Chapter 18
Chapter Eighteen
T wirling left and then right, I stared at my reflection in the mirror. Everything about today had been a whirlwind from the bubble tea he bribed me with to the high-end shops to trying on clothes while Cole eyed me with a wicked yet critical eye as if he were an expert in women’s fashion. Frankly, he had good taste.
But my favorite part of the day, other than my second glass of boba, had been when we stopped at this little bakery on the way home, Cole swearing I couldn’t leave without trying a chocolate éclair from Sweet Symphonies.
Fuck, he hadn’t been wrong.
And I made the mistake of telling him it had been the best thing I put in my mouth. To which he had responded with wait until you’ve had me in your mouth.
I’d promptly choked on my éclair and almost wasted the damn thing by throwing it into his face. I barely restrained the impulse.
But hours later, the memory brought a stupid grin to my lips.
The time we spent together today had been so different than when we’d been locked in his house during the storm. I tried not to think too hard about it, but there wasn’t a part of Cole that didn’t confuse yet intrig ue me, and I was starting to think the problem was more me than him.
I rarely spend time on my hair and makeup, but I’d devoured hours of YouTube beauty videos. Tonight, I’d taken extra care with my appearance. I couldn’t remember the last time I worked so hard at styling my long hair or carefully applying my makeup. I didn’t think I ever had. In high school, I’d skipped all the important dances like prom and homecoming. It had been hard for me to put importance on things like how perfect my hair was or what eyeshadow highlighted my eyes best. I’d always been the young girl with big problems.
Fussing with a stubborn curl framing my face, I scowled. I wanted to look good, but I wanted to play my part well, whatever part that was. I had this intense work ethic inside me, and it wouldn’t let me do anything half-assed, not when I was being paid. My personal life was an entirely different story.
My hands dropped to my side, nervousness fluttering in my stomach, and I sighed with frustration. What the fuck have you gotten yourself into, Arie?
I sensed I wasn’t alone, a prickle of awareness tingling at the back of my exposed neck. My hair was pinned up, tendrils of loose curls falling from the ponytail. Using the mirror, I lifted my gaze, spotting Cole lingering in the doorway.
Enamored by the way he glanced me over, I watched as his eyes took in every inch of me from the black pants molded to my body like a second skin to the detailed corset bodice, tied tight at my waist. It did amazing things for my breasts, pushing them up front and center. The lowcut top showed more skin than my usual attire, but nothing any less risqué than the bikinis I wore. Yet something about the outfit oozed sexuality, something I wouldn’t say I had an abundance of. Frankie would be so damn proud.
Heat flared in his eyes as they pierced mine.
I couldn’t look away because I loved the way he stared at me. No one had ever looked at me the way Cole did.
Color deepened the spots on my cheeks where I’d applied blush. “So, what do you think? Does this meet your approval?” I asked, breaking the silence between us. I couldn’t take the tension building in the room anymor e. If I wanted to get through this night, I needed to be calm and levelheaded, not swept up in Cole’s world or in the way he made me feel.
“You could be wearing nothing, and you’d still be the most beautiful girl I’d ever seen, Killer.” His voice was gruff. Romantic compliments didn’t come easy to Cole, at least not this Cole. Tonight, he was colder, serious, all business, his muscular frame edged with danger and darkness. The flirtatious, tongue-in-cheek, and playfully rude boy from earlier today didn’t exist in the man who stood before me in all black again just like he’d been last night.
I swallowed, willing my heart to slow the fuck down. “Do you think anyone would mind if I showed up naked?” God, what a pathetic joke. Why is he making me so nervous?
Cole’s long legs carried him across the room, and he stopped behind me, close enough I could feel his heat seeping into my bare shoulders and back. “You don’t need my approval, Killer. Nor anyone else’s, including my parents.”
I continued to hold his gaze in the reflection. “Isn’t that the point of our arrangement?”
“Not exactly.”
