An Apple in Eden

by Kay Thorpe

  'He is?' Ramon sounded frankly disbelieving. 'No woman of mine would be let off so easily.'

  'I'm sure.' Sarcastically she added, 'Do you thrash all your women on principle, or do you just like proving your superior strength?'

  He grinned. 'I treat a woman as she wishes to be treated. In all of you there is a streak of masochism which responds to violence––of one kind or another. Give a woman a gentle man and she will try her utmost to rouse him to assert himself over her, then when she succeeds complain that he is a bully and a brute. You tantalise a man to the limits of his control and then withdraw, hold out your hand only to

  snatch it back. It's little wonder that so many of you get yourselves raped ! ' He waited a moment, then rolled over on to his face to study hers. 'Not rising to it? Perhaps you're wise.'

  'I'm not rising to it,' she returned, 'because that's exactly what you'd like me to do. You think that by getting at me that way you'll make me say or do something which will give you an excuse to prove your point.' That didn't sound quite right. She tried again. 'I mean ...'

  'You mean,' he interrupted, 'that you know I'm right, but you're damned if you're going to admit it because that would take all the fun out of the game. And if you think you've successfully sidetracked me from my original question you're mistaken. You're not going to marry Gavin.'

  'That sounds more like a statement,' she murmured, playing for time.

  'Possibly.' His eyes had not moved from her face. 'Shall I tell you why not?'

  'Would it make any difference if I said no?'

  He laughed. 'No, chica, it wouldn't make the slightest difference. You won't marry your Gavin because you're in love with me. You won't say it; you probably even conceal it from yourself. But it's true nevertheless. And because you're in love with another man you could never bring yourself to lie in Gavin's arms.'

  Eve's heart was pounding thickly into her thoat. He was so calm about it, so cool. Suddenly and desperately she wanted to hurt back, to prick that arrogant veneer and know that she had done it. 'If

  there's one thing I have to admire about you,' she said, 'it's your supreme self-confidence. Did it ever occur to you that I might have been completely bowled over by someone else entirely—like Tony Randolph, for instance?'

  She didn't even see him move, but next minute she was flat on her back on the rug and he was kneeling above her, pinning her down with both hands on her shoulder. His face was a taut mask.

  'You dare to mention that man's name to me after what happened between us yesterday,' he gritted. 'You dare to sit there and taunt me with a man who thinks so little of you that he drops you from his car on the roadway! Dios, woman, I could make you eat every one of your words ! ' His hands bit cruelly into her flesh. 'And why not? Why should I spare your feelings when you make no effort to spare me mine? I could take you now and you could do nothing to stop me '

  Eve gazed straight in his blazing eyes and felt the tremors running through her. He was angry enough for anything, and she was certainly no match for his strength. 'I wouldn't even try,' she managed after an interminable moment. 'That's what you want, isn't it, Ramon, to have me struggle and plead. Well, I won't give you the satisfaction ! If you want to act the savage go ahead.'

  For a fleeting instant she actually thought she had

  gone too far. Then his grip relaxed suddenly and

  unwilling admiration replaced the fury in his gaze.

  'You constantly surprise me, Eve,' he said. 'I think

  you really would have sacrificed your principles

  rather than subjugate yourself to me. True, I wanted you to plead with me. Just for once I wanted to get beneath this pride of yours and make you realise ...' He broke off, shook his head and released her. 'There are other ways.'

  'Of what?' she asked, sitting up and drawing in a painful breath. 'Bringing me to heel? I've no intention of joining your gallery of has-beens, Ramon. Tomorrow I'll be home in England.'

  'And safe?' His voice had regained the familiar mocking quality. 'And what if I follow you there?'

  She looked at him quickly and away again. 'Even you wouldn't go to that much trouble just to chalk up another conquest. You're just going to have to count me as the one that got away.'

  His smile was enigmatic. 'We'll see. Are you ready to eat?'

