Chapter 2
The Honorable Duncan Cavendish stood in the corner of the massive room, arms folded and eyes narrowed. The Donville Masquerade was busy tonight, filled with people seeking pleasure behind the protection of a mask. And they were finding it, whether at gaming tables or with each other. Already the behavior in the main hall had devolved into sexual passion, with couples grinding and kissing and so much more.
Normally Duncan would have been playing right alongside the rest. He enjoyed pleasure, he sought it out regularly. But recent events had tempered his senses and made everything around him feel…stale.
“Oh, the frown on you.”
Duncan turned and watched as his old friend Marcus Rivers approached. Rivers owned the Donville Masquerade, as well as managed it. Duncan liked the man, but his profession made him the kind of person who could read others, and tonight Duncan didn’t need his all-seeing stare.
“Rivers,” he grunted, and slugged back half his drink.
Rivers clapped him on the arm. “Am I right to assume that your bad mood has to do with Vanessa?”
Duncan flinched at the mention of his mistress, with whom he had parted ways recently. Truth be told, he hadn’t thought of her much during that time. Their affair had been brief and passionate, and then all of it had cooled. That was the way of it.
“No, Vanessa and I parted ways amicably,” Duncan said. “I have no difficulty with her.”
Rivers arched a brow, almost like he didn’t understand. Duncan supposed he didn’t. It was well known that the notorious club owner had recently married the sister of the Duke of Hartholm and was deeply in love with the lady.
“Then what brings you to my halls to drink and glower?” Rivers asked.
Duncan let out his breath slowly. “I’ve made a devil’s bargain.”
Rivers’ mouth lifted in a sardonic smile. “Isn’t that what the devil does?”
Duncan shook his head. “This time I am not the devil, I’m afraid. And I find little humor in the situation.”
Rivers nodded slowly. “But that’s why you came here tonight, isn’t it? To drown your sorrows in everything going on around you right now?”
Duncan looked around a second time. The heat in the room had increased, and he heard music from the back room where ladies would be performing for the gathered crowd. Certainly Rivers was right—Duncan was surrounded by pleasure. It was foolish to just stand around wallowing in his irritation about the turn his life had unexpectedly taken.
“You’re right. Moping about a future I cannot change is no use. I should enjoy the time I have left before things change.”
Rivers wrinkled his brow and then nodded as he motioned toward the floor. “Off you go then. But if you’d like to talk…please don’t hesitate to find me. I do not reveal the secrets of my friends, and I offer advice only when it is requested.”
Duncan reached out a hand and Rivers shook it. “Thank you, my friend. I’ll keep it in mind.”
He left the hell owner and eased his way through the crowd, seeking out what exactly, he didn’t know. He needed a distraction, but the usual flirtatious ladies who met his eyes and held there did not attract him. He didn’t want some jaded woman who echoed his own dissatisfaction with the world in general. He wanted something…different.
He couldn’t seem to find it, and at last he sighed. He wasn’t in the right mood tonight. He should just go home, drink himself into a stupor and try to forget.
He turned toward the exit, and as he took a step toward it, he stopped. A woman had just entered the main room from the outside. She was lovely, with chestnut brown hair piled high on her head. She was petite, but with lush curves that made his mouth water.
She wore a lavender silk gown with a dark purple sash. The neckline was deep, revealing the gentle swell of lovely breasts. Her mask was plain and she lifted a trembling hand to adjust it as she scanned the room. He saw her eyes go wide, the bright blue lessened as her pupils dilated.
The flush on her cheeks at the wild activity around her seemed genuine…and innocent. He found himself moving toward her another step, drawn like a moth to a flame. Not caring if he was burned, he just needed to get a little closer.
She glanced his way and her spine straightened as she caught him staring. Her breasts lifted as if she had sucked in a breath, and then her tongue darted out to wet her lips. His cock, unaffected by the sex going on around him, went hard at that lovely little movement.
He took the last step to close the distance between them and bowed slightly toward her. “Good evening.”
For a moment, her gaze flitted over him. Head to toe, like she was judging him. Then she cleared her throat. “G-good evening.”
“I do not think I’ve seen you here before,” he drawled.
Her lashes flitted as she blinked up at him. “We all wear masks, sir.”
“Indeed, we do,” he said with a purse of his lips.
