Free Hope in Love by J. Hali Steele Page B

in waves around her shoulders. The black sheath she wore looked
glued to her body. Her red lips curved in a smile at him as her eyes gave him
an unabashed once-over. Ram knew that look. He’d seen it before. Three days ago
he’d have gotten rid of her escort and taken her for himself. But now he felt
nothing for her.
    He was fixated on Yael.
     
    Yael watched the woman enter the establishment. She saw Ram’s
perusal of her and thought he looked a bit longer than necessary. Her initial
response to his question would have been “I want to go home”.
    Not now.
    No matter her age, no matter the time—she was a woman.
    Seeing how the other’s eyes roved over his body, Yael wanted
to scratch them out. The palms of her hands hurt. They were sore from the marks
left by the pressure of her nails clutched there. The hussy! Amber
flames flashed from her eyes as she reached for Ram’s arm. She turned to him
and spoke overly loud.
    “No, I don’t wish to go home. I’m looking forward to our
dinner. Could you show me the bath?”
    The woman looked at Ram as though he were for sale in a
marketplace. Not a very ladylike thing to do. But considering who she looked
at, Yael understood it. He had the same effect on her.
    All of her feminine wiles came to the forefront. She’d not
be upstaged by this skinny creature.
    “The ladies’ room is this way,” Ram replied. He pointed out
the bar and told her where he’d wait for her.
    Yael fumed, her cheeks red, as she looked at her reflection
in the mirror. How dare he look at someone else while accompanying her! She
would…what? What could she do?
    “Damn it.” She’d cursed for the second time today.
    If only she hadn’t added the extra length to the dress. The
hussy’s costume had been even shorter than Yael’s original dress.
    Two females entered the room. One went into an enclosed
booth and the other stood beside her and used a tube to paint her lips red. She
watched as the woman ran her fingers through her hair then she bent forward and
shook her head, which sent the hair in every direction. It now appeared fuller.
    The red dress she wore seemed to come just below her butt.
The woman stretched it down an inch, which made no real difference.
    The other patron exited the enclosed booth and they both
left.
    Yael looked at her hem and made a decision. She removed the
added length of material.
    High-placed women painted their faces in her time and so did
those who kept secret company with men. Desire sparked men’s eyes when they
looked at these women. To see that same look in Ram’s eyes when they rested on
her would be a delight.
    Yael, feeling bold, smiled at her face in the mirror. She
had a plan.
    She didn’t have the benefit of paint, so she pinched her
cheeks until they turned pink under the bright lights. She bit her lips to draw
color to the surface and puff them a little. She pulled the knot out and bent
forward to fluff her thick hair around her head.
    I am a woman.
    She exited the ladies’ room and so many eyes were on her as
she moved across the floor, Yael’s body felt coiled and ready to spring. It was
impossible to find Ram in the dimly lit room. She squinted at various faces,
unused to the darkness.
    Finally, she spotted him. He’d moved from where he should
have been. She used her hand to toss her thick curls out of her face and walked
in his direction. She was nervous as a newborn colt. With just as much leg
showing.
    What in God’s name had come over her? She’d never felt like
this in her whole long life. Some of the customers stared, especially the
males. Even with the shawl, her body shivered and she started to feel foolish.
She wanted to disappear.
    Afraid to bang into something or vanish inside of a wall,
she hadn’t tried her new powers or she would have used them now to vanish. Yael
only wanted to cross the room without making a real fool of herself by falling
off her new high shoes. Her knees knocked so badly, she doubted she’d make it.
    She