  Eve's control snapped. 'No, I am not! I want to go back to the villa and some civilised company.'

  'Then you will have to want,' he returned equably. 'We stay here until I say we move.'

  'All right.' She came abruptly to her feet. 'Then I'll walk back to the road and thumb a lift. Anything rather than stay here with you!'

  She had taken all of a dozen steps before he caught up with her. He put an arm about her waist, swung her off her feet and carried her back to dump her unceremoniously down on the rug again, then stood over her, daring her to move.

  'You take a lot of convincing,' he said. 'But I'll have you obey me one way or another.' He watched the expressions chasing across her face with a smile.

  'Yes, nina, I know you hate me, and that you'd love to scratch my face to ribbons if you had the chance; we're none of us as civilised as we like to believe when it comes down to the basic emotions. But as I'm quite a lot bigger, and certainly a great deal stronger than you you're hardly likely to have that chance, so you may as well settle down. Running away is futile when you know very well you'll be fetched back.' The wicked light danced in the dark eyes. 'On the other hand, running away and being allowed to go would be frustrating, wouldn't it?'

  Eve subsided. For the moment at least he had the upper hand, and he knew it. She reached out to pick up the glass which had flown from her hand when he had pulled her down, wondering where the liquid which had been left inside it had landed. When she looked up again Ramon was still watching her.

  'You're not going to sulk?' he said.

  'No,' Eve answered forcibly, 'I'm not. I'm going to have some more wine. That is,' she added on a satirical note, 'if I may.'

  Ramon laughed and bent to get the bottle from the basket. 'I have never known another girl quite like you,' he stated.

  Which would be something to think about these coming weeks, Eve supposed, and realised in that moment just how much she was going to miss the sheer unpredictability of his behaviour. Life with Ramon might be turbulent, but it was never dull. On the other hand, marriage with a man like that could quite well turn out to be sheer hell after a

  short time, she told herself, and knew even as she thought it that given the chance she wouldn't need to think twice about it. Not that there Was any hope of his asking her to marry him. Once out of sight it would 'very probably be out of mind too, so far as his feelings went.

  She was tired when they eventually arrived back at the villa at five, and found time to be thankful that nothing special had been arranged for her last evening on the island. In her room, Eve lay on the bed and thought back over the day's colourful phases, marvelling at her own temerity in some of the things she had said and done. A bare fortnight ago she had arrived here on the island a calm, well balanced young woman who had her life mapped out sensibly; tomorrow she would be leaving it a bundle of conflicting emotions. Leaving Ramon would be agony, yet she couldn't bring herself to regret having known him. He had opened her eyes, forced her to take a new look at long accepted ideals, given her a whole new, range of sensations and responses. She might never know another man like him, but one thing was certain, she would never be content to settle for another Gavin.

  CHAPTER NINE

  THE airport was thronged. Standing there in the big, pillared reception area with the three seeing her off, Eve felt like someone in a well-rehearsed play, nodding, smiling, saying all the right things, hiding the heaviness inside her behind a cheerful facade. In just three minutes from now she would be going out through passport control and the departure lounge to take her seat on the plane, not to return for a whole month. It still didn't bear thinking about.

  'You won't forget to see
about that Nottingham lace, will you?' Lynn reminded her. 'I'd like to feel I'd imported a bit of my own country into the occasion. I shall have to have it within the next week or so if we're to get it made up in time.'

  'I won't forget,' Eve promised. 'I'll see to it first thing in the morning, in fact.' She smiled at Juan. 'I suppose so much fuss seems ridiculous to a man? One bit of lace is much the same as another.'

  His reply was just as light. `Some would say that we think the same about women, but that too depends upon the individual.' He bent to kiss her cheek. 'Adios, Eve. We all look forward to your return.'

  Now, at last, she had to look at Ramon and find the right words, but he forestalled her.

  'I'm seeing you through passport control,' he said easily.

  Lynn hugged her. 'I don't want you to go,' she sighed. 'But at least I know you're coming back soon. Hasta la vista, Eve.'

