Bonne Chance: Bourbon Street, Book 2 (3 page)

How did our soldier do on his first night?

Chance grinned and typed her reply.
Perfect. He was fucking perfect.

Her phone went off again, this time lighting up to the tune of Louis Armstrong’s “La Vie en Rose”, and Chance swiped the screen without really looking. “I got your text. I’m going to enjoy this one—”

“Cynthia? Honey?”

Chance swore under her breath. “Mom? Sorry, I thought you were someone else.”

“I don’t understand how, doesn’t my name come up on the screen? Really, Cynthia. You should pay more attention.”

Chance pinched her nose and sat down on the bed. “What did you need, Mom?” She pulled the phone away quickly, glancing at the time. “And why are you calling so late?”

“Your father has decided to actually take Dr. Kevlin’s advice and go on a vacation. Since we’ve never been to New Orleans, we’ve decided to come visit you.”

The phone slid out of her hand, hitting the floor with a resounding crack. Chance winced and scrambled after it, swearing as she stared at the shattered screen.

“Cynthia? Cynthia!”

“Shit.” She lifted the phone back to her ear. “Sorry, Mom, the phone slipped. Did you say you were coming here?”
Please say no, please say no…

“Yes, I did. Belinda’s coming too. She needs to get out now that Jaden is old enough, so we thought it would be nice for all of us to come see you.”

Fuck.
Chance took a deep breath. “That’s great, Mom. When were you thinking of coming?”

“We’ll be there next week. And don’t worry, we’ve got a hotel reserved.”

Oh, fuck no.
“That’s…that’s really soon, Mom. Isn’t that kind of soon? I mean, I’ve barely been back a week, and Dad
did
have a stroke last month…”

“Dr. Kevlin fully approves, don’t worry. I doubt your father will do more than fish while we’re there. But it’s high time we came for a visit.”

The implication that it was somehow her fault for never inviting them wasn’t lost on Chance, but she chose to ignore it. She had other, more immediate concerns.

Like her job.

“And of course we’ll want to meet that boyfriend of yours.”

Chance nearly dropped the phone again.
Fuck.
“Of course. He’ll be so excited to meet you.”

Her mother chattered on about details Chance couldn’t care less about, while her brain went into panic mode. She barely managed to end the conversation, muttering her goodbyes by rote when her mother finally stopped.

Of course we’ll want to meet that boyfriend of yours.

Chance fell back on her bed with a muffled scream. Of course she would remember that ridiculous lie, an offhand comment she’d made to Belinda in a moment of annoyance.

You could tell them the truth.

Yeah, right.

The truth, in this case, would definitely not set her free.

Chapter Three

Chance sipped at her coffee and fiddled with her new phone. She’d woken that morning hoping the conversation with her mother had really been a nightmare, but the shattered screen on her phone had been proof enough the conversation was real. At least something good had come out of it—dropping her phone had given her the perfect excuse to upgrade it.

“Oh look who joined the twenty-first century.” Cassandra sat at the café table opposite her, setting her own cup of coffee down. “What did you do, break the old one over someone’s head?”

Chance rolled her eyes. “Oh shut up, it wasn’t that old. But that, at least, would’ve been fun. I dropped it last night while talking to Mom.”

“What did she say?”

Putting down the phone, Chance scowled. “She called to announce that they’re coming to visit.”

Cass blinked. “Wait. Correct me if I’m wrong, but weren’t you just visiting them for the last month?”

“I know! Believe me, I know.” She dropped her head in her hands and screamed. “It’s so unfair! I wanted to get back to my life. I’m going to have a hell of a time dancing around them while taking clients. And that’s not even the worst part.”

Cass lifted an eyebrow and took a drink. “Do I even want to know?”

“No.” Chance groaned and rested her head on the table, staring through the wrought iron mesh to the sidewalk below.

“What did you do?”

Chance’s head came up. “It wasn’t my fault! Bels wouldn’t shut up, and Mom was making it even worse, and I really wanted to rub their faces in something, anything—”

“Chance…”

“You don’t even know how bad it was. I love my life here, but there’s no way in hell they’ll approve of me being a Pro-Domme. And for once I wanted them to actually approve—”

“Chance!”

She stopped and looked at Cass, who stared back with an exasperated expression.

“What did you say?”

Chance hid behind her hands. “I made up a boyfriend.”

Cassandra snorted and shook her head. “You realize that’s the oldest, lamest, saddest ruse in the world?”

“I know.”

Cass sipped her coffee, then shrugged. “It could be worse.”

Chance glared at her. “How?”

