Page 168 of Flirting with Darkness

Gonggggg!

18

BENEATH A BALLROOM

It shivered through the air, dragging out longer than the previous gong had. It pierced my eardrums, making me jolt, too much to take in my heightened state. It buzzed on my skin, obliterating the distracting effect of our conversation, forcing my eyes shut.

The sound was fading, just a soft reverberation in the air when I could open them again.

As the gong shivered away to nothing, shapes appeared on the sunken stage, bit by bit, materialising into existence.

An altar at waist height. A small, round table. Andher.

Her charm flooded the room, flooded me, making my pulse spike. I bit my lip. My nails dug into the velvet upholstery of the chair’s arm. Faolán’s hand crushed mine into his thigh.

Her smile… Wild Hunt take me, but it called to me, beckoning, promising. She wouldn’t deny me as Faolán did. She wouldn’t keep me still. She would welcome me, free me, give me all the satisfaction I craved… and then more.

I found myself on the edge of my seat as she opened her arms and the audience fell silent. I wanted to be in those arms. I would throw myself into them, kiss them, let them entrap me, let them crush me, let them break me. I didn’t fucking care, so long as I was in them.

Her sapphire eyes turned to me and her smile broadened. Her lips glistened in the torchlight as though she’d just licked them. Her tongue. Her mouth. What pleasure would they give me? What could I give in return? My body, my heart, my soul—anything she asked.

Anything.

My legs straightened, and I was off my chair, starting for the aisle.

Then I wasn’t.

Arms banded around my waist, and I was sitting again, on something warm.

A sigh blew against my ear, sending every hair on end. “Sorry, little flower, but this is for your own good.”

I squirmed but he gave nothing, keeping my arms clamped at my sides. Inside her cage, that aware part of me sagged against the bars in relief. With a huff, I sank into him.

Surrender.

That caged part of myself managed to seize control long enough to whisper, “Thank you.”

Smile fading, the woman in black turned, arms still outstretched. She took in her entire audience, who sat rapt, straining forward in their seats with lips parted.

“I promised you an evening of sheer perfection.” Her voice was low and rich like the velvet of my dress, but somehow it still reached us at the back, as though she were murmuring in my ear.

I shivered, and Faolán’s arms tightened around me. I let my head sink back onto his shoulder. I couldn’t trust my own body, my own mind, even, but I could trust in his solidity. Maybe, after all he’d just told me, I could even trust him.

“I promised you ultimate pleasure.” A hint of that smile played upon her full mouth.

My body throbbed in response, and I found myself arching back into Faolán. The urge to grind into him gripped me, and I had to bite my lip against it.

“I promised you the greatest Calan Gaeaf celebration you’ve ever witnessed.” Her smile snapped into place, full of pride, at the exact instant her arms snapped out to the side.

Something appeared on the altar. Something appeared at the bottom of each set of steps. They faded in slowly, so I had to stare and wait, battling my drying eyes that wanted to blink. But if I blinked, I might miss the moment the forms solidified—or I might miss something that wonderful woman did.

And that would be a tragedy.

Then, they weren’tthingsappearing, butpeople.Nine men and women, perfectly naked, one at the end of each aisle, and a tenth on the altar.

She lay there, dark hair spread across the stone surface, breasts spread by gravity, dark nipples pointing at the ceiling. Even at this distance, I just knew even that small detail, like I’d just known I was meant to be somewhere when I’d awoken in this dream.

The humans each faced outwards, expressions serene. But their chests heaved like they felt the same desire that I did. Except because of where they stood and the fact they were naked, I tasted the bitter envy that said their desires were going to be acted upon.

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