Haunting Savannah: 8 Dark and Seductive Tales

by Lia Davis

  “It’s possible.”

  She gathered up her notebooks and purse and returned the microfiche to the librarian, whom she thanked profusely. As they walked out of her new favorite building an idea came to mind. “How about some cheeses, fruit, crusty bread and wine for a late supper?”

  “Sounds great. Can I have some of you, too?”

  On the steps of the library, she nudged him backward to lean against a Greek inspired column. “Oh, absolutely. You can have all of me. Then I’ll have you for dessert.” She rose up on her tiptoes and let him know just how much she planned on enjoying him by feasting on his lips. He wrapped his arms about her waist and pulled her to him. His hardness pressed against her belly. “Mmm. Down tiger. We’re out in public.”

  He leaned his forehead against hers. “Then maybe you shouldn’t have started something you couldn’t finish.”

  “Go to the car, Noah. I’ll finish you all right.”

  He discreetly adjusted himself.

  She didn’t say a word to him the whole ride home. She didn’t look at him. If she did either, she knew she’d lose it. She’d gone damp and ached with need. Supper could wait. She needed him. To touch him, taste him, feel him all over her and in her. She pulled up to the house and turned off the car. Shifting in her seat, she licked her lips and spoke frankly.

  “I’m not gonna make it and neither are you. Slide your seat back, baby. I need you now.”

  Without a word, he released the seat back as far as it would go. She did the rest of work, kneeling before him and undoing his board shorts. Her hands, drawn to his stiffened cock like magnets, massaged and stroked through his underwear. Heat emanated from him and she pulled his briefs down, exposing his manhood in its full glory.

  Noah groaned his pleasure and wrapped her hair around his fingers. She swallowed as much of him as she could, and then sucked gently in a pulsating rhythm. She moaned with the tip of him against the back of her throat, and he jerked up, pulling himself out of her mouth.

  “Condoms are in the house, baby. Oh, Geezus, Violet. Geezus. I gotta have you.”

  “I’m right here, baby, and I’m on the pill.” She lifted her sundress and climbed onto his lap. As she moved the thong aside, she eased down on him, luxuriating in the feel of his hot, hardened flesh sliding inside her. “Aah,” she murmured as her eyes fluttered closed.

  His hands slid up her thighs to her hips and he helped her rise and fall in perfect pacing with her racing heart. This was not meant to be a slow, tender ride. No, this was gonna be hot, fast, and frenzied. He leaned forward to tease her sensitized nipples through her camisole, and bucked beneath her to intensify the pounding urgency of release.

  “So close, Noah. Geezus, so close, baby,” she cried out.

  He took over with unbridled power and thrust into her two, three, four more times, and then stilled inside her. “Aw, God!” His rigid body eased after a moment as hers collapsed against him. His arms fell to rest around her waist. “Well, that was one hell of an appetizer, wasn’t it?”

  Chapter 6

  Wine bottle drained, only crumbs left on the cheeseboard, and Violet had an incredible buzz going on. “Noah,” she mumbled against his chest as they lay naked in bed.

  “Hmm?” He’d taken to making lazy circles all over her back, sending little shivers racing up and down her spine.

  “If I were a fruit, what do you think I’d be?”

  “A fruit. Well, I think you’d be a Georgia peach.”

  “A peach? Why?”

  “‘Cause you’re sweet and succulent, and I never get tired of eating peaches. They’re my favorite fruit.”

  “Aw, you know all the right things to say, don’t you? Ha ha!”

  “Are you a little drunk there?”

  “Maybe. Yes. Definitely.” She hiccupped. “I don’t usually drink this much, and since I missed out on the Halloween punch, I’m making up for lost time. It’s helping me forget that tomorrow you’re leaving.”

  “Yeah, I’m trying not to think about that myself. Are you up to walking around your house with me? Maybe we’ll find Annabelle.”

  “No…you can go. I’ll be fine right here.” She lifted a noodle of an arm then flopped it down.

  “Ow! That’s my stomach you just whacked.”

