“I’ll miss having you to talk to,” she confessed softly.
He shifted restlessly. “I was thinking the same thing,” he said quietly. “I’m alone except for you.” Before she could reply, he turned and opened the door. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
He closed it and left her standing there.
Alone, in the harsh light of reality, she was astounded at her behavior. Letting fantasies take over, she had offered to... Her face flamed, and she caught her breath. She’d acted like a total wanton with King.
She got out of her wet things, put on a caftan and dried her hair, troubled by the direction her life was taking. If she truly became King’s lover, would she be discarded when he tired of her? She loved him, but she knew he merely wanted her. She had to get her perspective back, and she couldn’t do that around King. All in all, it was best that she was going home.
Unbidden, the memory of what King had said before leaving came back to her: “I’m alone except for you.” What had he meant by the statement?
She was still puzzling over it when she went to bed.
CHAPTER SIX
RIDING TO THE airport was an ordeal. Although Elissa sat in the front seat with King, his eyes kept darting to the rearview mirror. He talked to Bobby, but it was Bess he was exchanging eloquent looks with.
The one thing it did accomplish was to make Elissa see clearly what a fool she’d been to daydream over his exquisite lovemaking. He’d only been toying with her; there hadn’t been anything serious about it on his part. Probably he’d made love to dozens of women without feeling the need to commit himself. Men weren’t like women, she told herself; they didn’t need emotional involvement to find fulfillment. But it saddened her all the same. She’d just begun to realize how much she cared about him, how much a part of her life he’d become. She’d looked forward to coming to Jamaica, not because of the island itself but because of the man who lived next door. And she felt possessive about him.
That possessiveness had reared its ugly head the instant she saw Bess. It hadn’t taken much effort to realize how appealing King’s sister-in-law must be to him. She wasn’t a shallow flirt just out for a good time. She was beautiful and vulnerable and unhappy, tied to a man she cared about who never paid her any attention. How terrible that must feel, and how much King must want to comfort and protect her. But how terrible, too, for King to be torn between his feelings for Bess and for Bobby and his sense of what was right. What a mess.
And what a pity, Elissa thought, that she herself couldn’t be one of those superficial people who enjoyed life without really considering consequences. But she knew herself too well to think she could survive a casual affair with King. Her principles were too firmly embedded in her personality, and despite her abandon when she was with him, he was right that her conscience would kill her if she fell into his bed. Besides, she thought miserably, would he still feel the same about her once he’d been intimate with her? She didn’t think she could stand to have him and then lose him.
And what about Bess? Did she really want King, or was she attracted to him because he was safely unattainable and no real threat to her marriage? Elissa sighed, staring at the passing sea-grape trees and tall casuarina pines that partially veiled the blinding white beach and the incredible blues and greens of the Caribbean. What a ridiculous question. Her eyes turned to King, adoring his profile. He was handsome and rich, and what he didn’t know about women wasn’t worth knowing. Who wouldn’t want him for keeps? She looked away quickly and closed her eyes on a wave of pain. If he and Bess wound up together, they would undoubtedly marry and have children. How that thought hurt!
Time crawled while they got through the long line of customs and immigration before boarding the plane. Bess eased into the seat next to King’s on the enormous jumbo jet, and Elissa, on his other side, couldn’t help but notice the way Bess clutched his hand as the plane prepared for takeoff.
“Frightened?” King asked his sister-in-law in a tone so tender that it hurt Elissa.