Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 86510 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 433(@200wpm)___ 346(@250wpm)___ 288(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 86510 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 433(@200wpm)___ 346(@250wpm)___ 288(@300wpm)
I flip the switch off. The chandelier goes dark. “It’ll probably be okay now. It’s an old building, Mary.”
“What if…”
I place my hands gently on her shoulders. “You’re going to be fine. Would you like to switch rooms?”
“Have you had any flickering in your room?”
“No.”
“I just…” She looks down and then back up, her cheeks blushing. “Maybe you could stay here with me. Or I could stay in your room with you? I’m not saying I want to—”
I nod. “I understand. There doesn’t seem to be any haunting in my room, so we’ll stay there. Gather whatever you need.”
“Thank you,” she breathes, her shoulders dropping. She grabs her phone and her purse. “Everything else will be okay until morning.”
I lead her to my room next door and lock up.
She climbs into my bed, and I climb in on the other side.
I wanted her to get a good night’s sleep. I had her good and relaxed, but then the damn chandelier had to flicker.
We can always sleep in. I was going to pick her up at ten to get beignets, but that can always wait until the next day. I will not wake her up until she wakes up herself.
She needs her sleep.
I spoon up against her, ignoring my hard cock, and kiss her shoulder. “Go to sleep, Mary.”
She closes her eyes, and within a few moments, her breathing has become shallower, and I know she’s succumbed to slumber.
I move away from her, lying on my back, staring up at my own chandelier.
“Are you here?” I ask.
The light flickers on for moment.
“I thought so. Try not to scare her, got it?”
The light flickers off and stays off the rest of the night.
The Cornstalk Hotel is one of my favorite places in New Orleans. The place is presumably haunted by the ghosts of former residents and visitors, including a woman who is said to have jumped from a balcony to her death and a Confederate soldier who haunts the hotel’s courtyard.
I learned, growing up here, not to discount the rumors.
Is there a ghost here? Did he or she truly answer me with a light flicker?
Maybe.
Maybe not.
But I keep an open mind—and an idea comes to me. One that will make Mary’s stay here memorable indeed.
Chapter Twenty
Mary
When I wake up, I’m not sure where I am.
Then I remember. New Orleans. With Ronan. In his room. I came here because a ghost—er…a light—flickered in my room.
I don’t know what time it is, but I do feel rested, despite the fact that I freaked out in the middle of the night.
I’m relaxed now—as if I’m floating on a soft cloud. A chandelier flickering would have no effect on me in this moment.
But in the middle of a dark night, in a strange hotel that’s rumored to be haunted?
Even after that mind-blowing sex with Ronan, I was still freaked.
He’s not beside me in bed, but I hear the shower running in the adjacent bathroom.
I’m tempted to walk in and join him.
My God, who am I?
This is all so not me.
I was perfectly happy living my submissive life. Having no relationship, getting my pleasure from my scenes at the club.
But then the scene that went wrong…
It wasn’t even that bad, from a purely factual standpoint, but it affected me. And I can’t deny that it did just because it seems like it shouldn’t have.
The shower stops, and a few moments later, Ronan walks out, a towel around his waist.
His red hair is wet and hangs around his shoulders in damp waves. God, he’s beautiful. Magnificent even. Already my pussy reacts, especially when I remember those glorious orgasms last night.
“Oh good, you’re awake,” he says.
“What time is it?”
He squints at the sun coming through the filmy drapes. “About nine thirty, I think.”
“We were supposed to leave at ten.”
He shrugs. “True, but I wanted you to get your sleep.”
“Why?”
He walks toward me, looking scrumptious. “Because, Mary, I feel like it’s been a while since you’ve had a night of uninterrupted sleep. Am I wrong?”
“You’re not wrong.”
“I was hoping to give you that last night, but I suppose our ghostly friend interfered.”
My heart races and my nerves jump. “You really believe it was a ghost?”
“Maybe.”
“The wiring?” I ask.
“Most likely.”
I nod, still unsure. “Thanks for letting me stay here with you. I did sleep like a rock.”
“You’re welcome to stay in my room with me every night, if you wish. You make the rules.”
“That doesn’t sound like something a Dominant would say.”
“You know as well as I do, Mary, that the true power in the relationship belongs to the submissive.”
I sit up in bed. “I’ve never seen it that way. I see it as a balance of power between the two.”
“Yes, I can see that as well.” He walks to his suitcase that sits on the floor, riffles through it, and pulls out a pair of boxer briefs. “I think you and I need to have a talk.”