His lips found mine and he kissed me; gently at first, and then more insistently, pressing me firmly against him. My passion flared as I wrapped my arms around his neck, trying to get closer. I knew this was not right, that he was engaged to be married, but I didn’t want it to stop.
Still I knew that I had to, and I slowly broke away, trying to steady my breathing.
Rafe stepped back. “Get ready,” he said briskly. “I will see you downstairs in an hour.”
The ball was to be held at the bride’s father’s home. He was a cousin of Brandon’s father and a very wealthy merchant. The magnificent white mansion was the largest on the hill and overlooked the town and the sea beyond. Terraced gardens were opulently transformed into what looked like a miniature fairyland with lengths of sumptuous gold fabric draped across the trees like an open tent.
As I walked down the steps on Rafe’s arm, no one noticed me. My gold lace mask hid my identity for the night, and I had reddened my lips with a bit of magic, keeping with the theme of the ball. Brandon walked ahead, but Kalen and Marcus had stayed behind at the inn.
Stunning masked women in a myriad of silks and brocades flitted about the gardens on the arm of many a well-dressed gentleman. Plumes and feathers, sparkling with precious gems, made my simple lace mask seem extremely plain. But it complemented my emerald green dress, the tight embroidered bodice of which was suffocating me as I walked.
Rafe was dressed in an unadorned black doublet with a black and silver mask, slightly different from the one he used as the Black Wolf. I gazed up at him as his lean six-foot frame dwarfed me.
“Where do we have to meet Santino?” I looked around as Rafe and Brandon scanned the grounds. Sparkling chandeliers hung from the branches, lighting up the garden, and candles shone on the white-and-gold fabric-covered tables decorated with grand flower arrangements.
Brandon led Rafe and me to a man dressed all in black, wearing a silver mask over his short-clipped beard. His hair was dark, long, and held back in a ponytail. Brandon briefly whispered something in his ear.
The man turned his rich amber eyes on me and bowed. “Santino Valasis at your service, my lady,” he said in a deep voice, taking my hand in his and planting a lingering kiss, a smile playing at the corner of his full lips.
I smiled and murmured an appropriate greeting.
“I am charmed to meet you,” said Santino. “Delacourt did tell me you were beautiful, but I see mere words do not do you justice.”
Against my better judgment, I blushed. Santino was a flirt—he couldn’t, in truth, see my whole face. But Brandon had said he was our only way out of Eldoren and we needed his ship.
“And you know who this is, of course,” said Brandon, keeping his voice low and introducing Rafe. “Although I don’t believe you have ever met.”
Santino clasped Rafe’s forearm. “I’ve heard a lot about you,” he said, looking Rafe straight in the eye.
“Likewise.” Rafe didn’t flinch. “Tales of the pirate prince have reached the highest of circles among the Eldorean nobility.”
Santino laughed good-naturedly. “Yes, I’m sure they have. And tales of the Black Wolf have been circulating through Brandor for some time now,” he added softly.
Rafe raised an eyebrow. “It looks like your spies have been keeping busy.”
“They wouldn’t be very useful if they didn’t,” Santino countered with a grin.
Rafe’s mouth twitched upward. “Point taken.”
A gorgeous olive-skinned woman, wearing an extravagant maroon dress with a skirt so big it made her look like a birthday cake, came up to Santino and caught his arm. Her hair was a rich burnished mahogany and she wore a heavy gold tiara that screamed royalty.
“Santino, my darling brother,” the woman declared, glancing at me briefly and settling her eyes on Rafe. “Aren’t you going to introduce me to your friends?” She adjusted her mask—a feathery concoction of gold plumes studded liberally with ostentatious rubies.
Rafe looked uncomfortable.
Santino smirked. “I believe you already know the young man before you, Katerina.”
Katerina held out her hand to Rafe, her red lips parting in a sensual smile. “Yes, I believe I do,” she said in a heavily accented voice, as Rafe bowed and rather stiffly gave her a peck on her hand, straightening immediately.
I glanced at the two of them. Katerina gazed up at Rafe as if he were the only man at the ball. How did they know each other? She must have known him quite well if she recognized him with his mask on.
Two giggling women came over and whispered in Santino’s ear. He grinned. “I will leave you all to get acquainted. These poor women need a dance partner and I wouldn’t want to disappoint them.”
Katerina laughed, a deep, throaty sound. “My brother still has to learn how to say no to a beautiful woman.”
I smiled as I watched Santino saunter off into the crowd, one girl on each arm.
“My brother said we were to take an Andrysian noble’s daughter to Brandor with us,” she said to Rafe. “But he did not say who the other passengers were.”
“I’m sure he simply forgot to mention it,” Rafe said tersely.
“Oh, Santino forgets nothing.” Katerina snaked her arm through his. “Take me to dance, Rafael,” she cooed in his ear but still loud enough for me to hear. “It’s been so long since you held me in your arms.”
Rafe shook his head. “You know I don’t dance, Katerina.”
But that didn’t deter her.
“For me?” She looked at him with slightly upturned eyes, batting her luscious lashes while her mouth turned downward in an extremely sexy pout. “I’m sure you can make an exception. After all, we will be spending the next few days squashed together aboard my brother’s ship.”
I knew Rafe couldn’t argue with that.
