Beware of the Beast (19 page)

The engines were cut and silence descended again. Charlotte sighed
frustratedly
. Whoever it was, surely they could
not expect her to be up at this time of night. It was almost
midnight. Of course, it might be George
Constandis
come
to inform her when Ales was due back. Her stomach muscles tightened, reminding her of what she had to tell him when he
did come. Strangely, she did not want to tell him.

She rolled on to her back again, kicking over the covers
impatiently. It was quite a warm night, and her brushed nylon
nightgown was sufficient covering. She stared into the dark
ness with troubled eyes. If
it
was George
Constandis
would
someone come and tell her? Or would he be expected to wait
until morning? She shifted restlessly.
Curiosity made her
want
to get out of bed there and then and go and see for
herself.
       

There had been no further sounds and she sighed again.
Perhaps she had been mistaken in thinking the sounds came
from below the villa. Perhaps the wind which blew quite strongly after dark had carried sounds from the village.

She almost jumped out of her skin therefore when the bed
room door opened almost silently and a tall broad figure
entered the room. He dosed the door and leaned back against
it, and at once Charlotte knew who it was.

"A-
AIex
?" she got out chokingly, and with a sigh he
crossed the room and switched on the bedside lamp.

Her first impressions of him were that he was drunk. He
swayed a little as he stood there looking down at her, but
there was no smell of alcohol on his breath. Then she realized he was exhausted. His eyes were red-rimmed, his face was
thinner than she remembered, and lines of strain were etched between his nose and his mouth. He, had unloosened his tie
and unbuttoned the neck of his shirt, his dark suit creased
after the long flight.

"Did I wake you?" he asked flatly, running a hand round
the back of his neck. "I'm sorry."

Charlotte sat up, reaching for her silk robe. "Why didn't
you let me know you were coming?" she exclaimed, more
concerned for him than she would have thought possible.
"Is George with you? Did you come in the launch?"

"I came in
a
launch, yes." Alex flexed his shoulder muscles
tiredly. "And no, George isn't with me. I came alone."

"Alone?"

"Yes, alone," he returned heavily. "Are you all right?"
His eyes grew cynical as she pulled the folds of the robe about her. "Don't worry, I'm not about to demand my con
jugal rights. I'm too tired."

Charlotte stared at him worriedly. "You'd better sit down
before you fall down," she retorted. "Can I get you anything?
Some coffee?
Or a sandwich?"

Alex shook his head, sinking wearily down on to the side of
the bed. "No, nothing, thanks. I had a meal on the plane a
few hours ago." He rested his head in his hands. "I just need
some sleep, that's all."

Charlotte stared at his bent head. Now was no time to ask
questions or to answer them. She didn't know why he had
chosen to come back alone, or why he had come to her room
instead of his own. Unless perhaps he had only intended checking that she was still there.

His breathing deepened as she watched him, and bending
over Mm she saw to her dismay that he had fallen asleep.

Asleep - and
here !
On her
bed !

Shaking her head, she regarded him
frustratedly
for another
few minutes, and then, as he showed no signs of stirring, she
slid his jacket off his shoulders and eased him back against
the pillows. He groaned and relaxed against their softness,
turning to burrow his head into them without even opening
;.
his
eyes. Charlotte stood, undecided, his jacket still in her
hands, and then, with a gesture of impatience, she dropped it over a chair.

His shoes came next, and she pushed them under the bed,
considering his pants with doubtful eyes. Should she, or
shouldn't she? If she didn't, he would be far too hot and
uncomfortable. And besides, he wore under-pants, didn't he?
They
couid
be no more revealing than wet shorts.

Ignoring any doubts that still lingered, she unbuckled
belt and eased his pants down over his hips. They
came
ofl
without too much difficulty, and joined the jacket over the
chair. Then she sat down on the other side of the bed and
wondered what to do. If she went and slept in his bedroom it
would be all over the villa in the morning that she had left
Alex on his first night home.

And besides, what could happen? Alex was weak, exhausted.
She could be up and dressed before he opened his eye$ in the
morning.

