Page 40 of His Two Hidden Masks

“Understood.”

“Why did you tell me the truth?”

“I don’t know,” he said, eyes narrowing. “You asked me not to lie. Strand is retired, so it doesn’t matter anymore. And somehow, I know you won’t tell a soul.”

“I won’t,” I said.

“I know,” he said, his dark eyes always watching me. “I find the straight and narrow constraining, Bella. Life is much too interesting to never break the rules.

“Look, I’m not trying to be a dick about it. It’s just James has always done everything right. It works for him. We are identical twins, but I have different ideas about what makes me happy.”

“Like being a musician.”

“Being a musician made me happy for a long while, and then it didn’t. And here I am wondering what this feeling is when I look across the table at you.”

My lips parted. I inhaled as a tingling feeling blossomed between my legs. “Do you feel happy?”

“I’m not sure,” he said. “I feel something good. I just shared one of my biggest secrets with you, so obviously, you are a witch.”

I laughed. “Obviously.”

“And I’m rock hard right now.”

“You’re what?” I swallowed, unable to mask my shock and delight at his confession.

“Don’t pretend you didn’t hear me, clever Bella. My dick is throbbing for you.”

“You are a naughty boy,” I said, tipsy from champagne, bold from desire.

“The only thing I lied about last night was my name. Every moment I held your gorgeous body in my arms was real.”

I let his words sink in mesmerized by his gaze. Flames danced in the heat lamps beside us. My heart surged at the sparking chemistry between us.

“Last night with you was amazing You showed up like a sparkling goddess in the moonlight and took my hand. I had no choice, but to follow you. Sometimes you have to read the signs,” Dylan said.

This was exactly the kind of thing that Auntie Aurora would tell me.

“What signs do you believe in?” I said, reaching for my glass. It was almost empty, and again, Dylan topped it off without hesitation.

“Last night, I stopped at that corner when the moonlight hit the window of the jewelry store just so. All the pieces inside sparkled, even behind the safety glass,” Dylan said.

“You think the moon stopped you.”

“Well, yes,” he said, “and when you turned the corner, I was in darkness and you were bathed in blue light. You looked like a goddess. You didn’t see me and I was too besotted by you to move. It was my fault you crashed into me.”

“We both ran into each other,” I said. “It did not happen in slow motion, and did you just say besotted?”

“Meeting you inspired my vocabulary,” he winked, “and made me feel something, something different. It’s been a long while since I’ve been with a woman who knows what she wants. I think you may be magic, Bella.”

How could he possibly see me that way, when I was so lost. “I was lonely, and I wanted sex.”

“And sex you got,” he said.

“You know this is madness,” I said.

“It’s absurd. I am a famous musician, whom you barely know.”

“And my family owns a hotel that your family is about to add to their portfolio.”

---