Dark Perception: The Corde Noire Series Read online

She crumpled to her side, exhausted. “Yes, Sir,” she moaned.

  “Good girl.” He stood up and tugged on the silver chain, forcing her to her feet. “Come with me.”

  Melinda struggled to her feet, her muscles quivering. Nathan led her down the short hallway to the storage room. Turning the key in the dead bolt, he opened the door and urged her into the stark white room.

  He unzipped his jeans. “Get down on all fours.”

  Too tired to argue, Melinda did as he asked.

  When Nathan plunged his cock into her, she once again came alive with yearning. Melinda wanted to curse her body for enjoying him. She was so aroused, the slightest movement from him sent tremors throughout her being. With every penetration, he compelled her closer to a powerful orgasm. She whimpered, struggling to hold back, refusing to let him have the satisfaction of manipulating her. She wanted to be able to resist him, to show him she could be the same determined Melinda she had once been.

  “Don’t fight me, baby. You know you want to come, and I will fuck you until you do.”

  Unable to defy him any longer, the avalanche of release overtook her. The only thing she could register were the pulsations in her groin. Melinda gave one long guttural cry and collapsed on the white-tiled floor.

  Nathan patted her backside. “Good girl.”

  Rolling over, she glowered up at him. “Do you enjoy humiliating me?”

  “I wasn’t humiliating you.” He stood up. “I was proving a point.”

  She sat up on her elbows. “Did you learn to do things like that from that society you belong to?”

  “The Corde Noire Society? Hardly.” He zipped up his jeans. “To be a member of our organization, you have to already know how to train a submissive like you. Our group is for Doms with particular tastes.”

  “What kind of ‘particular tastes’?”

  “Doms who like to play without restrictions.” Nathan wiped his hands together. “So many clubs nowadays advocate safe limits, either with elaborate contracts or supervised playrooms, keeping most Doms, like me, from enjoying the experience.”

  “What does that mean, Nathan?”

  He stooped down to her, flaunting a pompous grin. “It means that members of the Corde Noire Society can do anything they like to a sub. No rules, no limits … no repercussions.” He stood up. “It was Julie who introduced me to the society. She and I spent a lot of time in this room … playing.”

  Melinda froze. “I thought you said she used this for storage.”

  “No, I built this to be our playroom. You would never have guessed it by looking at her, but Julie was into all kinds of fun games.”

  Melinda’s eyes darted about the room. “Where is Julie, Nathan? Did you … do something to her?”

  “‘Do something’?” Nathan chuckled. “Really, Melinda, don’t be so dramatic. Julie’s alive and well and living with her mother in Philadelphia. I shipped her back home after I found out she and Doug Curtis, my former head of security, were planning on sneaking away together.”

  Inwardly, Melinda sighed with relief. “Then why do this to me? I’m not her.”

  He knelt beside her. “I truly believed you were different from Julie … and then Jack appeared. If given the opportunity, you might leave me for him. I can’t have that.”

  She boldly gazed into his eyes, hoping to add conviction to her statement. “No, I wouldn’t. I told you before, I can never go back to what I had with Jack.”

  He stood up, wiping his hands on his jeans. “But you care for him. More than you’re willing to admit.”

  “I cared for him, Nathan. But Jack means nothing to me anymore.”

  He glared down at her, scowling. “I don’t believe you, Melinda.”

  “I don’t know what else I can do to convince you.” Melinda scrambled to her feet and held out her bound wrists. “Take these off, so I can get dressed.”

  Sneering, he stood back from her. “You don’t give me orders, Melinda. I’ll keep them on for a while longer, until you learn your place.”

  She shook her wrists at him. “Please, Sir. I won’t do it again.”

  He took another step back. “You need to be broken, Melinda. This is the first step.” He turned toward the storage room door. “I’ll be back in time for dinner.” And then Nathan slammed the metal door closed.

