11. Nick
NICK
“Do I look okay?” I asked Evan as Vlado slowed the car to a stop.
“You look perfect.”
I looked down at my clothes critically. “Are you sure?” I smoothed my hand over the emerald-green silk shirt I’d paired with my tuxedo. “Is the boat neck too casual? Maybe I should have gone with something more traditional.”
“Nicky, look at me.”
I flicked my gaze to his.
“You look perfect.”
I smiled, some of the tension leaving me at the heat and affection in his eyes.
“There’s no reason to be nervous.”
“I’m not nervous. I just don’t want to screw this up.”
“You won’t. Just be yourself and have fun. Everything else will fall into place.”
The valet opened the car door. I pasted on a smile and climbed out of the car.
“Holy mother of pearl.” I craned my neck and looked up at the hotel the benefit was being held at. “You didn’t tell me we were going to a literal castle!”
Vlado covered his laugh with a cough. “Wait until you see the inside.”
“I’m gonna get tackled by the poor police as soon as I step through the door, aren’t I?”
“No one is tackling anyone.” Evan held out his arm. “Not in public, at least.”
Looping my arm through his, I tossed him a sweet smile. “I thought you weren’t into primal play?”
“Primal play?” Vlado fell into step behind us as Evan led me up the walkway, which had an honest-to-god red carpet, and toward the ornate glass doors. “What’s that? It sounds like it’s either a great time, or a terrifying one.”
“Depends. Do you like chasing your partners down and going all caveman on them?”
“Yeah, not really my thing. I’m more of a pleasure Dom.”
“Really?” Perking up, I glanced back at him. “Bet the ladies love that.”
“I’ve never had any complaints,” he said with a smirk.
I turned my attention back to the hotel as we stepped through the main doors.
“Holy crap on a cracker. What in the Midas touch is going on here? Why is everything so…gold?”
“Because it’s luxe?” Vlado said.
My head was on a swivel as we walked across the gilded lobby.
Every fixture and surface was done in gleaming gold, and the décor and furnishings wouldn’t be out of place in a palace.
“It reminds me of those people who wear designer labels from head to toe. A little is classy, a lot is trashy. How much does a room go for here?”
“A lot,” Evan said.
I glanced at him as he steered me toward the back of the lobby. “Is this one of those ‘if you have to ask, you can’t afford it’ moments?”
He nodded.
“Are the rooms like this too?” I waved my hand around. “Do you think people stay here to cosplay royalty and live out their princess fantasies?”
Vlado choked out a laugh. “Princess fantasies?”
“You never pretended you were a princess when you were a kid? If I was staying in a place like this I’d totally pack a gown and tiara and just sit in my fancy-ass room that probably costs more than my rent and pretend I was a princess.
Hell, I’d even splurge and order all sorts of fancy nibblies from room service and stand on my balcony so I could look down on all the peasants outside while I stuffed my face like a French Queen. ”
“French Queen? Is that a Marie Antoinette reference?” Evan asked.
“Maybe. Is she that bitch who ate cake and got her head chopped off? ’Cause that’s who I was talking about.”
Vlado snickered behind me.
“Something like that.” Evan chuckled.
“Holy baby bunnies,” I exclaimed as Evan led me through a doorway at the back of the lobby. “How is the hallway even fancier than the goldsplosion of a lobby?”
The hallway in question was positively drenched in gold accents, and had the most beautiful stained-glass ceiling I’d ever seen. The lighting was soft and shone through the stained glass, giving the room a warm glow, like sunshine.
“How are they doing that? Isn’t it dark out? Why does it look like an enchanted forest in here? Isn’t there more building on top of us? What sorcery is this?”
“The lights create the illusion of it being daytime,” Evan said. “They also have a setting that looks like twinkling starlight, and another that can mimic sunset or sunrise.”
I glanced at him, half expecting him to appear exasperated at my running commentary. He was smiling, his shoulders relaxed and his head high.
Jesus, he was handsome.
“I swear I’m not usually this dumb.” I cut my gaze back to the hallway before he caught me staring. “My brain is just confused by all the shiny stuff and my mouth is going along for the ride.”
“You’re fine.” Evan patted my arm. “It’s a lot to take in the first time.”
Quiet music and the hum of voices filtered out of an open doorway about fifty feet in front of us.
“Is that where we’re going?” I asked, tightening my grip on his arm.
“It is.” Evan rubbed my hand affectionately.
A shiver of desire shot up my spine as a memory came of Evan holding my wrists and gently pinning them to the bed as he lay over me.
