Unmasked Heart

by Veronica Eden

  Mystery Guy grins and it’s a stunning look on him. He’s movie star handsome. Even with the mask, which doesn’t block much of his features.

  He studies me for another beat, like he’s trying to bore into my soul.

  “Colton,” he says, holding out a hand.

  I take it to shake and he brings my knuckles to his lips for a kiss in one swift move.

  Smooth.

  I bite my lip and sip champagne as his gaze finds mine.

  “Want to dance, Colton?”

  “Not so fast.”

  Colton holds up a hand and I freeze. Did I misread his flirting?

  “What is it?”

  “I need to know your name.”

  “Oh.” My lashes flutter. “Annie. Now can we dance?”

  “Sure thing, sweetheart.”

  For a second, I hesitate. Almost everyone calls me endearments like princess. But Cohen’s the only one that calls me sweetheart. I shake it off and smile.

  Colton draws me close, his hand hovering at my lower back like it belongs there as he guides us downstairs.

  Twirling beneath the stars feels magical. Colton tucks me closer and I spot my father across the room. Smugness settles in me as I dare to lay my cheek against Colton’s chest for everyone to see.

  The point of tonight might be to celebrate my engagement to Cohen, but here I am on the dance floor with someone else.

  I imagine Cohen watching from the shadows, too. I hope it’s eating him alive to see me in the arms of another man of my choosing.

  Maybe he’s spent all these years thinking I waited for him, but I shed the bullshit social construct of my virginity in boarding school when I was seventeen.

  Colton traces my bare back, grazing his fingertips up my spine and back down in lazy strokes, nearly teasing into my dress. I shiver and follow his lead as he spins me away, tugging me back into his arms after a beat. Dancing with him is a dream.

  He’s been murmuring in my ear beneath the music, telling me more jokes and praising my skills on the dance floor compared to him. I beg to differ; he’s a great dancer.

  We talk about what we want to do with our lives. Colton’s supposed to take over his dad’s business, but he has plans for how to make big changes that he knows his dad won’t like. I tell him about my psychology courses at Columbia. He tells me about a cabin upstate that he’s been fixing up for when the city gets to be too much. It sounds like heaven, and when I say as much Colton promises to take me there.

  “I’ll take you anywhere you want to go,” Colton murmurs with his lips against my temple.

  It almost sounds too good to be true, but I close my eyes and indulge in the fantasy of Colton rescuing me from my hellish life.

  We spend song after song dancing beneath thousands of tiny lights.

  “You make me want to be bad.” Colton brushes his fingers along my jaw and his gaze is full of intense heat.

  “So let’s misbehave,” I quip, peeking up at him through my lashes.

  Colton has me entranced. His charm is hard to resist.

  He makes me want to slip into a dark corner and give in to every tempting deviant urge gripping me.

  I want him in my mouth where my father could walk by and find us.

  I want his fingers inside me right here on the dance floor.

  I want a dirty fuck in the marble bathroom with our clothes half-on because we can’t be bothered when we could be devouring each other.

  If temptation is the devil’s sin, I’ll be the first one in line to commit it tonight.

  My gaze searches the room for a hint of red velvet. I need to find Cohen. I want to look him in the eye while I press my breasts against Colton’s firm chest and encourage his hand to slip lower to grab my ass.

  I can’t find him. The song changes and Colton steps back.

  “Are we going again or would you like to get a drink?”

  I look up at his masked face. It was dim on the balcony, but the uplighting around the dance area allows me a better view.

  My perfect dance partner could almost be Cohen in this light. They have an identical jaw shape and the same color eyes, but these are darker and glittering as they track me.

  “Annie?”

  Is that voice really so different from Cohen’s? The champagne’s messing with my head. There’s no way Cohen and Colton are the same person. They’re similar in height and looks, but that’s where it ends. Colton is sweet and charming where Cohen is all black edges and possessive power.

  “I—sorry.” I shake my head and wave my hand. “The lights made me dizzy for a minute.”

