by Kiersten Fay
Her ploy to hold Brian’s affections had flopped at the start.
As soon as they’d entered Ever Nights, Brian’s eyes had flashed with excitement as they’d wandered a sea of skin and tightly bound dresses. He’d hastily kissed the top of her head and then beelined it straight towards a group of scantily dressed women whose outfits made Kasima look downright wholesome. In fact, most everyone here outshined her in some way or another. Even some of the men.
She took another sip of wine and glanced over to where Brian and the three women cozied up to one another. Which one would he sleep with tonight? Or was he going for a trifecta?
She gritted her teeth and turned away, pain lashing her insides. I can’t do this. I can’t watch this. It’s too much. How can he not know how much this will hurt me? She hadn’t made it clear to him. That was why. Stupidly, she thought this would be easy. Since they hadn’t been exclusive very long, she thought this would be like nothing. And maybe she’d have a little fun too. But she didn’t want to have any fun. At least not with a stranger. And watching Brian seduce other women was gutting her.
It’s only one night!
I can get through this. One night. Then things go back to normal. The last few months with Brian had been wonderful. He’d been attentive and loving and seemed to be delighted with her. They’d even discussed moving in together.
Just as she was contemplating sneaking away to another room to ride out the rest of the evening, a stout man in a golden-brown fur-lined mask slinked into the seat next to hers, scanning her with open interest. So not ready for this. She fidgeted with the stem of her wine glass and avoided eye contact, but she could feel his eyes on her. When she checked to see if he was indeed watching her, he licked his lips suggestively.
Ew!
He asked, “What’s your mask supposed to be? Is it a pussycat?”
She kept her body facing away from him. “It’s a dove.” Cheapest mask she could find. It did the job just fine. Some of the other masks in here were a hundred times more gorgeous and had to be worth three times her annual salary.
“Ah.” He leaned in to get a better look. “Well, can you guess mine?” He smiled as if this were a great game they were now playing.
She gave an uninterested shrug. “Um. A dog or something?”
He laughed with exaggerated fervor. “It’s a lion.” He reached under the bar and patted her on the knee, letting his hand linger. Her muscles stiffened and clenched. She hadn’t invited him into her space, and his touch repelled her.
He either didn’t notice her distress, or was inclined to ignore it. “You know. Like the king of the jungle.” His smile widened.
“O-Oh,” she stammered, and tried to swivel her chair away from him.
His grip on her knee tightened, halting her retreat. “Do you want to make me roar, Little Dove?”
Her mouth dropped open at the blatant proposal. “Not in the slightest,” she shoved his hand away.
He frowned, surprised by her swift and ardent rejection, but then his lips curled back up into a sly grin. He thought she was playing hard to get. Crap.
“Perhaps you’d rather make me purr like a kitten?”
“I’m here with someone,” she blurted.
He cocked his head. “I’ve been watching you. You’ve been alone all night.”
She shivered, suddenly feeling unsafe. She glanced around the room. How many others watched her even now? Waiting to see how she’d handle this first suitor? Suddenly it was as if a sea of masks faced her way, dead black eyes trained on her.
It was a pretty safe bet that if you attended the masquerade, you were looking for a hookup. A woman sitting alone on a night like this was basically an open invitation. This shouldn’t freak her out so much. She just needed to let this guy down.
Even though Brian had encouraged her to find a partner tonight, she realized now she wasn’t interested in a one-night stand. Her oats didn’t need any sowing. Especially not with this self-proclaimed king of the jungle…whose hand returned to her leg!
A hint of revulsion slithered up her spine. She hadn’t invited the touch, and resented that he’d taken the liberty. Just as she was about to slap his hand away, a deep, baritone greeted her from behind. “Darling!” A warm palm landed on her shoulder. For a second, the sense of being surrounded filled her with panic, but then Mr. King of the Jungle yanked his hand away, and she was grateful for the reprieve.
