Page 8 of Hollow House

“There you are, love,” a deep voice whispered in my ear, their breath tickling my neck.

My core warmed at the way the word sounded on his lips, and I turned to find the man I spotted earlier behind me. Tattoos covered his body, his dark hair swept perfectly out of place.

His dark suit matched my dress, and I let out a slight sigh of relief that I hadn’t messed up the attire to the extent I thought. His own mask was black, with similar gold detailing to the patterns on my own. Was that on purpose?

“If you’ll excuse us,” he said, nodding to the man who had been vying for my attention.

The other man respectfully backed away and left without another word.

“Do I know you?” I asked, his presence almost familiar.

“Not in the sense you ask,” he answered, taking a step closer.His muscular frame pressed against me, and I tilted my head in confusion.

“Who are you?” I asked, genuine curiosity taking over.

It was for the article, I told myself. Everything I did tonight was for the sake of my work.

I needed to put in every last effort I could to find a story here, one beyond this being a night club- esque sex party.

There were far more rooms to explore in the house, and if this man could lead me to them, I welcomed it.

“There are no names here,” he answered, avoiding the question. Everyone around us wore similar masks, their faces shrouded behind them.

“Well, what can I call you then?” I asked, crossing my arms.

If he wouldn’t say who he was, that was fine. I was used to doing a little digging for the information I wanted. Never once did I think building this story would be easy.

“Many here refer to me as the Wraith. It’s not a name I gave myself, but you’re welcome to use it if you insist on something.”

I let out a soft laugh at the absurdity of the nickname. Did people actually call him that?

It felt silly to me, but I went along with it anyway. Perhaps it was part of the allure of the night—one night to live your deepest desires and be whoever you wanted. A familiar concept on Halloween, not so far from reality that I couldn’t play along.

“Okay, Wraith ,” I started. “Tell me, why was I invited here?”

He reached out and grabbed my waist, pulling me harder against him, which I didn’t think was possible. I could feel his entire body pressed into me, parts hardening in my presence…

Nope, I shoved the thought from my mind as quickly as I could.

“Tell me, Sloane: why did you answer the call?” he asked.

The question and use of my name caught me off guard. I tried to cover it with a smile and nervous laugh, but he still watched me with the same intensity, seeing right through it. I tried to think of an excuse, but something told me he would see through that too.

Instead, I went with the truth.

“I’m writing an article on Hollow House,” I stated, watching his face for a hint of anything to give me answers. He remained unmoved. “Which I suppose you already knew, if you know who I am,” I guessed.

That made him grin.“No one comes here without my permission. I’ve created a haven away from the world, one prying eyes need not see.”

“Then why allow me here? Why invite me?”

“Because I know you’ll never publish that article,” he stated, not an ounce of doubt in his voice.

I scoffed. This article was my ticket out, the break I needed. Absolutely nothing was keeping me from that—not shitty bosses, not catty women at work, and certainly not this masked man.“And what makes you say that?”

It was his turn to laugh.

“I know people,” he answered, dipping his head down to my ear. “And I know you better than you think,” he whispered.

“Oh, really?” I challenged. “You know me so well?”

He ginned at my challenge, and my core warmed at the intensity of his gaze. It was almost uncomfortable, but I found I couldn’t look away.

“I know you’ve been observing this entire room since you got here,” he said.

I scoffed.“I am a journalist,” I said, almost disappointed he’d said the most obvious thing.

“I wasn’t finished, my love,” he tsked.

There was that word again. Love . I hated that I loved the way it sounded when it rolled off his tongue—a tongue I imagined doing depraved things to my body as I watched him lick his lips almost hungrily.

“You’ve watched this room without joining in, but I can tell you wish to. So tell me, love: what is your darkest desire?” he asked.

My mouth opened, but words failed to come out. I wanted to tell him he was wrong, that I was solely here for the article, but then I remembered Felix’s words. Even my best friend thought I needed to get laid.

He leaned forward, his mouth grazing my ear.“You can have anyone here,” he whispered in my ear. “Who will it be, love?”

I glanced past him, barely able to look around his large, muscular frame.“Him?” I asked and nodded to a man watching us, sipping from a glass of wine.

“Of course,” he assured me and dipped his head in, nipping at my skin and sending shivers down my spine.

Instinctively, I moved my head to bare my neck to him, a complete stranger. I needed to get a grip, but I couldn’t. He’d roped me into his game, and admittedly, I was having fun.

“And her?” I gasped as his hand rubbed down my back.

He glanced to the side, following my gaze to a woman pretending to be uninterested, but I’d caught her many sideways gazes.

“Is that what you want?” he asked. “Perhaps both of them at once?”

I shuddered at the thought of the man taking me while I devoured the beautiful woman.

“Maybe,” was all I could force out as he pushed up against me. I could feel how hard he was behind the black slacks he wore.

“You can have whoever, but just remember, at the end of the night, you’re still mine.”

Mine .

The last word came out on a possessive growl. My core heated, and I knew if he slipped his hand under my dress, he’d find just how much his words turned me on.

His hand slid down the front of me and to the top of my thigh.

“Not here,” I said, sucking in a gasp.

I tried to push away from him, to turn around and see who else had their eyes on us, but his strong hand wrapped possessively around me and pulled me back. Pressed against him, I felt his cock hard against my ass.

“Do not move,” he ordered.

The low command made my center slick. Without even touching me beneath my dress, this man already had me wet and ready.

