Page 46 of Revelation (Love Isn't What It Seems 3)

Men and women were dancing, touching, laughing. The air sizzled with unspoken anticipation of what was to come.

Who ever thought this was going on in this city?And right under everyone’s noses!

We were in the heart of London. The queen’s palace was barely a block away. Whoever was organizing this had some good connections and was rich as fucking Midas.

“Great, maybe I could find the owner and ask him to bid on me,” I muttered under my breath.

A man in a Venetian Harlequin costume handed me an event schedule for this evening, eyeing me like an imposter.I have an invitation,I wanted to say to him, but that was ridiculous because I would have never made it past the front door without it. I watched the guy at the entrance scan the chip that was in the invite. Unbeknownst to me, there was a code embedded into each invitation.

“To prevent people from making copies,” the guy said.I guess it is a popular event that nobody knew about, I thought to myself but it was better to keep those words to myself. I wasn’t sure why he thought people would try to sneak into this party if not too many people knew about it.

“The stage will open in thirty minutes,” the harlequin spoke calmly, pulling my attention back to him. My heart beat hard against my rib cage. “Anyone that is interested to be presented has to be behind the curtains,” he pointed in the direction of the large curtains in the far-left corner, “five minutes prior to the show starting.”

I swallowed hard.Am I really going to do this?

“O-okay,” I muttered and carried on like I’ve done this a million times.

I headed to an empty wall so I could gather myself. It wasn’t like me to be so nervous, so frazzled. Okay, maybe it was, but usually I hid it with anger and spitfire. Although I wore a rich long gown that covered more than revealed, I felt more exposed than ever.

Did it mean I was into freaky shit since I was here?

It must be exhilarating to just let yourself go and enjoy your fantasies without judgement. Really, nobody would ever know. Men behind the masks and women behind the masks. Anonymous, never taking their masks off. You could pass that person on the street tomorrow and you’d never know.

It had been a while since my last orgasm. Lachlan was the only guy that succeeded in bringing me pleasure. Although it wasn’t as intense as what I heard others describe it to be. I just assumed I probably wasn’t wired for it.

But now. Just being here, it felt different. Maybe it was the excitement of doing something new. Or I was just sick in the head.

My skin tingled with longing. I had to wonder if Maxim set something in motion within me with that kiss. Before I met him, it had been so long since I felt any connection with another man, hungry for their touch. Since Maxim, it was almost a desperate need. Or maybe it was there all along and I just had it buried deep. Maybe today I would find someone that would set my skin on fire, light up my body with his touch the way I have been craving and needing.

The moment I thought that, Maxim’s face flashed to mind. Somehow, he had snuck his way into my thoughts and kept lingering there.

Ever since Lachlan dumped my ass, I hadn’t felt that. If I was honest with myself, I wasn’t sure if Lachlan ever lit me up the way I needed him to but nobody has come close to the way I felt with him. Because of that, he was higher on my ranking poll. And he was richer than anyone else I had slept with so that made him really high on that poll. If he’d chosen me, that would have ensured that I never needed anything from my grandparents ever again. But he fell all over himself for Eve Bailey, got married and left me behind without a backwards glance.

Though, I honestly hoped they found happiness. They both deserved it but still, deep within me, I felt jealousy eating at me. I hated the feeling. It was as if my whole life was consumed by those feelings, of me never being good enough.

I’ve heard all my life that life doesn't always give what you want or need. You have to take it, fight for it. The only thing I had ever got without a fight was Liberty’s and Lena’s love and acceptance. I had never felt closer to anyone as I did to those two.

I felt a light pang in my heart.Fuck, that still hurt.

Losing Lena was hard. It made me fear that somehow I’d lose Liberty too. But I couldn’t let that happen. She was my only family. My grandparents' only use for me was the entertainment they got from insulting and demeaning me. I couldn’t live the rest of my life like that. I was fucked up enough already.

A waiter passed by me with a serving tray of champagne and I took a glass, pouring it down my throat in one gulp.

Too late, I realized he still stood there. I smiled awkwardly.

“Sorry, nerves.” He nodded in understanding, then took my empty glass, placed it on his tray and handed me another glass of champagne. “Thanks.”

Gosh, it would be good to have someone here with me. I took another gulp of the champagne.

“Fancy a waltz?” A deep and husky voice asked a question behind me.

The voice rumbled, sending shivers down my spine. I turned in the direction of it. There was familiarity in that voice but a combination of my nerves and the ambiance, not to mention some alcohol too, threw me off.

The moment I turned around, my eyes drank in the view of a tall man. He was handsome, even with the mask hiding the top part of his face. He filled out his tux perfectly, like he stepped right off theGQ cover. He was well-built, material hugging his huge frame in all the right places. I bit on my lower lip, slightly alarmed by the way my body shivered under his gaze. I could barely distinguish his blue eyes behind that mask. A stormy blue.

My body sizzled with intense attraction and an electric current shot through my veins, filling me with desire.This feeling, I thought in amazement. I had only felt it around Maxim. Why did Maxim constantly invade my thoughts these days?

Get yourself together, Layla!I ordered myself silently.It isn’t Maxim.He was too good to come to an event like this. I had to stop thinking about him. This wasn’t a game, no time for dreaming about a man, or any kind of dreaming for that matter. It was life or death for me. If my blackmailer decided to leak those copies of the evidence to the police, my life would be over.

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