Enthralled (10 page)

"I would save you,
darling," Chazz crooned into her ear.

"Gotta go. Late,"
Teel gasped, trying to rally her defenses and free herself from the velvet heat
of his hold.

"All right, love. We'll
go this time. But you won't always get rid of me this easily." Chazz
chuckled, letting his hand cruise down to the end of her spine, his palm making
circles on her derriere, then patting it, not so gently. 'This time you get
away." His voice was like a liquid chain manacling her to him. "But
not the next time."

Teel looked up at
him, wanting to bite his nose off, wanting the words in her throat to scorch
him. Instead a pain burned behind her eyes. Drat the man! He was giving her a
headache. How would she ever survive the two days in New York if he was going
to be everywhere. The man short-circuited her nervous system, interfered with
her digestion and de-activated her antiperspirant. He affected her like poison
ivy, like the bubonic plague.

"I can't go out with you
tonight. We've all made plans to see a show. The tickets are already bought.
Ten coaches and teachers will all be sitting together. No ticket for you,"
Teel finished woodenly, her eyes on his throat.

"What show are you
seeing?" Chazz asked casually, steering her from the apartment into the
elevator.

Since Teel's secretary had
booked the show, paid for the tickets, and already given them to Teel, the
answer should have been on the tip of her tongue. But her mind went blank. She
struggled to remember. "Palace Theater," she managed.

"Very good show. You'll
enjoy it." Chazz took her hand as they stepped from the bright elevator to
the more dimly lit underground garage. When Teel turned left, he pulled her
back. "No, this way, love. See, there's the car."

"Oh."
Why wasn't he fighting her on going to the theater? On the circuitous trip back
to the Garden, Teel agonized over what he was thinking.

Chazz parked the car, then led
her into the chaotic din of screaming children, shouting coaches and applauding
spectators. Cheers and general pandemonium surrounded them.

Teel didn't
believe Chazz would want to help out until she saw him observe the activities
for a few moments, then whisper to one of the moderators, and go over to where
several youngsters were lined up for the fifty-yard dash. She watched in wonder
as Chazz coached, instructed, hugged and encouraged the young people as they
competed in this event.

Again he was defeating her on
her own ground. Cold perspiration coursed down Teel's back as she tried to
concentrate on the broad jump, the event she was moderating. Her forehead felt
hot. Now he was making her feel as though she had the flu! What in heaven's
name was she going to do about Chazz Herman?

That evening she
and Nancy returned to the hotel hot, tired, and dirty.
Instead of running, they were transported in the Ferrari.

Teel knew Nancy wanted to ask her about Chazz, but she forestalled her friend's questions by saying
she needed a nap before they dressed for the theater.

What a relief to throw herself
face down on the bed. She was asleep before the thought could surface that she
wouldn't be able to sleep for thinking of Chazz.

She awoke to the ring of the
telephone. "'Lo," she mumbled into the receiver, trying to unstick
her eyelids.

"Were you
sleeping, love? Ummm, how nice. I'd love to join you." Chazz's voice set
her on fire and made her leap up in dismay, sending the lamp on the table next
to the bed tottering on its base.

Chazz chuckled.
"Look outside your door before you shower."

Even after the phone clicked
to indicate that the connection was broken, Teel stood there holding the phone
to her ear. She took a deep breath, replaced the receiver, and tiptoed to the
door, opening it just a crack. A spray of white roses in a tall crystal vase
was accompanied by a smaller florist's box and an even smaller parcel. Looking
up and down the corridor and not seeing anyone, she reached out and pulled the
items into her room one by one. "Who the hell does he think he is?
Rockefeller?" she muttered as she pulled the card from the rose spray and
read "Love, Chazz." She held the card with the tips of her thumb and
index finger as though it carried typhoid. "I'll bet there are two dozen
roses in that arrangement," she murmured, counting to herself. There were
three dozen. "Plutocrat."

