Experiment In Terror - Come Alive Part 13

Ambrosia ignored her and turned her million dollar smile on us. "To get back to the story, it is fascinating, Perry, you're right. I just don't think it's safe. Zombies are one thing, but those neighborhoods, the real people, they're a much bigger threat to your safety. Maybe after you get some haunted house footage, we can look into it more."

"That's just what I was going to suggest," Maximus said, directing his goofy smitten gaze at her.

Right. Suggest. Like Maximus wasn't all about telling us what we could and couldn't do.

"So where is the haunted house?" I asked.

"Yes, and is it anything like the haunted mansion in Disneyland?" Perry added.

With a defeated sigh, Rose told us about the house, pretty much repeating what Maximus had told us: paranormal activity had doubled, as it had in many parts of the city post-Katrina, and a lot of researchers had been in there without picking up on anything too wild. Aside from the spike in the supernatural, there wasn't anything too unusual about the house. It was built at the turn of the century and was used as a boarding house for many years before becoming a squatter's paradise. Then the storm surge caused the breeches in the Industrial Ca.n.a.l and flooded the place. It was hard to tell if anyone had died inside.

"Tomorrow night we'll go and shoot it," Maximus said.

"Don't we need special permission from the city?" Perry asked.

"You don't need permission to do anything here," Rose said dryly. "The Wild West, remember? The City that Forgot to Care."

To accent that last bit, the band ended with a sad crash of the symbol and Dead Frog's Blood exited the stage and Ambrosia got up, going around to each table and collecting tips for them.

When she came back, the music had turned to CCR over the speakers and she held out her hand toward me.

"Pardon me, Perry," she asked, though she was gazing straight at me, "but do you mind if I dance with your man?"

I could hear Rose suck in her breath across the table and was so certain that Perry was going to tell her to f.u.c.k right off, but instead she threw her head back and smiled at Ambrosia, "I don't mind if he doesn't mind."

The thing was, I didn't mind dancing with Ambrosia. I was tempted to touch her skin to feel how smooth it was. These were bad, bad urges and I didn't really know why I was feeling them. Obviously I had a libido that just wouldn't quit and I knew I was a pervert deep down at heart. But I shouldn't have been thinking those thoughts with a gorgeous woman right beside me, the one that was mine, the one I loved, but I was. I didn't understand.

Realizing that I hadn't given her an answer and was leaving her standing there, that everyone was waiting for me to say something, I opened my mouth to say, "Actually I'd rather give the first dance to Perry here." But I didn't say that, because Perry looked at Maximus and said, "And while you guys dance, I'll dance with Maximus here."

I choked on my words before they could come out, feeling like I was kicked by a sharp-toed boot. Maximus looked just as surprised as I did, but he said, "I'd be honored, little lady," and got out of his chair, as if he were a chivalrous gentleman doing her a favor.

Perry got out of hers, not even meeting my eyes, and together they went off to the dance floor. It took a few seconds for me to recover, so I shot Ambrosia my most becoming grin and leaped to my feet.

"You better be careful," Rose said under her breath. I gave her a funny look, but she busied herself with her beer, like she'd never said anything.

I tried not to look at Perry and Maximus dancing together, having horrifying flashbacks to Rudy's Bar in Red Fox, New Mexico, and once my arms were around Ambrosia and I was feeling the softness of her skin, I couldn't even care less what Perry and Maximus were doing. All I could think about was this exotic woman in my arms, the elegance of her dance moves. Sure, we were dancing to "Bad Moon Rising," but we managed to make it work.

"You're an interesting man," she said slyly, pressing herself to me. "All of you are. Your girlfriend. Rose's ex-lover. You're all very unique. But you're the most unique of all."

I raised a brow at her and grinned c.o.c.kily. "Oh yeah? How so?"

She pondered the question for a moment. "You have a very large aura."

I grinned even wider. "That I do."

