Oh, the things I will do to you, Sam. I promise you will never want it to end.
“Are you sure you about this?” Piper asked, setting her beer on Sam’s coffee table.
“Yeah, Sam,” Brenda agreed. “Sometimes a Dom can get pretty hard core in the sex department. What if he wants to try anal fisting? You haven’t even had sex yet … well, real sex.”
“What do you know about anal fisting?” Piper argued.
“I saw a special about it on cable.”
“I’m sure I won’t have to do any of that stuff.” Sam tucked her legs under her while she sat on her sofa, clutching her beer. “He said we could talk about what he wanted to do.”
Piper rolled her brown eyes. “Sebastian Dane, wow! And you never knew it was him?”
“Apparently you didn’t recognize him either when he was in our ICU,” Sam chided.
“I told you the guy kept staring at you.” Piper pointed her beer at Sam. “Now you’ve punched the e-card.”
Sam scrunched her eyes. “What e-card?”
“The everything-card,” Brenda explained. “You know the man who can give you everything: cars, diamonds, fancy clothes, the works. Been searching for one of those my whole life.”
“I’m not in this for the money. When we first met, I didn’t know he was some wealthy shipping magnate. Now that I know, it doesn’t change anything.”
“What a crock of shit,” Piper blurted out, almost spitting out her mouthful of beer in the process. “Would you be considering his offer if he wasn’t wealthy? A poor Dominant would only end up suspending you from the ceiling of their French Quarter apartment.” She shook her head. “Money lets a man get away with a hell of a lot. Just make sure you get paid handsomely for your time.”
“Absolutely,” Brenda chimed in. “Get jewelry you can hock, cash you can spend, insist on a credit card when you move in with him.” Her eyes opened wider. “And, oh yeah, make him take you shopping. Girl, you need to do a lot of shopping.”
Sam slammed her bottle on the table. “You guys make this sound like it’s a vocation. I’m not out to take Sebastian for a ride. I want to ….” She ran her hand over her forehead. “I’m not sure what I want. I just want to be with him.”
“Hey, there.” Piper put down her beer and moved across the sofa to Sam. “That sounds kind of serious.”
“Maybe I am serious. I’ve never felt like this with a guy. The last night we shared together was really special. At least to me it was special.” Sam stood from the sofa. “I think I need to go all out with him. Otherwise, I will spend the rest of my life wondering.” She walked toward the kitchen.
Piper stood up. “Sam, I’m all for exploring your sexuality, but you need to be careful where your heart is concerned.” She followed Sam into the kitchen. “This man isn’t asking you to move in with him out of some kind of emotional commitment. It’s about sex, and only sex. You said yourself he called what you had an experiment, not a relationship.”
Brenda came up to the breakfast counter and took a seat on one of the stools. “Yeah, Sam, this ain’t love, it’s a game for him.”
“I know that.” Sam opened the oven door and checked their frozen pizza. “I know Sebastian sees me only as some kind of toy he can play with, but I can hope, can’t I?”
Piper and Brenda gave each other a concerned glance.
“Sure, Sam, it could turn into something deeper,” Piper consoled. “But I don’t know if you should set your hopes on that. This man is a Dom, a high-end Dom. He’s used to getting what he wants by the sound of it, and men like that aren’t in this to feel anything … emotional.”
“They’re afraid of love,” Brenda added. “Love is dangerous for a Dom.”
Sam slipped on her oven mitts. “How can love be dangerous?”
“Because love can make them feel, and once they begin to have feelings, they’re threatened. They can lose control of the situation,” Piper expounded.
“It’s not going to be like that,” Sam countered.
“Perhaps you should take this slow,” Piper suggested. “I mean, you barely know the guy and now you’re ready to move in with him and—”
“Start anal fisting,” Brenda inserted.
Sam reached into the oven for the pizza. “No one is rushing, and I am taking it slow. I’m weighing my options. Less than two weeks ago, you two were advising me on how to get him interested. Well, now he’s interested.”
Piper leaned against the bar. “We were talking about getting him interested in dating, and perhaps sex, not—”
“Anal fisting,” Brenda interrupted with a giggle.
“Guys, enough.” Sam slid the pizza on the kitchen counter. “I’m going to take my time and think about it. But like you said before, Piper, I should use Sebastian as a way to learn about sex. That’s exactly what I intend to do.”
“But that was when he was just Doug,” Piper challenged. “What you’re getting into with Sebastian Dane is a whole different thing.”
Sam tossed her mitts on the countertop. “How is it different? He’s the same guy.”
Brenda shook her head. “No, he’s not. This is a man who doesn’t take no for an answer. You will be in his house … and at his mercy, Sam. Before you had some control. Now he’s holding all the cards.”
“Rule number one with men,” Piper asserted. “Never let them think they have the upper hand.”
“I appreciate the advice, really.” Sam retrieved a pizza cutter from her drawer. “But I can take care of myself. I won’t let Sebastian have all the control. I’m a nurse trained at handling difficult people. Not some naive country bumpkin, without a clue about the real world.”
Brenda giggled. “Girl, you’re about as naive as they come. You’ve never been with a man, let alone lived with one, Sam. I think you’re in for a very rude awakening.”
* * *
Undaunted by the advice of her friends, Sam continued making plans to take Sebastian up on his offer. The next day at work, when she could step away from her patients, she knocked on Jill Acrebee’s office door.
“Jill, do you have a minute?”
Her boss peered up from the papers gathered on her desk. Her reading glasses were slightly askew on her nose, reminding Sam of a dotty librarian. But when Jill removed her glasses and sat back in her desk chair, the statuesque woman—a woman many of the doctors were scared to death of—gave Sam her full attention.