“Sorry I’m late,” the stranger behind her continued as if they’d made plans to meet up here. Had someone misidentified her? She was about to tell him he’d confused her with someone else when he bent to kiss her cheek. She was too stunned to react. Then he whispered, “Just go with it.”
He sidled around to face her, inserting himself between her and Mr. King of the Jungle.
She gazed up at him, speechless for a whole other reason now. Even with that black strip of loose fabric masking his upper face, she could tell he was gorgeous. His jaw was well-defined with a touch of stubble that rode up his cheeks. His dark hair was tousled around his face and mask, framing an unusual set of green eyes that almost seemed to shine from within. His mouth spread in a small, rakish grin that drew her gaze to his full lips.
He winked at her.
She blinked several times, searching for her voice. Did he still think he knew her now that they were face to face? Or was he...could he be coming to her rescue? Just go with it, he’d said.
She cleared her throat. “I was starting to get worried…um…honey.” Note to self: learn to act.
The handsome stranger’s smile shifted to something that was almost soothing. “My apologies, darling. I got caught up at work.” He turned to Mr. King of the Jungle. “Would you mind scooting down so I can sit next to my girlfriend?”
Kasima grasped her mask, fidgeting with it though it didn’t need adjusting.
Clearly unhappy by the cock-block, Mr. King of the Jungle grumbled, “Yeah, sure.” Then he moved to the other end of the bar.
“Thank you,” she whispered to the dark stranger. “You’re a lifesaver.”
He nodded politely…and then claimed the newly vacated seat next to her.
Her stomach clenched. Had she just traded one problem for another?
The man signaled for a drink. Without even asking, the bartender poured him a full glass of top-shelf whiskey.
Obviously her stranger was a regular here.
She watched the thick muscles of his neck as he took a swig.
He glanced at her from the corner of his eye. Realizing she’d been caught staring, she looked away.
“So.” That masculine drawl drew her attention back to him. “Were you lying before?”
She blinked. “Huh?”
“I overheard you tell that man you were here with someone. Is that true, or did you just say that hoping he’d go away?”
Unconsciously she looked across the room where Brian was now seated between the peacock and the owl. The man followed her gaze, his derisive snort evidence he’d caught on.
That mocking sound kicked her already bruised ego.
The stranger scanned her body from the fuck-me boots to her perfectly curled do. Not quite the same way Mr. King of the Jungle had. This was more of a curious assessment rather than an open ogle. When he shook his head again and quietly sipped his drink, she felt the sharp bite of...rejection?
Which was ridiculous. Surely she didn’t care what this man thought of her. She was, however, grateful toward him. It seemed he was polite enough to sit with her until Mr. King of the Jungle found another gazelle to stalk. And because of that, this was now the best place in the club to avoid attention.
She glanced around the room, trying and failing to keep her eyes away from Brian, who was just full of conspiratorial smiles for his neighbors. None of which were meant for her. Had he even looked her way once tonight? Dejected, she took a long pull from her glass.
“So what’s the story?” the stranger asked. “You like to watch your man get off wi
th other women?”
She nearly choked on her drink. “I’m sorry, what?”
“Do you like to watch him pick up other chicks and have sex with them? Is that your kink?”
The idea horrified her. “My God, no! And, well, that’s really none of your business. And no, that’s not my...kink.”
He put up both his hands, a tiny smile playing along his lips. “Okay. I was just curious why your guy, I’m assuming he’s your guy, is all the way over there and you’re all the way over here.”
“Again, none of your business.”
“Fair enough. I was just wondering if this was some kind of game between you two. Like when couples dress up and pretend to be strangers. If you’re waiting for him to mosey on over here and pretend to pick you up, I can leave.”
“No!”
He blinked.
Her outburst drew The King’s attention from the other side of the bar. She lowered her voice. “I mean...that’s not it. I just...If you could stay, just for a while longer, I’d appreciate it.”
