The Man at Key West (8 page)

‘Of course,’ he replied, and Jay made no answer. After, the meal the party moved outdoors where there was a three-piece band for those who wished to dance.

Sue sought Mel Rasen and as soon as she found him took him outdoors to a quiet corner.

‘You haven’t come to see Daddy, by any chance, have you?’ she asked anxiously.

He shook his head. ‘I happened to be here to treat a certain tycoon whom I treated in Switzerland before he returned here. I’m flying back in the morning. I ran across your father yesterday when I was leaving my hotel and he asked me to come here this evening. I wanted to see you because I was wondering how you would adapt yourself to a life of your own,’ he added with a paternal pat on her shoulder. ‘I’m glad you’ve made a final break with your father. It was no life for you.’

‘I enjoyed it,’ Sue replied defensively.

He shook his head. ‘You ought to get married. You don’t know what you’re missing.’ He paused thoughtfully. ‘Has your father been ill? Are you worried about him?’

‘A little,’ she said wistfully.

‘Then don’t be. He’ll live for years yet, although the pace of life out here is more hectic than in your own country. He’s a fairly sensible man. Now enjoy your evening.’

The young journalist Dirk Bell hovered and when Mel went he asked Sue shyly to dance with
him. He was not much taller than she was, but he was attractive in a boyish way, with freckles across his nose and dark auburn hair. They danced together for some time, then went to ladle punch from a large bowl into tall glasses.

It was rather strong, but Sue was beginning to enjoy herself. She had not looked round for Jay and was thankful that he was out of her orbit. Dirk lost his shyness, a feat which Sue put down to the
p
unch, for it certainly packed one. It must have
b
een stronger than she thought, because later when Henry Cassells asked her to dance with him, she sailed into his arms without a murmur.

Later she found herself with Dirk again. It was then that she saw Jay striding purposely towards her, asking her to dance. Sue could not refuse, although every instinct told her to do so. She found herself asking Dirk if he minded, and did not even hear his reply, because Jay’s arms were around her.

‘Young Dirk seems to have taken the count for you,’ he said, drawing her close.

‘Is that bad?’ she asked, doing her best to look cool, calm and collected.

He met her tawny gaze as she looked up at him. ‘He’s only eighteen. Much too young to monopolise you all the evening.’

‘Dirk is a nice boy,’ she said coldly. ‘I think I brought him out a bit. He lost some of his shyness after a while.’

‘He’s about all you can manage,’ he replied scathingly. ‘How does it feel to have a real man dancing with you?’

Sue dropped her eyes as all sorts of unmanageable sensations took hold of her. If only she was not so frighteningly aware of him, the faint aroma
of masculine fragrance which contained a pleasing scent of his aftershave, and the feel of his hard, muscular body against hers. All this because she was in his arms on a dance floor!

‘No different from dancing with Dirk. He’s a good dancer,’ she told him militantly.

‘Good for him,’ was the reply.

When the dance number ended Jay kept his arm around her and led her outdoors where he found a quiet spot beneath trees where it was cool, and they sat down on a garden seat. Slowly his arm slid along the back of the seat then slipped down to her waist.

‘Why have you been avoiding me this evening?’ he asked in a whisper. ‘You must know I came to see you.’

‘Now you have seen me,’ she replied, moving forward a little out of the touch of his arm.

His mouth curved into a slow smile and he ran his fingers up her bare arm to cup her chin, and Sue tried to turn her face away as she felt his arm t behind her tightening.

Softly, dangerously, he whispered, ‘You know I want to do more than see you, don’t you?’

Sue knew that, because she had never felt like this with any man in her life before. Some moments are stolen from time and remain too precious to be repeated. It was shattering that it had to be now when she felt helpless to cope with it.

‘Let me go, Jay,’ she pleaded. ‘Don’t play games. I’m not your kind.’

His hand moved to the back of her neck beneath the silken shower of her hair to cup the back of ' her head.

‘You are not to kiss me...’ she began as she realised his intention.

