mile out now, but he felt no urgency, and the darkness was almost
complete when she rose suddenly, waist-deep from the edge of the gentle
surf, waded ashore and came up the beach, twisting the rope of her hair
over one shoulder to wring the water from it.
Nicholas felt his heart flop over and he flicked the cheroot away and
stood up. She halted abruptly, like a startled forest animal, and stood
completely still, staring uncertainly at the tall, dark figure before
her. She was so young and slim and smooth and beautiful.
What do you want? she faltered.
You/ he said.
Why? Are you starting a harem? Her voice hardened and she
straightened; he could not see the expression of her eyes, but her
shoulders took on a stubborn set.
He stepped for-ward and she was rigid in his arms and her lips hard and
tightly unresponsive under his.
Sam, there are things I'll never be able to explain, I don't even
understand them myself, but what I do know very clearly is that I love
you, that without you my life is going to be flat and plain goddamned
miserable There was no relaxation of the rigid muscles. Her hands were
still held stiffly at her sides and her body felt cold and wet and
unyielding.
Samantha, I wish I were perfect - I'm not. But all I am sure of is that
I can't make it without you. I couldn't take it again. I couldn't live
through this again/ she said tightly.
I need you. I am certain of that/ he insisted.
You'd better be, you son of a bitch. You cheat on me one time more and
you won't have anything left to cheat with - I'll take it off clean, at
the roots. Then she was clinging to him. Oh God, Nicholas, how I hated
you, and how I missed you - and how long you took to come back/ and her
lips were soft and tasted of the sea.
He picked her up and carried her up through the soft sand. He didn't
trust himself to speak, it would be so easy to say the wrong thing now.
Nicholas, I've been sitting here waiting for your call., Bernard
Wackie's voice was sharp and alert, the tension barely contained. How
soon can you get yourself back here? What is it?
It is starting to pop. I've got to hand it to you, baby, you've got a
nose for it. You smelled this coming., Come on, Bernie! Nicholas
snapped.
This call is going through three open exchanges, Bernie told him.
'You want chapter and verse, or did nobody ever tell you that it's a
tough game you are in? There is a lot of competition cluttering up the
scene. The cheese-heads have one lying handy. Probably Wittezee or one
of the other big Dutch tugs, Nicholas thought swiftly. They could be
streaming a towing wire within a couple of days, And the Yanks are
pretty hot numbers, McCormick has one stationed in the Hudson River.
'All right, Nick cut through the relish with which Bernie was detailing
the threat of hovering competition.
There is a direct flight at seven tomorrow morning - if I can't make
that, I'll connect with the British Airways flight from Nassau at noon
