Chapter 4

 

The homemade chime over the door jangled a joyful note of welcome as Allegra limped in, her muscles sore from the afternoon walk.

Maybe she should have taken that carriage ride she’d been offered on the way over, but she hadn’t exactly been thinking straight. Sleep had been elusive.

For both of you.

She’d watched Rousseau through the window last night. He’d been pacing back and forth like a caged animal. A naked and aroused animal who was, thankfully, alone in his apartment. She hadn’t been able to look away.

She could tell he was angry. Frustrated. And his long hair was gone, which was a shock, but not a disappointing one. The man was even more attractive than she’d realized.

Was that why he’d closed the café down and disappeared? To get a haircut?

Had he made that decision himself, or had Bone Daddy had a hand in it?

Was he thinking of her? Were they?

She’d been glad Michelle slept through her peeping, or she might have asked those questions out loud, and they’d both been avoiding a return to their last conversation.

Allegra knew Michelle was hoping the book would resolve the issue for them. And yes, learning your obsession was not in total control of his actions due to voodoo? Experiencing an orgasm with a spirit from the other side? For most sane women, that would usually be the end of it.

Relationships were hard enough to navigate without mischievous Loa getting involved, right?

But Rousseau still called to her. If sex was all it was, she definitely could have found someone with less baggage. Someone she wouldn’t have to wait for, making a fool of herself as other women took what she wanted.

Instead of jealousy or resentment at all the obstacles between them, what she’d felt when she looked at him was a longing to soothe his hurt, to make him smile like he had that first day when she’d gotten him to laugh. He didn’t laugh enough, even with Ben Adair as his witty sidekick. But then she might not be laughing either if a Loa decided to wear her like a prom dress.

The tenderness and concern she felt for him was her first clue that this wasn’t a mere obsession. She was falling fast. Falling for a man who, according to the evidence she could no longer deny, was tangled up in something straight out of a New Orleans fairytale.

She didn’t know the first thing about possessions and curses. So she’d come to the only person she knew who did.

“Bonswa, Allegra. How’s that bath oil working for you?”

Mambo Toussaint’s voodoo shop was a warm, welcoming place that always made her long to linger. Every nook and shelf was filled with herbs, trinkets or books. So many books. Most of them filled with lore and ritual, like the one Michelle had made her read.

The priestess believed that knowledge “took the hoodoo from the voodoo” and allowed practitioners to find the true magic inside themselves instead of being bogged down in superstition.

Of course, she was no fool. She also carried items for the tourists, things people could take back with them when they went home that told others, without a doubt, they’d been to NOLA.

The petite woman behind the counter was beaming at her from beneath a bright headscarf and more jewelry than she’d ever owned. Everything about her gave off a joyful energy that soothed Allegra and made her smile. “It’s working perfectly. I’ll never be able to thank you enough. How are you today?”

“Better than you, I think.” Michelle’s mother hopped down off her stool with enviable ease and rushed over on a breeze that smelled of cloves and magnolia blossoms, wrapping Allegra up in her warm embrace. “Come, sit on my sofa and give your leg a rest. I’ll introduce you to my friend Elise.”

Allegra allowed Michelle’s mother to guide her to the small sofa in the corner of the shop, her gaze on the older blonde standing beside it and watching her closely. Her smart, elegant outfit and sleekly styled bob should make her look out of place in the comfortable clutter, but it didn’t. And everything about her was familiar, from her eyes to her slightly devilish smile.

She remembered Ben telling her that his mother and Michelle’s were fast friends when they were growing up. “Any relation to Ben Adair?”

Elise gifted her with a wider, more genuine grin and came to sit down beside her, casually laying a hand on her arm. “Benjamin is my son. And you must be the adventurous writer he’s told me about.”

Allegra blushed. “More of a wannabe travel journalist currently on sabbatical, and I’m not sure I want to know what he’s been telling you. But you don’t look old enough to be his mother.”

“Oh, I like you. I like her, Annemarie.”

“Thought you might,” Mambo Toussaint said with a fond smile. “My Michelle has good taste in best friends.”

“That she does.” She squeezed Allegra gently. “We were just talking about our stubborn offspring when you came in. Bemoaning our lack of grandchildren. Thankfully you’ve come to take our minds off our maternal woes.”

