The Seduction of Suzanne Read online

  Feeling deflated, she stopped. Should she go and look for him at the house where he was staying? Perhaps he was still asleep. But he must have gone to bed long before she had, as he’d left so early. He’d be up by now, surely. Maybe he had other things to do this morning, before he came to see her. She didn’t know what to think.

  Perplexed, she absentmindedly ate her breakfast and then drifted round the house, tidying and rearranging things that didn’t need it.

  For more than an hour she waited for him. Finally at ten minutes to twelve he appeared, driving up the driveway in the big four wheel drive. He parked behind her car, got out and closed the door firmly behind him. Suzanne thought she could see tension in his stride as he walked towards the house.

  She came to meet him, standing at the top of the verandah’s three stairs. He stopped at the bottom and looked up at her.

  The sun was directly overhead, shining down on his gilded blonde hair, and Suzanne caught her breath at the beauty of him. His face was still, his hands hanging loosely at his sides.

  “Well?” he asked simply.

  “Okay,” she replied, with a deliberately bland lightness.

  “Okay?”

  “Okay, yes, let’s run away and do silly things all over the world together.” She couldn’t hold back her grin any longer.

  For a moment he looked as if he did not quite believe her. Then his face cracked into a wide, white smile, and he reached up and tugged her off balance so that she fell towards him. He caught her easily and swung her round until she was breathless and laughing helplessly.

  At length he came to a stop, letting her slide down his wide body until her feet touched the ground. Before she could catch her breath he was kissing her, a happy, passionate kiss which she returned with fervour.

  He moved his fingertips over her skin. “Your heart feels like it’s going to beat right out of your chest,” he said, and there was a question under his words.

  She wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face in the crook of his neck, holding on tight so she wouldn’t fall off as the world spun so fast around her. Fast enough it was like he had never put her down.

  “It’s exciting. I’m excited,” was all she could say, leaving tears on his skin as her throat ached and her heart overflowed from her eyes.

  He backed off to press his forehead against hers and say: “Very brave. You won’t regret it, Suzanne. We’ll be such good friends. Come on, let’s go. I want to introduce you to Andrew and the others.”

  She broke away and turned her back. The words ‘good friends’ had brought her to earth with a thud, and she knew her reaction would show on her face.

  “Just give me a moment to get my sunhat,” she said, crossing the short distance to the house and climbing the stairs. Quickly gathering a hat and sunblock, she returned, pulling the door shut behind her. He looked inquiringly at her as she passed him and walked briskly towards his car.

  She smiled determinedly in response. He did not appear entirely convinced, but he said nothing more as they climbed in and he started the engine.

  Swinging the car around in a circle to head down the driveway, there was silence between them, awkward in comparison to the jubilation of only a few minutes before. Suzanne occupied herself with busily spreading sunblock over every available part of her skin. Justin glanced at her out of the corner of his eyes. She kept her head down.

  Finally: “What is it?” he asked her.

  “What do you mean?” she asked cheerfully, without meeting his gaze.

  “Don’t you want to meet my friends? I’m sure you’ll like them. They’re good people.”

  “Of course I want to meet them. Why shouldn’t I?” She finally looked up, bolstering her composure against his penetrating surveillance. As she spoke she smoothed her palm, oily with lotion, just inside the neckline of her dress, and saw his eyes follow her movement, before flicking back to the road.

  “Uh, I don’t know,” he said distracted, before seeming to remember his point. “You just didn’t seem as happy as you were.”

  “Of course I’m happy. I’m going away on what sounds like a permanent holiday, interrupted only by painting. I’ll see the world, and I’ll be with my good friend Justin. What more could I possibly want?” she finished brightly.

  He didn’t reply.

  Chapter Twelve

  As they walked through the door of his friends’ house, he called out loudly:

  “Hey, Andrew . . . Nina . . . are you here? I’ve got someone I want you to meet.”

