by Joanne Fluke
Mark spotted her lounging on the chair, and he gave a friendly wave. Connie waved back, but tried not to look too eager as he walked toward her.
“Hi.” Mark smiled, showing perfectly white, evenly spaced teeth. “I haven’t seen you before.”
Connie assumed the sexy look she’d used when she was stripping. “I just moved in today. I’m in apartment two twenty-three.”
“That’s my old place!”
“I know. Mrs. Henley told me.” She did her best to stay calm. She hadn’t reacted to a man this strongly since she’d met Alan.
“Hey . . .” He started to grin. “Did you leave up the mirrors in the bedroom?”
Connie laughed. “I’m afraid not. I think you lead a much more interesting life than I do.”
“Oh?” Mark raised his eyebrows. “Do I detect a note of envy in your voice?”
Connie shrugged and leaned forward a little so he could see her cleavage. “Maybe. I’m new in town, and I don’t know many people. It gets lonesome, all by myself.”
“I could fix that.” Mark looked interested. “What kind of people do you want to meet?”
“Fun people. People like your friends, the kind that spent time in your mirrored bedroom. I’m not into girls, but guys like you . . . that’s another story.”
“Guys like me, huh?” Mark’s eyes traveled up and down her body. “What’s your name? And what are you doing tonight?”
“I’m Cheryl Walton, and I’m doing the same thing I do every night—reading, watching television, being bored.”
“What do you say we go out? I know a couple of hot clubs.”
“That sounds like fun, but I don’t think anyplace could be as hot as your old bedroom.” Connie licked her lips suggestively. “Those mirrors definitely gave me ideas.”
Mark’s eyes began to gleam. “I’ve got mirrors in my new place. Do you want to check them out?”
“I’d love to. When?”
He held out his hand. “How about right now? I’ve got a couple of hours before I have to go to work.”
Connie was smiling as she took his hand and let him pull her up. She looked into his eyes, saw that he was just as eager as she was, then gave a sexy giggle. “A couple of hours. If you feel the way I feel, I’m not sure that’ll be enough time.”
* * *
“You’re kidding!” Neil looked so shocked Jill would have laughed if the situation hadn’t been so tense. “But . . . when did it happen?”
“On our anniversary. The baby’s due in September.”
“Jill. That’s . . . great!” He hugged her. “I mean . . . it is, isn’t it?”
Jill sighed as she hugged him back. “The timing could have been a lot better, but I guess we’ll just have to deal with it. Do you want me to stay, Neil?”
“Stay?” He looked shocked. “Of course I want you to stay! You’re my wife!”
“Sometimes I think you have trouble remembering that.” Jill frowned slightly. “I’ll stay. It’s the right thing to do, under the circumstances. But we both have to try harder to make our marriage work.”
Neil hugged her a little more tightly. “Jill . . . honey . . . I’ll do anything, I promise. You know I love you, don’t you?”
“I know.” Jill nodded. “But you’ve loved other women, too. I want that to stop, Neil. I won’t stay if it doesn’t.”
“But how about the baby? You wouldn’t leave with the baby, would you?”
“I wouldn’t want to.” She was doing her best to be very honest. “I want our baby to have two loving parents, but I don’t think I can stand watching you have another affair.”
Neil shook his head. “Jill . . . I won’t! I promise you I won’t even look at another woman. I love you, and you don’t know what this baby means to me. I’ve always wanted a son.”
“It could be a daughter. It’s too early to tell.”
“A daughter’s good, too. A little girl who looks just like you would be perfect. Boy or girl, it doesn’t make any difference. My God! Wait until my brother hears about this! A new baby. They’ll be almost as excited as I am!”
Jill stared at Neil in astonishment. He really did seem to be excited. Sometimes children brought a family together. Could it be happening with them?
“I promise I’ll be a good father, Jill. And I’ll be a good husband, too. Just give me a chance to prove it to you. Let’s start over, from the beginning. I know we can make it work.”
Jill nodded. Neil looked very serious, and he was trembling slightly as he held her, overcome with emotion. “Okay. I’m willing to put the past behind us and start over.”