“I’m glad I could help.”

The women laughed at that, and Allegra chewed on her lip, focused on concealing her disappointment. Now was obviously not the right time to talk about Rousseau and his unusual issues. Not when Ben’s mother was here.

“Look at her, Elise. So beautiful to be so serious.”

“Well, who can blame her? She’s had to overcome so much for such a young thing. The accident, the rehabilitation, and she’s only just realized she’s in love with Theresa’s troubled boy, Celestin. She’s got a lot on her plate.”

Allegra looked down to where Elise was touching her, recalling with crystal clarity all the times Ben had done the same as he repeated her thoughts as they were forming in her mind. Her memories.

“How do you know all that?”

She’d never told Ben about the accident. Never talked about it with her family. Michelle was the only one she’d given all the details to.

It was a fluke. She’d jumped from a plane hundreds of times, logged enough hours in the sky to be labeled a true adrenaline junkie, but it was never about that. Oddly enough, it was the peace more than the rush that kept her coming back for more. Floating above the world had always given her a sense of completion and serenity she’d never found anywhere else. It was heaven.

One torn chute had stolen that from her forever.

Elise hummed sympathetically and patted her arm, as if she could see the image in her mind, feel the terror and loneliness that had washed over Allegra as she waited to be rescued.

She can.

She supposed after deciding to believe in spirit possession and carnal Loa, a family of psychics wasn’t too out of her way. “Ben said it ran in the family.”

Elise tipped back her head and laughed. “You’re just as strong and smart as Benjamin said you were. Good. You’ll need to be to get through what comes next.”

Annemarie nodded, reaching for Allegra’s free hand supportively. “Don’t worry, that’s what we’re here for.”

Allegra studied the two women carefully. They already knew why she was here. They wanted to help.

“What should I do?” Allegra said determinedly. “I have to be honest, I’m still a bit wobbly on the whole possession thing. But with Bone Daddy? According to the book long-term spirit possessions are more than unusual.”

“It is rare.” Elise nodded. “But then, this is a unique individual we’re dealing with. Everyone who knows anything about him agrees he’s nothing like the rest of the Loa. Some of us have even argued that he might not be one at all.”

Annemarie leaned back, eyeing her friend closely. “Yes. Some of us have said that. Though he has most of the qualities, follows most of the traditions and initially came through in the usual way, Bone Daddy is…well, you’ve met him.” She patted her headscarf and glanced thoughtfully at Allegra, as if deciding how much to tell her.

“I need to know everything I can.”

“I know you do. I’ll be honest, the fact of him makes me uncomfortable. He’s a wild card to those of us who practice, you see. Sexy, entertaining and mischievous as all get-out, but so mysterious even The Mysteries—what we like to call the Loa—don’t seem to know that much about him. Or maybe they just aren’t talking. And when they aren’t talking? It worries me.”

Allegra frowned, trying to remember what she’d read. “You wrote something about him showing up in the eighteen hundreds? Has he just been wandering around since then? Was Rousseau his first, um, permanent rider?”

“We’re not sure about that either, but I know your man wasn’t the first.” She shrugged, her vibrant caftan shifting with the movement. “Before he found Celestin, he’d pop up on our radar from time to time, always causing the same kind of trouble, usually leaving sobbing women and tired men in his wake before he disappeared again.”

Allegra blushed at the knowing look Annemarie and Elise shared. “He is a hard one to resist, and why would any normal woman want to? He gives them pleasure beyond their wildest dreams, no strings, and they move on to find the pastures greener than they’ve ever seen, and good fortune shining on all their endeavors.”

Allegra watched Michelle’s mother fan herself and had to agree. How could anyone resist something like that? “Michelle isn’t tempted. She never has been.”

“Oh, honey, my baby isn’t a normal woman, no matter how much she wishes she was. I think you know that. It’s one of the reasons you were drawn to each other to begin with. Strong spirits. And before you say anything, I know she’s been going through it. That girl is running so hard from being special that she doesn’t have time to see what’s right in front of her. But that’s another story for another day. We’re talking about you right now, and your situation is quickly coming to a head.”

She paused. “Speaking of heads, has he played with your mind yet? Shown you your fantasies?”

