Deadly In Stilettos (8 page)

             
Revenge was now like food for Demi. It nourished her mind, body, and soul. Her spirit soared to new heights when she crossed those other names from her list. Tomorrow she would experience that feeling once again. For now, she had to play along with his games so that she could be there when he expired.

             
Several times during their romantic evening, Makei’s cell phone buzzed. He glanced at it to see who was calling and then didn’t answer. Maybe it was the person who kept her clothing and other personal items at his home, Demi speculated. Right now, she couldn’t care less. Once upon a time, she could have been on the other end of the line, being rejected and sent straight to voicemail. No one deserved to be treated like that, especially by the one she loved.

             
As the evening turned to night, Makei and Demi laughed, danced, and held each other. The sensations flowing between them felt like an electric shock. Before Demi knew what was happening, Makei pulled her close and kissed her with so much passion, her boots hurt. All she wanted to do was stay in his arms forever. When he pulled away, Makei apologized for his forwardness. He looked down at her boots and smiled. He too had contributed immensely to her massive shoe collection.

“Those are some serious boots, De
mi. You certainly know just how to rock them. Man!”

             
The boots were not the only thing he checked out. Demi knew it. “Thanks,” she replied. She turned, giving him a little something extra, watching as he licked his lips and scanned her entire body. She caught him biting his fist, mouthing the word damn.

             
The waiter came to clear their plates, and Makei held Demi’s hand, leading her to a private exit and his awaiting Bentley Coupe. The car was beautiful, but Demi was not turned on by cars. Stilettos were her fuel of choice, and Makei knew it.

             
When she slid into the backseat, sitting there was a Manolo Blahnik shoe box. Demi could not contain her excitement. When she opened the box she squealed. She was in love. The mustard-yellow, five-inch stiletto platforms, with an open-toe and back strap, smiled at her. Makei sat back, admiring her. “You like them?”

             
Was he serious? She didn’t like them, she loved them. “Thank you, Makei. I absolutely love them. When did you get them?”

             
They had been together all evening, so Demi knew he had not gone out to buy them. Again, her mind went to the man Makei talked with earlier. Who was he?

             
The drive to Makei’s house was pure torture. They could not keep their hands off each other. Demi was breathless. When they got out of the car, the windows were fogged up. They were barely inside the door before they were in each other’s arms again. The kissing got harder, the touching more personal, and they could not hold back any longer. Makei picked Demi up, carrying her upstairs. Once in the master suite, he undressed her slowly, taking in each and every detail of the body he missed, savoring the moment.

             
Demi lay naked on his bed, watching as he undressed. They melted into each other’s bodies, becoming one. They made love for hours and fucked until the sun came up. Demi was well satisfied when she got up to leave.

             
“Take a shower with me,” Makei asked.

             
That triggered hurtful memories, but she fought the urge to mention them. Was that what he had said to the woman she caught him with at her house? Against her better judgment, ignoring the voice in her head telling her not to, she ran into the bathroom. Makei chased her, catching her and pulling her into his arms. They laughed like teenagers, enjoying the moment. They made love again in the shower before returning to his bed. Neither one of them could say a word after the powerful orgasm that pounded them senseless. All they could do was lie there, basking in the wetness of the sheets, from the naughty things they had just done to each other.

             
Makei embraced Demi as if he didn’t want to let her go, but still said, “I’m going to the gym, babe. Will you be here when I finish? I want to see you again.” He kissed her lips softly.

             
For a moment Demi wondered if they could pick up where they left off, before his betrayal, but quickly dismissed the thought. He hurt her. That was simply unacceptable. Pulling away from him, Demi told him no. He looked defeated, begging her to stay a little while longer with him. After refusing to give in, Demi got up to get dressed. Watching Makei take off for his home gym to work out without a care in the world, she felt her heart beat rapidly in her chest. This was the last time she would see him. He shouted over his shoulder that he could call her. Demi’s heart broke again as she finished dressing and walked downstairs to leave.

             
She could hear his loud grunting and breathing coming from the gym on her way out. It was intoxicating. She almost backed out of her plan, but when she saw the beautiful blonde woman standing outside Makei’s front door ringing the doorbell, all of the painful memories flooded her mind. He had scarred her for life and needed to die.

             
Turning toward the gym, Demi eased the door open slightly and watched him workout. As if on cue, Makei walked over to the weight bench and unleashed the heavy weight bar. Lying down, he pushed up as hard as he could. After a few reps, his arms slightly shook, but quickly steadied. In an instant, the weight bar came down on him. He made a muffled sound, and then there was silence. Makei’s body went limp. Blood oozed from the corners of his mouth. Demi turned around and walked out the back door. Tears ran down her cheeks. She covered her mouth as her heart skipped a beat. Makei meant more to her than she wanted to admit, and now he was gone. How could she do something so terrible?

             
The cab she called earlier was waiting down the street as directed. Demi ran to it and gave the cab driver instructions. Within minutes, she was back at her hotel. She packed her bags, checked out of the hotel, and was at the airport within the hour. Her flight to Paris was delayed, so she waited in the lounge.

