Hosts to Ghosts Box Set

by Lynne Connolly

  Six months ago, the last day she’d been truly happy. As always, she shoved the thoughts aside, but she found it harder now, because she had Jordan to face in person. Well, she’d just have to suck it up.

  She took the small staircase behind the lounge which led to the corridor by her room. She had a laptop in her own room, linked wirelessly to the equipment. She switched on and watched the screen. When it appeared, she clicked into multi-screen mode, so she could see all the cameras. The eerie shapes of the furniture loomed up on the infrared, but nothing moved, not a moth, not a mouse.

  She stared at the screens, and listened to the vague hiss of the speakers, her mind straying for the umpteenth time to the mystery of what had gone wrong with her marriage. Now she had seen Didiane she suspected some of it, but Jordan had asked for a separate room, and had rejected Didiane’s advances. Just a lovers’ quarrel, she’d thought, but now she had her doubts. Trained to observe, Karey knew his body language had displayed utter rejection, even dislike.

  Once she’d seen them together, she suspected that, while Didiane might have inveigled Jordan into an extra-marital dalliance, she wouldn’t have kept him. Jordan’s sense of right and wrong could have made him end the marriage, but not without telling her.

  Jordan wasn’t a promiscuous man. Before they had hooked up, he hadn’t shown any interest in women, so much that Karey had thought he was more interested in men. Until he’d admitted his attraction to her. Hosts to Ghosts had driven his every waking hour, trying to make a success of it where so many others had failed. It seemed to consume him until one night, working late at the office, they shared their first kiss.

  He’d said he’d known since then. That she was for him, that he was for her. He’d confessed his experiences with women was patchy, but she’d never had any complaints. Jordan was all she wanted, and she’d thought she was all he wanted, too—until that letter arrived.

  This new Jordan was a changed man. His casual manner remained, but Karey sensed a new wariness, an edginess she couldn’t explain. He looked paler, too, and thinner. Not that he’d ever carried much extra weight, but he’d gained breadth and muscular density, as if he’d been working out, and his stomach and hips appeared leaner as a consequence. He’d gained a new sense of style, too. The checked shirts, worn, old-fashioned pants and hideous polyester traveling clothes had gone, replaced by sleeker, more expensive garb. No doubt the influence of dear Didiane. Gall was a bitter taste, Karey discovered.

  A movement on one of the cameras caught her eye. Sitting up, she gave all her attention to the screens. It could have been a night creature, but she didn’t think so.

  Her psychic senses went on alert, tingling in a mass of nerve endings all over her body. This was it, she knew it. She’d finally make contact with the spirits of this place. Excitement thrummed through her, but she forced herself to calm down, breathe deeply and invite the spirits to approach. She opened herself up to them.

  A familiar numbness invaded her body as the near trancelike state swept over her. Instead of fighting it, she welcomed it, and let it have its way.

  “Susannah.” Muzzily she wondered where the voice had come from. A breath on the wind, hardly audible. “Susannah.”

  Something swept across her, a feeling of otherworldliness. Another time, another place.

  “Yes?” She opened her eyes and saw the shadowy figure in the open doorway. She stood and retreated behind her chair, suddenly afraid.

  “No more,” said the man, walking slowly across the room to her. “I won’t give you cause to be scared any more.” He held out a black jewelry box, opening it for her.

  She gasped at what it contained. A large, table cut sapphire necklace. The facets winked in the dim light. “This is for you, darling, as a token of our love.” She flinched, but he ignored her reaction and reached forward to drape the chain over her head. The stones hung just above her breasts, heavy, striking cold through her thin shirt.

  She looked up at him. She knew the lean features, the dark, fathomless eyes, now gazing at her with desire and possession. “You will not have cause to complain after tonight.” He glanced away, and she fought the urge to put her fingers on his chin, to turn him to look at her again. He wore something crisp and white, that smelled of fresh starch and the heat of his body. “I did something wrong. I have to tell you.”

  “Yes?” she whispered, and licked her lips to wet them.