  “Come on through,” came a masculine voice from a room to their left. “I’m in the kitchen. I’ve just finished making . . . oh hello,” he said as they came through the doorway and he saw Suzanne. “I’m Andrew.” He straightened from his crouching position in front of the oven and walked to the bench, bearing a cake in his oven-mitted hands. Putting it on a wooden board, he whipped off his right mitt and held out a hand for her to shake.

  “Suzanne,” she replied, enjoying his warm, firm grip. He was fit and solidly compact, about her height and perhaps ten years older.

  “Pleased to meet you,” he beamed genially at her. “Are you staying for lunch?”

  “I don’t know,” she said, looking an enquiry at Justin.

  “Sure,” he said.

  “We’d love to,” she seconded.

  “Great. Hope you like banana cake.”

  “Absolutely.”

  “We’ll have it for dessert then. Nina,” Andrew bellowed in the direction of the double doors which were open onto an expanse of grass. “Come and say hello to Justin’s friend Suzanne.”

  “Bring her out here, Justin,” called a lazy voice from outside. “I’ve got my patch of sunshine and I’m not moving.”

  “You’ll have to excuse Nina,” Justin said in a deliberately carrying tone. “She does so much basking you’d swear she was a lizard.”

  “Hey, you! I heard that,” came the playful reply. “Come out here and take your punishment like a man.”

  He walked out into the garden, and Suzanne and Justin followed in his wake. Lying carelessly sprawled on a large beach towel, a paperback book propped open with a single finger, was a tanned, muscular woman sporting an engaging grin. She was dressed in denim cut-offs and a black T-shirt, and had sunglasses pushed half-way up her nose. Her sun-bleached hair was scooped up on top of her head, she wore no make-up and she had freckles.

  “G’day, Suzanne. I’m Nina,” she said.

  “Hi.”

  “So, you must be the reason Justin’s been sneaking out of here early every morning these last two weeks,” she said mischievously.

  “She is,” Justin replied, putting his arm easily around Suzanne’s waist. “In fact, she’s just agreed to go away with me.”

  Nina’s jaw dropped.

  “Cripes, Justin. You don’t hang about, do you!” she exclaimed, not bothering to hide her surprise. “Well in that case,” she continued, hoisting herself up off the ground and crossing the few feet dividing them, “I’d better come and say hello properly. After all you must be something special if you’ve got this lad head over heels so quickly.”

  Suzanne laughed. “One would assume so,” she said cheerfully, letting the assumption of Justin’s infatuation stand.

  “Hey, Andrew,” said Nina, entering the house with a springy, energetic stride. “Did these two tell you they’re running off into the sunset together?”

  “No they didn’t!” he exclaimed from behind the kitchen counter. “Sounds like fun!”

  “The others should be here any minute,” said Nina. “They’re bringing steak and sausages, so we’ll be able to have a lovely barbecue.”

  They moved to set up a table and chairs outside, and Suzanne and Justin joined in, carrying out plates, cups, knives and forks, and paper serviettes. Nina tossed a gigantic salad and Andrew whipped cream to go with the cake.

  In the midst of all the activity the other couple arrived, carrying a chilly-bin. They were welcomed
with casual familiarity, and Justin introduced them to her as Megan and Travis. Travis was a vigorous man with a Southern accent and creases around his eyes that were paler at their base. He had obviously done a great deal of squinting into the sun. Megan was brash and loud, but in such a good-natured way it did not grate.

  “You never said anything about her!” accused Megan laughingly. “Sorry Suzanne, don’t mean to be rude but he didn’t say a word.”

  “I was keeping her to myself,” said Justin.

  “So you two must have known each other for – what? – about six weeks?” she went on.

  “Three, actually,” he replied.

  She raised her eyebrows in surprise.

  “A whirlwind romance!”

  Suzanne glanced at Justin under her eyelashes, but he showed no reaction beyond a calm smile. It felt strange to have someone talk about the two of them as if they were a couple. She didn’t feel like part of a couple yet. Did it not bother him that his friends had misinterpreted the depth of their relationship? Apparently not.