‘You talk too much,’ he murmured. ‘There are some things that just have to happen, and this is one of them.’

The noise and laughter coming from the terrace and the dance music seemed far away. Sue was vaguely aware of nocturnal scents from the garden, filling her senses with sweetness as the world narrowed down to just her and Jay. Sue looked up at him beseechingly and seeing no mercy in him quivered when his dark eyes raked her face before coming to rest on her mouth.

Without volition the entreating look in her tawny eyes turned to an unconscious invitation. It was impossible to deny him her lips, for she wanted him to kiss her so badly that she was ready to meet the consequences. Her heart seemed to turn over as his mouth covered hers and the burning desire to hold him still closer sent her arms around his neck to bring him nearer.

Swift to recognise how sweetly yielding was her body pressing against him, Jay turned on the passion and his mouth devoured the sweetness of her lips. Sue was drugged into a deep feeling of utter bliss as ardent minutes went by. She never wanted to loose the lips that were parting hers so roughly nor the hands moving over the soft contours of her body. His caresses were doing incredible things to her senses, evoking desires she had never experienced before meeting him.

‘Sue,’ he muttered against her lips, ‘I hope you know what you’re doing to me. There’s a limit to kissing and cuddling and if I go beyond that limit nothing will save you.’

He lifted his head to look into the eyes so near his and spoke with restrained passion. Running the backs of his fingers along the satin smoothness of her face, he went on.

‘On the other hand, I want you in my own bed, entirely on our own, with not even a stitch between us. Only that way will we truly belong. I want no hole-and-corner relationship.’

He was kissing the side of her neckband his hands were caressing her back sensuously. Sue felt a tremor of response rising into a tumult of longing.

‘What you’re asking just is not on, Jay,’ she sighed. ‘What do I say to Daddy? Excuse me tonight, Daddy, but I’m going to sleep with Jay? Do you honestly believe I’d give him a shock like that?’

He laughed softly and hugged her closer. ‘He doesn’t have to know. You’re a big girl now, my sweet. Use your own initiative.’

‘Why should I? In any case, I’m going on an assignment tomorrow, so I shan’t be seeing you for a time,’ Sue told him firmly.

‘I’ll come with you,’ he said, softly kissing the comer of her mouth. ‘It isn’t any use fighting, my sweet. You and I were meant for each other. If I left you alone my heart would refuse to co-operate and so would yours. ’

Sue was silent, painfully aware that what he said was true. For all her intentions of cutting away now that she had the chance she could not bring herself to tear away from his arms.

‘If you’re thinking about the future, don’t. I’ll take care of you,’ he went on.

Sue stiffened. All she meant to him was another affair. In any case it would be disaster even if his intentions were honourable. She had no intention of tying herself down to a man whose job took him all over the globe. She had seen what kind of life her mother had and it was not for her.

Sue jerked back from his hold. ‘It’s no use, Jay. I’m free for the first time in my life and I intend to remain free to follow a career.’

He laughed and drew her close again. ‘But you are free. I have no intention of tying you down. You’re free to do your own thing.’

‘Am I? What if my emotions take over? I’m not one of the promiscuous kind who can sleep around and enjoy it. My feelings go far too deep for that. I’m sorry, Jay, but it simply isn’t on. I don’t want our friendship to go further. I prefer you as you are, without anything intimate between us.’

There, she had told him. It was not easy to deny him, but it was the right thing, the only thing to do. Jay did not say anything for a moment. He did not move.

Then, ‘If that’s the way you want it, that’s the way it has to be. I wish you joy and success in your new job. It’s been nice knowing you.’

He had gone before Sue realised it, leaving a coldness around her body where his arms had been. That coldness crept to her heart, and she shivered. She would sit for a while to come to terms with the fact that Jay had walked out of her life, perhaps for ever.

CHAPTER SEVEN

Sue stayed with the guests, dancing again with Dirk Bell, the young journalist. Her editor asked her for a dance and asked where Jay was.

‘I saw him disappear with you in the grounds. You haven’t done away with him, have you?’ he asked jokingly.

