"Carlo, you know you only use the apartment for telephoning…" he began lamely, waiting.
Carlo's amber eyes narrowed. He leaned forward on his chair. "You're wasting your time with that bitch," he said. "You're wasting your time with a girl who had no money."
"Elaine does have money!"
Carlo leapt straight into the attack. He did not want to lose the opportunity of a lifetime – to say nothing of a form of permanent insurance against possible hard times. He knew that, with a little behind-the-scenes manipulation, Nino could swing it. After which his good friend would be set for life. And, should Carlo ever need anything, he could always remind Nino where his gratitude and generosity should point…
"You have to wake up, man!" Carlo said impatiently. "Elaine doesn't have money; she had an allowance. And it isn't all that much, either."
Warming to his subject, Carlo pressed harder. "Remember that girl I introduced you to a couple of days ago – Sue Miller? Listen. She's an heiress. An heiress, you understand? An heiress to over one million dollars. She thinks you're wonderful; she's ready to go for you in a big, big way. This is the chance of a lifetime for you – that chance you've hoped for, for so long. What more could you want?"
Nino made no reply. He drew deeply from his cigarette, his forehead creased in a set frown.
"It's all set up for you, Nino," Carlo urged. "All you have to do is dump Elaine and you're set with Sue and a million dollars." When the youth sat silent, Carlo asked weanly: "Now what's the matter? What's wrong with Sue?"
"She's a lesbian," Nino muttered.
Carlo shot a shrewd glance at Nino. "What gave you that idea? Just because Maria took her in doesn't mean she's a dyke. Christ, the poor girl was lonely. Besides, Maria is a damned good art teacher and she's been helping Sue with her technique. Ask Benito for Christ's sake! He balled her at one of Marceau's parties. He thought she was a terrific fuck…"
"She has thick legs," Nino interjected.
"Christ, man, you want a million bucks and the most beautiful legs in the world too?"
"Well…"
"Look, if it's Elaine that's bothering you, forget it. You pick her up tonight and tell her you're going to a party. When you get to Marceau's, I'll take her around and introduce her to everybody. In the meantime you grab Sue and head for one of the rooftop rooms. I'll keep Elaine busy." He winked at Nino. "After a little of Marceau's refreshments she'll never miss you. It'll be easy." He looked appraisingly at Nino. He judged the younger man had accepted the persuasion. Surpressing a cynical smile, Carlo asked in a tone of serious inquiry: "Well, what do you say, Nino? Are you going to drop Elaine or not?"
There was silence. Nino lit himself another cigarette. Finally: "It's not going to be easy," he muttered.
"Nothing could be simpler!" Carlo could smell victory. "Sue's ready and willing – any idiot can see she's panting for you! She can't wait for you to lay her. And since she has all those lovely dollars, you'd be well advised to forget those thick legs. Just get down to business."
"It's all right for you to talk…" Nino began.
"Listen," Carlo interrupted, "I've screwed a lot worse than Sue, and for a lot less incentive, too. And it hasn't killed me yet. It hasn't even bothered me."
"Nothing's really wrong with her… she's really a pretty good looking broad… it's… just…" Nino's voice trailed off. He stared beyond Carlo – beyond the door and the empty outdoor tables – beyond the street…
What the hell's the matter with him, Carlo wondered. He's plainly weak about the blonde bitch in some way or another. Love? It hardly seemed likely. But this was no time to take chances on love or weakness. Sue was the richest fish Carlo had ever caught upon his diversified hook. She was rich and she had fallen in a jelly-like romantic heap for Nino. That he knew. And one million dollars… It would seem foolish to let sentimentality over Elaine spoil such a golden opportunity. Carlo abhorred sentimentality above all things. And… he wanted Elaine for himself. For now, anyway.
Nino stared directly at him, and even before his friend spoke, Carlo knew that the million dollars had won.
"Okay," he finally said, his voice subdued. "I'll pick her up and bring her to Marceau's. The rest is up to you."
"Done, my friend." Standing up, Carlo went around the table and held out his hand. He'd known all along Nino would see sense in the end. He had been right. He had known all along that in the end – greed would win. They shook.
"See you tonight… Lots to do… phone calls… and I have to be at Marceau's early to take care of the final arrangements." He turned quickly and headed for the door.
Nino stood for a long time, staring vacantly at the street…
CHAPTER TEN
Elaine had slept, her only movement the deep, steady rise and fall of her breasts, until, mid-afternoon, she had slowly opened her eyes and lay staring, wide awake, without moving. She stayed that way for a long time, looking up at the ceiling without moving or blinking, seemingly staring inward rather than outward.
After lying still for a long time, she slowly looked around, accepting the reality of being in her hotel room. It was raining and she saw through the window that the light outside had a blue smokey hue. Her mind cleared slowly, emptying itself of sleep, as little vague thoughts of the night before darted like tiny ants across the landscape of her consciousness. As her memories came into perspective, she was rocked with the horror of what had happened… of what she had allowed to happen, without real resistance or much effort to preserve her natural dignity. She had allowed herself to be fucked silly – and by someone she hardly knew! She had actually begged to be fucked and have Nino, a virtual stranger, squirt his hot male sperm into her! It was disgusting! Yet, even now in retrospect, the memory stimulated her. There was no sense trying to fool herself, for she also knew that her life would never be whole again unless she could live through and enjoy her senses as she had with Nino. She felt more than ever aware of herself, of her body, her spirit, the pulse of her very life-blood. They had made love – yes, fucked! – like two common animals carried along by the fine high heat of their nerves and body rhythms, joining in a way she had never known was possible. She tried to fit the events of last night into the whole scheme of her life up till then. It was impossible and she felt the wave of excitement that was building within her at just the thought of what they had done – an exciting light-lingered quivering between her thighs as she remembered her seemingly endless climaxes under Nino's relentless tongue and driving loins. It was then that she decided she'd better get up before she allowed her body to become aroused again.
Languidly, the sensually naked blonde crossed the room to the closet and withdrew a long, flowing robe and slipped it on. She paused to brush her hair and saw that even the dim light made the thin fabric almost transparent, and she seemed even taller and more beautiful than usual. She decided that her sexual encounter of last night must have agreed with her for her skin was milky white, clear and sensuously soft-looking, and her cheeks were slightly rosy, even though she had just risen from bed. Bed! Last night! Nino! Just the recollection of the darkly handsome Italian boy sent a little thrill of pleasure through her, making her nipples harden and tingle. Nino! His muscled suntanned body. His animal lust. His… his penis, so hot, so hard, so wonderful! He had driven her almost mad with desire! But no, she had already decided that she was not going to think about him… for a while anyway.
She walked into the bathroom and turned on the shower. Maybe it would help. She'd taken one this morning after he had brought her home, but that had been for a different reason. Her body had been covered with the dried remnants of their orgasms from last night and from the one she had reached shortly before he had brought her to the hotel room. God! I've got to stop this, she thought and stepped into the shower. She let the spray cascade down her back and over her body, gradually decreasing the amount of warm water, until, ten minutes later, she stepped out, shivering. After drying and slipping back into her robe, she padded back into the bedroom, fixed herself a cup of instant coffee, and sat down on the couch to wait for Nino's call…