Page 2 of Room Six

Entranced by the smooth flow and dip of his words, I stand there and blink up at the stranger. Neatly combed hair, no beard. The black mask hides everything else. Expensive taste in clothing. Sexy. Rugged yet refined, too.

His body heat brushes against the boundaries of my personal space. He’s close, but not enough to make me nervous.

Heat creeps into my face. For a second I feel a wave of embarrassment at the blush hitting my cheeks. But one look at the man tells me he likes what he sees.

I know exactly what this is and I’m an utter fool for not shutting him down the second he called me beautiful. If that isn’t an overused one-liner I don’t know what is.

But my body betrays me and the rush of adrenaline spiking my blood causes my nipples to harden into tight peaks. And he notices.

Past trauma makes me want to throw my arms over my chest and hide my arousal.

It’s wrong to seek pleasure with anyone else. Only daddy can touch you. When it’s time.

I shove at those long ago tormented memories as they plague my thoughts. Bile rises in my throat.

Without warning, the masked stranger presses a finger beneath my chin and I’m instantly lifted from the past. “What man has put that pain in your eyes, beautiful? Tell me and he’ll pay before the sun rises.” My masked stranger’s voice is low, serious and catches me off guard.

My hands tremble. “Excuse me?”

He moves in and though I know I should back away I do nothing but take in the feel of his body heat mingling with mine.

“Who hurt you?” He restates, this time with genuine emotion attached to his words. Like he would pull out a gun right this second and put a bullet into anyone I pointed to.

“No one here,” I rush to say. “Besides, I don’t think you want that story. Tonight is about pleasure not pain.”

“If that is true, then why are you hiding in the shadows?”

Because it’s where I belong, my mind answers for me.

“I’ve grown used to it. It’s become second nature, really.” My voice holds steady while my insides shake to the core.

He leans in dangerously close.

“You don’t know true pleasure until it’s mixed with the right amount of pain. Let me be the one to show you,” he says so sweetly I want to fall into the pool of honey dripping from his words. He takes my face between his roughened palms and steals my breath away with the fierceness of how he claims my mouth. I don’t get a chance to say no or stop this before it can get started. This man is like a steamroller and I kind of like how he takes charge. I can psychoanalyze the hell out of that some other time. Right now, his mouth feels nice and so what if I steal a little moment for myself? There are no cameras on this side of the ballroom.

His hands find my hips. He angles his body in front of mine and blocks me from view. Digging deep, I pull on my reserve of courage and let it pour through my veins like an elixir. Something tells me this man is never denied a single thing he wants.

We’re both panting heavily when he breaks away a fraction, his touch keeping me anchored to him.

He tastes of expensive scotch and forbidden desires.

My entire rule-based world tilts on its axis when I drag my eyes off his lips and let them slowly adjust to take in the rest of his face. The man who fills my vision steals my breath away. Thick dark locks frame a handsome face. Or what I can see of it. His jawline is clean-shaven. Angular. Perfect. He towers over me and with him he brings an aura of power only a sinner carries.

One finger at a time, I wrap my hand around the one on my face. “I don’t think that is a good idea.”

The hand at his side comes up, and he catches a wisp of my hair between his fingers. He rubs the ends of my wayward curl before tucking it behind my ear.

I forget to breathe. But when I fill my lungs, it’s his scent that I draw in.

“The quiver I hear in your voice and the fear sparkling in your pretty eyes are crimes someone needs to be punished for.”

Dark eyes caress a hot line over my shoulder before dipping to follow the delicate line of my gown. The brush of his gaze on my skin sends an illicit flush running through me to pour hot liquid between my thighs.

“Do you usually go around playing the saving knight to perceived damsels in distress?”

His lips peel back to show a captivating smile that throws off the aura of lethal power emanating off him. “When the need arises.”

“And what would you do to protect said damsel?” Flirting is far from a skill set I possess, but talking with this stranger grows easier by the minute.

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