by Vivian Wood
Liam started to take her hand, then hesitated. “One more condition.”
Audrey was pretty sure she was about to start breathing fire any second now if he dithered any further.
“What?” she asked.
“I get to approve your dress tonight,” he said, grinning. “You know, to make sure we blend in. We’re on an undercover mission, after all.”
“Let me guess,” Audrey said, rolling her eyes. “I need to wear something revealing?”
Liam laughed. “You’re getting the hang of it now, darling.”
Audrey snorted and headed to her bedroom. She’d finally started settling in a bit, even going so far as to unpack and hang some framed artwork on the walls. Liam had done his part by having his personal shopper bring in several more racks of clothes for her to pick through.
As much of a pain in the ass as he was, there were some definite upsides to working for a multi-millionaire.
Audrey did her makeup first, then flipped through the racks, looking for something appropriate. She went through two racks before she landed on something that seemed just perfect for the occasion.
It took some wiggling to get into the dress and zip it up, but when she stepped in front of the mirror, her jaw dropped a little.
The dress was sheer black lace in a floral design, with three-quarter-length sleeves and a hemline that fell at mid-thigh. A second layer of fabric underneath splayed a dark stripe across her breasts and hips, concealing just the right places. The rest of her curves, what little of them she had, were on full display.
The only problem was that she absolutely couldn’t wear any kind of bra or panties with this dress. But… maybe it wouldn’t kill her to live a little, for once.
Living life a little wild certainly didn’t seem to hurt Liam any.
And the dress did look incredible.
“Damn,” she said, turning to the side to check out her own ass. It wasn’t too taboo, nothing naughty was showing, but… the dress was definitely a statement piece.
She stepped into a pair of crimson heels, twisted her hair up into what she hoped was a sleek up-do, and smoothed some red stain over her lips.
“Nice,” she said to her reflection. She slid her white pea coat on over her dress, intending to keep her modesty intact until they reached the party.
When she walked back out to the living room, she saw that Liam was standing by the door, waiting for her with an impatient expression. He wore a pair of dark jeans, a white dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up to bare his forearms, and a navy vest.
Audrey’s step faltered for a moment as she unabashedly checked him out.
He’d trimmed his beard, too. Jesus, does Liam ever clean up nice. She tried to think if she’d ever seen Liam put so much effort into his appearance. No, not that she could remember.
It was probably better, because… holy smokes. She imagined that if he dressed like this all the time, they’d have to carry umbrellas everywhere they went to cope with the showers of ladies’ panties thrown at them on the streets.
“Finally,” Liam said, noticing her at last. “Why are you already wearing your coat? I am supposed to have approval over your dress tonight.”
“It’s less material than this coat, which is pretty short,” Audrey pointed out.
Liam gave her a look, then shook his head. “Fine. We have to go.”
He shooed her outside and into the car, then proceeded to drive like a complete maniac all the way to the party. When they finally pulled up at the end of a long white gravel driveway, Audrey gaped at the enormous white-columned mansion outside her window. It looked like a plantation manor straight out of Gone With The Wind.
“This is where we’re attending a party?” she asked, baffled.
“This is it,” Liam said. He pulled open the glove box and extracted a beautiful hand-lettered invitation. He climbed out of the car and stuffed the card into his back pocket before Audrey could get a chance to examine it.
Audrey was surprised when Liam came around to open the door for her, then took her arm and led her toward the front door. He leaned close to whisper to her.
“It’s very important that we appear to be here together, that people think you belong to me, as it were.”
“What?” Audrey asked, wrinkling her nose. “Why?”
“You’ll see soon enough. Just… don’t leave my side.”
When he reached down and took her hand, lacing their fingers together, Audrey couldn’t help the tingle that raced down her spine. They paused before the massive iron front door for a moment, Audrey looking up at Liam.
An electric pulse seemed to pass between them. Audrey licked her lips, began to speak.
