The Good Life (36 page)

“Not in front of her family.”

He withdrew from her and jumped up and ran the few yards to the water. He waded in and washed himself. In a moment she tossed the towel into the dinghy and joined him, as beautiful as nature in the sylvan setting. The cicadas sawed rhythmically at the air. Bet and Perry knelt on the sandy bottom and splashed water at each other, stroking it over their bodies with their hands.

“You like to keep me wanting you all the time,” he said.

“Men are so strange. That lovely thing is no earthly use except to give pleasure to others.”

“The pleasure's mine.”

“It's not very restful for you. I can just lie and enjoy it.”

“The exercise is undoubtedly good for me.” They lay their foreheads against each other and murmured their contentment. “What a nuisance to have to cover up again. You're so beautiful this way.”

He rose from the water and went to the dinghy, then turned back with their swimming things. They wriggled into them. He rocked the dinghy free of the sand and pulled it out until it was afloat in a couple of inches of water. He swung the stern around to her, and she stepped in and sat with long-legged ease.

He went to the seat amidships and clambered in without quite upsetting them. “Such grace and balance,” he commented.

“You'll learn in time.”

He placed the oars and pulled them out of the cove. They were much closer to the
Belle Époque
than he expected. “I thought I'd rowed for miles. All is well. We won't keep them waiting.”

Henri was waiting at the rail, and he caught the line Perry threw him and pulled them around to the steps. They accomplished the transfer without mishap. Billy wasn't waiting on deck with an eye on his watch. They'd inaugurated their affair in good order.

“Leave your door unlocked,” he ordered in an undertone as they went below. “With any luck I'll be there in a minute.” They touched hands briefly at the foot of the stairs and parted.

Perry opened his door and was confronted by Sylvain. He was studying the array of Laszlo's beauty aids that Perry had left in a row on his chest of drawers. Sylvain looked up at their owner with a relaxed smile.

“I should put those things away in case we have rough weather,” Sylvain said unconcernedly.

“I guess that's a good idea, but it won't be rough today, will it?” Perry heard the engines start, followed by the rattle of the chain being brought in. He thought unwillingly of last night and tried to shrug off embarrassment. With Bet, he'd almost forgotten it. “Did you want anything? I was about to clean up for the evening.” He tried not to sound dismissive. The cabin boys had the run of their quarters in the performance of their duties.

Sylvain's smile broadened with a reminder of intimacy. He had the right to assume that the barrier between servant and served could be ignored. “I saw you coming out of the dinghy. I came to find out if you wanted anything. Shall I bring you a drink?”

“That's an idea. You're brilliant. Pastis with plenty of ice and water.” He moved quickly out of the way to avoid any possibility of physical contact as Sylvain started out. He didn't want to be touched by anyone but Bet.

He was in the shower when he heard Sylvain coming back, and he called out to him to leave the drink. “I won't want anything else,” Perry said. “Miss Bettina says she is going to lie down and doesn't want to be disturbed for half an hour. You don't have to worry about us for a while.”

That should give them a moment's peace and privacy. He was reminded of his parents' phobias about small-town snoopers. You had to watch your step on a yacht.

He dried quickly, then slipped on his dressing gown and went to the door. He opened it a crack and listened. He opened it wider and peered out. Nobody. He slipped out quickly and closed the door behind him, making a silent dash for the foot of the stairs. He felt safer when he was past them. He paused and looked back. Still all clear. He wondered if he had chosen the wrong approach. His elaborate stealth just called attention to himself. If he sauntered casually to her door and knocked and went in, he might bluff people into thinking that the visit was innocent.

The simplest solution was to play it safe and stay away. He thought about all the nights when they would want to sleep together. With everybody on board going back and forth, they might as well assume that they'd get caught sooner or later if they went on taking chances. Was it worth it? He would have to talk to Bet about it.

He didn't know what it was like to have an open, straightforward love life. Bet whetted his appetite for marriage and for taking his wife out in public like everybody else.

