He had got what he had set out to achieve, Karen reasoned despondently. It was impossible for her to relax; she was too full of apprehension about what this new life would mean to her. Hal finally pointed to a driveway which led to a house of awesome proportions. It overlooked the glittering expanse of Pittwater, and Karen did not need telling that the real estate alone was worth a fortune.
It was not a mansion like Owen's home, but as Hal led Karen through the double door entrance she knew she had never seen a more luxurious house. Huge glass areas provided a commanding view of the
flotilla of sailing boats skimmed across Pittwater. The carpets were thick, the room huge, the furniture all the best modern design. It was a house which not only contained beautilul entertaining areas, but which had cozy living areas also. Karen particularly liked the sunny breaklast room and the television room.
'You won't have to worry about housekeeping,' Hal told her casually. 'There's a couple, Mr and Mrs Hanley, who live in an aparunent on the lower level. He's the gardener and general handyman, and she keeps the house in order. You'll meet them on Monday.'
Karen nodded, too overwhelmed to speak. She supposed she would get used to it all in time. David was in seventh heaven, racing around, discovering all the novelties of his new home. Hal led them upstairs and presented David's room which was virtually a replica of the rnom he bad provided in Owen's home, and the toys that be bad bought were all here for David's pleasure.
'Your mother and I are going to change into more comfortable clothes,' Hal told him matter-of-factly. 'Will you be happy playing here?'
David had just spilled the box of Lego on to the floor. He looked up with dancing eyes. 'I'll build up a big space station, Daddy!'
Hal grinned. 'You do that, son. I'll be back to see in a little while.'
David was already too busy to answer, and Hal turned Karen away, steering her down the hallway to another room. It was obviously the master bedroom, and Karen's gaze skittered away from the king-size bed which she would have to share with him tonigbt. Her luggage was stacked near an opened doorway which led to a dressing room. The carpet was a pale lemon and the furnishings were mainly gold and white.
Nervous of being alone with Hal, Karen walked over to pull the curtains back from a row of glass doors. Another view of Pittwater sparkled at her, but she did not enjoy it. She was far too aware that Hal was discarding his tie, his jacket, and his waistcoat. She willed him to move into the dressing room before he discarded more clothes.
He moved, but not to the dressing room. He strolled up behind her, and before she realised what he intended his hands closed around her waist and pulled her back against him. Shock rippled through her as his fingers began unbuttoning her jacket.
'What ... what are you doing?' she choked out.
'Undressing you, since you don't seem inclined to undress yourself.'
As his fingers started on her blouse buttons, sheer panic drove Karen to twist around in his embrace. Fear feathered down her spine as she caught the broodingly intent look on his face.
'You can't mean ... not ... not now,' she stammered, her heart in her mouth.
'Why not? We're married. For better, for worse, remember? And I want it better, Karen.' He pulled her closer and his lips pressed warm kisses to her temples. 'Better than anything I've had before.'
'No! We can't!' she cried in frightened protest. 'David might want us.'
'He'll be happy for half an hour.'
His fingers threaded through her hair and tilted her head back. His mouth took hers in a passionate demand which almost drained her of any will at all. He pressed her body even closer to his, leaving her in no doubt that he was sexually aroused. Karen jerked her head back, gasping for breath.
'No! Later, Hal. Tonight,' she pleaded, struggling to deny that she could be responding to his desire.
The grey eyes glittered with purpose. 'That too, Karen. But I want you now.'
And there was no stopping him. He wouldn't take no for an answer. Karen trembled with a sense of inevitability as his fingers flicked open the last button and he slid both jacket and blouse from her shoulders. For a few moments she went completely limp, but she found it impossible to remain passive as his mouth roamed down her throat, across her shoulder, down to the soft swell of her breasts. Her skin leapt in sharp tingles of excitement.
She told herself she shouldn't be reacting like this, but even as Hal whirled her around and laid her on the end of the bed to remove the rest of her clothes she could not quell a shiver of anticipation. He was so aggressively masculine, emanating an urgency which communicated itself to her. His eyes raked her naked body as he stripped himself of his own clothes, and Karen writhed inside at her utter vulnerability. She turned her gaze away, wishing it could be different between them, wishing there could be caring and love in the union Hal was forcing.
She cried out as he touched her, an instinctive cry of protest against the intimacy he was taking, but his mouth smothered any further cry and his body pinned her down, making any struggle futile while the offending hand caressed her into trembling acceptance. He kissed her with such fierce passion that Karen could do nothing but give herself up to it, and once he sensed her submission Hal moved to take complete possession.
She looked up at him, feeling hopelessly lost to all that she believed was right. There was no love between them, yet as his gaze met and locked with hers, a compelling hunger throbbed between them, unspoken yet reflected in each other's eyes. Hal's face was strained with the need to go on, and she knew her own face was tight with tension. For a moment he hesitated, a look of pain darkening the need, then with a harsh, guttural cry he drove himself deep inside her.
A wild, primitive elation burst through her, an incomprehensible, savage response to Hal's savagery. He plunged into her again and again, long, hard strokes that thrust for a dominance which she denied him by moving with the rhythm, inviting, goading him on with a wantonness she did not stop to question. Never in her life had she experienced anything like this before, this sense of ecstatic oneness in an act of mutual possession. Her body was exulting in it, adjusting itself to new levels of almost unendurable pleasure.
Karen closed her eyes, concentrating all her being on the inner world which was pulsing towards an exquisite tension. Hal's arms slid under her hips, lifting her higher. Then with one deep, explosive thrust, there came a sudden flooding of warmth which spread a blissful peace throughout her whole body. She ceased to move, utterly transfixed by a fulfilment she had never known, and her eyes opened indazed wonder, needing to see the man who had done this.
His body was arched back. Beads of perspiration lined his forehead. Still he held her hard against his loins and his breath came in deep, rough gasps. He shuddered, and Karen felt his release, a wave of warmth joining and mingling with hers, and suddenly their union lost its magic and she felt shamed by her participation in what could never be called an act of love.