by Kaylee, Katy
“I want to let Chase know that I’m not seeing you professionally,” I said to her over dinner.
I saw a quick flash of concern on her face. “Aren’t you worried about his reaction?”
I shook my head. “I’ve been behaving at work.” I grinned like a silly kid, and she smiled back. “Plus, it’s not like I’m not doing anything. I’m going to the group and practicing the breathing you taught me.” We didn’t go to yoga together anymore since she was afraid we’d be seen together. “I also think if that asswipe investigator talks to anyone in Raven Industries, they’ll be able to deny you’re my therapist. Which you aren’t.”
She nodded. “Yes, that’s probably a good idea.”
I took her hand. “Whatever happens, Grace, it will be alright. I won’t let it be otherwise.”
She clasped my hand. “I know, but I don’t just want to rely on you to fix things. It’s important to me that I can manage my life.”
A part of me worried that meant she wouldn’t want to commit to being with me. I wondered what she would say if I told her I loved her, because I thought I probably did.
“Let’s move on to a more interesting topic,” I said, going back to eating. “There’s an exclusive private party I’m invited to. It’s at the Roscoe Mansion.”
Her eyes widened. “He’s even richer than you, isn’t he?”
I laughed. “Me, yes. My family…by eight cents maybe. I want you to go with me.”
“I’d love to, but we can’t be seen in public together, remember?”
“We won’t be,” I said.
Her brows furrowed. “If I go to the party with you, we’ll be seen together.”
“It’s a masquerade party. We’ll wear masks and won’t be recognized.” The idea of taking my woman out to a fancy party appealed to me more than it probably should have. I was tired of living like she was a dirty secret, or I was hers. I wanted the world to know that Hunter Raven had found the beautiful and sweet Grace Reynolds.
“I’m not sure it’s a good idea,” she said, biting her lip. I could see she wanted to go, but her concerns about being seen made her hesitate.
“It will be fun, Grace. And a chance for us to be out together without being out together, since we’ll be in disguise.” I wiped my mouth with my napkin. “Come on, I have something to show you.”
I stood and reached out my hand to her. She wiped her sexy mouth and took my hand. I led her to my bedroom. On the bed, I’d laid out several costumes and masks for her to choose from.
“I’ve taken the liberty of having some costumes sent over for you to consider.”
She eyed me sideways. “Feeling pretty sure of yourself, aren’t you?”
I shrugged. “Never hurts to stack the deck.”
She looked at the costumes, and I could see she wanted to accept the offer.
“Why don’t you try them on? See how they look. Find the one you like best,” I suggested.
I saw the battle waging in her eyes, but finally, she agreed, picking up a costume and taking it into the bathroom.
I sat in the wingback chair by the window of my room and waited, eager to see how she looked. When she emerged, she stole my breath away. The silvery dress hung over her curves like it was poured on. The black and silver mask covered her face, but I could see her hazel eyes and sexy lips.
“This isn’t really set up for wearing glasses,” she said.
Oh shit, I hadn’t thought of that.
“How does it look?”
“Fantastic,” I said, shifting in my seat to adjust my hardon.
“I’ve been thinking of getting contacts. What do you think?”
I loved her glasses, but I also thought she was lovely without them. “I think you should do what you feel most comfortable with.”
“I wonder if I use my glasses as a mask,” she said, moving to the mirror. She gasped when she saw herself. “It does look good.”
“It does. What do you mean about your glasses?”
She shrugged, and walked over to the bed, looking over the other outfits. “I chose them because they look more serious and bookish. I thought people would be more likely to view me as a professional. But they’re also boring and stuffy, which could keep people away.”
“Why would you want to do that?”
She looked at me, I could see there was a story there, and I thought she might tell it to me, but she gave her head a quick shake and turned her attention back to the clothes.
“I hate to tell you, Grace, but the glasses are sexy. It was one of the first things I noticed after your eyes.”
She had a small, satisfied smile. She picked up another dress and headed to the bathroom.
I waited again, wondering why a smart, beautiful woman wanted to keep people away. It explained further why she’d waited so long to have sex. And it was another reason why I needed to tread carefully with her. She was giving herself to me, despite her concerns and fears. I needed to make sure I didn’t fuck that up.
A few minutes later, she emerged. My heart stopped. How was it she could be more stunning than before? The dress was champagne colored with beads and lace that made me think of the art deco era. It had a slit up the side that showed off a tantalizing bit of the smooth, creamy skin of her leg. The bodice was modest, but when she turned, the back dipped low, to just over her fine ass. The mask was the same color and covered in crystals and lace, and it made her eyes look the sexiest shade of green I’d ever seen. The shape of the mask highlighted the fullness of her lips.
“What do you think?” she asked.
“I think I just came in my pants.”
She smiled and looked down. “Really?”
I shook my head. “No.” I stood and showed her my erection tenting my pants. “But he’s close.”
She quirked a brow. “You must be uncomfortable. But I have the rest of these outfits to try on.”
Fuck. I should have stopped at two.
