Chapter 14
CHAPTER 14
O ctober 31 st
Grandma Zofia will definitely not approve of my goddess outfit. Or maybe she will. Maybe Grandma Zofia was a flapper and knew way more about men than I do. I got ready tonight on my own. Eli and Kenneth had their matching costumes and were at a Broadway party. Amelia and Felix were with Leah and Noah at a party Noah decided to throw. In the short time since Leah told me about Noah, she rarely was at her apartment. It felt lonely to come home and not have her popping in. But, she is ridiculously happy and that is more important. It doesn’t mean I don’t feel any less alone though.
I thought maybe this adventure was just about lust and not love. I can’t tell if I changed or if my end goal has. I do know I’m no longer afraid of the L words—lust and love. I saw what living the lives of your heroes or heroines does for my friends and I want that too. No more hesitation. I’m going to jump into the pages of these book with both feet.
Who knows? Maybe tonight I’ll find Mr. Right. Here’s to having more treats than tricks tonight. One thing I know, I’m done worrying about it. No more what-ifs. Now it’s all about seizing the adventures before me.
The sidewalk around WET was packed with people in costumes. Women had to be freezing in their skimpy outfits and men seemed happy to warm them up as they started the party in line before they even reached inside.
“Miss Turner, good to see you again.”
“You too. Happy Halloween.” It was funny. Paige had never been a nightclub person before she started this resolution. Now she was friends with the bartenders, knew the security personnel, and had been in the VIP section of the hottest nightclub in New York, even having met the owner more times than she could count. She was still an introvert, but now she could be extroverted too. There were times it was fun and other times she rather read in bed. But now she at least knew the feeling of both.
Tonight was a big step for her. None of her friends were going to be there. Dracklen was at The Red Door for their Halloween party, so she didn’t even have him there. This was stepping way out of her comfort zone, but she was ready.
The music was electric and Paige smiled at the bartender in the VIP section as she grabbed a Halloween themed drink. She looked around the VIP section but with the costumes, it was nearly impossible to identify anyone. Paige tossed back the last part of her drink. It was time to be adventurous.
Paige walked down the stairs and onto the main floor. People were packed into the club. They were dancing and they were at the bar and tables laughing, drinking, and partying.
A man jumped in front of her, tossed his head back and howled. He had a beard and his werewolf costume was very realistic. His pants were furry and so was his bare chest. All that fake fur was going to hurt when he took it off.
“Oh goddess, will you break my curse by dancing with me?”
Paige laughed and nodded. He howled again and across the dance floor other werewolves howled in return. The music vibrated through her body as they danced. He was fun and made her laugh with his werewolf antics.
“How does that fur not come off with all that sweat? I thought the glue would dissolve for sure,” Paige asked him as she reached out and ran her fingers through the fur on his chest and arms.
“It’s not fake. It’s my real hair. Damn it feels good when you pet me.” Paige’s hand stopped. This was way worse than dog-eared book pages. “Women love a hairy man. They don’t want men all waxed and smooth. No, they want a real man.”
A bead of sweat dropped from his hairy chest and Paige took a step back. Sure, men didn’t need to wax, but he was as furry as a, well, werewolf. In books, it was always erotic when the heroine ran her hand through her were’s fur. This was not something Paige found sexy. This was not erotic. A little trim would go a long way. Although, this guy might need the kind of clippers dog groomers use.
A wolf howled across the room and her dance partner returned the call. “I’ll be right back. My pack needs me. Then we can go into one of the dark corners and pet each other.”
Paige immediately spun and headed toward the bar. She didn’t want to be there when he returned. A man with large horns, tight buckskin pants, and a tail turned from the bar as she walked by. “Hey, goddess. Want to dance?”
The man was tall. Like really tall. He even made Griz look short. The horns also looked pretty sharp but really sexy. He had long, flowing brown hair that blended in any band the horns used to stay on. He also only had a normal amount of chest hair and a great smile.