  With the thud still reverberating in the room, Melinda ran to the door. She banged her fists against the cold metal. “Nathan, let me out of here. Come on, this isn’t funny.” She listened, but heard nothing from the other side. As the seconds ticked by, and then minutes passed, there was still no sign of her tormentor.

  She paced to keep warm in the frigid room. Occasionally, Melinda went to the door and tried the silver handle, but it was apparent that Nathan Cole had her right where he wanted her—locked away and safe from the eyes of any other man.

  Numb with fatigue, she sat on the floor and a vision came to her. A naked woman with shiny shackles on her wrists was coming toward her. Melinda saw her reflection in the mirror of her mind.

  “Run,” her image whispered.

  Melinda became sick to her stomach when she realized the shadowy figure she had seen in the storage room had not been a ghost, but a glimpse into her future.

  Chapter 19

  Melinda was curled up against the wall and shivering when the storage room door flung open. Nathan held up a pizza box, smiling at her.

  “Dinner, darling.”

  Melinda stiffly got up from the floor and limped to the door. “You son of a bitch. You left me in here for hours.”

  Nathan dropped the pizza box and grasped her bound hands as they attempted to take a swing at him. “Talk to me like that again and I will take a strap to you.”

  Ignoring his threat, she was about to rush past him and out of the room when he yanked at the black collar around her throat, pulling it tight. “You will do as I say, Melinda.” His mouth moved closer to her ear. “Can you see what I have planned for you?”

  She pawed at his hands, and then she saw his thoughts. Images of violence floated across his mind—violence he planned on inflicting on her if she didn’t cooperate. Knowing there was no way she could physically overpower him, Melinda nodded her head.

  “Good girl.” He let go of her collar. “Then we understand each other.”

  She rubbed her neck. “I know you like your games, Nathan, but why lock me up like this?”

  “Because you belong to me. You are my submissive … my slave. I will treat you just like the Southern plantation owners treated their slaves. I will beat you when you’re bad, and when you try to run away, I will lock you up. I need to make sure you stay loyal to me, and that no man can ever steal you away.” He picked up the pizza box. “Let’s eat.” He walked out the door and headed into the living room.

  When Melinda stepped into the hall, she made a beeline for her bedroom door. Unfortunately, Nathan stopped her by putting his arm around her shoulders.

  “Come sit in the living room. I’ve opened a nice bottle of pinot noir for us.”

  “I need to put some clothes on, Nathan. I’m cold.”

  His eyes swept up and down her body. “I like you this way. Come.” He urged her forward into the living room. After seating her on the sofa, he placed the pizza box on the coffee table in front of her. “I’ll get the wine.”

  She held up her bound wrists to him. “Untie me.”

  “I don’t think so, Melinda.” He flipped the lid open on the pizza box. “Eat.”

  Melinda took an unsteady breath and reached for a slice of the loaded meat pizza. She hungrily took a bite as she watched Nathan in her kitchen pouring deep red wine into two crystal glasses.

  “I want to hear you play your music again after dinner,” he chirped, sounding very pleased.

  “Play?” Melinda questioned as she swallowed down a gulp of pizza. “You expect me to play with my hands tied like this?” She held up her bound wrists.

  “Don’t be silly. I’ll will untie you for brief
intervals. When I know I can trust you, we won’t need the chain anymore.”

  “Is that why you’re doing this? Because you don’t feel you can trust me?”

  He picked up the glasses from the bar and set out across the living room. “I can’t trust you. Your little moment with Jack proved that. You were considering going away with him, weren’t you?” He took a seat next to her and placed her wineglass on the coffee table.

  “No, I wasn’t, Nathan. I’m committed to you.” She peered down at the pizza in her hands. “But how can you expect me to love you if you tie me up and leave me locked in rooms?”

  His cold, contemptuous laugh sickened Melinda. “Don’t bargain with me, Melinda, it won’t work. I know what it will take to make you mine, so just go along with the game plan. Once we’re married, I promise you will be free to do as you please.”

  She dropped her unfinished slice of pizza back in the box. “Any idea when that will be?”