Sue managed a smile. ‘Jay is a law unto himself—if he has to leave for some reason or other he’ll leave.’

‘True,’ he answered, looking thoughtfully at her strained expression. ‘By the way, I’d give Henry Cassells a wide berth if I were you. I’ve seen him eyeing you hungrily. He isn’t invited to the best of parties.’

Sue almost missed a step. ‘Is he so unsavoury? My stepmother seems to like him.’

‘Probably she has to like him.’

Sue jerked up her head to stare at him with wide eyes. ‘Just what do you mean by that?’ she asked.

‘You’ll find out if you stick around long enough. I’d stick to Jay if I were you. He’s much more wholesome.’

‘Because he owns your magazine?’

‘Hell
,
no. I wouldn’t work for any jerk if he was a millionaire. I like to keep my nose clean. I’m kind of old-fashioned and I think it pays.’

‘That makes two of us,’ Sue said crisply.

The dance number was ending when Bob said casually, ‘How are you going to Key West tomorrow? You have two choices—either by car or plane.

At the most it’s a three-hour drive from Miami by car.’

‘Sounds interesting,’ Sue murmured, trying to rouse up enthusiasm for the trip. ‘I believe the Keys lie at the southernmost tip of the States.’

‘That’s right,’ he agreed. ‘The Keys are a string of tiny islands with the Atlantic on one side and the Gulf of Mexico on the other. They’re near to the West Indies—no trouble to reach.’

‘I’ll probably go by car,’ she told him.

‘Then you’ll go by Key Largo through plantations via miles of bridges by way of Sunset Point, Pirates’ Cove and Shark Channel.’ His smile was whimsical. ‘You’ll see plenty of pelicans to keep you company.’

‘That will be nice,’ Sue said with a smile.

When the guests had gone she found herself with her father and Connie in the sitting room. Connie did not seem too pleased, and excused herself on the plea of feeling tired.

‘What’s the matter with her?’ Sue asked with a smile at her father, who gestured for her to sit down while he took a chair nearby.

Sitting down with a feeling of apprehension, Sue waited for her father to speak.

‘I’m afraid Connie is a little upset about your attitude towards her, Sue,’ he said heavily, avoiding her eyes. ‘She’s worried that you’re trying to upset our marriage.’

Sue stared at her father in bewilderment. ‘I don’t understand,’ she protested. ‘In what way
am I undermining your marriage? Daddy, I love you. I would never do anything to hurt you.’

He was as unhappy as she was. Damn Connie, she thought. Why couldn’t she leave well alone? He said, ‘I believe you accused her of doing
something dishonourable. I can assure you that Connie isn’t bad in any way. If she does anything wrong it’s because she’s silly in the way that women are.’

‘Define silly,’ Sue said grimly.

‘Well, a lonely widow on her own is apt in her loneliness to get in with the right people who’ll be real friends in her hour of need. You can hardly blame Connie for that,’ he said reasonably.

‘So that means if I get into friendships with people you don’t approve of, that’s all right?’

He smiled awkwardly. ‘You know I should hate for you to get mixed up with the wrong people.’

‘Exactly,’ said Sue firmly. ‘Look, Daddy, I’m glad you’re married to Connie because you’re now living a normal life again, but I have my own life to live. I didn’t ask to live here with you—you asked me to come. Right? So I don’t have to mix with Connie’s friends unless I want to. Right?’

Bill nodded. ‘You don’t have to upset her, Sue,’ he said mildly.

Sue controlled herself with an effort. ‘I did not upset her! I can’t understand her telling you that. Maybe it’s as well that I’m going away for a few days on an assignment. I don’t want to upset either of you, and I’m sorry if I have.’

She was near to tears. It was clear to her that Connie wanted her out of the way. In her opinion her father was a fool to have been taken in by the woman, but it was his life and she had to come to terms with it.

