Enthralled (11 page)

"You're
awfully quiet, Teel," Rena pointed out as Teel joined her, not taking her
eyes from Chazz. "Chazz said you spent a great deal of time on his
yacht—alone— with him."

"Hardly alone!" Teel
returned. "There was a full crew with us as well as the captain and Darby,
who took care of me most of the time"

"Oh?"
Rena's tone indicated that she didn't believe Teel. "I'll tell you right
now, I wouldn't care if the whole world knew that I'd slept with Chazz
Herman," she murmured softly, as if to herself.

"Slept with him!"
Teel's sharp tone turned a few heads in her direction, including Clint's and Buzz’s.
Nancy was busy talking with Chazz.

"You never used to be
so.. .so noisy, Teel." Rena glowered at her, coin-sized red spots
appearing on each cheek. "It's embarrassing."

"Tough." Teel lifted
her chin and looked away
from the
two puzzled men. She spent the rest of the short intermission
pretending to be interested in the other theater-goers.

Sitting through the
rest of the musical posed serious challenges for Teel as she tried to
concentrate on the show, ignore Chazz, and keep her body from overheating at
his nearness. She breathed a sigh of relief when the curtain fell and applause
rose like a wave. She watched in sightless concentration as the actors came out
for several curtain calls, then she stood like a robot so that Chazz could put
on her coat before ushering her back up the aisle toward the exits.

It gave her a measure of
satisfaction to see that the Rolls was not in front of the theater.

"I'd thought we would
walk from here," Chazz explained. "The club isn't far." He
smiled down into Teel's stiff face before taking her arm and adjusting his long
strides to her shorter steps.

Despite her
agitation, Teel began to feel better, able to push the lavender fog to one
side. The animated crowds moving along the sidewalk lent it a festive air, as
though the show had imbued them with new life. Teel became preoccupied with
looking in the windows of shops that were shut tight with latticed steel gates.

When Chazz
threaded his fingers through hers, she stiffened momentarily, then, seeing that
he wasn't about to release her, she shrugged and relaxed.

The club was located down some
steps from the sidewalk and, when the door opened, Teel heard muted laughter
and music and the underlying sound of dishes rattling.

The maitre d'
appeared before Chazz could remove Teel's coat. "Mr. Herman, sir," he
said, his face wreathed in smiles, "we were so happy to hear that you were
joining us this evening. It's been too long."

"Good evening, Arthur.
You have a table for us?" "Of course, sir." Arthur bowed, his
smile stretching wider.

"Fawning idiot,"
Teel muttered under her breath. Chazz's shout of laughter made her heart bump
against her ribs.

Their table was oval and set
in front of a curving leather banquette. As the others slid along the long
bench, Chazz held one of the two chairs for Teel and sank into the one next to
her.

The waiter described the
entrees for the evening. "I hope you all know you are my guests
tonight," Chazz announced, smiling around the table. "Teel and I are
anxious to entertain all her friends." His grin widened at her gasp of
outrage. He turned to her and kissed her lightly on the mouth. "Aren't we,
darling?"

"I'm going to draw and
quarter you and put you into a tank of piranha," Teel hissed.

"She says, of course,
that's what we want to do," Chazz assured the others. "The sky's the
limit," he added, holding both her hands in a tight grip as she clenched
and unclenched her fists.

"Teel, you sneak." Nancy laughed, leaning forward to look past Clint. "You kept this surprise all to
yourself."

"I'll bet it was his
idea," Rena stage-whispered to Buz.

"You're correct there,
Rena." Teel stretched her mouth in a semblance of a smile. "It was
all Chazz's idea."

Buz looked at her
wisely. "Ah, cut it out, Teel. We know you, how generous you are. You just
wanted to surprise us."

"Surprise,
surprise," Teel managed with false brightness, looking at the array of
drinks that the waiter had set before them. Had she ordered something? She
didn't remember. Drat the man! He was making her lose her mind. It wasn't bad
enough that he caused her aches and pains. Now he was making her mentally
incompetent. She could feel Chazz's web tightening around her.