"It's very powerful. You're a lot stronger than you look. You've got a lot of willpower."

"I do?" At the moment, I was afraid I didn't have any. Suddenly thoughts of Perry entered my mind and my heart directed my attention across the dance floor. Perry and Maximus were dancing together. Jealousy kicked me in the gut, making me bleed, but the longer I stared at them, the more I realized how awkward they looked. Perry looked like she'd rather be getting a root ca.n.a.l, and Maximus was staring at Rose. Silly girl was trying to make me jealous now. G.o.d, I wished I could have been annoyed about that but I wasn't.

I looked down at the cocoa-skinned temptress in my arms, and suddenly I had a feeling I knew what she was doing. She was a Voodoo priestess in training and one h.e.l.l of a hardcore flirt.

"Thank you for the lovely dance," I told her, my feet coming to a stop before the song was over. "But I'm afraid I've got a thirst that just won't quit." I nodded at the bar.

She smiled slyly, satisfied. "I knew it. More strength than most people, and more willpower than you think."

I threw up my arms. "Too bad you ain't a drink, baby," I said lightly, and made my way over the bar. I heard her giggle behind me.

The second I was away from her and the bartender was handing me a Jack and c.o.ke, local priced, I felt like a huge weight was lifted off my shoulders, a layer of gauze peeled away from my eyes. I leaned back against the bar and watched as the song ended and Perry and Maximus went back to the table. She didn't look for me. I knew she was smarting over the whole Ambrosia thing, and even though I planned to turn her down, Perry's insecurity wasn't going to believe that. Besides, I probably had been staring at Ambrosia like a fool, just like Maximus was staring at her right now. I guess I wasn't exactly the man to instill a sense of faith in people.

After I downed my drink and ordered another one, plus another Mint Julep for Perry, I went back to the table. Everyone was talking about ghosts, some of the worst they'd seen, and Rose was doing most of the gabbing.

I pa.s.sed Perry her drink, to which she politely, albeit stiffly, thanked me. She turned to Rose. "So tell me, do you just see ghosts or is there more?"

She cracked a rare smile. "There's more. If I concentrate hard enough, I can put people in a trance."

"Like the Beard Man at your bar," I said.

"Beard Man? Oh, Daryl. Yes. Like that. He never heard a word we were talking about. In fact, he wouldn't have heard anyone. It's almost like an invisibility cloak of sorts, comes in handy on occasion. I reckon it would come more in handy if I used my ability for bad, not good, but that's only 'cause being bad comes up more often."

"Is that it?" Perry asked.

"That's not enough?"

"How long have you had the whole trance hypnotist ability? Do you know where you got it from?"

She wiggled her lips and then said, "No idea. Just sort of discovered it one day."

I called bulls.h.i.+t on that. But perhaps she didn't want to talk about it. Maybe not in front of Maximus or Ambrosia. Maybe not in front of me.

Soon, while Perry got to discussing our time with Sa.s.sy(quatch), the band began to file back on stage. I felt like I was about to waste an opportunity if I didn't act now.

I got out of my chair and stepped onto the low stage. The guitarist looked up at me in surprise. "Where y'at, son?"

"There's a woman I'd like to impress," I told him. "And she does love the sound of my voice. Do you think I could sing the first song? There's a round of drinks for you fellas in it."

That was all it took to seal the deal. I told them the song, knowing they'd be able to swing it, then grabbed the mic and brought it up to my mouth.

"Good evening, ladies and gentleman," I said, my voice booming across the bar. Perry, Rose, Maximus, and Ambrosia all swiveled their heads in my direction while most of the patrons looked up in pa.s.sing interest. "I know I'm not who you expected to see tonight, but the fellas here were gracious enough to grant me this song, this song I dedicate to the beautiful, the s.e.xy, the crazy, Perry Palomino."

I gestured to her dramatically with the swing of my hand, and even though we were already in a red light's glow, I knew her face was turning redder.

