of each other's bodies pulling them closer and closer together.

After they had made love he rolled on to his back beside her and lay quietly holding her hand until the quickening of their breath began to quiet and they could hear the soothing rhythm of the waves and the gentle swish of palm fronds. The honeyed scent of sea-grapes wafted in through the open windows, sweetening the air. His hand tightened on hers as at last he turned to look at her; then he pulled her tightly into his arms and held her as the tears ran from her eyes.

"It's OK/ he whispered, kissing her hair.

"Come on now, it's going to be all right."

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Tm sorry/ she said in a strangled voice.

"It's just that

T love you so much and it seems so... Oh God, I'm orry. I promised myself I'd be strong for you, and look at me- I'll nave myself together in a minute. It's just that

."

Sniffing, she lifted her head to look at him.

"Oh God, David, I don't want you to go. I don't think I'll be able to bear it/

Yes, you will/ he told her.

"Besides, it might not come to that."

Shaking her head and looking deep into his eyes, she said,

"I can feel it, David. There's no point trying to hide it from me, because I know what you're thinking."

You do?"

He smiled.

You think the worst is going to happen, don't you?"

she said.

Sighing, he pulled her back into his arms.

"We're going to have to face it, my darling, that there's every chance it will/

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Chapter 25

The next three days were days that Penny would remember for the rest of her life. The island was an idyllic retreat from the world, its wild beauty, unspoilt by tourism and consisting of no more than the scattered casitas, which made up the one luxurious hotel, and a small airstrip. Though they occasionally saw the other guests now, no communication was forced upon them and they sought none. Exclusivity and privacy were paramount in this Utopian world that sat like a precious emerald in a shimmering bed of aquamarine. Once or twice they dined in the restaurant overlooking the moonlit pool while the gentle sounds of Filipino love songs drifted hauntingly over the terrace. But on the whole they took their meals in their casita, feeding each other and teasing each other in a way they would want no one to witness.

It took no more than an hour to stroll around the island, which they did once or twice, stopping to splash about in the waves and roll laughing in the sand.

They swam and snorkelled, captivated by the spectacular beauty of the coral reefs as they watched the brightly coloured fish darting through the crystalline water. Penny made her first attempt at water-skiing, with a diver from the hotel driving the boat so that David could be in the water with her.

She was hopeless and made him laugh so much with the way her legs kept splaying, or

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the way she was suddenly yanked forward and dragged like a piece of jetsam through the water, that she pretended to drown just to shut him up. By the end of the jay, though, she was cutting a path through the waves, perhaps not as expertly as he, but certainly more exultantly.

They borrowed music from the hotel library and played it on the CD in their room while lying quietly in each other's arms on the hammock outside as they listened to Bach or Sinatra or Mendeiros, Penny's favourite. Sometimes they danced on the veranda, holding each other close as the sun melted like gold on the horizon and the shadows stole silently over them, as though to enclose them in their love.

On what turned out to be their last evening there they took a speedboat from the hotel and David drove them over to the neighbouring island of Manamoc, where Madeleine, the young girl who took care of their casita, lived with her family. She'd invited them because Penny, unlike most of the other guests she served, had shown an interest in her. All the locals turned out for the small feast of freshly caught garoupa, fried plantain and succulent mangoes. They sat beneath the stars, Penny between David's legs, watching the fishermen roast the fish while the women sang and passed around hand-thrown plates laden with food. They encouraged David and Penny to join in with the songs, but though they tried David was so woefully out of tune that even the locals couldn't stop themselves giggling when Penny finally lost the struggle to keep a straight face. In the end a young boy stood up and began to sing in a voice that was sweeter than the coconuts and as melodious as the waves lapping the shore. It was so moving that Penny wasn't the only one with tears on her cheeks when he had finished, even though she hadn't understood the words. With a tightness of emotion in his own throat David wrapped her in his arms and the islanders smiled at them while nodding

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knowingly and happily to each other.

Tou know what Pamalican mean?"

Madeleine asked them as they were leaving.

"Pamalican, the name of island where you stay?"

"No/ Penny said.

"What does it mean?"

"It mean the people keep returning to the island. So it mean you will come back."

"I hope so,"

Penny said, looking up at David.

"We will/ he said softly.

The call from Stirling came at eleven the next morning. Penny was out, at the other .end of the island, fixing a surprise for David. As much as she dreaded it herself, she knew how badly he wanted to dive, but he wouldn't go without her. So she'd decided to pluck up the courage and was making the arrangements for that afternoon. But when she got back, one look at David's face was enough to tell her that they wouldn't be going.

Holding back the terrible onslaught of nerves she walked over to him and they held each other tightly, as though taking strength from each other.

What did he say?"

she whispered.

"Just that it's time to go home."

To France?"

He nodded and Penny felt herself turn weak with relief. At least it wasn't the States; not yet anyway.

"Did he give you any idea what to expect?"

"Not really. All he said was that my lawyers are flying over from the States in a couple of days."

"So you don't know what kind of evidence she's given yet?"

"No, not yet."