"I hope you don't
mind"—Chazz glanced at the others—" I took the liberty o
f
 telling Arthur we would all
like to try 'Arthur's Star,' the specialty of the house, for the first round.
Of course, you must order anything you like, no need to stick to this. I just
thought you might enjoy sampling what Arthur considers his
piece de resistance
of
drinks." Chazz lifted his glass in a salute. The others did likewise, all
except Teel, who frowned into her drink. When she noticed the others watching her
and waiting, she raised her glass too. "Here's to—good
relationships." Chazz clinked glasses with Teel and drank. "Try
it," he urged.

Teel sipped and found that the
drink had a piquant pineapple flavor. It was good. She took another swallow and
blinked.

"Careful," Chazz
warned, leaning toward her. "That's first-class rum."

"I was hoping yours was
first-class hemlock." Teel tittered, then sat straighter in her chair. The
sound coming out of her own mouth irritated her.

"Shall we dance?"

Teel was about to
tell him no when he reached down and lifted her to her feet. "Don't you
ever wait for an answer?" she hissed as he headed toward the dance floor.
Several couples were already dancing, but it wasn't crowded.

The vigorous beguine rhythm
seemed to seep into Teel's blood. Despite her determination to stay as stiff as
a board in Chazz's arms, she soon found herself swaying to the music, caught up
in the beguiling beat. Chazz was an excellent dancer. It was so satisfying to
follow his movements, to twist and turn lightly and surely to the music.

Teel didn't know the dance
they were doing by name, but the intricate steps challenged her. All at once
her irritation fled and she whirled around Chazz, his hand holding hers high as
she spun wildly. Glee bubbled up as she felt her body respond and answer the
challenge. She forgot everything but the fast, swaying rhythm that curved her
body away from him then back to fit perfectly to his form like pieces of a
puzzle. Held close to him, with his face looking down into hers, she saw the
laugh lines etched around his eyes and the dark flecks that rayed out from the
center. She had the startling sensation that Chazz was sending her telepathic
instructions, that her body had to obey.

"You are one
beautiful lady, Teel Barrett." Chazz gazed down at her, his breath coming
fast. "I think I could spend my whole life dancing with you." His
voice held a hint of surprise and he continued to look at her, his eyes going
from her nose to her mouth to her hair to her chin.

"Wonderful way to
exercise," Teel said absently, her eyes steady on him.

"I can think of many ways
to exercise with you that would be wonderful," Chazz growled softly.

"Pushups are good
too."

"Exactly my
thought, darling," Chazz crooned, twirling her around, then back into his
embrace. This time both arms encircled her. He chuckled as her cheeks grew
flushed. "You're lovely when you blush."

"Don't be silly. I don't
blush."

Chazz leaned down and let his
tongue graze her hot cheek.” Then you have a most delightful sunburn,
m
y angel."

"Stop doing
that," Teel moaned, feeling as though she had just walked through fire.

"Doing
what?" Chazz's arms clamped her close as the music changed and the room
grew darker. Now his tongue was tracing her ear lobe.

"People will
see," Teel protested, feeling her throat close and her heart begin to
thud. "You have an
awful effect
on me," she whispered, trying to get enough strength
into her hands to push him away. "Whenever I'm with you I feel as though
I'm coming down with the flu." She tried to focus watery eyes on him.
"I think I'm allergic to you," she finally pronounced solemnly.

Chuckling softly,
he lowered his head to kiss her, and her knees seemed to turn liquid. She clung
to him. "Stay with me. Live with me, Teel," he whispered.

"What? What did you
say?" She struggled to focus on him despite the cold symptoms that seemed
to be affecting all her senses.

"Live with
me." He kissed a tendril of hair on her forehead. "If you still want
to teach, we'll get a house near Selby. I can commute into New York every day."

