“Doesn’t that creep you out a little bit? I mean, that someone is crawling out of the woodwork, writing you all these love letters, when he’s never even laid eyes on you?”
Kelsey shrugged, folded the letter and slipped it back into its matching blue envelope. “I guess it goes with the territory. There are a lot of lonely people out there who don’t have anything better to do than write unrequited love letters.”
Brian leaned toward her and took her hand, suddenly serious. “Kelsey, listen, don’t take this too lightly, okay? It might seem like nothing to worry about now, but we have all heard stories of overzealous fans going too far.”
Kelsey saw genuine concern in Brian’s face and squeezed his fingers reassuringly. “There’s nothing to worry about. The guy’s harmless. Besides, the security guards are being great, I feel totally safe while I’m here.”
He smirked. “And, of course, while you’re at home, you have a modern-day replica of a Greek god running around in nothing but a towel to protect you. Hey, maybe he’s your knight.”
“Don’t I wish,” Kelsey said with a chuckle. “Unfortu
nately, Mitch was out of the country and had never heard of Lady Love when I started getting the letters.”
“Too bad,” Brian said as they left the break room. “By the way, you never did fill me in on what happened after I left Saturday night.”
“I figured you’d get around to that sooner or later, but it’ll have to be later. We’ve got two minutes and I have to run to the ladies’ room,” Kelsey said as she hurried away.
“Chicken,” Brian called out, his laughter following her down the hall.
M
ITCH DIDN’T GET MUCH SLEEP
for the rest of the week. He spent his days writing, researching or speaking with contributing editors. Though really only in the outline stage, he was pleased with the book’s progress.
His long nights were spent listening to the radio. He tried to resist. Every night he promised himself he’d listen to her opening, hear what she was planning to talk about, then shut off the radio. But he never did. He always ended up sticking with Lady Love until her sign-off. The leather living room sofa wasn’t very comfortable, so Mitch bought a boom box and put it in his bedroom. Every night he went to bed with Kelsey. Well, with her voice anyway.
As he listened, Mitch’s appreciation for Kelsey’s talent grew. Her show was always entertaining, sometimes hilarious, usually very sexy. But Paul had been right. It was never raunchy or in poor taste.
Her subjects changed nightly. On Tuesday, her topic was first love. Wednesday, she lightened things up a bit as dozens of callers detailed their most embarrassing romantic moments. On Thursday, she steamed up his room when she talked about eroticism. And last night, Friday,
she opened the phones for a sort of free-for-all. She impersonated that little old lady sex doctor, then a French madam. Callers asked romantic trivia questions. Her audience threw challenge after challenge at her, and she answered with wit and style. Mitch was very impressed.
“H
AS
M
ITCH SEEN ANY
of this yet?” Celia asked.
Kelsey shook her head and continued sewing. The two of them were finishing off the last bits of the costume. Material, clothing and accessories were strewn over most of Kelsey’s apartment. Her home looked like a theater dressing room.
“No. I haven’t seen much of him this week.”
“That’s good. I somehow suspect he might rethink this whole Halloween costume if he saw it too far in advance.”
“He already knows what he’s wearing…pretty much,” Kelsey said with a chuckle.
“How’s the hair coming?” Celia asked. “Was it uncomfortable to sleep in last night?”
“A little.” Kelsey shook her head lightly. The waxed paper that she’d tightly wound around locks of hair all over her head crinkled with every movement. “But it will be worth it. Wait and see.”
After they finished everything, including lowering the neckline of Kelsey’s blouse once more, Celia said, “Why don’t you let me run Mitch’s costume down to him so he doesn’t see you before tonight. It might be bad luck. Oh, that’s just for weddings, right?”
Kelsey grinned and walked Celia to the door, thanking her profusely for all her help. After the other woman left, Kelsey glanced at the clock and saw it was only two. She took a bath, being careful to avoid getting her wrapped
hair wet. She soaked for a long time, then got out and rubbed her body with a fragrant, flowery lotion. Pampering herself yet more, she spent another half hour doing her nails, painting them a ruby red. Finally she took a few minutes and began pulling the wax paper out of her hair.
