The Midnight Club

by Love, Michelle

  And now he knew he would do the same to any woman that the Midnight Club grew attached to or fell in love with. He would kill them all. He stared at the girl in the mauve dress. She looked like Viola too— dark, sensual, curvy. He hoped she would stay away from the Club and away from them all. Otherwise … it would be her death sentence.

  Alex Milland rolled over onto his back and sighed. No sleep again. Three a.m. He considered, then grabbed his phone. He knew one of his friends would still be up—well, he knew Maceo would also be up and fucking some hot girl he’d picked up at the opening. Alex grinned to himself. Maceo was a machine. He could turn his feelings off. Maceo was an expert at that, and Alex envied him for it.

  No, he could call on Seth, the calm center of their group. Quiet, fiercely intelligent, and with an empathy that somehow the rest of them lacked, Seth was Vancouver’s answer to Bill Gates. He was a brilliant mind but, Alex knew, also a solitary one. And, to Alex’s own benefit tonight, Seth was also an insomniac. He sent Seth a text message, and sure enough, a reply came back almost immediately.

  Bar is still open.

  He found Seth sitting at the bar, nursing a glass of scotch. He looked exhausted, but smiled at his friend, sliding a bottle of Johnny Walker Blue over to him. “How’re you doing, Alex?”

  Alex shrugged. “Existing”

  Seth nodded in sympathy. “I’m sorry, man. I can’t even imagine. They still haven’t a clue who murdered Viola?”

  Alex sighed. “No. I can’t get my head around it, Seth. I just don’t get it. I just don’t know what it would take for someone to do that to Viola, man. She was kind and loving to everyone. Such a fucking waste”

  “I hear you, brother”

  Alex took a slug of scotch. “I tell you, man, never again. No more long-term things. I don’t think my heart could cope”

  Seth studied him. “Alex … you can’t let this stop you from being happy ever again”

  Alex gave a humorless laugh. “Look who’s talking”

  “That’s different,’ Seth said shortly. “Irina cheated on me. Not the same at all. I just haven’t the time for relationships. I can get a quick fuck whenever I need it; why bother with the rest?”

  “Cold”

  “Not cold; smart”

  Alex sighed. “Where are the others?”

  “Not being smart”

  Alex chortled. “God, you really did get up on the wrong side of the bed today”

  Seth rubbed his face. “I just want some damn sleep, man”

  “I know how you feel”

  Seth put his arm around Alex’s shoulders. “I’m sorry, buddy. You must miss her. We all do”

  An hour later Alex was back in bed, listening to the rain fall outside. He closed his eyes, but he could only see Viola’s pale, gray face. Dead. Her body so still on the mortuary slab. The detective asking him to identify her.

  Alex pushed the thought away and finally, rolled over at six a.m., falling asleep.

  Ori stood under the spray of the shower, trying to shake the dream she had just awoken from. Not that it was a nightmare—far from it—and it was a change to have such a pleasant dreams for once. Ha, she thought. Pleasant’ is hardly the word. Try hot. Try sensual. Try the sexiest, most erotic dream she’d ever had.

  And of course, it had to be about that damn Maceo Bartoli, didn’t it?

  Ori closed her eyes and the water poured over her body. For a second she indulged in the remembrance of the dream … the part where Maceo Bartoli ordered everyone out of his gallery except her, then made her stand naked in the middle of the floor while he circled her, watching, studying her, and describing everything he wanted to do to her. God, she shivered as she remembered, her hand snaking down her thigh and into her sex, rubbing her clit as she thought of him ordering her to spread her legs before he took out his enormously hard cock and …

  “Ori?” Lucia yelled through her bathroom door.

  Ori’s eyes snapped open and, flushing guiltily, she shut off the water and stepped out of the shower. Wrapping a towel around herself, she opened her bedroom door. Lucia looked apologetic.

  “Hey, sweetie, I’m sorry. Maceo’s called me into work, so we’ll have to postpone our shopping trip”

  Ori was disappointed. “Oh. Well, that’s okay, I can just wander around and get to know the place. We can shop another day”

  Lucia smiled at her gratefully. “Thanks, darling, I am sorry. Look, I have a handy travel guide book that I’ve left on the table—it was invaluable when I first moved here. Just be vigilant. OH, look what I’m saying. Is there a place in the world where we women don’t have to be vigilant?”

