Masque (6 page)

It had never occurred to him a ghost would want to stay in
the Abbey instead of crossing over. What if one of them didn’t want him to
complete the Masque with Rena? Urgency and protectiveness overwhelmed him. He
stood and looked at the ceiling to find Raphael’s usual disapproval, but his
eyebrows appeared lower. At least someone besides himself viewed the situation
seriously.

Striding from the chapel, he headed for the second-floor
bedrooms. Tonight he would introduce Rena to the Exhibition Room. He had no
choice. He had to move her through the rooms. If he didn’t, and something
happened to her…

* * * * *

“Rena. Time to wake.”

She tried to ignore the deep whisper, but the light breath
across her ear sent shivers racing along her skin. Rolling away, she groaned.
“Why?”

“I have a surprise for you.”

Couldn’t it wait until later? “Morning?”

A warm hand slid up her thigh.

“Hmmm, that’s better.”

The hand passed her stomach to cup her breast. A finger
flicked by her nipple and a slow burn ignited from that spark.

His hand retreated. “Rena. Come.”

There was no ignoring that insistent and commanding voice.
Opening her eyes, she found Synn standing next to her bed. Except for the light
from her lantern, the room was pitch black. “What time is it?”

“Almost midnight. Come, we must hurry if you want to see the
Purple Room change.”

She sat up and rubbed her eyes. The Purple Room? Why would
she… Oh, the Purple Room. “I’d like to see that.”

“Here, put this on.” He held a beautiful silk robe that
shimmered a peachy pink in the light.

“This is gorgeous. Is this a dress-up affair?” She grinned
at her joke.

He remained serious. “Yes, it is.”

She had one arm in the sleeve when his hand on her wrist
halted her. “Nothing underneath.”

Huh? He wanted her to be naked under the robe to go
downstairs and watch a room change? “Fine. Turn around.”

His smirk returned, but he gave her privacy. She whipped the
t-shirt over her head and slid the robe on. The silkiness of the material
sensitized her skin, making her feel sexy.

“You will also need this.” He handed her a simple Mardi Gras
mask that covered only the eyes, but instead of elastic, it had satin ribbons
that tied behind the head.

“I need to wear a mask to see a room change?”

“Yes. Come here. I will tie it on you.”

As she held the pink material against her face, he secured
it. Then placing his hands on her shoulders, he turned her around. “Perfect.”

She did feel perfect, pretty and sexy too. “What about
yours?”

From the pocket of his waistcoat, he produced a black mask
and tied it to his face. “Is that satisfactory?”

Oh boy, the man was handsome enough, but now he had the
dashing aura of Zorro, and she couldn’t help her breathy response. “Very.”

He nodded as if her reply had been expected, but before she
could become irritated with his haughtiness, he extended his arm for her. Such
an elegant gesture had her wanting to play the part. So she did.

As they descended the grand staircase from her wing, she
noticed the silence was charged with energy. The ghosts must be coming out. Her
heart beat faster at meeting more of them, but when she remembered the ones
she’d seen in the Blue Room, the silkiness of her new robe caused stirrings in
the pit of her stomach as well as an all-over body flush.

When they reached the entryway, Synn stopped and looked at
her. “Are you ready?”

His eyes held such sincerity and caring that she wondered
for the first time what would be happening in the Purple Room. “I think so.”

He let go of her arm and faced her, his hands cupping her
face. “You must be sure.” Holding her head, he lowered his and kissed her. She
opened her lips to his teasing tongue. He brushed it along her teeth, then
sucked her lower lip into his mouth and stroked. He followed with a lick
beneath her upper lip. Her bare toes curled against the stone floor as she
leaned toward him, wanting more. He didn’t disappoint. His tongue plunged into
her mouth. She grasped his arms in surrender. When he was done pillaging her
mouth, he broke off the kiss and stared at her.

His breathing was as fast as hers. At least he was as
attracted to her as she to him. Thank God.

“Are you ready now?”

If the warm moisture gathering between her thighs was any
indication, she would have to say yes. And her body was too sexually hungry to
allow her any qualms. The question was, was she mentally ready? Not exactly.
Sex wasn’t a priority, but right now it seemed the only priority. If Synn
planned to take her, give her release, then there was only one answer she could
give. She nodded.

“Good. Shall we?”

She linked her arm in his once again and they strolled into
the Blue Room. A couple sat on one of the settees, the man’s hand under his
companion’s skirt as he kissed her, but no bed stood in the middle of the room
like the other night.

