Chapter Thirty One

Intermezzo

For a rape it would have been utterly precipitate; for a seduction it was something of a record, but then, here in the hitherto unoccupied compartment, aboard the speeding Rome Express, and with other members of their respective families sleeping peacefully but yards away along the corridor, time was a luxury vouchsafed to neither of them.

Unsurprisingly, given what he had told them all over dinner, the recalcitrant lock to the door of the compartment had proved no obstacle to Tom and but a matter of minutes later, with their arms wrapped tightly about each other they stumbled inside the previously empty room and closed the door.

Here, shrouded in the deep velvet blackness of the night, held fast in Tom's strong arms, she found her mouth suddenly go dry; felt unaccountably light-headed, even giddy with anticipation. Oddly enough, what she'd hoped to feel, thought she would feel, now seemed to elude her completely. Somehow, Tom seemed to sense something of her apprehension, but then that was hardly surprising; he seemed to understand everything, was one of the qualities, she had always admired most in him.

"Nervous?" he had asked of her softly, then chuckled.

"No, not at all" she lied; shook her head defiantly in the darkness, briefly turned aside albeit but ever so slightly so that he'd not taste the saltness of the tears that now trembled upon her lashes and threatened to fall.

"Why did you think I would be?"
"No, not at all". He laughed softly again.

"What is it ?"
"Nothing" she lied again; began instead to cover his face with random kisses. At that he laughed softly once more. Then, cupping her face in his hands, Tom kissed her and, given all the circumstances, with a passion which surprised him as much as it did her; all but took her breath away. And, with that one simple act, for now, nothing else mattered; their need for each other was overwhelming, evidenced by the fact that having twisted round in his arms, their mouths had then met in the most passionate of kisses.

Tom's caresses became even more intimate; his hands were no less eager than her own had been, made short work of the sash of her dressing robe. He pushed the filmy garment over her shoulders, let it slide down her back, until at the last it pooled in a ruck of silk about her feet. Cupping her breasts, softly he kneaded each pale globe in turn, and, as he closed his mouth greedily upon her own, at the same time, through the thin fabric of his pyjama trousers, through the flimsy silk of her night-gown, she felt Tom's erection hard against the softness of her thigh.

"Come, we don't have much time" he said.

Catching her up in his strong arms, Tom carried her the few steps to the waiting banquette and gently lowered her onto it. As she lay back, she closed her eyes, felt Tom's lips brushing against her lashes. Gently, he tilted back her head; his lips moved lower until once again they were burning a line of hot kisses across her throat while at the same time she slid her hands up under the fabric of Tom's vest, stroking the soft fine gold hairs upon his chest.

From out of the darkness there came the piercing scream of another whistle. Then, a moment later and the bright lights of a northbound express lit up the interior of the panelled compartment, But for an instant the shadows danced, fled, scattered, dispersed formless into nothingness, allowing her a brief glimpse of Tom's face; saw he was smiling down upon her, saw too he had now stripped off his vest, at the same time took in his muscular torso, the mat of fine light hairs nestling upon his chest. A moment or two later, the passing train had thundered away into the distance, and the all concealing black shroud of the night, which, for the very first time in her life she found somehow comforting, descended once more, shielding their two prostrate forms from sight beneath the thick gauze of its own dark veil.

"Darlin', lie back", Tom softly urged her from somewhere out of the darkness just above her head, as deftly and with practised fingers he began unbuttoning her nightgown.

Although of course he could not see her do so, instinctively, she had nodded her head and wonderingly, mutely, had done as Tom had bidden her. Closing her eyes, she lay back upon the buttoned upholstery of the banquette as, wordlessly, she felt Tom's mouth nip playfully first at her left ear lobe then the right. Thereafter, his lips began to blaze another trail of hot kisses, feather-light, across her eye-lashes. The kisses soon became more passionate than ever, now moved lower, across her face, his soft lips brushing hers, the tip of his tongue probing, before capturing her mouth with his own, his rising need of her and her own of him becoming more obvious with every passing second.

Raising her arms, she let him pull her filmy silk nightgown over her head, and stretched naked, languorously so, before him. Tom's kisses moved lower still, tracing a pattern down the soft skin of her neck, as far as the base of her throat, and then along her collar-bone. She was dimly aware of Tom whispering something to her, again in the same language he had used to her before, out in the corridor of the speeding train, and which she still did not understand; but no matter, for his meaning was all too clear, as he slid his hand between her legs, his fingers gently probing. Her heart was beating wildly now as she felt his breath warm upon her shoulders, his kisses moving ever downwards, until they reached her breasts. She gasped as his hands gently cupped, moulded first one, and then the other; felt the tip of Tom's tongue flick slowly in turn at each of her nipples, the sensation caused by the insistent probing of his tongue making them both stiffen with arousal, swelling into firm, hard buds of rose-tinted tautness.

