I stayed awake most of the night, tossing and turning, trying not to think about the chilling looks Luciano Salvatici had sent me across that restaurant. He really didn’t like me. Was it because I’d gotten a job at Covet without his approval? Was it because he’d seen me having dinner with his brother? Or was it something more?

As I finished getting ready for Gio’s party, my mind skipped between Laney, the Beast, and Gio. If I ever wanted to get to the bottom of Laney’s mystery, I needed to focus. Tonight was the perfect opportunity to do just that. I planned to be seductive and mysterious with Gio, ply him with alcohol, and force him to talk.

My phone on the bathroom counter rang just as I was finishing taming my curls so they fell across my forehead, hiding my bruise from that mugging the other night. I hit answer and pressed it to my ear. “Hello?”

“Natalie? There you are. I’ve been trying to get in touch with you for days.”

I cringed at the sound of my mother’s voice and cursed myself for not checking the screen before answering. My mother had not approved of this trip, and I wasn’t up for another lecture about how foolish it was to drop everything and run to New York. I hadn’t told her my real purpose for being here—she’d flip her lid if she knew the truth—and after yesterday and my sleepless night, I didn’t trust myself to sound sunny and optimistic. Unfortunately, my mother was a talker. Fortunately, it was almost time for Gio to pick me up. “Hi, Mom. Sorry, I’ve been busy. What’s up?”

“Are you at home? I called your house twice earlier, and you didn’t answer.”

I couldn’t keep dodging her on this. “No, actually, I’m still in New York.”

“For heaven’s sake. Why?”

I clenched my jaw and told myself not to let my mother get to me. She liked to dictate my life from her cushy ranch in Montana. Nothing I chose was ever good enough. Not my job at the boutique or my small rental house or my lack of male companionship. I could tell her about the job at Covet, but I really didn’t want to. At least not yet. “It’s just taking longer to box up Laney’s things than I thought. It’s no big deal.”

My mother huffed. “It’ll be a big deal when they fire you from the store.”

I also did not want to get into a debate about how managing a small business was far beneath my potential. “Jillian is not going to fire me from the boutique, Mom.”

“And how do you know?”

“Because she told me to take as long as I needed.”

“So you’re vacationing in your dead friend’s apartment? That’s morbid, honey, even for you.”

My patience was quickly fading. “I’m not vacationing. Laney has a lot of stuff.”

“Well, I still think you shouldn’t be there. Her father or brother should be taking care of her things, not you. Roger agrees with me.”

I rolled my eyes because I’d already heard this one too. My mother was nothing if not opinionated. And the last person I wanted to hear a lecture from regarding the evils of New York City was my overbearing stepfather, Roger.

The doorbell rang, saving me from losing my temper. “Look, Mom, someone’s here. I gotta go.”

“You have plans?” Shock and disapproval rang through her voice.

Yes, plans to find out who killed Laney. “I’m just meeting a friend of Elena’s.” It wasn’t an outright lie. “I’ll call you next week.”

“Please do. I worry about you, dear, whether you realize it or not.”

A whisper of guilt rushed through me. I knew she worried in her own way. The fact she’d always been more focused on herself and her romances than on her only kid was just something I’d learned to accept long ago.

Another good reason not to get involved with a domineering man. I did not want to end up like my mother, neglecting my own flesh and blood all to please some guy.

I managed a quick goodbye, fluffed my hair one last time, then wove through the apartment and reached for the door.

“Oh, bella.” Gio’s approving gaze slid from the top of my head, down the slim black cocktail dress I’d found in Laney’s closet that had probably hit her midthigh but on me reached almost to my knees, then down my exposed legs to my hot-pink toes peeking out of the three inch silver stilettos. "Tu mi togli il respiro.”

His approval was welcome after that call from my mother. If she’d been able to see me, she’d have told me the dress was too tight and my hair was too messy. I reached for my purse from the chair near the door and slung the strap over my shoulder. Gio was an attractive man—especially tonight in the expensive black slacks and crisp white dress shirt open at his collar to show a dusting of dark chest hair—but I wasn’t interested. I was doing this for Laney and had no desire to get tangled up with any man. “I don’t have a clue what you said.”

He chuckled and stepped back so I could move into the hall and lock the door. “I said you take my breath away. And you do, bella.” I heard a sniff near my ear, and when warmth brushed my bare shoulder, I realized he was close. Very close. “Is that grapefruit I smell?”

I turned toward him and swept my curls over my shoulder, moving back against the door for space. “Yes. Hermes.”

“I knew I recognized the scent.” His gaze slid over my outfit once more like a sinful caress, making me wish I’d picked something other than the clingy spaghetti strap dress. He leaned in and drew another whiff that curved his lips in a seductive smile. “Very sexy.”

