NorthernPassion (17 page)

Sam stepped into the vestibule of the Passion Club just two
minutes after the time on his invitation. He was feeling some anticipation of
his own. He’d just received a text message from Desiree. She’d found Greta
about forty minutes ago, but he hadn’t heard anything since. Although he really
was confident in her abilities, he wondered if Desiree could really handle her
business if things turned violent. He’d never be able to forgive himself if
anything happened to her. Yes, she was his partner, but the man in him wanted
to be there to protect her. He pressed the elevator button and shook his head,
mumbling to himself and forgetting not to move his lips. “I can’t keep doing
this. Get it together, Comfort.” He was starting to sound just like Reed and he
didn’t like it all.

The elevator attendant was silent this time. Sam
automatically put his envelope into the man’s hand when he held it out. He let
the elevator door close before he spoke. “Alone?” His face was partially
obscured, but his questioning eyebrows were still visible.

His words jarred Sam back to the present. He shook his head.
“No, she’s coming.”

He held his breath. As far as he could tell, the attendant
was satisfied with the answer. He was wearing a mask this time, so his facial
expressions were obscured, but he didn’t ask any more questions.

The attendant pulled the metal gate closed and the elevator
started its ascent. “No masks or anything like that?” Sam asked. The table in
the lobby had been empty and as far as Sam could tell, there were no surprises
hiding in the elevator.

“No. Not for you.” His voice was gruff and he offered no
hint as to what was to come.

Sam planted his feet and waited for the elevator to reach
its floor. It was clear the attendant was not going to be a wealth of
information. An eternity passed before the old elevator slowed down and came to
a stop. Instead of opening the grate, the attendant pushed a curtain aside and
pushed a button at the rear of the elevator. A door slid open. Sam paused for a
minute, remembering the dual-sided elevator from their last visit.

The attendant waved his hand, signaling that Sam should
exit. He nodded, took a deep breath and stepped into the room. It was laid out
pretty much the same as before. Sam walked around the elevator spot. There were
already quite a few people milling around inside the room, except this time, it
appeared all the women wore hoods. Like last time, people stood around talking
to each other, but only the men had their faces exposed. An interesting twist.

Soft music masked most of the conversations. It appeared
more of the men were talking to each other than to the hooded females. Sam
looked around the room. Apparently the woman were separating themselves from
the men, or at least congregating in one area.

Sam recognized one man as the one Desiree had talked to at
the first party they went to. “So, what do you think this is about,” he asked.

“Sam Comfort, right?”

Sam nodded.

He handed Sam a drink. “You’re in for a treat. This, my
friend, is ladies’ choice. We don’t do this often, but it’s one of my
favorites. One of them will chose one of us to have their way with. We won’t know
who it is and we’re not supposed to. It’s one of my favorite themes. We all
like it really.

Sam sipped, then grimaced. “All?”

His new friend nodded vigorously. “The women are less
inhibited when their identity is concealed. The hoods give them license to be
the bad girl.”

“Is that so?” Sam mulled over that piece of information in
his head. He wouldn’t exactly call participation in a couples’ swingers club
being a good girl. “Maybe it just makes the bad better.”

Sam had to step aside to avoid being sprayed. The man
laughed so hard he almost lost everything. “I love it.” He wiped his face with
the back of his hand.

A chime interrupted their banter. “What’s that?”

“The games are starting. All we do is wait. Someone will
come to you. There is only one rule. They won’t talk to you. Only touch and you
can’t remove their hoods.” He raised his glass in salute just as they were
surrounded by a group of hooded women. Sam looked around frantically, realizing
he wouldn’t be able to tell if Desiree had already come in or not.

He didn’t have time to think about it long. Two women ran
their hands down Sam’s arm at the same time, from shoulder to wrist. They
didn’t speak and one squeezed his forearm firmly. “Whoa, whoa.”

Sam felt overwhelmed. He hadn’t expected to have so many
hands on him so quickly.

The man he’d been talking to laughed. “Just go with it. You
won’t regret it. It’s like you have a hall pass for the next few hours. Enjoy
it, man.” He was led away by two other women, laughing nervously, but he still
appeared to be willing.