  He took a sip of his wine. “When the Market Street deal is inked, I will get a justice of the peace up here to marry us, and after that we can plan a formal wedding.” He picked up her wineglass and handed it to her. “I just need to make sure you’re legally mine first.”

  Melinda took the wine and stared into the glass. On the inside, she was panic-stricken, but she could never let Nathan see that. She had to remain calm and keep her wits about her. She couldn’t let him win.

  “How will marrying me change anything?”

  Nathan tasted his wine. “When I’m your husband, I will have a say in your affairs. If you try to run away, I can claim to the authorities that you’re a danger to yourself. All the things you’ve told me about seeing ghosts and talking to the dead will make it pretty easy to have you committed for psychiatric observation.”

  “No one will believe you.”

  “Yes, they will. I’ve done it before.” A jolt ripped through her. “Yvette tried to leave me, so I had a physician friend I knew agree to put her away for a while. At least until I could get most of my assets out of her name. Not everything, unfortunately, but enough.” Nathan rolled his red wine about in his glass. “I can do the same with you. I know a lot of very influential people in this town. Do you know what I could have done to you if you even thought about leaving me?” He pointed to the pizza box. “You need to eat more than that.”

  “I’m suddenly not very hungry.”

  He thumped his wineglass down on her coffee table. “Then you can play your music for me.”

  She glanced down at her trembling hands. “I’m cold, Nathan. I need a hot shower and some warm clothes. I’ll be no good to you if I get sick, will I?”

  He looked her over and then nodded his head. “I will allow you to shower.”

  Leading her by the silver chain, Nathan took her to her bathroom. Pulling her to the shower, he turned on the hot water.

  While he was unbuttoning his shirt, Melinda held up her bound wrists to him. “Please untie me … Sir.”

  Instead of untying the silver chain, he removed the tennis necklace and black collar from around her neck. “I’ll wash you,” he said, setting the black silk cord and necklace on the vanity.

  She opened her mouth to object, but his withering gaze silenced her. “I will wash you and feed you, Melinda. That’s my job.” He dropped his shirt to the floor and removed the rest of his clothes. “I promise you will like me taking care of you.” He opened the shower stall door and reached in to check the water temperature. “Get in,” he ordered.

  She stepped into the cascade of hot water. Wiping her eyes, the silver chain rubbed against her wrists.

  Nathan came alongside her and removed a few strands of hair from her face.

  “Nathan, you can’t keep me like this forever.”

  “Not forever, darling.” He lifted a bottle of lavender-scented bath wash from the shower shelf. “Just until I own you … body and soul.”

  * * *

  After bathing her and drying her hair, Nathan dressed Melinda in her white nightshirt and blue terrycloth robe. Before he led her from the bedroom, he secured the black cord around her neck.

  Once he had seated her behind her keyboard, Nathan removed the silver chain from her wrists. “Play for me, Melinda.”

  While he took a seat in the wingback chair across from her, Melinda’s hands hesitated over the keyboard. She had no idea what to play, and then she recalled something she had written after Josh had left her.

  Her hands felt slow and clumsy moving across the keys, making the tune sound distorted.

  “That’s very sad,” Nathan commented. “I only want you to play happy tunes.”

  She slapped her hands down on the keyboard, filling the air with the harsh cords. “I can only play what I feel.”

  Nathan got up from the chair and came around to her bench. He caressed the black collar around her neck. “Do you remember that first time you played for me? You played a beautiful melody. Play it again.”

  Her hands glided over the keys, fulfilling his request. But again, the tune sounded distorted. It was as if the passion behind her music had been erased, leaving the notes bereft of any feeling. The melody began to sound vaguely familiar. She was reminded of the eerie song she had heard floating in her bedroom weeks before. It was not the tormented tune of some spectral visitor she had heard; it was her music coming from her misery in the future.