Liam shook his head, severing the gaze, and turned to lift the lion’s head knocker on the front door. It sounded their arrival with a great crash, making Audrey a little jittery.
A small window above the knocker slid open, and immediately Audrey could hear the low throb of music spilling from within. Though Audrey couldn’t make out anyone standing behind the door, Liam produced the invitation and held it up with his free hand.
The window shut and the door swung open, revealing a butler in tails and a black mask that covered most of his face.
“Entrez,” he said, giving them a stiff bow.
“Où puis-je trouver les hôtes de la soirée?” Liam asked the butler.
Did Liam just speak French? Audrey gawped at him, but he just winked at her.
“Allez viens, s’il-te plaît,” the butler said, bowing again and ushering them inside.
He stopped at a small table and picked up two silver face masks, deceptively simple homemade papier-mâché affairs. There were dozens on the table, which in itself was curious.
The butler handed Audrey and Liam each a mask, and waited silently until they put them on. Audrey settled hers over her eyes and nose, tying its thick black ribbon at the back of her head.
The butler inclined his head, turned on his heel, and led them onward.
They walked down a long, dark hallway, passing a dining room full of people and champagne and a room full of chaises, where guests seemed to be reclining and listening to jazz. It seemed like any other party… except that everyone wore the same silver masks.
The event was like something out of the Great Gatsby, where any number of well-dressed people were drinking and dancing, each room filled with guests doing a different common activity. Audrey wasn’t quite sure she understood the whole thing.
Were the masks just a part of the theme? It was strange.
“Did I just see people smoking a hookah together?” Audrey wondered aloud, but Liam towed her along.
“We can explore later,” he promised. Then, lower so that only Audrey could hear, “Don’t forget that we are here for a purpose.”
They took a sharp turn, then stopped before a heavy oak door. The butler knocked three times, a specific-sounding rhythm. There was a long moment of silence, a strange cracking sound.
Audrey glanced at Liam, who seemed to be purposely avoiding eye contact with her. She got goosebumps the second before the door opened.
The butler inclined his head and motioned for them to enter. Liam pulled her through the door, purposely leaning down to whisper, “Don’t stare or make eye contact. Try to be natural.”
Then they stepped into a truly strange scene. The room was windowless, with a full-fledged golden throne at one end. At the other end, two planks of wood were crossed to form an X.
A woman dressed up like Marie Antoinette sprawled across the seat of the throne; dangling from her fingers was a whip with numerous leather strips attached.
Aside from her elaborate period costume, she stood out for her lack of a mask. She wore heavy silver face paint instead, a beautiful swirling design that brought out her dark eyes.
Stretched out on the cross was a very tanned, very naked and muscular man, though he wore a black mask similar to the butler’s. His back, legs, and ass were blazing red, suggesting that the Que
en had recently used the whip on him.
Between Marie Antoinette and the cross were a dozen men in tuxes and masks, all standing at perfect attention. Waiting for their own turn on the cross, perhaps?
“Bonjour!” the Queen called, beckoning Audrey and Liam forward. “Anglais ou français?”
“English, please,” Liam said, giving her a short bow.
Audrey copied Liam, feeling horribly out of place. She felt like they’d stepped through the looking glass into Wonderland.
“You are new faces, are you not?” the Queen asked. To Audrey’s surprise, her accent was something closer to German than French.
“Yes, ma’am.”
Audrey was doubly surprised by Liam’s politeness.
“You are the footballer?” the Queen asked.
“Yes, ma’am.”
“And this is your lady?”
“Yes.”
The Queen surveyed them both for a long moment, pursing her lips.
“I was told that you were here to settle a debt.”
“Yes, ma’am. Not my own, but I do intend to settle it.”
The Queen tossed her whip to the floor and stood up, stalking to the middle of the room to circle Audrey and Liam, a thoughtful expression on her face.
“There will be no fights tonight,” she said after a moment.
