Dark Perception: The Corde Noire Series Read online

  “No, Melinda, use your mouth. I don’t want a hand job.”

  She gazed up at him, trembling. “I—I don’t know how to do that.”

  “What?” He rocked forward, appearing shocked. “You’ve never given a man a blow job?”

  She shook her head, feeling utterly humiliated. “No, never.”

  With a cruel grin, Nathan stared down at her. “I find that hard to believe.”

  Her lower lip quivered. “Josh never … he never taught me.”

  His grin receded, replaced by an indulgent smile. “Fine. I’ll teach you.” He took her head in his hands and positioned her mouth over his lap. “Take me in your mouth.”

  She licked her lips and lowered her mouth over his tip. It was an odd sensation, having a penis in her mouth. It was nothing like the cucumber she had practiced with in high school.

  “Move your mouth up and down. Think of it as having sex with your mouth.”

  She started bobbing her head, making sure to keep her lips tightly wrapped around his shaft.

  “Yes, that’s it,” he moaned.

  Melinda kind of liked having a man in her mouth. It wasn’t as uncomfortable as she’d thought it would be. In some ways, it made her feel in control. Emboldened by her newfound power, she began experimenting, using her tongue to tease him more, slowing down and then going faster.

  His hands clasped around her head, trying to control her speed, but she ignored him. Melinda was going to enjoy teasing him just as much as he had been teasing her.

  Without warning, Nathan wrenched her mouth away from his cock. “You’re a little vixen, aren’t you?” He held her head as his face loomed before her. “Two can play at that game.”

  With an unexpected show of strength, he lifted her onto the sofa. Positioning Melinda on her back, he squatted over her face.

  “Every time you tease me with your mouth, I will tease you.” He pried her knees apart and lowered his head between her legs.

  She was about to close her mouth over his throbbing erection when she felt his hands on her folds. Then something soft brushed over her clit, making Melinda tense.

  Oh, God, was that his tongue?

  “Make me come, Melinda, and I will do the same for you.”

  Nathan lowered his hips over her face. Taking him into her mouth, she eagerly began to run her lips up and down his shaft, but when his tongue started drawing circles around her clit, she couldn’t concentrate on what she was doing. His cock slipped from her mouth and rubbed against her cheek.

  He slapped her clit hard and she cried out. She struggled to get away as tears filled her eyes, but he had her trapped beneath him on the sofa.

  “Do it right,” he growled.

  She started again, this time trying to block out the delight his mouth was creating. With his every lick, she would drive him deeper into her mouth. Soon, she was pumping her lips against his shaft in a sort of frenzy, keeping time with his tongue against her clit.

  When he trembled and groaned, her mouth filled with his cum. She wanted to gag, but didn’t think that would be a good idea. Swallowing back the salty taste of him, she scraped her teeth against the tip of his cock as she pulled away. In response, he bit down on her clit, sending her into the most breathtaking orgasm. Her body lurched forward, tingling with ribbons of ecstasy.

  For several seconds they stayed locked together on the sofa, breathing hard.

  Nathan moved off her and swept her red hair away from her face. “You’ve got a very talented mouth, baby.” He ran his hand down her chest, teasing her right nipple. Then he held the vibrator in front of her face. “We’re going to do this again.”

  Sitting up on her elbows, Melinda watched as Nathan switched on the vibrator and lowered it between her legs. When he eased the vibrator into her, Melinda slammed back against the sofa. It was too much. She was already so sensitive, she felt as if she were a tightly coiled spring about to burst.

  Nathan wrestled her hands over her head and pressed his weight on top of her, making sure she couldn’t move a muscle. “A lesson in following directions, my girl.”

  The vibrator hummed away inside her, the agony of its constant stimulation making her whimper into his chest.

  “Nathan, please.”

  “Sir,” he mumbled into her hair. “Please, Sir.” He bit down on the nape of her neck. “I’m going to leave that inside you until I have watched you come again, and again, and again.”

  As her body trembled at the onslaught of her orgasm, she gritted her teeth. “Why are you doing this?”

  He kissed her grimacing mouth. “Because you’re mine.”

