“You’ve lost weight,” he said sternly.
“Just a couple of pounds. What did you expect, Heath? It was hell not being able to see you or even talk to you.” She flung her arms around his neck again and he kissed her forehead.
“How did you get in here?” Ann asked him. “Are you sure nobody saw you?”
“Princess, knock off the KGB stuff, will you, please? Your dad is not Big Brother, he can’t be watching everybody.”
“He was watching me. How do you think he found out about us?” Ann countered.
“I know, Amy told me, but I refuse to sneak around like a burglar just because your father has gone nuts.”
“Don’t underestimate him, Heath, he can hurt us if he wants to—he already has. We haven’t seen each other for a week!”
“Yeah, well I’m planning to do something about that,” Heath said grimly.
“What do you mean, Heath?” Ann asked, alarm in her tone. “You’re not going to do something stupid, are you?”
“Never mind. We’re together now, let’s enjoy it. Come on over here and sit down with me.” He took her by the hand and led her out to the ornate living room, where he sat on the sofa and Ann curled up in his lap.
“Spiffy place,” he said, looking around curiously. “Must be nice to have the bucks. Does your house look like this?”
“I guess so. Not quite. My mother’s taste is not as... well, gaudy.”
“What, no gold-fringed lampshades?”
“No.” Ann buried her nose under his collarbone and inhaled deeply of his scent. “I missed you so much,” she said as his arms came around her again. “Heath, what are we going to do? When will we see each other again?”
“Come on, Princess. We just got here and you’re worrying about that already?”
“Yes, I’m worrying about that already. I can’t think about anything else. I’m going back to school in ten days or so. What will happen then?”
“I’ll come and visit you at school.”
“Heath, don’t be ridiculous, that place is like Fort Knox. You practically have to take a blood test to show you’re a relative to get on the visitors list. I won’t be able to see you there.”
“Can’t you sneak off campus or something?”
“I can try. But if my father warns them, as he surely will, they’ll be watching me, supervising my every move. Oh, it’s all so complicated I can’t stand it.”
“We’ll work it out.”
“How? I don’t know what to do, and I’m afraid—” She stopped suddenly.
“What?” Heath said, stroking her hair.
“I’m afraid that you’ll get tired of this cloak-and-dagger routine, decide that I’m not worth it. After all, there are plenty of willing girls around and none of them have Henry Talbot for a father.”
“Oh, baby, no. Don’t think that. You’ll always be worth it, and your father isn’t going to keep us apart. I promise you that.” He turned her face up for his kiss, and it wasn’t long before they were prone on the sofa, the deprivation of the past week escalating into a hunger that neither one of than seemed able to control. Finally Heath tore himself away and sat up, pulling Ann’s clinging arms from his neck.
“Baby, we can’t do this,” he said breathlessly. “It’s not right, you’re just a kid...”
“Oh, and you’re Methuselah?”
“I know a lot more about life than you do, and I know you’re not ready for this.”
“Why?” Ann said, crawling into his lap again. “Am I such a baby? Do I feel like a baby?” She took his hand and placed it on her breast, leaning forward to kiss his neck inside the collar of his shirt.
He groaned and closed his eyes.
“Love me,” Ann whispered. “I need you so much. Love me now, please.”
He didn’t move.
Ann slipped her hand inside the waistband of his jeans and caressed him.
Heath moaned in response and let his head fall back in abandon. Ann worked on him, teasing him into a reaction he knew was reckless but could no longer avoid. In seconds Ann was pinned under him as he became the aggressor, taking the lead in a strong-arm instant that frightened but also thrilled her. He pulled her summer T-shirt over her head and tossed it onto the floor, disposing of her scrap of a bra moments later. He kissed the tanned skin of her bare throat, then moved lower, settling on the pink bud of her nipple. Ann sighed with pleasure and arched her back as he sucked gently, then she gasped as he increased the pressure. She tossed her head from side to side as his lips left her breast and traveled down to her navel, bared by the low waistband of her shorts. His tongue was hot, wet, and her whole being seemed concentrated in the nerve endings he was stimulating. She was flooded with warmth and desire. When he sat up abruptly she tried to hold him, but he slipped out of her grasp and tore off his shirt, then stepped out of his jeans. She averted her gaze as he undressed, then looked up as he moved to join her.
He was beautiful, his skin a smooth, even shade of light copper, a combination of his heritage and long hours spent in the sun. He was lean but not thin, his arms defined by long, ropy muscles, his abdomen flat, his legs long and trim.
She shuddered with skittish anticipation as he lowered himself to her again. Ann had never known a naked man’s full arousal, and she stiffened in shock as he embraced her and ran his hands down the length of her body.
He felt her reaction and said, “Easy, easy,” into her ear. Then he kissed her gently. The surprising softness of his mouth, his muscular arms binding her to him, lulled her back into his spell again. She relaxed as he twined his limbs with hers, turning her toward him and caressing her until she was eager and receptive once more. When she shifted instinctively and felt him ready against her, she pressed into him with an eager innocence that inflamed him. As he unzipped her shorts, she lifted her hips to help him remove her clothes, and then moaned with satisfaction when he slipped his hand between her legs.
