Chapter 3 #2
As soon as we get inside the house, she starts doling out orders to people as we pass by them. I decide that now is the time to hide until the party begins, or she’ll have me running up and down doing shit for the rest of the afternoon, even though she has a whole team here.
“I’m going to rest my eyes until the party starts. I mean, you want me looking my best for your guests, right?” I question, knowing that it will work on her if she thinks I’m agreeing to her ludicrous idea.
“Oh yes. Go rest. I guess you need your beauty sleep to look your best if you want to get snatched up tonight.” She chuckles, giving me a kiss on the cheek before she’s hustling away, yelling at someone. I shake my head before making my way up the stairs toward my old suite.
The minute I get there, I pour myself a stiff drink and down it in one go before throwing myself onto my bed.
I turn on the television with the intent to watch something and relax until it’s time to get ready and head back down to the ballroom.
There’s no way in hell I’m going down there too early.
I’d rather shoot myself in the head first.
The time goes by fast as I chill in my room, and now it’s already past eight. Ma had already sent one of the maids up an hour ago to remind me to get ready. I told her I was already doing that, but really, I just kept lying here.
When I can’t put it off any longer, I get up and shower before heading into my closet for my tux and mask. When I’m done, I fix my hair and make sure I look good before finally leaving my suite.
It’s already ten by the time I make it downstairs, and hopefully my mother doesn’t kill me. I can hear the chatter of people from outside the ballroom and the thumping of the music as I make my way in that direction.
When I step into the room, I spot my parents right away, standing by the little stage.
Neither of them wears a mask since they’re hosting, but almost everyone else is.
There are a few others here and there that have forgone theirs as well.
The room has been transformed into a masquerade-style setting.
The walls are covered in a black-and-red net-like fabric, and there are a couple of huge mask cutouts as well.
The table and chairs use the same color scheme, and they’re set all around the room, leaving space in the middle for the dance floor. There’s a bar at the back of the room, which is the first thing I head for. I’m going to need another drink right away if I’m going to survive tonight.
I get a glass of cognac and down it in one go. I take one more from the bartender and hold on to it as I make my way to where my parents are standing, talking to someone who excuses himself when I get closer.
“Mother, Father,” I say as I step up to them. “You look gorgeous as usual, Ma.”
“Don’t even try to butter me up. I’m so mad I could spit! You’re late! And must you wear that mask? How are the ladies supposed to see you?” she questions with a huff.
I’m smiling even though she can’t see my face since I’m wearing an Ombra Volto mask, which covers my entire face. This mask is designed with half of it white and half of it black. Around the eyes and face, and straight down the middle, is decorated in gold.
“I’m not late, and I think this mask is quite fitting, don’t you think? I mean, you’re the one who wanted a masquerade ball, and people wear masks at these things.”
“You’re two hours late. This isn’t funny,” she mutters. “You know damn well that wasn’t the mask you were supposed to wear!”
She’s right, of course. The one she had picked out for me only covered my eyes, which means she wanted all the ladies to see me so they could get their claws into me.
“But I’m not laughing, Ma.”
“Ooo, you’re in trouble,” my father singsongs, trying to hold back his laughter.
“We’re going to have words about this later! Now let's go. I’m going to introduce you to a few of the beautiful young ladies who have been dying to meet you all night,” Mom demands. And so it begins…
“You’re going to pay for this!” I lean over and mumble to Dad before she pulls me away and along with her. The asshole has the nerve to laugh his stupid ass off. We walk a few feet away from where Dad is still standing, and Mom stops in front of a woman.
“Lauren, dear, you remember my son, Enzo. Enzo, this is Lauren,” she introduces us.
“Nice to meet you,” I say politely but in an uninterested tone.
“Take your mask off so she can see that handsome face of yours again. It’s been a while since she was in Chicago last.” Ma beams at me.
“Why have a masquerade ball if you want me to take my mask off? It literally makes no sense. Plus, everyone already knows what I look like, Ma,” I mutter. She elbows me in the side. She doesn’t bother with me or my words and just grabs my mask and pulls it off my face. This damn woman!
I see the lust that instantly forms in Lauren’s eyes, even before she takes off her mask.
She scans me from head to toe like she can’t wait to get her hands on me.
She’s beautiful, but there’s not a hint of attraction to her, no spark at all.
It’s just crickets, well, for me at least. It’s actually been that way for a while now.
No one has seemed to pique my interest for quite some time.
