A kilted Vampire gripped my arm and whisked me into a private hall. “What’s the matter with you?” Christian asked.
“I’m about to have a heatstroke.”
“Funny, it feels quite cool to me,” he said, waggling his eyebrows. “Why don’t I escort the lady outside for some fresh air?”
Christian’s pace was rushed. Had Blue and Romeo left the room? We walked down a long corridor and swung left. The moment we stepped outside and I felt the crisp air against my skin, I kicked off my shoes.
“You might need those,” Christian murmured, turning to face me.
“Why don’t you squeeze your feet into those tiny little coffins with heels and tell me how wonderful they are.”
“Who was the peckerhead you were talking to in there?”
I shrugged. “A gentleman.”
“Ah yes, one of those. You can’t trust a phantom.”
I furrowed my brow, staring off at the bushes.
Christian waved his hand in front of my face.
It didn’t seem worth mentioning that Wyatt had lifted up his skirt in the front and was draining his bagpipe in an official’s backyard.
When the back door opened and a couple appeared, Christian pinned me against the house, his body pressed close. We couldn’t do much with the masks, but he caressed my shoulder and put on a show.
“This night is beautiful,” Blue said, arm in arm with the jester. “I feel like I’m in a dream.” The door closed behind them, and they moved farther out.
“It is, but it could be even more beautiful. May I remove your mask?”
My body stiffened when I recognized Glass’s voice. It really hadn’t struck me until that moment how betrayed and deceived I felt. I fought to rein it in so he wouldn’t pick up my scent.
I glanced where Wyatt had been pissing and didn’t see him anymore.
“Stay still,” Christian hissed, his hands on my body like a familiar dream.
“Your beauty surpasses the stars,” Glass said.
I rolled my eyes into the back of my head, and Christian gave me a body nudge.
“Now you,” Blue urged. “I want to see my Romeo.”
The silence was unbearable. I tried to peek around Christian, but he held me in place, his hand creeping behind my thigh and sending warm tingles in all the wrong places.
“Well?” she asked. “Why am I the only one revealing myself? I thought you and I had a connection.”
“People are not always who they seem, Tabitha.”
That was the name Wyatt had given for Blue. Since we didn’t know what Romeo’s preferences were, we’d told him she was a Mage. Maybe that was what he preferred.
“I don’t care about looks,” she said. “Did you wear a mask with the other women you met online?”
“Keep your voice down,” he said. “No one needs to know our business.” Then his tone smoothed out like melted caramel. “Maybe I’m hesitating because we’ve had a real conversation. The masks have given us the chance to know each other on an intimate level, and I don’t want to lose that feeling. Why don’t we leave the party and go to my house? I can cook you dinner.”
I tried to move, but Christian nibbled my ear.
“Not until you remove your mask,” she said.
“Only if you don’t run.”
