Dark Attraction: The Corde Noire Series (15 page)

Sam kept an eye on Nathan. “It does that sometimes. You can never tell in this building. The temperature changes so quickly.”

Brynn’s light chuckle carried around the elevator. “Reminds me of Nathan. He blew hot and cold like that.”

“That’s exactly what I would expect from her,” Nathan grumbled. “Ask her why she’s here, Sam. I want to know how long I will have to put up with her.”

“Are you staying in New Orleans long, Brynn?”

Brynn tilted her head to the side. “Permanently, I’m afraid. Nathan had quite a few business interests here, so I’m relocating to the city to oversee them.”

“That must be quite an undertaking. Stepping in like that.”

“I’m not doing it all on my own. An old associate of Nathan’s is helping me. Carl has been very kind.”

Sam noticed how Nathan’s face sobered. “Carl?” she inquired.

“Carl Bordonaro,” Brynn clarified. “Ever heard of him?”

“Ah, no.” Sam kept her eyes on Nathan, disturbed by the change in him. “But I don’t know anyone in the city. I just moved here a few months ago.”

“Tell her to stay away from him,” Nathan hissed.

Sam could see Nathan’s rage building in his brown orbs, but steered clear of granting his request. “Has there been any news on Nathan’s whereabouts?”

Brynn sighed as the elevator slowed. “None. Whatever happened, I suspect he won’t be coming back.”

“Is that a good thing?” Sam ventured.

Nathan turned his angry eyes to her. “Careful, Sam.”

Brynn’s heartfelt smile made her delicate features glow. “A very good thing. Don’t get me wrong, Sam, I would never have wished ill of Nathan, but now that he’s gone, I’m relieved. He wasn’t the easiest of men to deal with. We had a difficult marriage.”

“Only when out of bed, Yvette.” Nathan let his gaze wander over his ex-wife’s toned figure. “Between the sheets, we were very good together.”

The elevator doors opened and Sam turned to Brynn. “Can I ask you a question?”

Brynn nodded. “Of course, Sam.”

“Why did Nathan always call you Yvette?”

The woman’s countenance clouded with fear. “How did you know that?”

Sam shrugged, trying to assuage her dread. “The few times he mentioned you, he called you Yvette. I was just wondering why?”

The explanation seemed to calm her and her pretty smile returned. “He hated the name Brynn. Thought it sounded too masculine. Probably the reason I write under it now. It always pissed him off.”

“Still does,” Nathan remarked.

Unable to contain her smirk, Sam stepped from the elevator. “It was a pleasure meeting you, Brynn. A real pleasure.”

“We’re not through, dear girl,” Nathan bellowed.

“Good evening, Sam,” Brynn called out, right before the elevator doors closed.

Sam stood by the silver doors, grinning from ear to ear as she thought of Nathan’s ghost trapped in the building run by his ex-wife.

“I guess there is a Hell after all, eh, Nathan?”

Sebastian entered the elevator at The Shallows and hit the button for Sam’s floor. He had returned from his business trip early, anxious to see her. The three days he had planned in Houston, to negotiate the building contracts with Alvin Shipyards, had to be cut short because he couldn’t concentrate on anything his lawyers were telling him. Leaving his chief council to finish without him, Sebastian had taken the corporate jet and hightailed it back to New Orleans.

He kept scolding himself for his impatience, knowing he had given her three days to come to a decision, but he couldn’t wait to see if she had questions, or worse … was ready to call off the whole thing.

When the elevator finally opened, he hurried out. Reaching Sam’s door, he hesitated. He had brought her keys and was going to use them, but he didn’t want to turn her off, not yet … not when he was so close to possessing her. He was about to raise his hand to knock when he heard voices on the other side. Listening carefully, he heard Sam, and it sounded like she was arguing with a man. The voice was difficult to place, but then it came back to him. It couldn’t be. Was that … Nathan Cole? Furious, Sebastian yanked her keys from his jacket pocket.

After fighting with the lock, he shoved the door open. When he saw in her entrance hall, her blue eyes wide with fright, Sebastian immediately barreled in her doorway. But there was no one there. Sam was standing alone in her living room.

“Sebastian, what are you doing here?”

“Where is he? Where is Nathan Cole? I heard his voice, Sam.”

Sam raised her head to him. “There’s no one here, Sebastian. And Nathan Cole is … gone. We both know that.”

“But I heard him.” Sebastian didn’t believe her. He’d had enough dealings with Nathan to know that smooth voice of his. She had to be lying.

