"In the fridge," she said.
She was surprised when he stood up and walked over to her kitchen, and
even more surprised when he came back with a tray and two glasses.
"I thought the traditional thing was a cigarette?"
she said.
"Filthy habit," he said.
He poured her a drink.
"This is much better for you."
As they lay together, naked, drinking wine, Jacey realised that this
was another first.
He had never stayed with her so long after having
sex.
He lay next to her until he had finished his wine, and even then
did not seem in any great hurry to get up.
When he did, he smiled at
her and asked gently, as if not to disturb her, if he could use her
shower.
She lay on the bed and listened to the water cascading,
imagining it polishing his lean body.
As she watched him dress, in her
drowsily satiated state she found this reverse form of striptease
arousing.
He glanced at his watch.
"The car will be waiting for me," he said.
He sounded almost
regretful.
"No doubt you'll phone me when you want me?"
she asked.
"Yes," he said.
Even then he hesitated, and she could see that he was
reluctant to leave.
He smiled, his familiar, crooked smile.
"It's been very pleasant," he said.
"Expect to hear from me again, quite soon."
Jacey lay in bed that night thinking about Nicolas, and wondering about
the subtle change in his attitude.
If I didn't know him better, she
thought, I could almost believe that he had missed me, that he was glad
to see me again, that he's beginning to think of me as something other
than just another trophy.
But I don't really know him, she realised.
I've made judgements based
on what I've been told by others, and what I've seen for myself, but
although we've been as physically intimate as a couple could be, we've
shared very little else.
A story about his first sexual experience
which may or may not have been true and some political sparring about
the fate of the rain forest.
And it hasn't mattered to me, she thought.
He makes me feel as sexy as
hell when I'm with him, but when I'm not, I hardly think about him.
While I was even more exploratory, searching for erogenous zones he had
never bothered to touch, and lingering on them, gauging from her
reaction how long he should stay there, and how heavy or light he
should make his caresses.
She wondered sleepily if he had ever handled
a woman this way before.
Then she felt his body move.
He twisted on
the bed until his head was at her feet.
"Open your legs," he said.
She parted them, and felt him edge up between them.
She closed her
eyes and the thought of what was about to happen gave her a sexy thrill
in exactly the place she hoped he would put his tongue.
He parted her
thighs with his hands so that he could move more easily, and when his
mouth touched her, her body shivered with pleasure.
His tongue was
strong and insistent: her only regret was that she would not be able to
enjoy his expertise for very long, because she could already feel
herself losing control.
When her orgasm came, she felt her body buck and roll on the bed so
violently that he had to grasp her hips to hold her down.
It took her
several minutes to regain her self-control, and then she realised that
Nicolas had returned to his original position next to her, and was
watching her with a self-satisfied grin.
"You enjoyed that, didn't you?"
he said.
"Yes," she said simply.
"So that's both of us satisfied," he said.
"Do you have any wine?"
"In the fridge," she said.
She was surprised when he stood up and walked over to her kitchen, and
even more surprised when he came back with a tray and two glasses.
"I thought the traditional thing was a cigarette?"
she said.
"Filthy habit," he said.
He poured her a drink.
"This is much better for you."
As they lay together, naked, drinking wine, Jacey realised that this
was another first.
He had never stayed with her so long after having
sex.
He lay next to her until he had finished his wine, and even then
did not seem in any great hurry to get up.
When he did, he smiled at
her and asked gently, as if not to disturb her, if he could use her
shower.
She lay on the bed and listened to the water cascading,
imagining it polishing his lean body.
As she watched him dress, in her
drowsily satiated state she found this reverse form of striptease
arousing.
He glanced at his watch.
"The car will be waiting for me," he said.
He sounded almost
regretful.
"No doubt you'll phone me when you want me?"
she asked.
"Yes," he said.
Even then he hesitated, and she could see that he was
reluctant to leave.
He smiled, his familiar, crooked smile.
"It's been very pleasant," he said.
"Expect to hear from me again, quite soon."
Jacey lay in bed that night thinking about Nicolas, and wondering about
the subtle change in his attitude.
If I didn't know him better, she
thought, I could almost believe that he had missed me, that he was glad
to see me again, that he's beginning to think of me as something other
than just another trophy.
But I don't really know him, she realised.
I've made judgements based
on what I've been told by others, and what I've seen for myself, but
although we've been as physically intimate as a couple could be, we've
shared very little else.
A story about his first sexual experience
which may or may not have been true and some political sparring about
the fate of the rain forest.
And it hasn't mattered to me, she thought.
He makes me feel as sexy as
hell when I'm with him, but when I'm not, I hardly think about him.
While I was in England, I didn't even fantasise about him, which I
usually do when someone really turns me on.
I didn't wonder what he
was doing, or care if he was with other women.
But she did think about Felix Connaught, she remembered, rather to her
own surprise.
And not about how he performed in bed, but about his
ideas and his hopes for Guachtal.
It made her happy to know that
someone cared about the future of the rain forest.
And he was the
first man the first person she had been able to talk to about her
stolen baby.
It was easy to tell him.
It actually made her fed
better.
And since then, her horrible memories hadn't bothered her so
much.
Even the thought of her son didn't cause her pain.
He was being
brought up by a rich family, who wanted him desperately, and who were
probably spoiling him silly.
She smiled sleepily.
I'm halfway towards accepting , what happened to
me, she thought, thanks to Felix.
He was the right man, in the right
place, at the right' time.
He's decent and trustworthy, and I like
him.
I like him a lot.
She wondered drowsily if she could settle down
with a man like Felix.
Although she had told Peter Draven that she
wanted a nice, normal life, and a nice, normal boyfriend, she wasn't
absolutely sure that it was true.
The knowledge that she was now in
complete control of her life, and could make her own choices, was very
attractive.
She no longer had a secret agenda, and Nicolas's voice on
her mobile phone could no longer summon her like a slave.
She could be
nice to him, but only if she wanted to.
Did she want to?
That was another question she had to answer.
Jacey
Muldaire, she reprimanded herself, if you are going to stay in in
Guachtal you will have to sort out the men in your life.
Felix
first,
she decided.
I have to know how hA really feels about me.
The next day, she telephoned Leonardo and asked him to come and see
her.
As soon she walked into her office she realised that in the weeks
she had been away, he had changed completely.
He had lost the
innocent, vulnerable look that had attracted her when she first saw
him.
The awkward boy had gone forever and an elegant, self-assured
young god in his place.
Jacey held out her hand and he grasped it "Leonardo," she said.
"You look very nice She smiled at him.
"I'd guess that you've got a new girlfriend' He nodded.
"The most wonderful woman in the world."
And then he added hastily
"After you, of course, dear Jacey."
"Don't fib," she said.
"I disappointed you' "On the contrary," he said.
"You Are my tutor I owe everything to you.
I'd never have had the confidence to approach Margarette if I hadn't
learnt about women from you."
"So," Jacey prompted, 'what's she like?"
"Quite a lot like you," he said diplomatically "Beautiful, intelligent,
and a little bit older" he paused, and then smiled.
"Well, quite a bit older than me.
We like the same kind of music and
the same books."
"And the same kind of sex?"
His smile broadened.
"We have designed some equipment together.