She opened the smaller florist
box and discovered a wrist corsage of baby orchids with a thin gold bracelet
lying underneath. The card read, "Love, Chazz." She unwrapped the
smaller parcel slowly. The jeweler's box was marked Cartier's. Inside were drop
earrings in filigreed gold interspersed with emeralds. A pendant in a similar
design hung from a thin gold chain. Again the card said, "Love,
Chazz." "Damned unoriginal," Teel moaned, backing away from the
array of gifts. She felt as though she were in an arena with a wise and canny
bull who was slowly backing her into a corner without her cape or sword.

She bolted for the
bathroom and took a cold shower. After she had shampooed her head and finished
with a hot shower, she felt better. She stepped back into the bedroom, feeling
more confident. She would keep the vase of flowers. She loved flowers. But she
wouldn't wear the corsage. Tomorrow she would arrange to return the jewelry by
messenger.

After she had put
on her silk slip, it suddenly struck her that she couldn't keep such valuable
gems unprotected in a hotel room for the entire evening. When she called down
to the desk, they assured her that, if she labeled the package, they would
arrange to send it by messenger.

Relieved, Teel put on a
hunter-green silk chiffon dress that was almost the same color as her eyes. It
had tailored styling and looked much like a shirtwaist, but when she moved the
inverted pleats belled full and drew attention to her long, well-shaped legs.
The dress just touched her knees. With it she wore black
peau de soie
slings with a
matching
peau de soie
clutch bag. Her only ornaments were a pair of jade earrings,
the moon shape following the curve of her ear. Of course she wore her gold
watch, which had been a college graduation gift from her parents. She shrugged
at her image in the mirror and thought she didn't look half bad. Over her dress
she wore her satiny raincoat in steely green that had a mandarin collar and was
belted at the waist.

She almost forgot
the jewelry Chazz had sent and went back to the room to retrieve it. She then
counted it good luck that the elevator sped her right down to the lobby. She
went directly to the desk and when she had attracted the clerk's attention,
said, "I'm Miss Barrett. I called a short time—"

"Never mind, darling.
Don't bother the man." Chazz took her arm, smiled at the clerk, and turned
her toward one of the couches in the lobby. He was wearing an evening suit with
a cream silk jacket that made his shoulders look even more powerful. The black
silk trousers fit so perfectly that he might have been sewn into them.

"Go
away," Teel said, taking a deep breath to calm herself. "I'm not
keeping this." She held the jeweler's box out in front of her.

Chazz smiled, his eyes
glinting dangerously. "You'll keep them, or I will begin sending more jewelry
every half hour until your room is filled." He pulled a cheroot from a
gold case and flicked a lighter under it as he held it between his teeth.
"I'm getting tired of indulging your foolish whims."

"Foolish
whims! How dare you patronize me!" Teel sensed the interested gazes of
several passersby and lowered her voice. "I'm not one of your kept women,
and I am not going to keep these gems."

"Then throw
them away!" Chazz snarled, tossing the partially smoked cheroot into a
receptacle. "They belong to you. Either keep them or throw them
away."

"Throw them away!"
Teel was horrified. She looked down at the box in her hand. "I can't do
that." Her voice sounded alien to her ears. She felt the web Chazz had
cast about her on the
Deirdre
beginning to tighten once again. "You can't come with me
tonight." She tried to struggle free of his invisible hold. "We're
going to a show. You don't have a ticket."

"I called your friend
Nancy and asked her for the numbers on the tickets," Chazz explained
kindly. "I... ah... was able to procure one in the same row."

"I'll bet you bribed the
mayor," Teel accused him, her voice throbbing.

"Don't be silly,
darling." He looked past her shoulder. "Here come Nancy and some of
the others." He took the jeweler's box from her hand and slipped it into
the clutch bag he had taken from her limp fingers.

"They won't have evening
clothes on," Teel muttered, not looking around at her approaching friends.

"Wrong again, my dove.
The three men are wearing dark business suits. Perfectly acceptable for
evening," he pronounced in sonorous tones, mocking her.