“Hon, the answer is staring you in the face. If you’re not willing to come clean, which, I know your family sucks, but it really would be best.” She gave Chance a pointed look and continued. “If you won’t come clean, I know a certain sub-in-training that’s easily gentleman enough to get you out of this self-imposed idiocy. And since you are supposed to be training him…” She trailed off, letting her words sink in.

Chance blinked, stunned. It was an obvious solution. “Oh my God. Cass, you are brilliant. Adrian will kill me, but it’s brilliant.”

The blonde Domme buffed her nails. “I have my moments.”

Chance grabbed for her phone, pulling up the number Adrian had given her. The call picked up on the second ring.

“Landry Boudreaux.”

“It’s Chance. Are you free?”

A pause and a bit of shuffling. “Not immediately, Mistress. Half hour?”

Chance grinned, throwing Cass a thumbs-up. “Meet me at Café Du Monde. Text if you’ll be longer than an hour.”

“Yes’m.”

She ended the call and looked up to see Cass smile.

“Sounds like you’ve got that boy wrapped around your finger already. God, he’s adorable. Did he ‘yes’m’ you?”

Chance laughed. “He did. I take it you’ve met him?”

“Once or twice over the years. His leave schedule never really permitted much in the way of consistency. Adrian threw him to whoever was available, so I think most of us worked with him at one point or another. We’ve all been itching to bring him along further.”

“I’m surprised I never met him.”

Cassandra snorted. “I’m not. Adrian kept you plenty busy. How does that feel, anyway?”

Chance cocked her head. “What?”

“Not being his favorite anymore.”

She laughed. “I was never his favorite, I was his go-to. Hell, I wasn’t even top Domme.” Chance cleared her throat and gave her friend a pointed look. “Once Tamara left, that was all you.”

Cass waved her comment off. “I may have seniority, but I knew the moment Moira started training she’d end up on top. She has a ways to go still, but seriously, Chance. She’s a goddamn fucking natural. And you didn’t answer my question, little miss former-favorite.”

Shaking her head, Chance grinned. “Even if I was his favorite, it doesn’t bother me. We need more Dommes in this community. Not that I object to the boys having their fun, but there are so many male Dominants and female subs, it’s almost cliché. I will
always
be happy to see more strong women. Besides, Tamara was always his favorite.”

“Not always.” The look Cassandra gave her was thoughtfully catlike.

“I forget how long you’ve known him.”

Cass shook her head. “Not as long as you think. Adrian was already the Maître we know and love by the time I came around. I don’t know his story, I only saw some of the fallout. I think the only ones that really know are Toussaint, Gideon and Tamara.” She sipped the last of her coffee and set the mug back on the table. “Speaking of, you know she suggested you take on the sergeant?”

“No, I didn’t. I wish she’d stuck around.” Chance took a drink of her coffee and made a face. “Dammit, my coffee’s gone cold.”

“She’d kick your ass if she knew you were letting your family get to you. Then she’d kick theirs on principle.”

Chance laughed. “She would.” Her phone trilled, and she looked down to see an incoming text.

Be there in five. L

Cassandra raised an eyebrow. “That boy does love following orders. Speaking of naturals.” She pushed away from the table and stood. “Have fun with our favorite Marine. Let me know how it goes.”

“I will. You working Macabre tonight?”

The blonde Domme nodded. “Ellie’s coming in with me too. I’d tell you to stop by, but I know you’ll be busy.”

Chance grinned as Cassandra waved and left, but her smile widened at the sight of someone else approaching. Landry Boudreaux walked with purpose and assurance, every inch a soldier in his crisp MARPAT digital camouflage, sleeves rolled up to show dark, muscular forearms. Brown eyes brightened as they locked on her, and Chance felt a rush of heat that had nothing to do with the early summer weather.

He paused briefly at her table, waiting for her subtle nod before sitting. “Ma’am. Or—”

“Ma’am is fine in public.” She smiled as he gave a curt nod. “It takes some getting used to, I know. And I understand the need for discretion, especially with you in uniform.” She eyed him for a moment, taking him in. “How are you feeling after last night?”

Landry shifted in his seat, coming forward to lean on the table. “Honestly, ma’am? I…”

Chance grinned, watching the nervous fidgeting of his fingers, and the slight flush to his cheeks. “Excited?”

He smiled, finally. “Yes’m.”

“But?” His shoulders hadn’t relaxed, so she knew that wasn’t all.

“I didn’t expect we’d be talking about it in public.”

Chance nodded. “This won’t be anything formal. I wanted to schedule something for tonight, but I also wanted to talk to you. I…need your help.”

Landry’s eyebrow lifted. “Ma’am?”