Two long strides took him across the corridor to her door. He opened it and slipped in and closed it behind him.

She appeared at the bathroom door, beautifully naked, and hurried to him with a joyful little cry. She took the dressing gown from him, and their bodies met with a hunger that had been only stimulated by their time together. Their mouths made a breathless rediscovery of each other before they attempted to speak.

“You're making me more difficult to satisfy,” he said when they had dropped onto the bed. “This morning I thought that just to have you once was all I'd ever ask of fate. Now I want to sleep with you every night. I don't want it to be a secret.”

“It's ridiculous, isn't it? People aren't so strict here. Monique says that if she had a lover, she wouldn't try to hide it, but heavens, if I even looked at a man, Mummy and Daddy would have a fit, unless it was leading up to a grand wedding. I don't
want
a grand wedding, but I don't matter.” She shifted around and lifted his cock close to her face as if she had something to say to it. “Is a woman supposed to wait for a man to tell her what he wants?” she asked.

“Of course not. She should take what she wants. You have to teach a man what you expect from a lover.” He was impressed by himself. How come he could hand out advice on such a specialized subject? He must have been learning things without knowing it. “I want to be the best lover you'll ever have.”

She guided his cock to her and stroked her breasts with it. “I wanted to feel that. It's as heavenly as I knew it would be. I'm dying for you to come in my mouth. Boys like to taste it too, don't they?”

“Queer boys do, I guess. ‘Cocksucker' is one of the worst things you can call a guy.”

“Really? Men call each other that. It sounds awful, doesn't it? Will you think I'm awful if I'm a… well, that? A cocksucker?”

Perry laughed softly. “Of course not, baby. Lots of girls like it.”

“You don't?”

“Doing it? I don't think so, not generally. I don't mind it as much as I should May be, but I admit I have my queer side.”

“That's one of the things that's so thrilling about you: You're not afraid to be different. I'm glad you've had boys. I'll bet you don't make love to me like most men. You're so sweet, not the way I thought men were. You probably understand women better.” She leaned forward and ran her tongue along his cock. “Oh, darling, I love it. Teach me how if I don't do it right.”

It was quickly evident that she didn't need a teacher. Her enjoyment was so spontaneous and unabashed that he saw it as a warning that other men were going to be a powerful temptation for her.

Watching her perform the service she was adopting so enthusiastically, he felt almost as wanted as he had always dreamed of being. She was adorable. It wouldn't be easy to accept her doing this for others. She was his.

His thoughts traveled to the next few weeks of summer diversion as her mouth led him through the slow, lethargic ecstasies of passive possession. The future was beginning to seem real, more real now in a room with the sounds of the yacht's activities around them than in the exuberant celebrations on the beach. It was a reality and a future that he was going to have to try to control.

He had to get used to thinking for both of them if it turned out that they were serious about being together. It was very strange to realize that he might have undertaken responsibilities already without knowing how to handle them. He had thought of her only as somebody to go to parties with.

Marlene Dietrich came for drinks, and the summer social season was launched. There were quite a few other people. Alexis, the noble drug peddler, was there with his lady companion, Hilda. The young men who had invited them for dinner, Michael and Jeremy, brought along a pretty young cousin of one of them, Natasha, who was in Bet's age bracket but seemed much younger. She looked well-scrubbed and wholesome in the English style.

“I know who she is,” Bet whispered. “Her grandfather is a duke, ever so grand.” She stayed close to Perry's side.

There was an English couple called Courtland, who had a big property somewhere around and a beautiful young son called Trevor, who was probably intended as a potential escort for Bet. He was obviously more interested in Perry. “It's love at first sight,” Bet whispered.

Mado came with a very smart middle-aged couple. The deck was well-populated. Marlene had transformed herself into a movie queen and effortlessly charmed everybody. Music was provided by the port. Clusters of passersby kept gathering at the foot of the gangplank, ogling the rich and beautiful.

