Page 82 of Make Me Lie (Rich Demons of Darkwood 1)

It took me a second to realize that he was wearing some kind of suit. I pulled away to look at him closer, confused.

He was wearing a fucking tuxedo.

"Got a fancy fundraising event tonight?" I asked, figuring he must be going somewhere for his father.

Something glittered in his eyes, and then it was gone. And I thought I must have imagined it.

"Actually, we have a surprise for you," he told me, giving me every ounce of his charm in a smile.

I stepped out of his embrace warily. "What kind of surprise?"

"We're having a party tonight. An official welcome into the Sphinx to show everyone that you're ours."

The frown I'd been sporting only deepened as suspicion flashed through me.

"I hadn't gotten the impression that you were my biggest fans at the moment," I told him, searching his face for any tells.

But I couldn't see anything but his smile.

"We all have our dirty secrets, Aurora. We're not going to hold that against you. You were a child. It's not like you could say no to The Demon. We understand that."

Relief flushed through my veins. Relief...and hope.

"So, you understand. You know that I didn't want to do any of that. I would never—”

"Of course," he said soothingly, not letting me finish my sentence. He smoothed a lock of hair out of my face. "Just come party with us for a couple of hours. Get drunk with me. This day will seem like nothing but a bad nightmare. It's going to be okay."

My brain was screaming at me not to trust him, but my heart, and the lost lonely girl that resided permanently inside of me, was desperate for this to be real. For everything not to have been ruined. I'd just go and have a couple of drinks, and then it would be over and everything would be fine. I'd seen the guys in action. They could fix this.

At least that's what I was telling myself.

Remington stepped out into the hallway and came back in with a sleek black bag. "I got you a dress to wear tonight. Go put it on."

I took the bag and pushed aside the matte black tissue paper, a flash of white peeking out. Reaching down, I stroked the silky fabric, anticipation rushing through me.

"I'll go get dressed."

"Hurry, little devil. The party's about to start."

We were back to "little devil" apparently. But maybe we'd never left.

His words sounded like a warning.

A warning I should have listened to.

* * *

We stepped into the ballroom,yes, a fucking ballroom, that existed somewhere in the Sphinx. I didn't think I was ever going to find all the rooms in this place. It was completely ridiculous. And I still hadn't figured out why they had the largest water bill in the state.

My dress was a skintight, floor length white silk gown with spaghetti straps. I felt like a princess when I'd slipped it on, definitely never wearing something so nice before. There'd been a sparkly white mask to go with it because evidently this was a themed party...a masquerade. I'd slipped the dress on and then put on some red lipstick. The mask covered my eyes and nose and I kind of felt like I'd become a different person as I put it on.

Remington had been waiting for me in my room, wearing a black mask that covered his whole face. It cast a sinister feeling to his look, and I shivered involuntarily as I stared at him.

"Shall we go?" he asked, holding out his arm like the gentleman I knew he wasn't.

"Yes," I responded, trying to sound confident as I took his arm and we walked out of the room and down several hallways.

We entered the room filled with people clothed in fancy dresses and suits and masks, and I gazed around suspiciously, waiting for the other shoe to drop. Remington was being charming, more charming than I'd ever seen him, quite frankly.

---