Page 58 of Masked in Deception
“Do I even want to know what that is?” I raise a brow as I take a drink of my wine as well.
“One would hope so,” she answers with a raised brow of her own, accompanied by a sinful smirk adorning her perfect little painted mouth before moving along. “Can you believe Marco has never been to seePhantom of the Opera?”
I make a mental note to google what awhy chooseis when I get home, before teasing her a little. I know I told myself this was supposed to be completely platonic, but I can’t help it. “By Marco, you mean the one Italian man you haven’t slept with?”
She takes my insult as well as I could hope for such a low blow, her eyes narrowing just slightly. “Excuse me, sir, you did tell me to go to Paris and fin…”
“Find the sexiestFrenchman,” I interrupt before grumbling. “I didn’t mean all of Europe.”
This time her reaction is one of actual annoyance. “Oh please, Jack Carter, I didn’t do anything you haven’t done. And tenfold at that.”
Even if I move a decimal,fuck,I hope she didn’t sleep with that many men…Okay, she has a point.Stop being a misogynistic asshole, Jack. She hasn’t done anything wrong by exploring her sexuality.She wasn’t yours anyway. Remember, you let her go…
“When do you want to go?” The confusion written on her face is question enough, so I elaborate. “To the play. When can you, Marco,and his husband,go to seePhantom of the Operawith me?”
My sweet, beautiful girl just stares at me with an inkling of adoration taking over the anger in her expression. She’s lost in her head, and I’ve seen her do this enough in my life to know I’m going to have to ask again.
“I asked you a question pe…princess.”
Shit,I need to channel back to those days she had me playing both parts before I blow the cover of my actual, real-life masked persona.
“Um, I don’t know. Let me look at my schedule.” She gets out her phone for the first time tonight to look at her calendar. “I think I can fit it in sometime next week, but I’ll have to double-check with them.”
I’ll get four tickets for every performance from tomorrow until she’s free. I’ll even become besties with Marco in the process. Anything to see her again.
“Just let me know, and I’ll get the tickets. There’s no way someone as close to you as Marco can continue without experiencing what it’s like to sit throughPhantomwith Margot Sinclair.”
This time, a smile accompanies her cute little eye roll. “Yes, sir. I’ll let you know.”
Be right back, choking on air. My dick is suddenly as hard as a rock, and she didn’t even mean that sexually.
“You pinky promise?” I ask, holding out my hand to seal the deal like we have our whole life.
She lifts her hand over the table, as dramatic as ever. “I pinky promise to go with you toPhantomas long as you pinky promise not to embarrass me in front of my friends.” I loop our little fingers together, knowing that she would never stand me up now. “I’ll be good, I promise. I won’t even bring up Sprinkles.”
The mention of that damned cow she used to love so much seems to do wonders for her mood.Go figure.As our evening rolls on, so do our conversations. With each story, the air gets lighter and lighter. Glimpses of the Margot I used to know so very well peek through her guarded exterior with every passing course, and I realize that as fun as our sexual encounters have been,thisis what I crave the most from my princess. I want to take her on dates. I want to laugh and tease. I want to…I want her to be mine.
And while there is no way in the world I could let go of the one masked hold I have on her, I refuse to carry on without having her as a whole.
I’ll just have to find a way to win her back.Whatever it takes.
Chapter forty-eight
Sir:
Good morning, pet. How does your ass feel today?
Pet:
Some asshole reddened it. It hurts.
But I did put some of the cream you gave me on it, which helped, so thank you.
Sir:
You’re welcome. Hopefully, this pain makes you rethink how you behave the next time we’re together.
Doubt it.
