Make Me Scream (16 page)

J
amie wiped her sweating palms on the sides of her new dress and eyed her reflection in the full-length mirror on the back of the bathroom door.

The dress was so formfitting, she had not been able to wear any underwear. The back was too low for a bra, and the fit would reveal panty lines, regardless of the scantiness of the undergarment. She knew because she’d tried on every thong she owned.

The good news was, due to the elasticity of the dress, she was still able to wear her gel augmentation. Just to make sure they were secure, she jumped up and down a few times. Both breasts remained at the same size and location.

A part of her told her it was stupid to continue wearing the hot, uncomfortable things. After all, she was going to be with Devon. He’d seen and felt the real her plenty of times by now. He hadn’t even seemed to notice the disparity in size.

But they were going out in public. Fred could be lurking. That’s why she had splurged on a new hair coloring kit and renewed her blondness that afternoon. Devon had been busy, so she’d also slathered on self-tanning lotion and then gone and sat by the pool to speed along the process. She’d discovered that the sun helped the self-tanner look more like a real tan. It also helped dissipate the smell somewhat.

Her shoulders slumped. What was she doing? She and Devon had been having a perfectly lovely, intensely sexual relationship. Why had she let him talk her into going out on an actual date? She liked him too much. It would be too easy to fall for him. And she didn’t want to do that.

She couldn’t afford to get emotionally involved with anyone until she was certain she was safely away from Fred forever.

The air clicked on, giving her a definite draft. She guessed going pantyless would do that for a person. She critically eyed the hemline again and then dragged a kitchen chair into the bathroom and sat down in front of the mirror. Nothing showed.

Just to be sure, she got her compact and pretended she was stepping in and out of a car. Again, nothing showed except an expanse of tanned leg.

Thank goodness.

She glanced at the clock on the oven. Devon would be there soon. Had she brushed her teeth?

She ran into the bathroom again and swished mouthwash and then rebrushed her teeth, just to make sure.

Of course, then she had to reapply her lipstick. She leaned close to make sure there was no red stain on her teeth. The bright red lip color had been Shirl’s idea. Jamie personally preferred softer shades and the lightness of a gloss.

She frowned at her reflection and then grabbed a tissue and scrubbed the bright junk off. Digging in her little makeup bag, she finally found her Clinique Ripe Apple lip gloss and swiped it across her lips and then smiled. That was more like it.

Rick and Todd were sitting, talking quietly, in the courtyard when Devon headed for Jamie’s apartment. He noticed they stopped talking as he approached.

“Hey, guys, how’s it going?” He stopped just shy of the fire pit and observed them. What was going on?

Todd shrugged and took a swig of his beer. “Not much.” He eyed Devon. “Got a date or something?”

Devon nodded and cast a nervous glance at Jamie’s apartment. Should he tell who he was taking out?

“Rick, when did you get back to town?” Diversion was always a good tactic. “I thought I saw your truck in the back lot yesterday, but then it wasn’t there, so I thought maybe not.” His watch confirmed he had a few minutes, so he pulled up a chair but shook his head when Rick held up a beer.

“Yeah, I got in yesterday. Had a bunch of errands to run, so I went back out right away.” Rick stretched and looked at Todd and then slumped back in his chair. “Anything interesting been going on while I was gone?”

“New tenant.” Todd nodded in the direction of Jamie’s apartment. “I met her. Seems nice.” He grinned. “Hot stuff, right, Dev?”

Beneath his crossed arms, Devon clenched his fists. He made a noncommittal shrug. He knew by the smile on Todd’s too perfect face that he was razzing him, but his relationship with Jamie was too new to discuss with anyone.

That thought brought his brain to attention. Did he and Jamie have a relationship? Sure, they enjoyed great and varied sex, but did that mean they were involved in a relationship? The thought was sobering, to say the least.

He wasn’t sure he was ready to get involved with anyone. After all, he had his writing career to consider. He’d always planned to settle down someday, maybe even get married and have a family. But he’d also planned to write and sell his books. While he didn’t intend to wait until he hit the best-seller list, he’d always thought he wouldn’t begin to seriously look for anyone until he’d at least published his first book. Hell, he could barely support himself and Killer; forget a wife and potential future children.

Yet now that he’d gotten to know Jamie—and he didn’t mean only in the biblical sense—he couldn’t really imagine life with anyone else.

