Chapter 1
Gwen Anderson was standing on a chair, hanging curtains in the bedroom, when she saw the naked woman.
Gwen had turned on the record player, and the Strauss waltzes were filling the rooms of her beautiful new house. She was so happy, she was humming along with the music. She wanted to dance with joy.
At twenty-two, after four years of working for an insurance company, she had married the man she loved, Pete Anderson. She smiled with the love she felt at just thinking of Pete. He was so attractive, with his curly black hair, his black eyes, his tall lean figure. But more than that, much more, was the fact that he was gentle, and kind, and good. He was intelligent, and loved music as she did, and was wonderful, wonderful-
She checked her thoughts, laughing softly to herself in the big empty house.
"The happy bride," she said aloud, and chuckled. She reached up on tiptoe and made a pleat on the curtain rod so the sheer white curtains would hang properly.
Then she saw her. Gwen gasped. Her big brown eyes stared in utter fascination and disbelief.
The house next door in the exclusive suburb of Maple Heights was even larger than hers. Behind the two-story house was an oval swimming pool surrounded by a white picket fence. A woman lay on a green lounge beside the pool.
At first Gwen thought the woman was wearing a flesh-colored swimming suit. Then as she stared the woman sat up, reached for a bottle and began patting a liquid on her thighs.
"She is naked!" Gwen gasped. "Oh good grief!"
The woman had long curly red-gold hair that hung down to her shoulders. Her eyes were covered with enormous sunglasses. Her breasts were large, with dark nipples that Gwen could see even from that distance. Gwen's rapt gaze went from the enormous breasts down to the slim tanned waist then to the wide tanned thighs. The triangle of red hair was thick and curly. Gwen gulped.
She felt a rush of blood to her face. She jumped down from the chair, yanking the curtains into place.
The woman probably didn't realize, thought Gwen, that people had moved in next door. She believed she was in privacy.
But the vital image of that nude figure had burned itself into Gwen's brain. As she moved about her beautiful new home, she no longer hummed the Strauss waltzes. She felt strangely disturbed and uneasy.
Pete came home at five-thirty, and roared into the house.
"Where's my girl?" he yelled.
Gwen called, "In the kitchen!"
He came out to her. "Hey, something smells good!" He stood behind her at the stove, his hands on her waist, and kissed her cheek.
"Did you have a good day?" she asked, rather shyly. She was not used to this yet, his reaching for her possessively whenever she was near.
He nuzzled his head down into the flesh of her neck and put a string of kisses there. "Um. Good."
"Pete-please!" she finally protested. "I can't get dinner if-" His hands had moved to her firm breasts and were squeezing them. The picture of the naked woman flashed in her head again. Gwen squirmed away from Pete.
"Turn off the fires," he said huskily. He followed her to the kitchen table and reached for her again.
"No, Pete! It will ruin the dinner."
He frowned, his dark eyebrows expressing a quick anger. "We are married, aren't we? What's the matter with you?" ;
"Nothing. I just I'm not ready please, Pete, let's have dinner while it's hot."
He grumbled a little, but finally sat down. He grew more cheerful as they ate. He told her about a big insurance policy he had sold that day.
"Larry Crawford threw the deal my way," he exulted. "He's the greatest! He knew it would be a big one, but he's not one to hog all the top customers. We're sure in good with him now!"
Gwen stifled her real apprehensions as she listened. She had worked as a typist in the Crawford Insurance Agency for four years. Pete had only been there one year. He didn't really know Larry Crawford. The girls whispered about their young attractive boss. He had made a play for Gwen once, but she had to admit that when she had rebuffed him he had let her alone. He didn't seem to hold grudges.
"This was the smartest thing we could have done," Pete said, leaning back and gazing about the kitchen. "When Larry suggested we should move to Maple Heights, I knew we had to. Now he'll know we're in his class. The house is expensive, but brother we'll more than make it up in my commissions from now on!"
I'm sure we will," said Gwen, firmly. She wasn't at all that sure, but she had faith in Pete.
"If we could only afford to buy more furniture-" The black eyebrows frowned quickly.
Pete was so moody, she thought, so high one moment, so low the next. As she went to the refrigerator for ice cream, she paused to kiss his tanned cheek.
"We have the bedroom suite and the living room and kitchen. That's all we need for now. I hung the bedroom curtains this morning. They look so lovely." Even as she spoke, the image of the naked woman came again, the red-haired gorgeous woman who lived next door.
