Page 24 of Silent Night Sins
My chest fell.Oh, right.
I needed to lose this guy. Sliding back into the crowd, I brushed my hand against my head. “Thanks for bringing me, but I think I need to catch a cab and go home.”
Donny’s brow knit with concern. “I’ll drive you.”
“No! Thanks.” I gave him a wobbly smile. “Stay.”
“But, Nicole—”
“No, you wanna be an investor, right?” I scrambled to think of a way out of this. I felt that black gaze sweeping the crowd, searching for me. If that was my midnight monster, and I was more than convinced it was, I couldn’t have him seeing me with the trust fund kid and thinking there was something there that wasn’t. “You need to stay. Rub elbows. Meet with the trainers and other sponsors,” I argued.
“Are you sure?” Donny reached for my arm.
I jerked away and began pushing through the crowd. “This wasn’t a date, Donald. Go. I’ll be fine.”
“Nicole,” he protested. “I want a second chance.”
A groan screamed through my mind. “That’s never going to happen. We’re ancient history. We both grew up and went our separate ways.”
“Yeah, but wouldn’t it be romantic if we rekindled something now? Years later?” He insisted, leading me out of the crowd and to the entrance. “Like true love that never died?”
“It would be.” But if I believed in soulmates, in true love, this guy wasn’t the one. “But those things are only in fairytales. Goodnight, Donny. And thanks again.”
I pushed outside, climbed into the first cab I found, and shut the door on the golden retriever’s hurt face. After giving the driver the address, I sagged back against the seat. The thing people like Donny didn’t understand was that the cartoon version of fairy tales were glossy and nice. The real stories, the ones rooted in lore, were dark.
And that was exactly what I craved.
Messina had noticed me. Our shared look spoke volumes. It crossed time and history, brought the present and the past into a beautiful collision. The final act of unmasking my monster would prove that he’d come back for me. The sooner I got home, the sooner he would come to claim his prize.
Chapter 8 – Cristiano
Anew ghoulish mask in hand, I crept along the shoveled path of the Loring’s backyard. I wasn’t planning to see Nicky tonight. I knew that I was in no shape to play nice after a fight. But seeing her there lit a raging inferno in my chest.
I had to see her.
The bevy of sponsors flocked into the locker room, along with some of the VIP fans. I kept expecting her to be one of them, but when she never appeared, I ground my teeth and dealt with the horde of gawkers.
Midnight came and went, and now I embraced the silence of the night. My breath plumed around me as I picked her lock with ease. The naughty little thing still hadn’t set the home alarm system. Which I took as an invitation to enter.
Go easy on her, my inner voice of reason ordered the beast pacing in my chest.
The urge to fuck came hand-in-hand with the drive to fight. In the past, I learned I wasn’t a good bed fellow to any partner ludicrous enough to join me post-match. So I stayed away from the ring-bunnies, avoiding post-fight coitus like a disease.
Tonight was different.
My angel came to me.
One look, one breathless heartbeat, and I knew. Nicky recognized the monster who hid behind the masks. I slid the screaming white and black ghost mask over my face as I shut her door behind me. Not prone to religion, I sent up a silent plea that I had it in me to give Nicky everything she deserved.
Because sooner or later, the mask was coming off, and the sweet angel was going to learn exactly what it meant to be mine.
I’m never letting her go.
I just hoped like hell that she wanted me. But I pushed aside that fear for the present moment and went to convince her that the masked monster and the man behind it were one and the same.
Walking across the kitchen, I didn’t sense the danger until it was too late. The snare cinched around my feet, and with a bellow, I toppled to the floor.
“Got you!” Nicky crowed with triumph from somewhere above me.
