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Luke walked in and looked down at her; his grey eyes were brilliant in the dim light of the little hall. Judith closed the door and stood there, trembling. She couldn't say a thing.
'You know. She said she'd told you,' Luke said.
Judith swallowed, she was still waiting, she could not believe that she was going to be so happy, it did not seem possible.
'Why did you run away like that; then?' Luke demanded harshly, staring down at her, so close that she could see the little golden flecks ringing the iris of his eyes.
'I wasn't running away, I was driving my grandmother home.'
'You must have known I'd come to look for you after I'd talked to Baba.'
'I didn't know what you'd do,' said Judith, and his grey eyes flashed with sudden anger.
'You didn't know?' There was violence in his face, she thought for a second he was going to hit her, then he turned and walked into the sitting-room and she followed slowly. He sat down on the couch, his body tense. Judith stood there, uneasily watching him.
'I love you, ' he said to his shoes. 'But I sometimes wonder why. I can never quite work out your reasons for doing anything. You knew I didn't want to marry Baba. You knew I was in love with you. From the minute she arrived today I've been trying to tell her I couldn't marry her, that I'd made a terrible mistake— when she told me first I was speechless. I had a hard time not grinning from ear to ear. But I managed to be polite and say I didn't blame her, she was probably going to be another Marilyn Monroe and I wished her all the luck in the world. Then I went to look for you, but you'd gone and I couldn't work out why. So I drove Baba home and said goodbye and told her to keep the ring, which she was quite happy to do.' Judith caught the glint of derision with which he said that. Was he secretly angry with Baba? 'I thought of coming straight here, but I needed to think out why you'd rushed off without even saying goodbye, so I went and had a few drinks,' he said.
'Oh, did you?' Judith said warily; was that what made his eyes so brilliant?
He looked up then. 'I'm not drunk,' he said with aggression.
'I didn't think you were.'
'You sounded as though you did. Why did you go, Judith? Why?'
'I wanted to leave you room,' she said, remembering what his mother had said to her and her grandmother earlier that day. 'You don't have to feel obliged to . . .'
'Shut up!' Luke muttered explosively. He lunged forward and grabbed her wrist, jerked her across his lap and kissed her with passion and a reined ferocity. Her mouth trembled for a second at the heat and fury in the kiss, then she let her arms go round his neck and kissed him back softly, her lips parting to admit him.
He lifted his head later, breathing sharply. 'I've been dying to kiss you for days, you know that; it's been torture not touching you—how could you do that to us, Judith? Seeing you every day, having to keep my distance—it was more than flesh and blood could stand. I haven't been sleeping; when I did manage to get to sleep I dreamed about you. I've been so frustrated it's a wonder I've managed to stay sane.'
'I couldn't steal you from Baba,' she explained, her fingertips caressing the smooth brown skin of his throat. She undid his tie while he watched, one brow arching slightly in silent comment. Judith dropped the tie to the floor and began to undo his shirt.
'I thought I was going to have a hell of a scene on my hands when I told her,' said Luke, shrugging out of his jacket. It wasn't easy with Judith on his lap, it made her laugh and he looked at her with lighthearted amusement.
'I hope you never regret it after she's become a sex symbol for the eighties,' said Judith, her palm sliding down the muscular line of his chest.
'I'll be able to boast that I was the one who got away,' smiled Luke, tugging her shirt out of her waistband.
'Don't tear that, it's pure silk,' Judith protested, and slid out of the shirt before he damaged it.
Luke looked down at her slender body in the lemon silk slip, she heard him breathing with shallow irregularity. 'I've been waiting to get you into bed for what seems years.' His cool fingers slowly pulled down the straps on the slip and then he undid her bra with what she felt was far too practised a technique.
'You've done this before,' she reproached.
'Have you?' He bent his head and she took a fierce breath as his lips brushed lightly over the nipple of one breast. 'Judith . . .' She felt his hands moving over her warm skin and a soft cry broke out of her at the pleasure of what he was doing. Heat was growing inside her, inside both of them, and she watched him with intense passion as he lifted his head. His face was darkly flushed; she felt like someone who has been struggling with a heavy load up a hill and then suddenly finds herself after a bitter time, running down hill unable to stop. 'This isn't where we should be,' whispered Luke, and he shifted her sideways and got up. He picked her up and walked towards the bedroom.
'I love you,' Judith whispered, her face half buried in his neck where his blood beat fiercely under the warm skin. 'I wish I was beautiful for you . . .'
'I've never seen anything so beautiful in my life,' said Luke as he put her down on the bed, and as his body came down to join her she arched to meet it.
