Michael had told her his boss was an odd man. But she wanted to know more about another Taggart relation. “Your fiancé is Kyle’s brother, right?”
Tessa’s head dropped back, and she groaned. “Yes, and he’s never leaving my house. I was almost happy when his girlfriend got…” She brought her head up, face flushing slightly. “She’s not really his girlfriend. She’s a girl who’s a friend and she was in an accident the other day. Anyway, he’s been hanging out at her apartment, which means he’s not at our place. He’s been home for eight months, and he still hasn’t found his own place. I think he likes the cat. I know it’s not the food because David can’t cook, and I don’t.”
Eight months? She did some quick math. It still worked though. Barely. “Where was he before?”
“The Navy,” Tessa replied. “He was in for almost a decade. According to David, the family thought he would go the full twenty. Not at first. The way I’ve heard it, he had some problems to work through, and the Navy offered him some discipline.”
Oh, she would love to know what those problems were. Had he been violent and the Navy had refined his rage? Taught him how to cover his tendencies? How to stalk his prey? Nicki had written that the man was new at The Club. They would have overlapped by roughly four months. That was more than long enough for a man to get obsessed. “Is it weird to play in the same club as your brother-in-law?”
“Nah.” Tessa waved off the thought. “Kyle honestly doesn’t play a lot. He works mostly now.”
“Now?”
“Well, I don’t know a lot about it because Kyle isn’t a big talker, but I’ve heard he played a lot in the beginning, and then he met a woman, and well, he’s a weirdo who doesn’t admit when he’s mad crazy about a woman. She doesn’t play here. He got to know her a couple of months ago, and he doesn’t show a lot of interest in any of the subs here now.”
She had to be careful about how she questioned Tessa. The last thing she needed was her mentioning to her almost brother-in-law how interested she was in him. But she needed to start figuring out a few things. Maybe a little lie could help open up the conversation a bit. “My sister mentioned him a couple of times.”
Tessa’s face went grave. “Nicki? I knew her. She was a nice lady. I was so sorry when she passed.”
“She liked it here.” She thought Tessa was sincere. She’d liked Nicki, though Vanessa would bet they hadn’t been close. “I’m sorry, but she never mentioned you. Not that we talked all that much. She was distracted the last few months of her life. Were you friends?”
“We were friendly, but I wouldn’t call us friends. We met a couple of times at work-related events. Up until I met David I played at Sanctum. David and Kyle play here because their mom still goes to Sanctum.”
She could see how that would be…unsettling. “That makes sense then. Nicki played here for years. I don’t remember her having a specific top though. Like I said, she mentioned Kyle a couple of times.”
“Oh, they probably played. I would have to ask him, but I’m pretty sure he played around a lot.” She frowned suddenly. “You know that doesn’t necessarily mean sex, right? From what I understand, Nicki was what we would call a club sub. She didn’t have a permanent top. She liked to play around. Okay, that sounds bad, too.”
Vanessa held up a hand. She knew this much. “She enjoyed D/s activities. It doesn’t mean she had sex with every man who topped her.”
Something about the way Tessa’s eyes widened slightly let Vanessa know her sister had blown way past vanilla.
“Or woman,” Vanessa corrected with a smile. “She didn’t talk about that, but it doesn’t bother me. I’m glad my sister was happy here.”
“I know she played with some of the married tops. Again, not in any sexual way, but they all found what they needed,” Tessa offered. “I hope you find that, too.”
The sentiment was sweet, but Vanessa doubted she would find anything beyond who killed her sister. And she would start with Kyle Hawthorne. Still, she knew how to play this game. She smiled. “Me, too. In a couple of months, I’ll be out of training and on my own.”
Tessa paused. “You don’t like Michael?”
She liked him far too much. She kind of thought he was perfect. “I didn’t say that. He’s a great guy. He’s going to be a magnificent Dom for someone.”
“But not you?” Tessa stared at her as though trying to figure her out.
Normally she would hedge on a question like that, but she’d recently had that magnificent interaction with Lexi O’Malley, and it made her want to be honest. “I…I like him a lot, but I’m not the kind of girl who would be welcome in his family. Not that he would ever want to bring me home with him. We’re not a couple like that. We’re good training partners, that’s all.”