Without thinking, Teel lifted
her foot and kicked him in the shin. It gave her great pleasure to see Chazz
flinch.

He leaned down to graze her
cheek with his mouth. "Another one I owe you, darling."

Teel whirled away from him and
fixed a smile on her face, ignoring the questioning look Nancy gave her. Rena
Listman, another of the teachers at Mary Dempsey School, was eyeing Chazz with
speculative interest. Teel felt a sudden aversion for the buxom woman. She
introduced Chazz to Buz Denton, the vice principal, Clint Wills, the athletic
director, and Dave Chess, the vocational director.

In minutes Chazz had explained
his presence and informed everyone that he had booked a table for supper after
the show at a club where the music was good to dance to.

Teel wanted to smack Nancy when she "Oooohed" right along with Rena. "We'll be too tired for
that," Teel struggled to say.

"Come on, old
girl, we only get to New York once in a while," Clint said, smiling down
at her. He took her arm and lead her out to the street. To Teel's jaundiced
eye, his face had a Machiavellian cast.

When she saw the chauffeur
behind the wheel of the Rolls-Royce, she gritted her teeth. "There won't
be enough room for all of us," she pointed out hopefully.

Chazz proceeded to show her
the jump seats in the back. Buz and Dave were only too glad to ride up front
with the driver.

Teel gave Chazz a sweet smile
and wished with all her might that a piano would fall out a window when he
alighted from the limousine. The thought mollified her, making her smile widen.

Chazz's eyes narrowed on her
as he helped the others into the back seat. "Plotting my murder, are
you?" he muttered.

Teel sniffed and turned her
back on him to engage Clint in conversation. It was a tight squeeze in the
Rolls but not uncomfortable for the short ride. She was annoyed when Rena spoke
to Chazz and he responded readily.

They alighted in front of the
theater, and the car seemed to melt away into the traffic.

Teel was very conscious of the
feminine glances aimed at Chazz. Several people spoke to him. When they walked
through the lobby, a uniformed attendant said, "Good evening, Mr.
Herman."

Teel felt frown lines form on
her forehead. When the woman usher came forward to show them their seats, she
would have followed, but a strong hand gripped her elbow. "Let me
go", she hissed.

Chazz smiled down at her but
didn't release her arm until they were standing in the aisle the usher had
indicated. "Of course, darling. Here you are. Your seat is right next to
mine. Nice, huh?" Chazz purred, helping to remove her raincoat and folding
it with his over the seat in front of him.

"The person who has that
seat won't appreciate that you've thrown coats over the back of it," Teel
said, her lips stiff.

"Relax, love. I bought
that seat for the evening too," Chazz soothed.

"What?"
Teel cried out, making heads turn toward them. Both Rena and Nancy leaned
forward in their seats to look at her quizzically. She smiled weakly back at
them, then turned to Chazz, her jaw clenched. "You— you philistine,
you," she sputtered.

"No—no, love, you must
have misunderstood. I'm Jewish, not Philistine." He took her hand, lifted
it to his mouth, and pressed his lips to the palm.

For long seconds Teel just
stared at him, horrified, while her body betrayed her by responding eagerly to
his touch. She fought against falling into his arms. "Stop that. People
can see," she hissed, trying to order the hand he held to free itself.

Chazz laughed, then pulled her
arm through his just as the lights dimmed and the overture began.

The show was good. Teel knew
by the laughter that penetrated the lavender fog enclosing her. When Nancy leaned forward and stage-whispered, "Isn't this great?" Teel whispered
back, "Marvelous," but she really had no idea whether it was
marvelous or not.

At the intermission they all
headed up the aisle for a cool drink. Teel looked at the glass of white wine in
her hand and wondered how it had gotten there. She glanced up to see Chazz
watching her. He saluted her with his glass and flashed a devastating smile
that turned her knees to jelly. She rubbed her hand along her cheek, which
ached from keeping her jaw clenched. She moved away and glared from a distance
at the cause of all her misery, a man who seemed to hold in her in thrall much
like a fox with a rabbit.