Master of the Game (36 page)

Eve smiled. “It suits me. I wanted something
intime
.” She had pawned enough jewelry and paintings so that she could have moved into a beautiful apartment, but Kate would have learned of it and would have demanded to know where the money had come from. For the moment, the watchword was
discretion
.

“How is Gran?” Eve asked.

“She’s fine.” Alexandra hesitated. “Eve, I don’t know what
happened between you two, but you know if there’s anything I can do to help, I’ll—”

Eve sighed. “She didn’t tell you?”

“No. She won’t discuss it.”

“I don’t blame her. The poor dear probably feels as guilty as hell. I met a wonderful young doctor. We were going to be married. We went to bed together. Gran found out about it. She told me to get out of the house, that she never wanted to see me again. I’m afraid our grandmother is very old-fashioned, Alex.”

She watched the look of dismay on Alexandra’s face. “That’s terrible! The two of you must go to Gran. I’m sure she would—”

“He was killed in an airplane accident.”

“Oh, Eve! Why didn’t you tell me this before?”

“I was too ashamed to tell anyone, even you.” She squeezed her sister’s hand. “And you know I tell you everything.”

“Let me talk to Gran. I’ll explain—”

“No! I have too much pride. Promise me you’ll never discuss this with her. Ever!”

“But I’m sure she would—”

“Promise!”

Alexandra sighed. “All right.”

“Believe me, I’m very happy here. I come and go as I please. It’s great!”

Alexandra looked at her sister and thought how much she had missed Eve.

Eve put her arm around Alexandra and began to tease. “Now, enough about me. Tell me what’s going on in your life. Have you met Prince Charming yet? I’ll bet you have!”

“No.”

Eve studied her sister. It was a mirror image of herself, and she was determined to destroy it. “You will, darling.”

“I’m in no hurry. I decided it’s time I started earning a living. I talked to Gran about it. Next week I’m going to meet with the head of an advertising agency about a job.”

They had lunch at a little bistro near Eve’s apartment, and Eve insisted on paying. She wanted nothing from her sister.

When they were bidding each other good-bye, Alexandra said, “Eve, if you need any money—”

“Don’t be silly, darling. I have more than enough.”

Alexandra persisted. “Still, if you run short, you can have anything I’ve got.”

Eve looked into Alexandra’s eyes and said, “I’m counting on that.” She smiled. “But I really don’t need a thing, Alex.” She did not need crumbs. She intended to have the whole cake. The question was: How was she going to get it?

There was a weekend party in Nassau.

“It wouldn’t be the same without you, Eve. All your friends will be here.”

The caller was Nita Ludwig, a girl whom Eve had known at school in Switzerland.

She would meet some new men. The present crop was tiresome.

“It sounds like fun,” Eve said. “I’ll be there.”

That afternoon she pawned an emerald bracelet she had been given a week earlier by an infatuated insurance executive with a wife and three children, and bought some new summer outfits at Lord & Taylor and a round-trip ticket to Nassau. She was on the plane the following morning.

The Ludwig estate was a large, sprawling mansion on the beach. The main house had thirty rooms, and the smallest was larger than Eve’s entire apartment. Eve was escorted to her room by a uniformed maid, who unpacked for her while Eve freshened up. Then she went down to meet her fellow guests.

There were sixteen people in the drawing room, and they had one thing in common: They were wealthy. Nita Ludwig was a firm believer in the “birds of a feather” philosophy. These people felt the same way about the same things; they were comfortable with one another because they spoke the same language. They shared the commonality of the best boarding schools and colleges, luxurious estates, yachts, private jets and tax problems.
A columnist had dubbed them the “jet set,” an appellation they derided publicly and enjoyed privately. They were the privileged, the chosen few, set apart from all others by a discriminating god. Let the rest of the world believe that money could not buy everything. These people knew better. Money bought them beauty and love and luxury and a place in heaven. And it was from all this that Eve had been excluded by the whim of a narrow-minded old lady.
But not for long
, Eve thought.

She entered the drawing room and the conversation dropped as Eve walked in. In a room full of beautiful women, she was the most beautiful of all. Nita took Eve around to greet her friends, and to introduce her to the people she did not know. Eve was charming and pleasant, and she studied each man with a knowing eye, expertly selecting her targets. Most of the older men were married, but that only made it easier.

