Ultimatum

by Sally Wentworth

  Casey's lips parted on a little moan of pleasure. 'Oh, Reid.'

  'I know, sweetheart,' he murmured back. 'Believe me, I know.' His mouth found hers again, kissing her with ever-deepening passion. His hand went to the tiny buttons on her shirt, slowly undoing them. Casey wished fervently that she hadn't worn that blouse, there were so many buttons and he was taking so long when her body was so hungry for his touch. At last it was undone and Reid pushed the soft material aside to kiss along the line of her shoulder, to linger at the hollow of her shoulder-blade. He took off her blouse, then reached behind her to undo her bra and slowly, infinitely slowly, take it off. He let his eyes drink their fill of her small breasts, softly rounded but with the firmness of youth, the tiny nipples like the unopened buds of pale pink roses. Gently he lifted his hand to touch them, his lips parted in concentration. It was the first time he had ever done so, the first time he had ever done more than kiss her. And Casey knew that it was because she was special, that he had held back because he wanted her to be sure, so that what happened between them now would be a wonderful experience that they would always remember, and not just a commonplace coupling between two people who fancied each other.

  He explored her gently but knowledgeably, his fingers rousing her libido so that her nipples hardened with desire, buds waiting to open. And only then did Reid bend to take one in his mouth, softly sucking and pulling, while his hand gently fondled the other.

  Her heart pounding, Casey trembled as she lay in his arms, loving what Reid was doing to her, but the urgent need it aroused in her was almost more than she could bear. Putting her hands on his shoulders, she pushed him away so that he lifted his head to look at her. 'Reid.' She said his name so softly it was only a breath, but then suddenly kissed him fiercely on the mouth, her hands digging into him with an urgency that overwhelmed her. 'Reid,' she said again, her voice rising almost on a note of pleading. 'Hold me. Please hold me.'

  He did so, feeling the wild beating of her heart against his chest. After a few moments, his mouth against the hair covering her ear, Reid said, 'Casey, my darling. I want you very much but…'

  'And I want you.' She turned her head quickly to look at him, their faces only inches apart. 'I—I love you, Reid.'

  'Oh, my darling girl.' He kissed her deeply, tenderly. 'And I you. So much. So much.' For a moment Reid just held her in his arms, but then he tilted her face to look at him. 'Casey, you're probably going to think this is absolutely crazy, but—well, I've had women before. Quite a few in fact, over the years. But I've always hoped that one day I would fall in love with someone like you. Someone very special. So, darling, much as I want you, we will only ever get married once and I would very much like to do it properly.'

  Casey looked at him mistily, her throat dry. 'Have— have a white wedding, you mean?'

  'Yes, of course. And as soon as possible. But not only that. I'd like our wedding night to be our first night together.' He gave her a rather rueful look. 'I suppose you think that that's a completely archaic attitude.'

  'No, I don't.' Casey shook her head, silly tears of happiness in her eyes. 'I think it's wonderful,' she said chokily. 'But—well, do you really think we could last out that long?'

  Reid gave a burst of laughter and hugged her. 'It won't be easy, especially when you're lovely enough to drive a man crazy. But the racing season is really getting under way now and I shall be away quite a lot, so maybe we'll manage.'

  Lying back in his arms, Casey lifted a finger to trace the outline of his profile, her eyes on his face, thinking about his injured eye and the accident that she was sure must have caused it.

  As if reading her mind Reid said on a harsh note, 'Do you mind? About my eye?'

  'Of course not. Oh no, Reid, don't ever think that.' Leaning forward, Casey gently kissed the eye-patch to reassure him, to prove that it didn't repel her at all. She would have liked to ask him, then, what had happened, but didn't want to spoil so wonderful an evening, so instead she gave a little smile. 'As a matter of fact I find it rather attractive. The first time I saw you I thought you looked like a pirate. I also thought you were quite fascinating.'

