Masque (10 page)

Valerie gave her a look to kill, and Rena laughed. “Like I
ever would. If it weren’t for you, I could never make this work. You know
that.”

“True.” Valerie’s focus on the Abbey returned full force.
“And I need you to make a few decisions on the upstairs rooms. Let’s do that
now.”

Rena sighed. Not what she had planned on doing next, but the
bed-and-breakfast came first. The sex journal would have to wait.

* * * * *

Synn watched Rena sleep from the safe distance of the chair
by the fireplace. He needed to wake her soon, but he wasn’t ready. For three
days, he’d kept away from her in an attempt to keep their nightly activities in
perspective. She was the answer to his prayers, his redemption, his vehicle to
assuage the guilt that had ridden him for over a century. Maybe that explained
why he was so attached to her. He could taste emotional freedom within his
reach. Even if he continued on in his semi-living state for eternity, the guilt
could move on with the spirits.

He unbuttoned his white shirt farther in an effort to be
more comfortable, but his thoughts made that impossible. His mind traveled a
familiar road to 1861 with the same dead end. His intentions had been pure.
Make the prince aware of his townspeople’s plight. That’s all. Induce him to
help them. The prince was an assemblyman of the country. He could have made
something happen.

And something did happen. Everyone in the Abbey died because
of him and his good intentions. Restless, Synn rose.

He had to think of Rena as no more than a means to an end.
She would complete the Masque and the spirits would pass over. He slowed his
steps as he approached the bed. Father Richard said he was different. He’d
always known that. He rubbed his chest where the bullet had entered.

Shaking his disturbing thoughts away, he bent and gently
kissed her temple. She smiled in her sleep. What dreams did she have? He
couldn’t remember what it meant to dream, but he hoped hers were good ones. She
deserved whatever she desired…except a haunted abbey. He couldn’t let her keep
the ghosts.

Brushing her hair away from her face, he cupped her chin and
pressed his lips to hers. Her mouth awoke before she did, kissing him back long
before her eyes fluttered open.

“Synn. What? Where have you been?”

He grinned as he sat on the bed next to her. The shirts she
wore to bed were strangely sexy. He ran his finger along her collarbone. “I had
business to attend to. Are you ready for your next room?”

She eyed him steadily. “Business? Did it have to do with
ghosts or something else?”

He shrugged as he dropped his hand. “A bit of both. Are you
ready to meet another ghostly couple?”

Though she pretended coolness, he could see the excitement
in her eyes. The question was, for which, the spirits or the sex? At least her
openness to the sex boded well for his mission.

“You didn’t tell me you would be gone. I was worried.”

He took her hand. “About me? I’m sorry.” He squeezed her
hand. “It’s time to enter the Orange Room.”

She licked her lips, her curiosity evident. “How should I
dress for billiards?”

“I believe what you are wearing will be fine. That and your
mask.” He held hers out for her.

She looked at her shirt. “Really?”

He couldn’t resist. He kissed her on the forehead. “Yes,
really. Now put this on.” After she secured the pale-blue mask to her face, he
tied his matching one then offered her his hand. “Shall we?”

She hesitated for a moment and he held his breath. Maybe
staying away hadn’t been the best decision if it affected her so much. She was
too important to them all. He’d been selfish in taking time for himself. She
had to come first. Whatever she wanted, he must make happen.

Finally, she placed her hand in his and he helped her from
the bed. What he wanted to do was carry her. Having the luscious woman in his
arms made him whole. Ignoring his need, he held tight to her hand instead. The
rooms remained in their daytime position as it wasn’t quite late enough for him
to make the change; therefore, they were alone. He’d lit the fires before
coming for her and each room had its own particular glow. As they stepped into
the billiard room with its orange light bouncing off the white plaster walls,
he was suddenly reminded of hell. Ignoring the tight feeling in his stomach at
the unusual thought, he brought Rena to the wall where the cues were stored.
“Would you like to play?”

She looked over her shoulder at the table with the netted
corners and side pockets. “I know how to play pool, but I’ve never played
billiards before.”

He chose a cue of proper length for her and offered it.
“It’s not difficult. Do you know how to shoot a ball?”

She cocked her head and stared at him. “Like I said, I know
how to play pool, so of course I can.”

Ahh, “pool” must be very similar to billiards. He needed to
be more careful not to show his ignorance of modern terms. Choosing his own
stick, he walked her to the table. There were two tables now, but there would
be only one shortly.

He pulled three balls from the corner pocket and set them on
the table. “Why don’t you show me how you shoot.”

She shrugged. “Okay, but it’s been awhile.”

