Midnight at the Masquerade (2 page)

She didn’t stop him as he pulled the collar of her gown away. The fabric dipped low, exposing the curve of her breasts. A wicked smile played at his lips as he took the rose from her hand and traced its delicate petals across her collarbone. He pulled his dress down further, revealing the entire swell of her breasts. He caressed the rose softly against her chest, sending shivers spiraling through her body. Her knees went weak, and before she knew it, he had her in his arms. He brought her back against the banister and held her there.

Krista tried to catch her breath, but it caught in her mouth as he brought his lips against her jaw and traced his way down her chest. He followed quickly with his tongue, licking softly. He flicked his tongue unhurriedly across her nipple, tempting, teasing. A delightful chill crawled over her skin as he blew on her nipples, wet from his tongue. Slowly, he took her breast in his mouth, cupping the other with his hand. She felt her nipple grow hard in his mouth.

He pushed up the folds of her dress, tracing his hands up her thighs. His fingers inched toward the hem of her panties and she shivered. A moan of delight passed her lips, and a cheer erupted from below. Krista turned her head to see the crowd watching them from the lower floor. Her pulse quickened and she tried to push him away. He didn’t budge, too lost in his lust to notice.

People were watching and he didn’t even care! Why should
she
care? She had a mask on. No one knew who she was, except Randi, and he’d disappeared up to the third floor with his own masked lover. Besides, everyone watching seemed to be enjoying the show.

She was center stage now, and it excited her. Krista tried to relax in his arms, but her nerves were electric and she couldn’t check her breathing. He seemed to sense her hesitation and stopped short. He gave her a quizzical look, which she couldn’t decipher through the mask he wore. She was surprised when he let her go and turned away.

“Wait!” she gasped, breathless. “Where are you going?”

He moved away from her quickly and with surprising grace. He turned to look at her over his shoulder, then dramatically threw his cape back and stepped on to the gallery railing. Before Krista could reach him, he leapt from the gallery and landed softly in the garden below.

He stared up at her and she could tell he was smiling behind the mask. He crooked his finger slowly, a universal sign that she should follow him. She hesitated for just a moment, sagacity holding her in place. She didn’t know this man. She didn’t even seem to know herself… and strangely it didn’t matter.

Maybe Randi’s impromptu speech had gotten to her, or maybe she’d been too long without a lover. After all, AAA batteries and a vivid imagination could only do so much to sedate a woman’s sexual appetite. The throbbing between her legs was a testament to that. Before she could make up her mind, he started down a darkened cobblestone path. He bled into the shadows and night engulfed him.

It took Krista a moment to regain her faculties, a moment longer to regain her composure. “Damn it! He took my panties,” she whispered, unsure how he even accomplished such a feat.

She hadn’t realized the music had died down to a soft background melody. It started up again as she smoothed her hair back and rearranged her dress. She wanted to slip away from the party’s onlookers without notice and find the stranger, but that seemed impossible now. A hundred faceless eyes stared back at her from the sea of glittering masks. She felt a blush bloom in her cheeks and creep down her neck.

With as much pride as she could muster, she readjusted her mask and turned away from the crowd that had gathered to watch from below. The French doors were opened to the gallery, where her mysterious would-be lover had disappeared. Just as well, she supposed. It wasn’t like her to lose her composure, but something about the masked man had her head spinning. She should probably leave before she did something really foolish.

She glanced at the enormous grandfather clock on the other side of the interior balcony. Not quite eleven o’clock. She scanned the crowd for Randi, she should at least tell him goodbye before she left his party.

“I heard you’re the star of the show,” Randi said, startling her. He appeared beside her, looking slightly disheveled. His lips were kiss-swollen, eyes glassy with lust. “Figured I’d better show my face before people started to forget whose party it was.”

“Oh my God, someone recognized me?” Krista asked, ignoring his joke. Embarrassment blistered her cheeks and unease swirled in her stomach like hot lava.

“Calm down. You’re the only beautiful, enigmatic woman in a golden gown. Besides, who cares if they did? You seemed to be enjoying yourself.”

Krista ran a hand down her stomach, relief like a flood washing through her body. Her knees trembled and she gripped the banister to steady herself. What was wrong with her? She was acting so out of character.

“I thought you’d be locked away in your room for the rest of the night,” she said, tossing a smile over her shoulder at Randi. She had to pull it together before Randi caught on. She was not going to ruin his party.

“I easily could have been,” he laughed breezily. “But, alas, it’s time for cake.”

He took Krista by the hand and she allowed him to lead her down the stairs, across the ballroom to the refreshment table. The revilers cheered as they passed. She ignored the catcalls and wolf whistles as she pushed her way through the crowd.

They’re cheering for the birthday boy
, she tried to reason, but deep down she knew they were cheering for her earlier performance. That knowledge made her both embarrassed and excited, and she couldn’t decipher which emotion had clout over the other.

“Don’t you dare let me catch you sneaking off to the library,” he warned softly.

She did feel safer among rows of books than people. After her little scene with the stranger, it didn’t seem like such a bad idea: hiding away in the empty library, losing herself in a long novel. Besides, she was sure Randi would be too busy doing his own sneaking to catch her doing anything.

“Of course not, peach.”

“I’m serious, Krista,” he said, wiggling the cake knife at her for emphasis.

“Careful with that thing, Aramis.”

“He always was my favorite, you know.”

