Dark Perception: The Corde Noire Series (30 page)

“
Bring two vodka and sodas
with a twist of lemon and keep ‘em coming. We’ll order after we
drink.”

The waiter rolled his eyes. “Yes,
ma’am.”

After the young man scrambled away,
Ellie grabbed the menu from Melinda’s hand and slapped it down on
the table.

“
When did you sleep with
him?”

Melinda knew there was no point in
keeping the truth from Ellie. Like any good spy, she had an uncanny
knack for extracting secrets from anyone she cared
about.

“
The night of the
party.”

“
The party!” Ellie grunted
with annoyance. “Jack hasn’t stopped talking about that
party.”

“
Then you know who his
mother is?”

“
It does explain why he
could afford to buy all those coffees for us over the years. But so
what if he comes from a wealthy family? Maybe he didn’t want to
tell us about it because he was ashamed.”

“
Ashamed?” Melinda roared.
“Ashamed that his mother is loaded and lives in a million-dollar
home on the lake? He was afraid of telling us because he thought we
would use him for his money.”

Ellie peered around at the neighboring
tables. “Hey, you don’t tell people you can see the future because
you don’t want them to use you for your gift. What’s the friggin’
difference?”

“
He lied, Ellie.” She
thumped her fist on the table. “He let me believe he was just like
us, but he wasn’t anything like us. Doesn’t that infuriate you …
that he lied to us?”

“
You need to just calm
down.” Ellie’s blue eyes came together with concern. “Melinda,
lying is when you purposefully tell someone a false truth. Jack
never said anything to us in the first place, so how was it a
lie?”

“
Not telling you something
is the same as lying.”

Ellie leaned back on her bench. “And
what aren’t you telling me right now?”

Dropping her eyes, Melinda pretended
to adjust the sleeve on her blouse. “What are you talking
about?”

“
There’s something wrong
with this pretty picture you’re trying to shove in front of me.
What I’m seeing doesn’t add up, Melinda. What’s really going on
with you and Nathan?”

Melinda squirmed in her chair. “He’s
been trying to close on this big deal to develop the old power
station on Market Street. Jack’s mother is one of the
backers.”

“
That should make things
interesting.”

Melinda fiddled with the silverware in
front of her. “He plans on turning this property into a retail and
upscale apartment complex. He says he wants me to live with him in
an apartment he’s going to have at this new
development.”

“
Live with you as a wife or
girlfriend?” Ellie badgered.

“
He’s talking about kids
and minivans. Does that give you any idea?”

Ellie rested her hands on the table,
looking grim. “Mrs. Nathan Cole. Do you want that?”

“
He’s awfully good to me,
Ellie.” Melinda touched her emerald and diamond necklace. “He took
me to a private show for this local artist at some fancy mansion on
Prytania Street, and I got to pick out some paintings for his
penthouse. Then, last weekend we went to a party at The New Orleans
Museum of Art. It was a benefit for the—”

“
Do you like this life,
Melinda? Because when you talk about going to these places I don’t
see the usual sparkle in your eyes. You look run-down, and you’ve
been fidgeting since you sat down at this table.”

Melinda viewed the patrons in the
restaurant, struggling to find the words to explain exactly how she
was feeling.

“
Have you been writing your
music?” Ellie demanded.

Melinda turned back to her. “I’ve been
home a lot during the day while Nathan is tied up at meetings, so
I’ve been doing nothing but working on my music.”

“
How is that going for
you?”

Wringing her hands together, Melinda
shook her head. “I can’t quite get into the flow of it. I don’t
understand it. I used to be able to sit at my keyboard and the
melodies would just pour out of me. Lately, it’s like I can’t hear
the music in my head anymore.”

“
Maybe you’re hearing
something else in your head?”

Flustered, Melinda crinkled her brow.
“Like what?”

A hint of a smile brightened Ellie’s
countenance. “Not what Melinda, who.”

Their waiter reappeared, carrying a
tray of drinks in his hand. “Your order, ladies,” he announced, and
placed the drinks on the table.

“
Why don’t you bring out an
order of Crabmeat Cheesecake to start, and then two Palace Burgers
for our entree?” Ellie suggested.

“
I don’t think I can eat a
burger, Ellie, I’ll just—”

Ellie shook her finger at Melinda,
silencing her. “Nonsense. You’re as skinny as a wet cat.” Ellie
looked to their waiter. “Add extra fries with those burgers,
too.”

The waiter nodded and hurried to
another table.

When Melinda reached for her drink,
Ellie’s hand clamped down on her arm.

“
What in the hell is that?”
She pushed up Melinda’s shirtsleeve.

Melinda quickly withdrew her hand and
covered the dark bruises on her wrist with her sleeve.

“
It’s nothing,” she
commented while hiding her hands beneath the table.

“
So that’s it.” Ellie
arched closer to the table, her blue eyes alight with concern.
“Look, kiddo, I liked to be tied up and humped like a jackrabbit in
heat every once in a while myself, but it doesn’t leave bruises
like that.”

“
Nathan got a little
carried away the other night, that’s all.”

Ellie said nothing for a moment as
Melinda reached for her drink.

“
Do you like what he does
to you?” she finally asked.

Melinda gulped back a swig of her
vodka and soda. “He can be very tender and gentle. Then there are
some nights when he gets a little …”

“
What?” Ellie
interrogated.

“
Rough.” Melinda put her
drink down on the table with a thud.

“
Does he hurt
you?”

Melinda ran her fingers along the rim
of her glass. “In the beginning, I liked it, but he’s changed
lately. He knows he gets carried away, and he tries to make it up
to me.”

“
With presents like that
necklace, I suppose.” Ellie sat back on her bench, grimacing.
“Melinda, you’re a big girl, and if you want to stay with this man,
it’s your choice, but I’m just wondering … why are you doing this?
You never struck me as the kind to sell yourself to the highest
bidder.”

