Burning Skies (Wild at Heart #3)

Prologue

SEVEN YEARS AGO

HONEY

“Are you gonna go all the way?” the naughty nurse in the driver’s seat asks as a devilish smile tilts her lips. Cynthia, my new college roommate, takes a turn too quickly, and I brace my hand on the passenger door of her Lexus so I don’t get concussed.

“Take it easy. I don’t want to die.” I tug at the seatbelt that chokes me until it loosens up. “And honestly, I don’t think so.”

Do I really want to lose my virginity at a costume party? Seems kind of sketch.

Then again, I’m a freshman in college. Now is the time to cut loose.

And I desperately want to cut loose.

I flip down the visor and a stranger stares back. Gone is my blonde hair and modest makeup. Instead, the long, black wig and smokey kohl liner make my blue eyes pop. “Am I supposed to look like a vampire? I was going for Belle since I love books, but I don’t think I pulled it off.”

“You look like a hot princess.” She wiggles in her seat. “Almost as hot as me.”

I chuckle and reapply my lip gloss. “Where are we going again?” When we left Lone Star State tonight, I wasn’t expecting to head so close to my hometown.

She hands me the invitation. “Here.”

I hold the rich card stock up to the streetlights zooming past us on the highway and squint to make out the vintage lettering.

“What’s the Devil’s Den?” Underneath the name of the club, there’s a sexy female silhouette with bat wings, horns, and a spear-tipped tail.

There’s not a lot of info on it. Other than the address, it has today’s date and the words “masked costumes only.”

“Not sure. My stepbrother is really secretive about it, so it has to be good.”

“I don’t recognize the address. Where is this place?” I probably should’ve asked this question before I got in her car.

Cyn shrugs. “Some big mansion out in bumfuck. All I know is there will be free booze. Just don’t forget to wear your mask because I don’t want my brother’s friends to recognize us, since I stole the invite.”

I worry my bottom lip. “Should we be driving tonight if we plan to drink?”

“We can sleep it off in my car and head home in the morning.”

In the back of my head, I hear my father shouting that this is a terrible idea. “Cool.”

When we get to the mansion, the lot is full of cars, and we drive around until we find a spot. I pull out my new fake ID and shove it in my bustier. Then I tie the silver mask across my eyes as Cyn does the same.

I reach out and grab her hand. “Remember, we shouldn’t get separated.”

She nods. “I won’t leave you behind. Promise.”

Someone bangs on our window, making us both jump. “Girls, you’re late.” The parking attendant taps on his watch.

How the hell are we late for a party we weren’t invited to?

Cyn slips out of the car, and the guy’s eyes nearly pop out of his head when he sees her getup. “Damn. I’m sad you’re wasting all this hotness on those assholes in there.”

My friend smiles at him as I join her. She motions toward the house. “What’s the vibe like in there?”

“Like that Tom Cruise flick Eyes Wide Shut minus the murders.”

“Awesome.” Cyn laughs as she hooks her arm through mine, and we start walking toward the house.

“I’ve never seen that movie,” I whisper to her.

“Me neither.”

My toes pinch, and I wish I’d worn my old boots instead of these silver heels, though they’re pretty.

The parking attendant runs up to us. “You’re not supposed to use the front door. Go around the back.”

Cyn rolls her eyes. “But I have an invite.”

He gives her a look like she’s full of shit and walks away.

A knot of anxiety coils in my stomach as I watch the guy disappear into the dark lot. “I have a bad feeling about this.”

She tugs on my arm, and we veer off the main path to go around the rear. “This thing you’re feeling is excitement. For one night, you get to ditch your good-girl image and have a little fun. Didn’t you tell me your dad is ready to marry you off to some old geezer?”

This is what I get for confiding in my new roommate.

Since we had that heart-to-heart our first week together in the dorms, she’s been determined to pair me up with anyone who wasn’t hand-picked by my father.

“My dad just wants me to settle down.” I can’t believe I’m defending him right now, but given his health concerns, I understand why he wants me and my two older brothers to have a plan that aligns with our family’s ranch.

“Look, you do not want to go through life living by someone else’s rules. My sister did everything my parents wanted her to do, and now she’s married to a man she hates. If you don’t take life by the horns, someone else will.”

“That actually makes sense.”

“Don’t sound so surprised. I’m a sensible girl.”

She wobbles in her heels, and I brace her until she’s steady. “Careful. Don’t want you to break an ankle.”

Waving her hand, she motions toward the giant mansion that seems to pulse with the music blaring from within.

“I want to meet a real man tonight. Someone with a good job, not another dumb frat boy like the one who puked on my shoes last weekend, and if he looks like Riley Green, that wouldn’t hurt.