My stomach caved in at his boldness. Thankfully, he stepped back just when I was starting to feel trapped. He held his hand out toward the stairs. “After you.”

I gripped the handrail and moved down the steps, working for calm and casual when I felt anything but. “Thanks for inviting me to meet some new people.” Warm, humid air rushed over me when I stepped outside. Even at eight p.m., it was still muggy in New York. “Where is this party?”

“A friend’s place.”

That told me nothing. “Is it far?”

Instead of answering, he flashed a mysterious smile and ushered me toward a sleek black Ferrari that was so totally him, I couldn’t help but roll my eyes. “Eager, I see. That’s good. That’s very good.”

His roving gaze slid over me again while he held the door, and as I lowered myself to the passenger seat, I didn’t miss how his sinfully pale eyes hovered on the length of my exposed thigh where the dress inched up as I sat.

Nerves bounced around in my belly as he moved around the hood and climbed behind the steering wheel. He still hadn’t answered my question, and I had a sinking suspicion he wanted more from this night than I was willing to give. I was also sure if my mother could see me now, she’d absolutely shit bricks. She wouldn’t care if Gio had known Laney or was privy to anything about her death. She’d tell me to jump his bones before he could get away. A man with money and good looks who showed interest—in plain girls like me, according to her—was a total catch.

I pushed that thought away as he jerked the car out of its parking space and sped down the road. I could handle this. I just had to keep my wits about me and everything would be fine.

The Italian leather seat cradled my body in all the right places. But as Gio maneuvered the sports car into the midtown tunnel and whipped around cars going too slow in the eerie orange light, a new kind of anxiety speared through my chest. I gripped the door handle at my right.

He glanced sideways with a wicked grin. “Scared, bella?”

Considering he was swerving around vehicles like Mario Andretti, I was terrified. “I’m not sure yet. Should I be?”

He looked back at the road, but his brazen smile didn’t fade. “Oh, you should be.”

I chose to ignore that loaded comment. We popped out of the tunnel, leaving the eerie orange lights behind. Businesses on the sides of the freeway lit up the darkness, and we passed a sign that read I-495. I twisted in my seat to look over my shoulder. The twinkling skyline of Manhattan shone in the window behind me.

“Are we on Long Island?” I asked.

“Yes.” Gio maneuvered the sleek vehicle around a minivan. “The party’s at a private home about thirty minutes out. Just sit back and relax.”

There was no way I could relax knowing I was on the same island where I’d been subjected to that weird medical exam, but I sank back in my seat so he couldn’t tell my mind was suddenly whirring with options should I need to bail quickly. I’d erroneously thought the party would be in the city and that I could grab a cab when I was ready to go home. As we veered off the interstate and wound through neighborhoods, the houses growing farther apart and set back off the road, I realized that wasn’t likely.

I cleared my throat. “How do you know the people throwing this party?”

“Family friends.”

He was purposely being evasive. And the term “family” didn’t put me at ease at all. “Will your brother be there?”

Gio huffed and mumbled, “I sure the hell hope not.” Then louder, “Don’t worry, he never comes to these things.”

For the first time since I’d opened the door and seen him standing on the other side, I felt my pulse slow. “Well, that’s good. I wouldn’t want to run into him way out here. He’d probably think I was following him.”

Gio grinned sideways again, the lights from the dash illuminating his wide smile. “Pity the woman who falls for the Beast, right?”

“Yeah.” I smiled back, but instead of easing my tension, the comment ratcheted my heart rate up all over again.

I really didn’t like domineering men. So why the pulse notch at the mention of the most domineering one I’d ever met?

“Here we are.” Gio turned the vehicle off the dark two-lane road and stopped in front of a wide, arched iron gate with intricate scrollwork. Tall brick pillars flanked the gate on both sides, giving way to a twelve-foot brick privacy wall that blocked the road from what was on the other side. A dark-haired man in a black suit stepped out of a small gatehouse building to the left and stopped near the car. Gio rolled down the window. The two spoke in Italian for several moments, then the man bent and looked across the interior of the car at me.

His expression was anything but friendly. Beady eyes slid over my face as if memorizing every play of bone and curve of skin. The man spoke to Gio again in Italian, his gaze never leaving me.

Gio laughed at whatever the man said, reached across the seat, and squeezed my knee. I flinched at the contact but quickly tried not to let my reaction show. Smiling my way, Gio lifted his eyebrows, and I didn’t miss the act like you belong here look on his face. Heart pounding, I reached for his hand to pry it off my sensitive flesh, and blinked up at the gatekeeper with a grin I didn’t feel.