Rena bent over the table to line up her shot. The edge of
her long shirt rode up her thighs until the curve of her ass was revealed.
Damn. His cock hardened within his pantaloons. Maybe playing billiards wasn’t
such a good idea.

As her ball bounced off the side and into a pocket, she
lifted her arms in triumph, her shirt showing more of her tight, round ass. He
remained still, trying for a neutral tone. “Nicely done.”

She spun around, her eyes alight with success, her lips
parted to take in air. He couldn’t resist. He scooped one arm around her,
pulling her against him and fastened his lips to hers. As his tongue pushed
through to taste the sweetness of her mouth, he dropped his cue and ran his
hand over her ass, squeezing, smoothing, and finally grasping it to push her
hips into his growing erection.

She moaned, her hand rifling through his hair.

Damn. He broke the kiss with effort. At this rate, he’d come
before midnight and that would break the Masque. He removed his hand from her
delectable backside.

Her eyes widened as he gazed at her. He couldn’t have hidden
his raw desire for her even if Father Richard had entered the room. At least
there was no chance of that occurring.

“Synn, can’t we start now? It must be almost midnight, isn’t
it?”

He hesitated.

Her fingers unbuttoned his shirt and pushed it from his
shoulders. Before he could react to that boldness, she had his nipple in her
mouth. Her tongue circled and licked, making that part of his anatomy as hard
as his dick.

Then she nibbled.

Growling, he picked her up and pushed her back upon the
table, lifting her shirt to enjoy the view of her breasts. “You’re bloody
perfect.”

Perfect? She very much doubted that, but what Synn made her
body feel was perfect.

As his mouth descended to her breast, lightning shot from
her nipple to her pussy. She wrapped her legs around his waist and rubbed her
cunt against his covered cock, the soft material teasing her clit.

The sensation excited and frustrated her at the same time, a
scenario Synn seemed adept at. Ready to complain, she opened her mouth, but
noticed two people had entered the room, and quickly swallowed her words. She
sat up and pulled her shirt down.

Synn turned to face their guests. “Ah, Byron, Annette, I’d
like you to meet our hostess.”

Annette had curly red hair, big curves and stood no more
than five feet tall. Byron had light-brown hair with long sideburns and a bushy
mustache. He was slender but not too tall, maybe her own height. Neither wore
masks. Annette was dressed in what could only be called Victorian underwear, a
corset and bloomers.

The woman stepped forward, her wild red hair bouncing
everywhere and her smile warm. Her bright-green eyes, full of open laughter,
had Rena relaxing.

She held her hand out to the ghost. “I’m pleased to meet
you.”

Annette leaned forward and gave her a hug. “I be pleased to
meet ye. Ye are a beauty to be sure.”

Rena would have argued the point, but Byron stepped forward
and took her hand in his. He was dressed much like Synn in tan pants and a
loose-fitting shirt. Methodically, he rubbed his thumb across the back of her
hand while he spoke. “You are truly a vision. Synn did not exaggerate. It’s an
honor to share this room with you.”

It was so much fun to be able to talk to the ghosts now.
Byron’s voice was not deep, but neither was it loud. Did he say share?

Synn crowded her, forcing Byron to let go. “I must change
the rooms.” He lifted her off the table and guided her to a wingback chair.
“Wait here. I will return presently.”

He had a silent communication with Byron as he left, but
Rena couldn’t tell what it meant, nor did she have time to ponder the puzzle.
Annette bounced over and sat on the arm of her chair. “Tell me, Rena. Do ye not
find Synn deadly handsome?”

Annette’s voice was loud and rough. Rena had to lean to the
side of the chair to face the woman. “I wouldn’t say it in quite those terms,
but yes. He is very attractive.”

The woman wiggled her brows. “Ye are a lucky woman. I’d love
to get into his pantaloons, but he has no interest in me. Still, Byron isn’t a
bad male specimen either. But ye’ll be able to judge for yerself. At least
Byron doesn’t have that nasty black mark on his chest.”

She had wondered at that mark as she had played with Synn’s
nipple, but the tightening of his pectoral muscle beneath her touch and
distracted her from asking about it.

“Have ye ever had sex with another woman?”

“What?” Rena stared at Annette.

The woman brushed her riotous curls away from her eyes.
“Have you ever had sex with another woman? It’s amazing how great it can be,
even without a cock between ye, though that can happen in the Violet Room.
There is something about knowing what makes a woman tick that makes it so good.
Then again, if ye train a man well, ye can have the best of both worlds.”

She didn’t know what to say. Sure, she’d seen that on one of
her porn movies, but to hear someone rave about it was a completely different
perspective. “Have you experienced all the colored rooms and is there one you
like best? Have you experienced the Black Room?”