  “Oh! I’m so sorry.” She hiccupped again. “I thought you were the bed. You’re comfy just like one. I love you.”

  He kissed her forehead. “I love you, too. Take a little nap while I go explore your home. I’ll be back soon.”

  “Okie dokie.”

  Noah began in the attic where Violet had uncovered a portrait of a beautiful woman. He didn’t remember for certain if it would match with the portrait he’d discovered earlier in the day, but it was a good shot anyhow.

  “Let’s see if Annabelle lives here.”

  Resting where Violet had left it, the portrait sat leaning against the wall beside the small window. It definitely wasn’t her. And hadn’t Violet mentioned that it was a portrait of one of her ancestors? He’d forgotten that detail until now. Where else had he seen portraits? In bedrooms and hallways. He trudged back downstairs to the third floor where three guest bedrooms resided. Each one had a different portrait hanging above the bed. None were her. Down to the second floor, to Violet’s bedroom and two other bedrooms. He already knew the portrait in hers wasn’t Annabelle. From each of the other two doorways, he could see she wasn’t in those portraits either. None of the ones hanging on the walls from floor to floor resembled her. The main floor didn’t have any portraits at all.

  The basement could hold something. They hadn’t been down there since their Halloween encounter. He was so consumed by the safe room, he didn’t take a good look around. Down he went, wondering what time it was and if Benjamin would appear again. He scanned the area to the right of the hidden room and noticed sheets draped over rectangular objects. Could be paintings. Or not. Careful not to disturb the thick layer of dust and dirt accumulated on the covering, Noah meticulously folded the sheet up and onto itself like a burrito, enclosing all manner of aged gunk within.

  They were paintings. Landscapes, more portraits of men and women who were probably a part of Violet’s family, animals, flowers. No Annabelle. He’d scoured the house and she wasn’t there. So where had he seen her? Because once he knew, once he found her, he may very well find her descendants. Those descendants, therefore, would be related to him, however remotely, and something he’d wished for most of his life. They’d be his family.

  “Find anything?” Her arms slid around his waist. He turned to embrace her and kissed her lightly.

  “I thought you’d be out until morning. And no, I didn’t find anything. Annabelle’s not here.”

  “I had to pee, so I got up. Now, I’m up. I’m sorry, Noah. But maybe it’s a good thing she’s not here. It would make our histories that much more confusing. I mean why would a portrait of her be in this house? It wouldn’t make much sense. There’s only one other spot where she could be.”

  “The Windruff’s house. God, that vile woman!”

  “Right.” She rubbed his back, hoping to comfort him. “As much as I don’t want to see her or step foot in her house again, I think it’s the only choice we have left.”

  “You do know what it means if we find Annabelle there, don’t you?”

  “Yes. It’s a horrid thought, but yes.” She hugged him close, and he took all the support she was willing to give.

  “One last bit of research on the internet will connect those dots, as well. We need to find out the address of the Hawkins plantation.”

  “Easy enough, I would imagine.”

  A weak voice came from behind them. From the hidden room. “Annabelle? Annabelle, is that you?”

  Violet’s eyes widened like saucers and she grabbed his arm in a viselike grip. “Oh, my God, he’s back.”

  “Looks like that business we thought was finished isn’t.”

  “What should I do, Noah?”

  “Speak
to him. Stay here and speak to him. Be her for him.”

  She offered him a dubious look. “I’ll try, but I can’t make any promises.”

  “Annabelle, come to me. You promised you’d come to me.”

  Violet cleared her throat. “Benjamin, I’ll be with you soon. I’m close by. Has anybody followed you?”

  “Not that I could see. What about you?”

  “I don’t think so, but I’m scared. I believe my parents think I’m up to somethin’ no good. Benjamin, listen to me. If things don’t go right tonight, you have to run without me. Understand? You have to get yourself free and never think about me again. Will you do that for me?”

  “Oh, Annabelle, how can I leave you and the baby to face your family all by yourself? I could never do that. I could never forget ya neither. I’s afraid of what they’ll do to ya once they knows about the baby.”

  “I can handle it, Benjamin. Don’t you worry. Where did you say you were headed?”