“Yes.” She’d almost convinced herself she’d imagined it. “Does he do that with everyone?”

Elise leaned closer, not answering her question. “Do his eyes change while you’re watching? Maybe his personality?”

“Yes. And…” she hesitated, and Elise frowned in concern.

“Oh. Well, that’s never happened before.”

Annemarie lifted an impatient brow. “What’s never happened?”

“Bone Daddy paying a visit without a body. Giving pleasure without getting the benefits, as it were.”

“Oh my. Did he really?”

Allegra felt a little like screaming. “You two are scaring me. Is that bad? What does that mean?”

“I wouldn’t say bad.” Michelle’s mother was tapping her chin thoughtfully. “If I had to guess, I’d say it means he likes you.”

He liked her?

“He definitely does.” Elise looked irritatingly cheerful about it. “Sexual energy gives him his power, Allegra. Some spirits need rum or smoke, some need sacrifice. It’s different for everyone. But unless the stars align or a proper door is opened, Loa can’t experience or channel that power without riding a physical body.”

“So he left Rousseau to, um, visit my apartment?” Allegra was confused.

“He didn’t. I would have known. He must know how to keep hold and still go exploring.” There was an expression of pure admiration on her face. “He is a true mystery, isn’t he? But I bet that needed an extra jolt of juice.”

“Sex. What you’re saying is that sex gives him energy? That’s why he won’t leave Rousseau alone or let him make his own decisions? Can he? Make his own decisions?”

What if it was the Loa who was interested in her, and not Rousseau?

“Bone Daddy would never take your man down a road he wasn’t willing to walk, if that’s what you’re thinking,” Elise said with a smirk, knowing it was. “He’ll drag him kicking and screaming if he only wishes he didn’t, or thinks he shouldn’t. But he wouldn’t push his own desires on the boy. He’s all about symbiosis.”

Mambo Toussaint nodded in agreement and Allegra found herself relaxing a little at their certainty. Not entirely, because this was a lot to take in. A voodoo priestess and a psychic were telling her that the man she wanted was, well, conflicted. At best.

“Is there any way to release him from the possession? I mean, if he wants to be. He does want to be?”

Elise’s smile disappeared. “He truly does, dear. It’s one of the more intriguing conundrums of this particular pairing. It isn’t like Bone Daddy to stay where he isn’t wanted.”

“Unless he’s needed.”

Elise glanced at Annemarie in acknowledgment. “Yes. Some people think he’s needed. All I know is that my son hurts for his friend, and wants to help. And so do I.”

At Allegra’s expression she chuckled. “Oh, Allegra, you think because he joins in occasionally that he doesn’t care? If he didn’t play with Bone Daddy, Celestin would be suffering alone, wouldn’t he?”

“Ben, is great. I didn’t mean to imply—”

“I know. But until you came along, Ben was the only one who knew the truth and stayed, even after the party was over.”

Until her.

“Okay then.” Allegra sat up straighter, feeling a bit more like herself. She was wild, yes, but mission oriented. “How do we do it?”

“We don’t,” Elise said apologetically. “You do.”

“Me?” she squeaked. “You can’t mean—what could I do?”

“All we know is who, not how.”

“Well how do you know it’s me?”

Annemarie chuckled. “How do we know the sun is going to rise? I can’t imagine there’s a practitioner in the city that didn’t feel the change in the air as soon as you moved to town. There’s power in you, Allegra. Your will is a force to reckon with. What fascinates me is that Bone Daddy doesn’t seem to recognize it. If he really knew you could spoil his fun, it would be more like him to chase you away.”

“Rousseau was trying to do that for him,” Allegra admitted wryly.

“No.” Elise’s confidence was absolute. “He held you at a distance, but he never let you go too far.”

Allegra gripped her hand. “Can’t you sense anything? Give me some hint about what I need to do?”

Annemarie answered for her. “You’re a smart girl, Allegra Jarod. I’ve always thought so. With a little help from the powers that be, I’m sure you’ll figure it out.”

“Words of wisdom, Mambo.” The three women glanced up, startled by Ben’s sudden appearance at their side. “My ears were ringing, so I thought I’d stop in and see what sort of mischief The Mamas were cooking up.”

