Page 2 of Masked Darling

Afraid to look at her again for fear he might do something really stupid–like lift her up and slam her against the desk andtake what he’d wanted since they met at his brother’s bar on her 21st birthday last year–he turned on his heel and slammed the door shut behind him as he began to walk out of the building in a daze.

So yeah, he hadn’t slept at all.

He tried. Hereallydid.

He even jerked off three times throughout the night, thinking he could dull the ache that he felt since realizing that she was masturbating to the idea of him. Which is why he was still wearing the same clothes from last night, not caring to change into something more comfortable when it felt like his whole existence was in freefall. At least he had managed to shuck his jeans onto the floor after the first time.

Kade let out a deep sigh, visualizing her beautiful, flushed face frozen in shock with her soft red hair framing her face, and stared up at his bedroom ceiling.

God, I don’t know what I did to deserve that, but either it was really good or really fucking bad,he thought as he ran a tired hand down his face in frustration.

Suddenly, a loud knock was at his bedroom door.

“Dude, let’s go!” Christian called from the hallway.

“Yeah, K. You’ve gotta grab the kegs from The Serpent Pit. Oh, and can you ask Camille if she’s going to come? She’s a babe, man,” Jesse said on the other side of his door. Kade rolled his eyes and tossed a black pillow casually over his face as he palmed himself lightly through his boxers, silently cursing himself for being stiff again.

“She’s not into you, Jess. I keep telling you she’s all about girls,” he muttered into the pillow.

“Doesn’t matter; she just hasn’t given me a chance yet,” Jesse huffed, and Kade could hear him retreating down the hall. The sounds of Christian gargling and spitting in the bathroom sinkacross from his room were irritating, to say the least, so he reluctantly got himself out of bed.

“Alright, I’m getting up. Text me if there’s anything else you can think of that we need while I’m out.”

Making his way through the dark blue painted room, thankful that his dick had calmed down, Kade grabbed his jeans off the floor and a black sweater from his closet. It was the end of May in New Jersey, and although it was almost summer, the weather still warranted a sweater, if not his trusty leather jacket. It would always be a part of him since it was the one that his dad, Warren, gave him when he decided it was time for him to man up. The one that matched his brother’s. The jacket that had defined their lives, because being a part of the Renegade Rebels was a lifelong commitment. But Jagger had gotten out of the gang’s snare, and now Kade hoped to follow in his footsteps.

“Thanks, man! I’ll text you if I think of anything,” Chris called out from the bathroom. “I’m excited for tonight. I bet Alison will bring Maddie! You know, that cute redhead you’ve been pining for the last year?” Kade could hear the grin in Chris’s voice. “Maybe you’ll finally grow some balls and make a move tonight.”

The mention of Madison had all the blood rushing back to the center of his body, the fabric holding his cock stretching painfully around the obvious indication that he was still under the spell of last night’s findings.

Kade gritted his teeth, and a frustrated “Goddamn it!” pulled from his throat.

Chris’s laughter could be heard drifting down the hallway as Kade closed his eyes and started to count backward from twenty, a technique his dad used when he was trying really hard not to go to jail again.

He glanced down at his erection and sighed.

So much for that.

CHAPTER TWO

Kade was dressed all in black as he leaned against the counter of the kitchen, crossing his ankles as he took a big gulp from his matching flask with a messy skull on display that he had carved into it. His eyes drifted over the sea of bodies that had managed to squeeze themselves into their small apartment when some random girl connected her phone to the speakers and started taking requests.

Well, it wasn’tthatsmall.

It had three bedrooms and was an open-concept design, so the kitchen was connected to the large living room and dining room area. The dining room table was currently being used as a beer pong table while the furniture in the living room had been pushed to all corners of the room, allowing the guests some space to dance.Dance Monkeyby Tones and I started blaring from the speakers next to their wall-mounted television, and the girls were shouting along and writhing with the music while the guys tried to insert themselves into their circle.

Kade rolled his eyes behind his silver-toned mask and took another drink from his flask, hoping to drown out the music or make the night more bearable.

How predatory can you be?Kade mused.

“Come here often?” A small voice asked next to him.

Kade turned his head to look at the figure beside him. She wore a sexy black dress, and the fabric almost looked wet with its shine against her skin. It seemed to move over her chest as she breathed, just like water. The girl had a short black bob and stood next to him, but her gaze was pointed ahead at the chaos in his living room.

He exhaled loudly while scanning the room for a reason to escape, but the only other individual in the kitchen with him was the girl next to him. He could see the edge of her black mask, adorned with an intricate red pattern almost like lace.

“I guess so. I live here,” Kade said simply, a light shrug lifting his shoulders.

“I know,” the feminine voice said, lifting a red velvet flask to her lips. Kade looked over at her again in confusion.

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