  “St Augustine, Florida. They has a post there that’s takin’ in black folk like me.”

  “Godspeed, Benjamin. I love you.”

  “I love you, Annabelle Hawkins.”

  Silence.

  “Is he gone?” Violet nudged Noah to go look.

  He checked things out and called out to her. “He’s gone. You can come out now.”

  Violet flailed her arms, clearly frustrated by the ghost’s appearance. “Why is he still here? I thought yesterday’s conversation would’ve ended things. Damn it. Poor fella.”

  “I don’t know. Maybe he just needs to see her.”

  “How can he see her if she’s nowhere to be found? Maybe I just need to talk to him as me and let him know she’s gone. If he shows up again, that’s what I’ll do. Time to tie up these loose ends once and for all. Let’s go upstairs and search the town’s records for historic homes.”

  “Thanks, Violet.”

  “For what?”

  “For going the distance with me.”

  “Aw, Noah, I’d do anything for you. You should know that by now.”

  “Finding out about ancestors is one thing. Finding out I have possible relatives that are still alive is more than I could’ve hoped for. You know, my family’s messed up. Brothers and cousins are bad news. I stepped back from them a long time ago. Most have passed away. Finding relatives now could fill the hole that’s left in my life.”

  “You look concerned, though. Is it about Cassie?”

  “She has to be one of the most racist people I’ve ever come across in my life. If we find Annabelle’s portrait in her house, Violet.” He shook his head. “She’s not gonna take it well that we are related.”

  “No, she probably isn’t. But there will be others, and that shouldn’t stop you from trying to make a connection.”

  “Oh, there’s no issue with her wanting to make a connection with me. Nope.”

  “Okay, wrong choice of words. It shouldn’t stop you from enlightening her to her own past that is inextricably bound to yours.”

  “Well, let’s see for certain, shall we?” He sat in front of her computer and typed Hawkins Plantation in the search box.

  Violet rested her weary head against Noah’s shoulder as he followed paths leading nowhere, and then somewhere, then nowhere again. “How about you tackle this with fresh eyes in the morning?”

  “Just one more thread and I’ll call it. I promise.” He reached a hand up to cup her cheek and kissed her forehead, then turned back to scan the computer screen. “Okay, okay. Uh huh. I think…I think I found it. These are public records of real estate sales. Now to see who owned Cassie’s house before she did.”

  Violet closed her eyes and prayed for a miracle. Prayed that this would be the one with the definitive answer.

  “The Hughes family owned it before Windruff. It belonged to their family from 1956 until 1990 when Windruff bought it from them. Before the Hughes, it was owned by…the Hawkins family. Cassie’s house is the Hawkins Plantation. Violet. Violet!”

  “Hmm? What?”

  “Do you know Cassie’s maiden name? Her last name before she married Windruff.”

  “No, but you could look up wedding announcements. Tomorrow. You can look it up tomorrow. Now, we go to bed.”

  “I’m too excited to sleep. Cassie’s house is the Hawkins house!”

  Violet stood up, grabbed both of his hands, and led him to her bed a few short steps away. “I have the perfect way to use up all that energy.” She raised his fingers to her lips and sucked on one like a lollipop. “Come have your way with me.”

  “My past is no match for you, wicked woman.” Noah pulled the straps of her sundress down, and the dress fell to the floor, revealing her naked body. “What a lovely, sexy surprise.”

  Violet flung her hair behind her shoulders and grinned. “I thought you might enjoy that.” She pulled up the hem of his t-shirt. “You’re overdressed for this occasion. Let me help you with that.” As he lost the shirt, she untied the string of his sweatpants and pulled them down to his ankles.