  Colton places a hand on my lower back. “Let’s go find a quieter spot to sit for a while.”

  I allow Colton to lead me away from the other dancers.

  We find a high top table draped in black silk near a tall window with thick draperies that spill to the floor. An arrangement of tapered candles in different heights perched in gold holders sits at the center of the table.

  “Be right back.”

  Colton disappears towards the closest bar. I take the opportunity to scan the room for signs of Cohen again. His parents are with Albert Mastriano by the oyster bar. Albert is all smiles for his niece, Mrs. Decker.

  He doesn’t look like a sinister mob boss, though I don’t even know what that means. It’s not like all shady mobsters resemble Al Pacino and Marlon Brando. Albert Mastriano simply looks like someone’s short, happy grandfather who goes around laughing with a wheeze.

  A water goblet pops in front of my face. I take it and glance over. Colton has one of his own, too. His throat bobs with each gulp as he drinks, finishing half of his glass in one go.

  I like that he’s taking a break with me instead of binge drinking through the night, drink after drink, like most men I know do.

  “Thanks,” I murmur.

  Colton winks. “Hydration is important. You’ve had me parched all night.”

  “Wow.” I draw it out in a long vowel. “That was cheesy as hell.”

  “That’s my best line!” Colton laughs, deep and rich.

  “Your game needs work.”

  Colton lays a hand over his face, peeking between his fingers. His eyes dance behind his mask. I bite my lip around a smile. We both set our goblets on the table.

  My heart flutters with excitement when he slides closer to drape his arm around my waist. Together we watch the party from our quiet corner. I lean against him and turn my nose into the base of his neck.

  There’s a sense of familiarity tugging at me in the way he smells beneath the clean aftershave. Once again Cohen flashes in my mind. I brush him aside and revel in the allure of the man dominating my company tonight.

  The man who isn’t my future husband.

  Colton’s thumb sweeps over my bare back, calling forth a shiver of sensitivity at his enticing touch. He tips his head down and puts his lips to my ear, his breath hot as he murmurs in a deep voice.

  “There’s billions of dollars walking around this room between the bank accounts, jewelry, and fashion, but all of it pales in comparison to how beautiful you look tonight.”

  Swallowing, I glance up through my lashes and part my lips. He stares at me with something unreadable in his eyes. His attention drops to my parted lips.

  If he leans down to kiss me, I’ll let him. I want him to do it. I tilt my head back a little more, silently wishing for the touch of his lips on mine.

  Would his kiss be as delicious as the taste of danger I have right now, flirting with another man while my father plans to marry me off to the highest bidder to secure another few zeros in his bank account?

  I’m game to find out.

  Colton makes me feel brave and daring. With him by my side, I imagine all the ways I could stand up to Dad and win every battle.

  The tart flavor of forbidden rebellion dances on my tongue as Colton touches my jaw.

  “Thank you,” I whisper.

  “What for, sweetheart?”

  “Giving me tonight. Yo
u’ve been better than a dream.”

  The curve of Colton’s mouth is winsome.

  “I bet you say that to all the guys that dance with you.”

  I shake my head. “I’m not allowed…” I pause to lick my lips. “I’m engaged. It’s an arranged marriage.”

  I watch Colton’s face for his reaction to what I’m telling him. His smile fades, but he doesn’t step away from me.

  “You didn’t say anything.”

  “I don’t want the marriage. It’s…a business deal. My father’s business partner’s son is my fiancé.”

  “In this day and age?”

  A broken laugh escapes me. “You better believe it. Plenty of people in the world have arranged marriages still.”

  “Yeah, but in New York City?”

  I shrug, helpless to the ugly truth chaining me. Colton brushes a piece of loose hair from my face.

  With a tremor in my voice, I admit to him, “I’ve always had to do as I’m told. But I don’t want to be another pawn on my father’s board.”

  “You make me want to steal you away from here,” Colton murmurs.

  I lean more of my weight into him, tucking my face against his chest so he doesn’t see the effect his words have on me. It’s silly to get emotional over a throwaway comment like that. Colton cups the back of my head and holds me.