Sam had composed himself by now. He turned his attention
back to his hosts, hoping Desiree had indeed arrived and joined the
festivities. He expected to suffer the same fate, but instead of being led
away, one of the women pressed a room key into his hands. He looked down at the
key, surprised, recognizing it as the same type of key from the last time
they’d been there, except this time, there was number written on top of the
hologram in what looked like Sharpie ink. Suddenly, both of the women were
gone. Sam looked around but couldn’t spot them.

The room was already emptying out. Most of the men had been
led away or had disappeared down the long corridor. He looked around the room
one last time, hoping to spot Desiree, then headed in the direction of the
hallway. He remembered the way better than he expected. He turned left, then
right and found himself in the same hallway as before, except this time, the
doors had numbers. He glanced at the key and went right to the door matching
the number on his key.

The first door opened easily. Sam turned the knob on the
inner door and it was snatched open so hard he almost fell into the room. He
caught himself just inside and when he looked up, he stopped in his tracks. A
half-naked hooded woman was sprawled on the sofa, her legs spread akimbo. She
wore what looked like a single shiny patent leather strap circling her body
strategically so it left very little and everything to the imagination at same
time. Her feet were the most covered part of her body. They were covered with
thigh-high patent leather boots that looked to be five inches high.

“Well, hello.” Sam raked her body with his eyes. She looked
like something from a bondage film, but her well-tanned skin housed an amazing
and firm physique. Sam had no idea he had any neighbors who looked as good as
this unrobed woman. She didn’t answer. Instead, she swung her legs down to the
ground and perched on the edge of the sofa, cocking her head to the side.

Sam was unsure what to do. He felt as if he were under a
microscope. “I’m new here.” He stammered. Nervous laughter erupted from his
lips. “My invitation didn’t come with instructions.”

The woman stood and moved toward him.

“I don’t guess I get to know your name.”

The woman moved her head from side to side slowly. Sam
watched as she walked toward the bar, her steps slow and deliberate. She poured
tequila into two highball glasses, then turned and gave one to Sam while
holding on to the other. She held hers up, waiting for him to clink his glass
to hers.

He did as her movement suggested, then mimicked her
movements as she brought her glass to her lips. She paused and threw it back,
drinking her tequila in one swoop. Sam raised his eyebrows, but quickly did the
same. The words of the man in the waiting area echoed in his head. The
anonymity apparently did make women more adventurous.

No sooner had he’d lowered his glass than his companion put
hers down on the counter and came toward him. He backed up and she followed,
matching his steps, until finally he was wedged between her and the bed.

They stood so close, Sam could hear her breath under the
hood. They paused for a minute and the silence grew louder in the room. “I feel
like a mouse that has been led to a trap.”

The woman pushed firmly on Sam’s chest. He gave and fell
back onto the bed. She fell on top of him. “I guess I’m trapped, then.”

She ran her hands up and down his chest, finally trailing
her fingers between his legs. Sam’s mind wanted to resist, but the mystery
aroused his body. Her fingers closed around his semi-erect penis.

Sam cursed himself for becoming aroused. He needed to
concentrate on uncovering some evidence, not on the creature wrapping herself
around him. He didn’t want to draw attention to himself either. The few seconds
they lay together felt like an eternity as Sam’s internal battle waged on.

The hooded woman kissed his neck and Sam froze. This was too
much. He had to do what was necessary, but his spidey-sense was warning him
something was not quite right. Sam tried to tell himself he was overreacting,
that his feeling of unease had everything to do with the masked woman who now
straddled him, grinding her crotch against his, but he couldn’t shake the
feeling something was amiss. The moistness of her exhalation caressed his neck
again. She stretched sideways, sitting back onto her heels again. Sam looked up
and the hooded woman had a stiletto knife in her hands.

He bucked hard, using the momentum of his body to roll her
off him. He reached out in the direction of her hood, but she deflected his reach
and slashed at the air in the direction of his arm. Sam felt the breeze from
her movement as he pulled back. Relief mixed with the adrenaline now flooding
his body. That would have left a nasty gash.

