‘You’ve gotta be joking,’ he said incredulously. ‘What the hell’s Ricky been doing all these years?’
‘Not me,’ whispered Perdita.
‘Well, Luke then?’
‘Luke didn’t because he thought I was in love with Ricky. Anyway, he’s such a gentleman.’
‘Unlike me,’ said Red icily. ‘Are you having me on? I figured virgins were extinct.’
‘I’m sorry.’ Perdita hung her head dejectedly. ‘You were expecting nights and days of sophisticated passion. After Auriel, I’m going to be such an anti-climax.’
Standing there in a shirt much too big for her, a tear stealing down her pale cheek, like a raindrop on a magnolia petal, bruises still faintly violet on her long legs, she looked so unbelievably touching that Red’s face softened.
‘I’m not anti climaxes,’ he said. ‘I’m rather good at giving them to people. We took your L-plates off when we clipped your mane. Come here.’
Violently trembling, Perdita walked forward until she was almost touching his knees.
‘Take off that shirt.’
Each button seemed suddenly far too big for its buttonhole. Red’s cock’s going to be far too big for me, she thought in panic.
‘Hurry up,’ he said sharply, then as the shirt slid to the carpet: ‘Now fold it up. I’ll pick up your bills, but not your clothes.’
‘Bastard,’ said Perdita, as she picked up the shirt.
Red tipped up one of the white lampshades, so her body was flooded with light. Her hands fluttered to cover as much as they could.
‘Look at me,’ he snapped.
Dragging her eyes upwards as if they were ten-pound weights, she was amazed that he was laughing and his eyes were full of affection.
‘I like being the first. I can break you exactly the way I want.’
Stubbing out his cigarette, he took her waist in both hands to still the trembling, and pulled her down on to his knee.
Then he kissed her with incredible gentleness, his mouth cold but tasting slightly ashy from whisky and cigarettes, on and on as his fingers crept up her thighs till he found the damp, blond, pubic hair.
‘You’re sweet,’ he murmured, examining her. ‘All pink, tender and glistening, like the inside of a guava.’
As he inserted a finger, she jumped like a branded filly.
‘It’s OK, darling, you’re tight, but not that tight. I’ll get you so sopping beforehand, I’ll slide in like a cartridge into a twelve bore.’
Perdita had no-one else to judge him by, but had no doubt as he got to work she was in the hands of an expert. For a start he was so detached, and for another he was determined to excise the word ‘no’ from her vocabulary.
‘Red, you can’t lick me there, truly you can’t, or there, and Christ almighty, certainly not there.’
‘Shut up and enjoy it.’
Ten minutes later his tongue was circling her clitoris like an electric eel, his thumb was sliding relentlessly but slowly in and out of her vagina and his middle finger was stabbing in and out of her anus, and it was so excruciatingly shaming and enjoyable she found she was shrieking her head off.
‘Hush, my angel, you’ll frighten the monkeys.’
And as he promised when he finally drove his cock into her, she was so sodden and slippery with desire she hardly felt anything beyond a brief, excruciating pain. Then, as he moved in and out of her, his hand delicately caressed her clitoris, sideways, up and down, round and round driving her in to a no man’s land of pleasure.
‘I love you, I love you,’ she moaned. ‘I know I’ve never loved anyone else in my life.’
‘Not even Luke?’ His face over hers was almost satanic.
‘Go on say it.’
‘Not even Luke. Oh please, please go on.’
‘D’you know who’s responsible for my being so good in bed?’ he asked her as they had a very late breakfast next morning.
‘Bloody Auriel, I suppose.’
‘My mother.’
‘Grace,’ said Perdita in amazement. ‘She told you how to do all that?’
‘No, no, but being a goddam intellectual snob, she insisted I learn the violin and the flute, and locked me into the playroom to practise. Little did I think, as I double-stopped and double-tongued how useful it would be later. I was also underwater swimming champion at school which is why I can go down for so long without taking a breath.’
Perdita giggled and spread apricot jam on a second croissant.
‘You are appallingly conceited,’ she said, kissing his shoulder, ‘and totally accurate. Do you think the maids will mind there being blood all over the sheets?’
‘We’re paying them fifteen hundred dollars a night not to,’ said Red, pulling her into his arms. He knew exactly the spot just an inch below her nipples where her breasts were most responsive. Was it his expertise or her desire that made it so unbelievably pleasurable?
‘I can’t think why I’ve done without sex for so long,’ she said, arching against him, desperate for him to go on.
‘There’s only one thing better than pussy in the world,’ said Red looking at his watch.
‘What’s that?’
‘Polo. Go and run me a bath.’
Red and Perdita had only one cataclysmic row during their first week. They had been driving round the island congratulating themselves on avoiding the press for so long. Looking at the monkeys swaying and chattering in the trees and the brilliantly coloured birds and flowers, and the hedges alight with fireflies and huge moths as big as bats, Perdita thought how much Luke would have loved it. She hoped one day they could be friends and perhaps, fingers crossed, he would become her brother-in-law.
They stopped for dinner at Pongool on the North Coast, and sat gazing over the Straits at the lights of Johore. Near by a boy calmly dismembered crabs for their dinner. Ten minutes later they were eating them.
‘God, they’re delicious,’ said Perdita guiltily. ‘I’m getting awfully hardened. I couldn’t have eaten them a week ago, having seen them killed like that.’
‘You need toughening up. You’re far too emotional.’
They ate with their fingers off banana leaves instead of plates. From all directions came dollops of rice, beans, squid, giant prawns, lobster and the recently dismembered crabs.
‘Christ, you need a fire extinguisher to eat the chillies,’ gasped Perdita, taking a huge slug of white wine. ‘No, thank you,’ she shuddered as the waiter offered her a large fish’s head.
‘Gourmets suck the eyeballs,’ said Red, lighting a cigarette.
‘Ugh,’ said Perdita.
‘It’s an acquired taste. You mustn’t be so squeamish.’
‘Beautiful stars,’ said Perdita dreamily. She longed to stroke his thighs, but he’d go berserk if she spread chilli sauce all over his white trousers.
‘Stars much bigger in Kenya,’ said Red, tipping his head back. ‘I’ll take you there one day.’
Perdita thought she’d never been happier in her life.
‘Can I have some brandy?’
‘You’ve had enough.’ Red beckoned for the bill. ‘Don’t want to dull your reflexes. I’ve got some amylnitrate and a couple of incredibly blue movies back at the hotel. They’ll blow your mind.’
The moment they were back in the Brunei Suite, however, the telephone rang.
‘OK, terrific, come on up,’ said Red. Then, turning to Perdita, ‘Go and have a shower, darling. I’ve got a surprise for you.’
Perdita was wary of Red’s surprises. It might be the twins, or even the
But when she wandered into the drawing room ten minutes later in a pale pink silk kimono, she found sitting
