“Well, thanks for helping out,” Alex said. “I guess it’s good that it’s a masquerade party. It’ll make it easier for you to hide from him.”
“True. I still have a mask from a school masquerade ball I went to last year, so I’ll wear that,” I said. “Anyway, I guess I better go and get ready.”
I headed back up to my room, where I showered and moisturized every inch of my face and body. With every motion my hands made over my legs, I got angrier and angrier at Asher, and eventually I almost bruised my left thigh with how firmly I was rubbing the lotion in. What the hell was his issue with me? I’d tried with him, I really had, and yet he still had to be a total and utter prick whenever he felt like it.
Well, it was his problem, I decided. I was going to attend this party, and I was damn well going to have fun.
I selected a slinky lilac dress from my wardrobe to match the glittery silver and purple mask I had, and I checked them in the mirror to make sure they matched before getting to work on my makeup look for the evening. Mercedes had given me some really good tips the other week, and I took them all into account as I brushed powders onto my face to contour and highlight my nose and cheekbones. After that, I did a smoky eye with grey shadow, black liner and several layers of mascara, and then I sat back and stared at the finished product in the mirror. I’d purposefully left my lips bare so as to not overdo the look, and I had to say, the contrast between that and the dark eyes was really quite striking.
Mercedes had taught me well.
I stepped away from my mirror, grabbed my phone and started a Facetime chat with her.
“Hey,” she said as she answered. Then she drew in a sharp breath. “Whoa! You look amazing!”
“Thanks,” I replied with a smile. “I was just calling to show you that your lessons haven’t gone unappreciated.”
“They sure haven’t. Where are you off to tonight?”
“Asher is having a party here, and I’m crashing it,” I said. “I would’ve invited you, but I remembered you had some product unveiling event for your parents’ company tonight.”
She rolled her eyes. “Yeah, it’s going to be so boring. Only people from the industry are going to be there. Honestly, I could just kill my parents for making me go. Or myself. Ugh.”
“Well, if it runs early, feel free to stop by here. I know how much you can’t resist an open bar.”
She groaned. “I wish. The last product unveiling party went till midnight so I doubt I’ll be able to make it. But I’ll definitely stop by if I can. Anyway, have fun!”
After ending the call, I waited until about nine o’clock to head to the eastern wing, knowing the party would be in full swing by now. My dress clung tightly to my curves, and my high heels elongated my legs and made my ass look rounded and perky as I sashayed into the raucously-loud ballroom. Music was blaring, and people were drinking, dancing or making out with each other all over the place. Several of the girls stopped to give me curious glances as I walked by them, but none of their looks lingered on me.
As I crossed to the other side of the room, I caught a couple of guys staring right at me. I smiled to myself as I adjusted my mask. Asher was going to be so pissed if he realized I was here tonight, and the thought of his darkening eyes and hard expression made little frissons of nervous energy radiate through my body.
I headed to the bar, which had several filled shot glasses lined up on it, and I took one and gulped it down. Cinnamon whiskey, apparently. As I waited for the burning in my throat to subside, I stared out at the room filled with partygoers, and I spotted Asher over the other side of the bar, surrounded by a group of scantily-clad girls.
Of course.
Rolling my eyes, I turned to look elsewhere, and I grabbed a nearby cloth and wiped down the bar, which someone had just spilled a drink on. I’d come here to help Alex out, after all, so I needed to do something.
“Hey, beautiful.”
A deep, masculine voice sounded from somewhere to my right, and I turned to see a tall young man without a mask standing next to me. He had light brown hair, a chiseled jawline and mesmerizing blue eyes which looked ready to put out fires, and my stomach did a teensy little flip at the sight of him. He was hot.
I didn’t know his name, but I had a feeling I was about to find out.
“Hey,” I said. “I’m Chl…Claudia.”
“Claudia, huh?” he said, eyes roaming up and down my curves. “I’m Liam Prescott. That’s a great dress.”
