Mourning Becomes Black: Blackstone, #5

By Rachel E Rice

New York, where rich men hide behind walls in stately mansions, or penthouse apartments with young women as they satisfy their sexual cravings in unconventional ways.

 

Alex: "The few times I see my husband and lover, Maximillian Blackstone, I'm thinking of the irresistible sexy Robert Montgomery. When I run into him in the elevator and when he touches me in passing, I feel as if I have committed adultery. It is a sin how he gazes at me as if he could take me and devour me. It is a sin how he whispers into my ear, when passing, telling me what he wants to do to me, or what I can do to him. I have committed a sin because I can't control my heart, and my husband Maximillian Blackstone will no longer be in control of it. Before long, Robert will have me completely."

Max: "Alex thinks that all I care about is my business and my sons, and she thinks I don't know that she has become infatuated with someone. She tried to hide it, but I feel it when we are in bed. I feel space between us. I will put a stop to it before my heart does something irrational in the name of love."

Robert: "I will make my move on Alex and take her from Maximillian. I know what a young woman desires and needs. She needs a man that's available to satisfy her. But she has proven difficult and loyal to Maximilian. I know she wants me, especially when she sees me with other women, it shows in her face. Jealousy is the key to her."

Is jealousy all it takes for Robert to take Alex from Max? Will Max put business before Alex?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Rachel E Rice
• Release date: Dec 28, 2015
• ISBN: 9781519954183

Rachel E Rice

Rachel E. Rice enjoys writing in different genres. As an Indie author she explores genres to find her voice. She has written contemporary romance, erotic romance, new adult, historical and science fiction. When she's not writing she is reading poetry. She has a BA and is a member of Romance Writers of America. 

Book preview

Chapter 1

December in New York is a great time of the year for the young and the rich, but a bad time for the old even if you are rich. The weather is in transition, and so are bodies and minds. The cold rainy weather makes the young feel alive, but I happen to be young and rich, yet I feel the opposite because of the twists and turns my life has taken.

Today I’m shopping for a dress, and Brandon, my driver, has dropped what he has been doing to accommodate my frivolous, pointless needs.

A text comes in from Jonas on my way to a Fifth Avenue boutique. They have loads of little black dresses for the black-tie affair tonight. I give out a long sigh and reach for my phone, and read Jonas’s few words. Every word is like a scream. My head hurts whenever I hear from him. The muscles in my neck tighten and my left eye twitches.  

I need you. Please come immediately.

I don’t reply. I haven’t made up my mind. I have a few more minutes and I sensibly take them.

Reaching inside my bag, I drop the phone after hitting the mute button, and pull out a book I have planned on reading. Maybe the drive uptown to find out about Jonas’s urgency can give me time to get in some much-needed reading.

Books are my saving grace and a way to get some peace. I can disappear into a world of fiction. Newspapers have become so depressing lately. Too real. Too much drama.

Elderly man shoots elderly wife and her lover. What has happened to the time when men welcome their wives’ lovers because they are too busy fucking the next-door neighbor, or their secretaries. What has happened to those days? I wondered.

I decide to notify Brandon of the change of venue. Brandon, I need to see my brother-in-law... at his club. I suck my teeth, shake my head, and take in a small breath. I really don’t want to do this.

Unlike me, Brandon takes the change in stride. I like his even disposition. Nothing seems to rattle him. He’s young and this is December. The holiday season is here, and decorations and lights are already in the store widows. People are wandering around window shopping, and dreaming. Dreaming of what once was. Once they were young. Once they were loved.

The traffic is horrific. Someone important is in town again. I close my eyes momentarily and think about the real Christmas tree Max has brought for the children. He has even taken time with us to help decorate it. That makes me smile. Our little dog has wanted in on the festivities. He rushed to get the ornaments, and Maxim and Jack had to chase him to pry the ornaments from his teeth.

How long is this going to take, Brandon? I’m impatient and I cross my legs shaking them. Restless Leg Syndrome, or Jonas Blackstone Syndrome. I never know what to expect when Jonas asks to see me. It has been months since I’ve heard from him.

