by Penny Jordan
Attractive striped awnings in gold and black shaded the tiny window adorned with only one dress, but Edie didn’t give her time to stare and admire.
‘Louise is a great designer,’ she whispered to Amber as they went in, ‘and in my view produces far more flattering clothes than many of the famous names. She won’t push you into something you don’t want either.’
That this was true became evident as the owner of the small boutique first studied Amber’s slender frame before allowing her to select any of the clothes displayed.
‘I would prefer something long,’ Amber told her hesitantly, gesturing to her injured leg. ‘Something to conceal this.’
‘Mmm.’ Louise frowned. ‘Long dresses are out at the moment, I’m afraid, although I do keep one of two in stock for more formal occasions, but they’re really designed for my older clients, and I don’t think I have anything to suit you.’ She glanced at the rails and then smiled, suddenly snapping her fingers.
‘Stay there a minute,’ she instructed. ‘I’ve just remembered something. An outfit I designed for one of my clients just before Christmas—it was intended for a fancy dress ball, which she didn’t go to in the end, but it’s the sort of thing that’s right in fashion at the moment.’
She disappeared and returned several minutes later carrying a billowing mass of rich blue silk chiffon sewn with tiny brilliants, so that it reminded Amber of the sky at night, scattered with millions of stars.
Louise shook out the fabric, and Amber’s eyes widened as she saw what it was meant to be; a modern-day version of a harem dancer’s outfit, complete with sheer trousers and a narrow tubular bodice.
Her eyes must have mirrored her dismay, because before she could protest that she could never carry off such a outrageous outfit Louise said quickly,
‘Before you say you don’t want it, just try it on. Full trousers are right in fashion now, and there’s enough fabric left for me to make you a simple edge-to-edge jacket to go over it if you wish.’
‘Yes, try it on,’ Edie urged, and so reluctantly Amber disappeared into the changing cubicle carrying the armful of chiffon silk.
It wasn’t a faithful reproduction of a harem dancer’s outfit, the bodice being joined to the trousers, its narrow shape emphasising the fullness of her breasts and the neatness of her waist, her skin gleaming palely beneath the full sheerness of the trousers as the fabric fell softly into the gathered ankles with the small bells that chimed musically when she walked.
Above the bodice her shoulders rose creamlly pale, and she studied her reflection wide-eyed for several seconds, only half believing the transformation she saw.
The filmy fabric masked her leg perfectly, and the trousers were far more up-to-date than any long dress could have been, but did she have the courage and self-confidence to carry off an outfit which even to her inexperienced eyes carried an implicitly sensual message to the beholder?
‘Come on out,’ Louise ordered. ‘Let’s see how it looks.’
Any doubts Amber had entertained were banished when she saw first the appreciative surprise and then the admiration in Edie’s eyes as she stepped out into the salon.
‘Oh, my dear!’ she exclaimed a little breathlessly. ‘You’ll cause a positive riot—won’t she, Louise?’
‘Most definitely,’ the other woman laughed. ‘I don’t normally go in for such sexy outfits, I’ve never considered them my forte, but looking at this one, I’m beginning to wonder if I haven’t mistaken my vocation. It just needs something to complete it, and I’ve got the very thing.’ She disappeared and then returned carrying a wide silver leather belt higher at the front than at the back, which she placed round Amber’s waist and then laced up in the manner Amber had seen in rollicking period films, as worn by buxom country wenches.
When she pulled a face, Louise assured her seriously, ‘It’s just what it needs to add that gimmicky touch that’s all the rage at the moment. Everyone’s into this nostalgic dressing up.’
‘But it makes me look…’ Amber stared into the mirror, unable to correctly define the way in which the silver belt emphasised her waist and drew subtle attention to the swell of her breasts.
‘It makes you look like a very desirable wanton,’ Louise finished frankly for her. ‘Which is exactly what it ought to do. There’s a pair of silver slippers to go with it—what size are you?’ she asked.
As it happend the slippers were exactly Amber’s size, pretty curly-toed affairs which added to the Arabian Nights quality of her outfit.
‘All you need now is a very sexy hairstyle and a little bit of theatrical make-up,’ Louise told her.
