Page 9

Chapter 9

M ariana would never admit out loud to a single soul what a bad idea this Halloween party had been. How had she let Willow convince her that a night of debauchery and excess was what they needed to convince the paranormals of Las Vegas that she was the person who should be in charge of it all?

She’d been staring into her closet for at least twenty minutes without settling on anything because she was too worried about how the night was going to go.

“The mermaid gown. And pull out the short, red, sequined dress for dancing later,” Cisco said softly from behind her.

She turned to look over her shoulder at him. “You really think so?”

He was watching her with his arms crossed, his wings relaxed behind him. He was already dressed in a Victorian-style tailcoat in red and black velvet and looking utterly delicious—making the most of his natural gothic vibe. “Absolutely, you look hot as hell in anything cut to show off your ass.” A dirty smile curled his lips. “Plus, when you’re dancing with Rio, that short one will ride up all the way to the clouds.”

She laughed as she reached for both hangers. “You going to spend the entire night looking up my skirt?”

“Well, hopefully not the entire night,” he said with a bit of a seductive rumble in his voice. “I hope to be under your skirt for at least part of it.”

When she turned back toward him carrying the dresses in question, he was dangling a red, lacy thong that would cover approximately nothing from one clawed finger.

She met his eyes. “That’s a different choice.”

“The frilly ones are just for me to enjoy. These are for everyone else.”

“How much of my panties do you think everyone else is going to see tonight?”

He shrugged a careless shoulder. “I think Dante and Rio have some kind of bet going, so maybe quite a lot.”

Mari raised an eyebrow. “What’s the bet?”

“I have no idea. I saw them with their heads together and big grins on both their faces in the hallway just now.”

Mari took a breath and let out a big sigh, then reached for the panties. “I’m not going to worry about that.”

“Probably for the best.” He watched with interest as she slipped out of her robe and stepped into the dainty thong.

She turned around and gave him a little shimmy. “Do they meet with your approval?”

He let out a satisfying grumble. “Yes, and if you don’t stop shaking that fine ass at me, you’re not going to finish getting dressed, because I’m going to be bending you over the nearest horizontal surface.”

She grinned at him over her shoulder. “You’re the one who insisted on dressing me for the party.”

“Because if I let one of the others do it, you’d be in here all night and never come out.”

Chuckling, she reached for the mermaid dress. “You’re not wrong. I didn’t think I was going to get out of my office in time to shower, because Dante was giving me the eyes.” She held the dress carefully as she put in one leg at a time and then slid it up her legs. “You know the ones.”

Cisco stepped up behind her and carefully drew the laces of the bodice taut. “The ones that say tie me down and use me until I cry.”

The dress fit her like a glove all the way up, but left her décolletage exposed. “Exactly,” she said. “It was an effort of will to get out of there without using him exactly as hard as he wanted.”

He leaned down to kiss her bare shoulder. “An impressive display of restraint.” His fingers brushed over the curve of the wings etched into her back in platinum and gemstones.

She looked at herself in the full-length mirror in front of her. He was right, this dress did make her look hot. It clung to her and emphasized her curvy shape in exactly the right ways.

He squeezed her hips. “Need help with your shoes?”

“Of course.” She pointed to the strappy sandals that matched both of her dresses—red, sequined, and sharp heeled, with bows that tied around her ankles.

He moved to pick them up and then sat on the lounge in front of her. With a small smile, he motioned her forward.

She daintily raised the hem to give her some room to move and lifted her foot. He cupped her heel gently, placing the sandal delicately on her toes before sliding it home.

With a finesse at odds with his thick, clawed fingers, he tied the ribbon around her ankle four times before making a perfect bow. When his work was complete, he leaned down to kiss the top of her foot in a gesture of such submission that it took her breath away.

Mari thought she would self-combust when he tilted his eyes up to look at her, the appreciation in his gaze obvious. He lowered her foot slowly, an amused expression curling his mouth, and then gestured for the other one.

She struggled to keep her calm when he repeated the same slow ritual with the other foot. Her cheeks were on fire by the time he had finished. Great, she was about to show up to her own party wound up beyond all belief because she could feel his satisfaction.

Ever since her night with Dohal, she’d been able to pick up feelings from all her men, beyond just their arousal. Sometimes it even seemed like she caught stray thoughts when she wasn’t paying attention. She hadn’t mentioned it to anyone yet because she wasn’t sure what it meant. More than anything though, she knew he loved dressing her nearly as much as he loved undressing her.

“Stop flirting, Francisco.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he said with a sexy smirk.

Saints, did he not have any idea how he was testing her right now? The answer was that he knew exactly how much he affected her, and he loved it. “I’m never going to make it through tonight,” she muttered.

“You’re the one who said no sex in front of the guests.” Grinning, he stood and walked to her vanity. “You know we’re all game for whatever.” He picked up the glittering platinum crown with inset rubies that would be her only concession to a costume on this night. She wanted everyone to see her for exactly what she was, though the guests were encouraged to dress up for Las Vegas’s favorite holiday if they wished.

She looked into the mirror as he placed the crown on her head and pinned it in place. Her dark hair was drawn up in a messily precise updo that, along with her dramatic makeup, had been magicked in place. Bless Pricilla for teaching her those tricks.

The rubies in her piercings and in her back all hummed when she threaded some magic through the gems in the crown, amplifying her already impressive store. Aside from a quick romp with Rio this morning, she’d denied herself all day, stoking her power in order to impress the masses. “I thought it would be a statement of how unlike my father I am, but now I’m wondering if it was a mistake.”

