Behind the Red Doors

by Vicki Lewis Thompson, Stephanie Bond

  Access to her was easy—she’d worn nothing under the sarong. He paused only long enough to unzip his pants before rolling on a condom, grabbing her sleek bottom and lifting her into position.

  In his frenzy to bury himself inside her he forgot the overpowering fragrance, forgot the jungle drums, forgot everything but stroking until he felt her climactic undulations caress his penis. Then he came in a burst of joyous energy.

  When it was over, she collapsed against the wall and gulped for air. “I guess…it worked.”

  Still groggy from the force of his orgasm, he leaned his forehead against hers while he waited for his body to stop quivering. “What worked?”

  “Jungle Goddess. I created it today.”

  “Ah.” Vaguely he remembered the question on fragrance. He’d said something about loving an exotic, tribal perfume. For good measure, he’d added that he liked a woman who used a lot of it. In a minute, when he had his sea legs, he’d suggest they take a long, hot shower together. If he stayed with her constantly, she wouldn’t have a chance to put that dreadful stuff on again tonight.

  The drums continued their steady rhythm in the background. He’d probably mentioned the drums, too. The leopard-print sarong was nice, though. Much better than leather.

  At last he could breathe normally again. And he remembered about the Pump Room. He lifted his head and gazed down at her. Her eyes were closed, and she looked very happy.

  He wanted to keep making her happy. The Pump Room was a good idea. “Do you…have plans for Valentine’s night?” he asked.

  Her eyes flipped open immediately. “No.”

  He could tell from her expression that she’d been waiting for him to ask this, and he was a jerk for not bringing it up sooner. “Will you spend it with me?”

  “Of course.” Little lights of joy danced in her eyes.

  She should wear emeralds, he thought, and nothing so large and dangerous as that ruby pendant. A delicate little strand of emeralds settled into the curve of her throat would be perfect.

  “Did you have something in mind?” she asked.

  “How about we start with dinner at the Pump Room? We’ll have a long, decadent meal and then we’ll hit a few nightclubs so I can show you off.”

  She smiled. “I’d better get a new dress.” She looked as if she could hardly wait to start shopping.

  He swallowed his disappointment. Jamie had obviously discovered her inner party girl. If her transformation happened to coincide with his longing to get away from all that and settle down in a cozy bungalow, it was his bad luck. If he wanted to be with Jamie, he’d have to go along.

  But he didn’t have to spend the rest of tonight choking on Jungle Goddess. He leaned down and feathered a kiss over her delicious mouth. “How about a nice, long, hot, wet, slippery shower?”

  “I’d love it,” she murmured. “Then we’ll drink coffee out of our favorite blue cup.”

  “And then we’ll—”

  “Yes.” She smiled. “We certainly will.”

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  ON WEDNESDAY MORNING Jamie asked Faith to help her pick out a dress for Valentine’s night. The week before, Jamie had admitted that she was seeing Dev, and Faith had been ecstatic. Jamie had warned her they were only having fun, no strings. She warned herself the exact same thing all the time. But this Valentine’s date seemed to take their relationship to a new level, so although she’d rather be dragged over hot coals than get dressed in another one of Dev’s fantasy outfits and do the town, she’d suffer for his sake.

  Faith suggested she and Jamie take a long lunch on Thursday and scour the stores. Faith reminded her that she was going away on Valentine’s Day and could probably use a few new things herself. The next day, an hour into the shopping trip, Jamie was ready to call it quits. She wasn’t satisfied with anything, and the price tags made her head swim. But she would do this for Dev.

  Faith lounged in a chair by the triple mirrors in the fourth store they’d tried while Jamie tugged and pulled at the latest possibility, a black beaded outfit that glittered and outlined her figure well, but weighed a ton.

  “It looks okay, but it feels yucky,” she said.

  “Hmm? What did you say?”

  Jamie had an attack of conscience. “You’re bored, and I’ll bet you’re tired, too. You’ve had a tough week, and I shouldn’t be dragging you all over creation. And you haven’t even bought anything for yourself yet! I’ll take this one and be done with it.”

