Page 181 - Brokenclaw - John Gardner

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‘That an invitation, James?’

‘Could be. You Chinese are so inscrutable, though.’
‘I’m an inscrutable American, Captain Bond.’ She came towards him, her
eyes again locking with his. She winced slightly as he put his arms around her
and he quic
James Bond OO7 - printing disabledkly apologised for his clumsiness. Then his mouth was on hers and James Bond OO7 - printing disabled
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it was as though he had known her lips for years. He pressed harder and she
pushed against him. In the bedroom he said, ‘Your back, Chi-Chi. Be careful of
your back.’
‘James, my dear, I know many ways to please us both without lying on my

back.’
Three hours later, he had to concede that she knew a whole encyclopedia of
ideas that neither hurt her back nor his own bruised ribs. There were moments
when Bond experienced that sense of wonder only granted to some men once in
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a lifetime, as her slim body seemed to float above his, light as a wisp of gauze
yet giving and taking something more than just lustful pleasure.
They ate a simple meal of what Chi-Chi called her Caesar salad, but which
Bond would have called a very good Salade Niçoise, followed by raspberries

from her freezer with whipped cream. The coffee, he noticed, was Swedish,
the Traditional Roast, freshly ground.
They sat over the coffee and brandy looking at the great undulating strings of
lights marking the bridge, until Chi-Chi stifled a yawn.

‘I’m sorry.’ Bond reached over and held her hand. ‘I haven’t been talking
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much. A lot on my mind, Chi-Chi.’
‘There is an old proverb.’ She looked at him from under lowered lids. ‘I
think maybe it is Chinese, and it says, “Those who have love need no prattle.”’

Bond gave her a smile with his eyes. ‘I didn’t know there was a Chinese
word for prattle.’
‘Maybe it’s an old English proverb.’
‘Maybe.’ He was silent again for a moment. Then, ‘You remember when we

woke in Brokenclaw’s lair? The morning when we thought we were in
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Virginia?’
‘Could I forget?’
‘I thought I had forgotten, but at one point during that day I remembered

something. It was a sundial in Virginia. At the university of that state, there’s an
inscription on a sundial which says—

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