A bald-headed man dressed in plaid slacks and Hawaiian sport shirt came up to her. “I’ll bet you get tired of people telling you you’re beautiful, honey.”

Eve rewarded him with a warm smile. “I never get tired of that, Mr.—?”

“Peterson. Call me Dan. You should be a Hollywood star.”

“I’m afraid I have no talent for acting.”

“I’ll bet you’ve got a lot of other talents, though.”

Eve smiled enigmatically. “You never know until you try, do you, Dan?”

He wet his lips. “You down here alone?”

“Yes.”

“I’ve got my yacht anchored in the bay. Maybe you and I could take a little cruise tomorrow?”

“That sounds lovely,” Eve said.

He grinned. “I don’t know why we’ve never met before. I’ve known your grandmother, Kate, for years.”

The smile stayed on Eve’s face, but it took a great effort. “Gran’s a darling,” Eve said. “I think we’d better join the others.”

“Sure, honey.” He winked. “Remember tomorrow.”

From that moment on, he was unable to get Eve alone again. She avoided him at lunch, and after lunch she borrowed one of the automobiles kept in the garage for guests and drove into town. She drove past Blackbeard’s Tower and the lovely Ardastra Gardens where the colorful flamingos were on parade. She stopped at the waterfront to watch the fishing boats unload their catch of giant turtles, enormous lobsters, tropical fish and a brilliantly colored variety of conch shells, which would be polished and sold to the tourists.

The bay was smooth, and the sea sparkled like diamonds. Across the water Eve could see the crescent curve of Paradise Island Beach. A motorboat was leaving the dock at the beach, and as it picked up speed, the figure of a man suddenly rose into the sky, trailing behind the boat. It was a startling sight. He appeared to be hanging on to a metal bar fastened to a blue sail, his long, lean body stretched against the wind.
Para-sailing
. Eve watched, fascinated, as the motorboat roared toward the harbor, and the airborne figure swept closer. The boat approached the dock and made a sharp turn, and for an instant Eve caught a glimpse of the dark, handsome face of the man in the air, and then he was gone.

He walked into Nita Ludwig’s drawing room five hours later, and Eve felt as though she had willed him there. She had known he would appear. Up close he was even more handsome. He was six foot three, with perfectly sculptured, tanned features, black eyes and a trim, athletic body. When he smiled, he revealed white, even teeth. He smiled down at Eve as Nita introduced him.

“This is George Mellis. Eve Blackwell.”

“My God, you belong in the Louvre,” George Mellis said. His voice was deep and husky, with the trace of an indefinable accent.

“Come along, darling,” Nita commanded. “I’ll introduce you to the other guests.”

He waved her away. “Don’t bother. I just met everybody.”

Nita looked at the two of them thoughtfully. “I see. Well,
if I can do anything, call me.” She walked away.

“Weren’t you a little rude to her?” Eve asked.

He grinned. “I’m not responsible for what I say or do. I’m in love.”

Eve laughed.

“I mean it. You’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen in my life.”

“I was thinking the same about you.”

Eve did not care whether this man had money or not. She was fascinated by him. It was more than his looks. There was a magnetism, a sense of power that excited her. No man had ever affected her this way before. “Who are you?” Eve asked.

“Nita told you. George Mellis.”

“Who are you?” she repeated.

“Ah, you mean in the philosophical sense. The
real
me. Nothing colorful to tell, I’m afraid. I’m Greek. My family grows olives and other things.”

That
Mellis! The Mellis food brands could be found in every corner grocery store and supermarket in America.

“Are you married?” Eve asked.

He grinned. “Are you always this direct?”

“No.”

“I’m not married.”

The answer gave her an unexpected feeling of pleasure. Just looking at him made Eve want to possess him, to be possessed. “Why did you miss dinner?”

“The truth?”

“Yes.”

“It’s very personal.”

She waited.

“I was busy persuading a young lady not to commit suicide.” He said it matter-of-factly, as though it were a common occurrence.

“I hope you succeeded.”

“For now. I hope you’re not the suicidal type.”

“No. I hope
you’re
not.”

George Mellis laughed aloud. “I love you,” he said. “I really love you.” He took Eve’s arm, and his touch made her shiver.

