Read Tapestries 05 - Embroidered Fantasies for Free Online Page B

wiggled her tired toes and flexed her feet.
    The pantyhose had to go. Roxanne reached up under her bubblegum pink polyester uniform and grabbed the waistband. As she peeled them down her legs, she silently 26
    cursed Joe for wanting a retro feel for his diner. He wasn’t the one who had to wear bubblegum pink polyester every day. The diner was always full and the heat from the kitchen made the entire place sweltering hot, in spite of the tiny air conditioner that worked overtime to cool the dining area.
    Pantyhose gone, she gave a sigh of relief and kicked them aside. Normally, she was very tidy with her things, but tonight she was too tired to care. “Tomorrow,” she muttered. She was working a later shift tomorrow so she could actually sleep in.
    Her stomach growled. She needed to eat something even though she didn’t feel like it. A can of soup would be the quickest thing. It wouldn’t take long to heat. She padded toward the kitchen, pausing when she neared the davenport. She stopped and peered around the room. Something was different.
    Adrenaline pumped through her body, heightening her senses. A voice inside her head screamed at her to run. Not hesitating, she raced for the door, her hands clawing at the locks. Four off and one to go.
    She didn’t dare look over her shoulder, fearing what she’d see if she did. She couldn’t hear a thing above the pounding of her heart. Her breath was choppy, her hands shaking.
    A light scent lingered in the air in front of the bathroom door. An expensive men’s cologne. One she hadn’t smelled in more than a year. Michael’s cologne.
    “Not leaving so soon, are you?” He hadn’t made a sound or, if he did, she hadn’t heard. Suddenly he was behind her, his heavy body shoving hers against the door.
    She cried out as he slammed her head against the door before grabbing her by the hair and pulling her backward. He thrust her to the side. Her hip smashed against the side of the davenport and she grabbed it for support. Her nightmare stood before her, except he was all too real.
    Michael was even larger than when he went to prison, which was saying something. His blond hair was longer and tied at the nape of his neck with a leather thong. He was wearing a sleeveless shirt, which showed off broad shoulders, large biceps and the tattoos that ran the length of both arms.
    His eyes were just as she remembered—cold, unforgiving blue ice. When he spoke, his voice was the same, calm and unemotional.
    “Now that’s no way for the wife to greet her husband.” He took a step toward her and she scrambled backward.
    “You’re not my husband,” she whispered. She wanted to scream, but fear had tightened her throat, making it impossible. She moved slowly away from him. A weapon. She needed something to defend herself.
    “Of course I’m your husband. No piece of paper or judge is going to change that.” He took another step closer. Reaching between his legs, he cupped the large bulge there.
    “I’ve been in prison a long time. I’ve spent a lot of hours thinking about this reunion, about what I wanted to do to you when I got out.” 27
    He smiled, flashing a perfect set of pearly white teeth. “Nice place. I know you meant to send me a forwarding address, but that’s okay. A buddy of mine from prison is really good at finding people. He’s pure magic with a computer.” Her blood ran cold. All the time she’d thought she was safe he’d known exactly where to find her. “If you kill me, you’ll be the prime suspect.” He shook his head and sighed. “You never were really smart, Roxy. But that’s okay, I’ll take care of you just like I used to. You’ve put on a few pounds and cut your hair, but we can take care of that.”
    Roxanne could feel herself shrinking beneath his gaze. Memories of being told she was stupid, again and again, threatened to destroy the year’s worth of work she’d done to rebuild her self-confidence. She reached deep inside to the core of