Liam’s shoulders lowered an inch. Disappointment, perhaps.
“I see,” he said.
The Queen moved closer, brushing her fingertips along Liam’s shoulder. She turned to Audrey, an eerie smile lifting her lips.
“I like the company you keep,” the Queen said. She spoke to Liam, but she clearly meant Audrey.
“Unfortunately, ma’am, we don’t share.”
Audrey arched her brows as she turned to stare Liam down. There was something really damned weird going on here, and it was more than just the masks and hookahs.
“Not to worry,” the Queen said. “You should stay for the party, footballer. I like to watch, see other people finding themselves. If you two play nicely, I will consider relieving some of Monsieur Cross’s debt. A small piece, perhaps.”
Audrey’s eyes went wide. She glanced at Liam, who was watching the Queen carefully.
“Even if we just watch?” he asked.
The Queen’s smile widened. “Certainement.”
“Thank you, ma’am.”
Audrey opened her mouth to ask a dozen questions, but Liam grabbed her hand again and gave it hard squeeze. He did another sort of bow, then dragged Audrey out of the room.
Audrey followed, wondering just where the hell this night was leading.
8
Audrey
The butler was right outside, awaiting Audrey and Liam when they left the Queen’s chambers.
“May I take your coat?” he asked Audrey. He spoke English now, though it was heavily French-accented.
Audrey bit her lip as she unbuttoned her pea coat. She’d intended to make a splash tonight, sure. But just now she felt terribly uncertain about everything that was happening around them…
Liam moved to help her out of her coat. She saw the flicker of interest in his eyes when the coat fell away to reveal her scandalous lace dress.
“Nice choice,” he said, looking a little bemused. “Little did you know, it was the perfect choice for tonight.”
Audrey held her tongue until the butler swept off with her coat, heading back for the front of the house. Then she turned on Liam with a quickness.
“What the hell is this place?” she asked. “Who was Marie Antoinette? Why are we here, and what did you just sign us up for?”
Liam blew out a breath, then glanced behind them at the door they’d just exited. It was ajar, just a hair, and Audrey could see that Liam was worried about being overheard.
“So many questions. Let’s walk. I did promise that we would explore at our leisure,” he said, putting his hand at the small of her back and propelling her down the long hallway once more.
The first door on their right was a formal but very small parlor, and Audrey broke away from Liam to duck inside. She waved him in and closed the door.
“Tell me what’s going on, right now,” she demanded. “Or I swear I will hitch a ride home with one of these masked strangers.”
“I don’t think you really want to do that, seeing as how this is a swinger’s party,” Liam said, crossing his arms.
“It’s… what?” Audrey blustered. “Why the hell did you bring me here?”
“I tried not to. This is a cycle for us, I think. I tell you not to come with me, you do it anyway, then you get angry.” Liam pulled a face. “It’s tiresome, if you don’t mind me saying.”
“That lady back there… she was talking about Jack’s debts. I want to know what she meant,” Audrey said, poking an accusing finger into Liam’s chest. “I want the truth, not this misleading crap you and Jack have been feeding me.”
“We haven’t fed you anything, darling. We’ve just… left you out of the loop. Only for things that were strictly need-to-know, you ken.”
“I do not ken. She said something about fighting! What the hell was that about?”
Liam took a deep breath, then blew it out.
“Your brother owes big, and the people who own his debt want him to repay it by doing pit fights.”
Audrey’s breath faltered. Her hand flew to her mouth. The phrase pit fights made her want to lose her lunch.
Liam’s expression shifted to concern. “It’s not as bad as it sounds, I promise.”
“It’s like… no gloves, no rules, kind of underground fighting?” Audrey asked.
Liam hesitated, then shrugged. “Yeah. Something like that.”
“So it’s basically exactly what it sounds like. Liam, he could be killed!”
Liam scrubbed a hand over his face. For a moment, his ever-present mask of confidence slipped away and Audrey could see the worry written on his face.