With another taint sigh, she shed the silk robe, turned out
the lamp, and climbed into the bed beside him. He didn't stir, and it was wide enough to permit at least a couple of
feet between them. Charlotte turned
oa
to her side and closed
her eyes.

She awakened to the unusual weight of an arm outstretched
across her breasts, and the warmth of another body beside hers in the bed. Immediately she remembered the events of
the night before, and her head jerked sideways on the pillow,
seeking to see whether Alex was already awake. But he was not.
Some time during the night he had shrugged out of the shirt
he had been wearing, and it now lay in the heap at the foot of the bed. A growth of beard darkened his
jawline
, but relaxed
in sleep, the lines she had noticed the night before had been
smoothed away.

Lying
there, with the weight of his arm across her, the
hair-roughened skin of his chest brushing her arm, and the heated scent of his body close beside her, Charlotte felt a curious sense of security. It was all she could do to prevent
herself from raising her hand and touching his face. She had not realized how ridiculously relieved she would feel to see
him, or how easy it would be to forget all the brutal things
he had done to her.

Despising her weakness, she moved her legs from under
his, but the activity disturbed him. His eyes opened and looked
into hers, and the unguarded desire in their depths caused her to tremble. She knew she had to move, to get away from him,
but she seemed mesmerized by his gaze. Almost in slow
motion, she felt the arm across her breasts move, his hand
sliding caressingly over her shoulder to her nape. Slowly, but
insistently, he drew her quivering body closer, and with
unhurried deliberation began to kiss the creamy skin of her
shoulders. He pushed the offending straps of her nightgown
aside, and trailed his mouth across her throat to the hollow
between her breasts.

"Alex..." she got out chokingly, "Alex, please..." but he
paid no heed to her protests. He was intent on arousing her to
a full awareness of her own physical needs and a strange
lethargy that deprived her of the strength to get away from
him was weakening her limbs. She actually found herself
moving against him, feeling the quickening of his desire,
her hands seeking the hardness of flesh and muscle that was
crushing her beneath him. Then her mouth encountered the parted urgency of his and resistance ceased.

"Dear God, Charlotte," he groaned, burying his face in her
hair, "why did I stay away so long?"

Charlotte did not answer him. She was no longer respons
ible for her actions, winding her arms around his neck,
grasping handfuls of his hair and dragging his mouth back
to hers. She wanted him to go on, and if she considered what
she was inviting, she did not care.
At least, not then.
Her body
demanded satisfaction, and her mental processes were tem
porarily submerged by Alex's demands upon her. When he
took possession of her, she prepared to suffer in silence, and then was overwhelmed by forces she had not known existed
inside her. She was engulfed in pleasure, transported into a golden world which Alex seemed to share. With a muffled little cry, she wound herself closer against him, uncaring at
that moment for anything but him...

CHAPTER EIGHT

Charlotte
stirred reluctantly. Someone had just knocked at
the bedroom door, and the harsh sound brought her back to
the cold world of reality. She was hastily pulling up the covers
when Tina came into the room carrying the usual tray of tea
and biscuits. The girl stopped abruptly when she saw her
master sleeping soundly beside her mistress, and for once Charlotte saw she was disconcerted.

"Pardon,
kyria
"
she exclaimed, in a whisper.
"I -!
did
not
know
Kyrios
Alexandros
was back!"

Extricating herself from Alex with difficulty, Charlotte
moved to the side of the bed, breathing a sigh of relief when
he did not waken, "just put the tray here, Tina," she said
softly, indicating the bedside table. "You can tell Maria that
your employer arrived back unexpectedly late last night."

"
Ne
,
kyria
."
Tina nodded vigorously, and set down the
tray, her eyes lingering somewhat enviously on Alex's sleeping
form. Then her eyes shifted to Charlotte, desperately holding the thin sheet in front of her.
"
Ne
,
kyria
"
she said again, and
with a little smile she left them.

After she had gone, Charlotte chewed on a biscuit. Sur
prisingly this morning she had not felt particularly nauseated,
but as her brain began to function again she rested troubled eyes on her husband.

