Free Mysterious by Fayrene Preston Page A

to forget, there’s a stand near work."
    "One of hers?"
    Her breathing rate had increased, and Jerome suddenly realized that he was still holding her hand. He released it. This was not right. "Yes. Come to think of it. There are times when I’ve seen her over there too."
    "You think she’s hard to get to know?"
    He tried to concentrate on the subject of their conversation. "Actually yes. I’d like to get to know her better, but she’s a pretty reticent character. No matter how many times I’ve asked her to call me by my first name, she sticks to Mr. Mailer. I like her though. She’s interesting. She’s rumored to have more contacts than Minnesota has lakes."
    "Yet you say your friend Sami knows her well."
    "Sami could have a close personal relationship with a tree." Without being able to control himself he reached for a silky strand of glossy brown hair that waved over the top of the blue sweater. The angora and flesh which lay beneath it provided an arousing cushion for his hand.
    Their eyes met and held. Hers were meltingly soft, conveying an enticing message. Or was that just wishful thinking on his part? He didn’t know. With Jennifer, all his previous knowledge of women failed to apply. And in the long run it was he who broke eye contact first, not she, and he who walked away. It was either that or lower her to the floor and take her like the madman he had begun to feel he was since she had walked into his life.
    Striding to the bar, he poured himself a stiff drink. Only after he had belted it down and gained a measure of control did he turn back to her. She hadn’t moved. "You’re certainly talkative tonight," he observed.
    She shrugged. "I was just curious about Leo. I don’t think she liked me."
    He wandered back to her, irresistibly drawn. "I’m sure you were imagining it." He put his hand on her shoulder, meaning only to reassure. "At any rate, it’s nothing for you to worry about." God, but he loved the feel of her beneath his hands!
    This was wrong, Jennifer thought as her heart began to pound in her breast. She shouldn’t be responding to him, not when so many lies remained between them.
    It was time. She wouldn’t allow herself to delay any longer. She drew in a deep breath and forced herself to move away from him. "Jerome, there’s something I have to tell you, and you’d better sit down."
    "All right." he agreed, only mildly curious. He was too busy giving himself a good mental shake. What in hell did he think he was doing anyway? She wasn’t his to touch. He sat down.
    Jennifer took a moment to compose herself, summoning her courage. It was going to take it all to relive the nightmarish events.
    "T-two days before I met you in the bar, I left Richard’s and my apartment to go shopping. It was a lousy day, drizzling and overcast." She paused. "When I returned that afternoon, the door to the apartment was open. I didn’t think anything about it though. I just figured that Richard was taking the trash out or had gone to get the mail."
    Again she paused. This was the moment she had been trying to forget for four terrifying days.
    "As I entered the apartment my arms were full of packages, so at first I didn’t see him. But I did notice that the apartment had been completely ransacked. Just as yours was, our belongings had been thrown everywhere." There was a break in her voice, and tears began trickling down her face. "I walked a little farther into the living room, and then I did see him. Richard. He was lying on the floor . . . in a pool of blood . . . dead."
    Jerome was stunned, but her tears were pulling at him. With the full intention of taking her into his arms and comforting her, Jerome rose, planning to go to her, but she stepped backward.
    "No, please, I’ve got to finish." Tears were now running freely down her face, but she continued her monotoned litany. "I distinctly remember that there was a terrible scream inside me, but somehow it just couldn’t get out. My throat felt as if