“Thank you, honey.” Neil kissed her cheek. “Now what about the nursery? Should we paint it pink or blue, or maybe a shade of yellow?”
Jill laughed. Neil’s excitement was contagious. “We have to decide where the nursery is to be first. Should we use the guest bedroom at the end of the hall?”
“We could, I guess . . . But how about my office? It’s right next to our bedroom, and it’d be more convenient for you. I’ll move my office to a smaller room. I don’t need all that space anyway.”
Jill shook her head. “You don’t have to do that. We could put in a connecting door. The other guest room is right next to ours, and it’s certainly large enough for a child’s room.”
“Are you sure? I really wouldn’t mind moving.”
Jill smiled at him. She was pleased that Neil had offered to give up the office he liked so much. “You don’t have to move, honey. I’ll call a carpenter tomorrow and ask him about a connecting door.”
“You don’t have to do that. I’ll call. I’ll take care of it.” Neil sounded a little wistful. “I always wanted to learn how to fix things around the house, but my eyesight isn’t good enough yet.”
Jill nodded, although that was a total surprise to her. He had never mentioned wanting to be a handyman.
“I’ll find somebody who can start right away. We have to put in the door, paint the nursery, and get some furniture for the baby. How do you feel about putting in an intercom system?”
“An intercom?” Jill was puzzled.
“You know, the kind with a receiver in the baby’s room. I’ll make some calls and check on it tomorrow. Maybe we’ll have the house rewired and put a speaker in every room. Then you wouldn’t have to climb the stairs to my office every time you wanted to talk to me.”
“That would be nice.” Jill felt warm inside. Finding out that he was going to be a father had really changed Neil. “What do you want for dinner, honey? It’s getting late and you must be hungry.”
“Why don’t you let me take you out tonight? We should celebrate. I want to show off my beautiful pregnant wife.”
“You do?” Jill’s spirits rose. Neil hadn’t wanted to go out to eat since his operation, and she’d missed doing it. “Where would you like to go?”
“Monty’s would be good. You always liked their prime rib. Are you supposed to be careful about eating red meat?”
“I don’t think so.” Jill shook her head. “The doctor just said to eat a balanced diet. I can’t drink more than one glass of wine though.”
“Monty’s has premium wines by the glass, so that’s no problem. I don’t want you driving. We’ll take a cab.”
“I can drive.” Jill came close to laughing out loud. He was being so solicitous she felt like a priceless porcelain doll. “Really, Neil, the doctor says I can carry on with my regular schedule. I’m not sick. I’m just having a baby.”
He didn’t look convinced, but he nodded. “Okay. Do you want to rest up a little before we go? Monty’s is open until eleven.”
“I don’t need to rest. The only thing I want to do is change out of this dress. I noticed it was a little tight when I put it on this morning.”
Neil began to grin. “I’ll have to get you some maternity clothes. The new companion can help with that. I’ll have her drive me out to the mall tomorrow.”
“You’re going to buy maternity clothes?” Jil
l couldn’t help feeling shocked. Neil had always claimed that shopping for clothing was boring.
“It’ll be fun to shop for you. You don’t mind, do you, Jill?”
She shook her head. “No. I don’t. But . . . are you sure you want to go to all that trouble?”
“I’m sure.” Neil hugged her again. “Just write out a list of your sizes. I want to help you, Jill. You work hard, and I know you don’t have much free time.”
Jill was smiling as she went up the stairs to put on another dress. Talk about a changed man! In the past, Neil had been filled with resentment when she’d asked him to run a simple errand for her, like picking up the cleaning or returning a videotape they’d rented. Now he couldn’t seem to find enough things to do for her.
In less than ten minutes, she was dressed in a green wool suit. The skirt had a stretch waistband, and it was still large enough to be comfortable.
“Do you need any help, honey?”
At the base of the stairs, Neil sounded worried. He really was overly concerned about her, but it was a welcome change from his former indifference.
