Ultimatum Page 10

  Reaching down, Reid took her hand and lifted it to his bare chest. 'Touch me,' he said insistently. 'Touch me, Casey.'

  Slowly she obeyed him, her hand gently exploring the smooth, hairless plains of his chest and shoulders, her fingers lingering on the hardness of his muscles, amazed that he should be so strong and herself so physically weak in comparison. She touched his throat, felt the pulse-beat that quickened even as she caressed him there, then moved on down his chest to circle the tiny nipples that to her amazement hardened with desire at her touch. She raised surprised eyes to Reid's face and he gave a small nod of confirmation. 'Look at yourself,' he murmured softly and lifted her head a little so that she could see.

  Almost reluctantly Casey looked down at her own chest and saw that her nipples, also, had hardened. They were hot, too, and seemed to be alive with nerve-ends that cried out to be touched, to have their tenderness assuaged. She gave a little moan and looked up at Reid in unspoken need and helplessness. He laid her back on the sand, then lay across her, slowly lowering his body until their chests touched. Casey gave a gasp that became a tormented moan as he rubbed himself against her, setting her senses aflame, driving her to a fever pitch of desire. Suddenly his mouth was at her breast, making her cry out, her hands tight on his head as she arched towards him.

  His hand went to her thigh, began to explore there and Casey groaned, the exquisite torture making her writhe and move voluptuously under him.

  'Casey, say yes,' Reid panted against her ear. 'Darling, say yes.' And he kissed her with fierce determination, as if he would force the word out of her.

  Her body on fire with the heat of desire, her breath panting in her dry throat, Casey licked her lips, unable to deny the crying demands of her own body any longer. She opened her mouth to say the word he so desperately longed to hear, but just then a shaft of light broke the darkness and they heard the sound of another car coming towards the beach.

  Casey's mouth closed again and they lay still, hidden from sight as they were in a hollow in the dunes. The other car stopped for a moment, the driver probably having seen their own car, then it moved off, parallel to the beach, and drove on until it was out of earshot. But its intrusion had broken the spell and brought reality flooding back. Reid knew it as soon as he looked at Casey's face. He swore violently and rolled off her, beat at the ground for a moment in angry frustration, then stood up abruptly and strode towards the sea. At the edge he stopped and stripped off his clothes, then waded quickly into the water, the iridescent caps of the moonlit waves caressing his lithe, strong body.

  As she watched him, Casey felt such a fierce pain of longing deep inside her that she doubled up and had to bite on her hand to stop herself from crying out. Oh God, give me strength, she prayed. She wanted him so much.

  To deny herself the pleasure of his lovemaking was as much a torture to her as it was to him. But it was his fault that they weren't back at the hotel making love right now, not hers, Casey remembered bitterly. Reid only had to say that he would give up racing and they could be happy for the rest of their lives, without the perpetual worry of his being injured or killed. Surely that wasn't too much to ask? And yet he was furiously angry with her for loving him, for wanting him to stay alive!

  That thought left a bitter taste in her mouth, especially when Casey remembered how close she had come just now to yielding to him. She realised that she had absolutely no resistance to him when he deliberately set out to seduce her like that, her weak body an eager plaything in his hands, craving to be loved. So she must be sure not to get into that position again, she decided stubbornly. Until he capitulated she must be sure to keep him at a distance so that his hands and lips couldn't inflict their invidious devastation of her senses, couldn't make her forget everything but the need to make herself a part of him, to take his hard body deep into hers so that they would always be as one.

  Reid came out of the sea and stood at the water's edge to dress, not bothering to turn away or even to see if she was watching him, drying himself on his shirt and then putting on the rest of his clothes before walking across to her. 'Ready to go?' he asked shortly.

  Without answering, Casey got to her feet and walked ahead of him to the car, going round to the passenger side and sitting silently all the way back to town. When they reached the hotel Reid put on a casual jacket and they went up to their room, but once there, instead of getting ready for bed, he put on another shirt and said abruptly, 'It's too early for bed. I'm going down to the bar for a drink.' He waited for a moment, but when Casey didn't speak, went out and left her alone.

