by Fiona Cole
God, what if he came over and introduced himself?
What if he pieced together who I was in my connection to Camden? If he thought I was a trashy woman before, seeing me on a date with a man when I’d almost mounted him in the lobby, I could only imagine what he would think.
“Fuck.”
I needed to get out of there. At that moment, I didn’t care if Camden thought I had diarrhea; if it meant escaping, then so be it.
Two giggling women walked in, breaking me from the staring match I was having with myself in the mirror.
With one last deep breath, I pushed open the bathroom door and headed back.
Like Deja vu, I looked down to close the latch on my purse and bumped into a moving wall.
“Shit. I’m so sorry,” I muttered immediately.
Unlike last time, the contents of my bag didn’t scatter across the floor.
However, very much like last time, I looked up into familiar dark eyes.
“Shit.”
“You said that already.” His words rumbled across my skin, mixing with the electric currents his warm hands sent down my arms from where they held me steady. “This seems to happen a lot to you. Running into men. Or is it just me?”
“Hardly.” I tried to make my words hard and filled with disdain, but they came out breathy and annoyed at best. More annoyed with my body for the way it reacted to his simple touch and the spicy, woodsy scent of his cologne. I wanted to close my eyes, lean in, and breathe as deep as I could to make the scent part of me.
What the hell was wrong with me?
Pulling my shoulders back, I lifted my chin, ignoring the way his eyes dipped down my body. “Besides, again, you bumped into me last time. Probably all the drinking on the job,” I added.
“Excuse me,” a woman said behind him, wanting to get through. He stepped closer, and I backed up until I hit the wall, the dim lights of the restaurant fading to nothing, his body a dark shadow closing in.
One hand moved to the wall beside my head, and his eyes scanned my face, his jaw ticking under the thick scruff. I tried to stand tall, but all I wanted to do was melt under the heat of his stare.
What was he doing? What was happening here?
I licked at my dry lips, and his growl vibrated in the space between us.
“Nicholas.” His name rushed from lips past my panting breaths. My lungs working overtime. Panicked at wanting more. Panicked at getting out.
His lips curled on a silent snarl, and within a blink, it was all gone. He stood back and shoved his hands into his pockets, nothing but a professional who happened to also look down on me and question my morals.
“How do you know Camden Conti?” he asked, his voice hard enough to bring me out of any haze I’d slipped into.
“What?”
Smooth, Verana.
Internally, I rolled my eyes. The question hadn’t been expected and hit me like a bucket of cold water, spiking my nerves to life. I couldn’t answer truthfully, but I didn’t want to lie either.
Instead, I answered as vaguely as possible and hoped social niceties wouldn’t have him prying. “He’s my father’s friend’s son. Just an acquaintance.”
Who was also my future husband. But I wasn’t lying; he really was nothing more than an acquaintance right now.
His jaw worked back and forth, chewing over the information and unsure if he liked how it tasted.
“How do you know him?” I asked before he could push for more.
“The business world isn’t as big as you think.” He turned to walk away but quickly turned back. “Careful who you go after, Miss Barrone. Some men may not be what they seem.”
“I am not—” I started, but he didn’t stick around to listen. Before I knew it, I stood alone in the hallway—still needing to go face Camden when all I wanted to do was go home. Only now, I had to do it with the scent of Nicholas on my tongue and a fiery anger close to overflowing.
But fate apparently decided it had dealt me enough bad luck for the evening because when I went back, Camden was just accepting his card back from the waiter.
“I hope you didn’t want dessert. I just got a call, and we need to go.”
“Oh, no.” If he could hear the complete lack of sincerity, he didn’t comment on it.
“I can drop you off on my way.”
“No, that’s okay. I’ll take a cab.”
“Are you sure?”
So fucking sure. “Yeah. Work is important. I don’t want you to be late.”
He smiled approvingly like he was proud of me for my new trick. I almost waited for him to pat me on the head when we walked out, telling me how proud he was of his pretty future wife.