Whenever Nadia and I got together, it was just to scratch the itch for both of us. There were no feelings involved.
We talk for a couple of minutes longer before Mother moves on.
She has her arm in the crook of my elbow, holding on to me tightly so I can’t escape from her.
She introduces me to a few other lovely ladies before I literally feel like slitting my own throat.
That’s when I put my foot down and try to get away.
“Mom, I’m starving. Will you let me go get something to eat before we continue this? You wouldn’t want me to meet any more of my potential wives on an empty stomach and be cranky now, would you? What kind of impression would that give them?” I ask sweetly.
“Like you’ve been such a peach all evening.” She eyes me skeptically before her motherly instincts win out. “Fine. Go get something to eat, sweetie, but make sure you bring your ass right back here when you’re done.”
“Scouts honor,” I say, giving her a salute.
“Like you’ve ever been a Boy Scout before,” she says, rolling her eyes.
I don’t waste any time getting far away from her. I walk out to the balcony with another drink in my hand. It’s where I plan to spend the rest of the night to avoid meeting any more of the women whom my mother has picked out.
I’m sitting in the shadows for about fifteen minutes when something catches my eye from down below. I look down to see someone in a suit walking toward the back of the house.
The person is wearing a white mask that glows in the moonlight.
It looks kind of familiar, but I can’t put my finger on why at this second.
It covers their entire face and is white with black cracks around it.
I have only seen one similar to it, and only once at all the parties I’ve been forced to attend.
Then it hits me! But that just raises new questions.
Luca Bellucci is supposed to be missing or dead, last I heard.
Now I’m curious to see who this person is and where they’re going.
I hop off the railing and start to make my way down the stairs, following the person quietly, like a predator stalking its prey.
The person goes all the way to the back of the house and straight through the door that leads to the basement, which also leads to the dungeon. I’m not worried that they’ll find anything, since it’s just a bunch of hallways down there and lots of storage spaces.
The real dungeon, where all the fun happens whenever we need to interrogate or torture someone at home, is behind a hidden wall, and you’d have to know where it is to find it.
When I step through the cellar doors, I quietly pull them closed behind me, making sure that no one can get in after me.
But, more importantly, that the person snooping won’t be able to get out.
We have high-priced art in storage down here, too, and that’s where I catch up with the intruder because he stopped to stare at it.
I take a moment to study this person without letting them know they’re not alone, before making my presence known.
I’m thinking it’s a guy based on the tux, but he’s pretty short and small for a guy.
“I do believe this is called trespassing,” I say, my voice coming out a little harsh in the silence. The person lets out a high-pitched squeak before spinning around to face me. “Who are you and what the hell are you doing down here?”
There’s no response. He just stands there and stares at me before he slowly starts to inch backward like I won’t notice. I stalk over to him and grab him by the throat, using my height and build to slam him back against the wall.
A definite feminine gasp escapes the person, and I realize this might not be a man.
I’m pretty sure it’s a woman. For some unexplainable reason, my cock stirs in my pants as I press my whole body against hers.
From where we’re touching chest to chest, I feel something bulky inside the suit.
Almost like there’s a bandage around the chest area.
I’m confused because I haven’t felt this kind of attraction to anyone in a long time. Fuck! I don’t even know what she looks like, but my dick is already acting up. That’s so fucking weird!
“Are you going to tell me your name, sweetness?” I ask. She shakes her head no, and I let out a sigh. “We’re doing this my way then.”
Without warning, I pull her mask off and come face-to-face with the most soulful brown eyes I have ever seen. She’s wearing a wig that’s cut into a man’s hairstyle, and I pull that off her head, along with the wig cap hiding her real hair. Long and luscious hair spills down, catching my eye.
Fuck. Me.
I instantly become rock hard as we continue to stare at each other, and the feeling of attraction that had been eluding me before today slams into me full force. It feels like I’m being burned by fire, with the intensity of the connection that’s brewing to life between us.
I’m pretty sure she can feel it too, because a gasp and a moan escape her. My hips slowly grind into hers, and I wasn’t even conscious of the fact that I was doing that shit.
I continue to stare down at the tiny beauty before me. She’s tan and petite, about five feet six inches. She has long, straight brunette hair that’s just past her waist and those brown eyes that completely captivate me. She also has plump pink lips that I’m dying to taste.
But the most important thing of all is that I recognize the beauty who’s standing before me, staring at me just as hard as I’m staring at her.
“Well, well, well. If it isn’t the elusive Mafia princess, Aria Bellucci.”