Pretty scary thought.

“Dev?” Todd’s voice broke into his thoughts. “I said we’re going to P.O.’s, maybe grab some barbeque and play some pool. Wanna come?”

Devon made a show of looking at his watch. “No. Thanks, anyway. I’ve got something else to do in a bit.”

Todd’s grin flashed white in the firelight. He gave Devon a playful punch on the shoulder. “Go get her, tiger.”

He and Rick laughed as they walked away like they thought the idea of him scoring with someone like Jamie or anyone for that matter was a big joke.

Was it? He’d spent most of his life with his nose stuck in a book or daydreaming. Or cooking. Not exactly potential stud material.

Jamie jumped when the knock echoed in her apartment and gave herself one more once-over. Deciding it was probably too late to change her dress, she tightened her butt muscles to avoid wobbling as she walked to the door in her new shoes.

A glance in the old mirror on the living room wall made her stop for a second. If she’d thought she didn’t recognize the new her in the mirror before, what she saw tonight was even more of a stretch.

She took a deep breath and continued toward the door.

“Take no prisoners,” she whispered and opened the door.

Devon paused in the process of spraying his mouth and started coughing.

“Devon!” She rushed to him and pulled him into her apartment. She closed the door and watched as he continued to cough. “Are you choking? Can I get you a glass of water?” He shook his head. “Call nine-one-one?” That earned her a glare. Relief washed over her. He was going to be okay.

“Just give me a sec,” he wheezed.

He took a deep breath and straightened up, wiping the tears from his eyes. “Sorry about that. You surprised me. I didn’t think you’d answer the door so soon so I decided to take a shot of breath spray.” He shrugged. “Guess I inhaled.” He brushed a kiss across her lips. “But at least I know my breath is fresh,” he said with a smile.

“Yes, it is.” She stood smiling up at him, her smile telling him it was okay to behave like an idiot with her. She understood.

Then again, maybe her smile just said he was an idiot. He wasn’t all that adept at reading female body language.

“Are you ready to go? Our reservation is for nine.”

“Sure. Just let me grab my purse.” She turned and picked up a miniscule black object not much bigger than a number-ten envelope.

He squinted. Was she wearing any underwear? He sure couldn’t see any panty lines. Or any other lines, come to think of it.

Pausing at the door, she looked back at him. “What? Is there a problem?” She looked down at her shoes and dress. “Don’t I look all right? Is what I’m wearing too much? Too little?” She gave a nervous-sounding laugh.

“How can you walk in those shoes?” he finally blurted out and then could have bitten his tongue when her face fell. “I mean,” he racked his brain for a way to soothe her obviously hurt feelings, “they’re nice. Pretty. They match your dress, don’t they?” He nodded like a Bobble-Head doll. And felt about as intelligent. “I just asked because I wouldn’t want you to fall and hurt yourself.” He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

When he opened them again, she was smiling shyly up at him.

“Don’t worry, I’ve been practicing walking in them all afternoon. But you can hold on to me, if you want, just in case.”

Great. If she knew how he wanted to hold on to her, she wouldn’t be smiling. She’d be screaming and running. Then again, with her wearing those shoes, he might be able to catch her.

He watched her lock the door and then walked her to his car, one hand on her elbow and the other at the small of her back.

She smiled up at him and thanked him for helping her into the bucket seat of his Mustang.

He closed her door and wiped the sweat from his forehead as he walked around the car.

Was Jamie really that clueless?

Heaven help him. He was dating a woman in a fuck-me dress if he’d ever seen one.

J
amie had a difficult time enjoying the delicious meal. At least, she thought it was probably delicious. She was too busy concentrating on keeping her legs together. As if that hadn’t been bad enough, the hostess had seated them on the upper level of the rotating dining room. She felt like people were looking right up her dress.

From the leering glances of some of the men at the bar, they probably were.

“You’re not having a very good time, are you?” Devon looked down at his plate, shoving food around with his fork. “I should have taken you somewhere else. The food is good, but—”

“No!” She reached across the starched white tablecloth and touched his arm. “It’s great. Really. I just, um, have a little problem with heights. And it’s made worse by the rotating.” She shrugged. “I can’t look out the window or I’ll get dizzy.”