There was no point pressing him for details. He was like an iron safe. Impossible to break. “I’m meeting your parents tonight?” The prospect gave me mixed emotions. So far, Cole had few nice things to say about his father, and I wasn’t keen about meeting the Riley patriarch.
“I have the same sense of dread whenever I have to see them too,” he said, having seen my expression change.
“Cole,” I shrieked, whirling around. I whacked him on the arm. “You’re making me more nervous.”
His gaze flickered over my face. “I won’t let anyone hurt you,” he whispered, his voice lowering with a tinge of protectiveness that made me regret turning so we were toe-to-toe.
Unease stirred. Like I needed one more thing to be worried over. “Is that a possibility?”
“In my world, it’s a given,” he said in what sounded awfully like a warning.
The gilded cage always sparkled and glimmered from the outside, but once locked in, the cage lost all its shine and appeal. Perhaps that was how it was for him. Was Cole a prince locked in the tower waiting to be rescued and set free? The image made me smirk.
“Before you make some lewd comment, I’m wearing underwear.”
He chuckled. “You might not be by the end of the night.”
“Don’t count on it, rich boy.” Blowing out a breath, I smoothed invisible wrinkles from my pants. “Should we get this night over?”
“There is just one thing missing.” Cole lifted something in his hand I hadn’t noticed. The tattoos on his fingers seemed more of a threat tonight than a rebellious statement. Dangling on a silky ribbon was a mask, the kind you would wear to a masquerade ball.
“What’s that?” I asked, staring at the intricate black lace.
Cole lifted the mask in front of my face, his eyes on mine. “Necessary for where we’re going.”
“A masquerade ball?” Why else would I be wearing a mask? Unless he wanted to hide me. If he was ashamed of being seen with someone like me, then why was I going?
I hated the self-doubt that skittered inside me like a dirty old stain I’d thought had been washed away.
He lifted the fabric to my face, fitting it just over my nose so only my eyes were visible, tying the ribbon behind my head. “Not quite, but identities are protected.”
I trailed my fingers over delicate lace and faced the mirror again, taking in my reflection. “This little mask doesn’t seem like it would conceal who I am very well. You better not be taking me to some cult bs. I’m down for crazy but not that crazy.”
His lips twitched as he brushed a curl off my shoulder and sent electric tingles through my skin. “I promise no one will tie you to a stone slab, force you to drink sheep’s blood, and sacrifice you to Lucifer.”
“Well fuck, there goes my night.”
“Get in the car, Killer.”
The car turned out to be a black stretch limo big enough to fit ten people. “This isn’t a car, Cole. It’s a fucking statement.”
A muscle flexed in Cole’s jaw as he slipped in beside me. “You can thank my father. He insisted as he always does.”
I twisted a ring on my finger. “Maybe I should have worn a dress.”
He hit a button, closing the privacy window between us and the driver , before reaching for a bottle of champagne. “And miss seeing you in that corset? I’m afraid not.”
I rolled my eyes, but I did have to admit I looked like the nickname Cole coined for me—Killer.
The drive was longer than I anticipated, an hour at least, but the champagne eased the time. I limited myself to one fairly full glass, knowing I had to pace my consumption. My attempts to extract useful information tonight were a failure. Cole was tight-lipped and in a foul mood. I didn’t understand why we didn’t stay home.
His moody expression shifted when the car stopped in front of a Gothic-looking building. I peered out the tinted glass, taking in the pointed peaks, the iron railings, and the eerie windows. “You failed to mention we were going to Dracula’s house.”
Cole pulled out a skull mask and slipped it over his face, and suddenly it felt like All Saints’ Eve. “Welcome to the Devil’s Night at the Mirrored Mansion, Killer.”
I scowled at the house. “Rich people do weird shit.”
The driver opened Cole’s door, and I inched to the edge of my seat, scooting toward the exit and getting a better view of not just the house but the entrance. A black carpet was rolled over the pathway to the front door. The house was a deep chocolate brown, and under the coverage of night, with only a sliver of moonlight, it looked black. A veranda sat on the right side of the two-story section with a balcony above it. On the other side was a bay-like tower climbing to the second level, and in the center, above the front door, a square tower scaled at least three stories.