They continued into the Purple Room where a few other ghost
couples gathered. It was as if she had stepped back in time. The women were
attired in full Victorian dress with hoop skirts and bustles, bolero jackets
and vests, and many held artistically detailed masks on sticks. The gentlemen
wore waistcoats, top hats and suits. Most sported mustaches or long sideburns.
Many had tied-on masks, black like Synn’s, while others didn’t wear any mask at
all.

He patted her hand on his arm. “I can’t introduce you
directly as you wear a mask. However, if someone is not wearing a mask, or
moves it to the side, that means you may learn their name, but unless you
remove yours, they will not expect yours in return. For tonight, I suggest you
leave yours on. Understand?”

She nodded. With five couples in the room, she doubted she’d
remember everyone’s names, but she was excited to try.

The pair from the Blue Room the night before approached. He
wore no mask and his wife immediately put aside hers. Synn inclined his head to
them. “This is Eve and Jonathan. They cannot vocalize yet, but in another day
or so they will be happy to converse.”

Jonathan nodded in her direction, but Eve reached out both
her hands. Synn released her arm and nudged her toward the other woman. Solid
cool hands met hers and she smiled in relief. The woman laughed, but Rena
couldn’t hear it. Eve squeezed her hands before letting go and linked her arm
with her husband. After a loving look at his wife, he gave them both a brief
nod and escorted Eve into the next room.

Rena wanted to pinch herself. If this is how the ghosts
acted and felt, her bed-and-breakfast would be all over the web.

Synn led her down the rows of chairs set before the stage.
“If you listen carefully, you will hear a faint hum.” He stopped to allow her a
moment.

There was a very slight sound, like the murmur of a distant
party, but she couldn’t distinguish any specific words. She beamed at him.
“You’re right. I can hear them! Oh no, will it become quite loud in a few days?
Will it wake my guests?”

He faced her and lifted a brow. “Isn’t that what your guests
would be paying for, to be awoken by ghosts?”

She laughed. “Of course. This will be perfect.”

Synn took her hand from his arm and kissed her knuckles.
“Why do you want to make money on these ghosts?”

His attention to her fingers distracted her. “I need to
prove to myself that I can succeed. Without my parents’ or fiancé’s help, but
my track record isn’t stellar. My savings will barely cover renovations. The
Abbey hasn’t…”

Synn’s kisses turned to licks before he sucked her index
finger into his mouth. His tongue played with it as his mouth held it tight.
Tingles of sensation skittered along her arm to her breasts, surprising her,
and her nipples hardened beneath the robe. With Synn’s attention riveted to her
digit, she glanced down to see her tight peaks pushing at the silky material
covering them. The strange, erotic feel of the robe combined with Synn’s
attentions to make her hot.

When he released her finger, she had to squelch the need to
ask him to continue. He had to be the most sensuous man she’d ever met. As
she’d started to pull away, he tilted her chin to meet his lips. His mouth
proceeded to do homage to her own, exploring, playing, and finally sucking on
her tongue much like he had done her finger. He caused a multitude of yearnings
to build between her legs. When he broke away, her heart beat faster than a
percussion drum.

Without warning, he grasped her nipple through the silk
robe.

The shock had moisture pooling in her folds. “Synn. What are
you doing? Someone might see.”

He kissed her neck before whispering in her ear. “But they
are ghosts.”

The fingers that held her nipple rolled the silky fabric
around it while his mouth continued its pilgrimage down her neck. Need built
within her core, adding to her already oversensitive body’s frustrations. She
craved Synn’s body, craved release.

He lifted his head away from her nape and took the other
nipple in his other hand.

Her pussy contracted as the sensation pulsed down to her
clit. She glanced around the room without being obvious, but no one paid them
any attention.

“Do you want me?” His deep voice glided along her skin,
awakening every nerve ending.

Standing in front of her, rolling her nipples in the silky
fabric, he had to ask? “Yes, you know I do.”

“Are you ready for me?”

“If you mean is my body ready for you, absolutely.”

He stared into her eyes. “I need your mind to be ready for
me as well. Will you throw your inhibitions aside and let me take you in this
room? That’s what I want to do, Rena. I want to push my hard cock inside your
deliciously curvy body and let these ghosts watch me do it. I want them to envy
me my pleasure.”

Stunned and excited at the same time, she tried to find her
voice, but couldn’t. His fingers on her nipples continued their pleasuring, and
she took another look around the room. One couple watched them now with obvious
interest. Her instinct was to pull away and as she tugged, he held firm.
Shocked by both the excitement that coursed to her pussy and at his hold, she
snapped her gaze to his face.

Desire, clear and heady, shone in his eyes. Suddenly, she
wanted him to master her in front of these people. She wanted to be envied for
the hunk she had. She wanted him inside her so badly, she’d do whatever he
wished.

