Forbidden Desires (21 page)
‘It certainly has,’ said Lewis with a smile. ‘What about you, Harriet? Are you thirsty?’ She shook her head, unable to speak to any of them and wanting only the sanctuary of her room. ‘Why don’t you go up,’ suggested Lewis, who guessed how she was feeling. ‘I’ll join you later. You can always watch a video or something.’
‘I didn’t know we’d got a video player,’ said Noella.
Lewis nodded. ‘I have, I always insist on having one installed in my bedroom wherever I’m staying. That way I can see clips or rushes as necessary.’
Edmund came back into the room with a pot of
coffee and some cups. ‘Have you watched much since you got here?’ he asked.
Lewis shook his head. ‘Very little really, but what I have watched has been highly rewarding.’
‘I’m sure it has. Actually, Lew, I wanted to have a private word with you if I could.’
‘I think he wants us to go,’ said Noella, downing her coffee in haste. ‘How about a stroll along the lane, Oliver? It might help us sleep soundly!’ Oliver didn’t need asking twice and Ella left the room with them, leaving Edmund and Lewis finally alone.
‘Something wrong?’ asked Lewis slowly.
Edmund shook his head. ‘On the contrary, everything’s going very well. I can’t remember when I last enjoyed a holiday so much.’
‘That’s nice to hear.’
‘I really wanted to talk to you about
Forbidden Desires
.’
Lewis’s eyes grew guarded. ‘What about it?’
‘Well, you’ve been spending a lot of time with Mark since we got here, I wondered how far on with it you were.’
‘Pretty well on. If you’re worried you can always drop out you know. I’m sure I won’t have a problem finding backers.’
Edmund smiled. ‘I’m sure you wouldn’t, but I don’t have any plans to back out. It’s a simple enough question, isn’t it?’
‘Frankly I don’t think it’s any of your business,’ said Lewis. ‘You didn’t ask any questions about
Dark Secret
.’
‘Ah, well no,’ said Edmund quietly. ‘But that was different, wasn’t it?’
‘In what way, different?’
‘I wasn’t personally involved.’
The two men stared at each other in total silence, and it was a long time before Lewis spoke again. ‘In what way, personally involved?’
‘I have a suspicion,’ said Edmund quietly, ‘that I’m helping you write your script.’
‘You can’t seriously mean that,’ retorted Lewis.
‘I admit that it seems on the surface to be unlikely but yes, I mean it. Actually, it was Noella who first voiced the idea; it’s only recently that I’ve decided she’s right.’
‘On what do you base that decision?’ asked Lewis.
‘On the fact that since you’re neither blind nor stupid you must be aware of the fact that Harriet and I are having an affair. Now, I would have thought this would, at the very least, result in me being on the receiving end of a rather nasty blow to the nose. On the contrary, you’re as amiable as ever and, rather tellingly, you seem to be continuing to make love to Harriet yourself. All of this would only make any kind of sense if the affair had been contrived by you. The mutual desire between Harriet and myself is, I rather think, forbidden. Your film title therefore fits the situation very neatly.’
‘If you’re right,’ said Lewis carefully, ‘what do you intend to do about it? Sue me when the film comes out? Quite difficult since you’d have to
come clean about everything that’s gone on at Penruan House since our arrival.’
‘I wouldn’t dream of suing you; I think it will make an excellent story. No, what I want to do is help you find an ending.’
‘Suppose I already have an ending in mind?’ asked Lewis.
‘You don’t,’ said Edmund with total confidence. ‘You can’t have, since the film is
cinéma vérité
there is no ending until the situation here is resolved.’
Lewis leant back in his chair. His eyes were alert as his brain raced. ‘Summarise the situation for me.’
‘My wife no longer wishes to remain married to me and is having the time of her life with an athletic young Cornish bodybuilder. Your wife is broadening her sexual experiences with an enthusiasm which I find highly erotic and you yourself are having an affair with a young actress who wants the leading role in your film.’
‘So what’s your ending?’
Edmund shook his head. ‘Not so fast, Lewis. Am I right in what I’m saying?’
‘Possibly.’
‘I’ll take that as confirmation. Very well then, the truth is that I don’t yet have an ending because I, like you, enjoy watching relationships run their course. It would spoil everything if I were to contrive an ending simply to suit me.’
‘Then I fail to see how you can offer me an ending,’ said Lewis shortly.