He stayed at Eve’s side all evening, and he was totally attentive to her, oblivious to everyone else. He had long, delicate hands, and they were constantly doing things for Eve: bringing her a drink, lighting her cigarette, touching her discreetly. His nearness set her body afire, and she could not wait to be alone with him.

Just after midnight when the guests began to retire to their rooms, George Mellis asked, “Which is your bedroom?”

“At the end of the north hall.”

He nodded, his long-lashed eyes boring into hers.

Eve undressed and bathed and put on a new sheer, black negligee that clung to her figure. At one
A.M
. there was a discreet tap on the door. She hurried to open it, and George Mellis stepped in.

He stood there, his eyes filled with admiration.
“Matia mou
, you make the
Venus de Milo
look like a hag.”

“I have an advantage over her,” Eve whispered. “I have two arms.”

And she put both arms around George Mellis and drew him to her. His kiss made something explode inside her. His lips pressed hard against hers, and she felt his tongue exploring her mouth.

“Oh, my God!” Eve moaned.

He started to strip off his jacket, and she helped him. In a moment he was free of his trousers and French shorts, and he was naked before her. He had the most glorious physique Eve had ever seen. He was hard and erect.

“Quick,” Eve said. “Make love to me.” She moved onto the bed, her body on fire.

He commanded, “Turn over. Give me your ass.”

She looked up at him. “I—I don’t—”

And he hit her on the mouth. She stared up at him in shock.

“Turn over.”

“No.”

He hit her again, harder, and the room began to swim in front of her.

“Please, no.”

He hit her again, savagely. She felt his powerful hands turning her over, pulling her up on her knees.

“For God’s sake,” she gasped, “stop it! I’ll scream.”

He smashed his arm across the back of her neck, and Eve started to lose consciousness. Dimly, she felt him raise her hips higher into the air. He pulled her cheeks apart, and his body pressed against hers. There was a sudden, excruciating pain as he plunged deep inside her. She opened her mouth to scream, but she stopped in terror of what he might do to her.

She begged, “Oh, please, you’re hurting me…”

She tried to pull away from him, but he was holding her hips tightly, plunging into her again and again, tearing her apart with his enormous penis. The pain was unbearable.

“Oh, God, no!” she whispered. “Stop it! Please stop it!”

He kept moving in, deeper and faster, and the last thing Eve remembered was a wild groan that came from deep inside him and seemed to explode in her ears.

When she regained consciousness and opened her eyes, George Mellis was sitting in a chair, fully dressed, smoking a cigarette. He moved over to the bed and stroked her forehead. She cringed from his touch.

“How do you feel, darling?”

Eve tried to sit up, but the pain was too great. She felt as though she had been ripped apart. “You goddamned animal…” Her voice was a ragged whisper.

He laughed. “I was gentle with you.”

She looked at him in disbelief.

He smiled. “I can sometimes be very rough.” He stroked her hair again. “But I love you, so I was kind. You’ll get used to it,
Hree-se’e-moo
. I promise you.”

If she had had a weapon at that moment, Eve would have killed him. “You’re insane!”

She saw the gleam that came into his eyes, and she saw his hand clench into a fist, and in that instant she knew stark terror. He
was
insane.

She said quickly, “I didn’t mean it. It’s just that I—I’ve never experienced anything like that before. Please, I’d like to go to sleep now. Please.”

George Mellis stared at her for a long moment, and then relaxed. He rose and walked over to the dressing table where Eve had put her jewelry. There was a platinum bracelet and an expensive diamond necklace lying there. He scooped up the necklace, examined it and slipped it into his pocket. “I’ll keep this as a little souvenir.”

She was afraid to open her mouth to protest.

“Good night, darling.” And he walked back to the bed, leaned over and gently kissed Eve’s lips.

She waited until he had gone, and then crawled out of bed, her body burning with pain. Every step was an agony. It was not until she had locked the bedroom door that she felt safe again. She was not sure she would be able to make it to the bathroom, and she fell back onto the bed, waiting for the pain to recede. She couldn’t believe the enormity of the rage she felt. He had sodomized her—horribly and brutally. She wondered what he had done to that other girl who had wanted to commit suicide.