Goose bumps break out along my skin, the hairs on the nape of my neck standing on end. I’ve definitely been forced to confront who I may really be and what I may actually want.
“You’re so close, Jasper. Closer than you know.”
I swallow thickly as the bite of the chilling air mixes with the heat building inside. His other hand moves lower, brushing over my cock through my jeans.
“It’s inside you. You feel it, don’t you? The pull. The hunger, deeper than you ever imagined.” His voice is smooth, seductive. It slides through me like velvet and ice.
“That’s not—”
His grip tightens around my thickening length, and I buck into his palm.
Goddamn it . . .
He leans down, his lips to my ear. “Tonight, after dinner, I’m going to show you how far you can really go.”
Fuck.
“And you are going to wear your mask.”
My gut churns. I haven’t worn it since the club that night. Since I had control, strutting like I owned the fucking world.
But now . . . the thought of putting it back on fills me with a sick sense of foreboding, like I’ll disappear the moment it covers my face. And why do I get this feeling that everything we’ve done before was . . . pretend?
A game.
Some sort of warm-up to whatever Adrian has planned tonight.
“Why?”
“Because it’s time, Jasper.”
Something in his tone makes my chest tighten. He steps away, withdrawing his hand, and I turn to face the house again. It looms over me, shrouded in mist and shadow. The old walls seem to breathe, waiting, watching as I take the first steps back toward their depths.
“Come, let’s go back inside.”
I follow, knowing that whatever’s coming, there’s no running from it. No hiding from who I am.
Or who I’m about to become.
Chapter 11
The flickering candlelight in the mirrored ballroom fucks with my head as I walk in, the silk robe brushing against my skin. Not to mention the suffocating sensation beneath the mask.
My mask.
The one that once made me feel invincible, untouchable—now it grips my face like a vise, trapping me, making each breath harder, shorter. The edges of the black and gold skull dig into my skin, a reminder of who I used to be when I wore it. The man who controlled every gaze, every touch.
But here . . .
Fuck, here I’m not sure who I am anymore.
The room stretches endlessly—mirrors line every wall. And there’s an audience, all standing in neat rows, masked and silent. Their eyes—if they even have eyes—follow my every step as Adrian leads me to the center of the ballroom.
His touch is possessive, and a reminder I’m not the one in control. My pulse quickens as he unties the robe, letting it fallto the floor. I’m naked beneath, my cock already half hard. My hands twitch, desperate to cover myself.
“Leave them by your sides, Jasper. They want to see.”
“Kinky bastards.”
