Page 84

Before she’d boarded the Indigo Lounge, she’d only read about dynamics like that in books. The reality of it… Hell, she could never have imagined it. He’d branded her, imprinted himself on her skin and on her psyche.
As crazy as it was real and tangible, she was falling in love with Noah King.
The limo crawled along Husova Street towards the Clam-Gallas Palace. Beside her, Bjorn made small talk that she absently participated in, but inside, Leia’s pulse was jumping with the decision she’d made on the way over.
She would tell Noah before they returned to Miami. He would be horrified and judgmental… or he would not be. Either way, she wouldn’t have to nurse the fear of the unknown. Pursing her lips, which threatened to tremble, she drew in a breath as the limo stopped in front of the Baroque Palace.
Music from a string quartet drifted out onto the square cobbled courtyard.
She entered the vast entry hall and mingled with other costumed guests. Leia tried not to look too conspicuous as she sought out Noah.
She recognized the blowjob couple from the plane by the guy’s ginger hair. He was dressed as Caßesar and she asCleopatra, and their costumes worked despite their coloring. The other woman caught her staring and waved.
She lifted her hand to return the greeting and felt Noah’s presence. Heart thumping, she started to turn. Rough hands closed over her shoulders.
“About damn time you got here,” he rasped in her ear.
“Noah, you’re ruining the whole idea of the masked ball. You’re not supposed to know who I am.” Her protest was half-hearted since she’d been busy seeking him out. Seeing him in front of her, broad-shouldered, the sculpted perfection of his face, that unapologeticmaleness, her mouth went dry.
“Fuck that. I’ve been without you for four hours. You were supposed to be here a half hour ago. What the hell took you so long?” His hand drifted up and down her back a few times before dropping to her ass. Then he did that squeeze-pull thing that brought her flush against his hard body.
“We hit a bit of traffic.”
His mouth grazed the part of her cheek the mask didn’t cover before he kissed the corner of her mouth. “I’ve missed you. It’s been a little hellish imagining that Nordic beefcake’s eyes all over you.”
“Bjorn was a perfect gentleman.”
Electric-blue eyes raked her up and down. “Are you sure you don’t want to ditch this thing? We’ll make up the rest of your highs in bed.”
Temptation weakened her knees. “I just got here. This is supposed to be one of the most beautiful baroque palaces in Europe. Allow me a moment of culture before you attempt to debauch me.”
He smiled. “To be properly debauched we’d have to do it in a church. Actually, there’s a room upstairs that we can pretend is a church. The fireplace is large enough to be an altar. I can worship your tight little cunt there.”
She giggled. “‘Your body is the church where Nature asks to be reverenced.’”
He took her hand, placed it on his arm and steered her away from the crowd. They found a square recessed space overlooking a side street, and he pulled her close. “You can’t quote de Sade unless you’re sitting on my dick. It’s a prerequisite. You can recite the whole thing while I make you come.”
She grinned. “I don’t know all of it, just the dirty bits.”
He laughed, his blue eyes twinkling down at her. His fingers traced the white ropes she’d used to twist her hair into a Grecian style and touched the gold dangling earrings. “I’ll teach you the rest while you ride my dick. I’m generous like that. God, you look breathtaking, Leia.”
She settled her hand on his chest, absorbing his heartbeat. “Thank you. I love your mask.”
The winged black silk and onyx design covered him from forehead to nose. As he looked down at her, a lock of hair fell over his eyes. She brushed it back and he caught her fingers in his, brought them to his mouth. “I’m glad you’ve seen beneath it. Not a lot of people have.”
Her heart stuttered then sped up. It was now or never. “Noah, before this goes any further, there’s something I need to tell you.”
His smile fractured around the edges. “Words that makes me wish all over again that we weren’t stuck in this place. Tell me.”
Violin strings from the quartet struck a high-pitched chord, and she shook her head. “It can wait till we get back. I just wanted to lay the foundations before I chickened out.”
Blue eyes narrowed. “How bad is it?”
She shivered. “If I could keep it a secret forever I would.”
He reached out and brushed his knuckle over her cheek. “Just say the word and we’ll leave. And whatever it is, if it’sshaped you into the beautiful and generous person you are today, you have nothing to be worried about.”
“Even if it’s shaped out of self-reproach?”