Lacey’s face creased in disgust. “Yes, I told you it’s mandatory all women wear this type of dress and no underwear.”
Both women were taking a huge risk at being found out if either Cole or Drex saw them. Neither had been invited, and both were probably on the
unwanted guest
list. Lacey had gotten masks the same type all the others were supposed to wear.
“Lacey, I’m so grateful for your help, but are you sure you want to do this? If Drex finds out—”
“He’ll probably have a heart attack, but I don’t care. I’m tired of arranging this thing every year for him and then getting treated like a leper when I ask him if I can come. ‘This isn’t your type of thing, Lace.’ What the hell do either of them know what my type of thing is?” The blonde’s voice rose.
“Yeah, I know.” Her own frustration skyrocketed as she thought of the two men.
“Can you believe Cole had the audacity to tell me I wouldn’t know what to do in that kind of party? I’ll show him.” Lacey seemed particularly upset with Cole, but he was macho enough to piss off the most even-tempered nun. It was the reason he and Drex got along so well.
Uneasy, Chris glanced at her face and dark red hair once again. Smokey, thanks to the expertly applied makeup, the green in her eyes popped. The thick auburn tresses had been pinned up on the sides into a messy knot and fell into a cascade of curls down her back. From her neck up she was pretty sure she’d pass muster, it was the neck down that concerned her. She’d never been skinny, and the tiny dress showed off more than she cared to reveal.
Lacey, on the other hand, looked positively showstopping. The bombshell blonde looked like a centerfold. Why did she lack a man in her life when she was that hot? Then again, Drex probably kept her busy enough never to get any sleep.
“All right, let’s go over what we have to do again.” Lacey turned her aqua eyes on her. If it weren’t for the eyes, Chris would’ve never guessed Lacey and Drex were related. The cousins looked nothing alike. Although, she had to admit, the good-looking gene was alive and well in that family.
“OK, I go in with the mask in hand and make sure neither Drex nor Cole see me. Then, I walk up to the second-story balcony so I can watch without getting caught.”
Lacey nodded. “Right.”
“Then there’s going to be some sort of auction. I’ll head out before things get too crazy.” Chris frowned. What did
too crazy
actually mean?
“By then you should have enough stuff for your article. You probably won’t recognize anyone with their masks on. Some people don’t even bother. It’s up to you, but I wouldn’t mention names. The entire premise of the Seduction Party is to entice those who want to know what it’s all about.”
Chris mulled it over. Sure, she’d leave out names. All she really wanted was to know what the heck went on, even if she didn’t write the article. Hell, to take a peek and satisfy her curiosity would probably be enough at this point.
Chapter Two
A thread of trepidation hit her as she walked up the steps to the mansion. She was glad she’d kept the dress on. The outfit Lacey had picked was probably one of the least revealing she saw. Mask in place, she handed her black invite to a security doorman.
He took the invite and kept it. “Good evening, madam. Have a pleasant time.”
Left with nothing in her hands, she dug her nails into her palms and walked. She’d left all her things in the hotel across the street. It was too late to back out now. Lacey had made her own entrance a few minutes before her. Black outfits, along with all types of near-nakedness filled the entrance. Nice preview.
Inside the foyer, waiters handed out flutes of champagne with raspberries inside. White pants, no shirt, and a bow tie was the male uniform attire. Holding her flute in a death grip, she gulped down the alcohol and stared wide-eyed at the main reception. Huge metal cages dangled from the ceiling. Cushioned chairs and pillows littered the inside of the metal holdings as couples in the throes of sex provided visual entertainment. Loud pants and moans overrode all conversation.
Another waiter passed. She handed him the empty flute, grateful when he passed her a filled one. Her temperature had skyrocketed just from watching the raw display in the cages. Never in her life would she have thought herself a voyeur, but the view from above definitely made her blood thicken. Against her will, her eyes strayed up to the ceiling once again. In one of the cages a blonde woman wearing a black mask whipped a man as he lapped at her pussy like a starving dog. With every whip, he jerked his cock and squeezed. Well, damn.
