pagan lover

chapter two

CHAPTER TWO

THE white bridal gown was a model of perfection. Sue, Tara’s chief bridesmaid, stood back after Tara was dressed and gave a gasp of appreciation.

‘You look beautiful! I’ve never seen you look so lovely!’

Tara, though blushing under this flattery, was happy that she was looking so perfect for the man she loved. He would be waiting to claim her as his own, his wife, for ever.

‘Oh, but I’ve never been so happy!’ She looked in the mirror and sighed. ‘In an hour—perhaps an hour and a quarter—I shall he Mrs David Rothwell.’ She cut the last word rather abruptly, tensed and frightened suddenly. For a very dark face appeared before her, and in her ears the name Leon Petrides seemed to be ringing. Mrs Leon Petrides.... This could have been her name had she chosen.

‘Tara, what’s wrong, for heaven’s sake?’ Sue’s voice, sharp-edged with concern, mercifully took the ringing from her ears. ‘You looked almost—desolate!’ Sue shook her head, as if trying to negate what she had just said. ‘I mean, you looked unhappy—somehow.’

‘What a thing to say!’ Tara’s voice sounded cracked even to her own ears. ‘I’m the happiest girl alive!’ But she was again thinking of the Greek, who had sought her out on the third evening after that escape she had made. She had been out with David; he had brought her home and dropped her at the entrance to the nurses’ block of flats. Tara had stood on the step to wave to him, and she made no move until the car had disappeared. And then, before she had even time to cry out, she was caught in the Greek’s arms and for the second time forced to endure his kisses.

Endure..,.. She blushed hotly even now as she recalled her confusion of mind, her failure to call for help even though, after the first spate of his passion had passed, Leonides Petrides had held her from him, scanning her face in the dim light from the electric bulb overhead. He had laughed softly, in triumph, and guided her unresistingly to the shadows of the hospital gardens. There he had pulled her again to his hard body, had pressed his demanding mouth to hers, conquering her sudden spurt of resistance by taking one firm breast in his hand and caressing it in a way that was both tender and yet possessive. She struggled mentally but surrendered physically, surrendered as she had never even thought of doing with David.

But then David had never tempted her in the way the experienced Greek had tempted her. A woman would have to be made of stone before she could resist him ... and Tara was by no means made of stone. She learned things about herself which she had never known existed; she experienced sensations of sheer ecstasy, allowing herself to be carried on the tide of his unbridled pagan ardour. His lovemaking was subtle, so characterised by finesse that every nerve in her body was affected, every desire awakened until she almost craved for the final act of fulfilment. Nothing mattered except that she was in his arms; David was a nebulous figure simply because she had no room in her mind or heart for anyone or anything in these moments of total bliss. Leon Petrides ordered her to say his name and she obeyed at once. He told her that fate had meant them for one another and she agreed. He commanded her to break off her engagement and she said she would do as he told her. She was as putty in his hands, a mortal in the power of a pagan Greek god. The moon had come from behind the clouds to highlight her face and she had again heard his low laugh of triumph.

‘I’m your master,’ he had whispered. ‘I own you, body and soul. You’ll come to me, be my wife, and we shall be happy for ever. You will be enchanted with my island, Tara; it has no roads so no traffic. Hills and valleys, the calm blue sea all around you when you stand on the patio and gaze one way and another. Flowers for your hair, jewels for your throat.’ His lips came down, gently taking hers. She gave her own lips freely, gladly; she embraced him as he embraced her. And when at last she begged him to let her go, she had made the solemn promise that she would be his wife.