Page 17 of The Swap Masquerade

The man let out a startled laugh that made his eyes sparkle. “Oh, my God! Did you just quote Game of Thrones?”

I laughed too, pleased he’d understood the reference. “Yes, I did. Tyrion Lannister was a brilliant man and deserves to be quoted as often as possible, in my opinion.”

“I would have to agree with you. He was my favorite character on the show.”

“Mine too.” We stood there, smiling at each other. It wasn’t a big thing, by any means, but it was still the most personal fact I’d shared about my real life with anyone at a party and it felt great. Knowing that he’d made the connection and felt the same made it even more amazing.

“Excuse me.” Someone bumped into me as they walked past. I looked around, surprised to see that most of the room had already cleared out. The man in the teal mask seemed as surprised as I was. What was it about him that made it so easy to forget everything else around me?

“What do you want?” I asked.

The question seemed to startle him. “Um…what do you mean?”

“Well, you obviously came here tonight for a reason, but you said you weren’t ready to participate yet. So, what is it you want?”

“I uh…I…”

I moved in closer, our height difference forcing me to look up at him as I lowered my voice. “I seem to remember you liking to watch.”

His blush was immediate, a delicate splash of pink against his tanned skin. The tip of his tongue darted out, wetting his bottom lip. I followed the movement with my eyes, my hands fisting at my sides as I forced myself not to grab hold of him and demand a taste. My gaze raised to his and I found him staring back at me, heat and desire swimming in those dark brown pools. “I like to watch too. Perhaps we could walk around together?”

He swallowed hard then nodded. “Yeah, okay.”

“Good. I’ve never been here before, but it shouldn’t be too hard to find the others. Just follow the moans.” He let out a laugh and I smiled, pleased my joke had the intended effect.

Now that he was there, and not in danger of being paired with anyone else, I turned my focus on wanting to show him a good time. In order to do that, he needed to relax which was precisely why our first stop was at the bar where I ordered us both a couple of shots. He gave me a grateful look as we clinked our glasses and took the first shot together. I picked up my second and tossed it back, savoring the smooth burn that traveled down my throat and landed in my belly before spreading out to the rest of my body.

I could feel him staring at me, but his eyes quickly darted away when I looked at him. Without a word, he turned and picked up his other glass, tossing back the fiery liquid. He slammed the empty glass down on the bar and gave me a look that screamed of determination. “You ready?”

I grinned. “After you.”

We wandered around, peering into each room and stopping at the kitchen where a couple was already immersed in a bit of role play. One man was fully clothed while the other was dressed in nothing but an apron. The man in the apron was chopping vegetables on a cutting board while the other man knelt on the floor behind him, eating his ass like it was the best meal he’d ever had.

I observed the man beside me out of the corner of my eye, taking note of his increased breathing. I couldn’t help but wonder what his situation was. Clearly, he liked coming to the parties and enjoyed the things he saw, and yet he had never, to my knowledge, participated other than with me. So, what was his story? Was he closeted? Had he only ever slept with women? I glanced down at his hand, relieved not to see any markings where a ring would have been. So, not married, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t have a girlfriend somewhere. No. Even without knowing much about him, that didn’t sit right with me. Nothing in his actions came across as a man who was cheating.

Perhaps I was overthinking the entire thing. He could simply like coming to the parties to watch. I had a bit of a voyeurism kink myself, so I could understand that. Still, that didn’t explain the innocence I’d seen in his eyes that first night. Whatever his story was, one thing was for sure. It was more than just the mask making him a complete mystery to me.

As the couple in the kitchen moved further along in their role play, I finally spoke. “Ready to see what else is going on?”

“Yeah. Although, that was pretty good.”

I grinned. “Nothing beats a good rimming.”

His expression was neutral as we continued on, but his tone was brimming with curiosity. “Is that, uh, something you like? Rimming?”

I shrugged. “Rimming, being rimmed, it all feels good. For me, pleasuring my partner is as much fun as having things done to me.”

“I’m surprised.”

I stopped, arching an eyebrow as I turned to face him. “You’re surprised I like taking care of my partners?”

He looked at me, horrified. “Oh, God! No! That’s not what I meant. It was the other part you said. I was surprised you like being rimmed. Aren’t you a top? Oh, shit. I probably shouldn’t ask that. Was that rude? I’m sorry if I’m messing this up. I—”

I laughed as I stepped forward, placing a hand over his mouth to stop him from talking. He was fucking adorable. I’d never thought that about a grown man before, but with him, it was true. Yes, he could easily bench press me if he wanted to, but there was also something so sweet and vulnerable about him. “Shh. It’s okay. You didn’t mess up and you can ask me anything you want about my sexual preferences. You’re right. I do consider myself mostly a top, but I still enjoy being rimmed and will occasionally allow someone to finger my ass. Actually, it can make me come quite hard when I get my prostate rubbed.”

I watched as his pupils dilated at my words. Removing my hand from his mouth, I let my gaze drop down to his lips. Plump and luscious, they were practically begging to be kissed. I was dying to take his mouth, to claim it with my own and feast on his sweet flavor, but I pulled back. He turned away, but not before I saw the look of disappointment in his eyes.

“Hey.” I grabbed hold of his arm to stop him. “It’s not that I don’t want to. Trust me. I would love nothing more than to kiss you breathless right now, but I won’t. Last time I kissed you, you ended up taking off and I wasn’t sure I’d ever see you again. If we kiss a second time, it’s going to be because you kissed me first. Okay?”

---