LITMIR.BIZ

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swaying in time with the music. But Lainey could have died right that second and been the happiest person on earth. Even in the whole Milky Way. This was the night of her dreams...but hopefully with a dirtier ending.

      “You know what this means, don’t you?” he asked.

      “What?” She tilted her face up to his.

      “We need to leave together.” He’d bowed his head, his lips brushing her ear as the gravelly words made her knees go weak. “In case people are watching.”

      “Of course.”

      Damian held her close, his hand smoothing over her lower back, exposed by her dress. “No protest? I could be anyone.”

      “So could I.” Her fingertips found his jaw, tracing the hard angle softened by smooth skin. “But that’s the whole point of a masquerade ball. We get to be anyone we want for a night.”

      “Why did you come here?”

      “I was hoping to get swept off my feet.” She grinned. “But a fake proposal will have to do.”

      “If memory serves me correctly, I literally did sweep you off your feet. I might even have saved your foot.”

      “That’s not what I meant.”

      His forehead pressed against hers, mask to mask. Beads brushed her skin as she tilted up to him, her lips hovering a hairbreadth from his.

      “What did you mean, Ariel? You wanted a man who was going to whisk you away to his castle and turn you into a princess?”

      “No.” She shook her head. “I wanted a man who was going to treat me like a queen right now. A fantasy for one night—that’s all I want.”

      Something stormy and electric shifted in his eyes, his lips tightening. But Damian wasn’t a man to hide his feelings. His hands shifted lower, cupping her behind and pressing her flush against him. He was harder than an algebra exam.

      “One night?” he growled in her ear. “And nothing more?”

      “I promise to turn into a pumpkin at twelve on the dot.” She dented her lower lip with her teeth, desperate to rub against him—to get the friction her body cried out for—but trying not to draw attention to them any more than they already had. This obviously wasn’t the kind of dancing the Carmina Ball was used to. “Then you’ll never hear from me again.”

      “That’s really what you want?”

      No. She wanted what he’d said—for him to whisk her away and make her his. For that proposal to be real. For the lust in his eyes to be something more. But Lainey was a pragmatist, if nothing else. And she knew there was no point wanting what she couldn’t have.

      “Yes,” she lied. “That’s exactly what I want.”

      His hands dropped suddenly and she stepped back, her body raging at the loss of contact. Her need chanted like a drumbeat in her bloodstream: more, more, more. The rushing sound in her ears drowned out the rest of the ballroom, her focus narrowing to him. Only him.

      He was like a strange man-god hybrid in his black tuxedo and mask. The curve of the design highlighted his perfect nose—aquiline and aristocratic—the black leather making him darkly handsome. His lips formed a smile that sent a tremor through her. It wasn’t friendly, wasn’t romantic or caring or any of the other smiles she’d seen in the past. It was predatory. Delicious.

      “Let’s go.” He held out his hand. “Now.”

      Lainey glanced around the room—the ball was coming to an end. Guests were already leaving, though the waiters still lingered with drinks on their trays. “Now?”

      “Right now. I’ve done enough business for one night.” He grabbed her hand and pulled her to his side, his head dropping down to her ear. “And if we don’t finish this soon, I’m liable to drag you behind one of those potted plants in the next few seconds.”

      “That could be fun,” she teased.

      “I don’t like being quiet, Ariel.” Each word tugged on her nerves. He was playing her like a harp. “When I’m inside you, I want to make as much noise as I can so you know how incredible you feel wrapped around my cock.”

      Her breath stuttered. Holy. Freaking. Shit. Damian wasn’t a man god—he was pure sexual divinity. That one sentence had taken her from being excited and warm on the inside to drenching her lacy underwear. He was right, they had to go now. Because that potted plant was starting to look like the perfect place to be.

      “Hurry up, then.” She strode away from him. “Time’s a-wasting.”

      Chuckling, he followed her to the front of Patterson House. The grand foyer was a sight to behold—an intricate parquet floor gleaming under an enormous chandelier that looked like something straight out of a royal palace. Two security guards stood by the front door, but Lainey couldn’t tell if they were the ones who’d caught them on the balcony.

      They joined a short queue of people leaving the building, and Lainey tapped her foot impatiently.

      “Good evening, sir,” a man in a dark suit said as they reached the front of the line. “Can we get you a car or do you have one booked?”

      Damian nodded. “A car would be great, thank you.”

      The man stepped out onto the path that framed the circular driveway in front of the estate and raised a hand. A moment later, a black limousine appeared.

      She’d never been in a limo before—never had a reason to. Her life hadn’t been littered with special occasions that required fancy dresses and fancy cars and drivers who held the door.

      “After you.” Damian motioned for her to enter first.

      She slid onto the seat as elegantly as she could, the length of her dress in one hand and her clutch in the other. Damian followed her, and the bang of the door filled her with electricity. With excitable, nervous energy. She pulled her grandmother’s compact out of her bag and touched up her gloss, because she had no idea what was supposed to happen next.

      Her plans had never taken her this far, because, in the back of her mind, she’d been certain she would fail. Or be discovered. Or that he would have no interest in her, even with the disguise.

      But he did.

      “They went all out,” she said, snapping the compact shut and running her thumb over the embroidery. “Limousines for that many guests must have cost a fortune.”

      “Well, the ticket holders pay for it, really. Not that you would know that.” His lip quirked. “How did you get past security, anyway?”

      “I would tell you, but...” She shrugged. “You know how it goes.”

      “Blood and mayhem and all that.”

      “Exactly. Don’t make me ruin such a pretty dress.”

      “If that dress is going to be ruined, it won’t be by bloodshed. Trust me.” He leaned back and stretched his arm along the back of the leather seat. The pose—coupled with the way his gaze burned her up—was so unabashedly male. She’d always envied his confidence in the space he occupied. “Now the mask, on the other hand—”

      “It’s staying on.” She’d come too far to ruin it now. Her body was primed and ready for him—the one little taste from earlier had only stoked her appetite. “No negotiations.”

      He rubbed a hand along his jaw, a grin forming. “But I’m a brilliant negotiator.”

      “I’m sure you’re wickedly talented, but I’m not interested. The mask stays on or you can go home and have a cold shower.”

      He laughed and reached for a bottle of champagne stashed in a small refrigerator that Lainey hadn’t noticed. Obviously, Damian had a lot more experience with limos than she did. He expertly eased the cork out of the bottle with a soft pop and poured

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