“I’m almost ready.” Jill called out to him. “I’ll be down in just a minute.”
When she came out of the bedroom, she found him waiting on the top step of the staircase. He looked worried, and she frowned slightly .”What’s the matter?”
“I’m wondering about these stairs. I’m going to tell the carpenter to put a railing on the other side, too.”
“Why?” Jill was puzzled.
“Just in case. You could lose the baby if you fell down them.”
“I’m not going to fall down the stairs.” Jill smiled at him.
“Maybe not, but you’d better let me help you.”
Jill took his arm and let him lead her down. She liked the way they’d reversed roles. She’d been concerned about him when he’d begun to lose his eyesight, and she’d helped him down the stairs. Now that she was pregnant and his eyesight was improving, he was helping her. Perhaps having this baby right now wasn’t bad timing after all.
* * *
“Do you want to try something new?”
Connie nodded. She didn’t have the energy to speak. They were stretched out on Mark’s satin sheets, and she felt gloriously exhausted.
“Spread your legs and close your eyes. I’m going to give you a big surprise.”
“You mean . . . now?” Connie raised her eyebrows. They’d just finished making love twice. “I thought you had to go to work.”
“I called in and told them my car wouldn’t start. The afternoon guy’s taking half my shift.”
Connie started to grin. As she glanced at his athletic body, her eyes widened in appreciation. Mark had the stamina of a teenager, and recalling the wild things they’d done gave her a new burst of energy. “How long do we have?”
“Another three hours. And I know just how to spend it.”
“You do?” Connie started to grin. Mark was insatiable, and that was just fine with her. Each time they made love was a chance for her to get pregnant.
“You’re a beautiful woman, you know? And you’re very, very sexy.”
“Thank you, Mark.” Connie managed to hide her grin. He was doing his best to sound sincere. It was obvious that his other girlfriends expected compliments and reassurances in bed. Connie didn’t need that sort of thing, but she couldn’t tell him that. It might turn him off if he knew the reason she’d become his newest sexual partner.
As he rolled over to hug her, Connie let her fingertips touch the scar from his operation. It wasn’t a large scar, and it was fading, but just being this close to a part of Alan made her shiver in delight.
“I’m ready, Mark,” Connie whispered in his ear. “Let’s do it again, any way you want.”
“Any way?”
Connie almost changed her mind when she saw the interest on Mark’s face, but she reminded herself of why she was here in his bed. “Any way, just as long as it doesn’t involve pain. I’m not into pain.”
“Okay. No pain.” Mark grinned at her. “Close your eyes, babe. You’re gonna love this.”
Connie shut her eyes, but she opened them again when she felt something slip around her ankle. “What are you doing?”
“It’s silk.” Mark reached out to thumb her nipple. “Don’t worry, babe. It’ll be fun.”
“You’re sure?” Connie shivered, but it wasn’t from pleasure. Mrs. Henley had seemed to think Mark was a decent guy, but how much did the apartment manager know about his personal life?
“Hey . . . relax, babe. I guarantee you’re gonna love this.”
“I’m going to love what?” Connie kept her voice light and teasing, but she was beginning to be a bit nervous. She wanted to know what Mark had in mind.
“A little light bondage, that’s all. Silk scarves around your ankles. I’ll leave your arms free. Come on, babe . . . If you don’t like it, I’ll stop.”
Connie thought about it for a moment, and then she nodded. If her arms were free, how dangerous could it be?
“Pretty lady.” Mark’s voice was trembling with excitement as he tied one scarf to something under the bed. “Give me your other leg, babe. This is going to be fantastic.”
“Connie let him tie the scarf around her other ankle and secure it to the bed, but she didn’t like this one bit.
It’ll be all right. He can’t hurt me. He’s got a part of Alan in his body, and Alan won’t let him hurt me.
CHAPTER 22
Usually a hot shower helped, but this morning it had no effect. Connie groaned as she toweled off and put on a pair of warm-up pants and a matching sweatshirt. She was too sore to wear a bra. Mark had been in one of his rough moods last night, so it was only a matter of time before the bruises would start to appear.