She smiled at her devilishly handsome friend. She couldn’t stand to see him disappointed, let alone tell him a lie. “All for one.” She pecked his cheek and scanned the room. “And all for cake, it looks like,” she said with a laugh and gestured to the growing crowd around the table.

As the candles were lit and the cake was cut, Krista found it easier than she’d expected to slip away from Randi and through the horde of hungry merrymakers. Her mind was on anything but cake. How had she allowed herself to be seduced by a stranger?

“Let it go,” she whispered to herself and strolled into the balmy night. She needed some air.

Despite herself, she found her way into the garden. As much as she tried to tell herself to leave it alone, she couldn’t help the desire throbbing through her veins like a drug. She wanted to see him again. She needed to see him… Whoever
he
was.

The garden was dark, the moon nothing more than a silver sliver in a black sky. Krista followed the cobblestone path, winding her way around bubbling stone fountains and bushes heavy with blooms. She walked deeper into the darkness, but caught no sign of the man. Her heart sank. Maybe he’d left. Maybe he was too embarrassed to walk through the crowd of onlookers just as she had been. She stared up at the grand manor. Had anything so scandalous ever happened in the centuries old house?

Just as she turned to leave, a figure caught her eye. A lone silhouette on a bench in the center of the courtyard, hidden beneath the weeping branches of a massive willow.

Krista’s heart fluttered against her ribs as she dashed toward the bench. It was him! He hadn’t left her. She slowed to a stroll as she drew closer, trying to quiet her nerves.

Left her?
What was she thinking? He hadn’t come to the party to see her… had he?

“I’ve been waiting for you,” he whispered, and his words fell as softly as raindrops against her skin. A precarious smiled danced across his lips, his eyes dark with untold secrets.

He pulled something from his pocket. “I figured you’d come looking for these.”

Krista looked at the tangle of black cloth in his hands and embarrassment burned her cheeks. If she’d known she’d be having a late-night tryst with a mysterious masked man, she would have worn something sexier.

“Who are you?” she asked, because she couldn’t think of anything better to say and because she couldn’t help feeling like she knew this man.

He shook his head, refusing to say anything more. He stood and took her by the hands, directing her to the bench. He eased her onto the cold stone carefully, almost tenderly. She didn’t try to stop him. She didn’t want to stop him.

She needed this, needed him. Wanted him in a way she couldn’t explain. Though his hands were rough without the gloves, his touch was unexpectedly gentle as he moved his long fingers over her skin. He caressed her slowly, cautiously, with more tenderness than she’d ever known.

She found herself breathless as she studied the man behind the mask. There was enough light for her to make out a few details, like the dark brown of his eyes and the gentle swell of his thin lips. He brushed those soft lips against her cheek, but still, the masquerader refused to remove his disguise.

Krista shutter as a shiver of raw pleasure skittered over her skin like snowflakes. He pushed his mask up just enough to expose his mouth, and she reached for it unable to sate her curiosity any longer. He caught her hand in his and shook his head, his pink lips frowning behind the smiling mask.

She looked away, embarrassed, but he caught her face in his hand bringing it perilously close to his mouth. And then his lips were on hers, kissing deeply, passionately. Her lips parted and he took the invitation, slipping is hot velvet tongue into her mouth. He traced his thick fingers down her neck, and his lips followed. His mouth lingered at the hollow of her throat, sucking gently on the throbbing vein resting on her collarbone.

She sucked in a fractured breath. He laughed, cast a glance at her, and she could almost read his thoughts. Dark, lusty, thoughts. He wanted more than a few playful kisses.

So did she…

His hands were warm and surprisingly gentle as he undressed her. Eager fingers moving over her, he worked the fabric away from her skin, with careful movements. She was joyously aware of every sensation, the way his dark eyes sparkled behind his white mask, the musk of his sweat and her desire mingling with the warm night air, the symphony of frogs and cicadas bellowing from the bayou beyond. And the feel of his skin on hers…

She felt the blood leave her head and flow to her abdomen, then lower, making her full and hot… and wet. The heat that started in the pit of her stomach radiated to her clit, and she could fell it swelling with anticipation. The urgency was unexpected and uncontrollable. She had ignored her womanly desires for far too long.

He trailed a string of kisses between her breasts, gently pushing away her bodice as his hands journeyed lower. She’d dreamed of a moment like this, a moment of absolute desire, complete surrender. Her fingers crawled up his neck, searching for something to hold on to. His touch made her ache with a want she’d never known. He circled her nipple with his tongue, then his lips closed around it and he sucked gently. Every second was both agonizing and glorious.

Krista slipped her arms out of the dress and it fell away, leaving her naked and exposed. The stranger sucked in a ragged breath.

“Simply beautiful,” he whispered and traced his fingers down her milky white stomach. Slowly, carefully, he inched down her stomach with his mouth only to linger there before he plucked a long, cream feather from her mask. He traced the soft plume across her nipples, down her stomach, over her clit.

Krista sighed as he took her legs in his hands and draped them on either side of the bench so he could venture lower. She spread her legs further, allowing him to slide a finger inside her wet folds. He curled his finger inside her, sending heat through her body. He slipped another finger in, then cupped her clit with his hand, massaging it with his palm while he fingered her. Desire pulsed in her veins, making her hot, reckless. A moan slipped passed her lips. The sound must have delighted him, because he probed harder, faster, stroking her clit more deliberately. His intentions were unmasked. He wanted to make her come, and she was so close to complying. She trembled as a wave of desire took her.