“I know, I know,” he said. “I’ve been trying to buy his debt, or…”
When he stopped his sentence cold, Audrey put a hand on his arm.
“Or what?” she asked, her heart flip-flopping in her chest.
“I came here to make our hostess an offer. Me for him, if I could work out favorable terms.”
“You were going to offer to fight in Jack’s place?” Audrey asked, feeling herself go pale. “You can’t do that!”
“I’m bigger than Jack, and I have a bit of experience in this kind of fight… If I could work it out so I only had to do a few, it might be worth it.”
“You have a professional career. You can’t just go around getting beat up and then expect to perform well on the field, Liam.”
“Neither can your brother, and of the two of us, I’m the one who can’t be fired. It’s in my contract.”
“Jack would never let you do it.”
Anger flared on Liam’s face. “Yeah, well, I don’t see him here digging himself out of this fucking mess. He’s just going to do the fights, roll the dice. He’ll get pummeled.”
Audrey took a moment, inhaling and exhaling. This wasn’t supposed to be a fight between her and Liam, after all.
“But you didn’t do it,” she said slowly.
“Nah, couldn’t,” Liam spat, seeming aggravated with himself. “One of the men in the masks is a team owner. I couldn’t discuss Jack’s business in front of him.”
Audrey’s mouth opened and closed a couple of times.
“One of the guys in line to get whipped?!” she asked, astounded.
Liam snorted. “Madame Richaud is a very discreet, very high-end sort of hooker. She’s probably got names in her black book that are a lot bigger than a partial owner of Atlanta Unified.”
“Ugh, this is… why is everyone so awful?” Audrey asked.
“Dunno. Got used to it by now, I guess,” Liam said with a shrug.
“So this… woman…” Audrey said, trying to gather her thoughts. “In exchange for us just… being here… she’s go
ing to ease some of Jack’s debt?”
“Maybe,” Liam said, shaking his head. “It’s hard to say what she’ll really do.”
“We don’t have to like…” Audrey stopped, unsure how to even finish the sentence.
“Come here,” Liam said, snagging Audrey’s wrist and pulling her close.
She tensed, but he merely gave her a firm, reassuring hug.
“I’m not going to let anything happen to you, or ask you to do anything off-color. That’s a promise.”
She let the embrace go on for a few more seconds, wishing that Liam’s soothing could take the edge off her worry for Jack. Then she sighed and moved back a step, glancing up at him.
“We just walk around and watch?” she asked.
“That’s it, I swear. Stick by my side, ignore everyone else if you want.”
“That’s the most ridiculous part. Even at a sex party, where you think most everyone would be liberated… I have to pretend to be your girlfriend, or I’m fair game to all the men here,” Audrey surmised.
“That’s about the sum of it, yeah.”
“All right,” she said at last.
“All right?”
“Yep. Let’s get it over with.” Audrey squared her shoulders and went to the door, swinging it open.
“Ladies first,” Liam said.
Audrey sucked in a deep breath and plunged into the hallway.
Liam was quick to catch her hand again. His palm was a bit rough against hers, big and warm and reassuring in a strange way.
Hell, if worse came to worst, at least Audrey had a big rugged professional athlete to protect her. As they walked along the hallway, peering into different rooms, a thought occurred to her.
Being here together tonight, Liam sharing more of Jack’s burden… It felt a little as if she and Liam had turned a corner.
As if they were definitely on the same side of the same fight now, where before they were somewhere between ally and enemy. Playing two different games, even.
“What happened to the room where they were just drinking champagne and listening to jazz?” Liam muttered beside her.
“Looks like… yep, there’s an orgy in the hookah room,” she affirmed with a quick peek inside. She glanced up at Liam. “Jesus, you would go to parties where orgies are a real thing. I never believed Jack’s stories, until this moment. Dare I ask what’s upstairs?”