Elise unfolded herself from the couch and offered a cheek that her son dutifully kissed, his attention lingering curiously on Allegra. “I didn’t expect to find you here.”

“She had a visitor since she saw you last.” His mother patted his chest affectionately. “And your ears should never stop ringing, since we were talking about what we always talk about. Babies.”

Annemarie chortled as Ben grabbed her up off the couch and lifted her off her feet for an enthusiastic hug. “Put me down, you rake. Babies. As in, if you don’t give us some soon, we’re gonna get desperate and stick a fertility bundle beneath your bed.”

“Don’t blame me, Mambo. I’m trying to follow my marching orders. I keep propositioning women, and they keep turning me down.”

Elise sniffed in disbelief, but her eyes were twinkling. “That’s your problem, Benjamin. You proposition when you should propose.”

“I propose we change this subject.” He sent Allegra a wink and she couldn’t help the laugh that escaped, hearing a touch of hysteria in the sound.

Did she mention this was a lot to take in?

“I think she’s had her fill of us for the day, dearest. You should walk Allegra home so we can continue planning the end of your bachelor days.” She smiled graciously down at Allegra. “I know you’re anxious to get home now and sort everything out. Time is flying.”

She sensed more than heard the urgency in Mrs. Adair’s words. And it was true, she needed to think about all she’d learned here today.

They thought she could what—perform an exorcism on Rousseau? She could barely walk around the block on her own. Hell, she couldn’t even get the man to ask her out on an actual date.

“Ready when you are.” Ben was smiling patiently, holding out his arm for her to take and bowing like an old-fashioned courtier.

“Thank you.”

“I live to serve. You wouldn’t want to get hitched so my mother can finally sleep at night, would you?”

Allegra rolled her eyes. “I should say yes just to spite you. At least I know I’d get Elise in the bargain.”

“Did I mention that I liked her?” She heard Elise ask Annemarie as they walked out the door and onto the busy sidewalk.

“That is high praise, you know,” Ben started conversationally. “My mother’s gift has made her understandably standoffish with strangers.”

“I can imagine.”

Ben kept her close to the shops, his body shielding her protectively as she limped at a slower pace than the rest of the crowd. “What did they tell you?”

She huffed. “Something Michelle was trying to tell me. Something you should have told me a lot sooner instead of pushing me in the deep end without letting me know there were piranhas in the pool.”

Ben winced. “You wouldn’t have believed me. You had to experience it yourself.”

He knew her so well. “You’ve been reading me this whole time, haven’t you? You and your mother could go on the road with that telepathic parlor trick.”

“It’s not a trick, Legs. I can sense what you’re thinking and feeling, but only if I’m touching you. My mother’s family has always had the touch.” He grimaced. “It isn’t always pleasant, but it gives me an upper hand in business, and it lets me know when people aren’t telling me the truth.”

“It’s rude.”

“I know it and I’m sorry. Some of the time.”

“Sounds like being a human lie detector is a skill I could use right about now.”

“I’ll tell you everything I know. Nothing but the truth. Rousseau sure as hell isn’t going to do it, the stubborn ass.”

Allegra looked up, frustration nearly making her growl. “That’s my first question. Is the stubborn ass actually interested in me? Or is it the spirit?”

“Easy first answer.” Ben’s smile held a touch of relief. “Bone Daddy is interested in sex, period. Rousseau wants you. I’ve never seen him so attracted or so protective over anyone.”

“Protective?”

“Why do you think he keeps avoiding you?”

She’d thought of a million reasons, none of them having anything to do with him protecting her. The one she kept returning to was that she wasn’t his type.

“Wrong.” Ben shook his head, reading her again. “Even before his current situation, Rousseau never had a problem attracting women. He didn’t have a type, as far as I know. The truth is, he was so busy taking care of his family and saving to open Café Bwe that he rarely paid them any mind.”

“No wonder you’re friends. You have so much in common,” she deadpanned.

Ben laughed at that. “We actually do, especially when it comes to family, but as far as women go, we definitely diverged. I learned in high school that hanging out with him was the smartest thing a single guy could do. I spent a lot of lovely nights consoling his rejected admirers. Since I’m almost as good looking as he is, they weren’t too upset with the switch.” He scowled playfully. “If you tell him I admitted he was better looking our friendship is over.”