Later, in her room, Sue sat for an endless time gazing into space and wondering what to do for the best. She had felt desperately sorry for her father, who was in a very unenviable situation. He had been clearing his throat for the umpteenth time when she had put him out of his misery by saying that she was going away on an assignment. His look of relief would have been almost comical if it had not been so tragic.

There had been a dangerous ache at the back of Sue’s throat and she had to get away to her room. She had gone with a feeling of pity for her father, who had never been really capable of asserting himself. With this thought in mind she was left with an emotion of fear. She had known no other home than with her parents, and now it was impossible for her to ever look upon it as home any longer.

All the while her father had been talking to her he had not been angry, just sad, and somehow that had been worse, the worst thing of all.

The telephone by her bed gave a shrill ring, bringing her to earth with a start.

It was Jay. ‘Have I wakened you?’ he asked in that deep voice that Sue knew would awaken her from the dead.

‘No ... I was preparing for bed,’ she answered breathlessly.

‘What a waste, sleeping on your own,’ he chided, and Sue had to laugh.

‘I’m sure you haven’t telephoned to tell me that,’ she said, surprised at her feeling of lightheartedness. She was telling herself that Jay was here after she had thought him gone for ever from her disturbed life.

‘No. As a matter of fact I’m going away tomorrow for a few days and I was wondering if you’d changed your mind about going with me.’

‘Tell me one good reason why I should?’ she replied.

‘Me,’ he answered. ’

‘Sorry,’ she said. ‘I’m off to Key West in the
morning on a photographic assignment.’

‘I’m going that way too. Can I give you a lift?’ Sue felt her anger rising at Bob Lilley. She might have known he would tell Jay!

‘No, thanks,’ she said coldly.

A pause. Then, ‘May one ask how you’re travelling? By car or by air?’

‘By
c
ar. Now, if you’ll excuse me, by my reckoning I have only a few hours’ sleep left before I have to get up to go.’

‘Then why not come with me? I’m flying. It isn’t wise for you to drive after only a few hours’ sleep. Besides, you needn’t get up so early. We needn’t start until midday. What do you say?’

Sue bit hard on her lip. It was a tempting proposition. She said warily, ‘You mean you’re piloting the plane yourself?’

‘That’s right. As I have done dozens of times.’ He paused. ‘You could take some good aerial shots of Key West while we’re landing.’

Sue did not answer right away. It occurred to her that on a shorter journey and with company she would not be tortured by her own problems. At the moment her own company was not very desirable.

‘Where are you going?’ she asked.

‘To several of the islands. Yours is my first place of call.’

Sue gave in to the inevitable and found it rather pleasant. If Jay was only making a call that meant she would not have him to contend with.

‘You’ve just got yourself a companion,’ she said.

‘See you at noon tomorrow—or should I say later on today? And get some sleep.’

‘I will,’ she answered. ‘And thank you, Jay.’

‘Sensible girl,’ was the chirpy answer. ‘While
you’re over this way you might as well make the best of both worlds by air and land. See you at midday.’

His logic had won her over, as he knew it would, damn him, Sue thought wickedly.

Jay called for her on time. Sue had slept in, with Vera bringing her breakfast around eleven, giving her time to pack a light suitcase. She called a quick goodbye to her father as Jay arrived in his ear and was touched when he came to see her off with a warm hug and kiss.

‘Take care of her, Jay,’ he said. ‘I’m glad she’s in your hands.’

Sue almost changed her mind about being airborne when she saw the light aircraft at the airport. It was such a flimsy construction after the jumbo jets and it seemed to set up a protesting squeak as Jay stowed their luggage on board. Then Jay was grinning at her and swinging her up to what was a comfortable though small interior.

His confident smile and the expert way in which he handled the controls put her quickly at her ease.

‘Quite a short journey really—a little less than forty five minutes,’ he said. ‘Key West is a friendly place with good plumbing plus the atmosphere of a tropical island. It’s only four miles long by a little over two wide. The really hot weather hasn’t started yet, but there’s that deliciously cool breeze from the Atlantic to cool it.’

Sue had her camera at the ready and managed to get in some very good shots with Jay flying low at times for her to get a clearer picture.

