Ultimatum

by Sally Wentworth

  'No!' Casey burst out. 'You've already said you won't give it up, so what's the point?'

  'The point is that we'll be lovers,' Reid answered harshly. 'In every sense of the word. There won't be any sexual tension between us. You won't be tired or anxious about Mark any more. We'll be able to talk things through rationally without—without these emotions coming into it. And without it being a form of blackmail.'

  'You mean you'll just try and persuade and cajole me into letting you go on racing,' Casey said, her anger returning. 'I wouldn't put it past you even to use sex to make me agree to it.'

  Reid's eyes narrowed. 'Isn't that what you're doing?' he pointed out coldly.

  Casey turned away, biting her lips. 'It's different,' she said.

  'Is it? Not in my book.' Reid reached out to put his hand under her chin and make her look at him. His face was still dark with anger that lay only just beneath the surface, the eye-patch giving him a cruel, barbaric look. 'If you love me, Casey,' he said deliberately, 'you will agree to forget this for a couple of days and let us make love now.'

  She looked into his face, but could see nothing but the evidence of his past hurt. 'And if you love me,' she countered, 'you'll promise to give it up here and now.'

  His thumb tightened for a moment, but then Reid took his hand away and took a swallow of his drink, outwardly quite calm and cold. 'So, we've reached an impasse. So now what do you intend to do?'

  Casey looked at him unhappily, quite at a loss. 'I—I don't know,' she admitted.

  Reid gave a harsh laugh. 'And nor, God help me, do I. It isn't a situation I've ever had to deal with before.' His eye went over her, saw the unhappiness in her face and smudges of tiredness around her eyes. 'Oh, go to sleep, child,' he said brusquely, getting to his feet. 'We'll talk again in the morning.'

  Looking steadily up at him, Casey said, 'I'm not a child, Reid.'

  His mouth twisting in bitter pain, he retorted angrily, 'My God, do you think I can't see that? Oh, hell!' He swung away from her and went to pour himself another drink before going to sit in the armchair. 'Go to sleep,' he repeated.

  Slowly Casey put down her glass and turned off the lamp, lay back on the pillow and pulled it to her. Reid was sitting in the shadows and she can see him, but she was totally aware of him broodingly in the chair, occasionally lifting his glass to his mouth to drink. Turning her back towards him, Casey lay awake for a long time, wishing that she could cry. She longed to cry out her unhappiness, to have Reid take her in his arms and comfort her, but instinct told her that she had forfeited that right. That to turn to him for comfort now would only make him despise her more. Though why he should despise her, when all she wanted was his safety, she couldn't understand. It made her resentful and that helped, although somewhere at the back of her mind she knew that it had been wrong to do it like this. It wasn't too late; she could still say that she had been wrong, that they would do it his way. But Casey had far too much confidence in Reid's power of persuasion for that. She knew that if they got into a discussion about racing he would be able to talk so knowledgeably of safety innovations and percentages and practical experience that it was an argument she would never be able to win. That he would be able to shoot down all her protestations and end up twisting her round his little finger. No, this was her only way, her solitary weapon against his battery of charm and experience. But the bed was big and lonely without him and she so longed for his closeness and love.

  Only when he was quite sure she was asleep did Reid come over to the bed and pull back the covers. Casey stirred and turned to lie on her back. The torn material had slipped from her soft breasts and the nightdress had wrinkled up as she slept, so that he could see almost the whole length of her long, slim legs. Pulling off his robe, Reid got into bed and turned off the lamp, lying on his stomach with his hands digging deeply into the pillow.

  He was gone when Casey woke up the next morning. She dressed hastily and found him downstairs in the restaurant, having breakfast with her parents.

  'Here she is, sleepyhead,' her mother said with a warm smile.

  Oh God, she thinks I slept late because we were making love, Casey thought with a fierce blush. 'How's Mark? Have you phoned the hospital?' she asked to cover her embarrassment. She sat down in the only vacant chair, beside Reid, very aware that he had only given her one brief glance before turning back to butter some toast.

