Haunted Seductions

by Sahara Kelly

  *~~*~~*

  Louis finished up staining the downstairs kitchen cabinet and walked onto the porch. It was a hot day but the gods had been kind and the cool breeze swept through the heat. He downed his beer and tossed it into the blue recycle barrel. With all the beer and sodas he was drinking he figured he should recycle the containers or he’d end up making an even bigger hole in the ozone layer or something.

  Maurice’s sander rang out a loud whine, so Louis and the cooler to grab a couple more beers. He figured he might as well share. He was also bored and the radio reception sucked. So did the available stations…it hadn’t taken long for him to get his fill of faith healers and bad music; his mind longed for some old-fashioned rock and roll.

  “Heads up.”

  Maurice caught the incoming beer Louis tossed to him. The fizzle of the top opening spewed a fine mist and Maurice took a long drink. “Brrraaaaaappppp. Ahhh, I needed that.” The belch was impressive.

  “That was about a seven on the burp scale.” Louis sat on the tailgate of Maurice’s truck looking over all the wooden molding he had cut. “Man, this is some nice work. You have enough for the house?”

  “Yeah, think so.”

  “Umm, hey Maurice…um…I’ve got a question for you. You ever hear of an aphrodisiac? Something that drives a woman crazy?”

  After another swig, Maurice looked at Louis. “Yeah, I’ve heard of those. I’ve got an aphrodisiac right here.” He grabbed his crotch. “It’s ten inches long.”

  “No, you dumb shit. I mean like—like incense or something.” Louis laughed as Maurice grinned at his remark. “Last night? I don’t know what it was but, well, I had this woman acting a little odd. I didn’t mind but shit, it was fucking hot. I’m just not used to a woman being that nasty after just meeting me. It was like she was—I don’t know—like craving it.” He paused. “And so did I. It was…out of character, so I wondered if maybe there was some kind of pollen or something in the air…”

  The conversation made Louis think about the night before and Cory’s body rubbing his and that familiar twinge of arousal filled his body again. “Never mind. I feel stupid talking about this kind of crap.” He felt himself blush. He really didn’t want to sound like a geek or diminish how fabulous it was. Cory deserved a little respect, which meant he wasn’t going to talk about her like a guy in a gym after prom night.

  “And the problem is?” Maurice was sarcastic, his tone telling Louis he was wondering why this was a problem. “Man, I know you’re talkin’ about Cory. Don’t worry I won’t say anything. But, that is one fine lady. She comes from good genes—trust me. I was born and raised ‘round here, even though I moved over to just outside the city a few years ago. I know that family. If a woman like that wants you, then don’t think about it…just do it. I know I’d be all over that like butter on corn.”

  “Oh…it wasn’t Cory. Er—it was this woman I picked up at that bar by the highway.” Louis was a terrible liar.

  Maurice looked at him and shook his head. “Hey man, relax. I don’t care if you two hook up. Hell, it’s good you did. Don’t worry. I’m not the kind of guy to say shit to people. Kick a few hundred bucks more down after the job—a little extra beer money makes me forget things easier.” He laughed and turned back toward the pile of wood. “But I do know that Cory’s no more your fiancée than I am. News like that would’ve spread quicker’n summer lightning round these parts.”

  Louis gulped. “Does Honey know?”

  Maurice grinned. “Nope. And after last night, I’m figuring it wouldn’t matter much to her either way anymore.”

  “Whew. Okay then.” Feeling a bit better, Louis took a breath of relief. Then something occurred to him. “What did you mean, good genes?”

  “Are you stupid or what? This is Love—fuckin’—Alley, duhhh. This was the high-class whorehouse. Men came from all over the world to be here for one night. The women were beautiful, sexy and studied French techniques about sex. My great, great whatever grandfather came here all the time and the stories were passed down to my dad. He told me about it. About the Lavalieres. Cory’s a Lavalle. They’re part of the same family. She’s a descendant of Claudine, the woman who was the madam here.”

  “I knew it was a bordello. Read about that on the plane coming here.”