“Thanks. It’s nice to meet you, Liam.”
“You too. So we’re just pretending you’re not Chloe Carlyle, huh?”
My eyes widened. “How did you know?” I asked, fumbling with my mask. Was it not on properly?
“Asher’s one of my best friends. He told me to watch out for you and make sure you didn’t show up. I think that big brother of yours is a little overprotective of you,” he said with a grin.
I rolled my eyes. “He’s not my brother. At least not yet. Our parents aren’t getting married for a few weeks.”
“Eh, whatever. Anyway, it wasn’t hard to spot you. I’d recognize that ass anywhere.”
I wanted to frown at the sleazy remark, but something about Liam made it difficult to be even slightly mad. He was just so airy, so casual, and his twinkling eyes made his obvious amusement infectious.
“How would you know what my ass looks like?” I asked with an arched brow. “This is the first time we’ve met.”
“Not the first time I’ve seen you, though,” he said. “You were at our party a couple of weeks ago. I saw you talking to Asher.”
“Oh. Right. Well, please don’t tell him I’m here.”
He smiled. “I’ll keep your secret and take care of you tonight under one condition.”
I gave him a half-smile in return. “And what would that be?”
“You have a drink with me out there,” he said, nodding toward the French doors which led to the terrace outside the ballroom. Beyond the terrace lay a pool, its aquamarine light casting shadows on the empty chairs which sat out there. “Just us two,” Liam added.
I hesitated, considering his request. I guess he was certainly a lot nicer than Asher; not that that was particularly hard. Also, if he was friends with Asher, then it was bound to piss off my lovely stepbrother-to-be when he found out we were hanging out, and that was a delicious bonus.
A slow smile finally spread across my face, and I nodded. “Sure. I’d love a drink.”
Eleven
Asher
The party was in full swing, yet it felt like something was missing. Even though there were plenty of girls here that could’ve distracted me just fine, I found my mind always wandering to Chloe. The fact that I forbade her to come earlier had pissed her off, and just like always, I’d loved seeing her cheeks light up with anger when I told her she couldn’t come.
I had no doubt that she’d try to sneak into the party anyway, if only to get on my nerves. I’d seen her talking to Alex earlier too, and I didn’t like the easy camaraderie the two had going on. It made me inexplicably jealous and I hated the idea of my father’s annoying assistant getting chummy with Chloe. I’d known Alex for years, and while he seemed nice enough, I’d always gotten the impression he had something to hide. I didn’t want Chloe being friends with someone like that. There were already enough dodgy people with secrets in her life, and she didn’t need any more.
Before the party started a couple of hours ago, I’d made sure to tell Liam to keep an eye out for her. I was going to bust her as soon as she came to the party and embarrass her in front of everyone by making it clear she wasn’t invited. That’d surely be enough to make her hate me. Enough to ensure there could never be anything between us. She didn’t know it, but I was doing this for her sake.
As I wandered the halls, I kept thinking about the mask Chloe might’ve chosen for the night. Would she go for something sweet and innocent, or dark and decadent? Despite only knowing her for a short period of time, I could alrea
dy tell there were two sides to the girl, battling for ownership of her beautiful mind.
I hadn’t seen Liam in a little while, and I assumed he was sneaking off with one of the girls at the party instead of keeping an eye on things like he’d promised. I wanted to have some fun too, distract myself and not think about Chloe for once, but as a pretty blonde wrapped her arms around my neck I found myself too distracted to truly enjoy her sweet scent and her tits pressed against my chest. I unwrapped her arms from around me and walked toward the French doors leading out onto the terrace to get some fresh air. I needed to clear my fucking head. This whole Chloe business was screwing with me, and I had to get her out of my mind once and for all.
I saw them as soon as I walked outside, the breeze of the balmy night ruffling my hair. Chloe could try all she wanted to disguise herself, but I knew her lithe little body too well by now—the curve of her ass, the way she held herself, the way her silky dark hair fell down her back in beautiful waves…
Christ.
