Chapter 09 - Masquerade Ball

It was cold enough to freeze my balls off. That night I crouched in the shadows outside a noble’s house with my heart pounding, mostly because Ashara had sent me to rob it in the middle of a party.

The noble’s masquerade ball was in full swing, the grand estate ablaze with light, the sounds of music and laughter spilling out into the darkness. Somebody was burning a fortune in candles so rich people could dance in masks, and I meant to make the night cost them a little more.

I adjusted my serpent mask, the cool metal pressing against my skin, and tugged at my black silks until every inch was in place.

My mission was to steal an amulet and get out unseen, which sounded simple until you were the idiot doing it. I took a deep breath. My stomach was in knots, and I was grinning under the mask anyway. This was my first real test.

Slipping through the entrance was less a “dance of shadows” and more a careful slide past the guards. These nobles and their lax security were honestly insulting.

They kept turning to look at the party inside, so I moved fast, kept to the edge of the light, and was inside before I could overthink it and lose my nerve.

The grand ballroom nearly knocked me off my feet. Forget “opulence.” This was too much of everything at once. Silks and satins in every color swirled around me, and every face had a mask on it. There was more gold on the nearest neck than all of Willowbrook had seen in my whole life. The musicians played fast and loud, close to frantic.

I stepped into the crowd, my eyes darting around the room. Ashara had drilled the order into me, exits first and the way upstairs second, so I found those before I let myself look at anything shiny. After that I sized up the wealthiest-looking guests, which was the fun part.

My fingers twitched toward the nearest fat purse. The air was thick with perfume, cloying lilies and roses over the sharper smell of expensive wine and the faint tang of sweat underneath. Half these people smelled better than my whole village, and the other half smelled worse.

I joined the dancers in the middle of the floor, copying the feet of the man next to me and hoping nobody noticed I’d learned to dance at harvest festivals. The beat got into my legs, and for a moment I was just dancing before I caught myself.

I needed to get to those stairs, since the amulet was upstairs, and instead I was dancing like an idiot. Masked bodies kept pressing close, and any one of them could have been a guard.

Across the floor, through the spinning couples, a pair of steel-grey eyes stared at me out of a golden mask. We locked eyes, and a jolt went straight through me to my cock.

My steps faltered, and I nearly crashed into a giggling woman in a peacock mask. My face went hot. The music swelled, and I stumbled to catch the next step.

I cursed under my breath. Who the hell was behind that mask? And why were a pair of eyes, just eyes, getting me half hard? It was like being punched in the gut, and I wanted another one. Damn it. I pushed the thought aside, or tried to.

My gaze kept flicking back to the golden mask, searching, and I wanted whoever was under it, badly. This was a complication I didn’t need, and a damn interesting one.

The music pulsed around me, loud enough that I felt it in my chest.

I kept to the steps and drifted along the edge of the floor, where I could keep the golden mask in the corner of my eye.

The dance kept swinging us close and then pulling us apart, which was its own kind of torture. Those grey eyes caught mine every time we passed, and now I was looking at more than the eyes.

Their simple dark sleeves fit tight over toned arms, and the dark breeches showed off strong thighs and a tight ass. Gods, I needed to focus. Was it a man or a woman? I couldn’t tell, and that only made me harder. The arms said man and the ass wouldn’t commit, and my cock voted yes either way. Every time our fingers brushed or their sleeve grazed my arm in passing, my skin prickled.

The music changed to something faster, and the second dance began. This time, I went looking for them, my eyes scanning the crowd until I found that golden mask. What was my mission again? Oh, right, steal the amulet upstairs. It could wait. My blood was roaring in my ears.

I moved towards the golden mask until I was the one dancing with them. I couldn’t have stopped if I’d tried, and I didn’t try. I felt a pang of guilt when I thought of Ashara and what failing her would cost me, but I was hard, and I stopped thinking about her. Every time they almost touched me, I wanted them to just do it already.

The third dance was faster, the music more frenzied, and my head was just as much of a mess. The noble and I were closer now, our bodies almost touching as we spun across the dance floor, and the heat coming off them hit me through my silks.

All I could think about was those eyes on me and the brushes of our fingers, accidental-on-purpose, and how close their hips kept getting to my cock.

