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.
When Eve finally dragged herself into the bathroom and looked in the mirror, she was aghast. Her face was bruised and discolored where he had hit her, and one eye was almost swollen shut. She ran a hot bath and crawled into it like a wounded animal, letting the soothing water wash away the pain. Eve lay there for a long time, and, finally, when the water was starting to cool, she got out of the tub and took a few tentative steps. The pain had lessened, but it was still agonizing. She lay awake for the rest of the night, terrified that he might return.
When Eve arose at dawn, she saw that the sheets were stained with her blood. She was going to make him pay for that. She walked into the bathroom, moving carefully, and ran another hot bath. Her face was even more swollen and the bruises were livid. She dipped a washcloth into cold water and applied it to her cheek and eye. Then she lay in the tub, thinking about George Mellis. There was something puzzling about his behavior that had nothing to do with his sadism. And she suddenly realized what it was. The necklace. Why had he taken it?
Two hours later, Eve went downstairs to join the other guests for breakfast, even though she had no appetite. She badly needed to talk to Nita Ludwig.
“My God! What happened to your face?” Nita asked.
Eve smiled ruefully. “The silliest thing. I got up in the middle of the night to go to the loo, and I didn’t bother turning on the light. I walked right into one of your fancy doors.”
“Would you like to have a doctor look at that?”
“It’s nothing,” Eve assured her. “It’s just a little bruise.” Eve looked around. “Where’s George Mellis?”
“He’s out playing tennis. He’s one of the top-seeded players. He said to tell you he’d see you at lunch. I think he really likes you, darling.”
“Tell me about him,” Eve said casually. “What’s his background?”
“George? He comes from a long line of wealthy Greeks. He’s the oldest son, and he’s filthy rich. He works at a New York brokerage firm, Hanson and Hanson.”
“He’s not in the family business?”
“No. He probably hates olives. Anyway, with the Mellis fortune, he doesn’t have to work. I suppose he does it just to occupy his days.” She grinned and said, “His nights are full enough.”
“Are they?”
“Darling, George Mellis is the most eligible bachelor around. The girls can’t wait to pull their little panties down for him. They all see themselves as the future Mrs. Mellis. Frankly, if my husband weren’t so damned jealous, I’d go for George myself. Isn’t he a gorgeous hunk of animal?”
“Gorgeous,” Eve said.
George Mellis walked onto the terrace where Eve was seated alone, and in spite of herself, she felt a stab of fear.
He walked up to her and said, “Good morning, Eve. Are you all right?” His face was filled with genuine concern. He touched her bruised cheek gently. “My darling, you are so beautiful.” He pulled up a chair and straddled it, sitting across from her, and gestured toward the sparkling sea. “Have you ever seen anything so lovely?”
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