Heart of Gold

by Michaela Haze

  Her green eyes narrowed but she eyed me with malice instead of suspicion.

  Sarah clenched her fists and her jaw rocked from side to side as she ground her teeth. I stared, impassive, as the box blonde turned on her heels and marched away. Her skin-tight black gown swished against her curves as she marched away.

  I patted Elliot on the shoulder and began to walk away as soon as she was out of sight.

  I made it five steps before he tried to stop me.

  “Wait!” He called after me. “Pepper!”

  I did not look back but found my steps halted as he gripped the top of my shoulder. I froze and had to take a deep breath.

  Calm down. He's not going to hurt you.

  “Yes?” I crooked an eyebrow, even though I knew he couldn’t see it from behind the mask.

  “I just wanted to thank you for that.” The words pushed past his lips. “Although it’s obvious that you’re not my type, I think she bought it.”

  “Not your type?” I echoed in disbelief.

  “It was not meant as an insult. I prefer women with large breasts. It’s a well-known fact.”

  “Do you want me to go and get Sarah Mallory and let her know that?” I asked lightly.

  Elliot looked down his nose at me, as if he was trying to decide if I was serious of not. “Please don’t.” He said stiffly.

  We eyed each other like two lions circling and sizing each other up.

  I had no idea why I’d leapt to his rescue. Sarah Mallory was vicious. After his insulting words in the diner, I should have just left him to deal with her. And her claws.

  “Have we met before?” Elliot queried with suspicion.

  “Yes.” I crossed my arms over my chest.

  Elliot rubbed the back of his neck, his lips twisted awkwardly. “Really?”

  “On the dancefloor, don’t you remember?” I said sweetly.

  “You know what I mean.”

  “Please let go of my shoulder, Mr Gold.”

  “Stern. I like it.”

  I eyed him shrewdly and looked for tell-tale signs of insincerity. He was genuine. Which was annoying.

  “Can I buy you a drink?” Elliot suggested.

  I shrugged. “It’s an open bar.”

  “I have a bottle of Chateau Lefite that I’ve been saving for a special occasion in the study. Would you join me?”

  I looked down to my gown and then back into his crystalline blue irises. His raven, black hair was slicked it back carefully. He was clean-cut. All American. Sex in a suit. So unlike his brothers. So unlike any of the men that Mama brought around.

  Since I had first laid eyes on Elliot Gold, I had focused on looking at him as little as possible. I was not on his level and I never would be. But somehow I felt brave as I stood in a designer dress with a mask covering my face.

  I nodded slowly and Elliot urged me forward into the confines of the Gold manor and away from the sounds of the party downstairs.

  “Are you not enjoying the festivities?” Elliot asked in a low tone. “Is the party not to your liking?”

  “I was searching for the bathroom.”

  He clicked his tongue to the roof of his mouth. “What do you do at Stark Industries?”

  I searched my mind for what Pepper, the fictional character, actually did. Apart from bone Tony Stark. “Personal Assistant.” I think.

  Elliot nodded to himself. “How much of my conversation did you overhear?”

  “Just enough to know that you didn’t want that woman here.” I shrugged.

  “Fending off the competition?” He narrowed his eyes.

  “Something like that.”

  “You’re really familiar.” He said as he studied the pink feathers of my mask. “Could you take off your mask? I want to see your face.”

  “Isn’t it more fun if you don’t?”

  “I suppose.” His tone was thoughtful.

  4

  “The Gold family founded the town after making their fortune during the Gold Rush and coming back to Louisiana.” I explained when we passed a regal portrait of my great-grandfather in his Confederate uniform.

  “Before the battle of Baton Rouge?” Pepper asked in a low voice, as she stood by my side. Her eyes never left the oil painting. She knew her history; I was impressed.

  “The tradition of the Gold Masquerade started that year. 1862, I think.” I rubbed the back of my neck. “It was originally a send-off for the soldiers.”

  “And the masks?” She asked with a wry smile.

  I had long since taken off my own mask, but Pepper had kept hers on. In the dim lighting, purposely low to help set the atmosphere, it wasn’t out of place. But still strange.