I looked at the guitarist and said, "Hit it, boys."

They sprang into a spa.r.s.e but soulful rendition of Otis Redding's "That's How Strong My Love Is."

A few people in the bar clapped at the old favorite, including Rose and Ambrosia, who were looking impressed when I hit those first notes with smoothness to spare. Maximus, however, was looking at me like he wanted to light me on fire. It didn't matter what he thought. This song was for Perry.

"I'll be the moon when the sun goes down," I sang to her and only her, "just to let you know that I'll be around."

I had sung a similar song to her in Seattle, back at the Shownet Christmas party, the start of that beautiful, devastating night. At the time, I sung "This Guy's In Love with You," and I sung it with as much feeling as I could muster, because I was in love with her, I was in love with her deeply, and that song was the only way I knew how to express myself. She had no idea how I felt, even though I felt like half the Shownet staff must have had some inkling after that.

Now I had told her how I felt, she knew I loved her, and yet this Otis Redding song held as much pa.s.sion and conviction as the one before. Because I still felt like what I had in my hands could slip through my fingers at any moment, and what I thought I might have in the end could turn out to be nothing at all.

When I was done, a layer of sweat on my brow, my hands shaking from adrenaline, the smoke in the bar was thick and I could barely see our table. But I could feel Perry watching me. I hoped she realized every word I sung was true.

"How about that from a white boy," the guitarist said lazily into the mic. "Everyone give him another hand, his Redding almost puts mine to shame."

I knew that wasn't true, but I took the compliment anyway and went to the bar, ordering the band a round of drinks.

Perry appeared at my side, looking shy and embarra.s.sed.

I smiled softly at her. "Hey, kiddo."

She swallowed, licking her lips. "Thank you."

"For what?"

"For that...for...trying to make me feel better."

"Perry..."

She shook her head quickly. "I'm sorry. I'm being a jerk, I know. I just...I see the way that girl looks at you, how beautiful and thin she is, how you guys looked so good together, and I...I panicked. Dex, I'm not used to being with anyone, let alone someone like you. You have no idea how f.u.c.king hot you are."

"And you have no idea how G.o.dd.a.m.n s.e.xy, beautiful, and amazing you are," I answered back.

"You forgot crazy."

I put my hands around her waist and pulled her to me. "Baby, we are both crazy. That's why we're made for each other."

Then I kissed her hard, not caring who saw. And there were quite a few people that did. They applauded again and we both grinned against each other's lips.

Now that we got some of those misunderstandings out of the way, the rest of the night went smoothly. I pulled Perry onto my lap, so Ambrosia turned her charms to Maximus for a while, then decided to make her rounds of the bar, seeing a bunch of people she knew. Rose proceeded to get a little drunk, which you'd think would make her looser and more carefree, but it didn't. If anything, she got more uptight, more worried, her eyes scanning the bar.

Pretty soon things were getting loud and rowdy and people were dancing. Ambrosia was dancing from man to man, all of them fawning over her, while I kept Perry close to me, trying to keep my eyes on her, even though sometimes I felt compelled to look in Ambrosia's direction. When we worked up a sweat, Perry excused herself to go to the bar and get us some water, sensible girl that she was. I sat back down at our table and watched her go, enjoying the view of her a.s.s, the swing of her hips, the shake of her hair. She seemed a little more confident than she was earlier, and while I hoped it would stick around for a while, I knew it wasn't going to be an overnight thing with her. It didn't matter though, she was worth all the effort and then some.

Perry was being chatted up by a huge black dude who had eyes for only her cleavage. I would have stepped in, especially since he looked like he was saying some pretty cheesy s.h.i.+t, but Perry was giving him her patented "p.i.s.s off" look and blatantly ignoring him.

The man kept on leering at her though, and I continued to put faith in Perry's handling of the situation when the unthinkable happened.