“I might have to jerk off as you do.”
Her eyes flashed with heat. “I’d like to watch that.”
Oh, hell yeah.
She picked up the next outfit, and for the next thirty minutes, she tried them all on. But now that she knew what she did to me, she worked it. Sauntering out of the bathroom with a sway to her hips. Posing seductively.
On the last dress, I stripped down while she was in the bathroom. I lay on my bed and slowly stroked my dick.
She emerged, swaying in an all-black get up that was sexy as hell, although the champagne one still won, as far as I was concerned.
Her head jerked to the bed when she saw I wasn’t in the chair. Her brows rose as she saw me playing with myself.
“I couldn’t take it anymore,” I said, my eyes raking over her in the dress.
“I see that.” She stood and watched me. “Are you going to make yourself come?”
My gaze held hers. “Do you want me to make myself come?”
She swallowed, and I saw the quick uptake of her pulse in her neck. “Yes.”
“Undress while I do this. But leave the mask on.”
She might have been a virgin a few weeks back, but she understood seduction. She moved gracefully, as she slowly unzipped the dress and let it fall. Underneath, she was braless. The sight of her round tits with lovely pink nipples had me squeezing my dick harder.
Her panties were white, with a little panel of lace on the front. Fitting for a sexy librarian.
“Are you wet?” I asked.
She nodded.
“I want to see.”
She moved over to my side of the bed and stood next to me. I reached over with my free hand and dragged a finger along the fabric between her legs. Yep, she was wet.
“Take your panties off,” I said, noting the hoarseness in my voice. It wasn’t going to be long before I came all over my stomach.
She pushed the little white fabric down and then stood, waiting. I repeated my move, this time dragging my finger through her pussy folds. Her breath hitched at
my touch.
“Looks like you need to take care of yourself.”
“You first,” she said. Her voice sounded rough like mine.
My gaze latched on to hers as I licked my fingers of her sweet pussy juices. The taste, and the way she looked at me, had me zooming toward the end. I gripped my cock harder, moved quicker, until I had to break eye contact and arch to reach the ultimate pinnacle.
“Fuck, I’m coming,” I said as my balls contracted and my dick exploded. I shot my load all over my chest and stomach. Even jerking off was better with her there.
She reached down and dragged a finger through the sticky cum coating my body. “You made a mess.” She licked her fingers, and holy hell, my dick twitched.
“Come help me get cleaned up,” I said, getting up, taking her mask off, and then leading her to the bathroom. Someday, I’d watch her pleasure herself, but right now, I wanted her in the shower, and I was going to lick an orgasm right out of her pussy.
26
Grace
Saturday
Okay, so I felt like a fairy princess. A sexy fairy princess. I chose the beautiful champagne beaded dress with the crystal mask as I felt so magical in it, and it was the one that Hunter had the biggest reaction to. I’d filled a contact prescription I’d had for sometime. It was the second prescription I’d filled since meeting Hunter, although I hadn’t yet told him about going on the pill. As much as I wanted him completely, considering my investigation, I wasn’t ready to let go of the risk of getting pregnant. The pill was good, but not full-proof.
Hunter appeased my need to keep our relationship secret and arranged for me to arrive in another car.
“We could have had a quickie on the way,” he said when I reminded him that we couldn’t go together.
“No cars, remember?”
I’d told him we couldn’t have sex or even been seen together in public, but when I saw him in his all-black tuxedo, looking sinfully sexy, I wanted to find a closet or hidden room in the huge mansion and have my way with him. His mask was black and gold with ornate designs that made him look like a king. It should have been illegal to look as regal, powerful and sexy as Hunter did.
“Want a tour of the home, princess?” His voice was low and sexy, making all my girly parts buzz.
“Yes.” My voice sounded breathless.
His hand was on my lower back as he led me from the ballroom of the grand mansion and into the hall.
He escorted me through a set of double doors and into a room with floor to ceiling bookcases filled with leather bound books. The room made me think of one I’d see in a movie about a rich family living in a big mansion or castle. It was a reminder of how different Hunter’s world was from mine.
“This is the library,” he said.
I scanned the room, admiring the lush décor of dark green and mahogany.
He took my arm and gently moved me against the wall, just inside the door. Without any preamble, his lips were on mine. I moaned into his kiss, as fire flared to life in my body.
“Shall we move on?” he asked when he broke away.
What? I was hot and needy, and he wanted to continue the tour.
His eyes held amusement as he held out his hand showing the way out the door. Fine. I exited the room. He took me up the hall and then into another room with only a single door.
“The study.”
“What’s the difference?” I asked. As I looked around, it appeared to be an office, but why not have the office in the library?
“Libraries are places to show off. This is where work is done,” he said.
“Did you grow up in a place like this?” I asked as I walked around the room also filled with books, as well as art.
“No. We always lived in the city. But we do have a house in the Hamptons. I want to take you there, Grace. I’m dying to see you in a bathing suit.” And with that, I was in his arms again, his lips consuming mine until I thought I’d melt into a puddle.