‘We’re going to my beauty parlour before the party,’ Edie told her, mentioning a name which was obviously familiar to Louise. ‘Ask for Rick,’ she told Amber, ‘and tell him what you’re wearing.’
A little afraid that she would never have the confidence to carry off both the outfit and the type of make-up Louise was suggesting, Amber paid for the outfit, and followed Edie out into the sunshine.
‘You don’t think it’s a little bit… well…’
‘Sexy?’ the older women suggested, eyes twinkling. ‘More than a little, my dear, but in the nicest possible way. You looked delightful, although I suspect you’d better stick pretty close to Joel, I doubt any man with red blood in his veins will be able to look at you in that outfit without wanting to remove it.’ She laughed at Amber’s shocked expression, and added wickedly, ‘Isn’t that what you’ll want Joel to do? I can’t wait to see Julie’s face when she sees you. She’ll be green!’
And Teri? Amber wanted to ask. How would she feel? But it was a question she simply couldn’t voice.
CHAPTER NINE
THE party was in full swing by the time Joel, Amber and the Haineses reached the Beverly Hills mansion owned by Julie and her film producer husband.
Amber still wasn’t sure whether she had done the right thing in wearing the outfit she had bought with Edie, neither did she feel entirely comfortable with the exotic make-up and hair-do fashioned for her by the experts at Edie’s beauty salon.
It was true that Joel’s expression had changed when he saw her in all her finery, but the look he had given her had been probing and reserved rather than admiring, and she wondered cringingly if she was making a fool of herself by wearing such an exotic outfit and whether it wouldn’t have been wiser to wear something less attention-seeking.
‘Joel, you haven’t told Amber how attractive she looks,’ Edie scolded as they left the car. ‘And I’m sure if you don’t, there’ll be plenty of other men in evidence tonight who will.’
Joel’s laconic, and almost contemptuous, ‘So am I,’ left Amber feeling even more vulnerable than before.
Julie detached herself from a crowd in the huge drawing room to welcome them, her arm through Joel’s as she drew him forward to introduce him around, Amber lagging selfconsciously behind, aware of curious glances.
Behind the enormous living room was a partially enclosed patio with a stylish swimming pool and gardens beyond illuminated with tiny lights. The guests were mainly in their twenties and thirties, sophisticated, ‘wordly creatures among whom Amber felt completely alien.
Ahead of them a small knot of people suddenly parted, an expectant silence falling on the room as the dark-haired woman in the revealing scarlet silk dress stepped forward. There was self-confidence in her sensual walk, in the deliberately erotic movement of her head to reveal the slender lissomness of her throat and the full tautness of breasts barely covered by the revealing scarlet silk, and even if she had not recognised her from her photograph and her brief sighting of her in Fairlea, Amber would have recognised Teri by the way she claimed Joel, the mocking, dismissive look she gave Amber, bringing to mind the words ‘to the victor the spoils.’ But Joel was a man with a mind of his own who had already told her how he felt about his ex-wife. If he had told her the truth he was an excellent actor, she thought bitterly seconds later, watching the careless insouciance with which he raised the sca
rlet-tipped fingers to his lips, his eyes slumbrous and smoky as he said softly,
‘Dare I hope that you’re here alone?’
Pain like an iron band tightened around Amber’s heart. She could barely see Teri’s triumphant smile for the tears blurring her eyes, but nothing could blot out the triumph in the other woman’s voice as she darted a malicious glance at Amber and replied huskily, ‘I’m afraid not, darling. Unlike you, Hal isn’t quite so careless with his possessions.’
‘What a wise man!’
‘You haven’t introduced me to your new wife yet, darling,’ Teri reminded him, having basked sufficiently in his admiration. ‘Poor little thing, she looks terribly left out, although of course appearances can be deceptive, can’t they?’
As Joel introduced them, she said sweetly to Amber, ‘Didn’t I see you in Fairlea the other day?’
‘Amber was taking Paul to the hospital for his check-up,’ Joel told her.
Teri’s eyebrows rose in amusement. ‘Really? When I saw her she was enjoying a těte-à-těte with a most attractive man in the park. Poor little Paul wasn’t anywhere in sight—oh dear!’ she added sweetly, looking from Joel’s frowning face to Amber’s pale one. ‘Have I put my foot in it?’