  “I’ll take care of you, sweetheart,” he swears. “You’ll have it so good. I’ll give you everything you need.”

  It’s so tempting. It’s what I wanted, to get away from this world while the party distracted everyone. I grip Colton’s lapels.

  Maybe my mystery man is a knight in disguise, sent to sweep the trapped princess away from the life she hates so much.

  For a second, I close my eyes and imagine the man beneath the mask isn’t Colton but Cohen, pretending to be someone else for my sake.

  Despite how deeply I hate him, underneath it all I always held onto a stupid belief in my heart that he was capable of being a better man, the person I wanted him to be when we were kids.

  All I have ever wanted is for Cohen to listen to me, to rely on me as an equal partner instead of treating me like another piece of property.

  I know it’s a childish, naïve wish, but it lingers in my heart all the same.

  Colton lifts my chin gently, tilting my face to meet his. The way he looks at me ignites a blistering fire and melts my insides. My breath catches as he leans down.

  I strain up to meet him halfway, not giving a damn that anyone—the Deckers, the head of the Mastriano organization, my father, Cohen—could see us.

  Seven

  Annabeth

  The kiss is scorching and demanding and incredible.

  With one touch he owns my lips, my thoughts, my soul.

  Colton squeezes me in his arms and swallows the tiny sound I make when my lips part for his tongue. He devours me in the dark corner on the outskirts of the party. I gasp against him as he destroys me with his clever mouth, his tongue hot and perfect sliding against mine.

  He groans into the kiss and I respond with another sound of my own. Colton’s palms burn my skin as they glide over my back and haul my small frame against his body. I snake an arm up to wrap around his neck, angling my head to deepen the kiss.

  It’s indecent and completely inappropriate behavior for a public gala and I want to laugh in the face of every one of my stuffy etiquette lessons.

  This? This is living.

  It’s everything I’ve been missing out on from my gilded cage.

  Colton breaks the kiss before I’m ready. I chase his mouth and his grin carries a wild edge. The way his gaze takes me in makes me flush; his eyes are full of a possessive awe like I’m the eighth world wonder he’s lucky enough to touch.

  He palms my ass and drags his lips across my cheek to my ear. “Ready to get the fuck out of here with me?”

  His voice is tinged in rich darkness and it travels across my nerve endings, making me clench my thighs together at the bolt of heat spearing through me.

  “Where?”

  I’m breathless from one kiss.

  I’m hungry for more.

  Colton scans our immediate surroundings and nods to a hallway leading off from the main event. “We’ll sneak off.”

  I slip my hand in his and he threads our fingers. They feel right locked together and an excited laugh bubbles out of me at our illicitness. It feels so good to break my father’s rules right under his nose.

  Colton tugs me along and I toss one last glance at the bustling glitz and glamour of the party before we pass through heavy draped curtains into a hall where the thick fabric muffles the music and chatter.

  Adrenaline races through me, making my limbs jittery with the rush. I giggle as Colton mumbles beneath his breath and cages me against the wall with his body.

  “Need another. Pay the toll.”

  I tip my chin up. “Say please.”

  Colton groans and descends on my lips in another searing kiss. I’m not mad he didn’t ask nicely, not when he’s lighting my body up from the inside out. I can feel his hard length prodding me in the stomach as his body covers mine, our hot puffs of breath mingling between kisses.

  The urge to hop up and wrap my legs around his waist is strong. I settle for hiking one leg up to wrap around his thigh, the slit in my dress restricting me from lifting higher.

  His palm slides up my leg, squeezing the back of my thigh. His hips buck against my stomach. I’m wild with the need to rub myself all over him in return.

  I’m more drunk on his kisses than I was on top shelf champagne.

  Again he pulls away. I’m not ready for the kiss to end, but before I can voice a protest, he takes my hand and leads us down the hall.

  We pass a doorway where serving staff scuttle inside, the head caterer shouting directions.