  Chapter 15

  Sitting at her keyboard, Melinda kept replaying the episode on Nathan’s sofa over in her head. Something like that should have made her feel humiliated and cheap. Instead, she had found the entire experience liberating.

  “What’s wrong with me?” She played a single note on her keyboard. “A year ago I would have been running for the door. Now, I can’t wait to do it again.”

  A knock at the front door thankfully saved her from any more self-recrimination. Hoping it was Nathan, back early from his meeting, she trotted out of her bedroom.

  “Hello, Miss Harris,” a mustached man with green eyes said when she opened the door. “I’m Marv Spell, the buildin’ supervisor. Mr. Cole said you needed some changes made to the intercom system and a lock put on that storage door of yours.”

  Wearing a pair of blue jean overalls and a beat-up denim cap, he carried a red toolbox in one hand and a clipboard in the other.

  Melinda waved him into her apartment. “Yes, Marv, come in, and please call me Melinda.”

  Marv gave her a bright, gapped-tooth smile. “Sure thing, Melinda. Mr. Cole told me to come on up first thing. I hope that’s okay?”

  “It’s fine, Marv.”

  He nodded to the intercom system by the door. “I’ve got to pull this out and change some of the wirin’ inside. Mr. Cole said he wanted a direct link from your place to his. Told me you keep gettin’ spooked by the ghosts.”

  Melinda hesitated, unsure if Marv was joking with her or serious. “The ghosts?”

  “Damn place is crawlin’ with them. They love to leave the water faucets on, play with the lights, and are constantly burnin’ out light bulbs in the lobby.”

  “So you actually believe in ghosts, Marv?”

  He chortled, sounding like a donkey. “Hell, yeah! Maintenance guys always believe in ghosts. What else is gonna explain all the weird crap I’ve seen in this buildin’?”

  Enthralled, she ventured closer to him. “What have you seen?”

  He set his toolbox on the floor. “Floatin’ white shadows that disappear behind doors, doors openin’ and closin’ on their own, not to mention all the crazy knockin’ sounds in the lobby walls.” He reached into his toolbox and selected a flat-head screwdriver. “Mr. Cole doesn’t like us talkin’ about the ghosts ‘cause he’s afraid it’ll drive away tenants. He just doesn’t understand that this is N’awlins … everybody’s used to livin’ with ghosts in this town.” He turned his focus to the intercom panel.

  “You’re from here?” She’d guessed he was by his accent.

  He began unscrewing the outside plate on the intercom. “Yeah, grew up in the Ninth Ward. I got a daughter in Lakeview. She’s a nurse and married to this real nice doctor. They got themselves a big house on the lake.”

  Melinda’s mind filled with images of a little girl in a bright yellow dress. “And your granddaughter?”

  Marv stopped unscrewing the panel and stared at her. “I don’t have a granddaughter.”

  “You will.”

  Marv glimpsed the screwdriver in his hand. “You got the sight, don’t ya, girl?”

  Melinda nodded. “My grandmother called it the dark perception.”

  “With me it’s spirits. They told me ‘bout my granddaughter a while back. She’ll be born in the fall of next year.”

  “Then you understand.” Melinda relaxed, re
lieved to find another like her. “With me it’s mostly visions about what will come, but I can read people, too. I see their thoughts.”

  “That’s why Mr. Cole wants you. He wants you to read people for him, don’t he?”

  Melinda turned away from his inquisitive eyes. “I was a tarot card reader for tourists at Jackson Square. Nathan Cole was one of my clients. When he offered me this job and an apartment in his building … well, it would have been stupid to pass it up.”

  “So you’re sayin’ this job is a step up for you?”

  “In some ways.” Melinda faced the hallway and her eyes landed on the metal door of the storage closet. “I just wish my apartment wasn’t haunted.”

  “Your apartment ain’t haunted,” Marv insisted behind her. “Most of the activity is on the first floor. I’ve never seen nothin’ in here.”

  “No, there’s something in that storage room. I’ve seen a white mist of a woman in there.”

  “I ain’t never seen a woman in there, and I was up here a lot when Miss Julie lived here.”

