I try again, louder, as I roll onto my tiptoes to speak closer to their ears. “Excuse me.”
Nothing.
What the hell?
Now they’re starting to piss me off because I know for a fact that they heard me and are choosing to be assholes. This party is not for douchebags.
My voice is a near shout over the music playing around us as I try once more before I plan on shoving them out of my way. “Excuse me!”
My shoulders are tense, and I’m breathing heavy as they once again ignore me.
Have I entered the twilight zone?
Am I a ghost and no one around can hear me? I feel like I’m starting to lose my mind, and frustration is flooding my body as my eyelids fall to half-mast.
I stomp my foot. “For the love of God?—”
“Serena.”
A single, sensual utterance stops me mid-sentence.
The deep and familiar tone sends a shiver slitheringdown my spine and sets me on fire. I’ve only heard that voice once—in the video of my front-door camera.
I’m frozen in place; my senses heighten, and I can hear my erratic heartbeat as my palms start to sweat.
The two men in front of me turn around, their faces nearly covered by their neck gaiters and baseball caps, the only exposed features being their eyes. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that these guys are withhim.
The hair on the back of my neck stands on end, and I swallow hard. A slight brush—almost so subtle that I don’t notice it—strokes my shoulders, and a shudder tears through me.
He’s standingrightbehind me.
Nerves rattle me to the core, and I contemplate running for the hills because, my God, I am so far out of my element. But it’s too late. I’ve been playing his game this long; I can’t stop now. I may be slightly terrified, but I don’t want whatever we have to end.
Gradually, I take a shaky breath and pivot on my heel, spinning around slowly. My neck cranes back almost as far as it will go as I look straight up into the glowing red heart eyes of the mask I’ve come to know.
My stomach twists into knots, and I’m suddenly second-guessing all my life decisions that have led me to this moment. But there’s an ache in my core, a beacon calling out to him that I can’t ignore. My body is humming, every nerve stretching out desperately to feel his touch. It’s embarrassing, but, hell, I couldn’t care less about my pride right now.
His head kicks to the side like a curious dog, and I feel his eyes studying me, sweeping down my body. Even whilehis face is hidden behind the mask, I can feel his gaze like a scorching hot touch.
My eyes wander as greedily as his, my knees weakening more and more as I study the brown waves flowing back from behind his mask to his thick neck and broad, toned shoulders. His red T-shirt is drawn taut over his muscled arms and chest, flowing down his torso, and with each breath he takes, the material outlines the ridges of his abs.
It’s a shame that attractiveness plays a part in our body’s fight-or-flight mode because I’m not running anywhere and I’m certainly not going to fight him. I’m fully ready to accept whatever fate he has for me, one way or another, because there’s only one F-word I want to do right now, and it’s neither of those.
My mouth waters at the thought. This man issohot, and I have yet to see his face. Honestly, I’m pretty open to whatever he looks like. Nothing is going to ruin the butterflies soaring inside my stomach. Somehow though, I know that he’s just as hot under that mask as the rest of him is.
He clears his throat, a deep rumble pulling my attention back up to his eyes, where they’re concealed behind a soft red glow, and my cheeks burn intensely. Whoops … I didn’t realize how long I was ogling him.
Tension grows as neither of us makes a move or says a word. His mask tips down, and his eyes perfectly align with my chest. A bizarre wave of confidence comes over me out of nowhere. It’s not only him who holds power in this dynamic. I clearly affect him in the same way he affects me.
Batting my eyelashes at him, I bite my bottom lip. “I would say your name back, but I don’t know it.”
Stretching his hand out slowly, he runs his pointer finger along my hairline, down past my cheek, and under my chin, tipping my head back even further. “You don’t need to.Not yet.”
I swear I could get off from only the sound of his voice. It’s so goddamn attractive. The way he has already nuzzled inside my mind, creating a pocket that only he occupies, makes me feel even crazier than before.
I wet my lips. “That seems unfair.”
He chuckles darkly, and my core pulses with need. “I never said I play fair.”