In the gardens a group started playing modern music and once again Teri took possession of Joel’s arm, darting Amber a mocking look. ‘Come and dance with me, darling,’ she pleaded. ‘Hal has two left feet, and of course poor little Amber couldn’t possibly…’ She looked down at Amber’s leg. ‘It must be dreadful for you,’ she said carelessly, ‘and for Joel, of course.’
With that parting thrust she swept Joel away, leaving Amber wanting to creep away somewhere where no other cruel eyes could witness her vulnerability.
She turned and almost stumbled, shocked upright by the firm clasp of male fingers on her arm. Laughing blue eyes looked down into hers out of a lean, tanned, masculine face.
‘Hey, careful there!’ a deep baritone cautioned. ‘You all right?’
‘Fine,’ Amber assured her rescuer shakily. ‘Thanks for saving me.’
‘As a reward, you can let me get you a drink. You’re English, aren’t you?’ he questioned, as he shepherded Amber through the crowd, without giving her an opportunity to refuse. ‘Been out here long?’
‘Only a few days. And you?’
‘Born and bred,’ he told her with a grin. ‘My folks have always been in the movie business and I kinda just naturally followed suit. You here alone?’ he asked, eyeing her slender form appreciatively. ‘You’re a very attractive girl, but somehow you don’t look like the normal anxious-to-make-it starlet.’
Amber laughed, ‘I’m flattered that you thought I might be. Actually I’m here with my husband, and invited only as an afterthought. Are you here alone?’
‘Yup. Julie is my sister-in-law and invites me to her parties as a kinda makeweight. Say,’ he said suddenly, frowning, ‘you aren’t Joel’s wife, are you? No, you can’t be.’ He shook his head, to himself. ‘Julie said she was…’
‘Crippled?’ Amber supplied for him in a tight little voice. ‘Oh, please,’ she added when she saw his give-away expression, ‘don’t try to pretend. She gestured to her leg. ‘What’s the point in hiding the truth? Would you like to see the scars?’ she almost threw at him, knowing she was behaving badly but totally unable to do anything about it. Over his shoulder her eyes kept sliding to the gardens, hunting for Joel’s familar figure, a tight aching pain centring round her heart.
‘Lost someone?’ the pleasant voice drawled, as he followed her gaze.
‘I‘m sorry about what I just said,’ Amber apologised. ‘It was unforgivable, but…’
‘But my dear sweet sister-in-law has been sticking the knife in?’ He laughed bitterly at Amber’s silence. ‘Oh, believe me, there’s nothing you can tell me about Julie, I know it all. She’s a first-class bitch.’
Over his shoulder Amber suddenly saw Joel walking past. Teri was clinging to his arm, her face raised to his. They stopped, oblivious to anyone but themselves. Teri swayed seductively against Joel, and sickness clawed at Amber’s stomach as she turned blindly away.
‘Hey, come on, it can’t be that bad,’ her rescuer joked. ‘Look, how about exchanging names? I’m Chet, and you?’
Amber mumbled her name.
‘Amber,’ Chet repeated. ‘Suits you. Look,’ he said suddenly, ‘let me give you a piece of advice. Forget my bitchy sister-in-law and her kind—the world is full of them, and they’ll turn it into a hell for you if they can, but always remember that their desire to hurt springs from an inner deep-seated deficiency within themselves. It has to do. Ask yourself one thing, do truly happy people need to score off others?’ When Amber shook her head, he grinned. ‘Well, just remember that. Come on,’ he added, ‘you and I are going to dance. You look like a moonbeam in that get-up.’
Chat’s presence at her side restored a little of Amber’s self-confidence, and following hard on the heels on her bitter despair came a dangerous recklessness telling her that no matter what she did now she had nothing to lose—she had lost it all when Joel walked away with Teri!
Chet was an excellent dancer, light on his feet, their steps matching so perfectly that Amber felt as though she was dancing on air. The tempo of the music changed, to a slow, sensuous beat, the lights dimming as couples moved closer together. Amber was about to suggest that they returned to the house when she caught a glimpse of a familiar male back. Jealousy burned through her, making her as pliable as silk in Chet’s arms when they closed about her.