Then, like before, he released me. By the third location, a formal living area, I realized he was torturing me on purpose. I hated and loved it at the same time. I was sure that if we danced once we got back to the ballroom…yes a ballroom in a house…I’d come the minute he took me into his arms.
We were in a hall, away from everyone else. He opened a door and guided me in.
“The powder room,” he said.
For a half-bath, it was huge. There was a long counter vanity with a mirror, a sitting area, and another little room where I imagined the toilet was.
“Very interesting.”
I heard a click and turned to him. His eyes looked wicked as he stood staring at me.
“Did you lock the door?” I asked.
“Yes.”
“Does that mean you’re going to stop teasing me and fuck me?”
Fire flashed in his eyes. “Say that again.”
“Stop teasing me?” I quirked a brow, although I wasn’t sure he could see it behind my mask.
“Fuck me.”
I looked in those sexy, hot eyes. “Fuck me, Hunter.”
He groaned and was wrapping me in his arms and kissing the ever-loving breath out of me in a nanosecond. He ran his hands up my thighs, pushing my dress up as I worked to get his pants undone.
“I so fucking need to be inside you,” he growled as I pushed his pants down. He released me only to put on a condom, and then he lifted me on to the vanity and stepped between my legs. “Ready princess?”
“I’m past ready,” I gripped his waist and pulled him to me, letting out a long, relieved moan as his length slipped inside me, filling me up.
He stilled, holding himself inside me. I looked to him, wondering if something was wrong. His eyes were dark but not worried. They were clouded with desire, and something more. My heart swelled in my chest as love overwhelmed me. I was in love with him. I knew I had been for some time, but I’d pushed it away. But as he held me to him, our bodies joined, there was no doubt that I’d fallen hard for my brooding, gentle man.
With our gazes holding, he began to move, taking his time like we had forever. Everything else slipped away. My job and the investigation. His demons. The party going on outside the door. There was only me and Hunter. I let myself go. Not just my body and pleasure, but my heart and soul as well.
When we were done, he disposed of the condom. “That took the edge off,” he said with a wink.
I laughed. “Can you give me a minute to clean up?”
“Of course. I’ll see you back at the ballroom.” He leaned over and kissed me.
When the door closed behind him, I looked in the mirror and discovered I was smiling like a loon. I washed up and adjusted my mask that was askew from all the kissing, and then headed back to the ballroom area.
Deciding I was thirsty, I headed to the bar set up at one end to get a drink. As I waited, I scanned the area for Hunter. He was standing with his back to me, speaking with a woman all in black like him, except for her blonde hair.
He leaned forward, like he was saying something in her ear. Immediately, I felt jealous of the closeness, but then told myself that it was loud in the room. And the sexy smile on the woman’s face was probably just because he was close. Hunter was the type of man that would make any woman swoon.
Not wanting to be a jealous ninny, I turned back to the bar, taking a large sip of the wine I ordered.
I was getting ready to return to Hunter’s side, when the woman I’d seen him with approached me.
“Hello,” she said.
“Hello.”
“How do you know Hunter?” she asked.
One concern I had about the party was that people would still know who we were. Of course, there was no way to hide who Hunter was, but no one knew me.
“Who?” I asked. “It’s a masquerade ball. We’re not supposed to know who anyone is.” My voice was light, and hoped she’d see it as a joke.
She didn’t laugh. She held on to that controlled, polite demeanor. “You should kno
w that Hunter isn’t a man that is satisfied with one woman.”
I swallowed as unease spread.
“I just thought you should know. You might have him at night, but he’s with me during the day.” She turned and walked away, leaving me gaping.
I downed my wine as I tried to process what had just happened. I replayed the scene where he was talking to her, and the intimacy with which he leaned in to talk to her, and the way her eyes flared, like he was turning her on.
I reviewed our relationship. We didn’t see each other during the day, although we texted some. Was he spending time with her? I knew he was open to having sex in his office as we’d done it before. Then I remembered first meeting him, and learning he’d been spending his nights with different women on a regular basis.
God, I was an idiot to think he could be satisfied with one woman. With me. Everything inside me went numb. I looked around the room but didn’t feel a part of it. I wasn’t a part of it. I was a woman from the middle class in a room of elites. I wasn’t sophisticated or gorgeous. This was just me playing Cinderella, only in my version, Prince Charming was fucking other princesses too.
In a fog, I set my glass down and headed for the foyer. From the foyer, I walked out the front door. I made my way to the street and stood like an idiot waiting for a cab. People in this neighborhood didn’t use cabs. I pulled my phone out of my little bag and used my car app to order a ride.
I was like a zombie during the ride home and upon entering my apartment. The only thing that went through my mind was that it was over. He’d been kind and sweet, but not committed or faithful. I had enough self-esteem to know I wasn’t going to share. I deserved a man who cared for me exclusively.
I tossed my mask and purse on my tiny table, and then used my phone to text him.
I can’t do this anymore and need to end this. I wish you the best.