When she was finished, Kelsey shook her head, laughing in delight at the effect. Crinkly, flowing curls cascaded down her back almost to her bra line, bouncing with every move. After applying her makeup with a heavy hand, she surveyed herself in the mirror. The riot of curls framed her dramatically made-up face. She struck a pose, pursing her lips and lifting an eyebrow. She looked exotic, enticing even. Good. That was just what she was shooting for.
“S
HE WANTS TO TORTURE ME
,” Mitch said aloud as he stared down at the indecently tight pants he’d just put on. They were a shiny black material and fit like a second skin. Mitch wondered if she’d written his measurements down wrong. Probably not. Knowing Kelsey, she’d fully intended for them to be as outrageous as possible. She’d had a mischievous sparkle in her eye lately, and he imagined dressing him in a sexy pirate costume was her way of getting back at Amanda for her high-handed treatment. He couldn’t look less like Fred Astaire unless he dyed his hair red and put on a clown suit.
Mitch reached for the rest of the costume Celia had delivered earlier in the day, marveling at how complete it was in every detail. Yanking on the accompanying black leather boots, he wasn’t surprised to see they came all the way to his knees, covering the bottom of the obscenely tight pants. The shirt was a little better, he thought as he pulled the flowing material over his head. It was white cotton with
long, billowing sleeves that gathered at the wrist and spilled lace over his hands. The front had no buttons, instead lacing up with string from his abdomen to his throat, and he left it loose. Celia had told him the bright red silk scarf was to wear around his hips. Mitch quickly wrapped and tied it. Finally he worked up the nerve to look at himself in the mirror, and his jaw dropped. Then he slowly grinned. He looked like some male stripper dressed up for a woman’s pirate fantasy.
“Oh, what the hell,” he said, laughing out loud. It was one night. It was Halloween. It was for Kelsey. Tonight, Mitch would be a pirate.
A
T A FEW MINUTES BEFORE SEVEN
, Kelsey heard a knock on her apartment door. Glancing in the mirror one more time, she quickly checked her makeup and called out, “Just a minute, Mitch.”
The long rain cape she’d borrowed from Celia lay on a chair by the door, and Kelsey quickly pulled it on, completely covering herself from head to mid-calf. She tucked a few errant curls against her neck, then buttoned the cape.
“Right on time,” she said as she yanked the door open, determined to get out into the murky hall before he had a chance to see much of her. But her intentions fled as she saw him leaning indolently against the doorframe.
He looked magnificent.
Mitch’s thick, dark brown hair was tied back into a short ponytail with a strip of leather. She hadn’t made that suggestion, but it worked perfectly, giving him even more of a rakish piratical appearance. He was unshaved, his face dark and lean, giving him a dangerous look. The white shirt gaped open, exposing the crisp dark hair on his hard
chest, and her eyes followed the vee down almost to his waist. The tight red sash emphasized his lean build, and the black pants…well, if she started thinking too much about what Mitch looked like in those black pants, they’d never get to the ball.
“What do you think?”
“You look gorgeous…tall, dark and dangerous,” she admitted weakly.
He flashed her a boyish grin, and said, “I have to admit I do feel very Errol Flynn-ish. You and Celia did a great job. Where on earth did you find this stuff?”
“Just lucky, I guess. Some of it we put together ourselves, and some I got in the mall. I found the boots in a thrift shop.”
“Wait a minute,” he said, at last noticing the cape that covered her from the top of her head to her knees. “I want to see your costume.”
“No time,” she retorted. “We’ve got to go. And it’s raining a little. I don’t want to mess up my hair.”
Mitch frowned at her, but Kelsey ignored him and grabbed the bag she’d left sitting by the front door.
“What’s this?”
“Just some props. Finishing touches to my masterpiece.”
Kelsey rushed downstairs, glad to hear the rain still hitting the windows. It had given her the perfect excuse to wear the concealing cape. Mitch put his own coat on and opened the door, then glanced down and noticed her shoes.
“What do you have on your feet?”
Kelsey wore flat brown leather sandals. Instead of a buckle, they fastened with two long strips of leather, which she’d wound around her ankles and up her calves.
“Sandals, why?” she asked, offering no explanation.