  I wanted to see her face. The shadows caused by the plumage of her mask hid her eyes. I poured two glasses of red wine and left them on the side table to breathe.

  I jolted from my reverie when I noticed that she had been eying me expectantly. What had she asked? Oh. The masks.

  “I always assumed it was so people could fuck whoever they wanted before they went off to war. Without the guilt.” I shrugged.

  Pepper let out a snort that quickly turned into a hyena-like cackle. I found myself smiling at her heinous laugh. It was so carefree and light that I found myself laughing along with her.

  Her laugh was crazy. Unrestrained. Ugly but endearing. I got the sense that she didn’t do it much.

  “Do you always just say what’s on your mind?” She chewed her bottom lip to hide a smile.

  I raised an eyebrow. “If I said what was on my mind right now, it would probably have something to do with how much I want to remove that dress and see what’s underneath.”

  I couldn’t see if she blushed or not because of the flamingo on her face but she patted my shoulder indulgently.

  “Alas, what’s beneath shall always be a mystery to you.” She crooned sagely.

  “Is that so?”

  “You shall not pass.” Pepper put on a low voice and it took me a second to get the reference. When I did, I couldn’t stop the laugh that escaped my lips.

  Her own laughter joined mine and the strange high-pitched giggle warmed my chest in a way that I didn’t understand. I leant forward without thought, placing a kiss to the plushest part of her Cupid bow lips.

  She did not kiss me back, instead, the strange brunette stepped backwards with a gasp. She placed her hand on my chest to keep me away.

  “I don’t think that’s a good idea, Iceman.” She breathed.

  Iceman? “You’re from Goldryn Bois?” There was only one explanation for her knowledge of my nickname. She was local. But I had never seen her before. Her dark wavy hair, her tiny frame. She was funny but shy. Her wit was hidden in quiet words muttered under her breath. I could tell.

  “Yes.” Pepper stiffened.

  I opened my mouth to ask her why I had never seen her before. How long had she lived in town? Julian had a monopoly on all the young women in town, and if she was from Goldryn Bois, then he'd probably been in her pants at one point.

  Suspicion speared me. Her appearance in the corridor had been almost too convenient.

  “What do you do?” Pepper asked, as she sniffed the glass of red wine as if it had offended her. “For a living, I mean.”

  “Various things.” I shrugged. “Why do you ask?”

  She shrugged and wouldn’t look at me. “Have you ever wanted me to be someone else for the night?” Her voice cracked.

  “Not really.” I admitted.

  How much time had passed since our eyes had met? I couldn’t have said. Time didn’t exist when I looked at the girl in the pink dress.

  She was delicate. Poised. Slim but curvy. Everything about her told me that she would ruin me and put me back together again. Pepper was the kind of girl that you married and took home to your mother. Rich enough to walk amongst the Goldryn Bois elite but grounded enough to work for a living. Even standing close to her made my lungs constrict and the air heat. She was the kind of girl that I was scared to find.
Because she would be it.

  Pepper gripped the lapels of my tux and dragged me towards her. She placed a kiss on the scruff of my chin and her delicate touch caused a jolt of electricity to run straight to my cock. Her kiss was delicate but my body reacted unexpectedly.

  I felt my cock strain against the fabric of my trousers. My fingers twitched with the need to touch her. I traced the skin of her shoulders before wrapping my arm around her waist and pressing her small body to my own.

  I felt her body heat through the fabric of my shirt and the hard pebbles of her nipples. My lips claimed hers again, but it was not the same chaste and testing kiss as before. I commanded her mouth. I wanted her passion. The same fire that laced her every word.

  I wanted to know her.

  Pepper gripped the jacket of my tux and ripped it from my shoulders, tossing it carelessly over the nearest chair.

  I hoisted the petite brunette up, and placed her on the edge of the large oak table in the centre of the study. My hands delicately pushed the fabric of her dress up.

  Our lips never parted. Her chest heaved.

  God. I wanted her.