  Disconsolately, she took her time over her bath and lay awake for a long time, but she had been asleep for over an hour when Reid finally came back and crept into bed beside her, careful not to disturb or touch her, and so disturb his own hard-won control.

  They both took refuge in being very polite to one another the next day, being falsely cheerful when they visited Mark in the afternoon and even more so when they went again in the evening and her parents were also there. Perhaps they were overbright, or perhaps it was just the way that Casey was careful to sit on the opposite side of the bed from Reid and keep well away from him, that made her mother give them a sharp look. She caught, too, the sardonic note that sometimes crept into Reid's voice and the responding flush it brought to Casey's cheeks, quickly hidden as she looked away or began chatting to Mark again.

  While they were there the Sister in charge of the ward told them that Mark could be moved to his local hospital the next day, and advised a day free from visitors to give him a chance to get over the journey.

  'That's marvellous,' her mother enthused. 'You'll leave the hotel tomorrow, then?' she asked, turning to Casey. 'Your room is all ready for you at home.'

  'You could come back tonight, if you like,' her father suggested, finding the house empty with both of his children gone.

  "Yes, why don't you?' Mrs Everett joined in.

  Casey opened her mouth to refuse, but Reid said quickly, 'That sounds like a good idea. We'll go back to the hotel and pack after visting-time and then drive over.'

  Casey listened to him in some surprise; she hadn't expected him to be that eager to stay at her parents' home. Did he think that he might have more chance of getting her to agree to make love in the more intimate surroundings? she wondered. Her heart began to beat a little faster. How could she go on keeping him at a distance when there was no en-suite bathroom to undress in, and when her bed was only three feet wide and they would have to sleep in one another's arms if they were to sleep at all?

  They went back to the hotel to pack, Casey folding away all her unworn honeymoon clothes for the second time. Her parents had gone on ahead and they followed about an hour later, arriving at the house just as the twilight faded into night. They hadn't spoken much on the journey; Reid concentrating on his driving and Casey, her pulses racing with an increasing kind of perverse excitement, realising that tonight would be the greatest test of her will-power—or won't-power, she thought with a hysterical inward laugh.

  When they reached the house, Reid took her cases out of the car first and carried them to the porch. 'Is that everything?' he asked her.

  'Of mine, yes, but yours are…' Her voice faded as she looked into his face and suddenly realised what was coming.

  'I won't be staying here with you,' Reid said harshly.

  'I'm going home for a couple of days and then I shall go on to America.'

  Slowly, hardly trusting herself to speak, Casey said, To a race?'

  'Yes. There's a Grand Prix race at Chattanooga on the twenty-first. I shall be taking part in it.'

  'I see,' Casey answered shortly, trying desperately to keep pain out of her voice. Getting her key out of her bag she put it in the door and opened it. 'Then I suppose I'll see you when you get back—if you survive it,' she added cruelly.

  Reid's face hardened into stone. 'Oh, don't worry, I'll be back. And when I do I shall expect you to have come to your senses and be ready
to live with me as man and wife—in every sense of the word!' Then he turned sharply on his heel, strode back to the car and drove away.

  CHAPTER SIX

  Casey stood in the porch for several minutes fighting off waves of giddiness, her breath harsh in her throat. She leaned against the wall, wanting to run after him and call him back, but knowing it was too late.

  'Casey, is that you?' her mother called from the hall and came to open the door. 'Oh, there you are.' She looked past her. 'Where's Reid?'

  'He—he decided to go back to his place,' Casey admitted, her mind too numb to be able to think up a lie. Bending down, she picked up her cases and carried them inside. ‘I’l take the cases up to my room.'

  'No, your father can do that. Is anything wrong between you and Reid?' Mrs Everett asked sharply.

  'No, of course not,' Casey managed. 'As we can't visit Mark tomorrow, he decided to go and make sure the house and his business were all right, that's all.'

