His hand went to her shoulder and he allowed himself the luxury of slipping his fingers inside the fall of her hair to caress the soft skin behind her ear and he knew that his fingers would feel it forever and his neck would never cease to cringe with sudden desire each time he remember­ed her breath against him.

“I’m going back in the morning, but you must know I want no other woman”, and he looked at where he had drawn back her hair from her neck. “No-one will ever mean what you mean to me”, and he bent down and placed his lips gently upon hers, fully aware that she struggled not to turn away. The night enfolded them, the surf beat in them, her shudder­ing heart was the shore trembling to the great pounding of a wave over­peaked with its own power, crashing like a huge tree to the ground.