“We have rules I need to go over before I allow you to play in my home,” he said in a low tone. “The first is that desires and pleasure are a priority here. We do not judge what others partake in so long as it does not cross any boundaries.”

I sucked in a breath, his lips pressing against my neck.

“The second is that if you do not want something, all you need to do is say so. Everyone abides by the same safety word. Just say pumpkin , and they’ll stop.”

I almost laughed at the absurdity of the word, but I supposed that was why it was picked.

“And if I don’t want them to stop?” I dared to ask, afraid if I said nothing, he would leave.

“You’ll find out, love,” he whispered, and his hand slipped lower down my thigh.

My cheeks reddened, embarrassment grabbing hold of me as I realized I was still in the room full of people.

“You can’t seriously—” I started, the words coming out almost jumbled.

His hand stopped me before I could finish. His fingers bunched the fabric of my dress, pulling at it.

No one around us seemed to care. I didn’t know whether I hoped it stayed that way or not. The idea of all these people watching us, seeing how much I wanted him, made my chest ache with both fear and desire.

His fingers found the hem of my dress and brushed against my bare thigh. I tried to turn into him, but his other hand stopped me, holding me in place.

“Wraith,” I moaned, his fingers dancing over my skin.

His hand slipped under my dress, hovering over the thin lace panties I wore. The second I felt him tug the material, I knew I was exposed to the room. What was I doing?

“We can’t do this here!” I insisted, a bit of urgency creeping into my voice.

His fingers brushed against my slick folds, and I moaned, unable to get more words out. My back arched against him, and he continued to tease my entrance, his fingers feeling how wet I was already.

He tipped my head up with his other hand and kissed me. His hand held my chin, wrapping around my neck. The slight pressure there heightened what I felt between my legs.

“You don’t truly believe that,” he said.

A few pairs of wandering eyes found us, watching as I remained helplessly pinned to the Wraith, my pussy exposed to the room as he teased against my entrance.

My cheeks heated an impossibly deep shade of red.“We have an audience,” I choked out.

“Let them watch,” he said, his voice stern and dripping with desire.

A single finger pushed into me, and the moan I let out was loud enough to draw more attention. People whispered and watched as he continued to thrust in and out of me. I craved more. A single finger wasn’t enough.

The feeling kept my focus solely on him and not the attention we’d gathered.

“More,” I whimpered as he pushed his finger in and out, the palm of his hand rubbing against my clit, the other fingers grazing and teasing me.

“Anything you desire, love,” he whispered, and I tensed as two more fingers slid in.

Pain was the first thing I felt, my entire body tensing at the shocking pressure and amount filling me. I had asked for this, craved it, but my body wasn’t used to it. There hadn’t been many men or women I’d seen lately.

I bit my lip, trying to hide my cry of both pain and pleasure.

The metallic taste of blood was enough to snap my eyes open, surprise waking me from my pleasure-filled state.

I spotted all the people watching us. Some had turned away, occupied with their own explorations of pleasure.

Others watched, the intensity of their gaze enough to make me falter.

“Enough of them,” the Wraith said sternly and flipped me around to face him.

He kissed my lips, and I closed my eyes, trying to fully accept all the pleasures he offered. His kiss was gentle at first, easing me into it all, but it turned desperate as we went. He pulled out the three fingers to give me a second of relief before readjusting his approach.

He moved himself behind me, guiding me to the table nearby. His strong hands bent me over the table and pulled my hair back, holding it in a tight grip. The slight pain at his tug had me gasping.

This time, when he slipped his fingers back inside me, only two pushed into my pussy. The third moved to a new spot, one I had never explored with anyone else.

I moaned against his lips as the finger entered my ass and pushed in rhythm with the other too. I became entirely overwhelmed by the sensation. Nothing in my mind made sense, and my vision turned to a complete blur.

“Fuck,” I gasped.

“You like that, don’t you, love?” the Wraith asked.

At this point, I was convinced every last set of eyes in the room had to be on us, but I was too distracted to look. To be honest, I didn’t care anymore. Whatever this was, whatever the Wraith wanted to give to me, I wanted it.

I wanted all of it.

I just hadn’t known it until that second.

“More,” I begged.

I heard the low chuckle that came from him before he pushed into me harder and faster. All my senses went into overdrive. I could barely feel the rest of my body, numb with pleasure.

“That’s it, love. Come for me,” he demanded as my pussy clenched around him.

My thighs trembled, and his hand holding my hair tugged lightly, encouraging me.

I let out a loud moan as I toppled over the edge, my orgasm slamming into me.

The Wraith knew it too, still fingering me through the pleasure.

My entire body shook, my head dizzy as he pulled his fingers out and helped me stand to adjust my dress.

By the time I turned to face him, the attendees picked up again, ignoring us completely.

Had I imagined them watching in the first place?

There was no possible way they didn’t see us.

“That was—” I stopped; no words could properly describe it. “Thanks,” I managed instead.

“No need to thank me, love,” he answered. “We are just getting started.”

That felt like both a threat and a promise. My toes curled in response, my cheeks still red with desire.

“I’m going to grab you a drink,” the Wraith offered, and before I could accept, he wandered into the crowd.

The feeling of heat throughout my body became overwhelming. Usually, after an orgasm, it subsided quickly, but not now. No, I was far too aware of how dizzy I felt, the sweat beading on my forehead. The bodies packed into the room didn’t help, contributing to how hot it was.

My vision danced with little black dots, and I knew I had to move quickly.