One for the Gods (The Peter & Charlie Trilogy) (54 page)

“Lovely toy,” Charlie said and stirred unique excitement with his tongue. He gave Peter’s thigh a squeeze and rolled over and dropped his feet over the side of the bed and rose. Peter’s eyes were fixed on the heavy curve of Charlie’s semi-erect sex as he turned toward the bathroom. After twenty years, it was still to him the most magnificent and exciting spectacle in nature. Presented with Charlie’s back, his eyes traveled from the broad shoulders down to the spring of solid hip and buttock. He smiled as his thoughts grew lustful and his sex hardened and lifted from between his legs. “If it weren’t so hot, I’d drag you back here and have my way with you,” he called after the retreating figure.

Charlie laughed. “It’s bound to cool off. I’ll still be here.”

When they had taken turns in the bathroom, they twisted lengths of cloth around their waists sarong-fashion, and set off through the house to Martha, Peter’s hand resting lightly on Charlie’s shoulder.

Ten years ago when they had bought it, the house had looked a severe uncomplicated block of masonry but as they rebuilt it, they had discovered many surprises. Guided by old photographs, they had restored the colonnade along the wide upper balcony, they had cleared terraces, created loggias, dug out shady inner courtyards. It was spread about the hillside on three levels, a house of big cool marble-paved rooms and unexpected private apartments all giving out onto the port and the town and the islet-strewn sea. It wasn’t home to them—they still considered the farm in Connecticut their real base—but it had become more important to them than they had expected. As an art dealer, Peter used it frequently as a stopover point on his frequent business trips about Europe. Charlie found it congenial for work. They had acquired a proprietary feeling toward the island, had been alarmed by the increasing influx of tourists following the big Hollywood film that had been made there two years before, had successfully used their influence with the local authorities to limit hotel and night-club developments. They had the right of discovery. If they hadn’t already been there, the Leightons wouldn’t have bought and in the absence of both families, nobody would have ever heard of the place. They were already talking of spending at least half the year here when the children were old enough to travel alone.

They descended a covered exterior stair and crossed a courtyard and entered Martha’s quarters. She was waiting for them at a table set inside open doors which gave onto a balcony overlooking the port. The sun was still behind the house so that the room was dark and shadowy behind the motionless linen draperies at the windows. Through the doors, the lower town built close around the port looked like a miniature stage setting.

“Good morning, darlings,” she greeted them, holding each briefly to her comfortable breast and giving each a maternal kiss. She had never been thin and, with time, had settled into an appealing amplitude. Her soft pretty features were ageless, but she had an air of settled maturity that her two men lacked. “Were you able to sleep in this heat?”

“We were doing fine until you unleashed the hounds of hell,” Charlie said.

Martha laughed. “Did they pay you a visit? I didn’t tell them to. You should be flattered. They can’t bear to be away from you.”

“The fiends. Actually, we had a very jolly roughhouse. Peter’s toy failed to put in an appearance.”

They all exploded with laughter.

“Call Kyria Tula for your coffee,” Martha said, shaking her head in mock reproof.

Peter did so. The kitchen and dining room were on the other side of the courtyard. The three sat in caned armchairs around the table. Powerful binoculars lay on it. Peter picked them up and began to explore the town.

“What a horrid evening,” Martha said. “I’m devoted to the Leightons, but they’re making themselves socially impossible. You’d suppose they’d have worked their way through last year’s, little trouble by now. Unfortunately, I’m afraid Sarah’s headed for real disaster.”

“Pavlo?” Peter said from behind the binoculars.

“She can’t take her eyes off him. She actually had the cheek to compare him to Charlie. Really! That dull body boy.”

Peter lowered the binoculars. “It’s obvious where she’s been looking.”

Martha looked at him with a twinkle in her eyes. “Yes. Well, there may be some slight similarity, but I doubt if he can compete even there.”

“Trust my expert eye. He can’t.”

“For God’s sake,” Charlie exclaimed. “You two have such dirty minds. Come on. Let’s stick to the Leightons.”

The Greek housekeeper entered and greeted them all affably and set cups and coffeepot on the table and withdrew. Peter resumed his scrutiny of the outside world.

“I feel as if we ought to be able to help them,” Martha continued, pouring coffee. “They’re still in love with each other. I’m sure of that, even though they’ve been together almost as long as you two. Their financial worries are over for the moment. I thought that might help them settle down. Isn’t there some way you could scare Pavlo off?”

“What do you expect?” Charlie asked. “Sarah’s, making a big play for him. You can’t blame him for taking what’s offered, especially when it’s such a high-class article. He’s probably used to little tarts.”

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About the Author

Gordon Merrick (1916–1988) was an actor, television writer, and journalist. Merrick was one of the first authors to write about gay themes for a mass audience. He wrote fourteen books, including the beloved Peter & Charlie Trilogy.
The Lord Won’t Mind
spent four months on the
New York Times
bestseller list in 1970. Merrick’s posthumously published novel
The Good Life
, coauthored with his partner, Charles G. Hulse, was a bestseller as well. Merrick died in Sri Lanka.

All rights reserved, including without limitation the right to reproduce this ebook or any portion thereof in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Copyright © 1971 by Charles G. Hulse, Estate of Gordon Merrick

Cover design by Drew Padrutt

ISBN: 978-1-4976-6624-5

This edition published in 2014 by Open Road Integrated Media, Inc.

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New York, NY 10014

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THE PETER & CHARLIE TRILOGY

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