by Lucy Gordon
‘You’d better start rowing back, then,’ she said. ‘Careful! Don’t upset the boat.’
They rocked violently all the way back to the shore and climbed out with such urgency that they nearly ended up in the water.
‘Where’s the nearest exit?’ he demanded.
‘Over there.’
They made it in double-quick time, but when they reached the street an obstacle met them.
‘Oh, no!’ Rebecca groaned. ‘Isn’t the morning rush over yet?’
‘Your traffic jams are as bad as Rome,’ Luca complained. ‘Nothing’s moving.’
‘It’ll take hours to get back to the Allingham,’ Rebecca said.
He gripped her hand tighter. ‘We don’t have hours,’ he said firmly. ‘Where is the nearest hotel?’
She began to laugh. ‘Luca, we can’t-’
‘Becky, I swear to you that if you don’t direct me to an hotel I shall make love to you here and now, on the grass.’
There was a note in his voice that told her he might actually mean it. There was simply no knowing what this determined man might do. It made him thrilling.
‘I’m warning you,’ he said, slipping his arms around her.
‘Stop it! Behave!’
‘Find us a hotel, then, quickly.’
‘If we cross the road and take that turning there are quite a few in that street up there.’
Crossing the road was easy, since none of the traffic was moving. They found themselves in a street of small private hotels, some of which had notices bearing the word ‘Vacancies’ in the window. Luca dashed into the first one they came to.
This was a different world from the whispering luxury of the Allingham. There was a small hall, with a cubbyhole for the receptionist, who was absent. Luca had to ring the bell twice, and the second time he did so with such force that a harassed-looking woman emerged from the rear, looking indignant.
‘I’d like a room, please,’ Luca said. ‘Immediately.’
‘It isn’t noon,’ the woman said, with a glance at the clock on the wall that showed half-past eleven.
‘Is that important?’
‘If you take possession before twelve I’m afraid I have to charge you for two days.’
‘How much is the room per night?’ Luca asked, breathing hard.
‘Seventy pounds, per person, per night. You would be requiring a double room, I take it?’
‘Yes,’ said Luca, almost beside himself. ‘We would like a double room.’
‘Then that would be a hundred and forty pounds for one night, so perhaps you would care to wait half an hour, and only pay for one night, which will be cheaper.’
‘That’s not a good idea,’ Rebecca said hastily. ‘We’ll take it now, thank you.’
‘Very well. Name?’
‘Mr and Mrs Smith,’ Rebecca said promptly.
The receptionist showed, by raised eyebrows, exactly what she thought of that.
‘I see. Well, we operate a liberal regime here, although it did seem to me that this was a foreign gentleman-’
‘He’s a foreign gentleman called Smith,’ said Rebecca, poker-faced.
‘Well, if one of you would sign here…’
Rebecca hastily seized the pen. Luca was in no mood to remember what name he was supposed to be signing.
The room, when they finally took possession of it, was basic but adequate. Luca shut the door firmly, locked it and turned to her swiftly.
But she was ahead of him, tossing her clothes aside, her eyes gleaming with anticipation.
‘Come on,’ she said. ‘Slow coach.’
He needed no further encouragement, matching her for speed, until they were both ready to fall onto the bed and claim each other with feverish intensity. No subtlety. No pretence that this was anything but frantic, exuberant lust, relished for its own sake, with no holds barred.
She wanted him inside her. She’d wanted that since he’d left her only a few hours ago, and when she had what she wanted she kept tight hold of him, arching against him insistently and looking up into his face with a smile that made him smile back.
It was she who decided that the moment had come, moving faster, and then faster.
‘Wait,’ he told her.
‘No,’ she said simply.
He tried to hold her back but his own desire was uncontrollable, and they finished triumphantly together, laughing and crowing with triumph.
When he had the strength to move, Luca sat up, and blew out his cheeks. ‘I’ve been thinking of this ever since-since I got up this morning.’
‘So have I,’ she said, relieved at being able to admit it. ‘Luca, I don’t know who I am any more. I have never been like this in all my life.’
He raised himself from his back, rolled over and looked down at her nakedness with appreciative eyes.
‘Shall I tell you who you are?’ he asked, sliding his hand over her breasts again.
She chuckled. ‘Does it involve vigorous exercise?’
‘It might. Unless you’re tired.’
‘Who’s tired? It’s early yet.’ She reached for him, letting him know with gestures what she wanted of him, and the pleasure was all given back to her, again and again.
As they lay together afterwards she said dreamily, ‘I’ll bet it’s past noon by now.’
‘It’s three in the afternoon,’ he said.
‘Ah, well, it can’t be helped,’ she said drowsily, not knowing what she meant by this.
‘Why did you tell them that we were Mr and Mrs Smith?’
‘I had to tell them something.’
‘But what did she mean about a liberal regime?’
‘In the old days, when people weren’t as free as they are now, people who wanted to be together used to book into a hotel under the name of Mr and Mrs Smith. So whenever you told a hotel that your name was Smith-well-’
‘They knew you were unmarried lovers,’ he finished.
‘Something like that.’
‘And that’s why she gave us such a funny look?’
