Free Enthralled by Ann Cristy Page A

it."
    "It is immaterial to me whether you like
it or not."
    "Ouch. That tone of voice
would fast freeze a herd of elephants."
    She gave him a saccharine
smile. "Suspicions confirmed. You have a thicker hide than an elephant:
otherwise you would buzz off."
    "Never, darling. I've
decided you're not getting rid of me." "I'm not going to be one of
your prostitutes." Her voice echoed loudly in the car, the fear that he
might find out she loved him trembling through it.
    "Wait until you're asked,
love."
    Teel felt as
though she had suddenly swelled to twice her size. She was about to explode in
withering denunciation of all things that made up Chazz Herman when he made a
sudden right turn, throwing her against her seat belt. She watched open-mouthed
as the Ferrari dropped down into the darkness of an underground garage. They
parked in a space marked Herman. Two other spaces were marked the same way. One
held a Rolls-Royce. "Lousy capitalist," she hissed at him as he came
around to open her door and released her from the seat belt that refused to
separate under her own hands.
    He followed her
gaze toward the cocoa-brown Rolls. "Don't you like the Royce?" he
asked blandly, helping her from the car, impervious to the hand that tried to
pry his fingers from her arm.
    "You're a selfish,
egotistical, manic, pompous, less- than-human amoeba." Teel scraped her
heels against the concrete as Chazz half-carried, half-dragged her to an
elevator in the underground garage.
    "Does that mean you don't
like Rolls-Royces?" He gave her an interested glance.
    "Don't patronize
me!" Teel said, staring up at him ready to explode as his one arm clamped
her to his side while the other hand punched the number board in the elevator.
    "You mustn't get so
excited. It will upset your lunch," he pointed out in soothing tones.
    "Louse," Teel hissed
as he pulled her out of the elevator into a foyer paneled in rich oak with a
shiny oak floor. A round Kerman rug in cream, green, and pink formed the focal
point of the circular room. Several doors led off from it and a stairway
followed the curve of the room to an open balcony on the second floor.
    Teel was staring at a
cut-glass lamp suspended from the two-story ceiling when Chazz tugged on her
arm, urging her toward one of the doors. "Where are we?" she
demanded, digging in her heels and glowering up at him.
    "Where do you think? My
apartment. We're going to have lunch," he explained impatiently.
    "I knew it," Teel
cried. "You lured me here... you... lecher."
    "Will you
keep your voice down. My housekeeper will think you're crazy." He frowned
at her, taking her arm again, then opening the door behind him and leading her
into a beautiful room that appeared to be a lounge or library.
    Teel glanced
around her at the book-lined walls. "I'll bet you stole these books from
the New York Public Library," she muttered, gazing at the large green Kerman rugs. The same green was repeated in silk-covered sofas that were placed at right
angles to the Adam fireplace. A huge painting depicting the green sea and a
storm- tossed whaling ship hung over the mantel. A ghostly white lighthouse
seemed to waver in the background. "It's beautiful," Teel whispered,
walking closer to check the name of the artist. "Tilda Charles," she
read, turning to frown at Chazz. "Wouldn't you know you'd have an original
Tilda Charles!" She sniffed. "Such ostentation. This is probably the
largest canvas she has ever painted, and you have to have it over our
mantel." Teel looked back at the painting, craning her neck to read the
title— "'Saving the Whale Off Martha's Vineyard.' Wow. I wonder if she
ever saw such a thing or if she just imagined it."
    "Oh, she saw it."
Chazz leaned down, grazing Teel's neck with his lips. "Don't you recognize
the man standing in the bow with the hawser in his hands?" His breath sent
tingles down her neck.
    "I beg your
pardon?" Teel struggled to keep her emotional and physical balance. It was
an ordeal to be with Chazz. Her