  'Yes, and he's very much better. In fact they're moving him into a ward later this morning, so we'll be restricted to the normal visiting-times from now on.' She picked up the coffee-pot and began to pour some out for Casey. 'Now, what about you two? Are you going to see if you can get a flight back to America today?'

  Casey put sugar and milk into her cup and hastily took cover in drinking it, not knowing what to say. But Reid gave her a wry glance and said, 'I doubt if we'll get a flight at such short notice. The airlines are pretty fully booked at this time of year. And anyway, I'm quite sure that Casey would much rather stay here so that she can visit Mark every day.'

  Mrs Everett frowned. 'That is kind of you, dear, but what about your honeymoon? I really feel that you ought to…'

  'No,' Casey broke in. 'We—we can have a—a holiday any time. What's important now is to cheer Mark up. We—it's all decided, Mum, really.'

  'Well, if you're sure…' her mother said doubtfully.

  'Of course,' Reid said with a smile. 'As Casey said, we can have a honeymoon any time. Can't we, darling?' he said deliberately, turning to look at her with a sardonic smile.

  That false smile was almost Casey's undoing, but somehow she managed to nod in agreement.

  'It's so very good of you. Both of you,' Mrs Everett said in deep gratitude. 'Mark will so much prefer your company to ours when he starts to get well. Oh, I forgot to tell you: the doctor said that they'll probably be able to move him to our local hospital in a couple of days. Then you'll be able to stay at home with us. That will be much better, won't it?'

  Casey remembered the smallness of her bedroom and of her bed compared to the one in the hotel and gave a hollow smile. 'Yes, won't it?' she agreed.

  That morning her father took Reid to collect his own car from the airport while the two women did some shopping and visited Mark in the afternoon, but they all went together in the evening. By that time Mark had fully realised the extent of his injuries and was feeling very depressed. They did their best to cheer him up, but he was feeling very sorry for himself, especially as he had lost all chance of taking any further part in off-shore racing for the rest of the season. Strangely, it was Reid to whom Mark turned, and he seemed to want to discuss his crash. It had been caused, he said, when another boat had hit a wave and had spun in front of him. He had had no chance to avoid it and he had been thrown out when the two boats had collided. Luckily a rescue boat had been standing by and had lifted him out of the water almost at once.

  'It's a pity your boat wasn't fitted with a safety cell,' Reid remarked. 'Then you would have been strapped in and you'd probably have got away with a few bruises.' He said it deliberately and Casey knew that it was aimed at her. Her mouth tightened, but she didn't make any comment; this was neither the time nor the place to get into an argument.

  When visiting-time was over they walked to the hospital car park where Reid and Casey said goodbye to her parents, who had decided to drive to their home and travel in to Yarmouth again the next evening. 'There is such a lot of clearing up to do at home after the wedding,' her mother apologised. 'And I want to get your room ready for when you come to stay. Goodbye, both of you. See you tomorrow.'

  Casey was aware of the tension returning even as she waved them out of sight. Reid stood silently beside her and she slowly lowered her arm, her heart beating, afraid of being the first to speak.

  'Let's go,' Reid said curtly, and walked over to where his own car was parked. He unlocked it, but then looked over to her. 'You've never driven this car before; maybe now is as good a time as any for you to try it.'

  'A
ll right.' Casey went round to the driver's side and Reid showed her how to adjust the seat, his hand accidentally brushing against hers as he did so. Casey jumped as if she had been stung and hastily moved her hand away, the physical contact more than she could bear.

  Lifting his head, Reid gave her a look of such sudden anger that her heart froze under its intensity. Her hands shaking, she gripped the wheel in fright and didn't dare to look at him as he went round and got in the car beside her. He closed the door, fastened his belt, and said shortly, 'Do up your safety-strap.' When she had done so, her fingers all thumbs, he said, 'Are you all right?'

  'Ye-yes.' Somehow Casey got the word out, although she felt so nervous that she really didn't want to drive.

  'OK, let's go, then. You might as well drive around for a while to give yourself a chance to get used to it.'

