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Chapter 21
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The Fantasy Maker Chapter 22
"Did you really think they wouldn't put it together?"Steve shook his head as he tugged at the bow tie he had already tied four times and still couldn't get quite right. He dropped his hands to his sides in frustration. Emma glanced at him, annoyed that he was there. If her parents hadn't arrived early to sit with the kids, he would be downstairs in the study, dressing in front of a handheld shaving mirror."How?""I guess investigative reporters are pretty smart, Steve," Emma said. "At least, they aren't as oblivious as I was.""Emma""Don't," she said, her voice filled more with defeat than anything else. She leaned forward, trying to apply eye liner with a hand that shook. He'd turned back to his laptop, tension in every line of his body.Some blogger had printed a post just two hours ago that accused Steve of an affair. Although Steve had managed to ignore the bait Amanda Barker had thrown out at him three days ago, this anonymous blogger had found what he called 'strong evid
The Fantasy Maker Chapter 23
Emma found herself sitting between the governor's chief of staff and a Houston oil man. Steve sat across from her. She could feel his eyes on her each time she said something to one of her dinner companions, or took a sip of the white wine they had served with the salmon. She disliked fish with a passion, so she swallowed more wine than food."There must be some perks to being married to the mayor," the oilman, Ted-something, said in her ear."A few, I suppose," she said."Like a break on sales tax."Emma laughed. "I wish.""Or prime parking spots."Emma shook her head. "No, not really.""Then what?" he asked, his eyes wandering her chest as he gazed down at her."There's always exciting dinners like this and meeting people like you."His muddy eyes moved up to hers. "But I'm sure you get bored, meeting new people all the time.""Not always. I've met some really good people at these events."He leaned closer, practically drooling down the front of her dress. "How many of the
The Fantasy Maker Chapter 24
"Is there anything you won't do?"Dante glanced at Emma as he rolled up the thin silk rope he had just removed from her wrists. "Only one.""What's that?"He dropped the rope into a cabinet where it would wait for its next victim. "Autoerotic-asphyxiation.""What's that?"Dante came to the bed where she had crawled to rest against the pillows. He moved up beside her, lying on his side as he ran a couple of fingers over her belly."It's where you put a rope around your throat and apply pressure while you, or someone else, applies sexual stimulation.""What do you mean, pressure?""This." He slid his hand over her breasts slowly before allowing it to come to rest at her throat. Then he grabbed it roughly, choking her for a brief second. "Cutting off the air supply."Emma took hold of his wrist, even though he had moved his hand back down to her breasts, to push it further away from her throat. "Why would someone want to do that?"He shrugged. "I've heard that the resulting orga
The Fantasy Maker Chapter 25
"Have you ever met one of the guys from the Ranch outside?""Outside?"Emma set down the glass of sweet tea she had been holding, reaching under the table to wipe her hand on her thigh. They were in a small diner near the campus of the University of North Texas. A group of college students walked by on the sidewalk outside, laughing at something Emma could only imagine. She waited till they had passed before she focused on Jen again."Outside of the spa."Jen studied her face, concern etched into her familiar features. "Has Dante asked you""No," Emma said immediately, lying to her best friend for what she was pretty sure was the first time. "I was just wondering if-I mean, you've been going there for a while."Jen nodded. "I had a guy ask me to have dinner with him once. I reported him to the management and he was fired a few days later."Emma picked up her glass again, but didn't drink. The tea was too sweet for her taste. But she swirled the straw around a little, watching th
The Fantasy Maker Chapter 26
Emma dropped a roll of film and cursed under her breath as she bent to pick it up. Of course, it had rolled under the desk. She had to crawl on hands and knees to finally dig it out from the pile of cords and power sticks back there that ran her computer, her projector, and the various lamps and things she had laid out, waiting to process film she had yet to use in her newly completed dark room.Who had time for hobbies with a political campaign going on?She unzipped a camera bag and slipped the film canister into one of the elastic holders alongside the three other rolls she had just put in there. She tried to think of what else she might need. She had two digital cameras and her old Canon EOS Rebel. She had a tripod and extra lenses and a half dozen filters. She had all this film, including two rolls of black and white that were still frosty from the freezer.As she studied the collection, she found herself imagining Dante, naked and forever preserved in black and white film.It
The Fantasy Maker Chapter 27
It took Emma nearly an hour to decide what she was going to wear. Every time he had seen her before, she had been dressed in one of those pink, cashmere robes. Should she be sexy, dress in a short skirt and a push-up bra? Or would that make him feel like the only reason she had come to him was for more of the same? Should she dress casually? Wear jeans and an oversized t-shirt? But what if he had asked her to come so that they could have some one-on-one time without worrying about the rules of the Ranch?She wished she knew why he was doing this.She had tossed and turned all the night before. Steve would give her the money. She could keep seeing Dante at the Ranch, could keep having those amazing mani-pedis, keep drinking all that expensive champagne, keep disappearing into ecstasy each time he touched her, no questions, no doubts. She could keep up the lie of her disguise. Could keep the mask that hid nothing except the freckles that dotted the bridge of her nose. She could keep hi