He dropped his fork to his place and heaved a sigh. “Like I said, I should have picked another place.” He looked over at her. “I had no idea you had a problem or I’d have picked a stationary restaurant. On ground level.”

She squeezed his hand. “Of course you would have. But you didn’t know. And this is really a very nice place.” She picked up a lump of something and popped it in her mouth, chewing appreciatively. “And the food is delicious,” she added after swallowing.

“You look pretty,” he said and flashed a small smile.

“Thanks. So do you.” She put her hand to her mouth. “I shouldn’t have said that, should I? I meant you look handsome.”

He grinned, and she was once again struck by his features. Handsome was too mundane for the way he looked. By day he was sexily scruffy, but when he cleaned up and wore something other than shorts and flip-flops, he took her breath away.

He took a sip of his drink. “I’ll settle for pretty. Handsome might be a stretch.”

“Not really.” Had he no idea of how attracted she was to him?

“Thanks.” He stood up and extended his hand. “Would you like to dance?”

The idea of dancing in the high heels filled her with terror. Besides, she knew what was beneath his starched shirt and tie and conservative sports coat. Before the evening was through she planned to touch and kiss and lick every inch of the skin hidden from view.

The thought made her achy in places that hadn’t ever ached before. Last night had been wonderful.

She fully intended for tonight to be even better.

He paused at the top of the spiral staircase. “Maybe we should ask if there’s an elevator.”

“I don’t want to wait. Let’s go home.” When still he hesitated, she said, “Tell you what, why don’t you go ahead of me? That way, if I slip, you can catch me.”

He thought about that for a second and then nodded. “Good plan.”

After he’d descended a couple of steps, she placed her hands on his shoulders and began her decent, trying not to look down.

Evidently, she didn’t lift her foot quite high enough on the second step.

The tip of her heel caught on the edge of the carpeted step. Thinking it was just picking on the fiber of the carpet, she pushed out with that foot a little harder. Her foot connected with air, and before she could do more than squeak her surprise, she was beginning a bumpy descent down the stairs.

Devon reacted, turning on the steps and reaching out, closing his arms around her.

Unfortunately all he caught was her dress as it slid up around her armpits.

The cool breeze wafting around her privates told her she’d just flashed all the patrons of the Dockside Steak Emporium and Bar.

A
collective gasp came from all the restaurant patrons. Jamie kept her eyes squeezed shut, too mortified to react, while Devon’s shaking hands tugged her dress back down to protect what little modesty she had left.

When he helped her to her feet at the base of the stairs, she kept her gaze firmly on the toes of her shoes, concentrating on placing one foot in front of the other. Just as they reached the door, an employee rushed up.

“Ma’am? I believe you dropped this.”

The flesh-colored glob of silicone entered her field of vision.

Her hand shot out, grabbing the telltale augmentation and shoving it into her dress in one—she hoped—lightning-fast motion.

Devon cleared his throat, drawing her attention. He glanced pointedly at her chest, so she looked down.

Darn. She’d shoved the falsie into the wrong side of her bodice, resulting in a horribly lopsided bosom.

Without a word, Devon guided her to his car. After helping her in, he slid into the driver’s seat and started the powerful engine.

As they entered Interstate 45, he finally spoke. “You want to tell me about what you stuffed down your dress?”

Even though she’d immediately shifted the misplaced form, she glanced down at her chest and tugged on her neckline. “Not really.”

What sounded suspiciously like a smothered laugh echoed in the silence of the car’s interior. “It really wasn’t necessary, you know. I’ve already seen you naked, up close and personal.” He chuckled. “And, now, so has everyone in the restaurant.”

She punched his bicep.

“Ow!” He made a show of rubbing the offended spot. “You’re not only an exhibitionist, you’re violent.”

Burying her heated face in her hands, she wished he’d just push her out of the car on some deserted stretch of highway. A person could take only so much humiliation in one’s life.

The car pulled onto the shoulder of the road, making her wonder if Devon had read her mind.

“It’s past time you told me what you’re really doing in Surfside.” Devon leveled his gaze on her as the car rolled to a stop, the glow from the dash casting him in harsh relief.

“What do you mean?” She chewed on her lower lip and wondered how far they were from the apartment. Her stomach sank—she’d never make it more than a block in the grotesquely high heels. What had she been thinking? The shoes were so not her style.

