Raisins and almonds - Poisoned Pen Press (UK)

Raisins and Almonds 14
He caught his breath. She was naked: even her head was
bare of the ostrich feather fillet. In one smooth movement she
vaulted out of the car onto the prickly grass, and was running
towards the sea.
He tore at his buttons with shaking fingers.
He caught her by sound in the darkness. The air was heavy
and thick, and the sea kissed his naked flesh; a city’s ocean, which
slapped ashore and made genteel little waves which ran whispering
down the sand. Behind him St. Kilda went on with its late night
life. There weary painted women solicited for trade in beery streets
where the six o’clock drinkers had swilled and vomited. He had
yearned after the whores once, desperately curious about the sexuality
of women. He had envisaged seduction, the urgent plea and the
concession which allowed him access to the flesh he desired.
But not even in tangled sweaty sheets at three in the morning,
despairing of ever finding a lover, had he imagined anyone
like Phryne.
She was wet and her skin was cold, but under his hands it was
scalding. Arms wreathed around his neck and a mouth met his,
opening, salty and soft. She pulled him down into the embrace
of the water, sliding around and under him like a fish, so that he
ducked and dived, grabbing for her as she eluded him, laughing
and then coughing as he breathed ocean.
She was as fast and sleek as a seal. The distant street light showed
him her head as she emerged, a frill of foam around her neck, her
black hair plastered to her head like a depraved Pierrot.
‘Such a beautiful boy,’ she crooned, slipping forward with
the wave and kissing him hard. ‘Come, come to me.’
He grabbed again and this time she allowed herself to be
caught; she yielded to his embrace, clinging to him in the salt
water which bore them both up.
‘Oh, my nymph,’ he gasped. ‘Nereid, I’m yours.’
She moved again so that he was on the shingle, lying just
above the backwash of the waves, supine, astonished, wholly at
her mercy. Her mouth and hands caressed him, then she was
astride him, just visible in the distant light as she sank down