‘It all comes down to the games I was telling you about,’ said Edmund, leaning forward in his chair. ‘I thought it would be fun if you and I, together with our respective holiday partners, had a small contest.’
Lewis frowned. ‘What kind of contest?’
‘On the first night we’d each see how many times we could bring our women to a climax before they asked us to stop. Or possible just how many times we could make them reach an orgasm, since one of them might try to put an end to it before the truth was known.’
‘And then?’
Slowly Edmund smiled. ‘Why then, on the second night, we’d change round. If, for example, I’d managed to bring Harriet to the pinnacle of ecstasy ten times on the first night, then it would be up to you to surpass that total within the same time span. The same rules would naturally apply to Ella.’
‘And then what?’ asked Lewis.
‘Why then the man who does the best wins the prize.’
‘There are two prizes.’
‘No.’ Edmund’s eyes were cold. ‘You and I know very well that there’s only one prize at stake here and that’s Harriet.’
‘This presupposes that we both try equally hard on each night,’ Lewis pointed out.
‘I won’t cheat,’ said Edmund sharply. ‘It hadn’t crossed my mind that you might.’
‘I wouldn’t, it was merely a thought. And then
there’s the question of the women. What if one of them fakes an orgasm?’
‘Noella will watch it all very carefully. I think that women are more difficult to deceive than men where orgasms are concerned.’
Lewis thought that it would make an incredible ending, but didn’t know if he was willing to risk losing Harriet in order to see the film resolve itself before his very eyes.
‘Not afraid of losing, are you?’ Edmund asked.
‘Yes,’ Lewis admitted. ‘I am afraid, but it would make a fantastic ending.’
‘And art comes before life?’
‘Save the moralising,’ said Lewis shortly. ‘I’ve said the idea’s sound. As long as all the women agree then the games can go ahead. When did you want to start?’
‘Since Harriet is probably a little tired tonight and might need a day to recover, I think in two nights’ time.’
‘Do we warn the girls in advance?’
‘Naturally, but I hardly think it’s a warning,’ said Edmund, smiling again now that he was certain he was going to get his own way. ‘I’m sure they’ll be positively eager to play.’
Lewis stood up and poured them both a drink. ‘To the climax of the film,’ he said with a short laugh as he raised his glass.
‘To the prize,’ said Edmund softly, and then he drained his glass in one go and walked swiftly from the room.
Lewis wondered uneasily what Harriet would
say if she knew that he had toasted his film while Edmund had toasted her.
‘
ARE YOU NERVOUS?
’ Noella asked Harriet as they took an evening stroll round the grounds of Penruan House half an hour before the first game was to begin.
‘Not really,’ confessed Harriet. ‘I thought I would be, but now that the moment’s here I’m excited. I kept looking at Edmund today and imagining what it was going to be like to have him making love to me while Lewis watched.’
‘You’ll have to watch Lewis make love to Ella as well,’ Noella pointed out.
‘I don’t think I’ll have a problem with that, not if I’m caught up in the sensations Edmund’s causing, but then again, who knows? Maybe I’ll hate seeing Lewis with her.’
‘It’s strange,’ said Noella thoughtfully. ‘When we were driving down here at the start of the holiday, I had this terrible fear that I was going to lose Edmund to you and I was determined to
fight for him. Once we were here, and I met Oliver, I realised that he wasn’t worth fighting for any more. Whatever we once had must have gone some time ago, only I never realised. Do you think that you might come to the same conclusion about Lewis?’
‘No,’ said Harriet firmly. ‘Lewis is worth fighting for, but I don’t have to fight for him. I know he still loves me.’
‘And do you still love him?’
‘I think I do. I just hope that the next two nights don’t change my mind.’
‘May I give you a word of advice, honey?’ asked Noella.
Harriet smiled. ‘Of course.’
‘Don’t make the mistake of falling in love with Edmund. You may get annoyed by Lewis’s passion for his work, but at least he’s got passion. Edmund has desire and incredible technique but no passion. Even if you did love him he’d never love you back, not in the way you deserve. He simply isn’t capable of it.’
‘And Oliver’s different?’
‘Completely different in every respect. I just wish he’d agree to come and live in the States, but he won’t. Oh well, we’d better go back. It’s time you were getting yourself ready.’