“By the way, you’ll be attending the gala with me next week,” he announced.
I opened my mouth to protest that I had plans with the girls but never got the chance.
“Don’t argue and wear something sexy. I want to show off my future wife.”
I almost cringed but stopped when I met Nicholas’s eyes over Camden’s shoulder. Camden leaned in to kiss me goodbye, and I quickly turned my head. His lips still landed against my cheek, and by some miracle, I managed to not jerk away.
“So pure,” he whispered against my cheek. A shiver worked its way through my limbs when he pulled back with a smirk and pinched my chin, swiping his thumb across my lips. “Soon.”
And with that last eerie promise, he walked away. Without looking around to find Nicholas’s reaction, I dove into the waiting car and sent a message to Raelynn to meet me at home.
I needed someone to help me process the night and drink with me until I passed out.
Maybe if I drank enough, I wouldn’t dream of Nicholas for just one night.
Seven
Vera
“I’m so proud to be your friend right now,” Raelynn said, smiling at me like a proud mom as we strolled into the gala. “That dress screams seductive strength and fuck you, and you wish you could have this, all in one. The perfect dress for Camden.”
I snorted a laugh.
“I mean, the blood-red says I’ll kill you and bathe in your blood. But the touch of lace along the back says I’m a lady. But it’s the fit, bare back, and flashes of skin that make it so utterly sexy.”
I dropped my chin, a blush rising into my cheeks. I didn’t usually wear something like this, but when I saw it—after the past month—I had to have it. I liked the way it wrapped around my neck, and the soft silky material cradled my breasts. It wasn’t just a deep v down to my belly button; it was like it had been twisted to my hip and threatened to expose my left breast at any moment. I loved it.
“Look who’s talking.” I gestured to an unashamed Raelynn, throwing in an extra strut in her beige, black, and silver glitter dress. She reminded me of the Black Swan with everything strategically glued in place to cover anything important.
“Yeah, but this is me. I wear shit like this all the time. You, are the muted color cardigan and pearls.”
“I don’t wear a cardigan and pearls all the time.”
“Economics. Sophomore year. You sure did.”
“It was cute.”
“It was. It fit your personality of goody-two-shoes perfectly.”
“I’m not a goody-two-shoes.”
“Well, not after all the years with me,” she said, delivering a devious wink.
I wasn’t. I just always followed the rules. My family was in the public eye, and my mother instilled being a lady. I had fun. I did.
But with my impending marriage to Camden hanging on the horizon, I had to admit, maybe it wasn’t as much as I wanted.
“They always go so over the top at these things,” Raelynn said.
I looked around the open ballroom of the hotel, the chandeliers dripping with crystals, gold curtains hanging open, pooling decadently on the ground. Waiters wove between patrons almost invisible in their black and white tuxes.
Everyone sipped champagne, lavish fabrics making the most expensive dresses cling to their lithe bodi
es. Hair styled to perfection, and makeup done expertly even under all their masks.
I adjusted the black lace clouding my vision, making sure it hadn’t shifted too much in the car.
“Shots?” Raelynn suggested.
I cringed. The night was still young, and I hadn’t even seen my father yet. Maybe shots weren’t the best idea. A waiter walked by, and I snagged two flutes of champagne. “How about some champagne first.”
Raelynn accepted the glass with a raised brow. “Careful. That stuff will sneak up on you just as bad as tequila.”
The bubbles tickled their way down my throat as my mother’s words floated through my mind.
Never drink too much at these big events. You don’t want to be known as the drunk woman everyone murmurs about. But always have a glass to keep your hands busy. A lady doesn’t fidget.
My mother wasn’t wrong, either. There was always one or two women who always showed up and got a little too loud. I’d stand back and watch as everyone gawked and whispered behind their manicured hands.
“I’m surprised you came,” I said. “I thought you’d still go see Nova.”
“Nah. We agreed I should come be here with you. I think Nova is taking the chance to detour to another adventure rather than coming too close to home.”