“My lips are sealed.” Allegra walked in silence for a moment, then, “How did it happen?”

“How?” Ben’s expression turned grim. “BD’s been around since a few days after Rousseau’s dad was buried. I don’t know all the details, because the Loa has a way of blocking me, but I do know that it was his father who brought Rousseau to BD’s attention. He’s a strong spirit, stronger and more determined than most, I think. I wish I knew what his old man did to call down that kind of thunder, but the type of Loa that BD is gives me a clue. He affects people strangely. Even me.”

“You?” How did he affect Ben?

“Me.” They turned the corner of her building and she reached into her purse for the key. As soon as she’d opened the door Ben swooped her up in his arms, making her shriek in surprise. “Service with a smile, Legs.”

“Thanks.” She was suddenly breathless. Ben’s masculine scent surrounded her, his arm strong beneath her legs. This close she noticed the rich brown of his eyes, and the small scar at his temple. She thought about the night at the club, how sad he’d looked, and what she’d discovered.

“You’ve shared women with him before. With the Loa. Is that what you mean by affecting you? Did you not have a choice?”

He’d closed the door and was taking his first step up the stairs when he paused to look at her. “He told you that?”

“At the club. You don’t remember anything?”

“No, but you do. That’s damn disconcerting.” His skin flushed and he took a steadying breath before continuing on. “The first time I thought it was Rousseau. Maybe a little drunk, but still my best friend.”

“Did you like it?”

His voice lowered. “It was incredible. The best sex of my life, but I knew most of that came from feeling what the woman was feeling. And the expression on her face as we took her together. The things he did…”

Allegra clenched her fingers on his shoulders, her body heating at his words. “And after you knew?”

“When I put two and two together, Rousseau didn’t deny it. He was relieved to have someone to talk to about what he was going through. When I apologized for not knowing, he said if he was going to share a woman or a secret, he’d rather both were with someone he trusted.”

At the top of the stairs he put her on her feet, his brow lowering in concern when she flinched before finding her balance. He caressed her hip in gentle apology. “I shouldn’t have made you walk again. Are you hurting?”

She opened her mouth, looking up at him with confusion. Her mind was still filled with images of Ben and Rousseau sharing a lover, surrounding her and taking her higher than she’d ever been. Embarrassed, she realized she’d replaced the faceless woman in her mind with herself.

Ben’s chest rose on a harsh breath. “I’m touching you, Allegra. I can feel what you’re feeling.”

She licked her lips. “I figured that out.”

“Do you want that? What you just saw?”

She had to be honest. “I don’t know. Do you?”

He groaned and lowered his head slowly, taking her lips in a gentle, almost hesitant kiss. Allegra felt warmth course through her limbs and she leaned closer. It was a lovely kiss. Perfect in almost every way.

But it wasn’t Rousseau.

And she wasn’t Michelle.

Ben pulled back with a wry smile at that thought. “You’re the one, Legs. Exactly who and what he needs. I’ve known it from the first, but I have so enjoyed spending time with you.”

“Same here.”

“Don’t run away now that you know the truth.”

“I couldn’t even if I wanted to,” she joked weakly. “They think I can help him, Ben. Do you? Is that what you felt when you met me?”

She didn’t have to explain. “I know it. I don’t know how, but—”

“You know who?”

He dipped his head in acknowledgment. “Look, you’re my friend now. I’m invested, and I don’t want to see you hurt. So whatever you decide about what happens next, you won’t be alone. That’s a promise.”

Was that why he’d been so insistent on being included? Was he trying to protect her too?

He started down the steps but turned back, his hand reaching into his pocket. “I almost forgot. Mambo Toussaint wanted you to have this. She said to sleep with it beneath your pillow if you need more answers from the powers that be.”

She took the small pouch and clutched it tight. “Thank you, Ben. For everything.”

“My pleasure, darlin’.”

Allegra waited for him to leave before turning to unlock the door to her apartment.

The phone was ringing.

“Damn it.” She slammed the door shut, trying to race for it and almost falling over before she got to the phone on the other side of the room. “Hello?”

“Did he fuck you?”