Moving languidly below him - Tom had once again lowered his mouth to her breast - what he did next sent rapid pulses of feeling searing through her, almost unbearable in their intensity. She reached her hand through the fly of Tom's pyjama bottoms, found the hard evidence of his desire for her, heard him gasp as she grasped his length, the urgency of his insistent caresses causing her to arch against him. Suffused by her present, overwhelming desire for Tom, with her arms clasped tightly around his neck, she heard him softly laugh.

"What is it?" she whispered. "Is there something wrong?"She heard him laugh again, felt, rather than saw, him shake his head.

"Nothin' at all darlin' I've no complaints so far. Why, have you?"
"No. Not at all".

"Well then..."

At that, she at last began slowly to relax; could now admit, if only to herself, just how truly nervous she had been about this whole encounter, now that fantasy had turned into reality. She reached up and stroked his hair. He laughed softly once again and as he did so, it was at this precise moment that the speeding train passed a dark, huddled mass of large buildings, as brightly lit as had been earlier the carriages of the northbound express. In the reflected harsh glare of the lamps, she saw that Tom's blue eyes were dark enough to match the lateness of the hour, dark as the heart of time, were fixed firmly upon her.

Cupping his face between her hands, she kissed him passionately, felt the rasp of his stubble upon her face; let her hands drift lower until they rested upon his broad, firm shoulders, recalling at the same time that she had always admired the breadth of his back; something she had noticed that very first time Tom had driven her into Ripon before the war.

Tom had moved his head still lower; was now softly kissing the bare skin of her stomach. The sensation caused by the light touch of Tom's lips upon the soft skin of her belly was electrifying; produced within her a feeling that was so delicious, so utterly divine; with every caress of his lips, she felt her need of Tom quicken until she reached the point of no return whereupon she gave her herself over fully to his practised ministrations. She felt Tom's lips hard against her own. Opening her eyes again, she knew instinctively that he was smiling lazily down upon her; heard the intoxicating soft lilt of his voice as once again he murmured something unintelligible to her in the language of his Irish forefathers. Feeling his erection hard against her, she helped him push down his pyjama trousers, was faintly aware too of Tom gently but at the same time insistently nudging her legs apart, probing with eager fingers. Then, as she wrapped her arms tightly around his back, but a moment later, she felt Tom thrust himself slowly into her; again sensed his eyes upon her, capturing her own, watching her intently as she enfolded him within her.

Tom was aware of her feet pressing hard upon the calves of his legs, drawing him ever deeper into her. As the depth of his own desire overcame him, Tom's initial gentle thrusts now quickened as he succumbed to his own bodily needs. Grasping hold of her hips, he pulled her closer to him, moulding her body against him, urging her to accelerate the pace; a moment later heard her breathing quicken, his name exhaled upon her lips in a sibilant hiss as, feeling herself close to the edge, she arched her back, and cried out something unintelligible to him. At that, Tom redoubled his efforts. Moaning, he thrust himself even deeper into her and pulling her towards him. As she spiralled into the vortex, in what turned out to be a futile attempt to stifle her cries of ecstasy, he felt her bury her face deep against the bare skin of his shoulder, as but a moment later and with a shudder, he spilled himself deep within her. Then, likewise both drained and fully sated with pleasure, Tom kissed her forehead; still breathing heavily, gently he collapsed upon her. A moment or two later, they lay unmoving, their naked bodies still entwined, both glistening beneath a damp sheen of sweat.

In the translucent, pearl grey light of the early morning, relaxing beneath him, she smiled softly up at him, then tenderly brushed Tom's damp hair back from off his forehead, toyed idly with the hairs upon his chest, and kissed him gently. Despite the early morning chill, notwithstanding the chance of discovery by remaining as they were, neither of them made any attempt to get up nor to dress. And when, at length, she made to rise, Tom grinned, merely shook his head. Tenderly he withdrew himself from her, shifted his weight, then placed an arm about her slender shoulders, and pulled her towards him, entwining their fingers together, while she laid her arm gently across Tom's chest, and snuggled close against him.

A minute later and there was a sudden jolt, the carriage lurched violently, and, almost immediately, the heavy train began to slow down, clattered noisily over a set of points before coming to a complete and unexpected stop. In the ensuing silence, from somewhere up ahead, there came the equally unexpected sound of raised voices and somewhat closer at hand, seemingly just outside the window, footsteps crunched on the ballast.

Inside their compartment, in the dimness, with her head pillowed comfortably on Tom's chest, his left arm around her shoulders, the other resting on her just underneath her breasts, they lay together on the banquette. She stretched; resisted the urge to sleep.

"Tom?"
"Hm?"
"What on earth are we going to do?" she asked of him softly, running her fingers lightly up and down the length of his forearm.

"I don't know".

"I'm so sorry" she said at length.

"Don't be, darlin'" said Tom softly, gently stroking her cheek. "It's not your fault. These things happen; more often than you might think".

Beyond them in the blackness there was the faintest of clicks. The latch of the door snicked up; once again the darkness dissolved and the shadows fled, as light from the corridor now spilled into the compartment.