“So sweet,” he murmured, and she sighed, her face flushed, her brow dewed with perspiration. He stroked her until she wound her legs around his hips, begging for the bliss of total union.
“Are you sure?” he muttered, and Ann looked up at him in a daze of passion, at the ruddy undertone of his amber-hued skin, the sweeping dark lashes shading his eyes. His mouth was moist and swollen from her kisses, parted to show a glimpse of white teeth. She leached up and sank her fingers into his lush hair.
“I love you, Heath. I’m sure.”
He pulled her to him tightly, then gasped as she touched him tentatively, encircling him with her fingers. He bit his lip as she trailed the fingers of her free hand over his abdomen, then stroked his thighs, sculpted with muscle. Her touch, light but probing, finally brought him to the limit of his endurance. With one swift movement he positioned her under him, looming above her, his skin hot to the touch and his body taut with tension.
“I want you,” he said hoarsely.
“I want you, too,” she whimpered, and he took her at her word, entering her in that moment.
Ann froze at the sudden pain, and Heath paused, then pulled back, enfolding her tenderly.
“Are you all right?” he gasped, fighting the overpowering urge to sink into her again.
“I don’t know,” she said in a small voice.
He rocked her until he felt the tension seep from her body and then began to caress her again, bringing her slowly back to the peak they had approached before. When he entered her the second time she went rigid, then sighed deeply, making a sound of fulfillment that echoed his own.
“Yes?” he said hoarsely, his face buried in the damp curve of her shoulder.
“Oh, yes,” she breathed in reply.
He took her at her word.
* * * *
“Are you awake?” Heath said softly.
“Mmm,” Ann replied luxuriously, stirring and stretching.
“Do you want to take a shower or something? I’m sure Amy wouldn’t mind.”
“Shower?”
“Aren’t you bleeding?”
“Just a little.” Ann sat up and looked around the room. Everything seemed different but she know that it was she herself who had changed.
“Are you feeling okay?” Heath asked anxiously.
“Stop fussing, Heath. I’m all right,” Ann said, smiling as she got up and looked around on the carpeted floor for her clothes. She handed Heath his crumpled jeans and then slipped quickly into her own shorts and T-shirt.
Silence reigned as they dressed.
“Annie, are you sorry?” Heath finally said desperately, afraid that she regretted what they had done.
She turned and embraced him, kissing his bare shoulder.
“Not for a second,” she replied. “I’m just thinking about what we’ll do tomorrow. And the day after that.”
“I’ve been thinking, too,” Heath said quietly, holding her. “I wasn’t going to tell you this just yet but I didn’t realize things would go this far so fast.”
Ann drew back to look at him curiously. “What are you talking about?”
“Come here and sit down,” Heath said, leading her by the hand back to the sofa they had shared.
Ann sat next to him and waited attentively.
He took a deep breath. “I have a cousin in Georgia who manages a marina there. I’ve been in touch with him and he says he can give me a job.”
All the color drained from Ann’s face. “You’re moving to Georgia?” she whispered, horrified.
“I’ll move if you’ll come with me,” he replied quietly.
Ann sat perfectly still for a stunned moment, then flung her arms around his neck. “Yes, yes, yes!” she yelled, going weak with relief and joy.
“I’ve already checked, and seventeen is old enough to get married there. We’ll get a place and I’ll work full-time. I know it won’t be much at first but we’ll be together. That’s what’s important, right?”
Ann was crying silently, unable to talk, but she nodded vigorously, clutching him.
“The only thing I’d feel bad about is you leaving school....” he said in a worried tone.
“I can take the high school equivalency exam, that’s not a problem. I’m sure I could pass it right now,” Ann replied, recovering her voice and wiping her eyes with the hem of her T-shirt. “And I can get a job, too, waitressing or something. We’ll be just fine, Heath. I know we will.”
“Then why are you crying?”
“I’m so happy.” She sniffed loudly.
“Look, Princess, I think you should take some time to consider this idea. If you come with me you’d be giving up a lot—your home and security, your whole past life—to go off with a guy with an uncertain future.”
She put her hand over his mouth. “My decision is made. Just name the time and the place.”
He searched her face and saw that she was serious. He nodded, exhaling forcefully. “Okay. I’ll need a couple of days to work out the details. Once we get to Georgia, we can stay with my cousin until we find an apartment. It will probably be crowded at first—he has a couple of kids, but he said that there’s a spare bedroom fixed up in the basement.”
“Oh, Heath, I don’t care, I don’t care,” Ann said, kissing him wildly. “I’ve been going crazy, wondering how we would work this out, wondering how I would ever be able to see you, and here’s our solution!” She laughed delightedly.
“I have enough money saved for bus fare for both of us, and if I sell my bike I’ll have more...”
“Don’t sell your bike!” Ann said, aware of how much he loved it. “Can’t we ride it there?”
“It won’t exactly be the most comfortable trip,” Heath said dryly.
“That’s all right.”
“You can only bring one duffel bag to put on the back of the bite,” he said warningly.
“That’s fine. Anything you say.”
“I can let you know through Amy when and where to meet me,” he said, his arms tightening around her.