Thanks for small mercies. Frankly, I could go a lifetime without hearing from Jonas, because when he calls, there’s always an emergency. 

I’m thinking fifteen minutes to a half hour Mrs. B. We should be there give or take a few. Brandon’s voice is calm. The traffic doesn’t rattle him. It’s a season where people are in a hurry to get home to family, and a season where the spending of money will likely cause divorce, and worse yet, loneliness and suicide.

My eyes fall to the book in my hands, and I open it to the back. I didn’t realize it was a book of poems when I grabbed it and dropped it in my oversized bag.

I’m reading, the words are stark and shocking. I don’t want to read further because I don’t want to know why Oscar Wilde wrote those words. The words affect me, and I can’t get the thought out of my head.

...each man kills the thing he loves. I hear Brandon’s voice crowding out my thoughts.

Mrs. Blackstone... I mean, Alex. The ride didn’t take as long as I expected. Brandon pulls the car into the circular driveway, steps out and opens the door. I’ve begged him to stop doing that. Too much attention on me, but he insists that it’s expected, and he doesn’t want a reason for Max to dismiss him.

Brandon stands watching and waiting until I’m safely inside the mansion, before he enters the car, and parks it to the side, and away from the entrance.

I have instructed Brandon to park near hedges so my car can’t be seen from the street. Just a precaution because I don’t want Max to discover that I’ve been associating with Jonas, and not telling him, especially since he’s warned me about getting involved with Jonas’s schemes.

It was too late then and now. It is like locking the barn after the livestock have escaped.

A large black man in a black suit and white shirt is manning the door. He appears to be screening all visitors, but he remembers me and opens the door. Knowing Jonas, and his weakness to brag, he’s probably informed him that I’m his sister-in-law. This is perhaps the second time I’ve been here. I find my way to his office without any problems.

There’s no one in the building from what I can tell. Maybe it’s too early. The place is lit and more lights have been installed. The mansion doesn’t look like a mausoleum anymore. Jonas has had his workmen change the sconces on the wall, and the interior paint to bright soft colors. That beats the red wall paper and antique lights.   

Jonas, I’m here. What is the problem this time? I can’t keep meeting you at this club, I mumble, chastising him, walking down the foyer, then opening his office door, after knocking. I toss my purse on the nearest chair, and stand behind a white antique chair with a green velvet seat, waiting for Jonas to turn around to face me.

If Max even discovers that I have anything to do with you and this club he will... Well, I don’t want to think what he’ll do.

Leaning forward my hands are on his desk. His office is darker than usual. My first thought is to turn on one of the lamps. My second thought is to turn around and walk out of Jonas Blackstone’s infamous bondage club. It’s located on the upper east side of Manhattan, and home away from home to some very rich unsavory characters—my brother-in-law being one of them. I’m upset and I’m here to plead or threaten him to leave me alone, and stop getting me mixed up in his craziness.

I have to make this quick. I don’t want to stay here any longer than necessary, because meeting him here gives me an uneasy feeling.

Jonas still has his back to me. He’s turned around with his face gazing out of one of the few windows in his office, or just staring at the wall. I wouldn’t be surprised. That’s just like Jonas in his own world. Never takes anything seriously.

He has me involved and I’ve been frightened ever since. I never know what to expect from him. It’s only a matter of time before Max discovers all our secrets. That’s why I continue to see Jonas when he calls.

The last time I was here, I had to fight off Robert, and my desire to succumb to Robert’s charms and his obvious skills with satisfying women.

Jonas turns around in a slow swivel of his brown leather chair, but it’s not Jonas, it’s Robert. My heart speeds up. Why is this man affecting me in this way? I can’t seem to get him out of my life, and get away from him. He appears to be everywhere I am. I don’t trust myself near him. Better than that, I can’t trust myself near him. Next time I might give in to him, and that could be the end of my marriage, and Max will undoubtedly take my children and the dog.

I narrow my eyes. My forehead furrows. I don’t want to give him any hint of weakness on my part. He knows women, and he senses when a woman desires him.

My desire for him is deep.  