  'You mean he'll be back tomorrow or the day after?' her mother demanded.

  'Yes, if everything's OK,' Casey temporised, trying desperately to leave herself an excuse for him not returning.

  'So if he's coming back why do you look like death? You're as white as a sheet.'

  'Oh Mum, for heaven's sake!' Casey took refuge in being young and stroppy. 'I'm just tired, that's all. If Dad will take my cases up I'll go and unpack. Is there any chance of a cup of tea?'

  'Yes, of course.'

  Her father carried her cases up for her and went back to watch a television programme, but her mother came up later carrying a cup of tea and some biscuits on a tray. Casey's heart sank a little. 'You shouldn't have brought it up, Mum. I'd have come down to drink it.'

  'It's no trouble. And you said you were tired, so I thought you might like to go straight to bed.' She crossed to the wardrobe where Casey had hung her dresses and shook her head with a sigh. 'Such a pity you never went on that wonderful honeymoon. I almost wish we'd never sent for you now.'

  'I'd never have forgiven you if you hadn't. We can go again later in the year,' Casey said dismissively.

  She sat on the bed to drink her tea, wishing that her mother would leave her alone, but Mrs Everett had opened the other side of the wardrobe, then turned to pull out the drawers in the chest. 'You've filled all the drawers!' she exclaimed. 'And the wardrobe. You've left no room for Reid to put his things in.' She stared at Casey for a moment. 'He's not coming back, is he? Is he?' she demanded, her voice rising.

  Casey leaned tiredly back against the headboard. 'No,' she admitted flatly. 'He won't be coming back.'

  'Why? What's happened between you?'

  'Nothing.' Which was the truest word she had ever said. 'He's going on to America to take part in a race.'

  'And I suppose he wanted you to go with him, but you wouldn't because you'd promised to stay and help look after Mark,' her mother declared, jumping to a safe conclusion. 'Oh, Casey, you should have gone! Your father and I are quite capable of taking care of your brother. And he'll have lots of visitors now he's so near home.' She gave an angry sigh. 'If only Mark hadn't crashed on your wedding day of all days.'

  'If only he hadn't crashed at all,' Casey pointed out rather acidly.

  'Yes, of course. But it was bound to happen some time, I suppose. Whatever sport he takes up, football, rugger or anything, he puts himself into it with so much enthusiasm that he was bound to get hurt somehow or other. I just hope he doesn't get hurt so badly again.'

  Casey stared at her in horror. 'You're surely not going to let him go back to racing?'

  The older woman laughed mirthlessly. 'You just try and stop him. He's got the bug now and nothing's going to stop him from getting into another boat the minute he's well enough. Just as nothing we could say would stop you from leaving home and setting up your own business. You're both extremely stubborn.' She stood up. 'Tomorrow I shall phone Reid and tell him to come back and get you. He can…'

  'No!' Casey burst out. Then, at her mother's surprised face, she added more calmly, 'As you said, I'm very stubborn. I—I promised Mark I'd stay and I intend to keep it.'

  'But you've been married less than a week,' her mother said in distress. 'How can you bear to be apart when you've only just…' She broke off, her face setting. 'Oh, but I forgot. You young people nowadays don't bother to wait for marriage any more, do you? I expect you and Reid were—well, more or less living together long before the wedding. So it doesn't mean so much being apart now.'

  She went away soon afterwards and Casey got undressed and went to bed. How completely wrong her mother was, she thought wretchedly. She gave a bitter inward laugh, thinking that her mother would have been far more shocked to know that the marriage hadn't been consummated than she would to find that they had been openly living together first! In this day and age anyone would. Suddenly Casey wished fiercely that they had made love before the wedding, before she had fully realised just how dangerous power-boat racing could be. Then she would have had no weapon to hold over Reid's head. She could still have said that she wouldn't have sex with him of course, but instinct told her that it wouldn't have been anywhere near as effective. It would have been a cold, clean weapon rather than the instrument of torture she was using on him now. She tried to put herself in Reid's place and wondered what it must be like for a man to take his wife for the first time, but could only think how desperately she wanted that herself, and turned her head into the pillow to cry herself to sleep, the first time she had been able to do so since the wedding.