“Go with your gut.” He trailed one knuckle up the back of her neck. “You know we’ll back whatever play you want to make.”

“My gut wants to lay you out on that lounge and have my way with you right now,” she said with a bit of a growl.

He met her gaze in the mirror again with a twinkle of mischief. “Your wish is my command, mi diosa.”

She rolled her eyes. “Let’s go before I’m late for my own party.”

He laughed and moved to take her arm, grabbing her dancing dress on their way out. “You can’t be late for your own party. It starts when you get there.”

Dante and Rio waited for them outside on the walkway to the main house. She stopped to take them in. Unlike Cisco, they each had a leather collar fastened around their necks with a tag in the shape of a blood-red rose hanging from the rings.

Rio wore a modern burgundy three-piece suit cut to flatter his lean frame. His dark hair was drawn back in a smart queue. His eyes were warm with appreciation for both her and Cisco, and his lips curled in an easy smile.

Dante’s blond curls were as haphazard and perfectly sculpted as always. He wore a red vest with silver brocade over a white shirt just a bit undone to show a sliver of chest speckled with his trademark glitter. His smile was more impish, showing off his deep dimples.

When she drew close enough to catch their arousal, she almost lost her footing. Cisco spread a hand over the small of her back and steadied her without missing a beat. The heat of his hand pressing into her through the dress didn’t help at all.

She took a deep, cleansing breath. “You’re all going to be the death of me.”

Rio grinned like a cat who’d gotten caught with a paw where it shouldn’t be. “At least you’ll die smiling.”

He took one arm and Dante took the other, the two of them matching her pace as they escorted her through the main house toward the ballroom.

She was glad they’d taken the time to go see the location a few nights before, because the transformation was less of a shock now, seeing the warm wood and inviting colors. Dohal waited for them at the door to the ballroom. He’d been working on last-minute security details with Pris, making sure that the wards would both acknowledge guests and keep them safe.

A flowing skirt in red so dark it was nearly black wrapped his waist and draped to the ground, and around his neck and shoulders, he wore something that looked a bit like platinum armor patterned with dragon scales. Mari had to snap her jaw shut because seeing him decorated that way really did it for her in ways she hadn’t expected at all.

One fang pressed into his bottom lip when he smiled in her direction. “You look delicious, bavi,” he said in a low rumble as she approached, bending to kiss her cheek.

She blushed under his attention. “So do you. I like this.” She reached up to run a hand over the metal scales, enjoying how they felt warm to the touch from their proximity to his skin.

“I’m glad,” he said with appreciation. “Pricilla and I have secured the building. No one should be able to enter who doesn’t have an invitation.”

“But you don’t think that will keep the Old One out if he decides to show up?”

“Likely not.” He sounded regretful. “Though that’s no different than any other day.”

“Okay, another thing I’m not thinking about.”

Cisco showed her a smile. “You ready to go in? Willow wanted to announce us.”

Mari rolled her shoulders and took a breath. It was going to be a lot, and she had known that when she’d agreed. There was a not small part of her that just wanted to drag the four of them back to the pool house—or better yet the grotto—and just hide from everyone until they all left. But she knew that wasn’t possible. This was important. They were doing it for a reason. After taking a moment to collect herself, she nodded.

Her gargoyle nodded and moved toward the entrance. Noise flooded into the quiet hallway the moment he opened one of the double doors a bit. He had a brief conversation with someone beyond and then shut the door again. “Two minutes,” he said. “They want you up front.”

Mariana moved to the front of the group, and the men organized themselves behind her without any discussion. She decided they must have talked about it beforehand without her, which made her smile. She tossed her head and stood up straighter just as the doors opened.

The music within shifted abruptly into a fanfare, and Willow’s magic-amplified voice filled the ballroom. “Please welcome your hostess, Mariana Reyes, and her coterie.”

A roar of applause overwhelmed the music, and Mari put on her best for-company smile. She stepped into the ballroom with every ounce of her confidence pulled around her like armor. Entering the packed ballroom wasn’t as difficult as she’d imagined it would be with all of her men at her back. The environment within was cheerful and excited, with everyone on their feet and most of them clapping. Nothing about the experience reminded her of her father’s parties.

Cisco and Dohal stepped up even with her to make sure the crowd parted as she moved forward, but it was hardly necessary. No one approached, and they all kept a respectful distance.

She led her men slowly along a wide red runner that crossed the room to the dais where the receiving line would be forming. Once they arrived, she took her place at the center of the curved lounge with Dante and Rio on either side of her, and Dohal and Cisco taking up guarding spots to either side. They waited for her to sit first, and then Dante and Rio sat flanking her.

By the time the normal party music came back on, Willow was directing traffic to form a line that bisected the large room. Many of the faces in the queue were familiar. The guest list had been vast, but they had vetted every name, trying to isolate potential threats before offering them access to their home.

Mica moved in once they were settled, putting food and drink for them along the platform at the back of the booth behind the seating. There was no table between her and the rest of the room, though there was a railing that prevented anyone from approaching her directly.

Rio rested a hand on the nape of her neck, his touch light and reassuring. “Do you want something to eat, bella?”

She showed him a smile that she hoped conveyed how much she appreciated him. “That would be nice.”

He pulled her into a brief and sweet kiss before getting up to make her a plate.

Pricilla approached with a smile for all of them and took up a position at a seating area adjacent to them on the dais where she could keep an eye on the rest of the line while Mari was distracted with talking to whoever was at the front.

Mari nodded to Willow to let them know she was ready.