The image haunted her all evening. She and Pete did the dishes. They laid the rug in the living room, then moved the furniture several times till they were satisfied. The warm June evening finally cooled, and the breeze through the house became so brisk that they had to close the front and back doors.
"This is going to be wonderful in the summer," Pete exulted. "Not like our hotbox apartment in town. We're up on the heights. Larry says there is always a breeze at night. Larry says there is a fine swimming pool two blocks from here, and a shopping center one block the other way. Larry says-"
Gwen was tired of hearing "Larry says" but she listened patiently. Larry Crawford had been very good to them. The minute Pete had told Larry of his engagement to Gwen, Larry had given him a raise, laughing away his feeble protests.
"Any man who can get a gorgeous girl like Gwen deserves a raise," he had said.
And Larry had thrown Pete several fat prospects for insurance policies, even though Pete had worked less than a year for the Crawford Agency.
Gwen and Pete went to bed early, at Pete's insistence. Gwen undressed in the bathroom, nervously. She avoided looking at her image in the mirror as she removed her under things. She had never been in a bathroom that had a full-length mirror on the wall; it seemed indecent.
When she was ready, she paused to gaze at herself with shy doubt. She wore a short white nightgown that fell just below her knees. There were tiny pink roses on the embroidered hem and collar. The square neck set off her pink and white skin, the oval of her face, the brown curly hair that hung below her shoulders. The sleeveless gown was not sheer, but her flesh seemed to shine through it. Her breasts rounded out the bodice and the pink tips made pointed impressions on the cloth.
Pete seemed to go crazy every time he saw her like this. His craziness frightened her more than a little. Gwen sighed deeply, her brown eyes shadowing. She opened the bathroom door and went to the darkened bedroom.
Pete was already in bed, his tanned, body stretched out on the white sheet. He wasn't wearing anything. He had said it was too hot for clothes, but Gwen suspected it was because the clothes would get in his way.
He gazed at her as she snapped off the hall light. She could see his black eyes shining just before the light disappeared.
She came slowly over to the bed and got in on her side. As she had feared, he reached for her at once. Her body tensed as his arms closed around her.
"Sweetheart," he whispered. "My darling."
Then he was at her, pulling up the white gown. She braced herself for his rough attack. When they were engaged, he had never been rough. He had kissed her gently and touched her face with careful hands.
Now he was always rough. His brown hard hands rubbed over her bare thighs. He pulled and yanked at her bare legs. She bit her lips and rolled her head on the pillow. He had hurt her badly their wedding night, but she had not cried since then. She could endure it, because he enjoyed it so much.
His lean body came over hers. He nuzzled at her neck, muttering love words. Then the pain began. She shivered again and again as the thrusting movements seemed to tear her in two. The pain became unbearable. She opened her mouth to cry out. But at that moment, Pete shook and fell forward, and she felt the welcome ending of the embrace.
Gently she stroked his black hair. When it was all over, she could love him again. He was her darling, her love, she thought. He was her man, her husband. Nothing was too good for him. She would, she must get used to the pain.
He rolled off and lay beside her. She relaxed and composed herself for sleep. She was so tired. Her bones ached from the house-cleaning, and from her husband's rough handling.
A cool breeze came from the window. She pulled down her nightgown. Then, as the breeze was so cool, she reached for the sheet at the foot of the bed to pull it up.
"Not yet," said Pete's husky voice. He sat up and reached for her again.
She was startled and off-guard.
"Don't!" she said, and fought him. "Pete! Don't do that! Not any more!"
"I want more," he said urgently. His hands fumbled for the hem of her gown.
She couldn't take any more. She ached and burned from his previous treatment. She shoved at him with all her strength, seething with the injustice of it. She wanted her rest.
He panted, yanking at her.
"Stop it, Pete. Stop it!" When he didn't stop, she slapped his face.
He fell back, surprised.
"You're you're an animal!" she blazed. "You're just an animal! I'm tired! Can't you let me alone?"
"I just wanted-" he began in a muffled voice.
"Haven't you hurt me enough?" she cried. "Hurt!"
"Yes! You hurt me! Just like an animal, always wanting more!" She was thinking of the stallions on her father's horse farm in Kentucky. Pete made her remember the way the big black stallion had attacked a mare.
Then she realized she had gone too far. Pete was getting out of bed.
"Pete ... I didn't mean-"
He stalked out of the room. She heard him going down the stairs. She waited, but he didn't come back.
Well, let him sulk, she thought, punching her pillow. Let him be hurt. She had been hurt enough for this time.
But the thought worried her even as she drifted off to sleep. This was the first time she and Pete had ever quarreled.