‘I’m very grateful for the shots,’ she said, putting her camera away as they were about to land.’ I shall be able to make a really good job of it.’

‘Don’t mention it,’ he drawled. ‘How long are you staying?’

‘Couple of days. Maybe more.’

She almost said that there was nothing to go back for, but there was her job. After all, it was all she had. Jay saw her to her hotel and insisted on giving her lunch. In the pleasant hotel restaurant overlooking the sea they had home-made Key lime pie after enjoying some delicious lobster with a carafe of Californian wine.

Afterwards Jay suggested that Sue took her camera as they strolled to the beach. There, under a palm-thatched roof in the pleasant sea breeze, they sat on high stools while Jay ordered iced drinks.

In the company of three old salts who fished for shrimps they gazed at the mahogany bodies weaving in and out on the white sand as they joined their families with ices and drinks.

‘If I’m not mistaken you’re going to have your first picture,’ Jay said with a grin.

Sue followed his gaze to a yacht beyond the strip of sun-dazzling coral sand. It was small and trim, and presently a girl emerged from the cabin into the awning shaded cockpit. Her dive into the clear green sea was as perfect as her figure.

In no time at all she was wading ashore, barefoot and confident, with jewels of sea water glittering on her mahogany skin. Sue had her camera at the ready, hoping that the girl would not make for their particular spot. It would be too embarrassing for her in the company of Jay.

But the girl was making for them and Jay was not in the least embarrassed, although Sue could have sworn for a moment that his tanned face did colour at the sight of the newcomer proudly displaying her naked breasts for all to see.

The three old salts tipped their caps over their eyes as the girl approached, and Jay murmured that taking pictures was quite a pleasant occupation after all.

Sue got her close-up of dazzling white teeth and black hair being pushed back from a very pretty lace.

‘Hi, Jay!’ the girl greeted Jay and the three old salts cheerily as she entered the shade to take a high stool beside Jay.

Jay said smoothly, ‘Sue, meet Gloria Downs. Gloria, Sue Blake, who’s looking for some glamorous pictures for her magazine.’

Jay called for a drink
for Gloria, who eyed Sue calculatingly for a moment.

‘Sure,’ she said. ‘Any time. Thanks, Jay.’

She took the long iced drink in scarlet-tipped fingers and sipped its coolness.

‘Over here on an assignment?’ she queried curiously.

‘Kind of,’ Sue replied sensing a little antagonism on the other girl’s part. ‘Are you ... on holiday?’

‘Kind of,’ was the subtle reply.

‘Gloria is always on holiday,’ Jay provided, tweaking the girl’s wet hair. ‘She’s a model.’

Gloria said, ‘You should have come sooner, Jay. Our male model didn’t show up. I would have dragged you in. He’s nothing on you.’

Jay had undone several buttons on his shirt and she tickled his chest.

‘I love your set-up,’ she said, smiling up at him coyly. ‘We m
ake a handsome pair, don’t you th
ink, Sue?’

Sue reached for her camera. ‘Is that an invitation for me to take a picture of you together?’ she asked, not caring for the girl’s blatant ownership of Jay.

Instantly Jay’s hand was on hers. ‘No, you don’t! I Gloria forgets I’m not on anyone’s payroll. I’m I not a model, nor do I require anyone to photograph me even for one of my magazines.’

‘Meanie!’ Gloria scoffed. ‘What about standing me a meal this evening?’

‘I’ve other things to do. I have to be off now. See you, Sue. Keep the busts dusted,’ he said.

Gloria shrieked with laughter and Jay gave a mock wince with a look at Sue that said, see what I mean? But before he could make a move Gloria tipped up her drink and thrust an arm through his. They walked off together and Sue felt curiously bereft as she watched Jay go.

Then she was forgetting him and all her troubles as her camera clicked on mahogany bodies sunning themselves o
n
the beaches. She felt overdressed in her Bermuda shorts and scanty top as she picked out the topless bathers with her camera.