Page 152 of The Dollhouse

Zoey fixed herself, realigning her panties and righting her dress. She straightened herself out, fixed her hair, and returned to the mirror to study herself.

She looked just as good as she had before, maybe even better, since I knew the inside of her thighs was wet. I could not pretend the knowledge didn’t make me hunger for her more. But, alas, as much as I wanted to slam that girl against the wall myself and push my cock into her slickness, we had guests to attend to.

Or we would, soon.

Personally, I was not looking forward to the guests, but I knew they would serve their purpose. There was a reason I invited the ones I had, and I imagined there was a reason Markus invited some of his people. With Zoey’s parents coming, along with a bunch of other higher ups here in Hillcrest, it was going to be the party none of them would see coming, and yet none of them would be able to stop talking about it, either.

It was going to be interesting, to say the least, a mash of people who normally wouldn’t be seen dead together. Or… or of people who would normally kill the other people. Yeah, I’ll leave that one to your imagination for now, although she should be showing up with her entourage soon.

I could not believe I’d just referenced Sylvester, Mad Maddox, and Viper as Lola’s entourage. Those guys would kill me if they knew. Or they’d try to. You see, I was a very hard man to kill; it came in handy since the business of ending lives was mine.

“Who’s getting here first, again?” Zoey asked, spinning to face me. Her blue gaze dipped to my cock, which was still hard, but it would go away in a few minutes—provided I did not linger on how fucking gorgeous Zoey was in that dress.

“Should be either Lola and the guys, or Markus’s people,” I said. “Your parents should, if all goes to plan, come among the last.” Their invitation had its own time on it. Had to make sure there was a crowd here before they arrived. My people, Markus’s people, and then the Hillcrest people.

Zoey let out a soft sigh. “My parents have no idea what’s coming to them. They probably think this is some party I’m throwing so they can meet you and I can apologize for what happened the last time I saw them.” She chuckled, though it was a mirthless sound. It usually was when she spoke of her dreadful parents.

“Your parents sound like fucking idiots,” Carter growled out. “I can’t wait to finally meet them.”

She smirked. “You might regret that, Carter.”

Once the temperature in the room had calmed down, and by that I meant once the cocks in it had lost their hardness, we ventured out. Everything had been set up, the people that were hired to wait on the crowd lingered in the halls, already dressed up, wearing their own faceless, expressionless white masks. The house was staged and ready, and now all we had to do was wait for guests to start showing up.

Lake peered through the window near the front door. Beside him, a small table sat, containing the masks our guests would take if they chose to show up without one. There would be a pair of hostesses standing near the door, welcoming people inside, handing them out. If they refused the mask, they would simply not be allowed inside.

Markus had wanted, no,insistedon a masquerade theme for whatever reason. I couldn’t pry it out of him why it was so important, nor did I care to try to. He was already helping us out massively, so a masquerade theme it would be.

“I think someone’s here,” Lake muttered, glancing at us. “Showtime? And by showtime, I mean is it time to put on our masks? If you can’t tell, I’m really looking forward to wearing a mask all night.” He paused. “And that was sarcasm—”

“Stop your aimless prattling,” I ordered, and Lake’s mouth shut, though he did toss a glance Zoey’s way, which only made her laugh. It made Zoey laugh and me let out a growl of a sound.

Lake. Sometimes it was all I could do to not pull out my gun and shoot him for the stupid shit he said on a damn near hourly basis.

But Zoey loved him and all that shit, so I managed to hold myself back. Surprisingly.

Carter fetched our masks, handing them to each of us. I’d gotten matching black masks for us all, simple designs but effective in hiding faces. Of course, it would be more than obvious who Zoey was thanks to her hair, but the point of a masquerade, from what I understood, was never about hiding identities. Not really. It was about the atmosphere, the way wearing masks made people do and say things they wouldn’t normally.

The masks were a smooth material, hiding the forehead as well as the cheeks and nose. The only thing it did not cover was the mouth of its wearer. The masks matched mine, Zoey’s, and Carter’s clothes, but it did not exactly match Lake’s. It was all because the idiot refused to change out of his normal clothes. Tonight, he’d stick out like a sore fucking thumb, but maybe that’s what he wanted to do. Who knew? I could not pretend to be inside his head and know what he thought.

I threw a glance out window, and I saw who was walking up to the front door. I gave Carter a look, and even though the majority of his face was hidden behind a mask, I could tell he tensed up a bit. He did not particularly like the woman walking up, probably because Richie had forced him to act as her talent manager a while back.

Everyone got in position, and by that, I meant the workers took up their spots. One of them moved outside, holding open the door for the group walking up, and a pair of women were ready to hand them masks once they walked inside. However, this group had masks of their own already, and judging by how fancy they were, I’d say Lola had picked them out.

Minus the one she wore, of course, because that was a Fang specialty. The man had a way with metal. The mask Lola wore was all silvery steel, the bottom of a skull with some added decoration to enhance its fanciness. It covered her nose, her lower cheeks, and her jaw.

The masks the other men wore were more typical. They covered the top half of their faces, and yet I knew who they were the moment they strolled in. They were not exactly the most inconspicuous group of people, especially here. Here, they stuck out like a sore thumb.

“Roman, Carter,” Sylvester spoke once he stepped inside. “How’s it going out here?” His blue eyes darted around from behind his mask. Together, we strolled into the room with the stage—though the curtains had been draped before it to hide what lay on the stage. “Thanks again for helping me take care of that problem last weekend.” He wore a dark grey suit, his blond hair combed back.

“Hey,” his brother, though not by blood, spoke in a huff. His mask was small, only hiding his eyes and his forehead. Mad Maddox looked fucking ridiculous in a mask, but no one laughed at him, for their own safety. “I offered to do it myself.”

“Yes, you did,” Sylvester said, “but I didn’t want another mess to clean up. Anytime you go after someone, ten more people end up dead than should’ve.”

Carter and I stood near Sylvester and Maddox, while Lola and Viper gravitated toward Zoey and Lake. I tried not to eavesdrop on their conversation, but it was difficult not to, mostly because Lola’s voice tended to carry. That woman was used to owning every single room she walked into, either through her looks or through her crazy actions.

Lola wore a dress that matched her mask. Revealing, tight on her body, full of metal decorations and sequins. Her blond hair had been tousled and kinked, falling halfway down her back. I didn’t linger on her, though, much more interested in watching Zoey, who looked more like the typical bombshell of Hillcrest, minus the pink hair.

“Zoey,” Lola spoke. “Look at you. Such a stunner.”

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