Dark Perception: The Corde Noire Series (21 page)

Sandy sifted through a rack of
dresses. “New Orleans isn’t really a city, it’s a family. Everyone
from here feels it. No matter where you go in the world, when you
run into someone from New Orleans it’s like running into some
long-lost kin. You start talking about who you know, your family,
your favorite restaurants, and suddenly you feel comforted. I’ve
lived in a few big cities across the country—L.A., New York,
Chicago—and none of them ever felt like here. That’s why I came
back. I missed feeling like I was a part of a city, not just a
resident of it.”

Melinda questioned if that was what
had been missing in her life. She had never quite belonged
anywhere. But with Nathan, she finally felt as if she were becoming
part of the world and not just observing it. Nathan had taken her
from the shadows and into the light. The only thing she couldn’t
figure out was why it felt so … wrong.

“
This is definitely you,”
Sandy decreed, chasing away Melinda’s uncertainty. “You have the
skin color and hair to pull this off.” She held up a shimmering,
eggplant cocktail dress. It had spaghetti straps, gathered at the
waist, and was covered with small, shiny beads.

Melinda examined the intricate
beadwork. “I’ve never seen anything like this.”

“
It’s a one-of-a-kind
piece. I designed it a few years ago.”

“
You designed it?” Melinda
didn’t hide the surprised lilt in her voice.

Sandy took the garment to a dressing
room off to the side. “One of the benefits of owning a dress shop
is you get to sell your own designs. I’ll never make it to the
runways of New York or Paris, but at least I can see my fashions
walking the streets of my hometown. Which I think is pretty damn
cool.” She beckoned Melinda into the dressing room. “Let’s see what
Nathan thinks of this. That man of yours has got great
taste.”

The comment stopped Melinda in her
tracks. “You make it sound like Nathan comes here a
lot.”

“
Sure does.” Sandy nodded.
“I first met him a few years ago when we were introduced at a
party. He wanted me to dress this exotic dancer he was seeing from
the French Quarter.”

Melinda’s eyes grew in size. “An
exotic dancer?”

Sandy patted Melinda reassuringly on
the shoulder. “They’re men, honey. They go through the stripper
phase, the bimbo phase, the blonde phase, and then they wise up and
find themselves a good girl. When Nathan brought Julie here, I
figured he had found his good girl, but I guess it didn’t work
out.”

A strange sense of dread washed over
Melinda. “Julie?”

“
Julie McNeil. She was a
decorator he hired to redo his penthouse. Even set her up in an
apartment in his building. She was struggling to make ends meet,
but with Nathan’s help she got a few more clients and made a name
for herself.”

“
What happened to
her?”

“
Went back to Philadelphia,
I guess?” Sandy turned her attention to another rack of dresses.
“That’s where she was from. The last time she came into the shop
was a little over a year ago. She kind of hinted things weren’t
going so well between her and Nathan. After that, I never saw her
again. I asked Nathan about her a few months later when I saw him
at a local fundraiser, but he was real tight-lipped about it.” She
made a face and shoved a dress out of the way. “Nathan Cole is a
very private man.”

“
So everyone keeps telling
me.” Melinda turned toward the dressing room. “He never mentioned
Julie to me,” she casually added.

“
Julie sure talked about
him when she was in here.” Sandy moved away from the rack of
dresses. “She would always go on about how generous he was and …
how good he was in bed.”

Melinda stopped halfway across the
mirrored fitting area. “I’m surprised she mentioned
that.”

Sandy came up to her, carrying a
pretty yellow cocktail dress with pearl beading in the hem. “Julie
was always a regular Chatty Cathy about her sex life. She gave me
the impression Nathan was real adventurous.” Her eyes lingered on
the black cord around Melinda’s neck. “He gave her one of those
collars, too.”

Melinda’s hand went to the
collar.

“
So … is he adventurous in
bed?” Sandy persisted with a cheeky grin.

Melinda smiled sweetly, playing
innocent. “I wouldn’t know.” She was about to walk into the
dressing room when she paused. “What else did Julie tell you about
Nathan?”

“
Afraid that was it,” Sandy
disclosed, hanging the yellow dress inside the dressing room.
“Nathan never let her out of his sight for very long. She always
clammed up when he was around. I think he didn’t want her spreading
gossip about them.”

Melinda inspected the yellow dress,
deciding it wasn’t her style. “He never struck me as a man who
cares what others think.”

“
Honey, Nathan isn’t the
kind of man who likes to air his dirty laundry.” Sandy exited the
dressing room. “If he’s like every other man I know, he’s probably
got enough dirty laundry to keep every dry cleaner in the city busy
for a year.”

Sandy closed the two white shutters
that divided the dressing room from the fitting area. “Every man
has secrets, Melinda. My first husband was the sweetest, most
doting guy I ever knew … until I found out he was gay. During our
three years together, I never suspected a thing. Goes to show you
how you can never really know anybody.”

Half-listening, Melinda wiggled out of
her jeans. “Sounds like the one serious relationship I had. In the
end, I didn’t know him, either.”

“
Yeah, relationships are a
real pain in the ass.” Sandy’s voice moved away from the dressing
room door. “I think the key is not so much needing a relationship
with someone, but wanting it. We all think we need one thing, but
we really want something else. Until you figure out the difference,
you’ll never find happiness with anyone.”

“
Did you ever discover the
difference?” Melinda removed the eggplant dress from its
satin-covered hanger.

“
Nah,” Sandy answered with
a short snort. “The only thing I know is I want to design clothes,
bury myself in work, and spend the rest of my days in New Orleans.
I figured that’s enough for one lifetime.”

While stepping into the dress, Melinda
questioned, what did she want? She had spent so many years running
after what she needed, she had never considered what she really
wanted out of life.