  Ramon slipped an arm through hers as they went up the steps, his fingers warm on her wrist. 'You have your ticket, your passport ready?'

  'Yes, here in my bag.' She was savouring each one

  of these precious extra minutes with him, counting the seconds, her pulses racing with the hope that he might have saved the words she longed to hear for this last moment alone even while her common sense told her not to be a fool. If Ramon loved her as she loved him he would have told her so last night when he had kissed her goodbye on the terrace. It had taken every ounce of will power she possessed to stop herself from blurting out her own feelings at that emotive moment, but she had been so very thankful that she had managed to control the urge when he let her go with a sardonic 'Till the next time, chica'. Ramon took his pleasures where he found them, and wasted no time on regrets. Tonight he would probably be with Juanita again, with Eve Raynor already forgotten.

  The gate was almost clear when they reached it. Only a couple of passengers remained to be dealt with Ramon came to a halt and looked down at her, lifted the hand he still held and put his lips to the palm, then he let her go and smilingly handed over her travel case.

  'Adios, chica. Until we meet again.'

  It was done and she was back at the desk, handing over her passport and watching the efficient, olive-skinned hands open it through blurred eyes. Then she was through and walking on into the departure lounge, not daring to look back. There was the Customs check on hand luggage to go through, then the bus ride out to the plane standing ready on the concrete apron. On the plane she took a window seat and fastened her belt, listened to the pleasant

  impersonal voice of the stewardess welcoming them aboard over the intercom and waited through the usual minutes of suspended animation until they were cleared for take-off. Then the Comet was moving out on to the runway, gathering itself like a runner for the starting pistol. The whine of the jets became a roar and then a bellow as the concrete slid away beneath them at an ever-increasing rate, and there came the sudden smoothing out of sound and speed which was the only immediate indication that they had left the ground. Eve watched the terminal buildings shrink and fall back out of sight, then she closed her eyes and put her head back hard against the seat rest.

  The first three days back in London were cool, wet, and miserable. Eve was more than relieved when Monday came round and she could get back to the bank. As she had told no one but her employer of her reason for taking her holiday early her return caused no more than the normal casual interest among the staff. Mr Alison himself was far too relieved to have her back to waste any time on recalling why she had been away in the first place. Apparently the 'temps' they had sent him from the bureau had both been next to useless, and things had rather piled up. It was going to be necessary, he was afraid, to put in some overtime until they got sorted out again.

  There was a letter from Lynn when Eve got back to the flat that evening. She opened it before she even took off her coat, scanning swiftly over the three pages to discover that Ramon hadn't spent

  one evening at home since her departure, and that he was making a business trip to the mainland shortly. Probably centred around Mad-rid, or somewhere similar, she thought numbly, where he could combine business with pleasure. No doubt he had women friends all over the place.

  For want of anything better to do she washed her hair again after a light meal, listened to a play on the radio while she caught up with some mending, and flipped through a magazine. Eventually, unable to stave it off any longer, she lay back on the settee and thought about warm, scented nights and the feel of strong arms about her, of the heady passion of Ramon's kisses and the response he had drawn from her, of the laughter and fun, the anger and pain. Just three days since she had known all that and already her need was unbearable. And how much more unbearable would it be the next time, after the wedding? Seeing him again could only make things worse, yet there was no way out of it. She couldn't let Lynn down by refusing to go back.

  The weather improved enough over the following couple of days for a return to summery clothing. Having cleared the backlog of correspondence, etcetera, by Wednesday, Eve decided to utilise her first wholly free evening by having a meal out and then walking down to the Victoria Embankment Gardens to listen to the brass band concert. She left the bank with several of the girls from the office, laughing over some humorous incident one of them was relating. When the tall, lean figure detached itself from the pillar at the entrance she could

  hardly believe her senses. She just stood there looking at him, aware of the hammering of her heart and the sudden flutter of excited curiosity among the girls with her.