  “I’m not bored or tired. And that does look great on you.”

  “Faith, you were a million miles away.”

  “It’s…the holiday, I guess. We’ve pinned our hopes on it, and thankfully the revised software and the wish list database are both pumping up our revenues. But I’ll be glad when we can tally the bottom line and know where we stand.”

  “I know what you mean.” Jamie felt doubly guilty now. She’d been so caught up in her affair with Dev that she’d barely had time to worry about the store’s bottom line. Apparently, Faith had been doing enough worrying for both of them.

  “So is that the dress you want?” Faith eyed it critically. “It looks wonderful on you. You wear designer clothes like a runway model.”

  Jamie checked the fit from the back. “A short runway model.”

  “Don’t complain. I’d love to have a figure like yours.”

  “And I’d love to have cleavage like yours.” Jamie laughed. “Come on. Let’s buy this rag and go back to work.”

  Not long afterward, a garment bag containing the dress slung over her shoulder, Jamie walked beside Faith as they joined the stream of pedestrians on Michigan Avenue.

  “You really like the dress?” Faith seemed to need reassurance that the shopping expedition had been a success.

  “I like it.” She sighed. “But I have to say, living up to Dev’s answers on the questionnaire is wearing me out.”

  “So tell him that!”

  “No.”

  “Why not? He’s a big boy. Surely he will—”

  “Faith, he’s attracted to a woman who’s into all that. If I tell him I’m not, I’m afraid he’ll lose interest.”

  “Won’t you have to tell him sometime?”

  “I suppose.” Jamie had given this a lot of thought. “But when I do, I have to be ready for the relationship to be over. I’m not ready yet.”

  “And it might not be over. He’s not that superficial, Jamie.”

  “I don’t think that’s necessarily superficial. Aromatherapy has taught me that many unconscious factors go into creating an attraction between two people. He has a right to like certain things in a woman. And if that’s not what I’m all about, then—”

  “I think you’re falling for him.”

  “No.” The thought scared her silly. “No, I’m not. I won’t let myself do that. It’s too soon, anyway.”

  “Too soon? You’ve known the guy for twelve years!”

  But not like this. “I just have to be careful, Faith. If I fall for him, and he doesn’t feel the same, that could become very awkward for all three of us.”

  Faith shook her head. “Do you seriously think you have that much control over how you feel about him? Is there some little valve inside you that’s either open or closed?”

  “I can control it.” Or so she’d told herself.

  “If you say so.”

  “I can!” And all the while a voice within her was telling her that it was already too late. She was totally in love with Dev.

  ALTHOUGH NOTHING SPECIFIC had been arranged, Dev assumed he’d go over to Jamie’s Thursday night, because he’d been spending every night there recently. So when she left a message with Edna on Thursday afternoon saying she would be ice skating that night with some friends from her old job, he was taken aback. She hadn’t invited him, and she hadn’t suggested meeting him later, either.

  He told himself it didn’t matter. She had a right to make plans without him. But he went home from work feeling very left out.
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  He spent most of Thursday night in a blue funk and he didn’t sleep more than a couple of hours. By Friday morning, as the sun rose on Valentine’s Day, he’d come to an inevitable conclusion. Apparently there was only one way to handle this relentless ache in his heart every time he thought about Jamie. He would have to gather his courage and do what had to be done.

  BOTH MALE AND FEMALE customers flooded The Red Doors on Friday, and Jamie was grateful. If only her personal life hadn’t been in chaos, she could be even happier that the marketing strategy to bring women into the kiosks had succeeded beyond her fondest hopes. There’d been a nearly disastrous incident involving the Valentino diamond Faith had on display and even that had only briefly distracted Jamie from her personal affairs.

  She was now back to being tied in knots thinking about Dev. She’d tried pulling back a little, had even taken a night off from seeing him to give them each what the relationship gurus called “a little space.” There had been nothing little about it. She’d felt as if a galaxy separated them.