Mitch sighed, glanced at her feet, then at the soggy yard. Not bothering to ask, he bent and picked her up in his arms. She gasped. He shouldered the front door open, and dashed with her across the front yard to his car. She didn’t utter so much as a word as he quickly opened the car door and sat her in the passenger seat.
As they drove toward the harbor, Kelsey began having second thoughts. What if Mitch outright refused to go along with it? It wouldn’t really matter, she supposed. They would both still be in costume, though hers might look a little strange. His pirate outfit would be fine. In fact, she acknowledged, this whole thing might blow up right in her face. Because if he balked at using her “props,” he would very likely be a target for every single woman in the place, Amanda included. She wished for a moment that she hadn’t done such a good job on his costume.
“Looks like a big crowd,” he said when they pulled up to the hotel entrance and he stopped in front of the valet parking stand. “Do you see anyone from work?”
Kelsey glanced through the raindrops on the car windshield and saw several costumed party goers. A man dressed in a green Godzilla costume stood out, but everyone else was indistinguishable.
The hotel was an elegant structure that had stood in the downtown area for probably forty years or more. Kelsey had read that the building had recently been renovated, and the interior gleamed. Casting an appreciative eye around the plush lobby, she noted a few costumed guests mingling in one corner, while a family with two impatient children checked in at the front desk. Leather sofas were arranged in intimate groupings, and a couple sat whispering to each other in one of them. An impeccably uniformed
porter bustled toward the elevator, while sparkling lights reflecting off the crystal chandelier danced across his mauve uniform.
Mitch moved toward the coat check, but Kelsey caught hold of his sleeve. “Could you come here for a minute? I need to finish setting us up.”
“Setting us up?”
Kelsey led him across the thick gold carpeting to a corridor opposite the lobby. They slipped into a small alcove near the game room. The wall was mirrored, and the area well lit. Perfect.
“Are you going to tell me what’s going on?” he asked as she dropped the satchel to the floor. “You’ve been acting very mysteriously.”
“I know. But all will now be revealed.” She bit her lip nervously. Kelsey caught Mitch’s eye as she began unbuttoning her cape. She gently pulled the hood back, revealing her curls, then let the cape slide from her shoulders to pool around her feet.
Mitch sucked in his breath and widened his eyes.
She wore a gauzy white blouse that clung to her body as if it were painted on. Only the sleeves, long and billowy, were loose. They covered her from upper arm to wrist. But her shoulders, upper chest, and throat were totally exposed. The top of the tight blouse skimmed her breasts, revealing a great deal of creamy cleavage, and Mitch thought if Kelsey moved too quickly she would reveal far more than she wanted to.
Adding to the natural “spillage” danger was the fact that Kelsey wore a tight white bustier over the blouse. It laced in the front, cinching her waist to near nothingness, hugging her midriff and pushing her breasts up to a dangerous level.
A flowing white skirt skimmed over her shapely hips and fell in layered ruffles to mid-calf. Kelsey moved slightly, and Mitch saw that on one side the skirt curved into a slit that came up to her upper thigh.
Her hair was a mass of shining curls, lustrous and inviting and seductive as hell, falling in ringlets over her shoulders. Her huge green eyes stared at him from her exquisite face, and Mitch just drank in her beauty.
“What in heaven’s name are you supposed to be?” he finally asked when he regained the ability to speak.
Kelsey dropped her eyes and said, “Um…your wench.”
“My what?”
“You know,” she explained, “a pirate’s wench.”
“A…pirate’s wench?”
Kelsey bent over, and Mitch was unable to suppress a groan at the view he was given. He watched as she grabbed for the bag she’d had him carry into the lobby.
“Now, Mitch, you trust me, right?”
Mitch was able to nod, but that was all. His voice hadn’t started working yet, since she’d sucked all the air out of his body when she bent over in front of him.
“Okay, then,” she said, “close your eyes.”
Mitch complied instantly, glad for the chance to pull his eyes back into his head.
“Just bear with me, okay? Withhold judgment for a minute?”
“I’ll agree to withhold judgment if you’ll agree not to fall out of that damned blouse,” he said without opening his eyes.
A light peal of laughter was her only response. The bag she’d been carrying rustled, then Mitch heard a clinking sound and tried to place it. It registered about two seconds
before he felt the shackle slide around his wrist and snap shut with a click.