When the music hit its loudest, the noble took my hand, fingers lacing through mine, gripping hard enough that I felt it all the way down to my gut. We wove through the crowd and out of the ballroom, and the masks moved out of our way. The guards didn’t even look up, so I figured nobles dragging strangers out of the ballroom was just how rich people spent their evenings.

I wanted to see what was under that mask, and under those clothes. I was terrified too, but mostly I was ready.

The hallway stretched out before us, narrow and dimly lit, lit by a few torches. A rogue was supposed to love a dark hallway, and right then all I could think about was what I’d do to this one in it.

The noble’s hand was still in mine, firm and in charge, pulling me where they wanted me. And, gods, I didn’t mind. Their palm was hot, and their fingers pressed into mine.

At the end of it was a flight of stone stairs, and my boots echoed on the steps as we climbed. We were headed upstairs, right where the amulet was, and I’d love to tell you I planned that.

The music from the ballroom grew fainter, until all I could hear was my own breathing and the rustle of fabric as we moved.

At the top was a long, carpeted hallway, the air thick with the scent of sandalwood and something sweet and floral underneath. I breathed it in deep. Who carpets a hallway? Rich people who deserve to be robbed, that’s who. The noble stopped in front of a heavy oak door, carved with vines and flowers.

The noble turned the handle with a gloved hand, and the door creaked open.

I stepped inside, my eyes adjusting to the dim light. The bedchamber was rich as hell, though it looked lived-in, or maybe just messy. It had velvet drapes in deep, rich colors and a four-poster bed that looked like it had seen a lot of fucking.

The sheets were a mess, as if someone had just rolled out of them, or on them, or with someone. Focus, Sam! There was a bottle of wine on the bedside table, half-empty. Had they already had someone up here tonight? I was jealous, which was stupid, since all we’d done was dance.

A fire crackled in the hearth, casting golden light across the room. It was warm in there, and it smelled faintly of smoke and sex. The scent was stronger here, that sweet, floral fragrance layered with something deeper and muskier that I’d have bet was a man’s. It made my head swim.

The noble shut the door behind us with a soft click, and the back of my neck prickled. The only door I could see was behind them now, and I was alone with them. For a second I hesitated and thought about why I was here: my mission. But the noble’s boots came closer, and the amulet went right out of my head. This was their room, I was sure of it.

They stopped just short of me, their eyes on mine. Firelight glinted in them, and I figured they knew exactly how hard I was.

They reached out, their gloved hand brushing against the edge of my serpent mask. They were asking. I nodded, barely, and the last of my doubts went with it.

They took off their own mask first, slowly, making me wait for it. The firelight caught his features, lighting up sharp cheekbones, a strong jaw, and full lips that curved into a faint smile. So it was a man, and my cock took the news just fine. He was handsome, fuck, he was the best-looking man I’d ever been this close to, with the smug look of a lord who’d never been told no, which should have pissed me off and only got me hotter. He had a clever face and a hint of stubble, and I wanted that stubble scraping my thighs.

He reached for my mask again. I held still while he slowly lifted it away. The cool air on my sweaty face was a shock, and now I had nothing left to hide behind.

He just looked at me. I was cornered now, and I liked it.

I forgot about the fire and the bed, which says a lot, since the bed was right there. He tugged off his gloves, and his bare thumb dragged slow across my lower lip, and my cock jumped in my silks.

My lips tasted of sweat, and over it all was the smell of him, sharper now that he was turned on. His breath was warm against my skin.

He closed the last inch between us and kissed me.

He kissed hard and hungry, his tongue shoving against mine until I was out of breath and wanted more. His stubble scraped my skin, and his hands pulled me closer, fingers digging into my back hard enough to hurt, and I pushed back into it.

We were all teeth and tongues by then, and I’d been hard for him since the first dance.

He tasted like wine, and I wanted my mouth on a lot more of him than his mouth. His mouth was warm, and his tongue worked against mine, sure of itself. From how he kissed, I figured he knew what he wanted and meant to take it. And, gods, I wanted him to take it.

He walked me backward until the backs of my legs hit the bed, and his cock pressed hard against my thigh. Gods, we were both so horny I could barely stand.

I was supposed to be robbing this man, and instead I had my tongue down his throat and my cock against his thigh. I was in deep, deep trouble, and I didn’t give a damn.