The Fantasy Maker Chapter 28
"Oh, wow!"Emma groaned as she tasted the piece of chicken Dante had just pushed into her mouth. It practically melted when it hit her tongue, the meat so tender it just fell apart."Amazing, isn't it?""Amazing doesn't even begin to describe it." She reached over and stole another small piece from the corner of his plate. "Why didn't you tell me?""The steak is good, too."She nodded, glancing at her own, empty plate. "It was."He laughed, pushing his plate toward her. "By all means," he said."You don't want it?""I'd rather watch you enjoy yourself."Emma bit her lip, memories of him watching her during other, more personal moments, making her squirm a little in her chair. "Either you're the most generous man I've ever met, or you're quite accomplished at hiding your own desires.""Oh, I think my desires tend to be quite obvious."Her nipples tightened with a tingle at that. She sat back and looked around the crowded restaurant, needing to concentrate on something else fo
The Fantasy Maker Chapter 29
It was a weird sort of déj¨¤ vu.Emma stood at his sink, studying the brands of the various objects displayed on the countertop and inside his medicine cabinet. He used Crest as his toothpaste, Listerine for his mouthwash. His cologne was a glamorous sounding Tom Ford brand, his deodorant a mundane stick of Degree. He and Steve used the same shave cream, but he used disposables where Steve had always insisted on a refillable type of razor.She could remember doing this once, shortly after she and Steve had become romantic and he left her alone in his dorm room. She remembered touching his toothbrush, smelling his cologne, and then finding a drawer full of condoms that turned out to belong to his roommate. There was no such drawer in Dante's bathroom. Only a box of cotton swabs and a forgotten package of Band-Aids.Emma caught her own reflection in the mirror and was surprised by the naked look of need on her face. Her lips were swollen, the little bit of lipstick that had been left
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The Fantasy Maker Chapter 56
Emma managed to stay ahead of the truck for a few miles, speeding dangerously on the little back roads that led to Pilot Point. Just as she came around the bend that would take her into the tiny hamlet of downtown, the truck gained on her and swerved around her. Emma slammed on the breaks and tried to move around him as she had before. However, the truck anticipated her movements and slammed his transmission into reverse, cutting off her escape. She swerved, the car stuttering to a stop in a shallow ditch at the side of the road."All you had to do was pull over," a voice said as her door was wrenched open. Rough hands grabbed her upper arm and yanked her from the car.Emma stumbled, her sore ankle felt wrong, as though she had hurt it even more in the attempts to control the car."What do you want?" she demanded."Just doing what I'm told, lady."He dragged her to the truck, pushing her in through the driver's side door before climbing in after her. Emma slid over to the passenge
The Fantasy Maker Chapter 55
She dialed Jen's cell number as she navigated the still dense late evening traffic on the interstate just outside of Denton. Jen answered on the first ring."Steve, I've been trying to get through to you all day.""It's Emma, Jen.""Oh." There was a long silence on the other end. And then, as though a switch had been flipped, her voice filled with concern and caring. "Is everything okay, sweetie?""Fine," Emma lied. "I wanted to apologize for the way I was with you the other day.""Don't worry about it. I understand.""Do you?""Losing Tommy like that must have been difficult.""It was. Especially the way he died.""Suicide, right?" Jen asked, an undercurrent of cruelty in her voice. "Such a pity."Emma maneuvered the car around a curve, nearly dropping the phone as she tried to hold it in the crook of her shoulder."Where are you?" Jen asked. "I went by the house earlier, but there was no one home.""We took the kids to the airport." Emma grabbed the phone with her right h
The Fantasy Maker Chapter 54
Emma lay on her back, her bruises aching, her muscles popping along her back, her sides, as she tried to find a comfortable position. Steve lay on his side next to her, his fingers moving lazily along her belly, playing a game of their own making around the scar of childbirth. She watched him, her thoughts swirling in a dozen different directions.Guilt lay heavy on her shoulders. She couldn't help but think of Tommy now that the heat of passion was done. She missed his easy smile, the way he looked at her as though she was the center of his world. She wanted to run her fingers through his thick, dark hair, wanted to feel his heavy hands on her breasts, her belly.It hurt, how much she had in such a short time and how much she would never know.Was it possible to love two men so completely?She ran her fingers through Steve's hair, traced the curve of his ear. He looked up at her and smiled. It was a beautiful smile.She wished she could return it.She closed her eyes, her mind s
The Fantasy Maker Chapter 53