The dress she was wearing left nothing to the imagination, and the silver mask disguised her poorly. As for the man with her…he was dead meat before I even realized it was my best fucking friend.
“Having fun?” I inquired as I drew closer, and Chloe’s shoulders tensed before she turned around to face me. I raised my hands in front of me, mocking them both with an easy grin. “Oh, don’t let me interrupt this cozy little get-together.”
“Man, I just found her,” Liam said lamely, but I ignored him, focusing on Chloe instead. The fact that she’d defied me completely and come to the party despite me telling her loud and clear that she wasn’t invited annoyed me as much as I’d expected it would, and I didn’t want to hide it any longer.
“You’re coming with me,” I told her in a low voice, and she crossed her arms in front of her body protectively, glaring at me through the silver mask resting on her face. “Come on. We’re leaving.”
“Make me,” she said stubbornly, pulling her mask down so that it hung around her neck by its string. I looked at her for a second longer before leaning closer. I tucked a stray strand of hair behind the shell of her ear, noticing how she shivered as I did so. I still had an effect on her, whether she wanted to admit it or not. And I wasn’t going to go easy on her.
“You’ll come with me if you know what’s good for you, princess,” I murmured in her ear, moving away and walking back inside without so much as a look over my shoulder. I didn’t doubt that she’d follow me, and once I heard her high heels fall into step behind me, I knew she was coming.
I also knew she was pissed.
I didn’t stop walking until I found the exact place I wanted, a dark hallway where we would have some privacy. Once we reached it, I turned around and pinned Chloe against the wall. A small gasp escaped her full lips as I drew closer, my breath tickling the skin of her cheeks.
“I told you not to come,” I said.
“You can’t boss me around like that!” Her voice was adorably strong and it made me chuckle. “I’m not your fucking property, Asher!”
“No,” I said, not expressing my exact thoughts on the matter. “However, this house is more mine than it is yours, and I expect you to follow the rules.”
“What rules?” Her breath was hot against my mouth and I couldn’t take it. She was a damn tease for coming here, and in that slinky scrap of fabric she called a dress, too. I was pissed at Liam for talking to her, but truth be told, how could he have resisted? She was a stunner, and I could barely keep my hands off her as it were.
“Rule number one,” I said against her lips. “You don’t go near my fucking friends.”
“Why the hell not?” she asked, the anger plain and obvious in her shaky voice.
I didn’t want or expect to answer honestly, but the words rolled off my tongue before I could stop myself. “Because they can be the worst of the worst,” I replied through gritted teeth. “They’ll use you and spit you back out. They only care about one fucking thing.”
I let my fingers wander down her arm, trailing my nails down her skin and leaving goosebumps in their wake. She moaned, a slow, soft sound that was so erotic it made me swell in my pants.
“So they’re just like you?” she said. She was trying to sass me, but the way she delivered the sentence was weak and breathless. I smiled to myself, knowing I’d begun the process of making her submit to me again, as slow as it was. “I’m not a damn child, Asher. I can take care of myself, you know.”
“I know,” I replied slowly. “But I don’t trust them around you. It’s like you’re the prey and they’re the predators.”
She looked up at me through thick black lashes and I could see the lust taking over her body, making her want to submit to my every whim and desire. “Maybe I want to be caught,” she said softly, her words deliciously naughty and so damn hot I couldn’t help myself any longer.
With a groan, I pressed her back against the wall. I looked into her eyes, the sparkling irises of them taunting me just like mine had done to her so many times before. I wanted her, and I knew my resistance was breaking slowly in her hands.
It might’ve seemed like I was running the game, but Chloe was the ringmaster at this point, and I would’ve done fucking anything for a mere taste of her bare lips again. Her eye makeup was heavy, but her lips were unpainted and plump, and I couldn’t help but think she’d left them bare, expecting me to kiss her and taste her naked sweetness now that our parents were out of the picture for a few days.