“Rena? I ask you again. Are you ready for me?”

“Yes.”

He grinned and let go of one nipple to remove a pocket watch
from his vest. “I must initiate the room change. Do not move. Watch the stage.”

Would he disappear on her again? “You will come back,
right?”

He bent as if to kiss her and instead sucked one of her
nipples into his mouth.

The wetness through the silky robe sent lightning from her
nipple to her clit in a split second. She gasped.

He released her. “I will return. Watch the stage, for you
and I will be the attraction tonight. Think about everyone watching as I spread
your legs and pump inside you.”

She caught her breath at his words, but couldn’t help ogling
him as he strode through the door into the Green Room. After he disappeared,
she noticed two gentlemen talking while their women chatted. Both men were
staring at her chest. Looking down, she found her right nipple outlined by the
wet silk of the robe. She spun around, but not before noting their interest.
Synn wanted her to have sex in front of an audience of ghosts? How could she do
that when she couldn’t even allow those men—no, not men, ghosts—to stare at her
wet nipple? She needed courage. What she needed was Synn.

Looking at her hardened peak, she made a decision. She swung
around and the men’s gazes returned to her. Their steadfast interest made her
powerful, like a sex goddess. They were ghosts, that’s all. With bravery she
didn’t know she possessed, she tweaked her wet nipple. The surprised pleasure
on their faces sent heat coursing through her limbs, but before she could
analyze that new sensation, a low hum issued from the stage and she faced it to
watch.

The stage floor opened and a set fit for the theater production
of
Cats
appeared. Flat landings rose above multiple bars until the final
centerpiece locked into place. The large bed with mirrors angled in every
direction took center stage.

Her mouth went dry.
Watch the stage, for you and I will
be the attraction tonight.

The bed with mirrors was meant for her and Synn? She
tightened the belt on her robe. She wasn’t this depraved. She might be more
adventurous than Bryce, but even she couldn’t do this. Was she that desperate
for Synn?

The object of her question strode through the door and
caught her stare. His eyes were hypnotic as the blue flecks glittered with
interest. He didn’t slow as he approached, but gathered her into his arms and
kissed her. A tongue-diving, lip-sucking, passionate kiss that left her weak.
Within seconds, he’d lifted her from her feet and carried her up the three
steps to the stage.

He laid her on the bed, and she noticed the sheets weren’t
silk for a change, but cotton. She had little time to digest that fact before
Synn’s disrobing caught her full attention.

His coat and vest were already thrown on a front-row chair.
As he unbuttoned his frilled white shirt, she noticed the women in the room
taking notice. A small niggling possessiveness seeped into her brain, but as
his shirt joined his other clothes, she puffed with pride. The man could spend
all day naked from the waist up, and she would be happy as a Maryland crab in
the off-season.

Without hesitation, he unbuttoned his black pantaloons and
released his long cock from inside.

Rena licked her lips. He was all he promised to be—long,
hard, smooth and ready. She missed his boots and pants coming off, too busy
studying his balls. The thighs surrounding his package were thick with muscle,
like a soccer player’s, and their definition changed beneath his skin as he
took the two steps to the bed.

“Come, Rena. Suck me.” Synn’s voice grew deeper, more
commanding than usual and her body vibrated with yearning. She glanced at his
face and read stark desire in his eyes.

He didn’t have to ask her twice. She rose onto her hands and
knees to face him and licked the underside of his cock. Its texture was smooth
with barely any bumps and it moved against her tongue.

“Look in the mirror, Rena.” His voice was strained.

She did as he instructed, turning to her left to see her
tongue against his massive cock. Fascinated, she took the head into her mouth,
letting her lips rest on the ridge as she watched through the holes in her
mask. He seemed so large, and her mouth so small. Sucking lightly, she grazed
her teeth around him and his hand burrowed into her hair. His grip in her
tresses made her reach for his balls beneath his dark pubic hair. She massaged
them before she glided her mouth farther down his cock.

His hand tightened and he held her head as he pulled his
cock from her mouth. She pouted in frustration, but she caught the reflection
of the audience in the mirror. Oh God. She counted in the reflection, too
fearful to look at them directly. There were at least a half-dozen couples and
a few single people watching her.

Synn tilted her chin to face him and forced her up to kneel.
He traced her lips with his thumb. “Do you know how desirous you are? Every man
in this room wants to be me right now. They want to initiate you into your most
hidden fantasies. Do you want to show these men what they are missing?”

Her lips were oversensitized by his strokes. She licked his
finger as his thumb passed by.

Synn’s Adam’s apple jumped. “Tell me you want me to fuck you
in front of these men because I want to. I need to show them you are my lover.”