Every window in the house, and there were freaking many, glowed in amber, warm, and spookily inviting light.
The house was ghoulishly gorgeous.
I kind of secretly loved it.
Cole took my hand when I stepped out of the car, leading me up a short set of stairs to the door. Two attendants or bodyguards, I couldn’t tell which, stood outside the double doors. Nothing about their expressions or rigid bodies was cordial.
I smiled in greeting, but they remained motionless like stone statues. My smile faded. Not a friendly bunch. I guess I shouldn’t expect to meet any new friends .
“Password,” the guard on Cole’s right prompted.
“The devil sent me.”
Nice.
Cole squeezed my hand as if he sensed something sarcastic was about to tumble out of my mouth and wanted me to keep quiet.
I gave him a sidelong glare he ignored, guiding me inside as the guard opened the door.
“What was that about?” I hissed when we were out of earshot.
“Me saving you from yourself.” His lips aligned with mine, a mere breath separating us. “You look stunning by the way.”
I hated to admit he looked good too. I preferred him in shorts and a tee. Seeing him like this made him more intimidating and dangerous, which apparently, I really, really liked. “Flattery will get you nowhere with me.” Dragging my gaze off Cole, I glanced around the room.
What the ?— ?
Maybe it was because I hadn’t gone to many Halloween parties, and I’d definitely not been to any masquerade balls, but I’d expected the posh dresses. It was the masks that threw me. The lace one I wore was tame compared to most in the room.
“There’s only one rule tonight, Killer. Don’t call me by my name,” he murmured, the cool steel of his lip ring grazing my ear, his breath hot on my skin.
I couldn’t suppress the shudder. It rippled through me like a high to a drug addict, and I craved more.
“Why not?” I inquired huskily and a bit dazed by the gold in his eyes as he pulled back to look at me from behind his mask.
“It’s the rules of the game. We might know each other by name, but when the mask is on and we walk over the threshold, we’re no longer who we were.”
I couldn’t feel more out of place. “If someone asks who I am?”
“Give them whatever name you wish as long as it’s not your actual name.”
“Are you ashamed of me?” I blurted, unable to prevent myself from asking the question this time. I couldn’t shake the insecurity, and if I didn’t want to stress over it all night, then it was better to deal with it directly despite exposing a weak spot in my tough-girl exterior .
He flinched, his brows inching together. “I’m going to make this very clear once, and only once. I don’t give a shit what a single person here thinks of me, let alone you. If you believe for one second anyone here is better than you, you’re fucking wrong. The size of their bank account doesn’t make a person. If anything, the wealthier they are, the shittier a person they become. People will cross all degrees of moral lines to achieve fortune, status, and fame. I’m ashamed of them , of my association with this class.” He took my chin between his fingers, his grip firm, and I sensed his strength and the tremor of anger under the surface, carefully locked away, that could be unleashed with the right key. He wasn’t hurting me, but I also knew he could hurt me. “But never of you,” he vowed.
I stared at him feeling conflicted, turned on, surprised, happy, and a cluster of other emotions I had trouble processing. Somehow, during his passionate speech, I’d drawn closer to him without noticing. But I fucking noticed now, especially since he still had ahold of my chin. “I think this is the first time in my life I’m speechless.”
His fingers dropped from my face but not before he brushed his thumb under my bottom lip. “At least something good came out of tonight, other than seeing your ass in those pants.”
I jabbed my elbow into his gut, but it was like hitting a brick. “You’ll pay for that, Riley.”
Behind the mask, his eyes flared. “I’m looking forward to seeing what kind of punishment you have in store for me.”
The rosy tint of my cheeks deepened. “You’re not the oldest,” I said, trying to understand the family dynamic. From what I gathered, his eldest brother, Brody, was being groomed to take over the family business. That was usually the order of things when it came to heirs, but maybe I had it wrong. Maybe my presumption of how the fortunes were handed down was faulty or jaded.