He pushed and she rolled to the floor. She jumped to her
feet, immediately on the defense. Before she could stand, Sam snatched the
sheet from the bed and snapped it at her. It wrapped around her arm and he
pulled hard. She dropped her weapon and fell toward Sam.

He kicked the knife, pushing it across the room. In the same
movement, he snatched at the hood covering her face. The door to the room burst
open. Sam wrapped the sheet behind his attacker. She struggled in vain.

Martin strode into the room with Geneva close at his heels. “Leesa!”
Both Martin and Geneva spoke at the same time.

Martin grabbed the end of the sheet from Sam while Geneva
picked up the knife that had landed across the room. “Do you want to tell me
what’s going on? Violence fueled by anger isn’t allowed.” Martin looked from Leesa
to Sam and back to Leesa.

Geneva crossed her arms across her chest, her face flushed
red with anger. “I’ll tell you what is going on. Leesa here was trying to stop
me from choosing Sam. She knew I wanted him.” She stepped forward toward Leesa,
who now leaned against the wall defeated.

“You don’t know anything. This isn’t about you, Geneva. It
never was. You’re just a pawn.” Anger flashed across her face as her chest rose
and fell from heavy breathing.

“I was just going along with the plan and this bitch pulled
a knife on me,” Sam said.

“And I would have slit your throat too. You deserve that.”

Geneva gasped. “Leesa! How can you say that?”

Kimberly snapped her head around. “You are so clueless, I’ll
have you know. No one wants you, not even your precious Sam. Your husband
doesn’t want you, he just keeps you around out of obligation. Derek didn’t want
you either,” she spat in Geneva’s direction.

Everyone in the room gasped. Geneva looked crushed.

Leesa continued. “Oh did the mention of your lover boy hurt
your heart?” She took several deep breaths. “Why don’t you take the hint and go
away? Derek isn’t dead, you idiot, and your sister is right in Paris. They’re
together.”

Desiree burst into the room.

Shock spread over both Martin and his wife. “That’s not the
truth,” Geneva yelled. “Derek is dead. He died in that accident.” Her body was
racked with sobs.

Desiree joined Sam at his side. “It’s true. I saw them.
Derek is in a coma at a hospital in Evry. Greta was with him.” She wrapped her
arm around Sam. “I’m sorry, Geneva.”

“That’s ridiculous,” Martin said. “Leesa, why are you being so
mean?” He tried to comfort his wife, pulling her to him.

Desiree moved closer to Leesa “So, Leesa, what were you
doing here? Trying to cover your secret?” Everyone in the room became silent.

Leesa’s eyes were crazed now. “What are you talking about?”
She looked around, studying everyone’s faces. “It’s not a secret. Martin, I was
just trying to make things easy for us. For us to be together.” Leesa pleaded
with Martin. Desiree and Sam looked at each other with raised eyebrows.

“Do you want to tell me what’s going on, Martin?” Geneva
dried her face. Her tears had been replaced by anger. “What is she talking
about?”

Martin shrugged. “I have no idea.”

Desiree knew she had Leesa backed into a corner. “Do you
want to tell them? Or should I?”

“You shut up. I knew you were trouble from the moment I saw
you and your pretty-boy husband, if you’re even married. We knew you were going
to mess things up. If I’d had three more minutes, none of this would be
happening. I would have stuck a knife in him and we would have gone on with our
plan.”

“We had no plan. What are you talking about?” Martin said.

“Not you and me.” Leesa was close to screaming now. “You’re
just as clueless as your stupid wife. Kimberly was helping me, but she messed
it up.” She sobbed. “No one was supposed to die. We were helping so Greta and
Derek could disappear together. Only he almost died with all those other
people. He wasn’t supposed to get in the car. Greta arrived too late. “

Desiree’s brow furrowed. “So Derek didn’t know of this
plan?”

Leesa was barely able to get words out between sobs. “No, he
didn’t. The accident was supposed to be mild, and look like only one person
turned up dead...Derek.”

Before they knew what was happening, Geneva struck out and
slapped Leesa across her face. “You’re terrible. You killed all those people?
If they wanted to run away together, they could have just walked, I wouldn’t
have cared one bit.”