Chapter 14
fourteen
I step out of the shower, wiping away the condensation across the mirror. It’s Christmas Eve, the night of the town’s masquerade ball at the lodge. Aside from the occasional wedding, it’s probably one of the fanciest events the venue holds.
Notes of instrumental Christmas tunes filter in through the crack of the bathroom door. Jennifer’s entire family is here getting ready for tonight. The music is mixed with the clatter of footsteps above and below us. Somewhere in the distance, a hair dryer is blowing.
Mom was disappointed I wouldn’t be going with them, but Dad took it in stride. He told me they’d meet me there and I could make it up to him with a dance.
“Are you done in there yet?” Jennifer calls from the other room.
Throwing my wet locks up in a towel, I step out, body wrapped up in the robe I stole from the back of her door. “Sorry, it’s all yours. The water’s still warm, I promise.”
“It won’t be if I don’t get in there soon. There are ten other people in this house.”
She rushes past me, not bothering to shut the door all the way behind her before the water turns back on.
Our dresses hang off the back of her door in their protective bags, and my simple white and gold mask is tied to the hanger. I wanted something that would be comfortable throughout the night and not require me to hold it in place while I chatted and danced.
Zach offered to escort me on our drive home from the springs, but I told him I’d already made plans with Jennifer. Cole’s eyes met mine in the review mirror at my gentle letdown. They shone with a pleased arrogance, making me want to take it back and agree to Zach’s offer. But the truth was, Zach didn’t seem to mind. He turned around and said he and Luke would meet us there. No big deal.
I drop onto the cushioned vanity stool, leaning over to dig through the drawer full of hair instruments. Untangling the mess of cords, I free the hair dryer and get to work, giving myself a blowout. When my hair’s almost all the way dry, I throw in a few large curlers to set while I get started on my makeup.
The shower stops in the bathroom, and Jennifer pokes her head out from behind the door. “You stole my robe,” she deadpans.
“Oops,” I say, not sorry in the least. “Need me to grab you some towels?”
“It’s the least your thieving little ass could do,” she claps back.
I laugh at her fake annoyance, heading out to the hall linen closet. With everyone here and in prep mode for the evening, I score the last two towels, hugging them close should someone sneak up on me and try to yank one free.
“Here,” I announce, setting the towels on the damp bathroom counter. “Don’t say I never gave you anything.” I bump open the bathroom door and turn back for the room to finish getting ready for the night.
The ballroom is elegantly decorated in twinkling white lights that reflect off all the gold accents throughout the room. The color theme changes year to year, and you’d think I had an in with the planning committee with how seamlessly my look matches tonight.
“Wow,” Jennifer says in awe.
We were running a little behind schedule, putting all our last-minute touches together and getting sidetracked with pictures. The event is in full swing, the crowd thick with men in three-piece suits and women in beautiful gowns. It’s an eighteen-and-up party that keeps the little ones away so the adults can enjoy a night alone.
“Let’s get a drink. I’m sure the guys are around here somewhere.”
The second the words leave my lips, my eyes land on a tall, hulking figure surrounded by a mob of women. I’d recognize Zach anywhere with his messy, dirty blond hair and stature, but he also sent a picture of him and Luke being idiots, so I know exactly what his mask looks like.
I’m not jealous of the attention being lavished on him; however, his hands are tucked away his pockets, and his back is ramrod straight. He’s uncomfortable, and Luke isn’t at his side to distract and take some of the heat.
“I see Zach.” I nod in his direction. “Let me grab him, and we’ll meet you at the bar.”
She laughs, but bee lines across the dance floor to the back of the room. It takes me a minute to kindly push through the throngs of people before I can slide into Zach’s side. I bump into the woman trying to cuddle up to him harder than necessary but throw out a fake “excuse me” to play it off.
“Hey, handsome. There you are,” I say, loud enough for the group to hear over the chattering room and Christmas music.
He stiffens for a quick moment, but when his eyes swing to me pushed into his side, his anxiety melts away. The blinding smile he shines my way warms me to my core, and I melt even closer.
“Jesus, baby,” he says, pushing me back to take me in head to toe. His eyes fill with hunger, and my warm core blazes to life. “You look gorgeous.”
“This old thing?” I ask cheekily, giving him a full twirl so he can take in the open back that stops just above my tailbone. “I hope I wasn’t interrupting?”
He drags me back into his chest, his hand finding a spot for itself on my naked lower back. When we look around, we notice the women dispersed some time while we were ignoring their existence.
“For you,” Jennifer announces, gliding up to my side, hand outstretched with a champagne flute.
Luke offers a short glass filled with amber liquid to Zach, and we all cheers to a night of delicious fun.
After our third twirl around the dance floor, an unsteady waltz Zach flawlessly led me through, I break for the bathroom. The women’s restroom outside the ballroom is packed with a line out the door. I don’t want to waste my night standing around waiting to pee.
There’s another restroom on the other side of the abandoned lobby. You’d never know hundreds of guests and townspeople were living it up a few halls over with how quiet it is out here.
As expected, this bathroom is empty, and I don’t waste the thirty minutes I would have at the other one. I quickly check my makeup before washing my hands and dropping the white cloth towel into the small basket.
My fingers curl around the handle to pull open the door when it swings, almost hitting me square in the face. Jumping back to safety, I’m about to dwell out a curt, “Watch it,” when I see who’s shoving their way in so forcefully.
“What the hell are you doing in here!” I screech.
“You missed me in the lobby,” he says, closing the door behind him to push us back into the bathroom.
“And?” I ask, irritated. My heart races at our proximity. I can’t trust how my body reacts to him despite my mind telling me to shut it down and return to the party.
His strong fingers wrap around my waist, the heat searing through the thin fabric of my dress. He’s not gentle when he shoves me against the counter and holds me in place with his muscular body, just as he did against the tree in the forest.
“We’re not doing this again,” I choke out.
“Doing what, little liar? I just wanted to make sure you knew how sinful you look in that dress.” He leans in, running his nose up the column of my neck. His lips pause at my ear before he says, “But I bet it would look even better hiked up around your waist as I fuck you from behind while you watch through the mirror.”
His filthy words, sore straight for my core, but in a moment of clarity, I try to shove him away. It's too bad for me that he’s rock solid and doesn’t move an inch.
“Zach’s waiting for me. Let me go, Cole!”
His hand pushes past the slit in the fabric at my side. “Tell me, if I slip my fingers between your soft thighs, will you be wet for me.”
I rip my face to the side, looking toward the door that could open at any moment while refusing to answer his question. It’s pointless because I know the truth. And when his fingers find the thin fabric covering my pussy, so does he.
“I don’t know why you keep lying to yourself, Dakota. You know you want me. Just as much as I want you.”