  Melinda wheeled around to him. “You knew Julie?”

  Marv returned to unscrewing the intercom panel. “I knew her,” he mumbled, keeping his eyes lowered. “She claimed she was a decorator. Mr. Cole let her redo his penthouse and this apartment, but she knew as much ‘bout decoratin’ as I know ‘bout makin’ a dress.”

  “Why do you say that, Marv?”

  “She wasn’t exactly educated. Don’t get me wrong … she tried her best to learn ‘bout fabrics and coordinatin’ furniture. I think Mr. Cole meant well and tried to make her a real lady, but she couldn’t overcome her past.”

  Melinda’s skin prickled. “What past?”

  “Miss Julie was a sweet girl, but from the wrong side of the tracks, if you know what I mean. She was the girlfriend of some mafia guy when Mr. Cole met her at a party. A few days later, he moved her in here. She stayed for a few months, and everyone knew Mr. Cole was crazy ‘bout her, but then one day she was gone. Packed up her stuff and left durin’ the night.”

  “Do you know where she went?”

  He pulled off the panel from the intercom. “I never asked. I don’t think she had friends in town, ‘cause she never went out, ‘cept with Mr. Cole. No one ever came to visit her, neither. She was a real private lady.”

  “Just like Mr. Cole,” Melinda affirmed. “Everyone tells me he’s a private man.”

  Marv removed some wires from the back of the intercom panel. “Mr. Cole just likes to keep his private life private. After Miss Julie started up with him, she became more like a recluse.”

  “That sounds odd. Did she never go out at all?”

  Marv put his screwdriver back in his toolbox and selected his wire cutters. “When she first moved in, she was seen ‘round the buildin’ a lot, doin’ her decoratin’ thing. After a while, she spent most of her time in this apartment and never went out. I always thought it was a shame ‘cause she was a real pretty young lady. Should have been out enjoyin’ herself, you know?”

  “What did she look like?”

  He clipped one of the wires. “Dark hair, pale skin, and bright brown eyes. She had real nice eyes.”

  Melinda’s stomach twisted. “Brown eyes, not green?”

  “No, hers were brown, but always kind of sad, if you know what I mean.”

  Melinda remembered the green eyes she had seen in her bedroom. She tried to recall as much detail as she could about the other times she had seen the mist in the storage area.

  “That’s it for this panel.” Marv pointed to the console with his wire cutters. “All you have to do is press this yellow button to get Mr. Cole. If you keep it pressed down, he can listen in for as long as you need. Just in case you get spooked again. I have to go to the main board in the basement and program the connection, but it’ll be ready by this afternoon.” He glanced at the hallway past the living room. “I’ll do the one in your bedroom next, and then I’ll put that dead bolt on the storage closet door for you.”

  “I’d appreciate that. The door always seems to open on its own.”

  Marv put his wire cutters back in his toolbox. “Yeah, must have bothered Miss Julie, too. When I came up here after she left, I found a padlock had been put on that door. Mr. Cole told me to get you a strong deadbolt with a key to make sure you could lock it up real secure.”

  Melinda felt a trickle of dread circle in her stomach. She tried to analyze why she was having the sensation, but nothing came to her.

  Marv popped the intercom panel back into place. “How long have you had the sight?”

  Melinda turned from the door and went to the kitchen. “I was four when I saw my first vision. I thought it was a cartoon, until I told my mother about it.”

  “Your mother’s still with you, Melinda. She’s close by. There’s another lady ‘round, too. She’s older and real worried ‘bout you.”

  Aghast, she faced Marv. “You see them?”

  He retrieved a screw from the floor. “I feel spirits, but I’ve never had the sight in my head like you. I just know there are two women here with ya.”

  “Do you feel anyone else?”

  He shook his head. “All I feel is what’s ‘round you. They’re tryin’ to protect you.”

  Melinda chuckled as she turned back toward the kitchen. “Well, at least that hasn’t changed. My grandmother, the older woman you feel, was always trying to protect me. Sometimes, I think, too much.” She shooed the memories from her mind. “Would you like some coffee?”