His words flowed along her veins like an aphrodisiac. Lover?
He wanted her for a lover? Oh Lord, yes. Her core contracted with need. “Take
me, Synn.”

His hand on her jaw tightened and he pulled at her bottom
lip to open her to his mouth. She closed her eyes as he teased her, nibbled at
her lips and played with her tongue, melting away the fear and leaving behind
an unbearable need and a very wet pussy. She opened her eyes from his drugging
kiss to see his hands pull aside the edges of her robe to expose her breasts.

“Beautiful.” His brief compliment had her glowing before his
tongue circled her left nipple, the one the audience could see. Who was she
kidding? They could see the other just as well in the mirrors. She’d never,
ever done anything like this. She hadn’t even imagined this as a possibility.
She wanted to run and hide, but her gut said if she wanted Synn, this is how
she would have to take him.

His mouth on her breast distracted her as he nibbled on her
nipple, much like he had done to her lips. She wanted him to suck it into his
mouth and she arched her back, pushing her breast closer. Letting her head fall
to the side, she found people watching her with rapt attention. Their eyes
feasted on her breast where Synn stoked her heat, and her pussy swelled. She
was exotic, mesmerizing them with her sex.

Synn moved to her other breast and she pressed forward into
his mouth. This time he did suck, tweaking the inner nerves of her nipple until
the ache between her legs demanded more. She needed him buried inside her.
“Synn. I want you, now. Please.”

His mouth left her body and he untied her robe. Yes, she
wanted to be naked with him, have his body against her. She glanced at the
audience and gulped. While a couple dozen people watched?

He must have sensed the beginnings of her panic because he
pushed her onto the bed, covered her with his body and kissed her again. He
lifted his head. “I’m stone hard for you.”

His weight pressed her into the mattress and she reveled in
his desire, his cock digging into her thigh. She moved her hips in invitation,
anxious for him to penetrate her folds.

He groaned and lifted away from her.

She glanced at the mirror above them and couldn’t help
admiring his tight ass nestled between her legs. He was undeniably hot. She
turned to the side to see their bodies in profile. Wow. Maybe it was the masks,
but they looked better than a porn movie. Shoring up her courage, she glanced
at the mirror angled for her to see the entire audience. They were literally on
the edge of their seats. One woman had her hand under her own skirts. She and
Synn were a porn movie come alive but with no corny music or stilted dialogue.
And the audience loved them.

That knowledge had her pussy aching with the need for fulfillment.
She returned her gaze to Synn’s. “Now.”

His relief was palatable. He lowered his hips and found her
wet opening with the tip of his cock. In one long, never-ending slide, he
pushed into her.

It had been awhile and she was tight. Her muscles fought the
invasion and latched on to him at the same time. She lifted her hips to take
every inch as he speared her, buried himself deep into her, touching her core.
When he had completed his entry, she could almost hear the audience sigh, but
while they could only watch, she could experience the sheer pleasure.

As he lifted to pull out, her pussy held him, wanting him,
but he slid away. Before she could whimper at his exit, he glided back in to
the hilt, his cock invading her body and making her his. He increased the
rhythm. She bent her knees to meet every thrust with one of her own. The
pounding in her pussy combined with the abrasion of his hair against her clit
and her body tensed, readied itself for release. Her muscles tightened around
him, and he stopped.

“Open your eyes and keep them open.”

She did as he bade, anything to make him continue. In the
mirror behind his shoulder, the full audience observed, still as a photograph
except for the eyes, which stared at their two bodies. As Synn pulled back
again, the gazes moved to his cock and they watched it bury itself deep inside
her pussy. The stimulation of being watched fueled her pleasure, and she ground
her hips into Synn. The audience swallowed in unison at her action, making her
desire raw and overpowering. Her body tightened and pulsed toward the release
it craved. The audience held their collective breaths. Pleasure seeped from her
deep inside and flowed through her, causing her eyes to close. As her orgasm
swept through her, she shuddered, moaning in sheer bliss.

Synn gritted his teeth as Rena’s tight pussy sucked his cum
from his cock. Blast! Refusing to allow his own moan to escape, he pounded into
her again and again, releasing more and more of his seed. He wasn’t supposed to
come. He never did on stage, even back then. This was supposed to be nothing
more than a show. What would the others think if they knew he lost control? He
didn’t deserve this pleasure.

Wrung out, he let his head drop, curious to see Rena had
closed her eyes at last. He had to think. He had to take her back to her room
before she bolted.

“Synn, that was wild.”

He lifted his face to meet her gaze. “That’s because you
enjoyed the experience for what it was, instead of fighting it. There is much
more you can have, but right now we need to put you to bed.”

