Page 191 of Let the Game Begin

The Krew took up space, as usual, with their beauty and their presence. None of them wore a costume that was like anyone else’s. Xavier and Lukewere stationed on either side of Neil, each wearing tracksuits and white plastic masks. The masks were lit up with LEDs, red for Xavier, yellow for Luke.

It was a frightening look, and not because they were pretending to be some monstrous creatures, but because they themselves were entirely capable of being monstrous and not just on Halloween.

Next to Xavier, Jennifer was dressed as Harley Quinn inSuicide Squad. Her blond hair was in two pigtails: one dip-dyed blue and the other pink. Her lean body was on display in a short T-shirt with “Daddy’s Lil’ Monster” written on it, red and blue shorts, and fishnets. She wore a matching leather jacket, high-tops, and studded bracelets and held an actual baseball bat in one hand. I was horrified at the idea that she might just swing that at anyone who came close to the object of her obsession.

Alexia had gone with an intense evil clown theme. She wore a black and blue polka-dotted skirt and a corset in the same colors, thigh-highs and multicolored high heels. Her face was covered in greasepaint, and her eyes had been emphasized with a bold, dark smokey look. Blue lines of face paint ran up her cheeks on either side of her mouth, and she’d stuck sparkling rhinestones to the outside of her eyes, like tears.

She was beautiful and frightening in just the right way, just like the other members of the Krew. But the person who stood out most in that room full of people attempting to terrify was Neil. He wasn’t wearing anything weird or overdone, just a nice black suit that was fitted to his athletic body. His chestnut hair was neatly arranged for once, and he wore a black mask with intricate silver designs over half his face. The left half, specifically, and a little bit of the right eyebrow, leaving everything else on display, including his mouth.

It was the mask fromThe Phantom of the Opera—an appropriately seductive and enigmatic vibe.

The group cleared a path in front of themselves as they moved through the crowd because everyone knew who they were and that it would be better to get out of their way. Neil crossed the room with determined strides, his bearing particularly masculine, and people (mostly girls) admired him. Like he was some dark angel or an enchanting demon that had come to drag them off into a secret spot somewhere in this immense mansion.

“Okay, so, yes: he is very sexy. I get it, my friend. It can’t be easy to resistthat.” Alyssa’s comment was not at all helpful. A strange, intense burning sensation had spread from my chest to my cheeks. I was sure that, despite the mask, my blush would be visible to anyone looking. I suddenly felt unsettled, hardly able to even stand on my own two feet.

Neil hadn’t seen me yet, but I knew that the moment he did, I was going to die right there on the spot.

I silently prayed to whatever God was listening that Mr. Disaster wouldn’t come any closer than the bar. Because, just a few feet beyond that, was us. Or, rather, me, bemusedly ogling his chiseled musculature in that tight black suit. His sculpted body and more than six feet of masculine energy had not gone unnoticed at all, and I bristled at the knowledge that Jennifer or some other little monster would soon be offering him their pumpkin on a silver platter.

“You’ve gotta be seen, come on!” Alyssa grabbed me by the wrist, and I dug my heels in like a recalcitrant dog, willing myself not to give in to her.

Damn it! I didn’t want Neil to see me. I was feeling good there in my anonymous corner where no one would bother me.

“Don’t be a baby! Get a move on!” She grabbed me with her other hand and my heels skidded a little on the floor, but I continued to resist her.

“I said no!” I snapped irritably.

“Selene, if I didn’t want him to look at you, you’d be dressed as a zombie bride right now. But I did want him to look at you and die mad over your incredible legs,” she continued, pulling me to her with more and more force until I finally gave in.

I surrendered and followed her into the crowd of dancers. I felt suffocated by all the bodies accidentally rubbing against mine. Someone even touched my hair, but I couldn’t tell who it was because there were so many people all around that it made me dizzy.

I stuck as close as possible to Alyssa, hoping to keep any of the guys around us from groping my ass. I looked around trying to find Neil but there was no sign of him. Suddenly, I felt Alyssa’s hands tighten on my hips. I looked at her and found her rubbing herself against me.

“What are you doing?” I tried to wriggle away from her, but she got up close to my ear and explained her plan.

“Try to look like you’re really into it. Men love this stuff.” She stroked the back of my neck while I continued staring at her through my mask. Then, I uncertainly attempted to mimic her movements.

“You have to move your hips seductively,” she explained, and I tried to give them a kind of natural sway, hoping to look fluid and confident. I could feel the ends of my hair hitting my low back and the bottom of my skirt rising slightly as my corset strained against me. It was so tight it had actually slimmed my waist until Alyssa could encircle it with one arm.

We put on a sexy show together, our bodies chasing one another as if we were lovers.

“Good job, keep going,” she whispered, close to my lips and I grinned conspiratorially back. Evidently there was a lot that I could learn from my friend. Alyssa was more experienced than me. She’d dated a few guys before Logan, and she definitely knew some tricks to make them fall at her feet. Neil, though, wasn’t like other guys and—

“He’s a man, Selene. Just a man, and he’s got the same weak points as any other man,” she said, like she was reading my mind as she continued to grind against me even more audaciously. I raised my arms over my head and bent my elbows, moving my hips with more force. This wasn’t so difficult after all—all you had to do was let yourself be transported by the music, by the joyful laughter of your friend and then the whole world took on a different flavor.

Dancing was like a puzzle: a series of tiny movements that joined together to create something beautiful.

Alyssa gave me a sly grin as she backed slowly away from me, stretching out her arms to put distance between us. I frowned, not understanding why she was retreating but then, just as her smile widened victoriously, two hands grasped my hips possessively, halting my movements.

Oh shit.

“Let me see you work that little ass…” The hoarse baritone of my personal disaster filtered into my ear like a whispered melody, somehow drowning out the music and the yelling of the people around us. I held still, rigid and more embarrassed than ever. Now that the shark had actually taken the bait, I found myself no longer capable of the sexy swaying I’dbeen doing before. I quivered when his chest pressed against my back and something poked into me.

I held my breath. Yep, that was a mighty erection shamelessly on display for me.

He moved his fingers upward, tracing the embroidery on my corset before sinking back down to my hips and using them to pull me into him with more force.

“Have you forgotten how to move, Tinkerbell?” he asked in a sultry whisper, and I could feel his hot breath hit my neck, followed almost immediately by his lips.