Leaving her, he marched down the short hall to her bedroom, but it was empty. Making a beeline for her bathroom, he expected to find the man hiding in the shower, but there was nothing.

Running his hand over his face, Sebastian was perplexed. He had heard the man’s voice, but there was no one else in the apartment.

“I must be losing it.”

*     *     *

“You really should tell him,” Nathan said, as he floated toward her breakfast bar.

Sam’s mind raced with explanations to give Sebastian. Unfortunately, the only ones she could come up with made him either question her sanity, or sent him running for her door.

“Shut up,” she whispered to Nathan. “Get out.”

“I simply came to plead my case, Sam.” His slithery smile made him appear even more sinister. “After your little performance in the elevator, I knew I would have to come to you.”

“Aren’t you supposed to stick to certain areas in the building?”

“It’s my building. I can come and go anywhere I please, dear girl.”

She rushed up to him. “Stay out of my apartment. You got that, Nathan?”

Nathan nodded to the hallway. “He’s coming back. Think again about my offer, Sam, or I will be forced to put on a very good show for our mutual friend.”

Sam’s heart was pounding when Sebastian came back into the living room. Hurling her keys to the coffee table, his nostrils flared.

“Whose voice was that, Sam?”

“There’s no one here, Sebastian.”

He came up to her, grabbing her arms. “I heard a man’s voice at the door. I didn’t imagine that.”

“What are you doing here? You weren’t supposed to be back until tomorrow.”

He let her go. “I came back early to see you. I couldn’t stand the suspense of not knowing if you were going to take me up on my offer.” He pointed to the open front door. “I left two accountants and three attorneys to finish an important negotiation so I could hurry back to you.”

“How sweet,” Nathan purred.

“Then I come here and discover ….” Sebastian left his words hanging as he combed his hand through his hair.

“To discover what, Sebastian? There is no other man here. I’m not seeing anyone else. How could you possibly—?”

“You’re still doing it, Sam.” Sebastian tossed up his hand. “You’re hiding something from me. You’ve been keeping something, some secret you’re afraid to tell me. I could always sense it there between us.”

Nathan chuckled. “He always was a very astute business man. And very good with the ladies, I might add.”

Ignoring the ghost, Sam went to Sebastian’s side. “I’m not hiding anything. I told you my big secret. What more do you want?”

“Liar,” Nathan chastised. “Tell him Sam, or I will.”  

“You expect me to believe that?” Sebastian’s eyes were swimming with disbelief. “I told you for this to work, you have to be completely honest with me. What are you so afraid of?”

Instead of arguing with him, Sam lowered her head. Perhaps it was time to end this, let him know about her ability, and then he would leave. It would be over and she could get on with her life.

“You’re going to do it, aren’t you?” Nathan clapped his translucent hands together. “Oh, bravo.”

“If I tell you the truth, you’ll leave and never come back,” she maintained.

Placing his hand under her chin, Sebastian raised her eyes to him. “I never run away from what I want, and I want you.”

Holding up her head, she leveled her eyes on him. “What if I were to tell you something that would scare the shit out of you? Would you want to hear that from me? Even if it was something that could jeopardize any hope we had of being together, would you want to know?”

“Sam, I think you’re being overly dramatic. What could possibly be so bad?” Sebastian gestured for her to speak up. “What? You’ve done time in prison, steal shoes for fun, or you have an evil twin?”

Running her fingers over her forehead, Sam turned to Nathan. “Tell me something only you would know. Something you two have shared.”

“What are you talking about, Sam?” Sebastian questioned.

She never answered him, but kept her eyes on Nathan.

Nodding in agreement, Nathan glanced up at Sebastian. “Tell him you know about Kimberly.”

She glared at Nathan. “Who’s Kimberly?”

“He met her through a mutual friend of ours, a painter named Ren Plancharde. Kimberly was one of Ren’s models. Sebastian commissioned a portrait of her from Ren, and when he broke it off, he gave me the painting. It still hangs in my penthouse.” 

Sam squared her shoulders, and when her eyes found Sebastian standing behind her, he looked as if he had seen a ghost.

“How did you know her name was Kimberly?”

“Who was she?”

Sebastian lowered his eyes. “The woman I was with for two years. The one who left me for another Dom.”

“You commissioned a portrait of her from that artist you told me about, Ren … something.”

“Plancharde,” Nathan called out, sounding annoyed.

“Yes, Plancharde,” Sam repeated. “When your relationship ended, you gave the painting to Nathan. It still hangs in his penthouse.”

Sebastian folded his arms, looking pissed. “So you’ve been to Nathan’s penthouse, is that what you’re telling me?”