  The small gesture caught his attention and she gasped when he returned his attention to her. His eyes blazed with sexual want. “That bitch Camille enchanted me.” He shook his head slightly and swallowed. “I finished it. My obsession is dead, and there’s only you left. Let me make it up to you. Let me love you, Susannah, you’re my only hope!”

  His arms shot out and he seized her, pressing her to the heat of his body. He shook with sobs, and her heart ached to comfort him. “You’re the only sweet thing in my life, you and the children. I need you now.”

  Karey felt a presence stronger than anything she had come across before, filling her with a new being, a new personality. She shared the feelings, but they weren’t hers. She forced herself to relax into the new being invading her body. With any luck, she could begin the cleansing process Auguste had asked for. Remembering to keep part of herself back, so she could pull away if she felt any danger, she let the rest of her emotion seep into the experience.

  Ghosts could be dangerous. They weren’t always the passive beings of legend.

  Susannah didn’t want to be held so tightly, especially by this man. He’d hurt her immeasurably in the past, and she had no reason to think this was anything but another of his cruel tricks. She didn’t want him any more.

  The stones hanging from her neck had warmed in the heat of her body and now she felt them radiating warmth of their own. They heated and gained in warmth, leeching her strength, weakening her will.

  A force greater than anything she could fight shoved Karey aside, a mouse losing a battle with a cat. She couldn’t move, she couldn’t take control and despite her strength of will, she lost the battle with Susannah Sharman, now fully in control of her mind and body.

  Panic gripped Karey, paralyzing her. She forced herself to relax, to think. She was a prisoner in her own body, unable to move, unable to affect what was happening to her.

  “Let me go, Thomas, let me go!”

  Sobbing she pushed away, and without looking back, she spun on her heel and ran.

  It didn’t matter where she went as long as it was away from him. Her long, dark hair came loose from its elaborate style, whipping about her face and she impatiently shoved it back, so she could see where she was going.

  The room was dimly lit, the lamps turned down for the night, but she didn’t pause, rushing toward the nursery and her children. They comprised her only solace in this place, the only peace she had since her marriage to this cruel, handsome man, the man who took pleasure in hurting her at every turn. The man she loved to the edge of madness.

  He’d done something terrible; she’d seen it in his eyes, lit with insanity, a wild look she had never seen in him before, even during the worst of his atrocities. He’d taken a whip to her, and she’d known he’d enjoyed it, but once she was pregnant he kept away, until she was empty of the babe. When he’d turned to others she’d been relieved, even though it meant he hardly ever returned to her bed. Now he said he wanted her, only her.

  She couldn’t to bear it. She ran, knowing where she was going by instinct. She had to get to the children!

  Chapter Five

  Jordan’s sense of danger increased to screaming point. He could almost taste it.

  He forced himself to stand still in the hall, tasting the air, putting his senses out to find her.

  He had her in a second. He could find only one living being in this place large enough to be human. His enhanced senses sought and found, and he set off at a run into the east wing.

  A few rooms here had been put right after the fire, but higher up the refur
bishment was still underway. Tufts of wiring poked out of newly plastered walls, and the smell of freshly painted surfaces overpowered his sense of smell, but the other senses remained intact. She was here, along this narrow corridor, in a room at the end.

  Only the room had no floor, the planks balanced at one end of the room while the electricians laid cabling. They’d put a warning outside “Dangerous—live wires.” Karey had one foot in midair, and one on the threshold when he dragged her back to slam against him.

  They fell to the floor, Karey on top, struggling wildly. He cursed when her heel caught his shin, but gripped her even tighter. “Karey, Karey, it’s me! What the fuck were you doing?”

  “Let me go! I need to get to the children before it’s too late!”

  “Children? What children?”

  Jordan rolled so he lay on top of her, forcing her to face him. Her eyes were wide open, but they stared past him, through him to something he couldn’t see. As far as he knew, vampires couldn’t become invisible, so he shook off the feeling and bent, his face close to hers. “Karey, Karey, where are you? Wake up!”

