Netherworld: Drop Dead Sexy(20)

Sometimes I can control my impulses.

Instead I said, “Now isn’t this just yummy? Thanks for indulging my curiosity,” I added as Dan stood patiently by while I investigated the room.

He smiled. “It’s always interesting to see this place from the perspective of a new resident. Shall I pour some of that champagne?”

“Lovely.” I turned in a slow circle, thinking something was off about the room. After a moment I had it. “It’s odd to be missing a TV.”

“Television was long after this hotel’s time.” He popped the cork and quickly poured as champagne fizzed over the mouth of the bottle. “You can always go above ground and watch the living’s televisions.”

I sat down at the table as Dan took the covers from our meal. I sniffed appreciatively at the baked salmon in a cream sauce, herbed green beans and scalloped potatoes baked in three cheeses. My mouth watered. “Is this real food or ghost food?”

Dan laughed. “The bubbly is from the memory of a very good sommelier who worked in this hotel in the 1890’s, and the food is from the memory of a top chef who cooked for the Goulds when railroad barons were still in vogue.”

“I’ve never tasted anyone’s memories before.” I took a cautious bite of the salmon, and moaned with near orgasmic delight as it practically melted in my mouth. The creamy sauce was the perfect mix of savory with a tinge of sweetness. After I swallowed I said, “This is weird to be dead and eating. Delicious but weird.”

Dan raised his glass and I clinked mine to his. “Don’t worry. The novelty wears off soon enough.”

We ate and drank in companionable silence for awhile. I found myself almost stopping after devouring half my plate. The old habit of calorie counting tried to have its way with me, and it took a few moments before I realized I could pig out without repercussions. After all, how would one get fat on memories? Feeling marvelously decadent, I cleaned my plate and sucked down three glasses of champagne. Dessert was a gorgeous confection of moist chocolate cake, strawberries and fudge sauce. I ate mine and half of Dan’s when he claimed he wasn’t much for chocolate.

I couldn’t get drunk from the booze, but I felt giddy nonetheless from my feast. Portion control had so flown out the window. Sitting back in my chair with a contented sigh, I asked, “So what’s in store for the rest of the night? Obviously we don’t sleep.”

Dan stretched. “We’ll go to tonight’s para meeting. Some of Tristan’s aides will want to question you, try to help you recover your memories.”

“They’re all ghosts too, or can the other paras see me?”

He shook his head. “You’ll have to enter the body of a living channel to speak to everyone.”





I frowned. “What?”

Dan reached to pat my hand. “Try not to worry about it yet. We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.”

He regarded me for a moment before carefully speaking again. “Can I ask something without offending?”

I was pretty sure I knew what direction he was heading. “You mean about me being an escort?”

He nodded. “Were you good at it? I mean, I know you’re pretty incredible with sex.” His sudden evil grin made me chuckle.

“Thank you.”

“But sex isn’t all of it, is it? Otherwise, you’d just be a prostitute.”

I smoothed the fringe of my flapper dress and admired the beadwork. “For me, sex is only a small part of being an escort. In fact, I didn’t have to sleep with my clients at all, but they paid extra if I did, under the table. I planned to use the money to go back to school and take up fashion design.” I grinned. “As you noticed, I have a natural flair for it.”

Dan smiled wistfully, almost as if sad for my missed opportunity. “You would have been good. You have excellent taste in clothes.”

“Thank you.” I thought about my life and decided to come completely clean with him. After all, he’d shared his darkest secret with me. “I’d have probably done it without the money. The sex, I mean.”

“Really?”

I nodded. “I have a man-sized libido. I love sex. I might even have an addiction to it. Sometimes I wonder if I’m not a nymphomaniac.”

“But whereas if it were me, a man sleeping with a bunch of women, it doesn’t play as ugly in society’s mind as when a woman does it.”

“Exactly.” Boy, I sure liked Dan. I sensed no condemnation from him. He was so smart and yummilicious. I thanked my lucky stars he’d been the one who found me in those woods.

“What else did you offer your dates if sex wasn’t the main gist of your work?”