  “Well it sure had a fine reputation hereabouts.” Maurice leaned down to pick up some of the wood. He turned when he heard a shout from the river. It was Honey in her boat.

  “What the heck is Honey doing here?” Louis sighed.

  “I tell you Louis. That woman can fuck. I don’t mean a quick roll in the hay. She fucks all night, every position, no holes untouched and I swear, she almost drained me. My balls are still sore.”

  Louis picked up some of the molding and walked beside Maurice up toward the house. He wasn’t sure if he should ask the next question, because he didn’t want to feel like a fool. But what the hell. “Cory thinks the house might have ghosts. Do you believe in ghosts?” Louis paused. “I don’t. Or at least I didn’t…”

  “I’ve seen a lot of shit growing up down here. A lot of freaky shit. Never seen a ghost but that doesn’t mean they don’t exist. I have seen pink and purple dancing elephants though. Moonshine has that effect on you.”

  “Hi fellas.” Honey appeared in front of them. “I thought y’all might want some lunch. I had my housekeeper make some sandwiches and figured I’d pop over to see if you were hungry.”

  Louis surveyed the basket. The rumble in his stomach answered her question. “Thanks Honey, I appreciate it. As soon as I get settled in here I’ll have a big party for all the neighbors.”

  “What about you Maurice? Are you hungry?” Honey gazed at him.

  Maurice was silent for a moment, gazing back at her. “Hey Louis, is it all right if I leave for a couple hours? I’ll come back later and work extra on the molding in the living room.”

  Louis, busy with a mouthful of turkey sandwich, nodded.

  Honey looked a little confused as Maurice ignored the food she’d brought. “Well come on, Alice, we need to go.” He motioned to her boat with his hand.

  “Er—sorry, Louis. Short visit I guess. Looks like I have somethin’ to take care of…bye.” Honey hurried away.

  “Mmmphh, mumble, brruunch.” He couldn’t talk too clearly with food stuffed in his face. Louis watched as Maurice smacked Honey on the ass while she walked in front of him to the dock. They both stepped into the boat and Louis saw Maurice unfastening his pants. He said something to Honey, and without hesitation she kneeled down in front of him. Maurice took the handle of the pole and pushed them off into the bayou.

  Hmm, looks like she’s having tube steak for lunch. Louis finished his sandwich and chuckled.

  Chapter Twelve

  Cory walked up the alleé under the oaks toward the house, struck anew by the beauty of the place and the peaceful heavy air of the late afternoon. She had her backpack this time, her hair was coiled up into a cool knot on the back of her head and her shorts and top were…adequate.

  She’d even put a bra on, hoping to subdue her unruly nipples, which were displaying a distressing tendency to harden at the mere thought of this place—and its new owner.

  Reaching the foot of the steps, she mentally smacked herself upside the head. She was here to settle unruly spirits and put things back in order, not get herself laid.

  Riiiiight.

  With a slightly apologetic grin at her own duplicity, she walked up to the open door and peered inside. “Helloooo?”

  It was quiet, no tools whirring or buzzing anywhere, no strange laughter echoing around the empty rooms.

  “In the kitchen.” Louis’s voice answered her call.

  “It’s me. Cory.” The scent of fresh cut wood trickled up into her nostrils as she stepped around a small stack of molding, placed carefully to one side of the hall.

  “C’mon in.” Louis popped his head around the door. “Want a cold one?”

  “Er…I’ll take a s
oda for right now if you have one.”

  Louis bent to his tiny fridge. “Sure. Got one left. Remind me to get more next time I hit the supermarket.”

  “Yes dear.” Cory chuckled.

  Louis pulled out the last soda, shut the fridge door and laughed back. “Yeah, sorry. That was kind of a stupid thing to say, wasn’t it?”

  “No problem.” Cory was already staring around the kitchen, her palms itching. “Look, I don’t mean to be abrupt, but where’d you put those Tarot cards? I need to work with them a bit.”

  Louis looked puzzled, but pulled the deck from a drawer. “Here. You said put them someplace safe. They’re fine.” He passed them over to her and she crossed to the kitchen table, thankfully cleared of tools and empty beer cans.