She squeezed her vaginal muscles, and he sucked in his
breath. “Don’t.”

Her grin faded. “Is everything okay?”

No. He pulled out of her.

“Oh. Too soon.” She stretched like a cat and his cock
reacted. From his peripheral vision he noticed the audience did too. Rena had
no idea how sexy she was, but they did, and they appreciated it fully.

Moving the sheets, he managed to clean himself and pull her
robe beneath her ass. Kneeling back, he brought her to a sitting position and
fed her arms into the sleeves before they wrapped around his neck. She purred,
“Kiss me.”

He couldn’t resist such a request from such a woman, so he
did. The taste of her honey-sweet lips made him crave to discover what her
nether lips would taste like. He planned to find out, but not tonight. Breaking
the kiss, he scooped her up and stood. Turning to the audience, he made a brief
bow with her in his arms.

At their silent applause, she stiffened.

He needed to put her to bed before she regretted her
appearance tonight. “I told you, you were perfect.”

She gazed at him with such insecurity in her eyes that a
strong need to reassure her flooded him. He bent his head and kissed her,
forcing her to open to his searching tongue. When her heartbeat increased
significantly, he gentled, kissed the corners of her lips and exited the stage.

He strolled through the rooms with her in his arms.

“Synn?”

“Yes?” He started up the stairs to the second floor.

“You do realize you’re naked, right?”

He squelched the smile threatening to form. “Yes.”

“So you know you are walking naked through the Abbey and
anyone can see you?”

“Yes.” He opened her door and strolled to her bed.

“Aren’t you worried Valerie or Mrs. McMurray might see you?”

He sat on her mattress with her on his lap. “I don’t think
your friend Valerie cares a whit what I look like naked. And as for the ghosts,
they’ve all seen me naked before, so I’m not concerned.”

She played with his hair, which he found very arousing. She
had to realize how it felt to him because his erection pressed into her ass.

She licked her full lips. “Have you done this before?”

Ah, and now to the quicksand. “I would like to know if you
enjoyed yourself?”

She looked away. “I think that was obvious, don’t you?”

“Rena, don’t turn away. What we did was beautiful. What
those people witnessed pleased them.”

Her fingers fiddled with her belt. “But that was…not
normal.”

He linked his fingers with hers, stilling them. “Because
people watched?”

She nodded.

Damn. He wanted to reassure her and kiss her and keep her safe
all at once, but he had to think of the others. “Sexual experiences are not bad
in and of themselves as long as those who participate are willing. No one was
forced to view us.” He smirked. “Except maybe those two men who couldn’t stop
watching you.”

Her head snapped up. “What two men?”

“The ones you pinched your nipple to. I don’t think they
even blinked, and who could blame them? I enjoyed watching you orgasm as well.
When you let yourself enjoy, the feeling is increased.”

She studied him with such intensity, he was reminded she was
a novice. “There are many more experiences to be had downstairs, but for now
you need your rest.”

She avoided his gaze. “I’m pretty tired. I think you wore me
out.”

He stood and laid her on the bed. “Glad I could be of service.”
He brushed a featherlight kiss across her lips before heading for the door.

The rustling of her sheets as she made herself comfortable
had his blasted cock paying attention again. He had lifted the latch when her
sleepy voice reached him.

“In the Purple Room.”

He looked over his shoulder. “Beg your pardon?”

“Your clothes.” She lifted the sheet farther beneath her
chin. “They’re in the Purple Room.”

He hesitated before giving her a nod, then closed the door.

Ignoring his state of undress, he ascended the stairs two at
a time until he reached his haven. Stepping onto the roof, he braced himself
against the cold. Good. Maybe now his rampant dick would behave. Striding
across the wall-walk, he let the cool air do its work.

How the hell was he supposed to take her through all the
rooms when he orgasmed in the bloody Exhibition Room? The second damn room. He
was no novice. He had spent years before the Red Death enjoying numerous and
various sexual pleasures, from orgies to sexual implements, and had never lost
control, not once. He had been known for his control. If he came in every room
and his friends found out, what would they think? They’d think he couldn’t do
it. They’d fear that he would take her anywhere instead of through the Pleasure
Rooms in order with no sex in between as was required. He didn’t want anything
to crush their hope.

He turned and strode back along the battlements. It had to
be the timeframe. He hadn’t had sex in over a hundred and fifty years. Maybe
now that he had spilled his seed, he would have more restraint. It had simply
been too long. It made sense that he lost control. What man wouldn’t? As the
reason for his unusual behavior found solid ground, his heartbeat slowed, but
his shivers increased.