Annette jumped off the arm of the chair. “My but ye be a
curious one. Aye, I have experienced them all including the Black Room, but the
Green Room be my favorite. I think ye enjoyed that one too.”

At Annette’s wink, Rena heated. Were all the ghosts so
blunt? She’d have to ask Synn. As if on cue with her thoughts, a rumbling noise
started in the room. The two billiard tables came together, their common side
disappearing to make one large surface. Walls turned to reveal beds the size of
two California kings, and she had a suspicion this may well be the Orgy Room,
if there was such a room. Based on the sex journal, where pictures were drawn
of multiple couples in the midst of intercourse, she’d guessed it happened in
one of the rooms. She wasn’t ready for an orgy and her excitement dimmed.

No sooner had the noise ceased than Synn entered the room.
She loved his walk. He always seemed to have a purpose and strode with
confidence. That made her more comfortable for some reason. Maybe after they
finished the rooms, they could continue as lovers. What would it be like to
make love in her bed, alone? She was definitely interested in more than three
more nights of Synn.

He stopped next to her and put his hand on her shoulder. As
he looked at her, she noticed that strange mixture in his eyes of fear and
desire. What did he desire that scared him?

“Rena, it’s time. Are you ready?”

She nodded, though still unsure, but willing to keep an open
mind, to see where her own limits were.

He smiled that rare, genuine smile. “Then up you go.” He
scooped her up and set her in the middle of the billiard table. After
depositing her, he stood back and unbuttoned his pantaloons.

Not much for foreplay was he?

At the sight of his hard cock springing free, her whole body
tightened. Maybe foreplay was overrated. She wasn’t sure what occurred in this
room, but she planned to have herself some of that cock.

Byron watched indulgently as Annette ran to the other side
of the table and jumped on it. She waved Rena toward her. “Come on, Rena. It’s
time to show these men what they’ve got.” Annette laughed and pulled her
substantial breasts out and over the top of her corset.

Rena grinned. It was impossible not to, with Annette’s
carefree exuberance.

“Rena.” Synn drew her attention back to him. He still stood
with his pants unbuttoned and his cock exposed. “Will you show me what you have
as well?”

He knew all her parts, especially after having sex in the
library, but his excited gaze made her reluctant to disappoint him. She glanced
at Annette who lifted her breasts by her nipples and winked. When Rena glanced
back at Synn, she found his eyes on Annette.

Oh, no. He needed to be looking at her. She rose to her
feet, the felt surface of the billiard table felt smooth against her soles.

Annette had taken off her bloomers and now spun around with
her arms thrown wide, her generous breasts bouncing up and down, her bare,
substantial ass jiggling with her movements. Her free abandon showed off her substantial
assets well.

Rena looked at her t-shirt. Not exactly sexy clothing. She
worried the end of it with her hand. What could she do to show off her assets?
She peeked at Synn for help when she noticed his gaze locked on her fingers.
While jiggling was one way to attract a man’s attention, she could use a slower
approach.

Facing Annette, she turned her back on Synn and she spread
her legs apart. Glancing over her shoulder, she released the breath she held
when Synn’s eyes remained riveted to the back of her thighs and not on Annette.
Slowly, keeping her legs straight, she bent forward until she touched the
velvet softness of the table with her hands. Looking between her legs at Synn’s
face, her insides somersaulted.

He had his cock in hand as he stared at her pussy. The cool
air of the room brushed her folds and her inner passage tightened. Synn’s need
for her gave her confidence. Making up her moves as she went, she bent her
knees and then straightened them again. Synn’s gaze did not waver an inch, but
his hand stroked his cock. The idea that she could make him come by performing
for him was too tempting.

She lifted her torso until it was parallel to the table,
pulled her shirt over her head and threw it to the side. She bent low again and
picked up the pool stick that leaned against the table. Standing, she turned
and faced Synn, pulling the stick against her body, between her breasts. With
the cue for balance, she squatted.

Her insides shook with excitement, her pussy wet, and for
the first time since meeting Synn, she wasn’t anxious for it to be filled. This
was for him.

His hand continued to stroke as she stood straight again.

Angling the stick, she brushed it across her nipples,
surprised at how sensitive they’d become. She kept her gaze on his face as she
moved the stick back between her legs and let it press against her engorged
pussy.

Synn’s eyes narrowed. His excitement evident, he held his
cock in check, but she wanted him to lose his control.

Slowly, she rubbed the stick back and forth along her folds,
careful not to touch her clit. If she did, the show would be over. She
squatted, spreading her knees, allowing Synn a better view.