‘Are you just an illusion, moonbeam girl?’ he murmured against her cheek. ‘If I kiss you will you turn into a small heap of stardust at my feet?’ His lips moved gently against her skin. Slowly and expertly he was manoeuvring them away from the other dancers into the shadows.
If she kept her eyes tightly closed she could always pretend it was Joel holding her, Amber deceived herself, but they flew open when a hard hand descended on her arm, and steel fingers dug into her flesh as she was wrenched away from Chet.
‘Joel!’ Her husband’s name escaped Amber’s lips on a startled gasp.
‘Yes, Joel,’ he repeated bitterly. ‘Did you think I was safely out of the way? Is that why you allowed him to paw you? What did he do—offer you a bit part in his new movie?’
‘Now just a minute,’ Chet interrupted angrily. ‘It wasn’t anything like that. We were just dancing…’
‘But you wouldn’t have much longer, would you?’ Joel demanded coldly. ‘If it wasn’t for the fact that I’m pretty sure I know exactly who’s to blame, you and I would have a score to settle.’ He turned to Amber. ‘And as for you…’
‘Look…’ Chet began, stepping forward, his hand on Joel’s arm.
Joel threw it off, and snarled at Chet, ‘Hasn’t anyone ever warned you about coming between a man and wife? We’re leaving,’ he told Amber. ‘Now!’
Chet tried to intervene, but Joel thrust him aside bodily, almost dragging Amber behind him. She tried to remind him that they couldn’t simply just leave without telling the Haines, but he refused to listen to her.
During the taxi ride back to the house a heavy, threatening silence emanated from him. Amber scarcely recognised him in this dangerous mood. What had brought it on? Seeing Teri again and realising what he had lost?
‘Out,’ he said curtly when the taxi stopped. She climbed out of the taxi clumsily, leaving Joel to pay the driver, his footsteps behind her starting up dread in the pit of her stomach. There was something alien and implacable about him that set off alarm bells within her.
‘I’m tired,’ she told him breathlessly once they were inside. ‘If you don’t mind, I think I’ll go to bed.’
She knew she had made a mistake the moment she saw the expression in Joel’s eyes.
‘Oh, I don’t mind at all,’ he told her silkily. ‘In fact it’s exactly what I had in mind. You look extremely desirable in that houri outfit, and I wasn’t the only man to think so tonight,
was I? Tell me,’ he continued in that same hateful voice, ‘have you been practising crawling up between the sheets in the approved manner, or was your new friend so hot for you that he wasn’t concerned with the preliminaries?’
‘He kissed me, that’s all,’ Amber threw at him, hating his cruel insinuations. ‘Just a kiss…’
She turned as she spoke, stumbling along the passage to their room. Joel was right behind her, barring her attempt to close the door on him.
‘Just a kiss?’ he asked smoothly. ‘How blasée you’ve become!’ He was reaching for her as he spoke, making it impossible for her to evade his cruel hands, the twisted smile drawing down his mouth making panic explode inside her in terror-stricken waves.
‘But it wouldn’t have stopped there, would it, Amber? Don’t bother to lie! I saw the way he was looking at you—what he was thinking, just as I’m thinking now. But that’s the difference between us, Amber. All he could do was look and think, while I…’
As he spoke his mouth closed fiercely on hers, its pressure sapping her strength, draining her frail reserves of detachment. Her breath rose in her throat in an aching sob as his fingers left her upper arms to move over her shoulders, grasping the front of her outfit.
‘I can do much more than look,’ he finished hoarsely, releasing her bruised mouth momentarily.
‘Joel,’ she pleaded desperately, ‘please don’t do this…’
‘You’ll have to do better than that,’ he mocked. ‘I can make you want me, Amber.’ And as though to prove his point his hand slid seductively over the curve of her breast, caressing it to aching awareness, her breath tightening in her chest as she tried to escape the inevitable pain.
‘Joel, please…’ she tried again, but his hand only reinforced its arrogant possession of her breast.
‘Please what?’ he grated. ‘Forget what I saw? Forget how willingly you went into his arms, allowed him to touch you, to kiss you? Oh no, Amber,’ he said softly, ‘you’re the one who’s going to forget—everything but the feel of my hands against your body, my mouth on yours, my body possessing yours.’