The Designer(59)

‘I don’t believe you. You hate each other. Each of you wants me for yourself.’ She caressed his cheek. ‘Admit it, Henry – you’d go crazy if I stayed friends with Suzy.’

‘Friends? No.’ He trapped her hand and kissed the palm. ‘Are you more than friends?’

Copper sealed his lips with her hand. ‘Don’t ask. If you start asking questions like that, you’re already taking away my freedom.’

He took her hand gently away from his mouth. ‘Suzy is a madness in your life,’ he said. ‘The madness will pass and then you’ll come to me. Until then, I’ll try to be patient.’

His warm hand cupped the back of her neck and drew her face to his gently. Copper felt everything she had just said start to sink into treacherous quicksand as her mouth approached his. She felt his breath on her lips and closed her eyes as he kissed her.

They kissed gently at first, then with growing urgency. As always when he kissed her like this, she felt her resolve and her ideals start to melt away. She needed him to love her, even though she couldn’t give herself to him in the way he demanded. There had to be release in her life, some discharge of tension. For a moment, it was as though she were drowning. It had been so long. Yearning rose in her with a force that could not be denied. She lifted her arms around his strong neck and kissed him back, her body pressing against his.

Henry knew exactly what he wanted to do to her and she understood. It was not a complete possession, but a partial yielding. He slid between her thighs, his kisses searching for her. Copper arched her back as his hands cupped her breasts greedily, his mouth bathing her.

‘Henry!’ she whispered, her fingers knotting in his hair. The pleasure he gave her was like the rush of some drug. She had never felt this intensity before. She had never known that sex could be this tender assault on the senses, this ruthless desire, this cannibal love.

His mouth understood everything about her, knew her every secret wish, gratified it as soon as it was formed. There were no more thoughts of pain or failure, no thoughts of anything beyond this. Only Henry mattered. She called out his name, her voice husky, lifting to a cry. Tension drained out of her in a long shudder of ecstasy. Reality rippled up from the depths of a dark sea, settling around her. Slowly, the drugged ecstasy of gratification filled her veins, relaxing every inch of her, setting the universe in motion again.

She took him in her arms, holding him tight. ‘Let me do something for you, now.’

‘There’s only one thing I want. I want all of you, Copper. You’re right. I’ll never be content with anything less than all of you. And I’m prepared to wait.’ He drew back. ‘But I want you to see me.’

He rose and began to undress, his eyes never leaving hers. She lay back on the bed, her hair spread like a pool of flame. One of her thighs was lifted to expose the triangle of hair. She left it like that, wanting her abandon to excite him.

He laid his clothes on the chair and turned to her, naked and unashamed. His body was beautiful, darker-skinned than her own and very strong, with sinews that rippled and tightened as he moved. He was powerfully built, with muscles developed and hardened by exercise, black hair at his chest, armpits and loins. There were scars, too: the marks of bullets and bayonets that had almost taken his life. ‘You can see that I am not old.’

‘I can see that.’ Copper knew she would never forget this moment. She reached out to him. ‘Come to me.’

He shook his head, his mouth serious, his eyes smiling. ‘On our wedding night I will come to you. Here, in this bed. I have waited for all my life. I can wait a little longer.’

Copper watched him as he dressed again. His self-control was greater than hers and that frightened her a little. He was so certain that she would be his one day. And then what would be left of the freedom she cherished so much? Would she have entered another servitude? Or would it be the beginning of a new life?





Ten

What had happened between them at Henry’s house had altered their relationship in more than one way. It had brought them closer and had deepened Copper’s feelings for him; but it had also alarmed her. She had made love with a man – albeit in a limited way – for the first time since leaving Amory. She had also committed herself to Henry physically, despite all her resolutions to the contrary. She felt as though she were running away from a remarriage, but losing ground constantly. His absence gave her some time to reflect and think.

Knowing that Henry was away, Suzy had invited Copper to have afternoon tea with her. She asked her to come to her apartment, which was on the Faubourg Saint-Honoré, and Copper duly arrived mid-afternoon. Suzy, however, was still in bed.

She opened the door for Copper rather grumpily. ‘Why have you come so early, for God’s sake?’

‘It’s three thirty,’ Copper pointed out.

‘Well, I didn’t get to sleep until nine this morning. I’m going to have a bath. Come.’

Copper sat on the edge of Suzy’s bath while it was filling. It was huge, but Suzy was extravagant with hot water – to Copper, the greatest of luxuries – and when she got into it, the water came up to her chin.

‘I think we’ll go to Maxim’s for afternoon tea,’ Suzy decided. She gave Copper the soap. ‘Will you wash my back, chérie?’

‘Of course.’ She began to lather Suzy’s smooth shoulders.