Once in her own bedroom Harriet hesitated, unsure what to wear for the night’s entertainment. She rejected obviously sexy outfits as being too blatant, sensing that Edmund’s taste would run to more sophisticated clothing. Finally she
settled on a navy blue silk negligee set with white hold-up stockings and a tiny navy G-string beneath. After bathing and putting on her make-up, she sprayed herself with perfume and then checked her hair.
As she piled it high on the top of her head and then pulled down a few strands at the front to form a long fringe that emphasised her eyes, Lewis came into the bedroom. He gave a sigh of pleasure. ‘You look wonderful, Harriet. Utterly intoxicating. I wish it was my turn tonight.’
‘I’m sure Ella will look just as desirable,’ Harriet said calmly, but her heart was starting to race wildly now that the moment was actually so close.
‘No doubt,’ agreed Lewis, trying to still his own fears about what the night might demonstrate. ‘You really want to do this, don’t you?’ he added.
Harriet nodded. ‘Oh yes. This way I’ll find out all that I need to know about myself.’
‘We’d better go up then,’ said Lewis slowly. ‘Kiss me first, Harriet.’
They moved into each other’s arms and their mouths met in a slow lingering kiss that threatened to turn into something more until Harriet forced herself to pull away. ‘A kiss for remembrance?’ She laughed unsteadily.
‘A kiss for luck,’ he said huskily. ‘I have a feeling I’m going to need it before the next two nights are over.’
‘Go and fetch Ella,’ said Harriet. ‘I’ll join Edmund. He should have everything ready by now.’
She was right. The light bulbs in Edmund’s bedroom had been changed and were now coloured, their glow soft and flattering. Scented candles burned in holders around the room and through the open bathroom door Harriet could see that he’d done the same in there.
The room was very warm but he’d left the top window open so that any breeze would refresh them should it become too hot.
‘Very nice,’ said Harriet approvingly.
He handed her a glass of champagne and then dipped a baby sweetcorn in a yoghurt dressing before holding it up to her lips. Harriet nibbled delicately at it until her mouth felt the touch of his fingers as she took the final piece from between them. Gently Edmund ran his finger beneath her bottom lip to remove a tiny speck of dressing and then he raised his own glass to her.
‘Here’s to an exciting evening, Harriet.’
Her eyes danced over the rim of the crystal goblet. ‘To an exciting evening,’ she echoed just as the other two joined them.
Ella’s choice of clothing had been less subtle than Harriet’s, but Harriet had to admit the effect was very sexy. She was wearing a black and white striped basque that pushed her breasts invitingly upwards, black silk french knickers, a pearl choker and matching pearl ear-rings, while her tanned legs were smooth and bare, their shapely calves accentuated by the black stilettos she was wearing on her feet.
Lewis looked from his wife to Ella and realized
that they both excited him in their different ways, and he could tell from Edmund’s expression that he felt the same. Ella’s hair had been left loose and as a result she looked younger than Harriet, less sophisticated and more vulnerable, whereas the truth – and both men knew it – was quite the opposite.
Ella and Lewis were handed their goblets of champagne and then Lewis fed tiny carrot sticks covered in the dip to Ella while Harriet watched. However, Lewis didn’t caress Ella’s mouth and although the actress managed to lick quickly at the tip of his finger, it was clear that as yet the sexuality between the two of them didn’t equal that between Edmund and Harriet.
‘Shall we start in the bathroom?’ suggested Edmund. ‘I have one particular device that I’m sure Harriet will enjoy which needs the bathroom, and besides, it’s always nice to freshen up together before we begin in earnest.’
Lewis nodded, and moved towards the open door. To his surprise Edmund paused to take Harriet in his arms and then he began kissing her gently round her neck and ears while his hands unfastened the navy peignoir, so that he was able to remove it from her unresisting body and lower his head to where her breasts peeped above the lace covering of the slim strapped nightdress beneath.
Watching him tongue at the smooth uppersides of his wife’s breasts, Lewis was seared by desire and quickly turned to Ella, his hands grasping her
round her tiny waist as he urged her compliant body closer to his before allowing his mouth to roam in a similar fashion around the already exposed tops of her breasts and the highly sensitive skin beneath her arms.
By the time they were released, both women were flushed and breathing rapidly, and when Harriet felt Edmund’s arms slip beneath her so that he could pick her up and carry her through to the bathroom she relaxed against him, her whole body open and throbbing with excitement.