Nova had a small apartment in New York, but each summer she rented a van and traveled around, blogging her adventures. She’d gotten a job with an adventure magazine, and I wasn’t sure if she’d ever stop living out of a van now that she got paid to do it. We were supposed to meet up for a girls’ weekend outside of the city, but Camden’s order squashed that.
“Besides,” Raelynn said. “I have an acquaintance hosting another…party here, too.”
“An acquaintance?” My brows scrunched, taking in Raelynn’s Mona Lisa smile as she scanned the crowd. That smile and the lack of eye contact always raised some red flags with her.
Before she could answer, my dad’s booming voice interrupted the quiet bubble we’d created since entering.
“Verana.” He leaned in and softly kissed my cheek, reminding me of all the times he’d tucked me in at night as a little girl. I’d been short-tempered with my father since graduation, but I had to have faith that, like Mama said, he would always take care of me—he loved me.
“Father.”
“I wish you would have come to the house, so we could arrive as a family.”
“My fault, Mr. M,” Raelynn cut in.
My father’s smile grew tight. He tolerated Raelynn because of her family and their wealth, but he saw her as too wild and a bad influence.
“You look ravishing,” Camden said, coming up behind my dad.
I fought my heavy sigh at Camden’s compliment. There wasn’t anything wrong with it, and from anyone else, I’d smile and say thank you, but annoyance still pricked at the surface from our last meeting.
“Thank you,” I managed to ground out.
He stepped close, sliding his arm around my waist, his fingers skimming along the bare skin of my back. My muscles clenched as if trying to pull away from the slight graze.
“And who is this stunning creature?”
Raelynn’s lip curled into a smile that resembled a snarl. Camden held out his hand, never unraveling his other arm from my back, and waited for Raelynn to place hers in his. I could tell she wanted to do a lot more violent things with her hand than give it to him, but like me, she’d had too much etiquette drilled into her to ignore his request.
Camden brought her hand to his lips and would have probably kissed it for too long if Raelynn hadn’t gently jerked it back.
“This is my friend from college, Raelynn Vos.”
“Vos?” Camden studied Raelynn with a little more interest that went beyond lust. “As in Vos Enterprises?”
“The one and only,” she said, lifting her champagne in a toast to her family company before taking a long sip.
“Will the Vos family be attending our wedding?” Camden asked me.
“Ummm…” I stuttered. We hadn’t even talked about being engaged, let alone the wedding.
“Of course, they will,” Raelynn answered for me. “At least I’ll be there ready to help her bolt, like the good maid of honor I’ll be.”
Camden missed the threat and tipped his head back with a loud laugh. “You’re a funny one. I look forward to getting to know you better.”
“I bet.”
“Well, ladies, we should probably mingle and talk business among the men.” I blinked to hide my rolling eyes at Camden’s condescending arrogance. “Also, I still need to submit the sizable donation the Conti family will be making tonight, of course.”
“Of course.” Raelynn’s smile was small and bland while her eyes narrowed like they were trying to burn him alive.
I covered my laugh with a fake cough, kind of loving her blatant irritation with him. Especially since Camden didn’t notice at all. My father noticed, though. His eyes flicked from Raelynn to Camden, and finally, to me, widening as if pleading to get my friend under control. I almost wanted to send one back for him to get his employee under control.
“Cam. I saw Joe Banks by the bar. Let’s go introduce you as the newest member of Mariano Shipping.”
Camden leaned down and pressed a kiss to the crown of my head, lingering to whisper, “Save a dance for me.”
Before he stepped way, his fingertips dragged down my spine, daring to dip below the fabric of my dress, getting dangerously close to the crack of my ass before finally pulling away.
“What a dick,” Raelynn announced once they’d walked away. “I can’t believe you’re going to sleep with that for the rest of your life.”
I downed the last of my champagne, setting it on a passing tray and grabbing another. “Ugh. Don’t remind me.”