“I’d love to. I’m Aphrodite. What are you?” Paige asked over the loud music as they walked back to the dance floor.
“We’re perfect together, Aphrodite and the minotaur.”
His hands gripped her hips as they began to dance. A buckskin clad leg slipped between hers until he was practically bouncing her on his thigh. Her hands rubbed along his naked chest. Halloween was definitely not like this at work when they dressed up. She was digging men wearing as little as possible too. This dance partner was much calmer than the werewolf and the sexual tension was way higher.
Paige kept dancing as one song transitioned into another. Tonight was like a down and dirty Red Door. People were in costume. There was no talk of names or what they did for a living. People’s faces were covered in paint, glitter, makeup, or masks. Sex and anonymity were the vibes of the night.
Minotaur’s hands began to roam across her body. His hand took a squeeze of her ass, and Paige closed her eyes to lose herself in the moment. The trouble? It wasn’t the minotaur’s face she saw when she closed her eyes. It was the elegantly masked face of Mr. Paris. Paige’s breath caught and she opened her eyes. Disappointment filled her as it was the Minotaur, not Mr. Paris, looking down at her with that look that told Paige he wanted to kiss her.
Minotaur’s head began to lower. Paige closed her eyes to be kissed, but then yelped in pain. It wasn’t his lips that touched her skin. It was the sharp edge of his horn that had slipped from his head and almost impaled her eye.
“Oh shit. I’m sorry,” he said, yanking the horns away from her as he cringed. “Missed your eye, but your cheek is bleeding. You might want to ask the bartender for some napkins.”
Mr. Minotaur cupped her elbow and began to escort her through the crowd. Paige felt the small amount of blood on her cheek, but it didn’t seem to be much. She waited as he pushed his way to the bar and waved down one of the bartenders for a glass of water and some napkins.
“Paige? Right?” Paige turned to find a vampire standing behind her. His hair was gelled back and he wore a black suit and a cape lined with red satin. Happily, she knew this vampire. It was Wilder Townsend, the owner of the club. “You’re bleeding. What happened?”
“Got nicked by his horn.” Wilder’s lips twitched in amusement and Paige rolled her eyes. “Not that horn. That would be even scarier if it could do that.”
The minotaur turned back around once he got the water, but Wilder was already reaching for Paige. “I’ll take it from here,” Wilder said to the now de-horned minotaur. He placed his hand on the small of her back. “Let’s go to my office. I have a first aid kit there.”
“Thanks for the dance,” Paige called out as Wilder escorted her through the crush and to a staff only door.
Wilder opened the door with a card and held it open for her. “Take the stairs to your left.”
Paige walked up the stairs and paused. Wilder walked by her and headed to the end of a very long hall. He used his card again and the door opened. Paige walked into the office and paused. “Wow.” The far wall was solid glass.
“It’s the mirror that overlooks the dance floor from behind the bar. That’s how I saw you. That and the security feeds.” Wilder indicated the large television that projected all of the security camera feeds at once on it. She could see behind the bars, in every hallway, and every inch of the club. “Now, let’s get you cleaned up. You don’t want me losing control and biting you.” Wilder winked at her. “Or maybe you do?”
Paige gulped. There was something very intense about Wilder Townsend. He covered it with a laid-back attitude, but it was still there. He was a man who would devastate you with his touch but then walk away. She was still in an adventurous mood, so she bent her head to the side, offering up her neck to him.
Wilder smiled at her, but it wasn’t his normal jovial one. It was one full of hunger and promise. He moved to a door and opened it. It appeared to be a bathroom. He came back out a moment later with a first aid kit. “This will sting a little, but who knows what was on his horn.”
Paige laughed, even as Wilder slid his hand to cup her neck. “Stop saying horn like that. I can’t take you seriously thinking of being stabbed in the face with a dick.”