  They all sat down at the table, save Andrew who hovered attentively over the barbecue. Bottles of beer were taken from the chilly-bin and offered around. Suzanne gladly took one, feeling hot in the sun and under scrutiny. The liquid was pleasantly cold and dry as it slid down her throat.

  Conversation flowed easily between the other five. Suzanne didn’t say much, mostly just leaning back in her chair and listening. She felt comfortable and welcomed, but had too much going on in her head to really concentrate on chatter.

  It was a pleasure to watch Justin interact with his friends. He was articulate and witty, completely at ease. Occasionally he met her eyes and smiled, making it clear that he was glad of her presence.

  At length Andrew finished with the barbequing. He brought the large plate of sausages and steak to the table and set it down with a flourish, announcing: “Lunch is served.” Everyone set to with a will, unceremoniously reaching across each other or pointing at whatever they wanted passed to them.

  Suzanne took only a small piece of steak, as she usually avoided red meat, but generously heaped her plate with salad and a couple of slices of bread. She felt a little self-indulgent, eating a full meal so soon after she’d had breakfast, but the combination of fresh air and good cooking smells had made her hungry. Besides, there was no lack of exercise in her life, so anything extra would soon be worked off.

  For the first few minutes everyone concentrated on his or her meal, but before long, talk resumed. When Travis mentioned that their holiday would be over soon, with the two couples catching a plane back to Auckland on Sunday, only four days away, Justin said casually to Suzanne: “How soon will we be ready to go? A couple of days, maybe?”

  Everyone at the table stopped eating to stare at him. Then, as if a single string joined their heads, they all turned simultaneously and looked at Suzanne to see how she’d react to this. Carefully she set down the fork that had been halfway to her mouth, and folded her hands in her lap.

  “So soon?” she asked, in a voice that came perilously close to cracking.

  “Why wait?” he replied calmly. “It won’t take long to pack since we’ll be travelling quite light. It’s really just a matter of figuring out how to package your paintings for quick transport.”

  The others sat quiet as mice, only their eyes moving as they looked from Suzanne to Justin, and back again.

  “But . . . what’s the rush?” she said. “I thought you were planning to be in New Zealand for months yet.”

  “But if I do that, I’ll run out of money and not have enough in case it takes a while for your paintings to sell.”

  Justin’s friends stared at him.

  “Um, Justin –” said Nina.

  “Hush, Nina,” he replied without looking at her.

  “I have to get a passport. That’ll take quite a while,” said Suzanne.

  “If you apply for a rush one and courier the documents down, you could have it processed within 48 hours and couriered back. Maybe allow three days?” said Travis helpfully.

  “Okay,” said Suzanne, in a sudden turnaround. “Saturday would be fine. Why not?”

  Why not indeed? Having jumped off the bandwagon of prudence, Suzanne was beginning to feel reckless. What was one more risk? Agreeing to take off with him was the biggest leap of faith she had ever made in her life. Did it really matter how soon they were to do it?

  “In fact, Saturday’s great,” she went on energetically. “When we’ve finished lunch I’ll go home and start making phone calls, find out about shipping paintings. Oh, and I suppose I’d better start arranging for a replacement to take over my class.” She felt lightheaded but she smiled benignly at Justin, reclaimed her fork and resumed her interrupted lunch.

  “Don’t you think . . .” began Megan, but trailed off as Justin looked at her in calm inquiry. “Never mind,” she muttered.

  After a moment of silence, Andrew spoke up, changing the subject. The others followed his lead with relief, and nothing more was said about the journey as they ate. When everyone had had enough, Nina suggested that they should all retire to the lounge for coffee and cake: “Except for Justin, who can come and help me wash up.”

  Suzanne asked where the bathroom was, and it was pointed out to her. When she returned to the hallway she could hear Justin and Nina’s voices in the kitchen, as they had what sounded like a hushed conversation. She didn’t wish to interrupt, but she was unsure where the others were and it seemed rude to simply wander the house looking for them, so she walked hesitantly towards the kitchen. It was as she stood in the doorway, looking at their backs, that their words became clear.

