The Land Rover had Dunlopillo cushions, but the ripple-edged tarmac and the pitted bends of Nassau’s coastal road were tough on the springs and the quivering afternoon sun was a killer. By the time Bond found the sandy track leading off into the casuarinas and had parked the car on the edge of the beach, all he wanted to do was get into the sea and stay in it. The beach hut was a Robinson Crusoe affair of plaited bamboo and screwpine with a palm thatch whose wide eaves threw black shadows. Inside were two changing rooms labelled ‘his’ and ‘hers’. hers contained a small pile of soft clothes and the white doeskin sandals. Bond changed and walked out again into the sun. The small beach was a dazzling half-moon of white sand enclosed on both sides by rocky points. There was no sign of the girl. The beach shelved quickly through green to blue under the water. Bond took a few steps through the shallows and dived through the blood-warm upper water down into the cool depths. He kept down there as long as possible, feeling the wonderful cold caress on his skin and through his hair. Then he surfaced and crawled lazily out to sea, expecting to see the girl skin-diving round one of the headlands. But there was no sign of her, and after ten minutes Bond turned back to the shore, chose a patch of firm sand, and lay down on his stomach, his face cradled in his arms.
Minutes later, something made Bond open his eyes. Coming towards him across the middle of the quiet bay was a thin trail of bubbles. When it passed over the dark blue into the green, Bond could see the yellow single cylinder of the aqualung tank and the glint of a mask with a fan of dark hair streaming out behind. The girl beached herself in the shallows. She raised herself on one elbow and lifted the mask. She said severely, ‘Don’t lie there dreaming. Come and rescue me.’
Bond got to his feet and walked the few steps to where she lay. He said, ‘You oughtn’t to aqualung by yourself. What’s happened? Has a shark been lunching off you?’
‘Don’t make silly jokes. I’ve got some sea-egg spines in my foot. You’ll have to get them out somehow. First of all get this aqualung off me. It hurts too much to stand on my foot with all this weight.’ She reached for the buckle at her stomach and released the catch. ‘Now just lift it off.’
Bond did as he was told and carried the cylinder up into the shade of the trees. Now she was sitting in the shallow water inspecting the sole of her right foot. She said, ‘There are only two of them. They’re going to be difficult.’
Bond came and knelt beside her. The two black spots, close together, were almost under the curl of the middle toes. He got up and held out a hand. ‘Come on. We’ll get into the shade. This is going to take time. Don’t put your foot down or you’ll push them in further. I’ll carry you.’
She laughed up at him. ‘My hero! All right. But don’t drop me.’ She held up both arms. Bond reached down and put one arm under her knees and another under her armpits. Her arms closed round his neck. Bond picked her up easily. He stood for a moment in the lapping water and looked down into her upturned face. The bright eyes said yes. He bent his head and kissed her hard on the half-open, waiting mouth.
The soft lips held his and drew slowly away. She said rather breathlessly, ‘You shouldn’t take your reward in advance.’
‘That was only on account.’ Bond closed his hand firmly over her right breast and walked out of the water and up to the beach into the shade of the casuarinas. He laid her gently down in the soft sand. She put her hands behind her head to keep the sand out of her straggling hair and lay waiting, her eyes half hidden behind the dark mesh of her eyelashes.
The mounded vee of the bikini looked up at Bond and the proud breasts in the tight cups were two more eyes. Bond felt his control going. He said roughly, ‘Turn over.’
She did as she was told. Bond knelt down and picked up her right foot. It felt small and soft, like a captured bird, in his hand. He wiped away the specks of sand and uncurled the toes. The small pink pads were like the buds of some multiple flower. Holding them back, he bent and put his lips to where the broken ends of the black spines showed. He sucked hard for about a minute. A small piece of grit from one of the spines came into his mouth and he spat it out. He said, ‘This is going to be a long business unless I hurt a bit. Otherwise it’ll take all day and I can’t waste too much time over just one foot. Ready?’
He saw the muscles of her behind clench to take the pain. She said dreamily, ‘Yes.’
Bond sank his teeth into the flesh round the spines, bit as softly as he could and sucked hard. The foot struggled to get away. Bond paused to spit out some fragments. The marks of his teeth showed white and there were pinpoints of blood at the two tiny holes. He licked them away. There was almost no black left under the skin. He said. ‘This is the first time I’ve eaten a woman. They’re rather good.’