He contemplated her for a long moment, then nodded, once again checking his watch. She almost asked if he was waiting for someone, but refrained. Obviously that was the case. A man that looked like that did not go stag to a party. He probably had a hot-something-or-other on the way.
For several minutes they sat in silence, and she found her eyes slipping toward him more than a few times. He polished off his drink, ordered a second, and then checked his watch again, displaying no more interest in her.
Which should have been a good thing. So why was she itching to engage him in conversation? In unison, the girls at Brian’s table cackled as though he’d said something terribly cleaver. It even drew the stranger’s attention. He glanced her way as if to gauge her reaction.
She smiled, though it felt forced. Then an idea tripped into her mind. The dark-masked man wasn’t going out of his way to hit on her. He wasn’t invading her space. So it was likely he either didn’t find her attractive or he did have a girlfriend on the way, which meant it should be safe to engage him in light conversation. Perhaps if Brian saw her chatting up someone as handsome as this stranger, he’d be compelled to leave his groupies to claim his woman.
“Are you waiting for someone?” she asked, smiling as if she were enjoying herself.
“I am,” he replied, casually glancing around the room.
Okay. Not a lot of response there.
The peacock’s hyena-like laugh grated from across the room. Kasima downed the last of her wine and wiped her mouth. A small amount of lipstick smeared onto her arm. That red hue, originally meant to entice Brian, was now like a stain on this entire night.
She suddenly realized how much she resented this one-night-only free-pass.
Snatching a napkin from the bar, she scrubbed clean her arm, and then wiped the rest of her carefully applied lipstick off her lips. Task done, she wadded the napkin into a tight ball and crushed it in her palm.
The masked stranger appeared to be studying her. When he eyed her fist, she made an effort to relax her grip. And when he slanted his gaze at Brian, doing a perfect impression of someone who didn’t give a damn that his girlfriend was sitting by herself in a den of hot-blooded, hard-up males, she wished she could curl up and disappear. Humiliation ran rampant through her veins.
The stranger faced her. “You get off on jealousy, is that it?”
That took her off guard for a moment. “Do you always ask strangers such inappropriate questions?”
He gestured around the room as if to remind her where they were. “Ain’t nothing inappropriate here.”
Touché. She blew out a long breath. She’d likely never see this man again, so what did it matter if she opened up to him. “Brian and I don’t usually come to places like this.”
“You don’t, maybe. But I’ve seen him here on occasion.”
Say what now? Surely not recently.
“Mind you, Ever Nights offers a variety of entertainment, not all as extreme as tonight.”
Yes, Ever Nights played host to everything from wholesome weddings to nights of kinky debauchery. “So then you must come here a lot?” she countered.
One side of his mouth curled up.
He looked too handsome when he did that. Mischievous and mysterious. She heard herself ask, “So what’s your kink?”
That half grin widened into a full grin and she was suddenly enthralled by the perfect way it displayed his straight white teeth...and fangs?
Vampire!
Her heart thundered. Her instincts told her the predator in him could sense the change in her pulse. She struggled to squash her anxiety, failing miserably.
With a challenge in his tone, he asked, “Do you really want to know my kink?” He leaned in to whisper near her ear, his hot breath kissing her skin and causing shivers to dance along her shoulders. “It’s not something I can just explain. It’d be better if I showed you.”
Drumsticks played a hard beat against her rib cage. A full-body blush warmed her skin. She glanced at Brian. Would he notice her alarm? But he was too busy burying his face in the peacock’s cleavage!
Bastard!
The vampire followed her gaze, noticing that particular disgrace too, making it all the worse.
“You don’t like vampires?” The vampire didn’t sound offended by his own question, merely curious.