  Ori laughed. “Can’t think of anywhere, but yes, I will be. I’ll keep to the tourist traps”

  After her friend had gone, Ori dressed in jeans and a loose, flowing white shirt. She pulled her long dark hair into a messy ponytail. Sliding her feet into her old battered Chuck Taylor’s, she grabbed her bag, shoved the guidebook inside, and headed out.

  This year, Venice in March was unseasonably warm, and soon Ori had lost herself in exploring the place, taking water taxis, letting herself drift down small passages. She ended up on the island of Giudecca and found a small bar-trattoria to have lunch in. She ordered a small tuna salad and ate with pleasure, a glass of wine on the table, watching the people as they passed on the street. She got lost in daydreaming, so when the man who appeared by her side spoke, she started in her chair.

  Maceo Bartoli was smiling down at her and god, if a beat didn’t start pulsing between her legs. He was gorgeous, all scruffy charm and confidence and very, very tempting, but Ori knew his type. Once he’d had her, she would be old news, and she didn’t think her confidence could take that kind of hit right now.

  “I’m sorry,’ she said, coolly, “I didn’t hear what you said”

  Without being asked, Maceo sat down in the chair opposite her and signaled to the waiter. “I said, if I pretend that you agreed to have dinner with me, I can count this as our first date”

  She glared at him. “Did you follow me?”

  Maceo laughed. God, his smile really was something else … no. Do not fall for it, she told herself sharply.

  “I wish I were that sneaky,” Maceo admitted. “But no, I promise. Coincidence. A happy one for me, at least. You?”

  Ori hid a smile behind her wine glass. She had to admit his confidence was amusing. And being flirted with by a stunningly handsome man? Not too shabby. But she’d be damned if she’d let him know that. “I haven’t made my mind up yet”

  He laughed again, and something fluttered in her belly. Maceo took out a cigarette pack, offered her one, and when she declined, stuck one in his mouth and lit it. He blew out a lungful of smoke—away from her, she noticed with gratitude. He was studying her.

  “Tell me, Orianthi—”

  “Ori. Just call me Ori”

  He inclined his head gracefully. “Tell me, Ori. What are you doing in my city?”

  She hesitated only a beat. “I’m taking a vacation. A sabbatical”

  “Are you working?”

  “Not currently” Why did that always make her feel like a waste of space?

  Maceo did not seem fazed. “I think sometimes we need to take stock and reevaluate. A sabbatical is good”

  Ori blinked. What was his game? Agreeing with her about everything? She narrowed her eyes at him. “Are you making fun of me?”

  “Quite the contrary. I, myself, am a workaholic. I love the adrenaline rush, but I too have thought about taking an extended break”

  Ori smiled at him. “And what would you do, Mr. Bartoli, on your break?”

  He smiled. “I would dedicate myself to finding out the best way to fuck you, Ms. Roy. What you liked, what you didn’t. I’d use my hands and my tongue to pleasure you until you screamed my name loud enough for the whole of Venice to hear. Then, just when you thought you couldn’t take anymore, I would drive my cock deep inside you until you begged me to stop”

&nb
sp; Ori, her breath caught in her chest, stared at him. What the hell? Was he serious? However angry she felt was belied by the fact she could feel herself getting wet as he spoke, wanting him to take her there, who cared who saw, just fuck me, please …

  Instead, she pulled herself together. “I imagine that there are some women upon whom that honesty would work,’ she said rather primly, gathering her bag and scrabbling around for some cash to pay for her lunch. “I, however, am not one of them. Goodbye, Mr. Bartoli”

  Leaving him grinning after her, she stalked off and caught a water taxi back to Lucia’s house. Of all the insufferable, egotistical assholes … She stomped into her room and flung her bag against the wall.

  Yeah, but you can’t help thinking about him, can you?

  “Shut up,” she told herself. God, she needed a distraction. She grabbed her phone and went to sit on the little balcony. She found the number of AJ’s facility and waited. After a moment, the receptionist answered, and soon AJ was saying hello. His voice sounded dull.