“You know…you could still find someone else,” she singsonged.
“I don’t even want to bother with the effort of it.”
“You could try Tinder.”
“Ew.”
I wasn’t a one-night-stand kind of girl. Especially with the creeps I heard about on Tinder.
“What if…”
“What?” I asked when she didn’t continue.
She licked her lips and studied me like she was trying to guess my answer to whatever her suggestion would be. “What if I told you another kind of party was happening tonight?”
My gaze narrowed, knowing she wasn’t talking about an actual party. The hotel would never be so crass to throw two parties on the same night. Which meant it had to be a Raelynn type of party. Probably illicit and full of bad decisions.
“I’d say that you being so eager to come tonight makes a lot more sense.”
She shrugged, unrepentant as usual. “I know someone who works here at the hotel. He runs a little side business for when they host big events like this.”
“What kind of side business?”
“A kinky one.”
“Oh, boy.” I took another fortifying sip of champagne. “Tell me.”
“You submit your name and fill out a questionnaire. He will then pair you with someone else.”
“Who? And what do you mean pair?”
“Someone to fuck tonight,” she stated bluntly. My jaw dropped. Before I could protest, she pushed on. “It’s completely anonymous. You won’t remove your mask or say any names. Frankly, I’ve had a few times that I don’t even want them to talk. It’s like a fishbowl party; you toss your keys into a bowl and never know who you’ll get at the end of the night.”
“But…what if it’s someone I know? Someone old? Someone unattractive? What if it’s Camden?”
We both shuddered at the thought.
“It’s like an elite Tinder, except he’s the only one that sees the profiles. He makes sure not to pair you with anyone too familiar. As for the rest, that’s what the questionnaire is for. Hotel room? Random tryst in the garden or on the roof? Spanking? No talking or dirty talking? Anal?” I pulled away with a cringe, and she laughed, hol
ding up her hands. “No judgment. Whatever you’re into.”
When I didn’t immediately say no, she smiled. My heart thundered in my chest, and I twisted my mother’s antique ring around my finger.
A lady doesn’t fidget, my mother’s voice rang in my head.
Sorry, Mom. A lady also doesn’t consider letting a stranger fuck her. I finished my champagne and snagged another. “I don’t know.”
“You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to. It’s just a way to experience someone else outside of Camden without the hassle of actually looking for it.”
My eyes darted around the room, taking in all the masked men, wondering if I did this, if one of them would be who I’d be with.
A tall man dressed in black stopped me. As if he could feel my gaze raking across his broad frame, he turned, his dark eyes clashing with mine. I sucked in a breath. His ornate silver mask looked like the top half of a skull. The narrowed eyes created a startling yet beautiful picture. Even across the room, through his mask, I could see his dark eyes sparkling through the thin slits. My body heated under his stare as he made a point to move his head enough to let me know he was looking me up and down.
Something about him, about the way his attention burned me, had a familiar warmth to it like we’d met before.
What if…what if I got paired with him? That had my heart thundering for a whole new reason beyond nerves. A man approached the stranger, pulling his attention away, freeing me from his trance.
I looked over the rest of the room before looking back to Rae when Camden caught my eye and lifted his glass, offering a wink. My cheeks twitched but never quite formed a smile. Could I marry him knowing I’d never really experienced anything? Would I always regret being a perfect lady when I had the chance to not be? Did I want to be celibate until we married? Was he being celibate?
A giggle broke free. Probably not.
I remembered the way he called me a good girl before I got in the car after dinner. I remembered the way he called me pure, like I was saving myself for him.
He probably assumed I’d maybe slept with my college boyfriend with the lights out and under the covers. And he wouldn’t be completely wrong. My first time had been in college with my long-time boyfriend, and it had been missionary with the lights low. But there’d also been a few others. More than that—just because I’d only had sex like that, didn’t mean it was all I wanted. Pure wasn’t the word I’d use to describe the fantasies that only came late in the night.