             
Demi felt extremely emotional. She never got emotional. Makei was dead, but she was not happy about it at all. Maybe he had been a good guy after all. She ordered something to eat and despite it still being early, sipped her apple martini. Several people looked at her as if she had a problem drinking in the morning but Demi didn’t care. Too bad she and Makei would never get a chance to talk about where they went wrong. The long night with Makei had her exhausted, and she could not wait to get on the plane and feel the comforts of flying first-class.

             
The monitor in the lounge showed her flight had been scheduled to leave within the hour. Knowing she would be paying a visit to another name that shuttered her heart made her feel somewhat better. Demi fell hard for Chauncey Stratton, a college professor, only to be deceived, left heartbroken, and almost unable to graduate. At first, she used him for his money. Chauncey had a glamorous apartment and took Demi wherever she wanted to go, in and outside the country, but then she opened her heart to him. She was a sucker for an intelligent, charming, and older man. He reminded her of her father, from whom she never received love. Until their relationship became sexual, she pretended Chauncey and she were father and daughter when they went out in public. He did not find that amusing. He thought it was sick, and Demi stopped her charades after he told her so.

             
Chauncey taught her many different things about several cultures he studied. Although he was a professor of political science, he was learned in most topics. That was one of the things she first admired about him.

Her list was getti
ng shorter, and soon she would not have to look back, thinking of all the people living perfect lives, while she was left suffering the consequences of their actions. They would never have another chance to hurt another person, and certainly not her. Demi closed her eyes and allowed her memories to cloud her mind.

Chapter 6

             
WHEN DEMI attended Princeton, she met a professor by the name of Chauncey Stratton. At first, they did not get along well. He would pick on Demi in front of the entire class, making comments about her lack of knowledge concerning politics. He taught political science, and used her to boost his ego. Demi needed to take the course in order to graduate, but she cared nothing about it.

             
One day in class, while Professor Stratton was being a complete asshole, Demi simply spoke her mind about his rude comments and blatant assaults on her intelligence. He seemed to think that because she was a nice-looking young woman, she didn’t have much to offer male society but what was in between her thighs.

             
Demi was one of two women in the male-dominated class, which fueled her even more to prepare herself for the long semester. She researched everything she could find concerning politics, studying the different categories, positions, qualifications, and other aspects, starting the first day Professor Stratton picked on her. When she began speaking about current affairs and other important political events throughout history, Professor Stratton looked both humiliated and proud of her. That was the last time he picked on her, and they connected on a more personal level.

             
Their affair began her sophomore year. It was a wonderful romance, rapid paced affair. At the time, Demi did not know Chauncey, as he insisted she call him, was married with two daughters. He never gave her any reason to believe he was married. They spent all of their spare time together. Demi would also sit in on several of his lectures just to hear him speak about the topic he loved so dearly. Chauncey’s passion for political science gave her a new perspective on the way the United States’ government, as well as the governments of other countries, worked. She later found out that his family lived in Europe, Paris to be exact, and that would alter her life drastically.

             
One particular day, Demi was at her off-campus apartment that Chauncey had got for her so they could have privacy, when she received some strange mail addressed to him. She decided to open the letter, and that was how she learned of his marriage and the bad news about his son. Chauncey’s wife had been pregnant with a baby boy, slipped and fell down the stairs in their home, suffering a painful miscarriage. Her heart went off to them both, but she was devastated, crushed beyond words about the news.

             
Demi resealed the letter and placed it on the coffee table so that when he arrived later that evening he would see it. When Chauncey saw the letter, he grabbed it and locked himself inside her bathroom. It seemed like hours passed before he came out. He quickly apologized, saying he was not feeling well and was going home to lie down. The look on his face said all Demi needed to know. He was truly upset about the contents of the letter. No one wanted to hear of such loss, especially a man about his son. Days quickly passed without them talking. Demi missed him and wanted to call him, but thought it best if she let him deal with his situation peacefully without any distractions. She would have wanted the same courtesy if the shoe was on the other foot.

             
She told herself it would be okay because she loved him and he loved her. Maybe she did not know everything going on. Maybe he and his wife were having trouble and separated. But deep down in her heart, Demi knew that was a lie. Her heart had been broken again by someone she allowed into her life, a cycle that was becoming never-ending.

             
Their relationship was never the same after that day. In fact, Chauncey’s lies about seeing her got more outlandish. Demi refused to be a part of them. The day he returned from a short leave, he did not even look at her. Happy to see him, she waited in his office until he finished the rest of his classes. When he saw her there, he seemed surprised, yet disappointed at the same time. Demi could tell from the way he kept distance between them that he was not leaving his wife and family to be with her. He did not even give her a hug or kiss. When she tried to hug him, he pushed her away. Although he had just experienced a terrible, life-altering lost, Demi knew something more had caused him to withdraw from her.