  With my cock begging, weeping, desperate for her heat, my hips rested in-between her legs. I could feel her slickness through the thin layer of her underwear. I wrapped my hand around the hair above her ear, exposing her neck and dotting the skin with kisses.

  “Do you want me, Pepper?” I whispered in her ear. I did not wait for a response, but instead, I allowed my hand to travel up the skin of her thigh until I felt the damp fabric of her lacy underwear. The tip of my finger brushed the hem and I rubbed and explored the outside of her lips with tentative touches. A low groan built in my throat when I felt how wet she was.

  “I can feel how much you want me.” I told her. Pepper shook her head but a crimson flush had travelled over her neck. I reached up to remove the mask. I was close enough to see the colour of her eyes. A strange amber colour that caused a jolt of recognition to pinch my mind. I brushed my knuckles against the edge of her mask; she halted her hand and stopped me.

  I did not argue, but I used the hand that I had twisted in her dark waves to manoeuvre her lips to meet mine again. Her skin was hot but soft. Punishing but pleading. She gave off little sighs as my tongue met hers and my fingers teased her through the fabric of her panties.

  Her hands travelled down to my zipper and she loosened my trousers. My cock sprang free and slapped against her inner thigh. Her tiny hand gripped my rod and I bucked forward like a rutting beast, searching for friction.

  Without a word, I plunged my fingers in and out of her wetness. She gasped. Her hands went to my shoulders and clung to me like a life raft in the ocean. Like I was her salvation.

  I focused on the sound of my hand, plunging inside of her pussy, the wet sounds, the slapping of flesh. Sodden with her arousal. I'd felt her pussy clenching on my fingers but I’d held off from allowing her to cum.

  I took a step forward, though that wasn’t easy, and removed my fingers.

  I broke the kiss, but not the eye contact, as I raised my glistening digits to my mouth and sucked them. Tasting her juices on my tongue like a fine wine. My eyes rolled back in my head. She was the perfect amount of salty and sweet. Fuck. I could get addicted to that.

  I took my hand and gripped my cock, stroking it once and spreading the bead of pre-cum on the red and angry tip, down the length of my cock.

  Her gaze was hooded and she licked her bottom lip as her legs spread wider. I gripped the crook of her knee and lifted it around my hip as I took her wordless cue and thrust inside her. To the hilt. The head of my cock slammed at the hot wall at the end of her pussy, against her womb and I reached down and grabbed a handful of her ass to bring her closer to me.

  I wanted to watch my cock disappear inside of her but I couldn’t bring myself to look away from her whisky coloured eyes. I felt her orgasm began to build, like a coiling snake. I fucked her like I was starving and she was my first meal after ten years. Her chest was flushed against mine. We fucked like we wanted to crawl inside of each other and live there. Rutting like animals. My ass rocked as I thrust inside her like a fiddler’s elbow.

  Her pussy began to tremor and I felt her spiral over the edge with a harsh cry and a low moan. Her toes curled and she got even wetter as she came.

  I gripped her and held myself inside of her at the highest possible point as she milked my cock. I was unable to stop the tiny thrusts as her pussy gripped me so tightly that I came like a virgin in the back of a Sedan. She was so wet, warm and full of the mixture of our cum that I felt like I was swimming inside of her. I was still hard as I withdrew from her. Pepper opened her mouth to ask what I was doing, but I knelt down in between her spread legs. Using my fingers, I pulled her pussy lips apart. Her clit was hard and begging for attention. The thick white ropes of cum I’d injected her with leaked out of her. I leant forward and curled my tongue around her clit. Never directly touching but enough to make her writhe and twist her fingers in my hair. She pressed my face against her pussy as I sucked her clit into my mouth. I could taste the combination of my salty cum mixed with her heady sweetness.

  I was getting hard again, but instead of standing up and plunging inside of her, I dipped my finger inside her and then used our juices to circle her clit and then used my hand to bring her to orgasm. Her back arched and her chest was flushed red with her arousal. It was obvious she wasn’t wearing a bra and her nipples were protruding through the silk fabric of her dress. I could have kept her on the table in the study, fucking, touching and exploring her body for hours.