“Jamie, don’t look so worried.” He reached and took her hand in his much warmer one. “I had hoped we knew each other well enough not to have secrets.”

Without warning, he dipped his free hand into her bodice and removed a traitorous gel pack. “Want to tell me why you feel you need to wear these ridiculous things?”

“Give me that!” Her grab was unsuccessful. “I mean it, Devon. This isn’t funny.”

“I know.” His quiet voice filled the silence. “What I don’t know is what you’re doing.”

Shifting on the seat, she glared at him.

He glared right back.

Defeated, she slumped back in the red bucket seat. “I told you I’m trying to keep a low profile because of Fred.” At his nod, she continued. “I thought maybe if I changed the way I looked, Fred wouldn’t be able to find me so easily.”

“And you thought a bigger bosom would do the trick?” The tone of his voice told her what he thought of that idea. “What is he, some throwback, a true ‘breast’ man?”

“Of course I didn’t think just a bigger chest would throw him off my trail. I also changed my hair and eye color. And I began wearing clothing the old Jamie would never wear, more flamboyant types of things.” Not to mention acting a way that was also foreign to her old lifestyle. Ironically, she found she liked the new hedonistic Jamie.

She pulled a strand of hair from his toying fingers and leaned back against the passenger door. His touch was too disturbing.

“Yet you keep thinking you’ve seen him,” he pointed out. “Obviously the disguise thing isn’t working too well for you.”

Her sigh filled the car. “I don’t know what else to do, Devon. Everything I’ve tried in the past hasn’t worked. It’s spooky the way he keeps finding me. If you have any other ideas, I’m all ears.”

“Could he be finding you through your bank or credit cards?”

“I canceled my credit cards and have been accessing my trust fund through a personal banker in Denver. He transfers the funds to a checking account, and I use my ATM. I don’t even have an e-mail account for Fred to hack into anymore.”

“Is Jamie Cartwright your real name? Maybe that’s how he’s finding you. A lot of things are public record, you know. It’s just a matter of finding out a way to access it.”

“Actually, my real name is Jamie Lambert. Cartwright is my middle name. It was my mom’s maiden name.”

“But your driver’s license said Cartwright. I saw it when you signed the lease.”

“It was pretty easy to get a new license. All I had to do was apply for a new one and use my birth certificate. My mom and dad were fighting when I was born, so Mom put her maiden name on my birth certificate and listed my father as unknown. They made up, of course, but she never got around to having the birth certificate changed.”

“Does Fred know this?”

She thought about that for a moment and then shook her head. “No. He’s never had any dealing with me that would have required the use of my full name.”

“Your name wasn’t on the lease when you lived with him?”

“No. Fred has control issues.”

“Which is why you left him in the first place.”

“Exactly.”

He started the car and glanced over at her with a grin. “Have you ever done it in a Mustang?”

The question shot heat through her. She checked out the space and then shook her head. “No, and I don’t think it’s logistically possible, even if we tried.”

“There’s an old saying, where there’s a will, there’s a way.”

Tempting as the thought was, she shook her head. “Ah, that’s the thing. I’m not willing. And you’re still injured from our little lawn-chair sex experiment—”

“—I’m a fast healer—”

“Plus,” she continued as though he hadn’t spoken, “I’ve had enough humiliation for one night. Maybe for a lifetime.”

His chuckle warmed her more, adding to the flush of desire blazing through her. “I hear you. I was embarrassed on your behalf. While I, personally, enjoyed the view, I wasn’t too happy about the rest of the crowd. And I knew you had to be dying.”

“You can say that again! I can’t recall ever being so mortified. Thanks, by the way, for your fast reaction in helping me get my dress back down.”

“You’re grateful and yet not willing to have sex with me in the car?” He tsked and put the car in gear, checking for traffic as he pulled onto the road. “What ever happened to gratitude sex?”

“Oh, come on! I think you’re making stuff up. Really. Have you ever actually had
gratitude
sex?”

“Well, no. But that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t be
grateful
for it,” he said with a smile in her direction.

“Just shut up and drive.”

“Want to come to my apartment and rub more gunk on my sex injuries?” Devon helped her out of the car and then locked it.

“No offense, but I think I’ll pass. We got sidetracked the last time I did that. I ended up rubbing a lot more than your injuries.”

He waggled his eyebrows and kissed her temple. “That’s what I’m counting on.”