” She starts singing “There Was This Girl,” and I join her.

As I think about who would fill that role for me, a Riley Green mystery man, one person comes to mind, and I let out a dreamy sigh. In my mind, I can see his sexy smirk. He’s tall and rugged and handsome as hell. And irresistibly charming to boot.

Beau Walker.

Of course, he’s the very last man on Earth I’ll ever get with for so many reasons. But damn, if Beau wasn’t a Walker, and I wasn’t a McAllister, he’s the guy I’d set my sights on.

Maybe Cyn’s right and tonight will be fun.

But my bravado takes a sharp turn when we reach the back door and the bouncer holds up his hand. “You’re late.”

That niggle of worry in my gut grows.

“Car trouble.” Cyn shrugs, making sure to jut out her best assets, which the bouncer studies. I’m quickly learning that my roommate has a lie for every occasion.

“IDs, please.”

With my heart pounding, I show him my newly minted fake ID. Tonight, I’m Yvonne, not Honey McAllister.

We’re not even inside yet before we get our second “you’re full of shit” expression, but the bouncer opens the door. “You know the deal, girls. Topless only tonight. You have to strip down before you enter.”

What the fresh hell?

Cyn shrugs and starts to undress, and I elbow her. “I’m not doing this.”

She pauses and then turns to the bouncer. “This is my friend’s first time. Think you could cut her a little slack until she gets comfortable?”

He eyes me up and down, then adjusts himself. Gross. A slimy smile spreads on his mouth. “Sure. She can serve drinks for a while.”

Serve drinks? We drove all this way to serve drinks? Screw this.

I start to walk away, but Cynthia grabs my arm and hisses in my ear.

“You wanted to live a little, right? This is it. We have no idea what we’re walking into, but that’s the thrill.

Tonight will be a story we tell our friends someday and laugh about.

Don’t you want that? Besides, that was a long drive to tuck tail and go home. ”

Ugh, the guilt. Fine. “One hour, and then we leave,” I grit out.

She claps her hands and strips off her shirt, which leaves her in a see-through push-up bra, which seems to placate the bouncer. Then she grabs my hand and drags me inside.

My heart beats so hard, I’m afraid it might burrow a hole through my chest. We head down a dark hall. I can feel the pulse of the music through the walls. It’s sexy. Like a slow strip tease.

We turn the corner and end up in a huge kitchen where a woman wearing a sleek suit and a high ponytail snaps her fingers at me and hands me a tray of beer.

“Take this out.” I turn to look at my roommate, but she’s already sashaying out another door where I catch a glimpse of a naked woman twirling on a stripper pole.

Hold up. Am I a sex worker right now?

This isn’t what I meant when I told Cyn I wanted to take a walk on the wild side.

The door closes behind my roommate. So much for sticking together.

I’m two seconds from hyperventilating when I remind myself that I’m wearing a mask. No one will know I’m here. Tonight, I’m not an heiress to a multi-million-dollar ranch. I’m a faceless stranger just like everyone else.

I can do this. I’ll serve drinks for an hour. Then I’ll strangle my roommate.

With a tray of drinks balanced on my right hand, I head out into another room where men in all kinds of mostly shirtless costumes stand around, talking to half-naked girls.

The lighting is low, but I can make out couples dancing in the middle of the room. Several men stand around a naked woman, doing shots off her body. A flash of skin off to the left catches my eye and I realize a woman is down on her knees, giving the Phantom of the Opera a blow job.

Holy shit. Is this an orgy?

Trying to avoid eye contact, I walk around the perimeter of what seems like a grand ballroom. But instead of champagne and waltzes like I read about in romance novels, instead of dashing dukes and shy debutantes, seedy guys are jerking off to a woman rubbing a tube of glitter all over herself.

I’m going to kill Cynthia. When I reach a small alcove, I grab a shot off another tray and down it because I need some mental fortification to handle this crap.

Closing my eyes, I take several deep breaths. Better.

A door opens a few feet away, and the heavy bass of “Supermassive Black Hole” by Muse blares through. I catch a glimpse of Cynthia dancing bare-breasted on a bar while men toss money at her.

I grab another shot and hold it up in a silent toast to my roommate. “More power to you, Cyn.”

Then I tug up my bustier. I love Cynthia, but I will not be joining her on that side quest.

“Can I grab one of those?” a low, raspy voice asks, and I turn and find myself staring into a mesmerizing pair of green eyes.

I know those eyes.

“What do you say, gorgeous? Can I have a drink?”

Oh my God. I know that voice.