  Her phone began to ring and her eyes met mine. The sound of the obnoxious chime cleared the sex fog that had captured us both and held us prisoner.

  I trailed my fingers over her bottom lip and teased the edge of the material of the mask. I wanted to rip the pink feathery mask from her face. How could I feel so affected by a woman when I couldn’t see her face?

  Pepper took her phone out of her clutch in a daze. When she answered it, her hands began to tremble.

  “Are you okay?” I stepped forward to touch her. Comfort her. She pulled her dress down and smoothed the fabric with shaking hands.

  “I n-need to go.” She whispered, and ducked under my arm.

  The sound of her high heels on the marble floor echoed and then gradually disappeared down the spiral staircase.

  It took a second for my shock to wear off. She was gone when I tried to follow her.

  The founding families of Goldryn Bois were all in attendance. The Bells, the Langley’s, the Hanninghams and even our cousin Gideon Gold from Shreveport had come down for the occasion.

  I received cursory nods from every single one of them as I entered the main ballroom. The sweeping sight of twirling gowns and full regalia was the same as every year. I scanned the crowd for the diluted pink of my masked flamingo.

  I could not find her.

  I spotted my Mother in deep conversation with Tabitha Clancy, who was polishing glasses behind the bar. My father was nowhere to be seen, but that was to be expected.

  Julian approached me; he wore a fitted tux much like my own. Nate was by his side; his bowtie was untied and I saw the hint of a black tank top over the edge of his undone collar.

  “Has Mother seen your appearance?” I asked.

  Julian smirked. “Why do you think he undid his shirt?”

  Nate shrugged. “It’s better to be irritating than a sheep.”

  I raised my champagne flute to my lips and took a sip. “I acquiesce. All in the name of an easy life.”

  “Sarah didn’t show then?” Julian asked in a deceptively light voice.

  “If you mention her name one more time, I'll have to assume that you want to fuck her.”

  Julian shrugged. “She got tits and a pussy?”

  Nate twisted his lips. “You’re a pig, Jules.”

  “Have at her, Julian.” I said, as I raised my drink to toast him.

  I eyed the crowd in search for
a flash of pink. I wondered where Pepper had gone. The music had slowed to a gentle Thrall and all of the couples had paired off onto the dancefloor. Each ball, gala or masquerade grew tiring after a while. It was the same shit with the same old people.

  Part of me couldn’t wait to get back to New York.

  “Where’s Sticky?” I asked Nate.

  “How the hell would I know?” He snarled.

  Shrugging, I placed my empty glass on a passing tray. I excused myself and walked over to the front doors. Both security guys nodded when I approached.

  “I wanted to check the guest list for someone.” I told them. Rod, the larger of the two men handed over his clipboard and the clicking sound of expensive shoes alerted me to my brother’s presence. They'd followed me. Nosy bastards.

  “What are you doing?” Nate asked, amused.

  “There was a female guest earlier. I'd never seen her before.” I told them.

  “A new face at the masquerade?” Julian's lips twitched in amusement.

  I nodded as I scanned the list.

  “Her name?” Nate drawled.

  “Pepper Potts.” I replied.

  Julian choked and the strange noise that emerged from his throat distracted me from my task. He hunched over, unable to breathe with the ferocity of his laughter.

  “What the fuck is wrong with you?” I snarled.

  “Elliot. She gave you a fake name.” Julian wiped his eyes, unable to stop the hiccups that came with his uncontrollable giggles.

  “What?” I snapped.

  “You’ve never seen Iron Man?” Nate smiled cockily.

  I felt like an idiot for the first time in a long while.

  5

  I took off the pinching shoes that Rina had let me borrow; my finger was wedged through the straps at the back of the stiletto heels as they dangled from my hand.

  The grass was perfectly manicured, but wet, as the sprinklers rotated to saturate every blade. The sun had set hours ago but the temperature was balmy. I walked to the edge of the Gold Manor and past the open gates, my bare feet touched the sidewalk and absorbed the heat of the sun that was slowly dissipating. The raucous sounds of the Gold Masquerade faded behind me.