The Madam's Lover

by Serenity Snow

  “Are you going out or staying here the night?” Zoe asked.

  “We’ll stay here,” she said. “Arrange for breakfast at seven. Coffee and croissants for the lady. Then, I’ll take her home.”

  “Do you think that’s wise? If he’s asking for a meet, he’s going to be coming at you like a boss.”

  “Find out if his status has changed,” Alexi said with a hint of a smile. Right now, Charles Rayne was nothing more than a cleaner of dirty mob money. However, she’d heard rumors that he did more than that for them whenever they were in town.

  With Five by Five gone, Breakers were probably here to stay and might be looking for a few locals as underbosses.

  “I’ll get right on it,” Zoe said. “I’ll go with you to the meeting unless you’re taking Corri.”

  “I probably will,” she said. Corri was an old friend, just like Zoe, and she trusted them both with her life. “Have some clothes sent up for us both.”

  Zoe nodded and vanished without a word.

  She didn’t expect Zoe to judge no matter what path this led her down, and there was no doubt this was about to become complicated.

  Chapter Eleven

  Tatiana woke with a lightness in her chest that curved her lips into a smile. She’d broken it off with Ewan last night, and she felt no regret or stifling fear of her parents’ censure.

  They would be upset. Last night was evidence, but she was happy to throw that old weight off her shoulders.

  She would come out to them soon even though she did fear their disappointment. It was time to reclaim her life and live fully on her terms not under their expectations.

  “Happy dreams?”

  Alexi’s voice was low and intimate and wrapped around her like a blanket.

  Tatiana rolled onto her back to find Alexi seated on a stool across from the bed. She was already dressed in what looked like a silk blouse open at the throat revealing a hint of silver, paired with gray pants. Her black hair was neatly combed into place, the boy-cut perfect.

  She sat up and tucked her hair behind her ear. “You’re up and dressed already. That makes me feel like just another one of the women you bring up here.” And she did assume the owner of this club not only had her pick of playthings but played often.

  “You make me sound like a playgirl bastard,” she drawled.

  “Aren’t you?”

  “I’m not an angel,” Alexi told her as she got to her feet and crossed to the dresser. “Cream and sugar?”

  “Splenda if you have it and cream.”

  Alexi added the items and stirred with a silver spoon before bringing the china cup to her.

  “I guess you tried to tell me I’d just be one of many and wouldn’t last longer than a few nights.” Tatiana took the cup but couldn’t meet Alexi’s gaze.

  She took a sip and sighed. The rich brew was divine.

  “Beautiful, I—”

  “I know,” Tatiana broke in. “I should be glad you’re even here at all.” She looked at Alexi then, finding her standing close to the bed with hands in her slacks pockets.

  Damn, she was the quintessential handsome butch at that moment. Everything about her was perfect with an air of sophistication.

  She was way out of her league. Tatiana had never been with a woman like Alexi. She had to be well off, smart, and she was liked by her friends. She could probably socialize with black and white with ease.

  Her own parents could, too, but they preferred to keep their social circles small and black. They didn’t mind the occasional mixed breed as her father was rumored to have some French blood on his mother’s side. However, he identified as black only.

  The women she was usually with were more like her. Working-class and some weren’t out to their families and kept things discreet. Just like her.

  “You have me confused with someone else,” Alexi told her. “No one would ever call me anything other than a ge—”

  “A gentlewoman. I’m not disputing that.” She put the cup on the nightstand. “Nice coffee. Thanks, but I have to get home. I have errands and things.” She pushed the sheets aside and stood, realizing she’d slept in Alexi’s shirt even after her shower.

  “I w—”

  “Want to see me again, tonight? Sex and coffee or sex and no morning after coffee?” Her tone held belligerence that was starting to bubble through her system.

  “Actually, I was going to suggest dinner at Sabatini’s. They have a small concert once a month. Classical music or a jazz band.”