In another cage, a woman sat on a black leather swing. A big muscular man fucked her, using the movement of the swing to drive into her. Her head was thrown back and her breasts jiggled as he pounded her. Toned to perfection and glistening with perspiration, the man’s body was one sexy sight, and his ass was so tight pennies would probably bounce off it. Beads of sweat started to crowd her upper lip. She needed to stop staring and keep moving. She glanced around the massive room until her eyes landed on the main staircase.
There, chatting up a blonde who looked a lot like Lacey, was her brother. Insensitive, chauvinist, macho jerk. It’d serve him well if it was Lacey and she dumped her drink on him. As much as she wanted to go up there and stick her tongue out at him and show him she’d gotten in, she held back. No way was she going to give him a chance to ruin her good time. Still walking, she scanned the area and drank in the view. She tried to take it all in. Shock and curiosity rose a few notches. She walked around and stared at the couples groping, just seconds from full-blown sex in the darkened corners.
She jerked her gaze to the other end of the room. A strange prickling on the side of her face called her attention. Shit! Drex was staring at her. Oh, my. He looked positively delicious in the black formalwear. He was frowning. Did he know it was her? He started weaving his way toward her, and she almost jumped out of her skin. Panic filled her. She latched on to the first available door, shoved it open, and ran inside. Two brawny henchmen wearing black suits stood and smiled at her. Fuck, what the hell had she done now?
“Right on time. We thought the first one was going to be a blonde, but it doesn’t matter. Let’s get you on the base.” A nervous gasp rushed past her lips. They immediately grabbed her by the arms and led her up the stairs to another room.
“Listen, I think you guys are mistaken.” Pulling on her arms didn’t help; they held her pretty tight.
“Don’t worry, dear. Is this your first time?”
“Um, yes?” At the sight of the “base,” her knees almost buckled.
“You’ll be fine. Just remember that it’s all for charity. Mr. Callum’s favorite charity benefits from this.”
Charity? People were having sex in cages for charity? Holy crap!
“What charity?”
“Children born with physical and mental disabilities.”
Oh, lord. Drex was…nice? She snapped out of her trance and glanced at one of the men. What the hell were they going to do to her? Screw this! She’d take Drex’s anger over whatever that metal thing was.
“No, really. I got lost on my way to the ladies room. I’m not really here for the, um, base thingy there.” Either they didn’t believe her or just didn’t care. Were all the women here going on the base too?
The base was a metal recliner thing with a round cushion that looked like the arm of a sofa one would lean over. There was no way out of getting on that thing short of admitting to being a party crasher.
“What exactly is this base thing for?” Shiny bars and thick cushions created an awkward-looking chair, and she wondered what kind of hell she’d walked into.
“It’s to display you for the auction.”
“Display how?” She gulped.
“Show you off.”
“No public sex, right?” Please, they just had to say no.
“Is that what’s worrying you? No, there won’t be any public sex.”
Oh, in that case, display didn’t sound too bad. Thank goodness. For a sick moment, she’d thought they were going to ask her to have sex in public like the people in the cages.
Draped over the cushion face down and on her knees, her arms were chained to a bar above her head while her legs were locked into place with leather belts. The position left her ass high in the air and open for view. Warm air caressed her ass and pussy. Oh, good lord. This was probably why they’d ask the women not to wear underwear. Her mask fell off her face just as they pushed her out onto a stage. She was so fucked.
* * *
Anger rolled over him in waves. Drex had seen Chris not a moment before and then lost her within the blink of an eye. Rage and concern warred inside him. It served her right if she got into some kind of trouble, but the thought of another man touching her made him furious. He should’ve known she wouldn’t keep her nosy face out of the party. Now he had to go find her before she did something stupid.
Ready to step into one of the side doors, he stopped when the lights flickered. The auction was about to begin. He ground his teeth in frustration. He needed to get his hands on Chris, but the auction was what brought in the real money for the night. Female celebrities put themselves up for auction and on display. Whoever bid the most money would spend the rest of the evening with the lady. Anything went after that, if she was agreeable.