  “Hey, Boo,” Ori said gently, knowing her brother’s moods were erratic.

  “Hey, funny face,” he said and sighed. “It’s good to hear from you. When are you coming back?”

  Ori’s heart twisted. “Sweetie, I—”

  “No, sorry, don’t answer that. I don’t want you to come back yet, I’m sorry. I’m just a little down today”

  “Have you been taking your meds?”

  “Like I promised, sis. You heard from Dad?”

  Ori grimaced. “No. Not a word”

  “Have you seen the latest then? On the news? Some more women are coming forward. Seems Papa really can’t keep it in his pants”

  AJ’s voice was so dead, flat, and lifeless Ori could have cried. That his father didn’t give a crap about Ori was one thing—that he ignored his only child was unforgivable. ’Look, Boo, I can come back whenever and bust you out of there” She tried to make a joke out of it, and she heard AJ give a soft chuckle.

  “You know, sis? Here was a good idea. This place, I mean. It is helping, obviously, some days more than others—but I do feel at last like I’m getting my head clear”

  Ori gave a sigh of relief. “That is good news. Look, when I come back, we’re going to go someplace where he can’t touch us. I promise”

  “That sounds like a plan”

  When she ended the call, she felt calmer. AJ was making progress, and that was all that mattered now. Her younger half-brother was the love of her life, and she knew she would do anything to protect him. When he’d been diagnosed as having bipolar disorder at fourteen, Ori had been beside herself, terrified that he would kill himself with drugs or alcohol. Pinegap Rehabilitation Center was only the latest in a long chain of rehab places, but he seemed to be thriving there—most days. She hoped Tyson would stay away.

  Just keep paying the bills and leave him alone, she thought to herself now. She considered, and then burrowed in her bag for her other phone, the one whose number Tyson would call her on. She kept it mostly off, unless AJ was unreachable. Then she turned it on in case of emergency.

  Out of sheer masochism, she turned it on now. Her voicemail was full. Cursing herself, she listening to a few of the messages, all from Tyson. Some of them were rants about her disloyalty; others were disgustingly lewd. The latest were short and sweet. “Where the fuck are you, Orianthi? Do you think you can hide from me?”

  She deleted every last one of them and then cursed. Why did she do that? It was evidence. “Dumb, stupid girl,” she snarled at herself, then stopped. Evidence. Was she that convinced that one day she would need evidence against him? Fuck, she was messed up.

  She pushed the thought away and went to make some dinner for Lucia. She had bought fresh ingredients for seafood linguine, and as she cooked, she could feel all the tension leach out of her. She chopped, diced, and steamed, and by the time Lucia got home from work, there were two plates piled high with pasta. Lucia swooned over the hot, buttery food, garlicky ciabatta on the side to soak up the creamy sauce.

  “You are wasted as an art curator,” Lucia told Ori afterward when they sat outside on the balcony with a half-empty bottle of wine between them. “You should retrain as a chef”

  “Ha.” Ori smiled, “One good dish doesn’t make a chef”

  They chatted easily and then Ori, not being able to help herself from talking about him, mentioned she had seen Maceo out on one of the islands. Lucia rolled her eyes.

  “I wondered where he’d gotten to. I had buyers waiting. He seemed very pleased with himself when he got back. I hope it wasn’t awkward”

  “Not at all. You’re right, though. He’s trouble with a capital ‘T’”

  “Big, big trouble,” Lucia agreed, then stared at her. “Oh god, you haven’t got a crush, have you? Because he’ll trample all over your heart if you let him”

  “Don’t be ridiculous, I don’t know the man”

  “Who needs to know a man when he looks like Maceo?”

  “Sounds like I’m not the one with the crush” Ori chuckled at her friend’s horror-stricken face.

  “That is not what I meant, Orianthi, and you know it. But I’m not blind, I can see that the man is delicious. He’s just too sure of himself”

  Ori tapped Lucia’s wineglass with her own. “That’s what I think”

  But later, in bed, she allowed herself to fantasize about what it would be like to be fucked by such a man. She imagined his lips against hers, her hand sliding down to his groin, feeling the hot length of his cock through the fabric of his pants, his fingers pulling at her panties, his cock gliding into her. Ori couldn’t help rubbing her clit, imagining it was his tongue lashing around it, and she dreamed herself to orgasm, burying her face in her pillow to muffle her cries.