  Confidently, she opened the pack and pulled the cards free, glancing quickly at the surface to make sure it was spotless.

  “You gotta work with them?” He sounded a little confused.

  “Yeah.”

  Settling herself comfortably, Cory riffled her fingers through the familiar feel of the Tarot. A tingle brushed her skin—like feathers dusting over her body. She sighed, enjoying the knowledge that her psychic senses were on alert.

  “So—like you have to warm ‘em up, or what?” Louis pulled out another chair and settled himself next to her. “I’ve seen card dealers in Las Vegas before, I know how you all work.”

  “No. Sit there.” She nodded at the seat directly opposite. “I need you across from me, not next to me.”

  “Yes, ma’am.” Obediently Louis changed chairs. “Why?”

  “Ssshh. I’ll tell you in a minute.”

  Louis shushed, simply watching her and sipping his beer.

  Cory shuffled the deck, spread them from left to right, then tipped them into the reverse setting, right to left. The cards felt right, and she opened her mind to the unseen world around them, waiting for the telltale itch of awareness.

  It didn’t take too long. On her third shuffle, the back of her neck prickled. The time was right. She took a drink from her soda, restacked the deck and pushed it across to Louis. “Shuffle, please. Several times.”

  “Okay…is this Texas hold-’em or five-card draw?” Louis did as he was told, finally pushing the deck back to Cory.

  She nodded. “Now they’re ready. Awakened. Know anything about Tarot cards?”

  He shook his head. “Nope. I’ve seen ‘em, but that’s it.”

  She fanned the deck out on the table and pulled some cards free, setting them in front of Louis. “These are the suit cards. Wands, pentacles, swords and cups.” Her fingertip tapped each colorful card in turn. “Sort of like hearts and clubs and so on. They’re called the Minor Arcana.”

  Louis looked at them interestedly. “Wouldn’t want to go all in with a handful of these.”

  Cory ignored him. “Each suit has meaning in the reading we’re going to do, but I won’t go into the details.” She looked up. “And no, I wouldn’t go all in either.” She paused. “But then again, I don’t gamble.”

  “Ah.” Louis blinked. “Good to know. Guess being a psychic you wouldn’t find too many people who’d want to play poker with you, huh?”

  Cory rolled her eyes. “Whatever.” She pulled out more cards. “Now here—these are the equivalent of the face cards in a regular deck. It’s the Major Arcana. We’ll be using these to read from.”

  She showed Louis several of them. “Here’s the Chariot, for example. And this…” She tapped another. “This is the High Priestess.”

  Louis leaned in. “Handy that they’ve all got labels on ‘em.”

  “Yeah. But don’t be misled. That’s simply the name of the card, it’s not the literal meaning of the card.”

  “Huh?”

  Cory thought for a moment. “We’re going to lay out these cards in a certain pattern. Their position in relation to each other can change the meaning of the reading. What would be a good card in one position can be a bad card in another position. And it’s also affected by whether it’s upside down or not. See?”

  “No.”

  Cory pinched the bridge of her nose. “Okay. Let’s skip the introductory lesson and just do it.”

  “Oh yeah, now you’re talkin’.”

  Something in Louis’s tone caught her attention and she glanced up to see heat radiating from the depths of his eyes. It took her no time at all to figure out where his thoughts were going and in spite of her firm resolution to be cool and professional, she blushed.

  “But before we do…” He leaned across the table and reached for her head. “Take those pins out, please? You look nice, but that hair…it’s pulled back so tight it’s giving me a headache.”

  She gulped. “But…it’s cool…”

  “Pleeeeese?”

  She was completely helpless to resist the pleading in his tone. A few quick tugs and her hair tumbled down her back, soft tresses dusting her shoulders and adding to the warmth that was curling around low in her belly.

  Enough, girl. You gotta focus here. “Better?”

  Louis nodded and sat back with a smile. “Thanks. Okay let’s do this card thing.”

  Cory took a deep breath. “Yeah. Let’s.”

  *~~*~~*

  “First, we need to find you.”

  Her words surprised him. He looked side to side, then replied, “Um, I’m right here.”