Though Synn had stepped from his pants, he remained with his
hand firmly around his cock as if refusing to let himself come, while she grew
hotter and hotter. The stick slid against her opening. Her instinct took over
and she let the smooth surface rub against her clit. Back and forth the smooth
wood rubbed. Unable to stay silent any longer, Rena moaned.

Within a second of that sound, Synn jumped upon the table,
the cue stick flying through the air as he lay on his back. “Ride.”

Without hesitation, she knelt over him and speared herself
upon his cock until he was deep within her. She’d never had a man this deep
before. He clamped his hands upon her hips and gritted his teeth. “Wait.”

She didn’t mind, as her body adjusted to him, but as she
waited, impaled, her pussy swelled and her clit pulsed. Synn’s steady pressure
to keep her still affected her as much as if he pumped into her.

Annette caught her attention as she climbed onto Byron next
to them. She pushed her pussy onto his cock and looked at Rena. “Shall we ride,
my lady?” Annette’s laughter filled the room.

Synn’s hands fell away and Rena lifted an eyebrow at him.

He grinned. “This is considered sharing. Can you give them
another show?”

That was a challenge if she ever heard one. Tweaking both
Synn’s nipples, she placed her hands on his chest and took a leisurely ride up
and down his cock. By the set of his lips, he strained not to come. She wanted
him to come, to lose his damn control, but Annette’s moans were distracting,
and she found herself watching the woman and Byron as much as she slid onto
Synn. Wanting control herself, she sat straight up to gasp for air, but his
cock slid so deep, it took the wind from her.

She slid up and down him again in her new position. His tip
touched her core and sent waves of pressure through her, readying her. While
Annette slammed into Byron, Rena continued her leisurely pace until Synn’s
fingers on her clit took all her attention. He rubbed her as she moved, and
soon she slammed as hard as Annette, her body tightening around Synn’s cock. It
pressed into her and filled her until she exploded. Her orgasm flooding around
him as his hips lifted.

Synn’s moans echoed in her ears, converging with his orgasm
inside her.

The sensation of his cum, shooting deep into her, kept her
own orgasm pulsing until finally she lay upon his chest, spent. He stroked her
hair for a moment. He’d never done that before and she liked it. They had such
an active sexual relationship and yet, there was limited intimacy. Was that why
Synn only had sex in the colored rooms? To avoid intimacy?

When he dropped his hand to the side, she understood his
message. Sitting up on his hips, she glanced at Annette. The woman was
plastered to Byron’s chest while he stroked her ass and smiled. Rena smiled
too. Annette’s joy in her sexual freedom was contagious. Not that Rena could
ever be quite that free, but watching Annette enjoying herself so openly, made
her…happy.

She returned her gaze to Synn. He mouthed the words “thank
you” before he sat up, catching her to him. He lifted her off him and set her
on the table. Jumping down, he handed her her t-shirt. She turned it right-side
out and wondered at how quickly he redressed her, yet always left the rooms
naked.

She looked forward to him carrying her upstairs and putting
her to bed. Stuffing her arms in her sleeves while he waited, she pulled the
shirt over her head.

What she beheld as her face cleared the neckline froze her
blood. “Synn, look out!”

He turned to face an angry Eric, sword in hand and
descending upon him. Synn put his hands up to ward off the blow, but the sword
hit empty air before crashing against the stone floor.

Synn must have dropped to the ground. Rena leaned over the
side of the billiard table. He wasn’t there.

His voice came from behind her. “And what did you hope to
accomplish with that, Eric?”

She turned. Did he roll under the table and come up on the
other side?

Eric walked toward Synn, while Annette and Byron scrambled
to where Rena sat.

“I know I can’t kill you, but does our lovely hostess know
that?” He struck at Synn again with the sword. It had to be from the Civil War
based on its shape. Where did Eric find it and why did he want to hurt Synn?

Synn sidestepped the sharp weapon, but she could see a new
tension in his face.

“Eric, this is not the time for your games.”

Eric continued to advance, stalking Synn. “Of course it is.
This may not be the game room, but billiards is certainly a game. Multi-couple
orgies are certainly a game, though you didn’t really play fair.” He swung
again, and Synn lunged to the side to avoid the strike.

Synn smirked. “We were just leaving, so you can enjoy this
room as you wish.”

Eric’s rage surfaced and his face turned skeletal. “With
whom? Whom can I enjoy this with? No one wants what I offer and you insist on
everyone being willing.”

Obviously, there was a long-standing issue between the two
men and it was clear Eric wasn’t going to stop striking at Synn because of it.
If Eric didn’t have the sword in his hand, Rena would sit all night and learn
all she could, but no one threatened her lover. As Eric stalked along her side
of the billiard table, she adjusted her position.