“So was Tony difficult to walk away from?” Alex asked.
Claire’s eyes widened behind her beautiful, ornate mask. “Impossible would be a better word.”
“And you were all right with that?” I asked.
“Oh, Lorna, it’s a long story, but I would say that I’m undoubtedly the best thing that ever happened to Anthony Rawlings.”
We all laughed.
“I tell Nox that all the time,” Alex said.
The three of us chatted until nearly eleven thirty. Once I realized the time, I stood and said, “I really must be going.” After goodbyes, I began to make my way toward the entrance to the house.
With twinkling lights lining the sidewalk, I made my way around the winding path.
“They crossed.”
I sucked in a breath as my mystery man walked from the shadows. He was as handsome as I’d made him up to be in my mind. “Our paths?” I asked.
He reached for my hand and tugged me toward the art gallery. The room was now empty of guests because the real excitement was in the dance hall. Circles of light lined the perimeter coming from the small bulbs over each work of art. By the time we came to a stop, the corset felt too tight, and I was out of breath.
With my back against the wall, the man came to a stop in front of me. While I was caged by his strength and at his mercy, I didn’t feel in danger. Instead, with his proximity and masculine scent of his cologne, combined with the champagne I drank, I felt a sense of safety. As if he wasn’t caging me but wrapping me in a cocoon.
My gaze was on his tie and the way the starched white shirt fit over his chest. Tipping my chin upward, I took in his wide neck, bobbing Adam’s apple, square chin, sensual lips, and kaleidoscope orbs. My smile grew. “I’m glad.”
“That they crossed?”
I nodded.
“I shouldn’t be here” —he looked from side to side— “but I hoped I’d find you. I wanted to...”
“Say goodbye?”
As he grasped my chin, his thumb caressed my cheek. “No, Lorna, to see you again.”
I inclined my cheek toward his touch. “I’d love to see you too beneath that mask.” Warmth filled my cheeks.
His breathing deepened. “I’d like to see beneath more than your mask.” His gaze slowly moved over my body. “You’re so fucking gorgeous.” His eyes met mine as he again twirled a strand of my curls in his fingers. “You’re dressed like a princess, but damn, your hair is beautiful. You belong in the sea.”
“The sea?”
“My cousins used to watch a cartoon with a mermaid. Your soft skin” —he again caressed my cheek— “your red hair. I want to see under that dress to be sure you have legs.”
I shook my head, remembering telling Mason I was a fish out of water. “I do.”
He took a small step back, releasing my face. “Fuck...sorry. It sounds stupid, like a line. I don’t do lines. I haven’t gotten you out of my head since we kissed. Can...may we...?”
I stepped forward and, reaching for his broad shoulders, I brought my lips to his. This time, there was no awkward movement as we connected. In an instant, I was backed against the wall. A moan escaped my throat as his tongue teased the seam of my lips.
With haggard breaths, I allowed him entry. My lips bruised and our tongues danced as our bodies pressed against one another—the hardness of his against the softness of mine.
Large and small.
Hard and soft.
Dark and light.
Danger and mundane.
Our differences might have appeared too overwhelming, yet as my body molded toward his, and as his hands roamed my waist and the roundness of my breasts, everything felt perfect.
In a world of burning fires, a blaze ignited inside of me.
Like the sounding of a great clock, my phone’s alarm began to beep.
“What is that?” he asked.
“Oh, I need to leave.”
He pulled me close for one more kiss. “I don’t know when, but I want to see you again.”
I shook my head. “I can’t. I don’t live here or belong here. I’m not the kind of woman a man like you would want.”
His grip tightened around my wrist. “Lorna, you’re exactly that woman.”
Pressing my lips together, I shook my head. “I need to go.” I reached for his large hand. “But in that world of cartoons and princes, you should know, you’ll forever be my Prince Charming.”
With that I took off toward the front of the house. I ran past guests and servers. Tears threatened my vision, yet I moved forward, afraid to look back. When I made it to the street out of breath, Bruno was there, waiting with the door to the SUV open.
“Ms. Pierce, are you all right?”
I nodded as the tears won the battle and streamed down my cheeks.
Looking up at the mansion, I swallowed, wondering if I was crying over the end of a fantasy or the loss of my mystery man.
Once we were both inside the car and Bruno was seated in the driver’s seat, he turned. “Miss, should I call Mr. Sparrow or Mr. Pierce?”
“No. I’m all right. It’s time for this car to turn back into a pumpkin.”
10
“You look like something the cat dragged in,” Anna said as she entered the open door of room 225 with a cigarette in her hand.
My patience was lost sometime during the changing of my clothes in a back seat, long drive to the airport, red-eye flight, or maybe the two total hours of sleep I managed during all of that. “Why are you here? It’s Sunday.”
“Left the brats at home with Howard. I needed a break.” She grinned. “I heard there was a party in 317.” She shook her head. “Real mess.”
“Marcia has the third floor.”
“Yeah, about that, she called in. You have the whole place.”
I let out a sigh as I tilted my head back. “Anna, I can’t clean all the rooms. You need to help.”
She flicked ash onto the carpet. “Sorry, sis. Below my pay grade.”
“Anna,” a deep voice I recognized called from the walkway outside the room.
Quickly, she threw her cigarette down onto the concrete, stomped it out with the toe of her shoe, blew the smoke away, and smoothed her shirt. “Mason.” Her voice was uncharacteristically high. “Long time no see.” Her lips curled in an unearthly smile. “Looking good.”
He came around the corner, looking more like himself than the man in the tuxedo. He was wearing blue jeans, a black t-shirt, and cowboy boots. “I came to get my sister.”
“Ah...me?” Anna asked.
“No.” I dropped the mop I’d been holding. “Me.”
“You can’t leave. Your shift isn’t up.”
“She quits,” Mason said.
“Is this you kidnapping me?” I asked with a grin.
He winked and turned to Anna. “Lorna’s done.”
“She was covering for Jane. If Lorna leaves, Jane is fired.”
“No,” he said matter-of-factly. “If you fire Jane, you’ll be cleaning this dump all by yourself. And I spoke to the owner.”
“Right,” she replied and rolled her eyes.