“It’s kind of embarrassing.” Chance took a deep breath. “I need a favor. Not as Domme to sub, but person to person. I’ve found myself in a somewhat awkward position, and I hoped you could help me out. It won’t affect our training, either way, but I would really be grateful.”

“Sounds like a big favor.”

Chance winced. “It is.”

He sat back, crossing his arms, and cocked his head. “Won’t know if I can help unless you ask.”

His response won him a brief smile. “My family is coming to town. They…”

Landry’s eyes registered immediate understanding. “They don’t know what you do.”

“No.”

He leaned forward again. “Just your parents?”

“And my little sister.”

Landry laughed at her tone. “Don’t get on with her?” Chance shook her head. “She’s always makin’ the misère?”

Chance laughed softly. “You must have sisters.”

“Three of them.” He sat back again. “So what is it you need from me, if I may ask? Do we need to postpone things?”

Chance waved him off. “It’s not that. If I spend all my time with them, I’ll go insane.” She sighed. “Family is hard, you know? They have all these expectations, which half the time don’t come even close to lining up with your own.”

“I take it your life here isn’t what they expected?”

“No. My mother is very old-fashioned in a lot of ways. I’m not married, and I don’t have kids, so in her eyes, I’m failing.”

Landry nodded in understanding. “Which is why they don’t know what you do. I’m still not clear on how I can help, though.”

Chance closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. “Pretend to be my boyfriend? I know, it’s absurd.” She rushed on ahead before he could answer. “It’s the worst trope in history. But I can’t handle any more of my mother’s matchmaking, or the disapproving remarks—I spent the last month with all of that.”

Landry’s brow lifted. “Coo. I don’t know, ma’am. I get what you’re saying, and it makes sense. If you’re going to be training me, I’ll be hanging around all the time, anyway.” He paused, his brow furrowing in a way Chance found kind of adorable. “But I don’t like lying, especially to family. If they can’t accept the truth, it’s on them. But you’re not giving them the opportunity, either way, and that’s on you.”

Chance winced. “Ouch. You don’t pull your punches, do you?”

He smirked. “No, ma’am. Do you?”

She leaned back in her chair and matched his grin. “You’ll find out.”

“Ooo!” He flipped his fingers to the side so fast they snapped. “I bet you don’t. This thing with your sister makes me think you hit hard too. Saw it with my own sisters, growing up. Always gotta be better than the other, right? Always competing?”

Chance sighed. “It didn’t used to be. I don’t honestly know what happened. Bels and I used to be close. Best friends, really. And Mom always had her expectations for both of us, but it’s like one day I woke up and she was the favorite, and I was suddenly shit out of luck, and couldn’t please anyone.”

Landry looked down, tapping his thumb on the wrought iron table. “Seems to me trying to please people never made anyone happy. But I can’t say as it’s my business what you tell or don’t tell your family.” He tapped his thumb on the table twice more, then looked up. “If I agree, will you at least think about telling them?”

She gave him a lopsided grin. “I really should, I know. I’ll try.”

“All right then.”

Chance breathed out hard. “You are a fucking angel, Landry Boudreaux. Thank you.”

He laughed, a deep, rich laugh that sounded like it came easy to him. “Don’t thank me yet. You did promise to think about telling them. So your sister, she married? Kids?”

“Had her first a few months ago. I have a sneaky and unpleasant suspicion that Mom’s decided to find me a husband if it kills her.”

“That is frustrating. She sounds like my auntie. She went all maryeur trying to get my youngest sister a husband, before Momma finally stepped in and told her Mahalia was never going to settle down with a nice man.”

“I wish somebody’d tell my mother that. I bet your sister was relieved.”

Landry laughed. “For true. Especially considering she’d proposed to her girlfriend.”

Chance broke out laughing. “Oh that’s fantastic. How’d your aunt take that?”

He shrugged. “She got over it, grudgingly. It helped that they invited her to the wedding. Even if they did move to South Carolina.”

Chance nodded in understanding. She loved New Orleans, but Louisiana hadn’t gotten over the Supreme Court’s same-sex marriage ruling, much like her home state. She was fairly certain they’d still be fighting for equal marriage rights if the federal ruling hadn’t come down. “Good for them. I really do appreciate this, Landry.”

“I will admit to being flattered you asked. I’d love to stay and talk about this more, but…” he glanced at his watch, “…right now I have to get back to the base.”

“What time are you done for the day?”

He pulled his phone out of a chest pocket and flipped through it. “My last group should be done at four thirty, ma’am.”

Chance smiled. “Meet me at Adrian’s at six, then.”

Landry stood. “Yes’m.”