  “This is taking way too fucking long.” He shucked the rest of the offending clothes and grabbed hold of her shoulders. He pulled her to him and kissed her so hard, so deeply, all breath escaped her. He walked her backward until she fell onto the bed. After releasing her lips, he spared no time, reaching down to hoist her legs over his shoulders. She’d gone wet with need and he gave her all she desired and more. His lips, warm and soft kissed her mound and his tongue made quick work of finding what drove her mad. Licking and sucking in a frenzied manner, he then plunged his tongue inside her, over and over, then returned to sucking her clit yet again until she bucked uncontrollably. Before she could do anything to turn the table on him, he shifted his body, replacing his mouth with his cock. Strong, hardened, and pulsing, he pounded into her, sending more shockwaves through her system. She cried out his name and slapped the bed with her hands. Noah took those hands and raised them above her head, bending over her to snatch a breast for a quick suckle and release. As he toyed with the other, she could stand no more.

  “Come with me, baby! Come with me!” She fought for release and grabbed his ass.

  That was all it took for him to seize up and fill her. “Oh, God, Violet! Oh, God!”

  “Aah! Yes!”

  Spent and exhausted, she managed to right herself on the bed and nestle in Noah’s arms. No more thought of family, portraits, slaves. The only thought running through her mind was sleep.

  * * *

  A cell phone’s buzzing awakened her way too early. Rolling over to reach the damned thing took more energy than she expected. She’d gotten a text message from Lizzie. We’re at work while you’re home probably sexing it up with loverboy. You suck. Love you. It was seven o’clock in the morning. “You suck Lizzie.” She tossed her phone on the bedside table and rolled back over toward “loverboy” and dozed off.

  Noah’s alarm woke them at eight. As much as she wanted to protest, they had an important job to do. He rolled over and kissed her softly. “How you feeling this morning? Any headache from the wine?”

  “No, just exhausted. You plum wore me out. But I loved every minute of it.”

  “Why don’t you go jump in the shower while I finish up our research?”

  “I’ll go, but I won’t jump. Can’t until I have my coffee, which is downstairs waiting to be made. So, yeah. No jumping. Good luck.” She groaned like an eighty-year-old who’d just done a full round of circuit training. “Oh, my. Oh, Lord. That shower better have magic water flowing from it. Lord, Almighty. Ha ha!”

  She shuffled into the bathroom and appreciated the shower fulfilling her desires. As the water cascaded over her, it soothed aching muscles and revived her. She’d need plenty of energy today if she was to deal with all that is Cassie Windruff and say goodbye to Noah later in the evening. She couldn’t even fathom that eventuality. How would their relationship ever survive the distance? She didn’t make a lot of money to start flying back and forth on multiple tri
ps. Could he? The fact she was contemplating how they could move forward told her that she was totally gone. Head over heels in love. So, what the hell did she do with that? What would he propose to do?

  Once sufficiently pruned and toweled off, she walked over to him as he still sat at her desk staring at the computer, buck naked. She took her damp hair and rested the length of it across his chest. She kissed his neck and gave it a nip. His cock jerked to attention. “You tempt me sorely, Mr. Blackman. Your turn in the shower, and you’d best run if you plan on being alone in there.”

  “I coulda run, but not anymore. Come here, my Mistress Adams.”

  He grabbed her to him, and she had no choice but to straddle his lap. Her womanhood came into direct contact with his hardness, so she did what any lusty woman would. Between them both, she knew it wouldn’t take long to satisfy their morning cravings for each other. A few moments of chair sex and he picked her up and stood, then brought them over to the bed where he proceeded to turn her onto her belly. He grabbed her ass with both hands, found her wetness and plunged right in, picking up where they’d left off.

  He grabbed her hair in one fist and held her hip with the other while thrusting and grunting like a man on edge of oblivion. She’d never felt so deeply, so intensely. Prickles waved across her skin as psychedelic colors swirled like a movie in her mind. It took all of three minutes to go from it feeling so good to the orgasm of her lifetime. He came right after her and roared. Had he channeled a feral animal before pulling out?

  “Holy shit, Violet!” His hands rubbed vigorously up and down her back. “That was epic! Ha! I feel like I could conquer the world.”

  She turned over and laughed lightly. “You’re so silly. But you probably could. Conquer the shower while I dress and keep up the search. And whatever you do, don’t come out of that bathroom naked. I’m warning you. I can’t be held responsible for my actions.” She winked and slapped his ass.

  “Duly warned, ma’am.”