Carnal Vengeance (50 page)

Complete your Lust & Lies journey

with an excerpt from

Wicked Obsessions

Excerpt from

Wicked Obsessions

Lust & Lies Series

Book 3

by

Marilyn Campbell

USA Today Bestselling Author

Praise for

WICKED OBSESSIONS

"A spine-tingling, chilling ride into the mind of a demented killer"

~
Rave Reviews

"You'll get your money. The gallery just sold another one of the bitch's new paintings. Ya gotta give me more time," Rico Gambini pleaded into the telephone. "
Wait
. Just listen a minute." He paused as he was the one made to listen. "Okay, okay. Two weeks then. You'll see. I'll get the money out of her. One way or another."

The "bitch" halted abruptly outside the bedroom door as she heard her husband's voice. Teri Carmichael Gambini had been working in her studio over the garage when she spilled coffee on her blouse and decided to change. Closing her mind to the possibilities Rico's final words suggested, the petite brunette stealthily retreated. She knew from past experience that confronting him would only waste energy she couldn't afford to lose today. Their arguments, which had increased in number the past few months, always left her vibrating with anger and frustration, not exactly a state conducive to creativity.

Obviously, Rico was in trouble again—gambling trouble—and he expected to convince her to bail him out...
again
. At least now she understood what was behind his recent efforts to charm her. If she hadn't overheard him just now, it probably would have worked too. But it was all a lie... again.

The difference this time was that he'd used up his second and a third chance with her. She was done bailing him out. She was done walking on eggshells around his hot temper. She was finally done with him. All that was left was the paperwork.

She paused outside the detached garage of their White Plains home. Selena, the sole model for her current project, was already in the studio and Teri wanted to compose herself before going up there.

She felt a soft pressure against her calf and glanced down. "Well, hello there." Kneeling, she stroked the unfamiliar cat's gray and black fur and frowned when her fingers detected rib bones too close to the surface. "Poor baby. You've been wandering a long time, haven't you?" The stray looked directly into her eyes, cocked its head and let out a loud meow. "You're lucky summer came early this year. I suppose the others told you where you could find a free meal."

The response was a shy purr that made her smile. "Well, you seem polite enough, but we have rules here. No digging in the garden and stay away from the bird feeders in the backyard. If I find out you're bothering my birds, you won't be welcome back for breakfast. Got it?"

With a graceful arch of its back, the cat nuzzled Teri's palm once more, then took off around the side of the garage where cat food was always set out. Because of Rico's allergies, she couldn't have animals in the house, but there were plenty outside that had grown accustomed to her attention.

Substitute children.
For the thousandth time she wondered if it would have made a difference if she and Rico had been able to have a baby. Her inability to conceive was only one of the thorns that had pricked his male ego, but it was a sizable one. Regardless of the fact that the doctors she went to gave her a clean bill of health, Rico blamed her. He refused to be tested since he had no doubts about his manhood. And he wouldn't consider adoption as an alternative. And now, at thirty-seven, her options were drifting away.

With an audible sigh, she turned her thoughts to the young woman waiting upstairs, another lonely stray. Teri had chosen her six months back based on an agency comp card and was thrilled when she met her in person. Five foot eleven, with a voluptuous body and straight, waist-length, platinum hair, Selena's skin was the most flawless and palest she'd ever seen. The only characteristic that kept her from looking like an albino were her catlike green-blue eyes, but even that touch of color was strangely translucent. Overall she had a haunted, mysterious look that Teri had taken advantage of in her last project.

She had used Selena as a ghostly apparition in the background of each of her
ten
Women in History
paintings currently being exhibited by the Forsythe Gallery in Manhattan. Her new project was even more daring as she intended to use pieces of Selena disguised in various everyday settings. Her plan was to combine photography and oils but so far she hadn't managed to get the idea out of her head and properly onto canvas in a satisfactory way.

Between the
History
series and the new idea, she and Selena had been spending a lot of time together. She was sweet and easy to work with, and they developed a comfortable, personal relationship, even though Teri was sixteen years older. Or perhaps the relationship blossomed because of that age difference.

As Teri expected, Selena's exotic features bore a worried look when she reentered the studio. She didn't care for being left alone.

"I thought you were changing. What happened?"

Teri grimaced at the dried beige stain on her white shirt, then fussed with the short ponytail at the base of her neck. "Oh, yes. I, uh, got distracted and forgot all about it."

"That's not like you. Rico's home today, isn't he? What did he do, pick another fight?"

Selena's breathy voice was gentle, but the way she straightened her shoulders and lifted her chin made her look as though she was prepared to knock a few teeth out of the man if asked. Teri shook her head and changed the subject. "It wasn't important. Anyway, I wanted to tell you about something I'm going to try. I have a photographer coming to take some pictures of you."

"A photographer? I don't understand. You've been taking lots of pictures for weeks. I thought it was only supposed to be the two of us."

Selena's whispery voice had altered to a girlish whine, a sure sign the change of plans did not sit well with her. Her whine was the only thing about Selena that was truly annoying to Teri.

"You're right. That was the plan. But photography isn't my forte and I just haven't been able to get the look I was going for. This man is new, but he was highly recommended by Ann, the manager at the Forsythe Gallery."

Selena made a little pout. "Male photographers make me uncomfortable. They all have this kinky idea that female models should think of the camera as a sex organ. If you really need to bring someone in, can't you find a female?"

Teri knew Selena wouldn't be happy about the new arrangement. It was why she hadn't told her about the photographer in advance. Selena's agent had told her that when the girl first arrived in New York City a year ago, her exceptional looks had caused a flurry of excitement at the agencies. Unfortunately, although she had moved to the big city to seek a career in modeling, she was intimidated by the hustle and demands of the business. She had also had several incidents while working with some of the men.

Once she modeled for Teri a few times, she stopped accepting assignments elsewhere. Apparently, money wasn't an issue, because Teri only needed her a few hours a week and only paid scale. Yet Selena was renting an expensive apartment in Manhattan, as well as garage space for her Cadillac, which she insisted on keeping for the drive back and forth to White Plains.