  Forcing her mind to concentrate on the strange controls, Casey started the car and drove it very carefully out of the car park and through the town. The car was very different from her own old banger; it had a much more powerful engine and also had power-assisted steering which turned the car with only the very lightest of touches, whereas hers she had to pull round as if she was driving a tank. The windscreen wipers and indicators were on different sides of the steering-wheel too, which she found confusing, but after driving it for about twenty minutes Casey at last felt as if she had mastered it and relaxed a little.

  "You're doing fine,' Reid encouraged. He glanced at her. 'Happy with it now?'

  She nodded. 'It's just so much bigger and more powerful. How fast does it go?'

  'In this country not faster than seventy. That's the speed limit, remember?'

  Casey pulled a wry face. 'My old car would only get up to seventy if I had the throttle wide open, I was going downhill and I had the wind behind me.' Reid laughed and she said cajolingly, 'There's nothing about and this is a lovely straight road; couldn't I go just a little faster?'

  He didn't answer for a moment, but then Reid sat back in his seat and said, 'OK, go ahead.'

  'Really?' Casey gave a wide grin and put her foot down on the accelerator. The car picked up speed, but was still only cruising at seventy and was so luxuriously sprung that it didn't feel as if they were going fast at all. Casey gave a crow of laughter. 'Oh, you beauty. Can't she go?' She had regretfully to brake because they were coming to a road junction. She turned left to head back to Yarmouth along the coast road. 'Mm, that was Jim,' she enthused, her face glowing with excitement. 'I've never driven that fast before.'

  'Look, there's a track over there that leads down to the sea,' Reid pointed. 'Let's drive down it.'

  Casey did so and stopped the car just above the beach. On their right the sea splashed gently against the sands and breakwaters and to their left the blood-red sun set the sky on fire as it died in beauty.

  'So you like this car,' Reid remarked as she switched off the engine.

  'Of course. It's a beauty,'

  'And I think you'd have liked to drive even faster if you'd been able.'

  'Why yes, I…' Casey broke off, realising where this was leading.

  'Yes.' Reid nodded. 'I like to drive fast, too. But on water more than on land. And I get the feeling of excitement that you got then, whenever I race. Only with me it's magnified a hundred times because there's all the build-up to the race; the weeks of getting the boat in perfect running order, practising until you know the circuit, getting yourself into the frame of mind to win. Then there's the skill in trimming the boat exactly right, and other boats around you, the buoys coming up, and the thrill when you go round them first. Can you imagine how I must feel, Casey? Can you?' he demanded urgently.

  Casey sat staring into the sunset, the colours so fierce they hurt her eyes. 'Yes,' she said huskily. 'I can imagine it.'

  'And could you give it up, if it were you?' he persisted. 'Especially when you were about to achieve the peak of your ambitions?'

  She turned to look at him, realising that she had been unwittingly drawn into the argument that she had always known she couldn't win. So instead of agreeing with him she said, 'Why did you marry me, Reid?'

  His eyebrow rose. 'Because I fell in love with you, of course.'

  'And did it never occur to you that what you were doing was entirely selfish? That you had no right to ask any girl to marry you when you were indulging yourself in a so-called sport that could maim or kill you at any moment?' she asked bitterly.

  Reid drew back, his face hardening. 'Are you saying that you wish you hadn't married me?'

  She looked away again, tears coming into her eyes, and mumbled, 'No,' as she shook her head.

  ‘Casey, look at me.' When she wouldn't, Reid put his hands on her shoulders and made her face him. Seeing her wet eyes he gave an angry exclamation. 'For God's sake! Can't you see what you're doing to us? This ought to be the time when we're the closest, but your stubbornness is just pushing us apart.' Pulling her into his arms he said urgently, 'I want to love you, Casey. I want that more than anything else in the world. I want to be able to hold you close in my arms, to feel your body against mine. To touch you and say your name. To know that you're mine. Truly mine.' He spoke forcefully, his arms holding her, his lips against the skin of her throat as he sought to break her will.

  'No! Leave me alone.' With a supreme effort Casey tore herself out of his arms, opened the door of the car and almost fell out on to the ground. Picking herself up she ran on to the beach, but she was wearing high-heeled shoes which soon slowed her down.