  “Oh.” Now, she felt like an idiot, or maybe that was Alexi’s way of telling a woman it’s been fun.

  “I—okay. What time?” Goddess. She should be saying no, but that would only prolong the inevitable.

  Alexi gave her a smile. “I’ll pick you up at six. The first set is at seven. Then, dinner is served between eight and ten.”

  She’d call Veda and find out if she’d ever been there and how she should dress. She didn’t want to be underdressed even if she was getting dumped.

  “Good. I have a breakfast meeting, so is it okay if I get someone to drive you home?”

  “That’ll be fine. I don’t want to make you late or anything.”

  Alexi sighed and reached out to cup her face. “You’re acting like I think I’m too good for you when I know you’re too good for me,” she murmured. “My life is no place for you, Tia. You’re sweet and sensual, exactly what I love.”

  “But you don’t want to do anything but fuck me.” She pushed Alexi’s hand away. “So, why bother with dinner at all?”

  “I don’t plan to have sex with you tonight.”

  “Just tell me you don’t want to see me again,” Tatiana muttered and raked her fingers through her hair. “I knew I was getting in over my head with you.”

  “You haven’t done that yet,” Alexi replied patiently. “But if we keep seeing each other, my desire to make you more than another notch on my bedpost will only lead to trouble.”

  She frowned. “What does that mean? You want more than a few nights of sex with me, but you’re afraid I’ll use you for your money?”

  Alexi laughed. “Spending money on you would be my pleasure,” she answered, but her eyes darkened as she sobered. “As for being used, you can’t do more to me than I allow, and I have a feeling the pleasure will be mutual.”

  Tatiana shivered but sensed something darker, something unspoken in Alexi’s words.

  What was she not saying?

  “Then, why run from what’s obviously starting between us?” Tatiana knew it was too soon be talking commitment, but it was there. The fire had sparked in the club’s vestibule.

  It was not dying, merely getting stronger every time she saw Alexi. Course it could just be that she was hungry for a female lover.

  “What do you think is happening?” Alexi asked taking a few steps away from her, her expression closed now.

  “I think the attraction is more than superficial, but we’ll never find out if you run from me.”

  Alexi sighed. “I’m trying to do the right thing,” Alexi told her quietly and pushed her hands into her pockets again.

  “Are you worried about my family? About Ewan and that talk he thinks he needs to have with you? He’s just going to try to warn you off me. Our mothers have thought we belonged together since we were in high school. We dated but went our separate ways.”

  “Until recently.”

  “A year ago. My mother and his started pushing us together,” she said with a gesture of her hand. “I gave in to the pressure, thinking if I went out with him a few times they’d stop harping on it.”

  “But they didn’t?”

  “No and one month turned into almost twelve. I’ve wanted out for months but haven’t been able to figure out how to tell my mother.”

  “And you think you can because you slept with me? Are you going to tell her it’s because you want to be with a woman?”

  “Why would I tell her that when you’re holding me at arm’s length?” Tati
ana demanded. “I’m not going to take you home to meet the fam, right off, no.”

  Alexi nodded. “So, you’ll be using me as an excuse to escape your life.”

  “No!” She glared at Alexi. “Course not.”

  Alexi gave her an amused look. “Honey, I’m not afraid of being a rebound stop,” she said. “That’s a part of life especially for women like me. We don’t commit, and some of the women we go out with need something that we can provide at the moment.”

  “Then, this fling could be mutually beneficial,” Tatiana said. Thinking of this as more would be crazy right now. Coming out to her parents would be messy enough without walking into a relationship.

  “Let’s not give it a name,” Alexi told her. “Let’s just enjoy each other’s company, Tia.”

  “I’m okay with that.”

  ****

  Alexi arrived at the club at eight sharp and found Charles Rayne alone and sipping coffee. He glanced up from the tablet computer before him and quickly closed the file as she took the chair across from his.

  “Rayne,” she greeted with a cool smile that he returned.

