Down from the Mountain. Barbara Gale

that her appetite was uninhibited and couldn’t help wondering if her other appetites were just as hearty.

      “It must have cost my father a fortune to feed you,” he joked as he pushed his own plate aside. His clumsy attempt to make peace fell flat. Red-faced, Ellen quietly put down her fork and folded her hands. “Hey, sweetheart, I didn’t mean to embarrass you. I enjoyed watching you eat. Lots of women pick at their food as if it were a trial.”

      “For lots of women, it may be. I didn’t think I had to worry about my weight. At least, John always used to say I didn’t. Do I?” she asked uneasily. “Was he humoring me?”

      “Are you fishing for compliments?”

      Ellen flushed. “You were the one who made that nasty remark.”

      “It was a stupid thing to say. I really am sorry.”

      “Okay, fine, you’re forgiven. But why is it that whenever the conversation turns the slightest bit personal, you get hostile? I only asked that question about my weight because it suddenly occurred to me that maybe your father was just being polite. I have some sense of my body, but now that we’re talking about it, I realize that the only person who ever gave me any feedback about my shape, or even my looks, was John Hartwell.” She touched her cheeks as if she were feeling them for the first time, but when she ran her fingers over her lips, David’s mouth went dry. “He told me I was beautiful, but then he would, wouldn’t he?”

      “Except that he was right,” David managed to rasp.

      “Beautiful is a powerful word,” Ellen retorted doubtfully.

      “You forget that I have no stake in the matter.”

      “Neither did John.”

      “Well, you are beautiful!” he assured her, but she heard his annoyance and suddenly it was all too much.

      “Never mind, David. I don’t really care what I look like, I just want to go home. Please take me home,” she begged as a tear fell.

      David was beside her in a flash, sliding an arm around her waist. “Here, darling, let me guide you.” He spoke loudly for the benefit of the waitress bearing down on them with the check and shrugged sheepishly as she placed it on the table. “Newlyweds,” he explained lamely as he tossed some bills on the table.

      With his firm hand plastered to Ellen’s back, he hustled them out to the gate, where their plane was beginning to board. “I have to stow our bags,” he told her.

      “You mean your bags! I only had time to pack the one.”

      “Whatever,” he sighed as he showed her to their seats. “Just give me your word you won’t try to escape while I try to find an empty overhead compartment.”

      “Where would I go?” Ellen asked sadly.

      Skeptical, David had no choice but to follow the stewardess up the aisle with his duffel bag.

      Ellen slumped down in her seat in despair. This whole situation simply wasn’t going to work! David was far too mercurial, kindly one minute, autocratic the next. There must be other options. If she could just make her way home, Harry Gold would figure something out. She’d beg him, bribe him, threaten him somehow, before she spent another day like this. Her mind made up, she grabbed her cane and purse, giving silent thanks to the god of credit cards. Feeling her way along the aisle, she prayed David didn’t return too soon. People were so happy to guide her, that she was able to find her way to the exit in moments.

      Where David stood, blocking her way. She recognized his distinct male smell seconds before his hands clasped her forearms.

      “So much for your word,” he hissed, his lips against her ear.

      Left no other choice, Ellen took a deep breath and screamed. Well, it’s what she would have done, if David hadn’t kissed her.

      Kissed the breath from her body, erased every sensible thought she had, boldly kissed her smack in the doorway of a 747! And she, all she could think to do was…kiss him back! Lean into him, her body on its own wavelength, desire overwhelming, an active participant to her own seduction.

      Everyone laughed and applauded, and Ellen could only imagine how charming David made them seem when finally he released her. His arm ranged around her neck, he nuzzled her hair for their audience as he led her back to their seats. But the grip in which he held her was inviolate.

      “I hate you!” she swore as he fastened her seat belt.

      “You hate me?” he scoffed. “Well, I can’t imagine what it would be like to kiss you, then, if you liked me even a little bit!”

      “That’s something you’ll never know!”

      “Won’t I?” David laughed as he tightened her belt. “Oh, my dear, never say never!” His long hands tunneling through her hair, David slowly dragged her face to his. Skimming her teeth as he ran his tongue around her lips, he knew he was taking advantage of the situation, but the taste of her was an aphrodisiac he couldn’t seem to steer clear of. When he raised his head and saw how dazed she was, he couldn’t help his satisfied smile. She wanted this, too.

      Again he ducked his head, smothering her protest as he took possession of her mouth. But no sweet missive this. His hand locked around her neck, he made her a prisoner of his desire, his tongue thrusting past her teeth. When he felt her mouth soften, he knew he was not mistaken. When he lifted his head, the hot ache he felt was reflected in her wide, green eyes.

      “Oh! You…you…”

      “Give it a rest, Ellen!” David sternly ordered as he leaned back in his seat and gave a hard, angry tug to his own seat belt.

      Crude to the end, Ellen thought in disgust. Her hands opened and closed, itching to strangle him, the edge of violence he brought her to, extraordinary. But she was still reeling from his savage kiss. She had succumbed, yes, but that was because he’d… Overwhelmed her, yes, that was it. She refused to admit to the heady sensation that his lips had aroused, although she thought about nothing else the next hour.

      He didn’t seem to mind that she refused to speak to him the entire flight, not the way he buried himself in the movie after she declined his offer of headphones. He had been too angry during takeoff to notice her terror, and would have missed it now except that Ellen was chalk-white and her eyes were wide and glassy. “What’s the matter?”

      “Nothing,” she said quietly. “I’ve just never flown before.”

      “Dammit, Ellen, why didn’t you tell me?”

      “After the way you behaved?”

      “Oh, hell! Well, how did you and Dad get to Baltimore to see Gleason?”

      “We took a train. Look, don’t bother yourself now! I’ll be fine, just give me a minute.”

      David could see by the way Ellen was trembling that she was going to be anything but fine, but he didn’t know what to do. They were already in the process of landing and would be down any minute. He supposed if she got very sick, a stewardess would have the wherewithal to help, with oxygen maybe, but he hoped that wouldn’t be necessary.

      “For chrissake, Ellen, do you think that in the future, when you have a problem, you could let me know?” he grumbled as he unbuckled her. Her shaking hands couldn’t even manage that.

      “Why?” she hissed. “So you can practice a little kindness?” Shoving him away, she tried to stand, but her legs wouldn’t support her. Luckily he caught her in time, and she made no protest until he slipped his arms beneath her knees and started to lift her.

      “David, stop! I’m blind, not crippled!”

      “You’re too weak to walk!”

      “Please, David, put me down,” she pleaded quietly, “don’t embarrass me this way. Give me a minute and I’ll be okay.”

      He hesitated, then gently set her down.