“Good.”
“We’ll do it,” he said, his tone confident.
“We will,” she echoed, her lips curving unconsciously into a smile again.
All her problems were solved.
* * * *
Three days later Ann was packing her single bag by the glow of a flashlight when her bedroom door opened and her father snapped on the overhead light.
Her throat closed at the sight of him.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Henry Talbot said to his daughter.
Ann decided to confront him. He would have to know sooner or later, it might as well be now.
“Packing,” she said calmly.
“To go where?”
“To Georgia with Heath. I’m of age to get married there and he has a job at his cousin’s marina. I suppose you know something about this or you would be asleep, not standing here in the middle of the night demanding an explanation.”
“Luisa overheard one of your phone conversations with Amy, and she alerted me.”
“Is she on your spy payroll now, too?”
“She’s very fond of you, Ann, and doesn’t want to see you get into trouble. She did the right thing.”
“I’m not getting into trouble, I’m getting married.”
“No, you’re not.”
“Yes, I am. Seventeen is old enough to get a license in Georgia. You can’t stop me.”
“I certainly can. Seventeen is still minority in Florida, and I believe your paramour is of majority age. That means any intercourse between the two of you constitutes statutory rape. If he takes you across state lines, as you say he plans to, he is also in violation of the Mann Act. If you leave this house tonight to meet him, I will have him arrested within an hour.”
Ann felt her flesh go cold at his dispassionate tone. She had heard it before in reference to his business dealings, and she knew he meant every word.
“You can’t prove anything,” she finally answered, keeping her voice steady, trying not to show how frightened she was. “I’ll never give evidence against Heath.”
“If necessary, I will bring in a doctor to confirm that what I suspect is true,” her father said flatly. “But I doubt that you will let things go that far. If you care about this boy at all, you won’t want to see him in jail. And I assure you that if you pursue this foolishness, that is exactly where he will land. The usual sentence for statutory rape is several years, I understand.”
Ann sat heavily on the edge of her bed, her packing forgotten. “What do you want?” she said dully.
“I have already arranged for you to stay with Mildred Plunkett. You remember my friend in Massachusetts. I called her earlier this evening. I want you to leave for New England in the morning—I’ll take you to the airport myself. I will arrange a transfer to the Hampton School for Girls in Longmeadow for the September term. You will leave without ever seeing this boy again, and you will not communicate with him in the future. Please remember that I can raise the rape charge at any point. Don’t consider contravening me, or Heath Bodine will pay dearly for your defiance.”
Ann stared past him hopelessly, feeling all her plans and hopes shattering like delicate crystal, the shards collecting at her feet. She pictured Heath waiting for her at the appointed spot, waiting for hours in vain, finally realizing that she wasn’t coming, thinking that she had abandoned him. It was too awful; she couldn’t let it happen. But then she pictured him in handcuffs, languishing in jail, later on trial for a serious crime. That was worse.
There was no way out but to obey.
She looked at her father as a sentenced convict might look at his executioner.
“I’ll do whatever you say,” she said.
* * * *
Ann came home from school at Christmas break to find that Heath was gone. She heard from the Jensens that he had joined the navy. He had left them no forwarding address.
Ann had never known the name of Heath’s cousin in Georgia. Heath’s father would not talk to her. Henry Talbot dis
cussed everything but his daughter’s slight lapse in romantic judgment. Margaret Talbot looked on with worried eyes and said very little. Luisa pretended that she knew nothing about the whole episode.
And she never saw Heath again.
Chapter 6
Ann sat up suddenly as a loud knock at her door pierced her reverie and brought her back to the present. She glanced at the clock on the inn’s bedside table.
She had been sitting in the armchair, lost in the past, for more than two hours.
She shook out her left leg as she walked to the door; it was stinging with pins and needles, numb from remaining in the same position for so long. She pulled the door open and saw a room service attendant standing in the corridor next to a rolling cart set lavishly with an elaborate dinner.
“For Miss Talbot,” the waiter said, glancing at the number on the door when her expression revealed her surprise.
“I didn’t order this,” Ann said.
He picked up the slip stuck under an ivory china bud vase containing a single rose. “It’s complimentary, from a Miss Amy Horton. The order was placed at one-thirty this afternoon.”
Ann smiled. Amy was determined to get her to eat, one way or another.
“All right, you can bring it in,” Ann said, tightening the belt on her robe and pushing back her hair. She stepped aside as he wheeled the cart into her room and then she fished in her purse for a tip. When he had left her alone, she lifted the shiny silver covers from the dishes and discovered that Amy had ordered enough food for an army—soup and salad, main dish and vegetables, dessert and coffee, not to mention rolls and butter and various garnishes. It was a feast.
Ann sighed. Dear Amy. She just couldn’t seem to understand that availability of food was not the problem; it was complete lack of appetite.
But after this gesture, Ann felt she had to try.
She dutifully sat down in front of the cart and picked up a roll, beginning to eat.
* * * *
Heath Bodine put down the computer printout he was trying to read and sat back in his chair. He looked around the office of Bimini’s Big Palm marina, aware that he would not get any work done today. This pit stop had been a waste of time.
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