  'What are you doing here?' she heard herself ask, and saw the strong mouth pull into the familiar tantalising smile.

  'Is that the only greeting I get after flying two thousand miles to see you?' He took her hand and put it to his lips in a gesture wholly and calculatedly Latin, seemingly totally unaware of the wide-eyed audience. 'I told you I'd follow you.'

  'Ramon ...' Eve remembered her companions, who were still to captivated to think of moving on, and broke off. Forcing a smile, she wished them all goodnight and began to move herself, Ramon falling in at her side. As soon as they were out of earshot she said furiously, 'What are you trying to do, give them all the impression that I spent the last fortnight with you?'

  'Didn't you?' he asked. His eyes were dancing. 'You think they might believe you a fallen woman after this?'

  'That's what you'd like them to believe! That's what you'd like everyone to believe! No one must ever know that Ramon Perestrello actually lost a fish from his hook before he'd landed it, must they?' She stopped and faced him, every instinct in her at war with itself. 'I thought you were supposed to be away on business?'

  'I am,' he returned imperturbably. 'My business first, the other later. As you say, I won't admit to

  defeat. We have a week, chica mia, in which to catch up on our affairs.'

  'We're not having an affair! ' she flung at him, and saw a passer-by glance at them with startled curiosity. 'Why can't you leave me alone?' she added in suddenly subdued tones with an underlying note of desperation.

  'Because you don't want me to leave you alone,' he returned, eyes glinting down at her. 'You hoped I would come after you, didn't you, Eve? You can no more bear the strain of being apart than I can myself.' He smiled, and took her arm. 'But don't worry about it now. For the time being we'll be very English and sedate. Where would you like to go for dinner?'

  'It's too early for dinner,' she said, and heard the sudden little tremor in her voice without surprise. 'Ramon, please go away. I—I don't want you here.'

  'But I am here, and I'm staying.' His hand tightened fractionally on her arm. 'You wouldn't wish to fight with me on a crowded street, would you?'

  Eve had to smile. It was impossible not to. If Ramon saw reason to get tough with her he wouldn't give a hoot where they were. 'You're a swine,' she said wryly. 'You really are! '

  'True.' He was smiling too. 'And as we're agreed on that much you'll climb willingly into the next taxi which comes along withou
t having to be persuaded, won't you? I didn't intend that we should eat now, only that you might have a preference for later. For now, we're going to go to your apartment so that you may change into something

  more suited to the kind of evening I've planned.' 'And ... later?' she asked, looking him straight in the eye.

  He shook his head. 'As you would say yourself, don't cross the bridges before you come to them.' He flicked up a swift hand as a taxi appeared out of a sidestreet with its flag up, and swept her unprotestingly across the pavement and into it, pausing himself to give the driver the address.

  'I suppose,' she said as he settled himself beside her, 'that you asked Lynn for it before you came away?'

  `No,' he returned equably, 'I got it from the telephone book at the airport. Lynn doesn't know I'm here. By the way, had you realised that you went out this morning without locking the door behind you?'

  `No, I hadn't. I ...' Eve looked at him quickly. 'How do you know that?'

  'I found out when I tried it about an hour ago,' was the bland reply. 'I wasn't at all sure what time you finished your work, so I called first at the apartment, and made some inquiries of a neighbour who was in.'

  'Maureen,' murmured Eve abstractedly. 'It's her half-day.' She was wondering what the other had thought at the time, especially if she had seen Ramon entering her flat so freely. 'I suppose you did go inside?' she said.

  'Of course. I left my case there.'

  'You did what?'

  'I left my case there,' he repeated obligingly. 'I

  daresay it will be safe enough until we get there ourselves. It's a very pleasant apartment, if a little small. I liked the prints grouped on the far wall, and the way you arrange your furnishings to give the maximum of floor space. Lynn told me once that you did the decorating yourself. You certainly have a good eye for colour.'