After easing the dress over her
shoulders, her reflection in the mirror quelled her
self-examination. The deep purple color of the dress accentuated
the creaminess of her pale skin and red hair. The beadwork
scintillated beneath the fluorescent lights above. She swung her
hips and noticed how the beads shook ever so slightly against the
smooth satin fabric.

“
You almost ready?” Sandy
intruded.

Melinda reached for the shutter doors.
“Coming.”

When she exited the small cubicle,
Sandy’s tired brown eyes beamed with pride. “Damn, I’m
good.”

Melinda fingered the delicate fabric
of the dress. “Yes, you are.”

Sandy took her arm and scooted her
toward the main shop floor. “Let’s see what Nathan thinks of
this.”

But when Melinda stepped outside the
red curtains dividing the main shop from the fitting area, Nathan
was nowhere to be seen. She had to meander through a few circular
dress racks before she found him sitting on a bench in the corner
of the shop, talking on his cell phone.

“
Let me call you back,” he
said when he spotted her.

After putting his phone aside, his
eyes went over her like a TSA officer checking out a suspected
terrorist at an airport.

Melinda shifted anxiously on her bare
feet. “Well?”

Nathan’s sour countenance instantly
told Melinda his thoughts and her heart plummeted. “I don’t want
you to look like a hooker. It’s pretty and the color looks great on
you, but no beadwork, just plain fabric. No lace, frills, nothing
low-cut, and nothing showing too much leg or skin. I want you to
look refined, polished, like the lady you are.”

Melinda played with a few of the
beads. “But it’s really a cute dress.”

Nathan stood from the bench. “Tell
Sandy to quit hocking her designer stuff on me and to give you
something classy and elegant. Her tastes are better suited for
Bourbon Street dancers, not professional women.” He kissed her
cheek.

“
So, this isn’t the first
time you’ve brought someone here,” Melinda coolly
hinted.

Nathan put his hands behind his back,
grimacing. “Sandy isn’t very discreet, is she?”

Melinda demurely lowered her gaze.
“She mentioned you’ve come here in the past with other women. Is
this a usual habit for you? To bring your latest conquest to this
store and buy her clothes?” Waiting for his reply, Melinda kept her
eyes on his brown loafers, reflecting on how his shoes matched the
color in his elusive eyes.

Nathan raised her chin. “I’ve had
women before you, Melinda, you know that.” He let his hand fall.
“Please don’t listen to anything Sandy tells you about how many
women I’ve paraded through her doors. None of them are your
concern.”

Sensing she was about to tread on
dangerous ground, Melinda asked, “What about Julie?”

His eyes frosted over with rage.
“Don’t speak of her ever again. Do you understand?”

Melinda’s stomach fluttered with
panic. She had pushed too hard. “I’m sorry. I should have … I
promise never to mention her again.” Wanting desperately to appease
him, she kissed his cheek. “Forgive me.”

The fury retreated from his gaze. “If
you ask me about the women in my past again, I will take you over
my knee and …” He cleared his throat and stood back from her. “I
think we’ll save that game for another day.”

Bewildered, Melinda searched his face.
“Save what game?”

He patted her behind. “Something I
like to do to bad little girls.”

Images of him standing behind her and
spanking her bare bottom came to life in her mind. She could sense
his arousal and knew it was something he enjoyed doing to a woman.
Would she enjoy Nathan doing it to her?

Melinda held his hand against her
butt. “Would you like it if I was a bad little girl?”

His brown eyes twinkled. “Yes, I would
like that, immensely.”

She brought her lips to within inches
of his. “So would I.”

He rested his forehead against hers.
“Damn, you’re killing me.” He slapped her ass. “Don’t keep Sandy
waiting. Be a good girl and find something suitable to
wear.”

Heading across the shop, Melinda
relished the possibility of being spanked by Nathan. Ellie had been
right. This was a whole new adventure for her.

“
What did he think?” Sandy
besieged as soon as Melinda stepped through the red
curtains.

“
He wants something a
little less … revealing,” Melinda reported, hoping to sound
diplomatic.

Sandy heaved a drawn out sigh. “Men.
When you’re not theirs, they want you to dress like a streetwalker.
When you’re theirs, they want to cover you up like a nun.” She
waved Melinda toward the dressing room. “I know what he
wants.”

Melinda moved ahead,
grinning.
Yeah, I know what he wants,
too
.

Chapter 14

Later that evening, Melinda was
putting her new outfits away in her walk-in bedroom closet and
inspecting the conservative yet sophisticated wardrobe Nathan had
selected. The assorted skirts, dresses, pantsuits, and blouses were
not what she would have deemed prudish, but the designs were a bit
modest. One would suspect Nathan didn’t want her to show any
skin.

Sighing, she ran her fingers over an
expensive silk, tea-length, dark red dress, and suddenly the faint
whisper of music floated through the air. Quickly putting the dress
away, she faced her bedroom. The melody sounded vaguely familiar,
but she could not place it. It was a sad piece, bereft of the life
needed to make a tune memorable.

Melinda moved toward her keyboard in
her sitting room and the ghostly music suddenly stopped.

“
Hey, you almost done?”
Nathan called from the bedroom door.

She spun around to him. “Did you hear
that?”

He entered the room, drawing his dark
brows together. “Hear what?”

“
I thought I heard music.
It sounded far away.”

He came up to her and ran his hands
along her arms. “Melinda, you’re a musician, I’m sure you hear
music all the time in your head.”

“
This wasn’t in my
head.”

“
Are you suggesting I have
a musical ghost in my building?” Nathan added with a
chuckle.

“
No. It was just … there
was something wrong with the music. Like it wasn’t being played
right.”

Nathan nudged her toward the bedroom
door. “I have no idea what that means. How do you not play music
right? Are you talking about missing notes or
something?”