So that was what the lecturers-at school had meant when
they had warned the girls of the traitorous aspects of their own
bodies. She could recall every detail of what had occurred
with uneasy clarity, conscious of the shameless way she had
abandoned herself to him. She had actually wanted him to
make love to her, although she doubted that that tender
emotion had played any part in Alex's behaviour. He was a
man, and he had
wanted
her. But love didn't enter into it.

That was what made her part in it so—so degrading somehow.
And it had all been for nothing, after all. She should have
stopped him. She should have told him that there was no need
for him to touch her ever again. She was already pregnant.
She had conceived the child he had gone to such lengths to obtain, and there was no longer any necessity for him to pretend.

But instead, what had she done? Her cheeks burned with
remembered humiliation. She had allowed him to hypnotize her, to use that undoubted expertise he possessed to arouse a
response inside her which, once kindled, had scorched her
in the blaze of its intensity. Oh, she had been a fool all right, a
stupid fool I
Because
she now knew that he had the power
to seduce her whenever he chose. And when he discovered
that she was already pregnant, who knew what construction
he might place upon her actions? How could she bear the
ignominy of confessing such a thing to him? And if she didn't
tell him, Maria would!

Stifling a groan of self-disgust, she slid out of bed, running
involuntary hands over her own nudity. Then, aware that
he might wake at any time, she quickly pulled the folds of her
robe about her. She was not a moment too soon, Alex was
stirring, and with an exclamation she fled into the bathroom.
When
she
.returned to the bedroom, she found to her sur
prise that Alex had gone. Contrarily, she didn't know whether
to be glad or sorry, and when she realized that Maria might
see him at any time and blurt out her congratulations, she
hastened into her clothes with undue speed.

The button on her jeans was tight, and she wrinkled her nose in surprise. Then her breathing quickened. Of course,
already her waistline was thickening. In a month's time, she would be unable to keep her secret from anyone.

Taking a deep breath, she fastened the button, and then
rummaged in a drawer until she came up with a loose-fitting cotton smock with a scalloped edge. It was an attractive gar
ment, and she thought with relief that these
days
smocks were
not wholly confined to pregnant women.

Leaving her room, she walked quickly along to the hall,
and encountered Maria changing the flowers in a bronze vase.
The old woman straightened excitedly when she saw Char
lotte, and said: "Tina tells me that
Kyrios
Aiexandros
is
home I You must be very happy. What does he say about...
"
She flicked her hand knowingly towards Charlotte's stomach.

Charlotte glanced apprehensively behind her, but they were
alone and not being overheard. "Maria, he doesn't know,"
she stated quietly.

"Not know?" Maria threw up her hands. "You have not
told him?"

"I - no. No, I haven't."

"Then
sas
katalaveno
,
kyria
."
Maria sighed, shaking her
head. "I do not understand. Why have you not told him?"

Charlotte shifted restlessly from one foot to the other.
"Nine months is a long time, Maria. Anything could hap
pen-"

"And probably will if you do not tell him,
kyria
"
retorted
Maria sharply.

"What do you mean?"

"Ah,
kyria
,
have I not known
Aiexandros
since he was a small child? He is very much a man, no? He has been away
many weeks." She shrugged helplessly.
"You.
understand
what I am trying to say,
kyria
?’

Charlotte was scarlet. "Yes. Yes, I think so. But you don't
have to worry about that. Nine months
- "

"Only a little over six months in my estimation,
kyria
"
Maria interrupted her. "I am not blind. I have eyes to see.
But understand this, you have been here some time now, and
I have grown fond of you ..."

"I'm very pleased to hear it." Alex's drawling masculine
tones startled both women, as he came down the shallow steps
into the hall. "Now, Maria," he went on, putting an affection
ate arm about her shoulders, "what has Charlotte been doing
to make you look so worried?"

Maria glanced significantly at Charlotte and the girl held
her breath. But after a moment, the old woman answered:
"She
.-
she isn't eating enough." She paused. "I think she
misses you,
kyrie
."