“I—uh” she clamored for words. Her newspaper had done a few articles on vampires. Some were PR puff pieces largely revolving around vampire-owned businesses like Ever Nights. Others had been reports on crimes in the city involving vampires who’d been unable, or unwilling, to curtail their appetites. She’d edited many of them. One bit of trivia she recalled about his kind: This vampire could sense her unease as easily as her furious heartbeat. Which meant trying to deny his question would be pointless. Her heart was fluttering like a hummingbird’s.
“It’s not that. I just…I’m not used to being around, um, vampires, is all.” Though the town’s population was largely vampires, she’d never held a full-blown conversation with one...over drinks...at a party meant for torrid liaisons.
“Well, don’t worry. I won’t bite.” Again that half grin displayed his fangs.
She laughed in spite of herself. A little of her anxiety waned at his lighthearted attempt at humor.
“So you don’t seem to be interested in participating in anything offered here tonight.”
She shrugged.
“Was it your man’s idea to come here?”
She sighed. “He thought we should get some stuff out of our systems before…well, things are getting serious.” Yet she wondered if after tonight she would still want that.
The vampire muttered, “Things are getting serious with Blondie over there too.”
She frowned. She didn’t think he’d meant it as a jab, but it stung all the same.
His expression turned apologetic. “Sorry.” He snapped his fingers at the bartender, and gestured to her glass. Seconds later her drink was refilled and so was his.
She took a small sip and set the glass down, feeling the sudden need to save face in front of this vampire. Striving for nonchalance, she said, “We’ve discussed it, he and I, and it makes sense. We’re both young.” Relatively. Brian was in his early thirties. She was twenty six. “We don’t want any regrets later in life. We don’t want to feel like we missed out on anything.” If she sounded rehearsed, it was because she was repeating Brian’s words verbatim.
“Sowing of the wild oats, as it were?”
“Precisely.”
“Okay. Well, I see him working that needle, but I’m getting the sense you don’t even plan to knit. Do you really think you’re going to be okay sitting here all night while he’s playing hide the salami?”
She raised her wine glass. “That’s what this is for.”
He gave her a whiskey salute. “Then cheers.”
He faced the bar and checked his watch again. Someone on the other side of the room giggled an
d a couple darted out of the room, hand-in-hand, their eyes lit with excitement. The music shifted to a rhythmic melody that made her want to dance, but she dared not. Not on a night like tonight. She’d only end up inviting more unwanted suitors.
The vampire was looking away, so she took the chance to study him more closely. He wore a sharp charcoal tailored suit, high-end by the looks of it, and held himself with the air of someone perfectly at ease with all that was going on around him. Yet here he was, in this relatively quiet room. A jaded member of the club, perhaps?
His eyes wandered the room, his gaze not landing on any one person for too long. When he finished his scan, he faced her.
She sipped her drink, hoping he hadn’t noticed her watching him.
“May I ask you just one more thing?” the vampire said, facing her.
“Sure.”
“Aren’t you worried about what happens tomorrow?”
“Huh?”
He swiveled her way and rested his arm on the bar. Without thinking, she mirrored his action, accidently bumping their legs together. At the touch, a jolt danced through her bones. She crossed her legs to one side, putting space between them. He followed the movement with his gaze.
She cleared her throat.
When he met her gaze again, she was once more drawn in by his vibrant green eyes. “Say he gets busy with that blonde over there, or even that whole table of ladies, while you dutifully sit here all night, chaste. Aren’t you afraid you’ll resent your fiancé later?”
Yes! “He’s not my fiancé,” she said, trying not to crumble under the oration of her very real fears. She recalled asking Brian the exact same thing, in so many words. He’d merely waved her worry away. If we both agree that it won’t be a problem, then it won’t be, right?
When she relayed that to the vampire, his expression turned disbelieving.
“What’s that look for?” she said.
“Sorry, it really isn’t my place to get involved.”
“No, go on and say it. You don’t think I’ll be able to get past it? One pre-planned, pre-approved and agreed upon by all parties night? I’ll remind you that you don’t even know me.” She feared this stranger could see through her even now.