“What are you going to do?” she said, taunting me with every syllable. “You know you can’t touch me.”
“Fine. I won’t,” I growled back. I put my hands on either side of her, trapping her between the wall and myself, making her take louder and shallower breaths. “I won’t lay a finger on you, princess. Let’s see how fucking long you can resist me.”
She moaned despite herself and I moved my mouth closer to those full lips. Her eyes were on mine, but ever so slowly, they wandered lower until she drank in my parting lips, so ready to feel her mouth against mine. I could tell she was fighting it, trying to resist the magnetic pull that was threatening to glue her body to mine. It didn’t work, though. I knew it wouldn’t. With a soft gasp, her body arched from the wall as if a string was holding her back and she was fighting every instinct imaginable to cut herself free.
Her lips pressed against mine desperately and I let her kiss me, resisting her sweet little tongue and her greedy fingers digging into my hair for as long as I could. She moaned into my mouth then, a sound so erotic I couldn’t keep my hands off her anymore. I wrapped her into my embrace, holding her tightly against my body and claiming her mouth just like I’d done that time in my apartment.
She felt even better, dirtier, more forbidden, than she had the first time around. And the second….and the third. She was sweet at the same time, so fucking sweet it made me wonder what her pussy tasted like, made me wonder if it was as honeyed as her sinful little mouth.
“Jordan?”
A slurred feminine voice echoed down the hall, and I quickly slid my mask back on and pulled Chloe’s up too as heavy, clunking footsteps drew closer. We couldn’t be seen like this—soon-to-be stepsiblings making out in a hall was the exact scandal I wanted to avoid—but if this drunken girl looking for her friend simply mistook us for being any random masked partygoers, then we’d be safe.
The girl stepped closer to us before shaking her head and mumbling. “Where the hell did she go?” she said to herself before turning back around and stumbling back down the hallway in the direction she’d originally come.
“That was close,” I muttered near Chloe’s ear as I gently fingered her mask, ready to pull it off her face again.
“No,” she said with a shake of her head, her voice barely above a whisper. “Keep the masks on this time.”
Dirty girl.
I kissed her long and hard, and she didn’t resist. Her body molded against mine, submitting to every desire I had and letting
my fingers roam through her dark mass of curls, trailing down her naked back where the dress was exposing her cool, silky skin. She was delicious, sweet sugar with a hint of darkness, and I wanted all of her, right fucking now.
“Please,” she gasped against my mouth. “Please, let’s just go somewhere else.”
I groaned and kissed her deeper, needing her mouth doing something other than begging me to fuck her, which we both wanted and both knew was a terrible idea. I didn’t want to admit it, but as much as I owned Chloe in that moment, she owned me too. I was a slave to her lips, her body and her moans.
My hands wandered lower down her back when another voice interrupted us, calling out her name. It was Liam, and I could tell he was searching for her, that fucking prick. I was going to kill him later.
“Don’t say a fucking word,” I said against her lips, and she mewled softly, making me throb painfully against her thigh. I could hear Liam’s footsteps approaching, and I kissed her again to shut her up. She resisted at first, but as soon as my tongue began its game, Chloe succumbed to the feeling again. I waited until the footsteps retreated and pulled back, and then I looked deeply into her lust-filled eyes.
“Now,” I said, my voice turning cool. “Remember who you belong to in this house, Chloe.”
She opened her mouth to object, or possibly beg for more. I wasn’t sure which, but I wasn’t going to stick around to ask the question or hear the answer, so I merely grinned at her instead.
And then I walked away.
Twelve
Chloe
He admitted it.
He finally admitted it.
Asher really did have some sort of feelings for me, no matter how vague, and he hadn’t wanted me at this party tonight purely because he wanted to keep me safe from any sleazy guys. Well, that and also partly because he wanted me all to himself, and he didn’t want there to be any chance of me going off with one of his friends, who were apparently counted amongst the sleazy guys.
Scandal (A Dirty Money Novel) Page 10