In mid-sentence, whatever gross pick-up line he was trying, the man stopped talking. He reached up to his throat and held it, eyes bulging, skin growing slick with sweat that glistened under the red lights. Perry looked at him in concern at first, followed by shock. The man keeled over onto the floor, hitting it with a thud that shook the bar.

Someone screamed, then everyone screamed. People ran. Perry stumbled backward, looking horrified, more at herself as if she did something to him, but I knew she hadn't. Someone bent over the man and felt for his pulse. I read his lips. "Dead."

I got up and pushed my way through the frightened people, making my way over to Perry and taking her into my arms.

"Dex," she whimpered into my chest as I stroked the back of her head. "He just fell."

"I know," I told her, watching as someone else listened for his heartbeat and verified what the other man had said. He was dead. Heart attack, who knew.

The ambulance pulled up just as we were leaving. I wanted to get out of there before the police started pulling people aside for eye-witness reports. We were done dealing with the police after what happened in Snowcrest, and Rose was quick to tell us we did the right thing, especially considering the way the cops were in NOLA. They could help you or royally screw you.

The five of us went around the corner, nervously peeking around at the flas.h.i.+ng lights. We saw the man's body get pushed out in a body bag and placed into the ambulance.

Ambrosia lit up a cigarette-I'd seen her smoking socially in the bar-and Perry stuck her hand out.

"I'd like one please," she demanded, her voice shaking.

I would have said something about that, but she'd just seen a man die right beside her. She could have the whole pack if she wanted it.

While Perry smoked, Ambrosia told us about the man. She'd danced with him earlier. His name was Tuffy G (because of course it was), and he was an okay guy, he just got a bit pervy when he got drunk. As far as she knew, he was a bit overweight but there was nothing wrong with him. He was in his early thirties and lived somewhat close to the haunted house we were investigating. He tiled bathrooms for a living.

"Well, I guess sometimes people just die," I said.

Ambrosia shot me a dirty look that still managed to look s.e.xual. She flicked away her cigarette b.u.t.t. "You know, for someone who sees ghosts, you don't seem to have a lot of respect for the dead."

"Dex doesn't have a lot of respect for the living either," Maximus put in.

"Shut it, ginger b.a.l.l.s."

"We should get going," Rose interrupted us before we could get into another sniping war. "I have to open tomorrow."

"I'm sorry that ended in a bit of a bust," Ambrosia said apologetically. "Still hope you had a nice time. And I wish you the best of luck with the house. If you need anything before you go, here's my card." She handed it to me and I slipped it in my pocket. She looked us all in the eye. "Seriously, if you need anything at all, I'm happy to help. I don't care how ludicrous it sounds. I like you guys."

Rose grumbled something and then started walking down the street toward her truck. We said goodbye to Ambrosia and hurried after her.

Back at the bed and breakfast, Perry was still in a state of sh.e.l.l-shock. I ran her a bath, making it overflow with sweet-smelling bubbles, and led her over to it. I bathed her while she sat there, and I made her drink a gla.s.s of bourbon that I'd bought earlier in the day.

"Do you want to talk about it?" I asked her as I ran a washcloth down her milky white back.

She shook her head. "I'll be okay." She looked up at me. "Dex, make love to me."

I c.o.c.ked my head, not hearing her right. "What? Now?"

"I need to feel you," she said, her voice barely above a whimper.

"Okay, baby," I told her. I brought her out of the bath, quickly dried her off, and then carried her over to the bed. I lay her down on it, then slowly, gently, covered her silken body with kisses, from the curve of her shoulder to her delicate ankle bones.

While I was inside, staring deep into her eyes, pus.h.i.+ng slow, pus.h.i.+ng soft while I was so hard, I felt a tingle at the back of my neck, a wash of heat covering my head.

I love making love to you, Perry's thoughts crept into my brain. I need you, I need you.

I couldn't help but smile and took us both over the edge. It wasn't quite I love you. But it was a start.

CHAPTER TEN.