  Just like every time she came though, afterward the tears would come, the release of tension too much for her, and she sobbed quietly until she fell into an uneasy sleep.

  “You’re still here”

  Alex was surprised. Benoit and Lisander had already flown home to Paris and Buenos Aires respectively, but Alex had stayed to hang out with Maceo. Now he saw that Seth was at the table too. The tall Canadian smiled at him.

  “I was persuaded to stay another night,” he said, nodding at a grinning Maceo.

  “Just one more quiet meal with friends,” Maceo explained. “But sadly, Ben and Sander had to work. The never-ending toil,” he said dramatically, and the other two laughed. Maceo was undoubtedly the joker of their group, but Alex knew that sometimes his friends, the stoic Ben especially, found him a little too much.

  Tonight, however, he was in good form. “I must tell you, friends. I believe I have finally met my match”

  “Ha,” Seth snorted. “I’ll believe it when I see it”

  “No, no, really. This girl is special”

  “They all are until you fuck them,’ Alex said dryly.

  Maceo threw up his hands, but laughed. “You have a fair point, my friend, but no. This one … she has something else. She will not be so easily had”

  “Oh, she is different,” Seth nodded sagely. “… she has taste”

  Maceo laughed, taking the ribbing in good heart. All three friends enjoyed the meal, joking and laughing. It wasn’t until they were leaving the restaurant that the conversation turned serious.

  Maceo looked at Alex steadily. “Alex, my brother … will you be okay? Seth told me this morning that the figlio di puttana who killed Viola is still out there?”

  Alex nodded, his eyes clouding over. “A part of me wants to find him first, so I can end this the way Viola deserves … ”

  He gathered himself as his two friends looked at him sympathetically. “I’m sorry, guys. I’ll get to the bottom of it, I swear I will”

  Later, Maceo himself drove both Alex and Seth to the airport. Hugging them goodbye, he made them a promise. “We will meet soon, again, yes?”

  As he made his way back to the car, his attention was caught by a man in a long dark
coat and sunglasses getting into a long black limousine. Sunglasses at night?

  Maceo grinned to himself. “What are you hiding from?” He soon forgot about the man, channeling his thoughts more pleasurably into his latest project. Orianthi Roy. He could not stop thinking about her, to the point where he had actually called Lucia into his office earlier that day and asked her about her friend.

  “You leave that girl alone,” Lucia had said immediately. “She is not one of your conquests”

  Maceo grinned now. No. Not yet. But he hadn’t said that to Lucia. Out of all his colleagues, she was the one he was actually wary of—probably because she was amazing at her job and had turned him down flat when he’d tried his usual shtick on her first day at the gallery.

  “That,” she had said bluntly, grabbing his cock through his jeans, “isn’t going to get anywhere near me. It does not interest me. Now—” she had released him. “Can we get back to work?”

  Maceo laughed out loud now. He honestly could not imagine his business without Lucia. So could he risk her friendship just for the sake of fucking Orianthi?

  For once, Maceo knew he would have to tread very, very carefully. If only he could stop thinking about Ori’s lush curves or her pink, warm mouth ...

  “Are you sure you’re going to be okay? I can always tell Johnny I can’t make it this weekend”

  Ori rolled her eyes at her friend. Lucia’s boyfriend, a racecar driver, had called at the last minute, asking Lucia to fly to Monaco to see him. Ori could tell she was excited. “I’ll be fine as long as you don’t mind me pretending that this amazing place is my own for a week”

  Lucia laughed. “Not at all. I know you, Miss Homemaker. I’ll come back to brand new drapes and exquisitely crafted baked goods like in college. God, doesn’t that seem a million years ago?”

  “It does” Ori followed Lucia into her bedroom and sat on the bed while she packed. “I found this great little café today, overlooking the lagoon. It’s quiet, and I can write there. Lucia, this city is growing on me, I have to say. As well as the obvious beauty of the place, I like the people and the serenity”