  'Did you now? But not half as fascinating as I find you, my darling, beautiful girl.' And Reid bent to kiss and caress her again, so that words became superfluous when they could so much better show each other how they felt.

  They didn't say anything to her family when they went up to Norfolk on the following Sunday, but it must have been pretty obvious from the way they looked at each other that they were very much in love. Her parents were a little taken aback at first to find that Reid was a man of thirty-three rather than the boy they had expected, but they very soon fell under his spell, her mother especially.

  Mark, of course, would have monopolised Reid for the whole day if he had been allowed to. As it was he asked him endless questions which Reid answered with good-humoured patience, and he even seemed to be pleased by Mark's keenness, offering him his coveted ride in one of his racing power-boats.

  After lunch they all drove over to the coast and walked along the beach, its smooth sands stretching for miles, the sea sparkling in the spring sunshine. Sometimes they walked as a group, sometimes splitting up into twos or threes, but it was some time before Casey could prise Mark away from Reid long enough to hiss, 'Did you find that article?' at him.

  Mark looked surprised. 'Do you still want it?'

  'Yes. Have you got it yet?'

  He nodded. 'I was going to bring it down to you, but then Mum said you were coming today so I didn't bother. It's up in my room.' He looked at her curiously. 'Haven't you asked Reid about it yet, then? I should have thought you would have, now you've gone this far.'

  'What's that supposed to mean?' Casey demanded.

  'Well, bringing him home to meet Mum and Dad and all that,' Mark explained with a grin. 'You've never brought anyone home before. Not like this, making a special trip. And anyway, it's pretty obvious that you're gone on each other.'

  'Well, maybe we are,' Casey admitted. 'But don't say anything to Mum and Dad yet.'

  Mark gave a snort of laughter. 'As if I need to. They've got eyes too, you know.'

  Casey smiled softly. 'Yes, I suppose so. But I still want to read that article, so slip it to me when Reid isn't around, will you?'

  'OK. But why don't you just come right out and ask him yourself?'

  'I don't know. He never talks about it. I think I'd like to know what happened before I decide,' Casey explained, her eyes a little troubled. 'I don't want to remind him of something he might be trying hard to forget.'

  So before they left Mark waited until Reid was saying goodbye to their mother and passed her a folded sheet of paper which Casey quickly put into her bag.

  They waved as they drove away until her parents were out of sight and then Reid gave a 'Phew' of relief and pretended to wipe sweat from his brow. 'Thank goodness we got through that ordeal OK.'

  Casey gave a delighted laugh. 'Don't tell me you were nervous! I don't believe it.'

  'Of course I was nervous. Meeting one's future in-laws for the first time can be a nerve-racking experience for a man. I was scared stiff.'

  'Rubbish. I can't imagine you ever being afraid of anything.'

  They had come to a red set of traffic lights and Reid turned to her as they waited. 'You couldn't be more wrong. There's one thing I'm completely terrified of.'

  'Oh? What's that?' Casey asked in surprise, all sorts of thoughts running through her mind.

  Reaching across, Reid covered her hand with his as it lay in her lap. 'Of losing you, of course,' he said with deep sincerity. 'That I couldn't bear.' His eyes held hers for a long moment, but then a car behind them hooted impatiently and he turned away to concentrate on the road.

  It was almost midnight before Reid left her and Casey had the opportunity to take the article from her bag and read it. Strangely, she felt almost reluctant to do so, as if she was prying into something secret. But that was silly; the article was public
property, there to be read by anyone who had bought the magazine.

  There was no date on the page, merely a description of a Formula One race that had taken place in Milan. It began with a headline saying, 'World Championship hopes dashed for Reid Lomax', and went on to give an account of his crash, which had happened much as Mark had said; the boat taking off and rolling over. Reid, it stated, had been taken to hospital unconscious, suffering from head injuries and severe concussion. It had been feared at first that he had brain damage, but (at the time) he was on his way to making a good recovery, although the doctors didn't hold out much hope of saving the sight of his right eye.