  No matter how hard she’d tried to have fun with her friends, she’d thought of Dev constantly and regretted not spending the evening with him. That was a very bad sign. He’d probably watched some sports on TV and barely noticed they were apart.

  Fortunately the crush of customers mobbing the boutiques and kiosks prevented her from dwelling constantly on her problems with Dev. She was in Heaven Scent helping to fill orders when Dixie came through the door.

  Dixie looked unnerved as she walked over to the counter. “Sugar, can I talk to you a minute?”

  “I’ll be right there.” Jamie quickly rang up the computer-generated purchase and handed it over to Veronica. Dixie so seldom got rattled that Jamie was worried. “What’s up?”

  “Can you walk out to the mezzanine with me? I want to show you something.”

  “Sure.” Even more concerned, Jamie followed her out of the boutique, thinking there was some trouble on the main floor. “Is there a problem at The Red Bean?”

  “No. I wanted to show you something and I didn’t want Veronica to see it.” Dixie pulled a velvet jeweler’s box out of her skirt pocket. Opening it, she showed Jamie the contents.

  “What a gorgeous locket!” Looped on a delicate chain, the walnut-size heart was created with gold filigree. “Did you just buy it over at The Diamond Mine?”

  “No. It came from there originally, but it was delivered to my desk, and it was from—” she paused and flushed bright red “—my secret admirer.”

  “Oh, Dixie.” Jamie grinned at her. “I do believe he’s raising the stakes. And from the looks of that locket, by quite a tidy sum. Your secret admirer obviously has two nickels to rub together. Plus he also knows where to shop.”

  “Jamie, if you know who bought this for me, you’d better tell me right this very minute.”

  Jamie held up both hands. “I don’t. I swear I don’t. Who do you think sent it?”

  “I haven’t the foggiest, and it’s killing me! Are you sure you don’t know?”

  “I don’t. And if I knew, but I’d been sworn to secrecy, I’d at least tell you that. But I’m just plain clueless. What about Faith?”

  “I checked with her first. Apparently she wasn’t in The Diamond Mine when this was bought. Stacy was.”

  “Ah. Stacy of the last-minute elopement. How convenient for your secret admirer.” Jamie gazed at the intricate locket. “You have to admit that he has very good taste in jewelry.”

  Dixie traced the heart’s outline. “It’s pretty. Classy, even.”

  “Have you tried it on?”

  She glanced up and shook her head.

  “Why not? Here, let me put it on for—”

  “Nope.” Dixie jerked the box out of reach. “The note says if I wear it, my secret admirer will reveal himself. What if it turns out to be some toad? Then what?”

  Jamie laughed. “What if it turns out to be the handsome prince?”

  “Come on, honey. I’m fifty-six years old. My chances of attracting a creepy toad are much higher.” She closed the box with a snap. “I’m not wearing it.”

  “I think you should. If it turns out to be someone awful, you can handle him. I’ve seen that Steel Magnolia routine of yours.”

  Dixie put the box back in her pocket.

  “Come on, Dixie. Take a chance.”

  “Easy for you to say. You know who your date is for Valentine’s night.” Dixie winked. “Looking forward to it?”

  “You bet.” Jamie smiled with as much enthusiasm as she could dredge up. The closer she came to closing time, the more she felt anxiety churning in her stomach. She was in love with a man who thought she was someone else.

  “Well, you go out and have a marvelous time, sugar. And now we’d both better get back to the salt mines.”

  “Right.” Jamie turned and hurried into Heaven Scent. The day was going by fast—too fast. She didn’t have time for a lunch break, but she wouldn’t have been able to skate, anyway. After taking her skates home last night so that she could have them for the outing with her friends, she’d forgotten to bring them back to the office this morning.

  Quitting time arrived before she knew it. As she rode home on the bus, romance-minded couples seemed to be everywhere. The whole world was falling in love.

