Gypsy - Lesley Pearse [109]
He had shed his jacket and tie at some stage — she recalled pulling his shirt out of his trousers so she could feel his back and chest — but he made no attempt to unbutton his trousers. She could feel the hardness of him against her, yet it was as if he was holding back his own desires while he fulfilled all hers.
It was much, much later before he moved her into the bedroom next door, and only then did he take off the rest of his clothes. The sheets felt very cold and stiff against her overheated skin, and he knelt up for a moment beside her and placed her hand on his rigid sex. It seemed huge, and the knowledge that soon he was going to put it inside her gave her a moment of fear.
He must have sensed it for he lay down beside her and kissed her. ‘We don’t have to go any further if you aren’t ready for it,’ he whispered.
But the heat of his body and the fingers that stroked and teased her banished the fear, and as he kissed her again she opened her legs willingly and arched her back to receive him.
∗
Pearl had told Beth that if a man really cared for a woman he would withdraw before spending his seed. Theo did that. As Beth tentatively touched the sticky substance on her belly, she felt she’d been given all the reassurance she needed. It had hurt just a little, and she was a little sore now too, but that didn’t matter. Theo had transported her to heaven, and surely he couldn’t do that unless he loved her as much as she loved him.
Beth turned to look at Theo asleep in bed as she buttoned up her boots and put on her coat. It was daybreak and there was just enough light to see the dark shadow coming on his chin and the softness of his mouth. She thought she ought to be ashamed of how abandoned she’d been, but she didn’t, she only felt joyful. Yet she still determined to leave and get home to Pearl’s before anyone knew she’d been out all night. She wasn’t brave enough to be blatant about her immorality.
She went to kiss Theo’s cheek, breathing in the heady, musky smell of him, but he didn’t stir. Then she tiptoed out of the room, closing the door quietly behind her.
It was raw out on the street, with ice on places where the snow had been cleared or trampled. She paused in the doorway to pull her rubber galoshes over her boots and put on her gloves, then walked quickly away with a spring in her step.
‘Wake up, Beth!’
Beth opened one eye to see Sam with a lighted candle in his hand. ‘What time is it?’ she asked.
‘The middle of the night, but we’ve got to leave.’
It was the tone of his voice that made her sit up, not his actual words. He sounded terrified.
‘Leave? Why?’
‘Something happened at tonight’s game,’ he said. ‘It will take too long to explain now, but I’m in deep trouble and we’ve got to get away right now.’
It was September, they had been in Philadelphia for nine months, and it had been the happiest time Beth had ever known. She had felt so secure, with Theo, her success as a musician and living here at Pearl’s. She couldn’t believe that Sam could have done something to destroy it.
‘You’ll tell me what you’ve done,’ she demanded. ‘I’m not going anywhere until I know.’
‘A man is dead, that’s all you need to know for now,’ he said breathlessly.
Her brother’s face was in shadow for he’d put the candle down, but she sensed his shame and anguish.
‘At the poker game tonight?’ she asked.
‘Yes. One of the men accused Theo of cheating and pulled a knife on him. I tried to get him off Theo and ended up with the knife. But as God is my witness, I didn’t mean to kill him.’ He broke off, covering his face with his hands.
Beth understood enough and leapt out of bed. ‘Where’s Theo now?’
‘Gone to his place to pack. He’ll be round for us with a cab.’
‘Turn your back while I get dressed,’ Beth ordered him and flung off her nightdress. She felt sick with fear and wanted no part in this, but they were the two most important people in her life and she had to support them. ‘Theo