Robert Ludlum - 01 by The Matarese Circle (1979)

Author:The Matarese Circle (1979)
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Crispi

Bray smiled. Crispi was right; no one who performed middleman services for the sheiks ever discussed those services. Profiles were kept excessively low because the stakes were excessively high. He would talk of other things with Count Guillamo Scozzi.

He heard the latch turn on the bedroom door. There was a moment of hesitation before Antonia opened it. When she did, Bray realized why. She stood in the doorframe in a black slip he had bought her downstairs. She had removed her brassiere, her breasts swelling against the sheer silk, her long legs outlined below in opaque darkness. She was barefoot, the bronzed skin of her calves and ankles in perfect concert with her arms and face.

Her lovely face, striking yet gentle, with the dark eyes that held his without wavering, without judgment.

"You must have loved her very much," she said. "I did. It was a long time ago."

"Not long enough, apparently. You called me Toni. Was that her name?"

'No.

"I'm glad. I would not wish to be mistaken for some. one else."

"You made that clear. It won't happen again."

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THE MATARESE CIRCLE 279

Antonia was silent, remaining motionless in the doorway, her eyes stiff without judgment. When she spoke, it was a question. "Why do you refuse yourselfT'

"I'm not an animal in the hold of a freighter."

"We both know that. I've seen you look at me, then look away as though it were not permitted. You're tense, but you seek no release."

"If I want that kind of ... release ... I know where to find it."

"I offer it to you."

"The offer will be taken under consideration."

"Stop it!" cried Antonia, stepping forward. "You want a whore? Then think of me as a courier's whore!"

"I can't do that."

"Then don't look at me the way you do! A part of you with me, another far away. What do you want?"

Please don't do this. Leave me where I was, deep in the earth, comfort in the darkness. Don't touch me, for if you do, you die. Can't you understand that? Men will call you across a barrier and they will kill you. Leave me with whores, professionals-as I am a professional. We know the rules. You don't.

She stood in front of him; he bad not seen her come to him, she was simply there. He looked down at her, her face tilted up to his, her eyes close, her tears near, her lips parted.

Her whole body was trembling; she was gripped by fear. The scars had been torn away; he had ripped them because she had seen the ache in his eyes.

She could not erase his pain. What made her think he could erase hers?

And then, as if she were reading his thoughts, she whispered again.

"If you loved her so much, love me a little. It may 91

help.

She reached up to him, her hands cupping his face, her lips inches from his, the trembling no less for the nearness. He put his arms around her; their lips touched and the ache was released. He was drawn into a wind; he felt his own tears well up in his eyes and roll down his cheeks, mingling with hers.

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