“And that’s why I’m not going to do it,” she shot back with a saccharine smile.

Devon hung his head and trudged toward the courtyard. “You’re a hard woman, Jamie.”

“I still have some pineapple upside-down cake, if you can behave yourself.” Even without sex, she found she liked spending time with him and was surprised to realize she wasn’t ready for the evening to end.

His smile caused a returning one from her. He saluted her. “Scout’s honor. I’ll be on my best behavior.”

Devon rolled from her sweat-slicked body and heaved a sigh. “I know, I promised. But the sight of you serving whipped cream with the cake caused all this. It did me in. You know, in some countries whipping cream is an aphrodisiac. Sixty-three percent of couples prefer their sex with whipped cream.”

“You’re making that up!” She would have swatted at him, but her arm refused to obey her command.

“Okay, maybe I am, but if it’s not a fact, it should be.” He rolled close to her and ran his fingertip along the outside of her breast. “If I promise to behave, may I have seconds?”

“Oh, no, you don’t! I’m not falling for your word games. Seconds of what? Cake? Or sex?”

“Yes.”

He popped an antacid in his mouth and chewed vigorously, his eyes narrowed at the darkened bedroom window. How long did it take to eat cake? He’d seen Jamie and the guy go into the apartment, heard them discussing cake, saw them eating at the table. Then they’d disappeared. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out where they went. Jamie had turned into a real sex maniac since they separated.

The thought made him sick, and he chomped down on another chalky mint.

He took a deep breath. He could control his temper. He’d been doing so well. Why did she have to be such a slut?

Footsteps sounded on the courtyard. He turned and walked toward the back parking lot.

“Hey!” a deep voice shouted. “Hey, you! Are you looking for someone?”

He picked up the pace and then sprinted to his car, not looking back as he took the exit on two wheels.

Bang, bang, bang
.

Devon jackknifed to a sitting position, dipping the mattress and jiggling Jamie.

Bang, bang, bang
.

“Whoever it is sounds anxious.” Devon pulled up his pants and stepped around the pile of clothes on the floor. “Stay here. I’ll go see who it is.”

As soon as he left the room, she vaulted from the bed and grabbed her robe. No way was she going to allow Fred to pulverize or otherwise bully Devon.

She hurried into the living room as Devon opened the door. Her shoulders slumped with relief when she recognized Todd’s friend Rick.

“Everything okay in here?” Rick scanned the room while he talked.

“It was, until you started banging on the door,” Devon answered with a wry smile.

Rick’s gaze zeroed in on Jamie, raking her from bare feet to the top of her head and back. “I didn’t mean to interrupt.” He stepped back over the threshold. “I just saw some creep loitering outside by the bedroom window and wanted to make sure everyone was all right.”

“Did you see who it was?” Jamie pulled the lapels of her robe tight against her neck.

Rick shook his head. “Nah. Too dark. All I saw was a dark silhouette, tall, male. Buzz cut. That’s about it. As soon as I yelled at him, he made tracks for the parking lot. By the time I got out there, he was a speck of taillights.”

“Well, thanks for coming by,” Devon said, closing the door. “Appreciate it.”

Rick stared for a moment and then nodded and walked away.

“Do you think it was Fred?” Jamie was right behind him when he closed the door.

He pulled her into his arms and rested his chin on her head. “Calm down. No reason to think it was him.” Of course, there was also no reason to think otherwise, but he wasn’t about to tell her that. “I’m going to go home now and try to get some work done. How about breakfast tomorrow; then we can catch some rays on the beach.” He held up his hand. “Don’t worry, I plan to keep my distance from you so we don’t get arrested again. Besides, I need to be back in time for Francyne to watch her soaps. She claims subbing for me at the manager’s office cuts into her viewing time.”

“Okay. Should I bring anything? Orange juice, suntan lotion? A chastity belt?”

“Ha. Ha. Very funny. Why don’t you be there around eight; then we can be on the beach by nine.”

A chaste kiss was followed by a steamy gaze, and he walked away.

After pausing to listen for the dead bolt being thrown, he whistled tunelessly and set off across the courtyard.

A metal scraping sound drew his attention. It sounded like it had come from the corridor running next to Jamie’s bedroom.

Even with the light of a full moon, it was difficult to see once he progressed a few steps toward the interior.

Out of nowhere, a fist connected with his face.