Was it worth it? She frowned as she considered the wisdom of her involvement with Mark. Two months ago, when she’d first gone to his apartment, he’d been kinky but not violent. Lately, the violence had been escalating and so had the bondage. With Connie as his willing partner, Mark had graduated from silk scarves to whips and leather restraints. Connie knew his appetites could lead to something dangerous, particularly since he’d admitted to using several types of recreational drugs. How long would she have to risk her safety?
Alan’s picture seemed to be frowning, and Connie walked over to pat the glass. “Don’t worry, honey. I won’t have to do it much longer, just until I get pregnant with our baby. And I’ll be very careful, I promise.”
But how could she be? Mark had been holding back on her lately, not giving her what she needed until she’d submitted to his kinky demands. There was no way to protect herself when she was strapped to the bed, no way she could stop him if he decided to strangle her—or smother her or cut her open with a knife.
“What was that, honey?” Connie picked up Alan’s picture and held it close to her ear. His voice had once been very clear, but now it was growing fainter with each passing day. “Say it again, Alan. I didn’t quite hear you.”
Connie listened for a moment, and then she began to smile. “You’re right, Alan! It’s been over a month since I checked. I’d better look at the calendar.”
There was a small calendar by the bed, and she counted off the days. Alan was right. She was three days late and her breasts were tender, the way they’d been the last time she’d been pregnant. Her clothes seemed a bit tighter, too. She’d assumed that the waistband on her jeans had shrunk when she’d washed them, but perhaps there was another reason shy she’d had difficulty zipping them up.
“It’s possible, Alan!” Connie’s voice quivered with excitement. “And if I’m pregnant, I’ll never have to sleep with that bastard again!”
She said a little prayer as she hurried to the bathroom medicine cabinet to get the pregnancy tests she’d bought. She hadn’t been sure which one was best, so she’d purchased three different types. If she got a positive reading from one of them, they’d move out of the complex tonight. It would be a relief to
get away from Mark Turner and his preoccupation with kinky and dangerous sex.
* * *
Jill glanced at the clock. It was ten minutes past one. No wonder her stomach was growling. Unfortunately, she was working through lunch, and she hadn’t had time to pack a sandwich this morning. She’d been too busy, questioning Neil.
Bonnie had given notice that morning. She’d lasted much longer than Jill had anticipated, over two full months. A record. She’d told Jill that her husband didn’t want her to work, but Jill had known that was just an excuse.
When she’d spoken to Neil, he’d sworn that he hadn’t touched Bonnie. Jill wanted to believe him, but she had her suspicions. Bonnie hadn’t been able to meet Jill’s eyes; she’d been the very picture of guilt. Perhaps she hadn’t actually slept with Neil, but something had happened to upset her enough to cause her to give notice.
Jill sighed. There was no use speculating about what had happened. Bonnie wouldn’t tell her, and Neil wasn’t about to admit to any wrongdoing. Even if he had slipped and made a pass at Bonnie, Jill had to admit that her marriage was still a lot better than it had been. Neil was doing his best to be considerate. He tried to help her around the house, and he kept his temper firmly in check. Jill hadn’t been the target of his sarcasm since she’d told him about the baby, and best of all, his excitement about becoming a father hadn’t faded since the day she’d told him she was pregnant.
On the drive to work that morning, Jill had faced facts. Her marriage wasn’t perfect, but it was working and she was determined to stick with it. She’d also accepted the truth about her husband. Neil loved her, she was convinced of that, but he’d always have problems with being faithful. It was often said that marriage was a series of compromises, and Jill was doing her best to compromise on the issue that meant the most to her, fidelity.
“Hey, Jill. You’re looking good. And I really like that dress.”
Jill looked up and smiled as Doug poked his head in her office doorway. Although she was only four months pregnant, her waistline had expanded to the point where only a few outfits from her regular wardrobe fit her properly. Today she was wearing a royal blue maternity suit that Neil had picked out at the mall. “Thanks. What are you doing down here?”