‘Yes. She knew exactly why we couldn’t wait until noon.’
Luca began to laugh, burying his face against her neck and shaking. And she too laughed, because it was really incredibly funny. For years there had been no laughter in the world. Now there was nothing else but laughter and joy, pleasure and fulfilment, the one leading to the other, then back again, and round in an endless circle of delight.
All strain and tension seemed to fall away, leaving her relaxed and gloriously content. When Luca raised his head she saw that it was the same with him.
‘I could go to sleep now,’ he said, laying his head back on her shoulder.
‘Mmm, lovely.’
But the shrill of his cellphone brought them back to reality. With a grimace he swung himself off the bed.
‘I should have switched it off,’ he said. ‘Hello, Sonia-no, I’m not at the hotel for the moment-nothing wrong, just a change of plan. Anything urgent?’
He yawned as he listened. Rebecca too yawned. It felt pleasant to lie here, drifting into a light doze. Luca’s voice reached her faintly.
‘All right, there’s no problem, but he’s got to come down on the price, or no deal. Sure, I know what he was hoping for, but he’s not going to get it. I can go elsewhere, but he can’t.’
For half an hour she floated happily in and out of consciousness.
‘There’s no point in talking any more, Sonia. He and I have done business before. He knows I mean what I say. Now, about the future-I won’t be at the Allingham for a few days. You can reach me on this phone, but not too often, OK?’
He hung up. Rebecca slowly sat up in the bed.
‘Where are you planning to be for the next few days, Luca?’
‘Here. With you.’
‘And what about my appointments? My job?’
‘Becky, I can imagine how your appointments read. Lunch with this one, drinks with that one, supervising some hotel function, attending a conference. H
ow am I doing?’
‘Pretty good.’
‘And how vital is any of it? Nobody needs that lunch, that social occasion. Conferences are hot air. The deals depend on cold cash, nothing else, and they’re all sewn up before anyone arrives.’
‘You’re saying that I’m just playing at doing a job,’ she said indignantly.
‘No, I’m not. My own job is just as full of froth. It’s the way of the world these days. I escape it whenever I can, and the skies don’t fall. Will they fall if you take a few days off?’
She was about to say that it was impossible when she realised that he was only voicing her own recent thoughts. Golden, glittering and hollow; that was how she’d seen her life as she arrived at Philip Steyne’s house that fateful night.
‘I could have a word with my assistant,’ she said. ‘She’s very good.’
She didn’t mention that she would have to break a date with Danvers, but that would have happened anyway. After what had occurred between her and Luca there was no way she could maintain the pretence that she and Danvers were an item.
All the way back to the hotel she thought about what she would say to him. Entering the Allingham alone, she went to her office and made the necessary arrangements with her assistant, an efficient young woman who could hardly contain her delight at being left in charge.
‘By the way, there’s a message from Mr Jordan,’ she said. ‘He has to be away for a few days, maybe a week, he wasn’t sure. He says he’ll call you when he gets back.’
‘Fine,’ Rebecca said, torn between relief that she could defer the problem, and dismay that it was going to drag on.
But perhaps this was best, she thought as she slipped out into the street with a suitcase. Now she could forget everything but enjoying a holiday.
The next few days felt like the first true holiday of her life. Hidden away with Luca in the shabby little hotel, she felt as though she were living in the sun.
He was a tireless lover, who could bring her to the heights again and again, and still want her. And she, who had long ago decided that the traumas of her youth had left her cold and unresponsive, could be ready for him at any moment of the night or day, except that night and day were indistinguishable.
The hotel had no Room Service so they ate burgers at a café around the corner, always hurrying back to fall into bed. For four days they loved and slept, slept and loved. In fact, they did everything except talk. But at the time that didn’t seem very important.
One morning Rebecca came out of the shower to find Luca just hanging up the phone, looking exasperated.
‘I’ve got to go back to Rome,’ he said. ‘One of my deals is unravelling, and I need to be there.’
She tried to smile, but the turmoil inside her was alarming. He was going away, and she couldn’t stand it.
‘Oh, well,’ she said lightly. ‘It’s been great, but we knew it couldn’t last forever.’
‘We have to give up this room,’ he agreed, ‘but I’ll be back in a few days.’
She’d got her second wind now and could smile.
‘Hey, I won’t count on it. You may need to stay.’
He was still sitting on the bed, and as she passed him he caught both her hands in his, looking up into her face.
‘I’ll be back in a few days,’ he said. ‘I don’t think I could stand it for longer.’
‘I suppose I should be glad you’re going,’ she said with a faint smile. ‘It’ll give me a chance to catch up with real life.’
‘Real?’ He regarded her with raised eyebrows. ‘This hasn’t been real?’
She caressed his hair. ‘You know what I mean.’
He grinned. Laughing, she leaned down and kissed him.
‘I must try to get my mind back on my job,’ she said a few moments later. ‘And I suppose I ought to speak to Danvers, just to tell him that what little there was between us is all over. Don’t worry about him.’
‘I won’t,’ he said simply. Then he gave a broad grin. ‘Danvers Jordan doesn’t worry me at all.’