  She should never have let herself get so involved with Dev, she decided once she was home and struggling into the heavy black dress. They could have ended things with a one-night stand, but she’d been greedy. Now she’d pay for that greed with a broken heart, because she couldn’t keep up this charade much longer.

  Underneath the black dress she finally managed to zip, she wore a black lace underwire bra that did wonders for her cleavage and pinched her skin something fierce. The black garter and lace panties felt weird every time she sat down. In fact, sitting in a beaded dress wasn’t something she wanted to spend much time doing, and yet she was supposed to eat dinner in it.

  The whole makeup session was another pain in the rear. Every time she wiped the mascara over her lashes she’d sneeze, giving her little black fan-shaped smudges under her eyes. After several tries she got the makeup on, but she wasn’t happy with the job.

  She’d been on her feet all day and had to cram them into the four-inch black heels she’d bought yesterday to go with the dress. As she walked around her apartment, her feet hurt, her breasts felt squeezed by the underwire, her shoulders had already begun to ache from the weight of the dress, and she’d managed to smear her mascara again.

  “I can’t do this!” She kicked off the torture shoes so hard they flew across the room and bounced against the books in her bookcase. Then she reached for the zipper of the dress. The charade was over.

  THE HIGH, STARCHED collar of Dev’s tux shirt irritated his neck, but it was a small price to pay for giving Jamie a night to remember. A dozen red roses in a long floral box under his arm, he climbed the stairs to her apartment and tried not to think about how stiff the darn dress shoes were. He hoped he could dance in them without pain.

  He arrived at her door feeling noble. He might not be doing what he wanted tonight, but they would be doing what she wanted. That was important, especially considering his recent decision regarding Jamie.

  He pictured her primping in front of her bathroom mirror, checking to make sure her dress looked good from the back. Then all his thoughts came to a dead stop when he noticed the note taped to her door.

  He had to read it twice. The first time the words kept jumping around on him.

  Dev—

  I can’t make it tonight. I’m not the woman you thought I was. Unfortunately I’m the kind who would rather go skating than out on the town, so that’s what I’m doing tonight. I’m sorry for misleading you.

  —Jamie

  Fire raced through his veins. She’d ditched him for some guy she’d seen last night! Here he was, turning himself inside out to give her a special evening, and she didn’t even want a special evening! She wanted to go skating.
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br />   Tossing the box of roses down beside her door, he ripped the note off and headed back to the main floor, taking the stairs two at a time. By God, he was not going to let her get away with this. She’d tied him up in knots with her fancy lovemaking, and now she thought she could simply walk away? Not likely!

  He’d asked the cabbie to wait, anticipating that Jamie would be coming down with him. He hopped in the back seat. “Take me to the McCormick Tribune rink on Michigan.”

  The cabbie turned, and his glance flicked over Dev’s starched collar, black tie, dress coat and white silk scarf. Then he shrugged. “Okeydoke.”

  Dev tapped on the seat impatiently as the cab threaded its way through heavy Friday night traffic, made worse by the snow falling faster every minute. She’d gone skating. He even liked skating! If she’d only said something, they could be skating together right at this moment.

  Then he thought of the questionnaire. Maybe she hadn’t dared tell him who she really was. After all, he hadn’t told her who he really was, either. Because of that, she’d gone skating with another man tonight, when she was supposed to be with him.

  When the cabbie let him off near the rink, he could see right away that he’d have an audience. The rink was busy, filled with couples who’d chosen to spend a romantic evening gliding over the ice, despite, or perhaps because of, the falling snow.

  He looked for Jamie among the couples and couldn’t find her. Then he spotted a short skater with flaming hair circling the rink like an Olympian going for the gold. She was alone.

  After watching her for a couple of minutes Dev decided she didn’t have a date, after all. He didn’t know if that was better or worse. She’d chosen to be alone instead of with him. That really hurt.

  But hurt or not, he was going to straighten this out. Walking to the edge of the rink, he waited for her to come by. Even before he called her name, he could tell she’d seen him.

  Her eyes widened and she veered away from the spot where he was standing.