It was a slow, gentle kiss. But it touched her in places that had forgotten what it felt like to with the one she loved.She stepped into him, felt the tip of his tongue just brush against her bottom lip. She opened to him, and was rewarded with a sigh of such power that she could feel it as though it had issued from her own lungs, her own lips.She ran her hand slowly over his chest, could feel his heart pounding against her fingers. His hand moved from her jaw to the back of her head, buried its fingers in her hair to pull her closer, always closer. And then he buried himself inside of her, moaning against her lips with more pleasure than she had thought possible from such a simple touch.Her breath stuttered in her chest as he ran his hand over her back, slipped his palm over the curve of her hip, the roundness of her bottom. He pulled her to him until she could feel his need hard against her hip. She slid her hand around his back, drawing him so close that there was nothing but
The Fantasy Maker Chapter 52
Emma handed Steve the lists she had made on the hotel stationary after they finished eating. The DVDs were back in their bag, waiting to be destroyed. That had been her promise to Tommy. If anything happened to him, she was to take the DVDs and destroy them. He had no desire to hurt anyone else.Steve just glanced at the lists at first, but when he began to recognize name after name, he slowed and began to read the lists again."You're kidding me, right?" he asked.Emma shook her head."Some of these people are worth billions. And he slept with all of them?"Emma paled slightly. She had been trying not to think about that aspect of the situation. "I don't know. I didn't watch any of them."He nodded absently, as though it didn't really matter. Finally, he put the lists down and sat back. "There are a lot of important people on those lists," he said after a moment's thought, "but I don't see a single one who might want to hurt us or hurt you specifically. Except for maybe the incu
The Fantasy Maker Chapter 51
Steve arranged it all.After arranging for a garage to pick up Steve's car and for a rental car, they picked up the boys and Emma's parents. They boarded a plane for Florida three hours later. Her mother was a little concerned by the rush, but was thrilled for the chance to get out of town. It had been such a long winter, she kept telling Emma on the ride to the airport. They would stay at a resort down there near Universal Studios in Orlando. The boys had wanted to go back there since a trip they made as a family two years ago. A trip Steve had abandoned them to when he was called back to his office three days early.Funny how she and the boys remembered that time so differently.Instead of driving home, Steve pointed the rental car toward downtown Fort Worth."We are we going?" Emma asked."A hotel."She turned in her seat. "Do you really think that's necessary?""Someone slashed the tires on my car, Emma. In the middle of downtown." He glanced at her. "Someone ran you off the
The Fantasy Maker Chapter 50
Emma slid the key into the small lock and took a deep breath. She wasn't sure it would open. He had told her it would, but some little piece of her was still uncertain about this, about all of it. What if he had lied to her?It did turn.Steve stood behind her close enough that she could feel the heat of his body. She had expected him to argue, to insist they drop the whole thing and go home, back to their broken lives. But he didn't say a word when she told him what she wanted to do. Simply drove them to the bank like it was something they did every day.She flipped the little door open and reached inside for the safety deposit box. Steve grabbed it as it began to fall into her hands, lifting it away from her and carrying it to the small table. She hobbled over, her ankle still causing her a great deal of pain. Her knee, too, had gotten stiff where the stitches pulled and tugged with every step. Between the two injuries, her sore ribs and constant headache, it was a miracle she was
The Fantasy Maker Chapter 49
They drove to the house together in Ray's Escalade. A police car sat in Tommy's front yard, the driver's side door open. Emma had a flash, imagined a large number of police cars sitting here, their lights flashing as the uniformed cops walked in and out of the house. She imagined a hearse, imagined them rolling a gurney out of the house with a big, black body bag lying on top.She shivered despite the warmth of the day.Ray climbed out of the car and went to speak to the cop. Steve glanced back at Emma from his place in the front passenger seat. "You don't have to go inside. You could just tell us what you need."Emma shook her head. "I have to do this."He looked at her for a long minute and then nodded, turning his attention to the windshield and the two men just a few feet in front of them.Emma looked out the window at the front door. Again she imagined him as he had been the last time she saw him. Monday morning. He stood on the little porch, his hand lifted in a gesture of f
The Fantasy Maker Chapter 48
"I talked to McWhorter, the contractor, this morning," Steve was saying around a bite of Danish. "He said that he turned in all the keys he and his men had.""Do you believe him?" Ray asked.Steve shook his head. "I keep the spare keys in a locked drawer in my office. There was one missing."Emma sipped at the hot vanilla latte the waitress had just brought her. "Who else has a key to our house?"Steve looked over at her, his eyes so dark from a restless night's sleep that they looked almost as bruised as hers. "Just your parents. And Liz."Emma's eyebrows rose. "Why would Liz have a spare key to our house?"He sat back, pushing his thumb into a corner of his Danish. "She ran by the house a few weeks ago to get some paperwork I had forgotten. You weren't there, so I had to give her my keys. I gave her a spare the next day in case it happened again."Emma glanced at Ray. He was watching the two of them like a child waiting for World War III to break out between his parents. She b
