Sundown

A laugh explodes through her nose, and she leans forward. It makes me smile, and I catch her chin, lifting her face. Her cheeks are pink, and I kiss her lightly.

“I could never forget you as long as I live.”

Her smile slowly turns sentimental. “I’ll never forget any of this.”

“Are you saying I’ve made an impression?” My arm goes around her waist, and I pull her naked body flush against mine.

“What do you think?” She reaches up and scratches her fingernails over my cheeks.

For a moment, we only look into each other’s eyes. I think about tonight, the séance. I think about how it seemed like when our eyes met, she was calling to me. I wanted to hear what her thoughts were saying. I want to tell her to stay. Only, I don’t know the rest of her story after I left. I don’t know what she’s doing here or why, although if she knows Esterhaus, I have an idea.

Her hands tighten on my face. “I think if I move, I’m going to fall out of this bed.”

Holding her back, I push up and arrange the pillows so I can lean against them. Then I pull her so she’s leaning against me.

“Better?” I ask, and she nods. For a moment, I think about it. “Are you hungry?” She shakes her head no. “Want a drink?”

That makes her think a bit more. “Not right now.”

Finally, I just ask it. “What happened after I left? What did you do?”

Her head is on my shoulder, and she takes a deep breath. Her finger traces a line through my chest hair at the top of my pecs.

“I told you part of it. Part I’m sure you already know… Tanya died.”

I tighten my arm over her shoulder. “I’m sorry.”

“It was like a long, slow suicide,” she sighs.

My brow furrows. I remember part of that story. “How long did you stay there after I left?”

“Not long.” Her voice is quiet. “Something happened, and things got worse… Then they got better. For me anyway.”

I lift up to look at her. “In what way?”

“Freddie took us to Paris. We left that place behind like I always said we would. We left everything behind…”

The sadness in her voice is so familiar. It’s how I felt when my eyes opened in that box, and I knew my shot at being her hero was gone. I want t

o move us away from the dark times. I’m sorry I took us back there.

“So you left New Orleans together?”

She nods against my shoulder, still tracing the lines on my torso with her finger. It’s a soothing motion.

“It wouldn’t have happened if it weren’t for Roland.”

A little growl escapes my throat. “I always hated that guy.”

That earns me a surprised laugh. “Why?”

“The way he always acted like you belonged to him. He cock-blocked me at every turn.”

She’s quiet a moment, and I can tell she’s thinking. “I don’t think he intended to do that. He had a hard life.”

The change in her tone has me back-tracking. “You said he helped you escape?”

“He found Freddie…” Her head pops up, and her tone becomes lighter. “After things happened… If he hadn’t gotten me on my feet again, we might never have gone to Paris.”