  Casey put down the cutting, feeling physically sick, but this was suddenly replaced by fierce anger. 'How dare he risk his life like that? How dare he?' She thrust the cutting away in her handbag, unable even to look at it again, but determined that she would ask Reid about it the next time she saw him. If she was going to marry him then she had the right to know.

  But although Reid rang her every day, he was busy and wasn't able to see her again until a few days later, by which time the first shock of reading the article had worn off a little. It seemed ages since she had seen him so that Casey ran eagerly to open the door when he arrived. Reid stepped inside, took her in his arms and kissed her hungrily, having missed her as much as she'd missed him. His kiss, of course, drove everything else out of her mind, and it was quite some time before Reid even bothered to close the door.

  He laughed softly as he held her. 'I think we'd better set the date for our wedding pretty soon, don't you? How about June?'

  'June sounds wonderful,' Casey agreed, kissing his neck. 'But it's almost two months away.'

  She felt a tremor run through him as she bit his earlobe. 'We could always make it early June.' Her tongue teased him and he shuddered, his arms tightening around her.

  'Very early June,' he amended. 'You minx! I can't stand that. Come here.'

  But Casey teasingly eluded him and ran into the sitting-room, dodging round the furniture until Reid caught her. She shrieked when he grabbed her from behind, half lifting her off her feet as she struggled to get away, but his arms tightened and for the first time she felt his immense, contained strength.

  Laughing, Reid put his hand over her mouth. 'Quiet, woman. Or else the neighbours will think I'm raping you.' Turning her round, he held her against him, his eye glittering down into hers. It was only a game, and one that she had started herself, but to have him chase her like that gave Casey a delicious thrill of danger and excitement. For a moment Reid had again been the pirate and she his unwilling captive. But there was nothing at all unwilling in the way she responded when he kissed her again, pressing herself against him until he gave a groan and held her away. 'Casey!' he admonished, but saw her laughing up at him and grinned back. 'You Jezebel! God, I'm crazy about you.' For a moment he continued to smile down at her, but then said firmly, 'Where's your coat? We're going to walk to the pub and have a drink.'

  So they walked along together, Casey in a teasing mood that kept Reid laughing all the way, and for quite a while after they had reached the pub. It was only when he told her that he would be going away again the following week that Casey's eyes shadowed and she remembered the article.

  'What is it ?' Reid asked, taking her hand. 'Don't you want me to go?'

  'No, I don't want you to go,' Casey agreed slowly. 'But mostly because of this.' And she took her hand away to take the article out of her bag and give it to him.

  Reid's left eyebrow rose and he looked at her serious face for a moment before taking the piece of paper from her and reading it. 'Mm, very edifying,' he commented. 'I suppose Mark gave it to you?'

  'Yes. Is that all you're going to say about it?' Casey demanded impatiently. 'Just "very edifying"?'

  'What else do you want me to say?' Reid dropped the article on to the table and picked up his glass of beer.

  'Reid, you could have been killed! As it is you've— you've lost the sight in one eye. You didn't tell me that it was that dangerous. You—you should have,' she finished on an accusing note.

  'Why? Would it have made any difference?'

  There was a challenging tone in his voice that made Casey stare at him. She thought about it and then slowly shook her head. 'No. No, I don't suppose so.' But she said it on an unhappy note and looked down at her hands in her lap.

  Immediately Reid leaned across and took hold of her hands. 'Look at me, Casey,' he commanded. And when she did so, went on, 'Most sports have an element of risk, some more than others of course. And I'll admit that power-boat racing can be dangerous if you're not careful. But I am careful, darling. I've been racing since I was sixteen and this is the first time that I've been badly injured, and then it was purely bad luck. I hit the bow wave of another boat and it rolled me, that's all.'

  Casey looked at him, at the constant reminder on his face of the crash. 'And what's to say you won't have more bad luck on your next race, or the one after that?'