She thought he meant that after the last few days he was riding high on pride and sexual confidence.
Afterwards she was to wonder how she could have been so stupid.
CHAPTER SEVEN
L UCA was away nearly a week, during which he called her ten times. She lived for those calls. It grew harder to pretend that she didn’t, and after a while she wasn’t pretending at all.
She didn’t know what to call this feeling. Somehow love did not seem the right word. The bond between them had mysteriously survived years and distance. Now she could think of nothing else but him. Her whole life seemed concentrated around the thought of him, his next call, the likely date of his return.
And yet, for reasons she did not understand, she resisted calling it love.
Two days before he was due home she was on duty at a hotel reception. It lasted only two hours, yet the time seemed interminable, because these days she could no longer take such occasions seriously. She wondered if she would ever do so again.
Smiling mechanically at someone who had claimed her attention and seemed determined to keep her forever, she managed to look around the room and, to her surprise, noticed Danvers on the far side. She hadn’t known that he was back, and that was strange because he was normally so punctilious.
The sight of him made her realise how little she’d thought of him while he was away, so absorbed had she been in Luca. If Danvers had not contacted her, neither had she contacted him. Soon she must see him and explain why their relationship, such as it had ever been, was over.
At last she managed to bring the present conversation to an end and made her way through the crowd, noticing that Danvers was deep in conversation with a young woman. When he became aware of Rebecca a sudden alert look came over his face, and she could almost believe that he met her with reluctance.
‘Rebecca,’ he said with a forced smile. ‘How nice to see you.’ As if she were a casual acquaintance.
‘Good evening, Danvers.’ She smiled at the young woman. A strange feeling was growing in her.
‘Ann, this is Mrs Hanley, the Allingham’s public-relations officer. Ann is my secretary at the bank.’
The two women greeted each other politely. Danvers looked around in the crowd.
‘Is Montese with you?’ he asked.
‘No. Why should he be?’
‘I just wondered. Ann, would you mind…?’
The other woman slipped away, leaving Rebecca looking at Danvers in a puzzled way.
‘Did you have a good trip?’ she asked.
‘Yes, it went very well.’
‘Have you been back long?’
‘Three days.’
Three days. And he hadn’t called her. That was more baffling than painful.
‘You normally don’t wait that long to call me,’ she said, trying to sound light.
‘Oh, please, Rebecca, don’t pretend. You know perfectly why I haven’t been in touch. Don’t tell me that you mind.’
She frowned. ‘Danvers, I-’
‘It would have been quite enough for you to tell me yourself, you know. You didn’t have to send in the heavy squad.’
‘I don’t know what you mean.’
‘I mean Luca Montese claiming ownership like some tribal warlord.’
‘Ownership of what?’
‘You, of course. What else? He left me in no doubt that unpleasant things would happen if I didn’t back off.’
‘What? Danvers, I don’t believe that. It can’t be true. You must have misunderstood.’
‘Believe me, when Montese sets out to make his point there is no misunderstanding. You belong to him. Keep off. That was the message.’
‘I most certainly do not belong to him.’
‘Tell him. He thinks you do.’
‘Danvers, are you saying he actually threatened you with physical violence?’
‘Nothing so obvious. He didn’t need to. He’s a man who knows everything.’<
br />
‘About what?’
‘About everything and everyone. He knew all about me, things I thought dead and buried.’
‘Things the bank wouldn’t like?’ Rebecca asked. It was a shot in the dark but she knew it had gone home when she saw his face tighten.
‘It was just a piece of foolishness and it was long ago. There was no harm done. Nobody lost out. The rules were laxer in those days anyway. But if it came to light now-well, anyway, I’m not taking chances.’
She regarded him curiously. ‘I suppose it didn’t occur to you to defend your right to me?’
‘Get real, darling. I’ve got a career to make. He’d never take his claws out of me. He had a complete dossier. Probably got one on you as well.’
‘Don’t talk nonsense,’ she said, but her voice was uncertain.
‘Rebecca, don’t be naïve. You don’t have the first idea what this man is really like. He’s hard, dangerous, ruthless. And whatever there is between you, he’ll be as ruthless to you as anyone else. Ann, darling! Over here.’
‘Yes, you’ve talked to me longer than is safe, haven’t you?’ Rebecca said with a touch of contempt, and walked away without a backward glance.
She had to wait two days for Luca to return, and they were the longest two days of her life. Sometimes she told herself that what she was thinking could not possibly be true.
Her recent time with him had been glorious, a brilliant light in the grey that was her normal life. But she knew that the bliss was due entirely to their blazing sexual compatibility.
There was always one more loving to come, one more fierce, shattering pleasure to fill her world and drive out thoughts she didn’t want to think.
Lost in a haze of physical delight, she’d had little time to consider the personality of the man. Or perhaps she had chosen to look away, secretly aware that she would find too many things that she would not like.
She had heard him on the phone, giving Sonia his instructions, talking of his associates or his rivals with a blunt disregard of anything except coming out on top. She had brushed the knowledge aside, telling herself that he swam in shark-infested waters, and must survive by using tough weapons.