  “. . . want to know what that was all about,” said Nina. “Why the big hurry to take off, hmmm?”

  “I have my reasons,” he said.

  Nina’s motions at the sink paused, and she looked sideways at Justin where he stood with hands braced on the counter-top, staring ahead of him out the window.

  “You haven’t told her, have you?” she said in a tone of discovery.

  “Told her what?” he asked.

  “Who you are. What you do.”

  Suzanne had no intention of more surreptitious eavesdropping.

  “That’s okay,” she said, stepping into the kitchen. She took up a combative stance in the middle of the floor, her head tilted back and her feet firmly planted. “He’s going to tell me now. Aren’t you, Justin.” Her tone made it clear that she wasn’t asking a question.

  At her first words, Nina had spun around. Now she stood, one rubber-gloved hand propped on her hip, careless of the water slowly soaking into her shirt. She took in Suzanne’s stern expression, and grinned at Justin.

  “Of course, sweetie-pie,” she said. “He’s just working himself up to it now. Go ahead, Justin.”

  “There’s nothing to tell,” said he in annoyance. “Suzanne knows that I travel most of the time, and only work occasionally. She doesn’t mind that.” He addressed Suzanne directly: “Do you.”

  “No, I don’t,” she replied slowly.

  “And the times when you’re working? She knows about what you do then?” said Nina relentlessly.

  “I work with software development,” he said curtly.

  “Software development!” Nina scoffed, but then she met Justin’s gaze, and something she saw there made the challenging smirk fade from her face.

  “Yeah . . . software,” she went on quietly. She looked at Suzanne. “He works with software. So now you know,” she finished, her tone level.

  Suzanne stared at them both in confusion. What was all this about? Software?

  Nina turned briskly back to the sink. “You two lovebirds go sit down with the others. I’ll finish up here,” she said.

  “I’d be happy to help,” offered Suzanne, wondering if she had detected a note of sourness in Nina’s voice.

  Her back already turned, the woman waved her away, sending soapsuds flying.

  “No, no, you go,” she insisted. “
I’m fine. This’ll only take a minute.”

  Suzanne tried to catch Justin’s eye as he walked past her to the door, but he avoided her gaze. She hurried after him and caught him in the hall, placing herself in front of him with arms akimbo.

  “What is going on?” she hissed, her voice lowered so that it wouldn’t carry to any of the others in the house. “This is just weird. What is it you should be telling me, that you’re not?”

  He looked at her with hooded eyes, his expression unreadable, and said nothing.

  She poked him in the chest with an index finger. “Justin, if you don’t tell me whatever it was that Nina thought I should know, then I’ll--” she broke off as he folded her prodding finger into his warm grasp, and then snaked his other hand round to the small of her back to pull her into his body. Before she could regroup he was kissing her with determination.

  “Mmm Mmmph,” she protested briefly, before giving up to the delicious pressure of his mouth. Apparently satisfied with her compliance, he delved gently between her lips with his tongue, making an appreciative rumbling noise deep in his chest. Her captured hand, clenched within his, opened, and he immediately placed it against his chest. She leaned into him, her fingers flexing against his muscular frame, wanting to purr with warm pleasure. He took her weight easily, intensifying the kiss until her head spun and her knees grew weak.

  Slowly he lifted his lips from hers, his gaze heated as he looked down into her dreamy, unfocused eyes. She blinked slowly.

  “Come on,” he said, without giving her time to start thinking again. “Let’s go get some of that banana cake.” He clasped her hand firmly, and led her through to the sitting room where Andrew was serving cake and coffee to Megan and Travis.

  Like all the other rooms she had seen so far, this one was painted a light cream colour, and was bright with light from the large windows.

  “About time you two got here. A moment later and we’d have eaten it all,” said Andrew to them in easy greeting.

  She smiled in response as she took the plate he handed her, and answered his polite enquiry about what she wanted in her coffee. The others continued with the conversation interrupted by their entrance.