A Dangerous Game (50 page)

"Gently and slowly.
 
Please."

He lifted her into his arms in one easy movement.

"The bed isn't that soft," he warned.

"I don't care," she said.

The bedroom was cool and shuttered.
 
He put her down, and then

unbuckled his belt and unzipped his jeans.
 
She wriggled out of her

panties, and waited for him to finish stripping.
 
But when he stretched

out next to her, she realised that she no longer felt particularly

sexy, simply drowsy and pleasantly relaxed.

He began kissing her face again, but this time he moved down towards

her breasts almost at once, and then lower, to her stomach, and then to

her thighs.

His hands moved under her body to her bottom, and raised her up.
 
She

parted her legs slightly, and felt his mouth on her, his tongue

touching her gently, too gently to really arouse her.

But she did not care.
 
She was content to lie there and let him caress

her, let him enjoy his own explorations.
 
When at last he entered her,

she responded to his thrusting movements more from politeness than

desire.
 
His body felt pleasantly safe next to hers and his strength

and warmth were comforting.
 
She knew he wanted to please her, and she

did not want to disappoint him by appearing indifferent.
 
As his

thrusts grew deeper and less controlled, it triggered a natural

response within her, and, when he finally climaxed with a shuddering

cry, her own little moans of pleasure were quite honest.
 
Her orgasm

had been so gentle, it was hardly noticeable.

Afterwards they lay together for a long time, talking.
 
He told her

about his several attempts at romance, all of which failed when each of

the girls refused to leave America and return to Guachtal with him.

"One of them actually came over here for a holiday," he said.
 
He

laughed softly.

"When she discovered I didn't have electricity or a John that flushed,

she caught the next plane back to the States."
 
He rolled over on his

side and reached out to brush a strand of red hair from Jacey's face.

"That sort of thing doesn't bother you, though, does it?"

"No," she said.

"I've lived under worse conditions than that."

But she did not explain where.
 
She did not share any more of her own

past with him.
 
Much later, when she had dressed, and was ready to

leave, he put his arms round her again.

"Will you come out here again?
 
Soon?"

"Yes, I will."

She felt a stab of guilt because it was a lie.
 
She felt warm towards

him because he was the first man she had ever confided in, without

knowing why.
 
But he wasn't her type, she told herself; he was too damn

nice.
 
It wouldn't work.
 
He would not let her down.
 
Quite the

opposite.

He would undoubtedly be loyal, stable and devoted.
 
But could she give

him those qualities back?
 
She was not sure.
 
And she did not want to

see the disappointment in his eyes when she explained that she could

not give him a long-term commitment.
 
It was easier to lie, to lie by

keeping quiet about the fact that she had already booked her ticket to

England.
 
One way.

She told Ingrid and Dr.
 
Sanchez that a relative was getting married

and she wanted a brief holiday.
 
She lied to them, too, promising to be

back after a couple of weeks.
 
She did not say goodbye to Raoul, or to

Leonardo.
 
And she did not see Nicolas.

Two days after her visit to Felix Connaught's bungalow she was back in

London.

Jacey was surprised to see how grey and colourless London looked after

Guachtal, despite the fact that the sun was shining.
 
She also felt

cold, and gratefully accepted Major Fairhaven's offer of a cup of

tea.

"You've done well," he said, after she had explained her conclusions

about the situation in Guachtal to him.

"You didn't follow the expected path, but you got there is the end."

"What expected path?"
 
she asked.

The major looked slightly embarrassed.

"Well," he said awkwardly, 'we, er, thought that you and Nicolas

Schlemann might get together, and that maybe he'd confide in you."

"How sweet of you," she said coldly, inwardly seething.

"You sent me out there as a bribe.
 
Here you are, Senor Schlemann,

here's a nice lady for you to make use of, and we hope that a good fuck

will loosen your tongue."

She saw the major wince, and remembered that he hated foul language.

Tiease," he said, 'it wasn't like that at all.
 
Do you really think

we'd be so cold-blooded?"

"Yes," she said.

"What a pity you didn't do a little research first.

You'd have soon found out that Nicolas isn't the type to start

whispering state secrets when he's in a euphoric post-coital daze."

"We never intended anything of the sort," the major said stiffly.

"It was simply a question of maybe it would happen.
 
And maybe you

could use the situation, if it did.
 
After all' he tried to charm her

with a smile, but she stared stonily back "you're a very attractive

woman, and Schlemann has a reputation.
 
It was just one of the

options.

There were others."
 
He was still smiling, a fixed and insincere

grin.

"And you found some of them, didn't you?
 
All's well that ends well,

after all."

"For you," she agreed.

"And for the businessmen.
 
But not for the rain forest."

"My dear girl," he said, and she heard the irritation in his voice.

"You haven't been seduced by all that green nonsense, have you?
 
The

dangers to the rain forest have been grossly exaggerated, and countries

run on money, not hippy ideals."

Jacey stood up.

"Do you know," she said sweetly, 'you sound just like that crook

Nicolas Schlemann.
 
Isn't that strange?"
 
She turned to go, and then

stopped and smiled.

"But on second thoughts.
 
Major, perhaps it's not so strange after

all."

The first familiar face that Jacey saw when she returned to the Midland

General was Anton O'Rhiann.
 
He looked harassed, had a bundle of papers

under his arm, and was hurrying down the corridor.
 
If she had not

spoken to him, she was sure he would have gone past without recognising

her.

"Jacey?"
 
For a moment his eyes did not seem to focus on her, and she

knew he was very tired.

"What are you doing here?"

"Visiting," she said.

"Well."
 
He stared at her for a moment.

"Thanks for the letter."

For a moment she did not understand what he meant.
 
Then she remembered

the letter she had sent him, telling him she was leaving for South

America, and their affair was over.

"I didn't have the courage to say goodbye to your face," she

admitted.

"Obviously," he said.

There was a long pause, and she wondered if he felt as awkward as she

did.

"You're busy," she said.

"Perhaps we can meet later?"

"What for?"
 
His voice was bitter now.

"So that you can tell me what a good time you had in South America?

What were the men like, Jacey?
 
All out for a good time?
 
Sex and no

strings?
 
Did you have a lot of nice, non-permanent relationships?"

She was beginning to feel guilty.
 
She had treated him badly, running

out on him and leaving him a letter that didn't really explain much.

But she had not felt able to face him, and lie to him.
 
His increasing

insistence on legitimi sing their relationship had been part of the

reason why she had accepted Major Fairhaven's assignment.
 
She knew her

affair with Anton was virtually over.
 
Making a clean break had seemed

the right thing to do at the time.

"I went to Guachtal to work," she said.

"Oh, I'm sure you did," he agreed.

"And how long were you planning it?

You don't just drop everything and get a job abroad.
 
You must have

known for weeks in advance.
 
I don't suppose it occurred to you to tell

me?"

"It wasn't like that," she said.

"It all happened very quickly."

She knew he did not believe her, and she did not blame him.
 
But she

could not tell him the truth.

"That's what hurts the most," he said.

"You knew that you were going to leave me.
 
When we made love, you knew

it.
 
And you didn't say anything."
 
They faced each other in silence.

Then he said, "I have to go.
 
I'm very busy."

"I know what being a house doctor is like," she said.

"Oh, you remember, do you?"

"Hard work, but lots of job satisfaction," she said, saying the words

more lightly than she felt.

He stared at her for a moment.