  She silently berated her stupidity. All the visions she’d experienced since moving into the apartment had been warnings of what was to come, not impressions of what had been. Melinda wondered what Jack would have made of her mistake. He’d always liked to challenge her readings. She wished she could hear his deep voice arguing with her, longed to see his pale hazel eyes glaring at her, and desperately wanted his graceful body walking beside her after a long day of catering to tourists at Jackson Square.

  “There, that’s it,” Nathan proclaimed. “Now your music sounds happy.”

  Melinda listened to the notes and realized Nathan was right. The music had once again found its passion. She knew the reason for the change in feeling; it was because she had been thinking of Jack. He had always reminded her of some haunting melody she could never place. It seemed her heart had finally found the right music to describe him.

  “This is what I want to hear. Something that brings out your soul.” Nathan kissed her neck. “What is it called?”

  Melinda wistfully smiled. “Longing.”

  “After we’re married, I will get you into that recording studio so you can put together a CD.”

  Melinda stopped playing and stared into his eyes. She knew then Nathan Cole would never allow her out of his sight, and all of his promises were just tools to placate her.

  As she veered her eyes from his face, she glimpsed the intercom on the wall behind him. She noted the array of buttons along the bottom of the speaker and recalled Phil’s instructions that first day she had arrived at The Shallows.

  Nathan put his hand under her chin and turned her eyes back to him. “I want you, Melinda.”

  She swallowed back her revulsion and raised her hand to the crotch of his jeans. “I want you, too, Nathan.”

  He lifted her in his arms, and as Nathan carried her to the decorative iron bed, Melinda began hatching a plan to get away.

  “Let’s play, Nathan,” she whispered, encouraged by her scheme. “And in the morning we can make plans for our wedding.”

  Chapter 20

  The sun had just peeked through the windows along the sitting room wall when Nathan stirred beside Melinda. She pulled at the handcuffs on her right wrist that were secured to the iron headboard.

  Nathan cuddled against her and kissed her cheek. “Did you sleep well?”

  “No,” Melinda curtly answered. “I don’t understand why you had to handcuff me to the bed. I told you I—”

  “It’s your own fault, Melinda.” His finger tracked down her chin. “You made me doubt you, and I have to take precautions.”

  Melinda smiled swe
etly for him, curtailing her rage. “After last night, you still doubt me?”

  “Yes, you were rather amazing last night. You’ve never been like that before with me.”

  She rubbed her left hand across his chest. “I’m glad your pleased.”

  He pulled her into his arms. “For the first time, I felt like you really wanted me.”

  She nuzzled his cheek. “We didn’t play any of your games last night, that’s why. I could finally be me.”

  “I thought you liked my games.”

  “I do,” she assured him, patting his chest. “But sometimes I just like making love to you, Nathan, without the games.”

  “Then perhaps we can try it your way for a while.” Taking a silver key from the nightstand next to him, Nathan undid the handcuffs and tossed them to the floor.

  Melinda slipped her arms around him. “Let’s do it my way again.”

  “I would love to, baby, but I’ve got to get ready for an early meeting.” He kissed the end of her nose. “When I come home after lunch, I promise I will take you up on that.”

  “What am I supposed to do until you come back?”

  He ran his hands over her slender back and grabbed her butt. “You could work on your music. Why don’t you write me a song?”

  She spied her keyboard in the sitting room next to the bed. “Are you going to handcuff me to the keyboard?”

  “I’ll put it in the playroom for you.”

  Panic ricocheted in her chest. “No, Nathan, please don’t put me in there again.”

  “It’s just until I come home, Melinda.”

  Tears were brimming in her eyes. “It’s cold in there and I hate it. Handcuff me to the bed or my keyboard, but please don’t put me back in there.”

  He threw off the covers. “I have to. It’s the only way I can make sure you won’t run away.” He went to the bathroom and collected his clothes. “I don’t understand why you don’t like that room,” he said, coming back into the bedroom. “Julie used to love being locked up with all of her toys.”

  Melinda climbed from the bed. “What toys?”