Why did you text me from Jonas’s phone, and why are you here? I say to Robert. My voice is harsh, I’m concealing my true feelings. What are you doing in Jonas’s office anyway? I look around trying not to meet his gaze.

It’s my office now. He corrects me. I raise an eyebrow. He shoots me a wide grin and my legs weaken. My resolve disappears. I steady myself and focus on Max, my children, and my dog. But not even the thought of my family can help me now.

There’s no way Jonas would sell this business to Robert, especially since he can’t succeed at anything else. But I could be wrong. I take a breath and lock eyes with Robert. My heart is racing when I look into his soft blue eyes and focus on his devilish grin.  

I bought him out. I made him an offer he couldn’t refuse. A light chuckle falls from his luscious lips. I couldn’t remember until now why I’m so undeniably attracted to this man. The glow from his blue eyes is causing me to become restless. I shift from side to side. I want to sit, but I don’t. That would be another signal that I am too comfortable with him.  

Could it be my obvious lack of self-control that’s making me feel this way? I throw that in the back of my mind like so many other things these days.

Max and I are moving, and I have too many things to think about. One is how will I feel once I’m away from Robert? Or how will I adjust to Max once he has sold his profitable companies in Asia to be with me and the boys? Will Max hate me for what he has to give up?

Looking at Robert sitting behind Jonas’s desk with a pen in his hand, fiddling with papers, he’s relaxed in his off-white V-neck sweater and jeans. He’s mesmerizing, and I shouldn’t be here entertaining him with light conversation.

I have children and a dog to take care of, not to mention a fabulous handsome husband who will get home soon, and discover I’m not ready for the black-tie affair. I have to buy a black dress, but instead, I’m fucking around with Robert once more.

He stands, never taking his eyes off me, and moving in my direction. I move back behind the chair. I need room between us. Come on. I know you aren’t afraid of me. He’s in front of me and raises his head and smiles again. He doesn’t say a word. His body says it all. I’m afraid of myself, and he’s testing me to see what kind of effect he has on me.

Of course, I’m not. My voice cracks. I just want to keep away from you. I don’t want anyone to connect me with you. As a matter of fact, I want to forget that you and I ever met, I say, looking up at him.

I can’t forget that night, he says, his eyes smoldering and raking over me from head to toe. I’ve been thinking of you from the day I set eyes on you. From the day we met here... and how you made me feel... He touches my chin and I flinch. He tilts my chin. Our eyes meet. I bet you’ve been thinking of me, too. I don’t move. He pushes my hair to the side and sniffs my neck. The same wonderful smell. It makes me hard, and that perfume.

His face is close to mine. I lower my eyes. His lips are close to mine. I can smell him and almost taste him. He’s wearing an expensive aftershave. It has a fresh outdoor scent. He smells like Max. My eyes blink and I focus. It’s not Max, Alex. Get a grip.

I push his hand away. I raise my eyes. The only thing I’m thinking about is when are you going to leave me and my family alone?

Robert takes a step back in surprise. He stares at me.

Just as soon as Jonas pays me what he owes me. Then I’ll consider leaving him alone. You, I’m not sure about. Another wicked laugh comes out of his inviting mouth. Robert turns and steps away from me and moves back to Jonas’s desk and sits.

When I take you from Maximillian, then that will be the end of that relationship. My eyes blink because of his brazen comment.

You really are ambitious. I laugh at him. He frowns and I see the true nature of the man. Before, all I saw was his smiles and arrogance and loose talk. And that may have been his charm. Now I see a seriously determined, dangerous man.

You’re in an unhappy marriage. I see it on your face, and I’ve seen it before on other women’s faces. All the faces look the same at some point, because they travel down the road of neglect. They are neglected by their husbands in one form or the other.

I’m not going to spend another minute listening to Robert’s theories. Or trying to prove the falsity of his statements. He just wants reassurance, and if I protest, then he can conclude that he is correct in his assessment of my marriage.   

You haven’t said why you texted me. I tighten my hands around the back of the chair. Doesn’t Max give you enough work to do? Robert is focused on one thing and that’s me.

"I have a need for a beautiful young