The food was plentiful — elaborate hors d'oeuvres that weren't quite a meal — and the three boys were kept busy refilling glasses. Billy invited everybody to a lunch party he was going to give in a pine grove at the end of the peninsula. He knew a local fisherman who made the best bouillabaisse in the world. They all exclaimed about the local bouillabaisse while Bet explained that it was a fish stew accompanied by a special sauce called rouille, which in French means “rust.”

“It has to be cooked on the beach just an instant before you're ready to eat it. It's worthy of being served in heaven.” Her eyes rolled with visions of gluttony.

There were references to other parties up and down the coast. It was a companionable gathering, and everybody spoke of their glamorous lives as if they hadn't a care in the world. Who could have under the circumstances? Perry didn't let himself be lulled into forgetting appearances. He left Bet to her own devices in case Billy was keeping an eye on her and noticed with approval as Bet talked to Mado that Trevor was with her.

Perry talked with Marlene for quite a while and decided he would gladly die for her. Her wickedly husky voice and endearing lisp were enough to enslave him even without her taking a lively interest in him. He was on a yacht in the south of France with Marlene Dietrich hanging on his lips. Not bad for a poor kid from Oakland. Her dour Frenchman was planted immovably beside her.

“I hope I'm going to see you again,” Trevor said when he caught Perry alone for a moment near the rail.

“I hope so too. You're coming to the fish fry, aren't you?”

Trevor laughed. “Is that what you call bouillabaisse? I wouldn't miss it. You're smashing-looking.”

“Thanks,” Perry said, looking at the long lashes that curled luxuriantly on his cheeks when he lowered his eyes. “I might kiss you if you don't look out.”

He continued on his round of guests and was soon with Bet again.

“Are you going to come see me later?” she asked in a muted voice. She wanted him. That was all he could ask for. It was up to him to exercise restraint.

“I better not, honey. We mustn't get into a routine. If we're seen below once, it might not matter all that much, but I don't want us to make it a habit.”

“What are you afraid of, dearest? Daddy doesn't wander around at all hours.”

“The boys might carry tales if they think they'll get a big tip. Sylvain is watching us. This afternoon was a bonus. I don't want to take risks unless we get desperate.”

“I get desperate rather quickly.”

“You're a sweetheart, baby. Wasn't Trevor a distraction?”

“He's mad about you. He told me.”

“You tricked him into it.”

She smiled slyly. “Perhaps a little. We both like talking about you. He might not be entirely a poof, you know. Girls terrify him, but I think I detected a faint flicker of interest.”

“Really? Well, I'm not going to encourage you to take pity on him. I wouldn't like it at all. You wouldn't want me to damage his beautiful face, would you?”

“Would you mind that much? How exciting.” Her face lit with glee. “Are you sure you're not intending to take pity on him yourself?”

“Listen, baby,” he said, lowering his voice still further. “Don't misunderstand. When I say I have fun with boys, I don't mean I make a habit of it. It can happen sort of faute de mieux. How's that for French? Now that you've discovered sex, you've got to start taking it seriously. It's not like a toy shop where you walk in and take your pick.”

Laughter bubbled from her. “I don't see why not. I have to find out what to expect with men.”

“I thought you were finding out with me.”

“Oh, yes, beautifully. I'm not talking about being promiscuous, but we're not getting married, so we don't have anything to be faithful to. Monique says even married people aren't always faithful.”

“They are if they don't want anybody else.”

“I think it could be like that with us if we were really together.”

She took a step closer to him and laid a hand on his chest. He glanced around to make sure that nobody was looking at them curiously and encountered Sylvain's probing eyes. A good servant remained alert to the guests' wishes. Perry took her hand from his chest and held it at his side.

“Don't forget my fortune,” she said. “Fortunes have men attached.”

“Does Trevor qualify as a fortune?”

“As big as they come, but he's such a child. Can you imagine my taking him seriously after you?”

“If you're expecting a man to make you forget me, you might have quite a wait. The law of averages. How many men like me do you expect to find in a season?” He laughed and held her hand and started across the deck toward the group around Billy.