Brazen Virtue

at Grace, she told herself as she rubbed at her temple. But that was done now and she had work to do.
    Jerald’s heart was beating like a trip-hammer. He could hear her, murmuring, sighing. That low laugh washed over his skin. His palms were like ice. He wondered how it would feel to warm them against her.
    She was going to be so happy to see him. He dragged the back of his hand over his mouth as he moved closer. He wanted to surprise her. It had taken him two hours and three lines of coke, but he’d finally worked up the courage to come to her.
    He’d dreamed about her the night before. She’d asked him to come, pleaded with him. Desiree. She wanted to be his first.
    The hall was dim, but he could see the light under the door of her office. And he could hear her voice coming through. Beckoning. Teasing.
    He had to stop for a minute, rest his palm against the wall. Just to catch his breath. Sex with her would be wilder than any high he’d pumped or snorted into his body. Sex with her would be the ultimate, the pinnacle. And when they’d finished, she’d tell him he was the best.
    She’d stopped talking now. He heard her moving around. Getting ready for him. Slowly, almost faint from excitement, he pushed the door open.
    And there she was.
    He shook his head. She was different, different from the woman of his fantasies. She was dark, not blond, and she wasn’t wearing filmy black or lacy white, but a plain skirt and blouse. In his confusion, he simply stood in the doorway and stared.

    When the shadow fell across her desk, Kathleen glanced up, half expecting Grace. Her first reaction wasn’t fear. The boy who stared back at her might have been one of her students. She stood, as she might have stood to lecture.
    “How did you get in here? Who are you?”
    It wasn’t the face, but it was the voice. Everything else faded but the voice. Jerald stepped closer, smiling. “You don’t have to pretend, Desiree. I told you I’d come.”
    When he stepped into the light, she tasted fear. One didn’t have to have experience with madness to recognize it. “I don’t understand what you’re talking about.” He’d called her Desiree, but that wasn’t possible. No one knew. No one could know. She groped on the desk for a weapon as she gauged the distance to the door. “You’ll have to leave or I’ll call the police.”
    But still he smiled. “I’ve been listening for weeks and weeks. Then last night you told me I could come. I’m here now. For you.”
    “You’re crazy, I never spoke to you.” She had to stay calm, very calm. “You’ve made a mistake, now I want you to leave.”
    That was the voice. He’d have recognized it among thousands. Millions. “Every night, I listened for you every night.” He was hard, uncomfortably hard, and his mouth was dry as stone. He’d been wrong, she was blond, blond and beautiful. It must have been a trick of the light before, or her own magic. “Desiree,” he murmured. “I love you.” With his eyes on hers, he began to unbuckle his belt. Kathleen snatched up her paperweight and heaved it as she dashed to the door. It grazed the side of his head.
    “You promised.” He had her now, thin wiry arms clamped around her. His breathing came in gasps as he pressed his face close to hers. “You promised you’d give me all those things you talk about. And I want them. I want more than talk now, Desiree.”

    It was a nightmare, she thought. Desiree was make-believe, and so was this. A dream, that was all. But dreams didn’t hurt. She heard her blouse rip even as she struggled. His hands were all over her, no matter how she fought and kicked. When she sunk her teeth into his shoulder, he yelped, but dragged her to the floor, ripping at her skirt.
    “You promised. You promised,” he said over and over. He could feel her skin now, soft and hot, just as he’d imagined. Nothing was going to stop him.
    When she felt him push inside her, she started to scream.
    “Stop it.” The passion was exploding in his head, but not the way he’d wanted. Her screaming was tearing into him, spoiling it. It couldn’t be spoiled. He’d waited too long, wanted too long. “I said stop it!” He thrust harder, wanting the magnificence of all her promises. But she wouldn’t stop screaming. She scratched, but the pain only inflamed his need, and fury. She’d lied. This wasn’t the way it was supposed to be. She was a liar and a whore, and still he wanted her.
    Flinging a hand out,