Page 79 of Moonlit Thorns

“I wasn’t sure if that was your room last time or not.”

“My brothers and I each have our own private rooms. Part of the perks of hosting the parties.” He grins at me.

“What are all the other rooms?” His and his brother’s rooms would only account for four of the doors I’d seen, and I knew there had to be nearly twenty or so besides the main room.

“Something for everyone. Some are designed as certain configurations like an office, a bathroom, or a locker room so people can play out their fantasies. Others have specific equipment in them depending on what you’re into—BDSM, shibari, voyeurism.”

The idea of all that makes the space between my legs hum. “Will we ever go into those rooms?”

His eyelids dip a bit. “If you like, though I already told you I’m not sharing you. But if it turns you on to watch others, if you want to see what you might want to explore between the two of us, that’s fine.”

I nod. “I’ll think about it.”

“I have something for you.” Asher walks over to his nightstand and opens the top drawer, then pulls out a gold mask with diamonds surrounding the outer edge and a gold filigree detail. He holds it out to me. “For you.”

“It’s beautiful.” I step back over to the mirror and slide it onto my face.

Asher steps up behind me and kisses the top of my shoulder. “Perfect fit. You ready?”

After taking a deep breath, I nod again. “Yep. Let’s go have some fun.”

Since last time was different because of my initiation, I wasn’t sure what to expect tonight. But we’ve been here for forty-five minutes, and so far it’s just been people standing around having drinks and chatting as they would at any other party. That’s if they were all dressed like ancient Romans with masks.

I lean into Asher and ask about something I noticed. “How come my mask is different from everyone else’s?”

Everyone else has on either a black, white, or red mask, while Asher, his brothers, and I all have on custom gold ones. It’s easy to spot his brothers. Nero has on a raven’s mask, Kol has on a lion’s mask, and Sid is wearing a wolf’s mask.

“You have that one on because you’re mine.”

I should probably hate the way he phrases it, but I don’t. Not even a little. I want to be his.

“For everyone else, the colors signify what they’re looking for tonight.”

My forehead wrinkles, and I glance around the dim cavern-like room. When I spot Kol getting sucked off by some woman, I turn around and face Asher. “How so?”

Asher bends to speak directly into my ear. “White is a watcher, red is a waiter, and black is a doer.”

“Okay, the watcher one seems self-explanatory, as does the doer. What’s a waiter?”

“It basically means they’re not sure what they’re in the mood for this evening. But they’re open. So, if someone wanted to play with them, they could suggest it, and they might decide to join in, maybe not. The people in black masks are down for anything tonight—it means you don’t have to get their consent for each and every thing. If you wanted to go up to one of the men in a black mask and get on your knees in front of him and start sucking him off, there’d be no objections and no recourse for him.”

“Kinda like how I am with you then,” I say and give him a cheeky grin.

Asher slides his hand around my back and takes my ass in his grip. I arch my back, wanting more. He glances over my shoulder toward the hallway that leads to his private room, and his eyes light with recognition. He drops his hand and straightens, sticking his hand out as a man with dark hair and a white mask comes over.

“Good to see you. It’s been a while,” Asher says to him.

The man smiles. I can’t see his entire face, but he’s clearly attractive. His dark brown eyes settle on me once they’re done their handshake. “And who do we have here?”

Asher’s hand settles on my lower back. “This is Anabelle. Anabelle, this is Mr. Smith.”

He puts his hand out, so I take it. “Nice to meet you, Mr. Smith.”

“Likewise.” He turns his attention back to Asher.

“How have things been? I wasn’t sure. It’s been a while since we saw you at one of these,” Asher says.

“You know how it is…”

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