Teel looked at him blankly.
"Are you saying you want to come to Selby to live with me?"

"I also have a home out
on Long Island if you'd prefer that."

"Or you could
bring the
Deirdre
up the Hudson, park it in some secluded waterway, and we
could fool around on that," Teel said hoarsely, her throat so dry and
scratchy she could hardly get the words out. She needed a doctor! "And
then what would I do when you tired of me in a few weeks? I might even last a
few months. If I was very, very good. Then would you tie an anchor round my
neck and drop me into the Hudson? No? Too dramatic?" Strength began
returning to her arms—or was it that Chazz was pulling away from her, thus
removing the source of her affliction? She bit her lip and stared up into his
golden eyes, which were as dull and hard as freshly mined rock. "Perhaps I
would just slip back into my old routine as though nothing had ever
happened," Teel went on, "as though the bulldozer called Chazz Herman
had never gouged through my life. Well, speak up. Tell me how to handle being
dumped by a playboy."

"Stop it!" Chazz
grated, shaking her, his fingers digging into her arms. "It wouldn't be
like that with us," he exclaimed. "You know it wouldn't"

"No," Teel's voice
wasn't loud, but her firm tone penetrated to a few of the dancers and several
heads turned toward them. "I won't be your plaything," she said more
quietly. She stepped away from him, turned on her heel, and headed back to the
table. Her hand reached blindly for the drink at her seat, and she emptied it
into her mouth before sitting down, desperation making her numb to the bite of
the liquor.

"Would you like to dance,
Teel?"

Teel looked
blindly at Buz, noting the puzzlement that replaced his smile. Before he could
say anything else, she gave him a stiff smile and rose.

Just then the waiter stopped
at the table and set another round of drinks in front of each person.

Teel stared at the glass, then
reached for hers, taking three big gulps before setting it back down and
walking toward the dance floor.

"Hey, lady, take it easy
on those things," Buz said just behind her. "I've never seen you
drink before. Is this some new kick you're on?"

Teel turned to face him,
holding out her arms. "You could say that, I guess." Her face hurt
when she tried to smile, so she turned away and rested her cheek on his
shoulder. She closed her eyes, but that made her dizzy, so she kept them open.
This way she didn't have to talk, and Buz couldn't see her face, which she was
sure reflected all her misery.

Chazz danced by
with Rena, her eyes closed, a dreamy smile on her face. His gaze swept over
Teel's face, making her sinuses contract.

Without thinking, she stuck
out her tongue at him and was horrified when his eyebrows arched in amused
inquiry. Quickly she closed her eyes again and was at once dizzy. What was the
matter with her? She couldn't re-member doing such a thing even as a child. She
swallowed around her sore throat. The man was a menace. She would make him pay
all her doctor's bills, and that included the psychiatrist! She would see a
good lawyer, too. She would sue him for taking away her good health, her peace
of mind. She would take him to the Supreme Court!

When the dance with Buz ended,
Teel felt much better. Deciding on a plan of attack against the enemy was very
salubrious, she concluded, arriving at her chair and reaching for her drink at
the same time.

"Don't you think you've
had enough?" Chazz murmured into her ear.

"Stick it in your
barracks bag, buddy." Teel sounded out each syllable, looking him square
in the eye.

"You're tipsy now,"
Chazz told her, reaching to take the glass from her hand.

"Monster," Teel
countered, upending the glass carefully down the front of his silk shirt.

"You little
witch," he whispered ominously, grabbing for a napkin with one hand and
her arm with the other. After rubbing at the wet spot, he glanced around the
table. "I'm taking Teel home now," he told everyone. "The rest
of you stay. I'll arrange the bill, so eat, drink, and whatever until closing."
He managed to say the words in a pleasant tone, but the hand holding Teel's was
gripping her so hard that she was sure the circulation had stopped. "I'll
also arrange for the car to be waiting for you so you'll have transportation
back to the hotel or any other place you might choose to go."