“I can think of better ways to use my dick than that.” Wilder dabbed the small cut with some antiseptic cleaner and Paige hissed out a breath. “Sorry. I know it hurts. My oldest brother, Damon, used to clean our scrapes and he’d just dump it on and watch it sizzle away the bacteria.” Wilder leaned closer to her cut and finished cleaning it. Paige watched him as he did so. He was gentle and so very sexy. He didn’t bother with make-up for his costume. His looks were deadly enough.
“Now, what was that about biting?” Paige asked when he stood up from cleaning the cut.
Wilder stepped forward, causing Paige to step back until her bottom hit his large desk. “You have an adventurous streak, Paige.”
“More than you know,” Paige said in a whisper. Her heart was beginning to pound and the sting from the cut was long forgotten.
A knock on the door made her jump. Wilder cursed under his breath and stalked to the door, yanking it open. “What?”
“Sorry, boss, but we have an issue,” he said meaningfully.
“Dammit,” Wilder cursed under his breath as he ran a hand over his hair, messing up the gelled perfection. He turned to Paige and frowned. “I’m sorry, Paige. I need to take care of this. Let me walk you to the VIP lounge.”
“Of course. I imagine tonight is very crazy for you. Thanks for the first aid.” Paige saw Wilder’s jaw was tight as he led her down the hall and through a door that brought her out into the VIP area right next to the bar.
“Miss Turner’s drinks are on the house tonight and make sure she gets a ride home,” Wilder told the security guard standing near the bar.
“Yes, boss.”
“I hope to see you again, Paige. Have a good night.”
Paige reached out and squeezed his hand. “Thank you.”
Paige watched Wilder storm off into the hidden hallways of the club. The security guard had given the bartender Wilder’s order and a second Halloween drink appeared before her without Paige even having to ask. “Thank you.” Paige turned to the crowd in the VIP room. Most of the people were starting to head down to the dance floor, and that left one small corner open.
Paige took a seat, sighing at the great feeling of being off her feet, and sipped on her drink. From her seat, she could turn her head to the left and look out on the dance floor. As she looked straight ahead, she could see who was entering the VIP area. She was proud of herself for being adventurous. She could have gone home, she could have not danced, she could have not flirted, but she’d done it all. And she wasn’t done yet. Just a little break and then . . . holy bookworm!
Paige’s eyes went wide at the man walking into the VIP area. He was wearing black jeans that were tight enough to show he had some powerful legs and also tight enough to show he was, um, large. His bulge made her want to reach out and touch it. Paige forced her eyes upward to a bare chest. She was really loving this theme of sexy men’s costumes tonight. Even from across the VIP area, she could count the individual rippled abs and it was more than six. His chest was wide, chiseled, and partially hidden under the black zipper hoodie he wore unzipped to his waist.
Paige finally forced herself to take in his head and her breath caught. He was wearing a skull ghost mask. The black hoodie over his head gave him a menacing and mysterious air. He looked like a serial killer. Hello, morally flexible antihero. Damn . She’d never leaned into the dark erotica books before, but she was leaning into it hard right now.
His masked face scanned the room as if he were looking for someone. Then the skull ghost face stopped, staring right at her. Paige felt her heart trip over itself as her heart and her kitty stood up and waved at the man who looked as if he’d wreck both and they were there for it.
Then he moved. He stalked right toward Paige. People cleared out of his way. Women froze in place staring at the way his abdominal muscles moved with lethal grace as his eyes never looked away from Paige. Or she thought. She couldn’t see his eyes behind the mask shadowed by the pulled-up black hood.
He stopped in front of her. Paige had to lean back to look up into his skull masked face. “I heard you wanted to see me,” he said in a low, rumbling voice that was making her kitty purr.
Paige was so shocked she felt as if she’d been hit by a truck. Instead, she was eye level with something else she’d like to be hit with . . . over and over again. Her face was flushed and she was struggling to catch her breath as she forced her eyes from his package and up to his face. “Mr. Paris?”