“
What do you suggest I do?
Go back to Jackson Square?” Melinda emphatically shook her head. “I
can’t do that. I can never go back.”

“
Why?” Ellie waited for her
response but Melinda kept her eyes glued on her drink. “Is it Jack?
Is he the reason you don’t want to come back?”

“
He was my friend, Ellie,
and he lied to me. What difference does it make if I stay with
Nathan or go back to the Square?” Melinda gathered her purse.
“Either way, I’ll be in the same boat. At least with Nathan, I can
have a future. He’s making arrangements for me to record my music
at Canal Street Studios next month. Nathan has done more for me in
the last few weeks than Jack ever did in the past couple of years.”
She shimmied her way across the booth.

“
But Jack never meant to
hurt you. Nathan I’m not so sure about,” Ellie argued.

Melinda stood from the bench. “It’s
just sex, Ellie, a little rough sex between two consenting
adults.”

“
I think it’s more than
that to Nathan. I’ve always gotten a strange vibe from that man.”
Ellie glimpsed the black collar. “This is about possession to him.
He thinks he owns you.”

Melinda tucked her purse under her
arm. “He cares for me, Ellie, he doesn’t own me. There’s a
difference.”

“
Then I guess you got what
you’ve always wanted. But I don’t think everything turned out quite
like you expected. Men like Nathan want everyone else to live by
their terms, no matter the consequences. You need to think about
leaving before it’s too late.”

“
Too late? Really, Ellie,
you’re being overly dramatic.”

“
Melinda, wait.” Ellie
scooted to the end of the bench and rose to her feet. “You need to
consider leaving before Nathan Cole refuses to let you
go.”

“
You haven’t seen what I
see when I read his thoughts. He’s not like that.” Melinda turned
to go.

Ellie grabbed her arm and spun Melinda
around to face her. “There are some things even you can’t see,
Melinda. Things that are meant to be.”

Melinda shook off her words and then
her arm. “I should be getting back. I’m sorry I can’t stay for
lunch. Good-bye, Ellie.”

Melinda hurried to the restaurant
exit, Ellie’s warnings still spinning in her head. She knew Nathan
wasn’t the monster Ellie described. Melinda didn’t want to believe
Nathan could ever be more than the attentive and devoted man she
had come to know. But then she thought of the white mist in her
storage room and the stories she had heard about Julie. Soon,
Melinda’s certainty began to crumble, and like a body weighted down
in the water, the doubt she had tried so hard to suppress rose to
the surface.

For the first time in her life,
Melinda was beginning to fear the future.

Chapter 18

“
How was lunch?” Nathan
inquired over the intercom almost as soon as Melinda walked into
her apartment.

She shut her front door before she
answered. “I left early.”

“
Why? I thought you were
looking forward to seeing Ellie.”

“
Nathan, I …” Instead of
saying what was on her mind, she threw her fancy leather handbag at
the sofa. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

There was silence over the intercom.
For a second, Melinda wondered if he was even listening. She stared
at the speaker, debating if he was still there. When Melinda heard
the knock on her front door, she knew it was Nathan. It was always
Nathan.

Reluctantly, she turned the doorknob,
making sure to put on a happy face. He had been complaining about
her constant frown lately, and she wanted to avoid making him
angry. She didn’t like it when Nathan got angry.

“
What happened, baby?” he
questioned, strutting in the door.

“
Why are you dressed like
that?” She pointed to his jeans and long-sleeved T-shirt. “I
thought you had a meeting this afternoon with Denise’s
backers.”

“
I canceled it.” He shut
her door. “I needed to get caught up on paperwork and figured
everyone could use a breather from this Market Street
deal.”

“
Why does everyone need a
breather?” She ambled toward the kitchen.

“
When a deal comes to a
head, either about to happen or fall apart, everyone gets burnt
out, me included. I find if I purposefully step back, it makes
people wonder what I’m up to. The backers get nervous and so do
their attorneys. You’d be shocked at how quickly decisions get made
after a breather.”

Melinda went to the kitchen cabinet by
the sink. “You amaze me. A multimillion-dollar deal on the brink
and you take a step back.” She set a bottle of vodka on the
beige-granite countertop.

“
It’s not even one,
Melinda.” He came up behind her. “What are you doing?”

“
I need a
drink.”

“
What happened with Ellie?”
Nathan seized her hand and the bruises on her wrists peeked out
from beneath her sleeve. “Did she see these marks and ask a million
questions?”

Melinda wrenched her hand from his and
covered her wrist with her sleeve. “Not a million questions, but
damn near.”

He pressed his back against the
countertop. “I’m sorry. I get carried away sometimes, but I thought
you liked it. I’m just trying to please you.”

She carefully considered what to tell
him, not wanting to arouse his wrath. “I do like it, Nathan, but
lately…”

He lowered his head to her. “But what,
baby? If you want me to stop, I’ll stop. I’ll do whatever you
want.”

Relief flowed through her like a
mountain stream. “Really?”

“
Is that what’s been wrong
with you lately? You haven’t wanted to tell me what you were
thinking?” He embraced her, holding her close. “Melinda, I’m not a
monster. If I hurt you, I’m sorry. But part of playing the game is
telling me what pleases you and what doesn’t. You need to express
yourself and not keep your feelings hidden. Being a good submissive
isn’t just about following my directions, but giving me direction,
as well.”

She relaxed into his chest. All the
worry Ellie’s dire predictions had created disappeared. Melinda
felt calmer than she had in days.

Pulling Melinda by the hand, Nathan
led her to the sofa, urging her to sit. He settled down next to her
and eased her against him. As she rested her head on his chest, he
gently stroked her hair.