  She continued to struggle and he watched, horrified, as tears trickled down the sides of her face, to be lost in her thick mass of auburn hair. “Let me go, Thomas, let me go! Please, Thomas!”

  He could only do one thing, and he so wished he didn’t have to. A deeply invasive action, melding them closer than he’d wanted, but he had to save her. Karey was lost, sunk in some world he couldn’t follow.

  Except that he could. He kneeled over her, setting his legs either side of hers to hold her steady, then placed his hands on either side of her face, blocking her arms with his, preventing her struggles. “Look at me.” He repeated the world, not loudly, but in tones she couldn’t ignore. “Look at me.”

  Abruptly, her wild gaze turned to his. He saw no recognition in her eyes, nothing he could connect with. Blocking out the rest of the world, he concentrated, and entered her mind.

  It took a mere moments to penetrate the thin barrier shielding her mind from the outside world. Inside her, as he’d never been before. Closer than he’d ever dreamed he could get to anyone else. Until six months ago.

  She struggled, but he held her still. He was inside her now. Except it wasn’t her. It was Susannah Sharman.

  Fear swirled around her mind, edging into terror. When she felt him in her mind, she recoiled and the terror increased, beating wings of panic against his soul. He had to wait, sending soothing waves through her until she calmed. He could send her right over the edge if he didn’t take care. Terror gripped him, partly from her, but added to by his own.

  She began to calm, her heart regaining its steady beat. “Breathe easy,” he murmured. “Look at me, love.”

  She looked at him with Susannah Sharman’s eyes. He trapped her in his gaze and moved deeper into her mind. When he found Karey he breathed out in relief. “Begone, Susannah,” he said, aloud for emphasis, but strengthening the command mentally. “This is not your body to take, not yours to rule.”

  She wriggled under him with deliberate intent, her thigh moving against his dick. He swallowed, fighting his instinctive arousal and kept perfectly still. “Make me,” Susannah murmured, her southern accent strong. “I’ve never been able to do this before.” His gaze sharpened at her words. “I could be yours, if you let me stay. You can’t make that happen, can’t you?”

  “Do you know what I am?” This time he cut Karey out, sheltering her as best he could, speaking only to Susannah.

  She caught her breath. “Yes. But that doesn’t make you my master. I have power, too.”

  “I was sired by a Cornell,” he told her, watching for her reaction.

  She lowered her eyelids in an expression of bashfulness Jordan didn’t believe for a moment. “What would I know of such people? I’ve never traveled farther than Charleston in my life!”

  “You know who I mean. I have the power to oust you.”

  Her eyelids flicked open. “Prove it.”

  Jordan proved it. He entered her mind again, delving straight through to where a terrified Karey cowered, unable to help herself. He erected a mental barrier, sheltering her from what he was about to do. The only way to do that was to open to her, and show her his power, but there was no hope for it now. Susannah wanted a fight, so a fight she would have. But not at Karey’s expense.

  “I like it here,” Susannah said.

  “Too bad.” Without warning, Jordan ripped Susannah out, drawing her to him, gathering her closer. Before she could react he hurled her away, as far as he could. A ball of light danced at the far end of the corridor, turning a baleful green before it disappeared into the darkness.

  “Karey?”

  Her eyes had closed, but at the sound of his voice they opened again, widely spiked with terror. “Jordan? What did you do? How?”

  “Shhhh.” Unable to resist, Jordan sank down into her arms, sheltering her with his body, keeping his weight off her with his elbows. “Hush. I’ll take you to your room, then we’ll talk, okay? Just rest, ma belle.”

  He stood, effortlessly lifting her up with him. She nestled close to his heart, all the fight gone from her. Jordan ached with longing, but it was a longing to baby her, to take her back to her room and care for her. So different from the tough Karey he knew so well.

  He passed through the east wing quickly, then glancing down at her to make sure her eyes were closed, quickened his pace, moving at a speed difficult for a human to emulate, and with a smoothness none ever could.