  A waiter came over quickly, and she asked for coffee, which he poured into a cup that had already been on the table turned down.

  “No.” Alexi shook her head. “A fresh cup please.”

  Rayne and the waiter gave her curious stares.

  “Right away, ma’am,” the waiter said and scurried away taking the cup and pot with him.

  “I won’t beat around the bush,” Rayne said. “I asked you here because my grandson told me about a misunderstanding in your club the other night.”

  “Rape and murder are far from a misunderstanding,” she told him icily. “As I told him, I expect restitution.”

  “She was a whore,” he replied with steel in his tone.

  “He’s an entitled prick, but I allowed him into my club,” she said. “My girls have a reasonable expectation of protection and safety or they’d work the streets instead.”

  The waiter chose that moment to reappear, and Charles held his tongue, his eyes dark with brewing anger while her coffee was poured.

  “Can I get you anything else, Mr. Rayne?”

  “No,” he said with a shake of his head, and the waiter looked at her.

  “Thanks, I’ll call you, if I change my mind.”

  He gave them a bow and hurried away.

  “You’re overreaching,” Rayne said as she stirred cream into her coffee.

  “Am I? I don’t think I’m asking for nearly enough. The police—”

  “Even if you had reported the crime, nothing would happen because there is no witness,” he cut in. “Beals would never testify against my grandson.”

  “I have a feeling that’s true,” Alexi told him after taking a sip of her coffee. “But be that as it may—”

  “You’ll let the matter drop,” he broke in. “And if you press it, you’ll have me to deal with. Am I clear?”

  “To transparency,” she said and started to get to her feet, and he grabbed her wrist.

  “I mean it, Russo,” he said. “If you pursue this in any manner, including going to the police, I’ll own all your whores and you’ll be in a cell for killing that slut.”

  Now, that was a challenge issued that she couldn’t back down from.

  She tugged her hand free. “I knew that boy was a shithead, but I thought he at least had a little of his father in him. I guess it’s you he takes after.”

  “I’m nothing nice compared to him,” Rayne told her.

  She flashed him a smile and gave him a nod before striding from the club. Alexi pulled her phone from her pocket and input Ace’s number. “Ace of Spades,” she murmured.

  “It’s a go?”

  “No. I’m going to take care of this one myself, but thanks.”

  “You’re sure? Grandpa might bring the full weight of whatever power he has in Breakers to bear on you.”

  “I’ll deal, but thanks. I might need your services with another matter.”

  “Hey, just an FYI, the Feds are watching you. It seems the girl killed at Frolic was an agent. The Feds are trying to figure out who killed her.”

  Ace and Devin did some work for the Feds on occasion and had contacts inside the bureau that were useful at times.

  “Trevor Rayne,” Alexi said. “An agent?”

  How had she missed that? She’d have to ensure those she paid to be in the know were a little more diligent in the future.

  “Yeah. FBI. They had her working Trevor and his connection to a petty dealer for Breakers,” Ace told her.

  “Was she supposed to be snooping on me as well?”

  “According to my contact, no, but you might become a subject of investigation,” Ace said. “Are you going to give them the snot?”

  “I don’t know.” Nothing was that easy, and Ace knew that.

  Trevor would merely have her embroiled in a pissing contest with the Feds and his grandfather. No, she’d let them do their own dirty work.

  “I sent her body home, so there is nothing on her that connects her death to the club,” Alexi said. That wouldn’t stop them coming to look.

  “They’re going to bring him in for questioning soon anyway, and you know if they do, he’s going to put this all on you.”

  Alexi grimaced. “I can’t have that,” she said, thinking of all the high-profile clients, male and female, who played at her clubs.

  “Then, I’ll handle it.”

  “I’ve got this, Ace,” Alexi murmured. She could clean up her own messes, and Tia never had to know who killed her brother especially with Five by Five out there. “Thanks for the offer though.”