  “Thanks. I take it black.”

  Melinda went to the cabinet above her kitchen sink. “My grandmother never understood that I didn’t want to be special, I wanted to be normal.” She pulled two mugs out of the cabinet and carried them to the coffeemaker.

  “You and me ain’t normal, Melinda. We’ll never be. We see the world differently from normal folks, and ‘cause of our gifts, we’re more susceptible to bein’ hurt. Your grandmother knew that, and that’s why she hangs around.”

  Melinda lifted the coffeepot from the warming plate. “Grandma Teresa always said she would be there for me no matter what. I sometimes wondered if I was crazy for thinking she was still here. Thank you for confirming my suspicions.”

  “And your mother? She’s still here for you, too,” he called from the door.

  She filled the two mugs with coffee. “My mother knows how I feel,” she softly said.

  When she carried the mugs to the front door, Marv had just replaced the last of the screws in the intercom panel. He took the mug from her hand and returned his screwdriver to his toolbox.

  “Does Mr. Cole know about your gift?” she asked, clutching her warm mug.

  He blew on his coffee. “I’d be grateful if you didn’t say nothin’. Mr. Cole might have hired you for your gift, but he didn’t hire me for mine.”

  “I understand. It’ll be our secret.”

  “Thanks, Melinda.” He took a sip from his mug.

  “‘Birds of a feather have got to stick together,’ my grandmother used to always say.”

  “Your grandmother thinks that’s funny,” he commented, lowering the mug from his lips.

  “About what I said?”

  He smiled at her. “No, that you remembered what she taught you. If we can remember half of what our parents tried to teach us, then we’ve got a pretty good shot at makin’ a decent life for ourselves. That’s what my mother taught me.”

  “Do you see her here, as well?”

  Marv chuckled. “Nah, she lives in Baton Rouge.”

  * * *

  It was well after seven the following evening when Melinda heard a light rap on her front door. She found Nathan, leaning against the doorframe and holding a single red rose in his hand. He had rolled up his white shirtsleeves, exposing the rope-like muscles in his forearms. His light gray silk tie was slightly askew and the sharp crease in his black pinstripe suit trousers had been replaced by a few wrinkles. She stared into his brown eyes, noted their weary appe
arance, and saw the worry lines etched slightly deeper on his brow.

  “Was your meeting that bad?”

  His condescending smirk resurfaced. “I thought you would have already seen that in your visions.”

  Melinda was getting real tired of Nathan’s continuous grilling about her ability. He was starting to sound like all the other men she had dated.

  “No, I didn’t see it in my visions,” she shot back. “I’m psychic, Nathan, not omnipotent.”

  “Forgive me. I shouldn’t have said that.” He handed her the rose. “Negotiations are always bad at this stage. There’s a lot of planning to do before we meet with Denise’s people. I wanted to call earlier, but I didn’t finish with the accountant until after six.”

  She smelled the fragrant aroma of the flower. “Thank you. It’s lovely.”

  “I hate to admit it, but I didn’t get the rose for you. It came with the dinner I have waiting for us. Ruth’s Chris Steak House has catered our meal for the evening.” He grinned and rolled his eyes. “I figured I should make up for my steak fiasco from the other night.”

  “How did you find time to do that?”

  He pulled her into his arms. “I didn’t. Edna did. I just told her dinner for two from Ruth’s.”

  “Does she know about us?”

  “If she does, she never said a word to me, but everyone around here will find out soon enough.” He kissed her on the lips and Melinda’s heart quickened. He deepened his kiss and as Melinda’s lips parted for him, he pulled away. He sighed against her cheek. “We’d better get back to my place before the food gets cold. We can pick this up later.”

  “Promise?”

  “You can count on it, baby.” Nathan led her from the apartment. “Did Marv come up and get everything done?” he asked as he circled his arm around her waist.

  They started down the hall toward his penthouse doors. “Yes, yesterday. The intercom system is up and running between your place and mine, and he gave me a key to the lock on the storage room door.”

  “That should help keep your ghosts secure until I can get someone in here to tear out that room.”