  The hallway splits in two at a junction and Colton takes us down the darker path, eclipsing us in shadow.

  It reminds me of sneaking around with Cohen when we were kids, hand in hand and weaving our way through a maze of our own making. I grip Colton’s hand tighter and he glances back over his shoulder, his half-smile drawing me in like an undertow.

  The first two doors Colton tries are locked, but the third opens up into an old parlor room from when the mansion used to be a private residence. Now it appears to be utilized for furniture storage with a haphazard array of vintage settees and chaise lounge chairs scattered throughout the room. Most are partially covered in a sheet, but one or two are uncovered.

  Colton’s hands go to my waist and this time he makes me stretch up to kiss him with a gloating expression. I go on tiptoe to reach, clinging to his suit jacket. He remains still, making me to do all the work. Then all at once he takes over, sucking on my tongue until my knees go weak and wobbly.

  Heat throbs between my legs.

  Chuckling against my mouth, Colton herds me blindly toward the middle of the room. The back of my legs bump against a settee.

  “You’re not the perfect good girl you pretend to be,” Colton rumbles as his hands wander my body like hot brands claiming me as his. “You kiss like a fucking siren.”

  My cheeks flush.

  He gives one of my breasts a squeeze and I gasp, arching against him. My nipples are sensitive and tight beneath the thin barrier of my dress.

  His grin is darkly amused. “No bra, huh?”

  “In this dress?” A breathless laugh falls from me. “I’m not even going to explain couture fashion to you right now.”

  “Hmm, you’re right.” Colton leans in and tortures my neck with open-mouthed kisses, finding every single sensitive patch of skin with ease. “I don’t give a fuck about fashion. I’m about to tear this thing off of you. I want to see all of you.”

  Colton sucks on my pulse point and I shake from it, pleasure coiling tightly in my stomach.

  “Don’t!” I manage to gasp. “I…I like this dress.”

  He pauses his exploration long enough to draw back to sweep his
gaze over me. I see the way his pupils dilate and darken.

  “Suit yourself.”

  His hand slides into the slit of my dress and he drags it up, uttering a rough sound when his fingers glide over the scrap of lace masquerading as underwear that I’m wearing.

  “I was almost hoping there’d be nothing here.” Colton watches me with an intense gaze as he teases his fingertips over the edge of my underwear. His other arm bands around my waist to keep me in place. “How wet are you for me right now? Would you soak my fingers if I sank two in you to find out?”

  Tingles erupt over my skin. Trembling in anticipation of his fingers entering me, I take a shuddery breath and dig my grip into the material of his jacket. It’ll be wrinkled to hell and back by the time we’re done here.

  Colton slips one finger into the side of my underwear and strokes it over me. I bite my lip to muffle the tiny sound I make. Colton finds my clit and rubs it while he stares at my face.

  “Don’t hide your sounds from me,” he directs. “I want to hear all of them so I know exactly how you moan when I take you apart.”

  He presses is thumb against my clit through my lacy lingerie and a cry tears from my throat as he circles it faster. My labia feels swollen and heat throbs between my legs. I’m so turned on by his ministrations.

  “Are you going to come from this?” Colton’s voice is like fire in my veins, his other arm a vice around my waist squeezing me close.

  As if I’d run from this, when he’s making me feel so good.

  Liquid heat pours through me, sparking shock waves across my nerves as an orgasm approaches.

  He touches his nose to mine, then covers my mouth with his own when I part my lips to utter another sound of pleasure. His tongue is demanding, swiping into my mouth.

  With shaking legs I buck against his hand, letting go of any inhibitions. The need to come is greater than maintaining dignity. I will ride his fingers, his mouth, and his cock without shame if it feels as good as this does.

  Colton growls into my mouth and bites my lip. He takes his fingers away and I almost cry out—I was so close. Colton plunges his hand inside the top of my underwear and gives me what I need, stimulating my clit with the perfect pressure as he drives me over the precipice into a riptide of pleasure that drowns me in delicious sensation when I come for him.