  Not bothering to ask for her key, he opened the door himself, by telekinetically moving the lock. The room was neatly arranged, the bed undisturbed. Smiling at this reminder of his orderly wife, he laid her gently on the bed.

  She opened her eyes. “How did I get here? Did I fall asleep?”

  “Maybe. You’ve undergone a disturbing experience.”

  “Yes.” She frowned and the light of intelligence and excitement returned to her eyes. “Jordan, this is fantastic! Did she really take control of me? How is that possible?” She sat up, smoothing her hair away from her face. “I was possessed?” The haunted look turned into exhilaration as her formidable brain regained its equilibrium. “I must write it down.”

  “No.” Jordan caught her hands when she would have slid off the bed, and forced her to pay attention to him. “You have to rest. You won’t forget that experience in a hurry, you can write it down another time.” He sat down, still holding her hands. “This makes things dangerous for you, Karey. You have to leave Belle Sauvage.”

  “Leave?” Her voice rose to a squeak. “Leave? Are you fucking kidding? I’ve never had a paranormal experience so strong before, and you want me to run away? Jordan, you’re mad.” She assessed him, glittering emerald eyes half closed. “You’ve changed. You would have pushed me into it this time last year. You would have attached the electrodes yourself.”

  “Yes I’ve changed. I know more than I did a year ago. This is dangerous.”

  “What do you know? How did you find out?”

  Fuck, he’d talked himself into a big, deep bear trap. He knew she wouldn’t rest until he’d told her a little more. “Some people have the ability to link with these—ghosts, spirits, memories, whatever they are.”

  “What people?”

  He ignored her question. “You’re in danger here, Karey. You’re a medium.”

  She grinned. “I know that, you idiot. You did the tests yourself, don’t you remember?”

  He reached for her hand, turning it over to see the palm. He wasn’t a palm reader, he just wanted the excuse to touch her. “They might not have been the right tests.”

  She tensed. “What do you mean? I took the most up to date tests available.”

  He looked up, meeting her eyes. “I’ve learned more than I thought possible these last months. There are other tests, but they’re nothing like the tests we researched and devised.” He didn’t let her interrupt, knowing she would ask him how he knew. “You’re a
sensitive, a medium. That means you’re vulnerable to evil influences. I want you out of here, Karey.”

  She tried to pull her hand away but he wouldn’t let her. “Who are you to tell me what to do? I’m in charge here, Jordan. You walked away from it all, remember? Once I’ve finished the initial research, I’m getting a TV team in here pronto, you hear me?”

  He gave her a Gallic shrug. “Foret’s capable of supervising the repairs. I’ll call Auguste, he’ll understand.”

  Her lips firmed in a stubborn expression he was very familiar with. “No. I stay. Jordan, I’m on the brink of discovering something remarkable. It could make my name. It could make the company’s name.”

  He gripped her hand hard. “It could kill you.”

  She shook her arm, trying to get free, and he released her with a grimace of apology. “I’m sorry, Karey. I still care about you, whatever you might think.”

  It was the wrong thing to say, he knew it the minute the words left his mouth. She stiffened. “Do you? Why did you do it then? Why did you go off like that?”

  He sighed and looked away, noting again the tidiness of the room. She’d lined up the toiletry bottles with military precision, labels to the front, the brushes at right angles to the mirror. Karey had always been tidy, but this obsessive behavior spoke eloquently of her state of mind, the way she was trying to distract herself, keep busy. He’d hurt her badly. She was keeping a rigid control over her life, even to her brushes and bottles.

  He could turn this situation into an argument, drive her away again but here in her domain, the room smelling agonizingly of her perfume and her essence, he hadn’t the heart.

  “Was Cornell a real vampire, Jordan? Did he turn you?”

  “Convert,” he corrected her, but silently. “We call it converting.” Instead of telling her the truth, he turned back to the mirror and waved to his reflection. “Hellooo!”

  She gave him a rueful grin, getting his point. “Yeah, okay, vampires don’t cast a reflection.”