Charon's Crossing

But when they reached the bedroom and his kisses grew more intense, she turned her face away.

"Just relax, darling," he murmured. He took her face between his hands and brought her mouth to his. "It'll be good, I promise."

She wanted to believe him. She let him kiss her some more. She wanted to feel something; she wanted to feel what she'd felt in Matthew's arms. Why didn't she? Maybe Matthew was nearby. Maybe he was watching. Maybe that was why she couldn't react to Jason's increasingly passionate caresses.

But Matthew was nowhere nearby. She knew that she'd have sensed his presence.

Jason kept kissing her. His hand crept towards her breast. The feel of it made her skin crawl.

"Jason, wait."

He silenced her by trying to deepen the kiss. His tongue slid into her mouth; she felt its warm slickness and almost gagged.

"Stop it," she said sharply, and when he didn't, she slapped his face.

Stunned, they stared at each other in the moonlight, each of them breathing hard but for very different reasons.

"Oh, Jason," Kathryn finally whispered. She reached out towards him but he stepped away and walked to the window.

"Listen," he said, "I think maybe I ought to fly back to New York in the morning."

Kathryn knew he wanted her to tell him not to go. She knew it was what a woman should say to the man she was going to marry.

"I don't think coming down here was such a hot idea, after all."

"Jason. Jason, I'm so sorry..."

"Don't be. You're upset, and I can understand the reason. Here you are, stuck with a house that looks like a strong wind might blow it down. The last thing you need is me, pressuring you."

Kathryn suspected she looked almost as miserable as he did.

"Yeah," she murmured, "I think you're right."

Jason nodded. Her easy acquiescence felt like a blow between the eyes, but what had he expected? That she'd beg him to stay? That the tropical sun would have burned off her inhibitions? Well, it hadn't. If anything, she seemed further away than ever. Each time today he'd tried to get close, she'd backed off.

Maybe it was the atmosphere of decadence and decay in this damned ruin of a mansion, or the miserable isolation of the place. Whatever it was, he was certain that hanging around would only make things worse.

It wasn't easy, but he managed to look at Kathryn and smile.

"How much more time do you figure you'll have to spend here?"

She'd expected the question. What she hadn't expected was her hesitation in answering. A few days ago, the thought of having to put in even an extra hour at Charon's Crossing would have seemed like a penance.

Now, though she didn't want to dwell on the reason, the thought of leaving put a hollow feeling into the pit of her stomach.

"Kathryn? What do you think?"

"Well," she said carefully, "I had thought a week would do it, but now I guess I really can't give you a definite answer. There are so many unknown factors, you know?" Her smile felt artificial. "I think they must have invented manana on this island. I've got to work around the contractor's schedule, my lawyer's not even on the island, and the realtor..."

"How long?"

She shrugged and picked at a bit of nonexistent lint on her skirt.

"A couple of weeks, maybe."

Jason's face fell. "That long?"

"I'm just not sure, Jason. Actually—actually, I was thinking, it might be a good idea if I took some of my vacation time now, don't you think?"