“Come in, Sam.” She pointed to the single plastic chair in front of her desk. “Take a load off.”
Shutting Jill’s door, Sam went to her desk and sat down. “I, ah, wanted to talk to you about something.”
“Shoot,” Jill said with her usual candor.
“Do you remember the man who wanted me for a private duty gig?”
Jill nodded, squinting her green eyes. “Sebastian Dane? Yes, I remember.”
“Well, he contacted me.” Sam clasped her hands together. “He offered me that private duty position to care for his mother, but the thing is he wants me to work full time.”
Jill slung her reading glasses on her desk. “Which means you want to cut back here,” she surmised.
Sam’s hands squeezed together. “Actually, I’m going to have to stop working here completely.”
“You’re quitting?” Her perfectly tweezed eyebrows went up. “Aww, Sam, no.”
“Not quitting,” Sam assured her. “Only taking a leave of absence for a month or so. Mr. Dane told me in a month—six weeks tops—he should have other caregivers set up for his mother.”
“I hope he’s paying you well.”
“Very well.” Sam directed her eyes to her hands. “What I will get from him is more than I’d hoped for.”
Jill leaned forward, placing her very long arms on her desk. “Wow. I’m jealous. Not only do you get a cushy private duty job, you get to spend time with that gorgeous man.”
Sam grinned. “He is very nice.”
“Nice hell.” Jill picked up her glasses. “If I w
eren’t happily married, your Mr. Dane would be in trouble.” Her raucous laughter overwhelmed the cubbyhole of an office. “Personally, I think you’re making a terrible mistake, but hey, what do I know?”
Sam’s stomach churned. “Why do you say that?”
“In my experience, when nurses take on private duty gigs, especially for the rich, they get lazy, and they never want to come back to the unit.”
“I’ll be back, Jill. I’m just taking the position to help Mr. Dane out, until he finds someone to care for his mother.”
Jill slid her glasses back on her nose. “Just don’t end up marrying the guy and destroying all my hopes for you, will ya?”
“What hopes?”
Jill shrugged her linebacker-sized shoulders. “I think you have a hell of a future as a nurse. You could go back to school, get your master’s, and maybe, one day, have my job.”
Sam was momentarily floored by her boss’s suggestion. “I never thought about getting my master’s.”
Jill examined Sam over her reading glasses. “Well, you should. You can take away a person’s money, self-esteem, and home, but you can never take away their education. It’s the one thing that goes with you, always. You should think about going further, Sam.”
“I was kind of hoping to meet someone, get married, and have some children. To keep nursing as a part-time job to pay the bills later on.”
Jill smiled and her full cheeks dimpled. “I beg to differ. You’ve got a sharp mind, and an adventurous nature. Taking a job here, living on your own in a city where you knew no one, takes some balls. I don’t think you want what women like Piper are searching for.” She pushed the papers on her desk aside. “You’ll see. Once you conquer one mountain, you will be hot to move on the other.”
She thought of something Sebastian had told her. “Like climbing Everest.”
“Yes, in a way. One mountain may look the same as another. It’s only once you climb to the top that you discover how different they really are.” Jill pulled a hospital form from a tray on the side of her desk. “So when do you want to take this leave of absence?”
“Can we have it begin after my shift today?” Sam inquired.
Jill gaped up at her. “So soon? Are you sure about this, Sam?”
Sam felt her confidence for her future with Sebastian take hold in her heart. “I’m positive, Jill. I want to start with Mr. Dane as soon as possible.”
“All right.” Jill sighed as she reached for a pen. “Just know the door is open if it doesn’t work out with Mr. Dane.” She started filling out the form.
“I’ll let you know, Jill,” Sam told her. “But I think Mr. Dane and I are going to get along just fine.”
* * *
It was after seven when Sam made her way in the front entrance of The Shallows. Mike was at his desk and waved to her as she walked by. She thought of the security guards she had come to know in passing and wondered what they would think when she disappeared for a month. Would anyone notice she wasn’t around? Short of Brenda and Piper, she didn’t have anyone else in town looking out for her.
Except Sebastian, a comforting voice in her head intruded.
Waiting at the silver elevator doors, Sam ran over the days and weeks to come with the man.
And after that? the same voice taunted.
“Shut up,” she snapped, just as the elevator doors opened.
Stepping in, she heard rushing footsteps coming up behind her. In the elevator, she pressed her floor number when another hand reached in over hers and pressed the P on top.
Glancing up, she saw a slender, strawberry blonde with bold green eyes staring back at her.
“You must be Ms. Woods in 4A.”
Sam felt the rush of cold air enter the elevator right before the doors closed. Oh shit! “Ah, yes. I’m Sam Woods.”
“It’s my ex-wife.” Sam heard Nathan’s voice in her ear. “Yvette.”
“I’m Brynn Adler. The new owner of The Shallows.”
“Bitch.” Nathan materialized next to his wife. His thin lips spread in a condescending sneer. “Don’t listen to a word she says, Sam.”
“Yes, Mrs. Cole.” Sam held out her hand, trying to ignore Nathan. “Marv told me you had taken over for Nathan.”
“It’s just Brynn. I haven’t been Mrs. Cole in quite a few years.” The very attractive woman gave Sam a going over with her inquisitive eyes.
“Then you must call me Sam.” She watched as Nathan eased closer to his ex. “I, ah, heard you’re a writer.”
“Yes. I write erotica.” Brynn rubbed her hands along her bare arms. “It’s quite chilly in this elevator.”
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, ha
d 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.
Dark Attraction: The Corde Noire Series Page 13