  Behind her, Reid's door slammed. Effortlessly he caught her up and swung her round to face him.

  'No,' she yelled at him again. 'Don't—don't touch me.'

  But it was the wrong thing to say, only serving to increase his anger. With a snarl Reid dragged her into his arms. 'You're my wife,' he gritted furiously. 'I shall kiss you—and touch you—any time I damn well want to.'

  He tried to kiss her but Casey twisted her head away. 'No. You're nothing but a liar.'

  'What do you mean? What are you saying now?' Still holding her arms Reid pushed her away so that he could see her face.

  Panting a little, Casey answered, 'Just now, you said that you wanted us to be—to be lovers more than anything else in the world. But it isn't true. If it were, you'd want it more than you want to race. But you won't give up racing so it can't be true.'

  'Such typical feminine logic,' Reid commented with a disparaging curl of his lips, then lifted his head to the skies as if asking the gods for help. 'Can't you see, Casey? It's nothing to do with that! It's a question of give and take. How would you have felt if I'd demanded that you give up your business?'

  With a harsh laugh, Casey said jeeringly, 'I'm hardly likely to get killed using a knitting-machine.'

  Reid gave an impatient exclamation and let her go. 'I suppose I was a fool to think that you'd understand. You're too young.' Shoving his hands in his pockets, he turned away.

  'But not too young to know that I don't want you to get killed,' Casey told him angrily.

  'That isn't what I meant. I meant that you're too young to see that using sex as a weapon is all wrong. You're driving a wedge between us, instead of bringing us together so that we can sort the problem out.' He looked at her tear-stained face and said tersely, his voice thick with emotion, 'Please, Casey. For the last time. Give this up. Let's go back to the hotel and go to bed together. Let's make love—and then work this out. I…' His voice broke. 'Casey, I want you so much. Can't you see that?'

  'Yes,' she admitted swallowing a great lump in her throat. 'And I want you. Desperately. But I have so much at stake. Your safety. Your life.' She made a small nobbing sound and her body shuddered. 'But everything's on your side. All I have is—is myself. Saying no to you is my only weapon.' With a sudden movement she ran to him and caught his arm. 'Reid, I don't want to hurt you. I want us to be together, to be happy. But I'm so afraid. If anything happened to you I wouldn't want to live. I couldn't—not without you.' A great sob tore through he
r and Casey put her hands up to cover her face, her shoulders shaking convulsively.

  With a groan, Reid reached out and drew her into his arms, holding her close, his hand stroking her hair as he held her head against his shoulder. 'Don't cry, sweetheart. Please don't cry. It tears me apart.' He went on gently stroking her until her sobs had quietened a little, his lips against her hair.

  'I'm—I'm sorry,' Casey mumbled. 'I don't—usually cry.' She lifted a finger to wipe her eyes, but Reid bent to kiss the tears away instead. 'I must look a mess,' she muttered as his lips traced the trail of a tear down her cheek.

  'You look beautiful. You always look beautiful.' He licked a teardrop from the corner of her mouth and then kissed her with little exploring kisses that insinuated themselves into her heart and mind. She could taste the salt of her own tears on his lips and gave a last little sob that melted beneath the deepening intensity of his embrace.

  Her arms went round his neck and Casey clung to him for comfort, for love. Reid kissed her fiercely now, and bore her back so that they were lying on the soft sand. He murmured her name against her mouth, his hot hands stroking her arms, cupping her breasts, moving on to follow the long length of her bare legs from her ankle to her thigh, his touch setting her senses on fire, making her gasp and quiver with awareness.

  Her reaction increasing his own desire, Reid leaned pantingly over her. His body trembling as much as hers, he lifted his hand to undo the bows at the shoulders of Casey's dress, then dragged the material down to her waist. His eyes devoured her breasts and she expected him to fondle and kiss them, but Reid propped himself on one elbow and slowly undid the buttons of his own shirt, pulled it loose from his trousers and took it off. Casey's breathing quickened as she stared up at him, wondering what he was going to do.