“No, I’ve never been—”

“You belonged to Nathan, didn’t you? Is that your big secret? You were his.”

“No, I’ve never been anyone’s—I’ve never had sex, for goodness sake, and I’ve never been to Nathan’s penthouse. I’m trying to—”

“He told you about Kimberly before he disappeared, I take it.” Sebastian narrowed his gaze on her. “My question is why? What are you up to, Sam?”

Sam edged closer to him. “Nathan didn’t tell me about Kimberly before he disappeared, Sebastian. He just told me about the portrait. A few seconds ago, in this very room.”

The light of genuine surprise lit up his rugged features. “What are you talking about? There’s no one else here.”

“No one you can see.” She twisted her hands together. “You want to know the big secret I’ve been so afraid to tell you? I—I can communicate with the dead.” 

Silence. Stone cold silence greeted her. She counted off the seconds in her head as she stared at Sebastian, waiting for him to explode, scream, run … do something, but he didn’t move.

Nathan chuckled. “I think you’ve killed him, dear girl.”

“Say something,” she begged. “I can take anything but your silence, Sebastian.”

At first he shook his head, and then he began to chuckle. “If you really wanted to come up with a way to refuse my offer, Sam, all you had to do was say no. I didn’t need all the theatrics.”

“This is not a trick, it’s real.” She tossed her hands up in disgust. “I’ve had the gift all my life. I wish I didn’t, but I do, and now you and Piper are the only ones who know. I see ghosts everywhere I go. I hear them even more. It’s not like I can control it.”

He blew out a frustrated breath. “You expect me to believe that Nathan Cole is in this apartment with us.”

“His spirit is, yes,” she asserted.

“His spirit? So he’s dead.”

Sam nodded. “Pretty much.”

The light in his eyes changed and Sebastian cocked his head to the side. “Then why is he haunting you?”

Sam was taken aback by the question. “You believe me?”

“Now we’re getting somewhere,” Nathan floated toward her. “Sebastian can help you, Sam. He has the resources to help find out where I’m buried.”

Sam glanced over her shoulder at the ghost. “Is that why you’re bugging me, Nathan? To get Sebastian to help you?”

Sebastian held up his hands. “No way. Why would I help Nathan Cole?”

Sam shrugged. “I don’t know. He hasn’t told me that part yet.”

“Yet?” Sebastian wiped his hand over his face. “Sam, do you know how crazy this sounds?”

She was crushed by his statement; he didn’t believe her.

“There is something else you can say to convince him,” Nathan revealed.

Sam shook her head. “It’s hopeless.”

“Sam, tell Sebastian you know about the Corde Noire Society.”

“What is that?”

“The club we belonged to. The one for Doms like us. A place where there are no rules, no limits to our play.” Nathan motioned to Sebastian. “Tell him.”

Not entirely convinced Sebastian would believe her, Sam faced him. “Nathan just told me about that club you two belonged to. It’s called the Corde Noire Society.”

“How did you…?” Sebastian’s brow furrowed, and then his eyes slowly wandered around the living room. He stepped up to Sam’s side and took her elbow. “I think it’s time you come with me.”

“Where are we going?”

He ushered her toward the front door. “I’m getting you out of here.”

*     *      *

Driving along the darkened streets of the Central Business District, Sebastian kept a death grip on the leather steering wheel of his black Land Rover. Sam didn’t question where they were headed; she was just relieved he hadn’t run away.

After pulling into the garage of the Dane Shipping building, he took the car to the upper level and parked in a reserved spot next to an elevator marked Private.

Sam realized then he was taking her back to his place, but for what purpose?

He opened her car door and held out his hand to her. Grasping his hand, she stood from the car.

“You’re trembling, Sam.”

“I’m afraid.”

He lowered his head to her. “Of me?”

“No, of what you’re thinking.”

He let go of her hand and slipped his arm around her waist. “What I’m thinking might surprise you.”

“I don’t understand. Aren’t you scared of me? Don’t you think me some kind of mutant?”

He encouraged her toward the elevator doors. “Sam, I brought you here because I think there is something you need to understand about me.”

Inside the elevator, Sebastian punched in his private code and the car sped upward. As the floors whizzed by, nightmarish scenes rolled through Sam’s head. She pictured attendants in white coats waiting inside his penthouse, or Sebastian drugging her before he took her to some makeshift torture chamber. Resigning herself to whatever fate he had planned, she didn’t care what happened to her. She had lost any chance of being with Sebastian. Nothing else mattered anymore.