In every auction there were those women who only wanted to be bought just to see how much money they could raise, but soon found themselves at the mercy of their owners. Usually, the situations were resolved by simply replacing the woman with a willing one. It wasn’t his norm, but he was tempted to ignore the auction in favor of finding Chris. He clenched his jaw in irritation. She’d been the bane of his existence for as long as he remembered.
Ten years her senior, he’d been disgusted with himself for allowing Chris to play havoc with his body. All he had to do was look at her and he’d end up getting turned on.
Infuriated, he grasped at the metal door handle. The base was brought out to the stage. And on it was the only woman ever to make him want to strangle and kiss her at the same time. He recognized the butterfly and
Kiss This
tattoo on her sexy ass from a mile away. Instantly hard, his cock jerked in his pants. The abrupt roar of bids made him turn his head to the side. All around him, numbers went up in the air as her price rose through the roof.
A signal to the auctioneer and the man knew she was his. No matter what the highest bid ended up being, she was off limits. One of his assistants gave the base a twirl, and he was looking right into her face. She hadn’t seen him, and he took a moment to watch her. He should’ve listened to her. That sexy body was not the one of a little girl. Delectable in every way, her curves were that of a luscious woman. At twenty-six, she truly was all grown up. Emotions he’d fought the past ten years to suppress came to light. He wanted her. Now. Tonight.
Not a hint of nerves were visible on her face, but he knew she was scared. Her fingers were curled around the handles in a white-knuckle grip. It was clear she had no idea what the auction entailed. He split his lips into a smile as he stalked off to give instructions for taking Chris to his bedroom. He gave detailed orders to his assistant to take her to his room, feed her, and tie her to his bed. She’d wanted to be part of the party, now she was the star attraction. For tonight, he owned her.
A while later he was able to make his way toward the bedroom wing. In the hallway, he encountered a miserable-looking Cole. Anger was clear on his face. Drex wondered if he knew about Chris.
“What’s going on, Cole?” Hands in his pockets, he fingered the key to his bedroom. Arousal surged at the thought of what waited for him. He’d been notified Chris had tried to talk them into letting her go, but in the end she’d been tied to his bed.
“I just met an incredible woman, had an amazing time with her, and left her in my bedroom.” His tux was a mess, and his hair was wet. He must have just been in the shower.
“That doesn’t sound like such a bad deal, bro.” In fact, if he had his way he’d have Chris at his mercy in a few moments. She’d asked to be treated like a woman, and he had no qualms with that any longer. Fuck, right now he was all for treating her like an adult.
“It wouldn’t be, if she were still there. I asked her to wait while I took a shower, but now I can’t find her anywhere. It’s as if she vanished into thin air.” He growled and fisted his hands.
“So, just go call her out.” It was one of the ways they had to get in touch with a guest whose party had lost them.
“I can’t.” Cole groaned and leaned into the wall.
“Why not?” As much as he wanted to comfort his best friend, he really wanted to get Chris naked. Naked, sweaty, and fucked.
“She said no names, and she wouldn’t take her mask off.”
Fuck, that sucked. “Well, you know that’s one of the things we promise when we have the guests sign a waiver.”
Cole kicked his heel lightly against the wall. “Where are you off to? I thought you were supposed to spend the night with Kelly?”
The mention of his latest bed partner made Drex curl his lip in distaste. Kelly Windsor was a mean-spirited bitch. Her good-girl routine had been an act. After they’d dated for a few weeks, he’d decided not to waste any more time with her.
“No. I’m done with her. Been done for a while. Now she just needs to get it through her head that things aren’t going to go the way she wants just because her daddy is rich and powerful. I am rich and powerful too.” Unfortunately, he’d already invited her to the event for the evening.
Cole smirked. “She’s pushy, that one.”
“I know.” Drex’s anger started to rise. He’d managed to dodge her, but he knew she was looking for him.
“Good luck getting rid of her.”
“She’s already been forgotten.” He grinned. Still, Kelly made it hard as hell for him to get his hands on Chris when she kept popping up everywhere. Thankfully, she had no idea where his private quarters were.
Cole raked his fingers through his hair. “I need to find my woman.”