I roll my eyes, about to say how stupid he is when he turns his face full to mine and my breath catches in my throat. “Holy shit.”
Thick white—what looks like bone—is carved into a half skull on his face. There are three holes, two for his eyes and one for his nose. The top of his lip is where teeth are carved into it, with the fangs stabbing downward, pressing against his lower lip. You can still see the sharp edges of his angular jaw and his plump lower lip. It’s disturbingly sexy. That mask mixed with his Armani suit that is tailored to perfection, with his sleeves rolled up to his elbows and the bow tie hanging loosely around his collar. My ovaries may not survive this night. I need to calm down.
I lick my lips. “You look great.”
He rolls his eyes. “I look better than great, mea principessa, quit playin’.” He climbs out and I slip out after him.
“Seriously. What is it made of?”
He’s in the back, unhooking Micaela from her seat. When he comes back out, his eyes slam into mine. I can make out the curve in his cheek that he’s grinning at me.
“If I told you, you wouldn’t believe me.” Then he shuts the door.
“Actually, I would,” I mumble under my breath. Nate tosses the keys to a valet who is standing near a long line of cars. I swear the keys fly in slow motion until my eyes come directly to the boy, who is watching me eagerly.
He’s young, maybe sixteen. Very good looking with boy-ish features. His shoulders slack submissively. He bends one leg and bows his head.
Nate snaps at him. “Don’t even start, bumboy. Just park the car.”
Confused, I look to Nate for answers, but he just shakes his head, hiking Micaela up farther into his chest. “Why did I get the impression that he was about to curtsy me or something?”
Nate rolls his eyes. “You’re a fucking Stuprum, Tillie. Get used to it.”
“Yeah,” I answer, chasing his steps. “But why would he curtsy me?”
Nate brushes me off. “Just leave it.”
I decide to leave it. For now. I can jump on that subject after the night is over.
Soft music is spilling out from the foyer and the door is opened slightly. I’ve been to Bishop’s parents’ house a few times, but it’s never looked like this before. There are twisted rope lights illuminating the front door and the foyer inside the house. I can hear the chatter of people mixing with the soft classical music playing. Nate takes my hand, pulling me farther inside the house. To the left of the foyer is a single twist staircase that’s all glass with clear railings, leading up to the second level.
“Come on.”
I clear my throat, my eyes catching the soft red lights that are melting against the walls in the main living area.
Before Nate can drag me in there, I tug on his hand. “Is this party going to be suitable for Micaela?”
He nods. “Yeah, for now. If not, Mom and Joseph are here.”
I chew on my lip and then follow him into the sitting room. There are a few people here, mainly men and a couple of older women. The fireplace is on and I can see now that where the back of the living room meets the foyer, there’s a man playing on a piano, dressed in a suit and a metal masquerade mask with a long nose.
“Ah, the prodigy son is here…” A voice pulls me out of my nosey thoughts and I take a second to quickly look over all who are here. The man who spoke is sitting in the main chair of the room with a cigar tucked between his fingers. He’s in a suit and again, in a mask similar to Nate’s, only his is blood red. I know instantly that it’s Hector.
“The boys are outside, but come, I want you to meet a few people.”
Nate seems to tense beside me, his eyes watching the man sitting beside Hector. They don’t move, and I reach for his hand, but he doesn’t allow me to take it. Circling my finger against his palm, he lets out a slow exhale and I feel his fingers slowly stretch, and then intertwine with mine. My heart jolts in my chest and protectiveness seizes me. Right now isn’t the time for me to evaluate where the lioness instincts have come from, but they feel good. Powerful. It’s then that I realize the depth of my feelings for this impossibly frustrating, painfully sexy, asshole of a man. I’d jump in front of a bullet for him, I’d lay my life down for him, and it’s in this moment, that I realize I’m still in love with him. If I ever climbed out of that hole to begin with.
“Shall we go out and see the crew?” I try to coax Nate, what with my newfound senses, I’m feeling a little brave.
Nate grunts, and then pulls me out of the room, toward the kitchen where there is one glass wall that bows out and opens to the backyard and pool area. We see everyone instantly.
I take a seat beside Madison who is next to Bishop. On the other side of Bishop is Brantley, who is wearing a thick black mask that does look really really good on him.
Brantley snorts the final line of coke from the table at our appearance. “Something doesn’t feel right about tonight.”
“What do you mean?” I cut in, mainly because my daughter is here and I don’t want any trouble around her. Again, Nate and I have a lot to talk about when it comes to this world.
Brantley’s eyes go to Micaela. “She shouldn’t be here tonight.”
Nate shuffles in the chair beside me, and I look directly at him, ignoring Madison asking Brantley and Bishop something. Nate looks at me, pinning me with a glare, and then goes back to Brantley. “I didn’t know he was going to be here.”
“Who?”