  Reid phoned her the next day and again the following evening after they had got back from visiting Mark. But apart from asking how Mark had taken the journey and how they all were, there really wasn't much to say. But on both nights he said, 'Have you changed your mind?'

  'Have you?' Casey countered.

  'No. I shall be leaving for the States on Wednesday. If you need me—or if you change your mind—you can reach me on this number.'

  He gave it to her and Casey carefully wrote it down, thinking that she needed him right here and now, desperately. But she merely said, 'Will you phone me when you get there?'

  'Is there any point?' Reid answered, his voice suddenly becoming harsh.

  Trying to control herself, Casey said shortly, 'I should like to know that you've arrived safely. And I should like to know whether or not you're still in one piece at the end of the day.'

  'You know, Casey,' Reid said grimly, 'I'm beginning to think you'd like me to crash just to prove your point.'

  'Oh, Reid!' Her voice breaking, Casey slammed down the phone, unable to talk to him any longer. Going into the garden, she cried until there were no tears left and then ran up to bed, merely calling out goodnight as she went up the stairs.

  After that, Reid's calls were cold, courteous and brief. But at least he made them. He always asked her how she and her family were and she asked him how he was, but she never asked about the race. But on the twenty-first Casey never left the house, flying to the phone whenever it rang, her stomach a tight knot of anxiety. Her relief when Reid rang at the same time that night was enormous. For a moment she could hardly speak and Reid said, 'Are you all right?'

  'Yes. Are—are you?'

  'Yes, of course,' he answered, as if taking part in a Grand Prix race was commonplace.

  His attitude after all her worry for him angered Casey. 'When will you be coming back?' she asked shortly.

  Reid hesitated. 'There's another race in America in two weeks' time. Is there any point in my coming home before then?'

  She had so been looking forward to his return that his answer infuriated her. 'Suit yourself,' she snapped back.

  There was a long pause before Reid, his voice hardening, said, 'All right, I will.' And put the phone down.

  He didn't phone the next night, so on the following day Casey accepted an invitation to visit an old school friend and was out when he rang. His car had turned up on her doorstep the day he flew to America, driven up to Norfolk b
y one of his employees, so she was able to get around easily. Before, she had refused any invitations that meant she would be out when Reid called, but during the following week she accepted several, leaving her mother to answer when he rang. Her poor mother was completely torn: glad that Casey was enjoying herself, but worried that a bigger rift was growing between her daughter and Reid. 'You've got to talk to him yourself tonight, Casey,' she emphasised. 'He sounds—colder every time he rings. And Mark's college friends are breaking up next week so he won't need you quite so much.'

  Which was quite a tactful way of putting it, Casey thought wryly. Actually she hadn't been needed at all. Whenever she had visited Mark there had nearly always been some of his college or boating friends there with whom he had far more in common than he had with her. Also, he had realised that she didn't approve of his racing, which put his back up. They had even come close to having a row about it, and Casey knew that her brother was no longer so pleased to see her when she went to the hospital every day. So living in the same house with him when he came home wasn't going to be any fun for either of them. And if she was honest with herself, Casey knew that seeing so much of Mark wasn't any good for her either, because it constantly reminded her of what might happen to Reid. Also it was getting to the time when they would have returned from their honeymoon, and Casey was beginning to be concerned about her business; she was bored with nothing to do and longed to get back to some physical work.

  So she made a point of being home when Reid phoned the next day.

  'What a surprise,' Reid commented icily when she answered. 'No invitation out to dinner with an old school chum tonight?'

  His voice was heavy with sarcasm, destroying any heartache that Casey felt at the sound of his voice. 'No,' she answered tartly. 'You won't be able to reach me here again; I'm leaving tomorrow.'

  'You're going home?' Reid said quickly, almost eagerly.

  'Back to your house, do you mean? I don't have anywhere else to go, do I?' she said belligerently.