They arrived back in Nice in the middle of a chilly, wet, yet brilliantly sunny, morning to be met by Pierre and Ruth, an e\-Starke editor Sylvia had sent down to keep an eye on things until Penny returned.

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To Pierre's surprise, as they came through to the arrivals hall, both dressed in dreadful pink, yellow and preen anoraks they must have picked up before boarding the plane in Manila, they were arguing. It seemed that penny/ having spoken to Ruth on the telephone while they were waiting for their connecting flight from Paris, had decided she was going to New York in four days'

time.

"But there's no need for you to go/ David was protesting.

"You can send someone else. You've been through a hell of an ordeal, for God's sake ..."

"But I'm OK now,"

she retorted, taking his hand as they followed Pierre and Ruth out through the revolving doors.

"And there are a lot of things I need to do in New York that are all important for the future of Nuance, as well as the interview with Luke Pleasance, which was set up before I went. So, I'm going."

"Ruth, speak to her,"

David pleaded in exasperation.

"Tell her, you've got everything in hand here, Marielle can do the interview and she should take some time to recuperate before she'

"Don't get involved, Ruth,"

Penny interrupted, winking at the older woman as they walked across the road to the car park. Then, stopping between two giant tubs of cacti, she slid her hands inside his coat and gazed plaintively up into his eyes.

"Humour me,"

she whispered. Tlease."

"But, sweetheart..."

"No, no buts. You're leaving again tomorrow and I'

"Only for Marseille. I'll be back tomorrow night, Sunday morning at the latest."

"Then you can come to New York with me/ she said.

Sighing, he dropped his forehead on to hers. He wasn't sure yet why his lawyers were flying into Marseille rather than Nice, though Stirling had said it was something to do with all the flights into Nice being booked up.

"OK/ he said.

"But we're going straight home now. I

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want you to get some rest, because as lovely as you are with your tan you look just about all in."

"Kiss me/ she said, holding her mouth up to his.

Pulling her closer, as though to shield her from the cold, he put his lips softly over hers.

"And you will come to New York?"

she said.

He nodded, catching himself before saying,

"If I can."

"I've sent someone over to the villa to put the heating on,"

Ruth told them as they got into the back of Pierre's car.

"I'll courier over the flat plans and all the other things you asked for when I get back to the office. I didn't want to send them when there was no one there to receive them."

As David turned to glare at her Penny grinned and glared back.

"It's OK, I won't do anything today,"

she assured him.

"I'll do it tomorrow when you've gone."

In truth she knew she wouldn't be able to do it today, for apart from the terrible nerves she was already suffering about his meeting with the lawyers the next day, which would prevent any kind of concentration, she could already feel the debilitating effects of jet lag starting to claim her.

As they sped along the autoroute towards Cannes she laid her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes. It was hard to believe that little more than two weeks had passed since she'd gone. So much had happened in that time it felt more like a year. Christmas was now less than a month away and she prayed silently and desperately that they would be able to spend it together. Inside she was so pent up with fear that the effort of trying to keep herself together was exhausting her. But she had to go to New York, she had to make herself go on - for his sake as well as her own. Pressing herself in closer to him, she put an arm around his waist and turned her face into his neck. She felt his hand come up to stroke her hair, and as he and Pierre talked about Nuance the mellifluous sound of his voice lulled her into a state of semiconsciousness.

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He woke her when they got to the villa and when she saw it her eyes shone with tears of relief and happiness. After Ruth and Pierre had gone, they strolled on to the terrace and gazed out at the wonderful blue of the Mediterranean and the glistening, snow-capped peaks of the Alps. Penny's heart swelled. There really was no more beautiful sight in the world. The air was crisp, spiked through with sunlight and frost, and as she looked up at the clustered red roofs of the village above them she felt her heart catch when she saw the sparkle of Christmas lights framing the church tower. Crossing her fingers, she said a silent prayer that they would be together; then, feeling his eyes on her, she turned back, to find him smiling.

"Welcome home/ he whispered; then, laughing, he pulled her into his arms.

"How about,"

he said when they turned back into the kitchen,

"we take a nice long bath, then get ourselves into bed?"

"Sounds like a good idea to me/ she answered, looking around at the familiar pots and copper pans hanging on the nobbly stone walls. Smiling, she recalled the time they had eaten pizza at the table beneath the hanging herb rack, but when she turned to him to remind him her heart contracted at the look of devastation in his eyes.

"David?"

she said.

"David, what is it? There's something you're not telling me, isn't there?

Stirling said something when you called him from Paris ... David, please, you've got to'

"Hey/ he laughed, cupping her face in his hand. There's nothing. I told you what he told me - just that I have to go to Marseille tomorrow."

Then why were you looking like that?"

"Because/ he smiled,

"I'm so god-damned afraid of losing you."

Still looking suspiciously into his eyes, she started slowly to shake her head.

"You won't ever do that/ she

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rr

told him.

"I swear, no matter what happens, you'll never do that."

When they woke up the following morning they made love sleepily, eyes closed, bodies entwined as the dreamy, unhurried magic of a shared orgasm floated between them. A while later he kissed her briefly on the nose, then got up from the bed. She looked up at him and they both smiled in an effort to disguise their nerves.