  “No, I meant in the cards. You are the questioner here, it’s your house, your cards…we need to identify you.”

  “Oh.” He sighed. This was all mumbo-jumbo to him, but she seemed pretty intense about the whole thing, so he was going to play along if it killed him. “What do I do?”

  “Pick a card.” Cory turned the deck facedown and spread it on the table.

  He leaned in and carefully pulled one card loose with his fingers. “Here. This one.”

  She flipped it over, revealing seven ornate round things and a couple of naked people.

  “Cool.” Louis grinned in spite of himself.

  She ignored it. “The seven of pentacles. Appropriate.”

  “Really?” He looked at the balls and the naked couple, biting back the dozen things he soooo wanted to say. Relax, breathe and don’t comment on trying the positions or the Kama Sutra references to the art.

  “Pentacles represent the realm of the physical. The material things in our lives. It’s also about the manifestation of the material plane. A good card for you, given what you do.” She glanced up. “It’s telling us that you are a practical person who likes to see results. Things you can touch, accomplish, achieve with your own hands.”

  “No kidding.” Louis kept his tone interested, even though he probably could have come up with the same thing given a few minutes. So far, she hadn’t told him anything he didn’t already know. “Do we find you now?”

  “No, I’m doing the reading. My card won’t appear.”

  “Oh.” Louis was mildly disappointed, but kept silent and watched as she collected up the cards, setting his seven of pentacles to one side.

  “If you have a question, now is the time to ask it.”

  Louis opened his mouth only to see her frown.

  “Silently. In your mind. Ask the cards for an answer within your mind.”

  Yeah right. How long before I can get you naked and feel those long legs of yours wrapped around me?

  The air in the house was hushed as she dealt a pattern onto the tabletop. Since the clouds were building, pretty soon he was going to have to turn on the lights, but for now the sun still provided enough illumination for him to see her hands as they carefully positioned six cards faceup. It looked like a kind of cross when she’d finished. He did his very best to focus on the house and whatever had gone on there, but she was too damn distracting.

  Like her hands, for instance.

  She had nice hands. Long fingers with nails cut short and blunt, yet very much the hands of a woman. He knew how good they felt against his body and beneath the table his cock stirred.

&nbs
p; Fuck, she was something else.

  Unfortunately, it seemed like her mind was someplace else at the moment. “There. That’s it.” She leaned back and blew air out through her teeth. “These are pretty damn impressive cards.”

  He stared at the jumble of colors and images. “How can you tell?”

  “I feel them. They’re talking already and we haven’t even examined them.”

  He shook his head. This was way out of his experience. Give him a couple of tentacles and a hammer any day.

  “Let’s see what we’ve got here.” Cory leaned in, studying the cards with intensity. “Hmm.”

  “Hmm? Is that a good hmm or a bad hmm?”

  “Just a minute…”

  Louis figured a helluva lot more than a minute had gone past when she finally sat back and looked up at him with an odd expression on her face.

  “What? I didn’t do anything. I shushed like you told me to…”

  “The cards. They’re telling a story.” She blinked and he got the odd impression that now she was finally seeing him. Like she jerked herself back from wherever she’d been and found herself surprised to be sitting at a kitchen table.

  Cory tapped the first card. “See this one? Underneath?”

  He nodded. “Yep. It’s…uh…the Moon, right?”

  “Yes. This is where you are right now. Evolving. Still growing, still building, still working. Unfinished.”

  Louis looked around him at the chaos of renovation. “No shit.”

  “This card…” She ignored his comment and tapped the card that lay on top of the first one. “This is indicative of current influences. Things that may or may not help you.”

  “Okay.” He stared down. “The Chariot.”

  “It’s your will. Your determination to control things, to drive them where you believe they should go. This can help you achieve your goals, but sometimes it can represent a stubborn resistance to other ideas. Other helpful suggestions.”

  He couldn’t miss the emphasis. “You mean like when you tell me about ghosts and stuff.”

  She snorted. “Maybe. We’ll see. Let’s move on.” She pointed to the next card. “Here we have the distant past.”