A server walked by with a tray of flutes, and Cole plucked off two, handing me one. It was the first time I noticed the staff offering drinks and hors d'oeuvres. They all wore the same vampire-esque mask and black attire.
Cole offered me a glass of champagne. “No, I’m not,” he answered. “But I’m the one my father trusts. I’m the one who makes the hard decisi ons. I get what needs to be done, no questions asked. My father would say I’m the most like him.”
“And you hate that comparison,” I guessed, taking a sip of the fizzy drink. It was sweeter than the one we’d had in the limo.
He nodded. “I do.”
Talking to Cole was easier than dealing with a room full of masked strangers. “You want to be nothing like him, but you’re afraid you are like him.”
Cole’s eyes darkened, and he knocked back his drink. “Stop analyzing me, Killer.” With a scowl, he switched out his empty flute for a full one.
“But you’re so damn fascinating, Riley.”
A guy with what I thought was a Phantom of the Opera mask covering half his face strolled up to Cole and clasped his hand with Cole’s in the way guys do when greeting each other. “Riles. Didn’t think I’d see you tonight.”
Cole nodded. “I didn’t have a choice,” he replied gruffly.
“Do any of us?” The phantom guy turned his eyes to me. “And who is this? I don’t recognize the…face,” he said, but by the way his gaze took in every inch of my body, it hadn’t been my face he referred to.
Cue the ick.
I barely stopped myself from shuddering in disgust.
Cole lifted a brow at me, prompting me to give the name I picked for the night.
My attention shifted off him to his creepy friend. “Harley,” I said, taking the hand he extended toward me.
To my great displeasure, Phantom Guy brought the back of my hand to his lips. I fought the desire to yank my hand away. It would have been rude, but I hated the feel of his lips on my skin.
“That will be the one and only time your mouth ever touches her again. Are we clear?” The shift in Cole’s tone took me aback.
I hadn’t expected it, and I didn’t know how I felt about the public display of protectiveness laced with jealousy.
Phantom Guy raised a brow. “Since when do you not share?”
“Tonight,” Cole growled, leveling a glower that would make anyone I know wither, including the masked phantom. “And every night, she is with m e.” As if his threat alone wasn’t enough, Cole slid a possessive arm around me, pulling me closer to his side.
But all he managed to do was rouse his friend’s interest in me. I saw it in the gleam of his hazel gaze as he glanced at me. “No one’s ever caught his eye for longer than a night. You must be special.” Phantom Guy lifted his glass in salute, an uncomfortable sly smirk on his lips. “I’ll catch up with you later,” he said to Cole before moving on.
Cole put light pressure on the small of my back, indicating we were moving through the room. “Do you always threaten your friends?” I asked low enough for his ears only.
His lips were turned down, and I wondered what it would take to draw a smile onto his lips. “When they deserve it.”
“He called you Riles. I thought we were undercover.” I touched the rim of my delicate mask.
“You’re undercover. My identity was compromised long ago.”
Cole took me around the room socializing. The responses were various degrees of the first. Most with more decorum than Phantom Guy, but I was judged the instant they laid eyes on me.
Not an unusual reaction
“You’re uncomfortable,” Cole murmured in my ear.
We were with a small group. They were talking stocks, markets, inflation, politics, and all the things I basically hated. I’d checked out of the conversation seconds after it started, focusing my energy on the little bacon-wrapped wieners that kept passing by me on trays carried by the staff.
I licked my finger, lifting my gaze to Cole’s, and despite being here for more than an hour, seeing the skull hiding his face still surprised me. “I’m not used to wearing a mask,” I reasoned, readjusting the satin ribbon tucked over my ear.
It was a lie.
And he knew it.
“It isn’t the clothes I was referring to,” he said, calling me out.
I plucked Cole’s half-drunk champagne glass from his fingers. I noticed he’d slowed down where I’d amped up on the liquor intake. “Fine. But can you blame me? This isn’t exactly my kind of scene.”
