'He can take care of himself—if you'll take care of me.'
'I was rather hoping it would be the other way round, my --'
'That too, but first things first,' he broke in, stopping her mouth before she could make any further protests.
It didn't seem to take any time at all to reach the millhouse. As far as Merril was concerned they could have driven all night. But once there she made a quick phone call to Annie to let her know where she was.
'I can tell from your voice everything has worked out.' Annie sounded pleased and went on, 'I've seen a wonderful hat in Harrods, just right for a wedding. And, Merril, I'm thinking of doing a feature on brides soon --'
'But Annie, he hasn't asked me yet!'
'Asked you what?' Torrin reached out and pulled her into his arms as she replaced the receiver on the bedside-table.
Merril shook her head and shivered as he began to undress her, taking his time about removing her clothes, peeling back each layer with a deliberate sensuality that brought her to the edge of suspense.
'No hurry,' he murmured, as she tried to lift her blouse to speed the moment when she would feel his mouth on her pulsing skin. He gripped both her hands in one of his and held them behind her back so that she was forced to let him take his time, unfastening one button at a time, planting kisses on each small revelation of naked skin, working his way with deliberate thoroughness towards her breasts, then teasing her nipples with his tongue until she gave soft moans of pleasure, curling against him to make him hurry.
'What haven't I asked you yet?' he murmured against her breasts, ignoring her pleas.
'Nothing.' Merril moved her head from side to side. 'Please, Torrin --'
'Merril, will you wear your pink dress again soon? I want to take it off you. You looked so delicious when you walked into my dressing-room. I don't know how I stopped myself from picking you up in my arms and running straight out of the theatre with you.'
'Yes, Torrin, anything, Torrin, but please --'
'Merril, could you tell I nearly punched that critic friend of yours when I saw him pawing you in the corridor? Then he had the effrontery to come up to me --'
'But you smiled at him!' Even now she could remember every detail of that electrifying smile.
'I had to. I could hardly start a brawl—I might have torn my silk jacket,' he added, lifting his head and giving her the smile. 'Just as I'm going to tear—this isn't your favourite slip, is it?'
'Torrin!' she gasped as the thin cotton was ripped the length of her body. Now she was wearing only the tiniest lace G-string. Torrin slipped a finger inside the elastic and she shivered as his fingers traced the delicate indentation it made over her hips.
'And when you came to interview me, why did you flare up when I kissed you? You kissed Azur like that. Even though you denied it!'
'It's because I remembered him that I—that you—he—I mean -- Oh, hell, Torrin, I can't think when you do that!'
'I thought it was a good sign when you said my name twice in a non-sarcastic manner,' he murmured huskily against her throat while his hands went on doing unimaginable things to her. 'I feared you were going to call me Mr Anthony for evermore. Did you now the second time you called me Torrin you said it with a certain inflection ... it told me such a lot about the way you were beginning to feel about me—at least, I told myself it did.'
'That must have been just before you frightened me so much that I fell into the millrace,' she murmured, sighing, as the lace nothing of the G-string slid down her thighs. 'But when you dragged me out you were horrible to me --' She twisted to look at him, his lips now trailing sweet fire along the path made by the scrap of lace as it slid over her ankles. 'And just when I'd begun to accept that I didn't care a damn any more about Azur, or anyone but you—' She moved against him, unable to help herself. 'No, don't rush. Slowly, like this.' He was still tracing the imaginary pattern her lace panties had made, but in a different way that sent all thoughts out of her head. 'Torrin, please --'
'Slowly, my love . . . You were so definite about despising me, I thought it was permanent. Then when you changed I thought it was the old hero-worship coming to the surface. I couldn't bear the thought that you loved the image, not me at all.'
'And then at the hotel you tried to warn me off, didn't you?' she whispered, trying to slow her movements to match his own.
'But you ignored me, you wilful child—until next morning, when you realised what you'd done.
'I felt terrible. I could guess what you were thinking—just another notch on the bedhead --'
'That is so insulting—did you expect me to be so shallow?'
'I was too miserable to think straight --'
'I have to confess I did take advantage of your lustful ways,' he told her. 'I was ashamed afterwards. I knew I could have rushed you into anything, but I was sure it wouldn't have lasted.'
'I thought you'd changed your mind. Torrin, do that some more. It's heavenly!'
'I dared not pressure you, but I was longing to kidnap you all over again. I thought we managed the goodbye with a certain style—except that I'd had no intention of saying goodbye. It was like suddenly finding yourself in the last act of a different play.'
'Why didn't you ring me?' she asked.
'At first I told myself it was for the best. It was what you seemed to want. Then the truth began to dawn—I needed you—but I no longer knew what you felt. Had it been just one of those casual flings? Or did you really care?'
'If you'd known what I was going through—I couldn't believe it when I saw your name on the awards programme,' Merril told him.
'Don't mention that night! It was the blackest of my life. I really thought everything was lost. You were totally convincing when you told me you'd been notching up a score—with me! You were like an ice maiden. For a moment I felt demented. Then you dropped that bombshell about going back to Azur . . . I didn't know what the hell to make of that. But it was the same old thing—I wanted you to respond to me, not to some super-hero—even if the super-hero was me! But by then I was thinking, if the only way I can have you is to let you believe I'm something I'm not, then, what the hell, I'll go with it. I had to nave you. For keeps.'
In the rose light from the lamp she saw him frown a little. 'And that was the problem. I still couldn't convince myself your feelings would last—not even for Azur . . . but again I thought—better a six-month marriage with her than nothing at all. I was willing to do anything, be anything you wanted. I would have played King Kong if it had meant you'd love me.'
'That would be interesting,' said Merril, twisting on top of him so he could take each breast lovingly to his mouth. 'And I can see now why you were so cynical about my feelings—all that fan mail!—but even that should have convinced you that feelings do last. You're a dream lover to so many women, Torrin, because they guess what you're really like under the mask. Nothing can disguise that.'
She gave a gasp as he slid her underneath him, both hands pressing into the pillows on either side of her head.
By now Merril didn't want to talk any more. She simply wanted to fly, wherever Torrin chose to pilot her into the upper reaches of the seventh heaven.
But he lifted his head one last time. 'Now will you tell me what it is I haven't asked you yet?'
'It's all right, I think you already have --' she breathed.
'And will you? Marry me, I mean?' he asked tenderly.
'Torrin, what are you doing?'
His voice was husky. 'I'm giving you a lesson in love.'
'Let it last for ever, my dream lover,' she whispered, moving sensually beneath his touch. 'Like our marriage.'
'And like my love for you,' he murmured in velvet tones beside her head.
And as she moved against him, all notion of holding back now gone, she knew that, like love, their dream would last for ever—because it was the real thing.
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Fantasy Lover Page 17