  'Nothing,' Reid admitted bluntly. 'But we're working to make the sport safer all the time. We're restricting the size of the engines to the weight of the boat so that they don't take off, and we're reducing the number of boats taking part in each heat so that there's less danger of them colliding. But most important of all, most drivers are having cells fitted into their boats. That's a kind of toughened shell that fits round the driver and protects him in case of an accident. It's saved a whole lot of injuries already.'

  'And have you got these cells fitted to your boats?'

  'Yes, of course. I don't want another crash. Look,' he said persuasively, 'my sister has invited us over to dinner on Saturday. Why don't we go over early and I'll show you round my factory so that you can see the boats for yourself? And I'll show you where I live, too. Where we'll both be living after we get married.' Adding, 'And I've found you a place nearby that I think will be suitable for you to use for your business.'

  Casey was immediately diverted. 'We haven't got round to talking about that yet, have we? I'm glad you don't expect me to give it up.'

  'Not at all. I don't expect you'll want to come abroad with me all the time, so it will be good for you to have something to occupy you. And anyway,' he grinned, 'it's always good to have something to fall back on in case the bottom ever falls out of the boat business.'

  'Tell me about this place,' she commanded.

  'It's in a converted warehouse that's been divided up into units for light industrial use. There are several people already there, and some of them are quite young, so you would be in good company. I had a look over it, and there's one unit which has very good natural light which I think will be exactly right for you. But you'd have to go and look at it and see what you think, of course.'

  'It sounds interesting,' Casey admitted, but there was a trace of wistfulness in her voice. She had grown to love her little cottage, and it would be a wrench to leave it. For a moment she toyed with the idea of suggesting that they make their home at the cottage, but Reid seemed so certain that they would be living at his house that she decided to wait and see it first.

  When Saturday came round, Casey was waiting eagerly for Reid to pick her up, feeling as nervous at meeting his family as Reid had said he was at meeting hers. 'Tell me about your sister,' she demanded as soon as they were on their way.

  Reid grinned. 'Her name is Elaine and she's married to a doctor called Richard. They have two children; Emma who's eight, and Paul who is six.' He gave her a glance, then reached out to cover her hand with his for a moment. 'Don't look so worried; they're going to love you as much as I do. And I'm sure that you'll like them.'

  Impulsively, Casey leant across and nibbled at his ear. 'I love you,' she murmured.

  'Hey! Behave yourself when I'm driving, woman. Or I may stop this car and give you what you deserve.'

  What woman on earth could resist a challenge like that? Her eyes dancing with mischief and anticipation, Casey began to undo the buttons of his shirt and slid her hand i
nside.

  Reid pulled sharply into the kerb, switched off the engine, and turned to grab her. Pulling her into his arms, he kissed her fiercely, letting her feel his strength, dominating her, so that when he finally let her go she stared up at him breathlessly. 'Wow! Shades of Valentino. And just where did you learn to kiss like that, might I ask?'

  He grinned. 'Behave yourself and one day I might tell you.'

  'Oh, I see, a dark secret, huh! But I've an idea that you might tell me far more quickly if I misbehave myself.'

  'Could be,' Reid admitted with a laugh as he re-started the engine.

  They drove on and reached Waterleigh about half an hour later. Reid turned right at the crossroads and followed a signpost to Salford Lake, drawing up at the side of a very modern-looking factory complex which had three slipways going into the lake.

  Casey got out of the car and looked round her in surprise. 'I expected to see lots of boats around, but there isn't one.'

  'You're thinking of a boatyard where boats are repaired. Here we only build them.' Putting his arm round her waist, Reid unlocked a side door and led her inside.

  It was a large, airy factory with boats of different models in various stages of completion. The hulls were made of fibre-glass and Reid first showed her the large moulds where the hulls were built up layer by layer, the strong smell of the glue making her curl up her nose. 'These are the ordinary pleasure boats,' Reid told her, indicating some smaller hulls. 'They're mostly used to pull water-skiers. People put them on trailers and take them down to the coast at the weekend. What we call the weekender market.'