  “Alexi,” Ace said grimly. “I’ve got a message from my contact. The parameters of the girl’s mission had recently changed.”

  “How so?”

  “It’s not common knowledge that she was looking into you,” Ace told her. “So, your people wouldn’t have known. As far as my contact knows, she didn’t get anything on you.”

  “Let me know if that turns out to be a gross miscalculation,” Alexi said tightly. She ended the call and headed to the parking lot where Corri waited for her in the car.

  “Zoe called while you were inside,” Corri said.

  “Go.” She tugged her seatbelt into place.

  “She said Breakers just put a new underboss in place to run the city for them. He’s been doing work quietly here for the last ten years.”

  “If Rayne isn’t the man, I’m going to bitch slap you for telling me that and her for not saving it for later.”

  Corri smirked. “He is, and his right-hand man is more or less family.”

  Chapter Twelve

  “It’s a classy dinner club,” Veda told her as she leaned against the couch. “I’ve only been a few times with Sabrina, and I’ve never seen Alexi there with another woman.”

  “Really?” That didn’t really matter much, did it? Alexi had all but told her this wasn’t going to last.

  “Do you need to go shopping for a new dress?” Veda asked.

  “No,” she said with a laugh. “I can’t really afford it. Oh, hey, my land line’s ringing. It’s my mother,” Tatiana muttered making a face. “I’ll call you back later.”

  “You know a nice dress might be an investment,” Veda said. “Alexi’s a big supporter of the arts and women and children’s causes. You’ll need a few nice ones.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind,” Tatiana said. “Later.” She ended the call and picked up the cordless. “Hello, Mom.”

  “Hello yourself, Tatiana,” Melissa drawled. “Where are you?”

  “Home. Why?”

  “Good. That means you have a few minutes to listen to a few things I need to get off my chest.”

  Uh-oh.

  “Mom, listen, I know you’re upset about me not making that dinner, but I really can’t continue to do this.”

  “Do what?” Melissa exclaimed.

  “Pretend to be crazy about Ewan,” she sa
id softly. “He’s an okay guy. He’s just not for me.”

  “And you decide to wait until now when he’s ready to marry you?” Melissa demanded, consternation in her voice. “Honey, you can’t do this. Joining our families is a very important thing magically. You know that.”

  “I know.”

  “The joining of two great magical bloodlines will give us so much more recognition in the witch world.”

  “I can’t marry him,” Tatiana said.

  “Tatiana,” Melissa growled.

  “I’m sorry.”

  “Do you mind telling me why? He said he thought you might be cheating on him when he came back into the ballroom last night.”

  “I—well, there is someone I’m interested in.”

  “Who? What’s his name? Is his family magical?”

  “I don’t think so,” Tatiana said. She hadn’t asked and likely wouldn’t.

  “What’s his name? I can find out. Aileen won’t be happy with you.”

  Tatiana sighed. Her father wasn’t magical and neither was Ewan’s, but her mother had married for comfort and because her father had a witch grandmother.

  However, her father’s grandmother hadn’t been from a powerful family like her mother’s.

  “I can’t change that,” Tatiana replied.

  “Tatiana, a human? Old and powerful bloodlines like ours are rare in this country, and most of them engage in arranged marriages to ensure the family trad is kept alive. I’d have trained April, but she has no magic.”

  April was her cousin, the daughter of her father’s dead brother. Her parents had adopted April and treated her like their own.

  “I’m sorry you’re disappointed.”

  “I can’t just let this go, Tatiana,” she said. “What is the problem with him? He’s an ideal black man.”

  “I know.”

  “He can make you happy.”

  “I’ve heard,” she murmured, fiddling with the dust wand’s yellow and blue feathers.

  “Who is this person you’re cheating on him with? He was under the impression it might be a woman. He hinted you might be bisexual. Are you?”

  “Not really,” she said.

  “Okay. So, it was a one-time thing,” Melissa said. “The woman seduced you, and you’ve had your fun.”