Page 2 of Duke of Seduction

“Be merry, this evening, my friend,” she whispered to Teresa as she gave her a farewell hug. “Be wicked, but be safe.”

“You also,” Teresa whispered back. “Meet me in front of this mirror when the clock strikes one.”

For a moment Helena kept her eyes on her friend’s back, watching as she was led away by the handsome yet polite stranger. Then, free at last to do as she wished, she stepped away from the mirror and allowed herself a moment to take her first real look around. Every sconce was encased in red glass, and even the high walls of the room were swathed with matching red silk, disguising the room. Black flooring shone so vigorously that it reflected her appearance.

As she walked around she could see that every person in attendance was equally disguised. There was no pastel or light to be found among the dark. Like her and Teresa, everyone was dressed in black or a similarly muted color. The faces of the women were also painted differently. There were no tones to highlight their natural beauty. Instead, cosmetics were used to dramatize the eyes, lips and cheekbones which peeked out from beneath their masks..

As she took them all in, women and men alike, her eyes paused on a man leaning in the doorway between the foyer and the salon. Like her, he had opted for an all-black ensemble, and his head of deep brown hair was encircled by a crown of black thorns. His lips twitched into a seductive smile as she settled her gaze on him, and his defined jaw line dipped into a nodding bow as he raised his glass to her.

“Some wine, fair lady?” a man asked, holding a tray out to her.

Helena blinked, startled that she had so easily forgotten that there were others in the room. She glanced towards the masked man in the doorway once more and he gave her another nod, as if giving her permission to accept it.

“Thank you,” she murmured, turning to the waiter for the glass.

The waiter bowed to her as she brought the glass to her lips. The dark ruby wine was thicker and sweeter than any she had ever tasted, and she let out a soft gasp as she let it roll and play on her tongue.

“Drink it slow, my lady,” the waiter murmured in warning, a wicked grin on his masked face as he rose to his full height. “It is stronger than most.”

Helena gave him a nod, believing what he said to be true, and then turned back to the doorframe. Disappointment churned in her belly when she saw that her masked man was no longer there, and her black-painted lips drew down into a pout at her missed opportunity.

“Pray, do you know who that was?” she asked the waiter.

He chuckled as he shook his head.

“Even if I did, my lady, I am not at liberty to reveal that to you,” he replied. “My master takes the anonymity of his guests very seriously.”

He leaned closer and tilted the carafe of wine to top off her glass.

“But I will say this. If there is someone, or something special you are looking for, thisisthe place to find what you want.”

Taking a breath to steady herself, Helena willed her most adventurous spirit to the forefront. She had read of naked bodies and had seen them depicted in art. She had prepared herself to be shocked at what she might see and had opened her mind to accept it. Tonight was about not about judgment, but curiosity.

Was she truly the sensual woman she believed herself to be, or was she merely a silly girl who read too many books? Tonight, she would find out. Helena headed through the same doorway from which the handsome masked man had disappeared. Upon stepping inside the room she was instantly greeted with a myriad of perspectives.

Though most people in the room were dressed, standing and conversing, her eyes were immediately drawn to the people that were not. In the far opposite corner from where she stood, Helena saw a woman with nothing on but a mask, her legs splayed apart over the arms of a settee as a fully dressed man feasted between her thighs. The woman’s dark red lips were formed in a perfectOas her body writhed, lost in pure ecstasy. Helena noticed that some nearby guests were watching the couple, but there were many others that were conversing as though they were at any ordinary party.

Helena waited for the shock to set in, to feel a sense of shame creeping through her that would compel her to run out, but it never came. Instead, warmth flooded her body and teased her nerve endings, and she found herself smiling with giddiness.

CHAPTER TWO

He wanted her.There was something so familiar about the woman in the shimmering black, deep V-necked gown, and yet something equally delightful, strange, and unknown. Morgan had attended theDevil’s Masquerademany times, and he knew the usual women that found their way there by special invitation. However, this woman was new. Even in the black ensemble that highlighted her slim, nimble figure so well, he could tell she was untouched by the debauchery that surrounded them.

When their eyes met, Morgan had felt a bolt of lust strike his groin like it never had before. It only amplified when she obeyed his silent order to accept the wine; the pleasure of it so intense that he had to walk away and take a moment to recork the lust that had erupted after she had sought his permission.

“Hades,” a woman purred, pulling Morgan from his thoughts.

“Hecate,” Morgan replied, raising his glass respectfully to the woman approaching him. They all played on names here; most of them drawn to the Greek Pantheon for inspiration. “You are looking as delightfully lethal as always.” Several other women flocked by her side, their eyes as hungry as hers as they approached.

“I was hoping you would say sensual,” the woman purred, the black feathers of her mask fluttering around her red-painted lips. “But I will admit that I can be…poisonous.”

Morgan chuckled and waited for the invitation he knew was about to be offered.

“My friends and I have missed you since the last party,” she went on, “It normally takes several men to accomplish what you were able to achieve all by yourself.”

“For all of us,” one of her friends added. This caused the rest of the women to let out sensual laughs, and Morgan smiled devilishly in return.

Behind the group of women he once again caught sight of the woman he had seen in the foyer. He could tell from the way she was looking around that she was fascinated by what she saw. She was also slightly intimidated, but she was hiding it well. From the way in which she carried herself, no one would guess that it was her first time at the event. She walked with gliding footsteps that appeared to make her float, a graceful neck that carried her chin high, and shoulders that were proudly set back.

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