He shifted his body in a maneuver that cut us off from the handful of people still in a heated discussion. I swore one of them was our governor, but of course, I couldn’t be sure, not with the charcoal raven mask covering nearly his entire face except for his dried lips. It took everything in me not to offer him some of my lip gloss. It hurt just looking at those crusty lips.
“If it makes you feel better, it’s not mine either,” Cole said.
“Then why are we here?” I asked.
“Simple. If I want to continue being the malicious narcissistic, rich boy you believe I am, then I must play by my father’s rules.”
I gave an unladylike snort. “So basically, if you want to continue receiving your inheritance, you go where Daddy says.”
“I like my version better.”
“Am I supposed to be your girlfriend? Just so I know my part. I don’t want any more surprises.”
“The night will be full of them, Killer. And to answer your question, yes, for the summer. It will keep the leeches off me.”
“Leeches?” I glanced around the room. Every girl here had her eyes on us. “Oh, leeches. Got it. This should be fun. I should warn you now I’ll cut a bitch.”
Cole laughed. Like really laughed, and I felt the effect of it in my chest, my heart cartwheeling. A flush stole over my body, and I wanted desperately to kiss him, to feel the cool steel of his lip ring against my lips.
So, I did.
Lifting on my toes, I pressed my mouth to his.
We were engaged after all. This was exactly the kind of thing a fiancée would do. I was playing the game.
Liar.
I lost my sanity. I forgot where we were.
His hands slipped around my waist, keeping me close in case I had any designs of running. I didn’t. Not with his mouth moving over mine.
The kiss didn’t last as long as I wanted but not because I pulled away. It was Cole who broke off, staring down at me with fire in his eyes.
“How was that?” I whispered, curling my lips to hide my disappointment.
A hint of humor broke through his fierce expression. “You’re killing it. ”
I made a face. “Eww. No more dad puns. I don’t think I can handle it.”
His lips twitched. I preferred the hint of humor over the stone-cold, impervious Cole.
The room grew crowded with more and more people arriving as the night evolved, pushing me closer to Cole. I inhaled and with it took in his hypnotic scent. “You would?—”
“I wondered if I would see you tonight,” an older man said.
With every person we met, I wondered if the face behind the mask belonged to his mother or father. Cole stiffened at my side, his reaction telling. I tilted my gaze to the tall man with a wolf mask eyeing Cole. Something about his presence made the mask fit as if he were the hunter in a room of prey just waiting for him to take his pick.
In a black pressed suit, the wolf had a commanding aura. During the day, I could easily picture him at the head of a large boardroom full of investors, executives, and shareholders. Nothing about his posture or the firm line of his unsmiling lips came across as loving. All business, especially when it came to raising his sons.
Even with the mask, I could see similarities between the wolf and Cole, and there were enough I was fairly confident he was Cole’s father. They had similar forms and heights. Their jawlines were sharp and had the same deep scowl, but it was the eyes that sealed it for me.
In a strained voice, Cole replied, “I’m surprised you thought about me at all.”
“You always were the dramatic of the three,” the wolf said in an attempt to thaw the icy exterior suddenly erected around Cole.
It didn’t work.
I glanced back at Cole, not liking the darkness in his eyes. A spear of protectiveness that had no business being inside me sparked to life. I was either going to offer Cole a comforting hand or say something utterly hurtful to the wolf. Before I could open my mouth, I slid my fingers into Cole’s hand and squeezed. His fingers didn’t immediately twine with mine. They stayed stiff and full of tension, glaring at the wolf like the skull wanted to claim his life.
Keeping my fingers attached to his, I touched his forearm with my oth er hand, and Cole blinked, his fingers finally curling tight around mine.
His father didn’t miss a beat. He noticed what I’d done since those predatory eyes, much like his son’s, were on me. “And what rising star do you have on your arm tonight?”
Fuck, I needed a drink. As if I summoned a server with my thoughts alone, one walked by as the wolf asked Cole about me. I politely took a bubbling flute.
“She’s my fiancée,” Cole stated flatly.