His strong body over mine, the heady scent of his cologne mixed with the musk of his arousal. The soft, almost reverent way he’d kissed me.
How he’d looked at me while he pushed inside me.
“… about a thing.”
“Huh?” I blinked to clear my head, only then realizing Evan had been talking. “Sorry, I zoned out there for a second.”
He grinned knowingly. “And what, pray tell, were you thinking about?”
“How many licks it takes to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop.”
Evan let out a bark of laugher as Vlado issued an almost-laugh that was more of a snort.
“Tootsie Pop?” Vlado lightly punched Evan’s shoulder. “Is that what you call yours?”
“It has lots of names.” Evan shot Vlado a look. “Tootsie Pop is just one of its many layers.”
“Layers? It’s a dick, not a cake.”
“Hearing you say Tootsie Pop in that serious voice while wearing a tux is officially the highlight of my week,” I said with a snicker.
The entrance to the room where the benefit was being held loomed ahead of us. Nerves fluttered around in my belly as Evan led me inside.
The sprawling ballroom was as opulent and gilded as the rest of the hotel.
People milled around in tuxes and gowns, and waiters moved about holding trays of drinks in fancy gold flutes, and platters of tiny food.
A string quartet played soft music on a stage above a dance floor where several guests were dancing.
“Oh. My. God!” a female voice shrieked.
I jumped.
“Evan!”
We turned toward the source of the voice. A woman about Evan’s age stood a few feet away in a blue gown with a sheer bodice and a mermaid-style skirt that hugged her curves in all the right ways.
“Hello, Maryse.” Evan stepped away from me as the woman rushed up and threw her arms around his neck.
A surge of jealousy hit out of nowhere at the familiar embrace.
“Relax, killer.” Vlado put his hand on my shoulder and leaned close to speak in my ear. “He’s not into her, or any women.”
“Not my business who he’s interested in,” I said, going for neutral but failing epically. “Or who he ends up in.”
“Breathe, Nicky.” He grasped my shoulder as Evan untangled himself from the hussy in blue.
“I’m fine.” I stood up straight and pasted on my brightest, fakest smile. “Are you going to introduce us?” I asked Evan cheerfully.
He shot me a look that said he knew exactly what was behind my friendliness. But instead of being angry, he seemed like he was trying not to bust a gut laughing.
“Of course, darling.” He held out his arm.
Something about him calling me darling sent a little thrill up my spine, and I fought the insane urge to giggle.
Shaking that weirdness off, I stepped closer.
He put his arm around my waist and cinched me against his side. “Nick, I’d like you to meet Maryse. Maryse, this is Nick.”
“So nice to meet you.” Maryse barely flicked her gaze to me. “Can I steal you away for a moment, Ev? There’s something important I need to talk to you about. Something that requires…discretion.”
My heart fell.
It was stupid to be jealous. Even if Evan weren’t gay, he was a young, wealthy, and gorgeous man who oozed confidence and was a whole-ass adult who adulted. He was free to be with whoever he wanted when our arrangement came to an end.
For the most part, Evan’s colleagues and associates were polite to me. I still got the occasional cold shoulder or overly nosy questions, but most people seemed content to treat me like the arm candy Evan had hired me to be.
Ugh. I needed to get over myself and focus on the job. Evan was counting on me, and this was the party. The one where I finally met his family and we sold our act to them. The hussy in blue could go kick rocks.
“Anything you want to say, you can say around Nick,” Evan said, his voice smooth, but I could hear the slight edge to it.
Maryse laughed in that pretentious way people did when they were mad but didn’t want to show it. She turned her full attention on me. “So this is the famous Nick.” She gave a critical sweep. “I can see why you chose this one, Ev. He’s very…pretty. And a lot younger than I thought he’d be.”
“I get that a lot. Having a babyface is both a blessing and a curse.” I smiled serenely. “I have to say, that dress is banging. Total main character energy.”
“Thank you.” She ran her hand over the generous swell of her breast and fixed her attention on Evan. “What do you think, Ev? Do you like it?”
“It’s super brave of you to try to bring back the fashions of your youth,” I said before Evan could answer. “It’s serving nineties prom with a hint of eighties glam. Love that for you.”
Maryse’s face went red under the layers of makeup.
“If you’ll excuse us, we have to go say hello to my parents.” Evan hauled me away from Maryse. Vlado followed behind us, his snickers just loud enough for us to hear them.
“What?” I asked fake-innocently when Evan pulled me to a stop about twenty feet away from where Maryse was still fuming. “I thought we were going to say hello to your parents.”
“Was that really necessary?”