BOOK 4

'Be careful,' Amy said. 'You're pulling.'

Robert went on dragging her hair together in both his fists. When he had it tight, he pinned the two red hanks wide apart on the pillow and surveyed her naked body with satisfaction.

'Not a freckle anywhere.'

'Yes, well, I stay out of the sun, don't I?' Amy jerked her head uselessly. 'Let go, will you?'

'You didn't stay out of the sun in Corfu.' He kept her hair pinned, and went on studying her in the glow of his parchment-shaded bedside lamp. 'The first thing I noticed about you was the way this -' he straightened her hair to its full length, almost reaching the abundant curves of her breasts - 'shone across the beach . . .'

'Stop it!' Amy prised at his hands, trying to free herself. 'That bloody hurts . . .'

She hesitated, angry with herself for breaking her own rule. She had always been careful not to swear at all, first because of her younger brothers, then because of the young people she taught.

At least it seemed to have worked, on this