The man looked from me to Gio and back again, then finally straightened, shifting his face out of my line of sight.

Seconds later, the gate parted in the center and swung back. Gio said “Grazie,” and rolled up his window. As we drove onto the grounds and the gate clanged shut behind us, I had the ominous feeling I wasn’t welcome at this so-called party.

My nerves shot right back into overdrive.

“What was that?” I asked, letting go of his hand and looking across the dark grass on both sides of the Ferrari as we moved slowly down a long treed lane.

“Nothing for you to worry about, bella. The owner of this estate is particular about his privacy. I was just reassuring his man that you wouldn’t be sneaking back here once it’s over.”

That definitely wouldn’t be happening since I had no idea where on Long Island we even were.

“So who is this owner? Someone at Covet?”

“No. And I can’t tell you his name. I can tell you that you’ll experience all sorts of new things tonight.” He slid those sinful eyes my way once more. “New and exhilarating things.”

My heart beat faster with a mixture of fear and unease, but before I could ask just what he meant by that, the road parted and three enormous fountains came into view, followed by the biggest mansion I’d ever seen.

“Oh my,” I muttered as my eyes widened.

Gio chuckled and turned the car to the right, following the drive. “Not something you see every day in Idaho?”

“Not at all.”

I’d seen plenty of big houses at home, mostly up in Coeur d’Alene, the ritziest part of the state, but they all paled in comparison to this. The drive swept past the three towering fountains, each shooting water at least twenty feet into the air from marble statues of naked women. Tall, Old World iron lampposts illuminated the oval drive on both sides. Past the last fountain, the ground dropped away to reveal a sunken, illuminated courtyard with mesmerizing tile work set around another naked marble statue. But the focus was the mansion at the end of the drive, complete with turrets and steep roofs and finial spires that looked as if they reached all the way to the stars.

“Wow.” I couldn’t find another word to fit what I was seeing.

“Impressive, isn’t it?”

Impressive was an understatement. “I feel like I just stepped into the pages of The Great Gatsby.”

“You may feel more than that soon.” He pulled to a stop in front of the mansion and twisted around to reach for something from the backseat. “Here, put this on.”

I tore my gaze from the mansion and looked at the item in his hand. “A mask?”

“A Venetian mask. Requirement for the party.”

The eye mask was like nothing I’d ever seen. It was purple, made of superlight filigree metal, and adorned with Swarovski crystals and purple gems. One side was sparkly with black flourishes and swirls. The other half was an elaborate butterfly wing that didn’t just cover half the eye mask itself but the right cheek and jawline of the wearer’s face.

I fingered what I knew was an expensive mask and glanced toward Gio, watching as he pulled on his own mask. His wasn’t purple but red, and where mine hid mostly my eyes, his covered his nose and the entire top part of his face, peaking at two horns above what I recognized as the devil’s amused expression.

His lips curved in a smile that matched the mask perfectly. “What do you think?”

“I think that’s pretty fitting.”

“Put yours on, and we’ll go.”

I wasn’t sure about this, but I slid the mask on, tied the ribbons behind my head, and adjusted the eye holes so I could see. The door beside me popped open, and, looking up I realized a valet had been standing outside, waiting for me to don my mask before opening my door.

Gio tossed his keys to another valet and met me at the hood. With a hand on the small of my back, he ushered me up the marble steps to the enormous gold—yes, gold—arched double front door. “This is an anonymous party,” he said softly in my ear. “No one uses real names. For tonight, you’re Molly.”

“And what’s your name tonight?”

“Mike.”

“Mike and Molly. Like the TV show?”

He grinned down at me in the devil mask. “Of course.”

If he was trying to put me at ease, it didn’t work. He did not look like the kind of guy who watched American sitcoms. But the minute I stepped into the palatial mansion, the questions died on my lips and my mouth fell open.

The inside was even grander than the outside. Soaring ceilings, intricate crown moldings, marble floors, glittering chandeliers, and the biggest staircase I’d ever seen, sweeping up to the second level like something straight out of Cinderella’s castle.

“Come on.” Gio took my hand and pulled me through an arched doorway to the left

I wasn’t comfortable with his touch, and I was just about to pull back from his hand when we moved down into a sunken living room packed with people. The protest faded from my lips as I looked around. The living room was as big as a gymnasium, stretching from the front to the back of the house, with enormous windows that looked out over the Long Island Sound and the twinkling lights of Manhattan beyond.

“Wow,” I said again, trying not to be completely flabbergasted but failing miserably.

Chuckling, Gio pulled me around a trio of women, each holding fancy-looking drinks and chatting. The women glanced my way, and even with their masks, I could see they were sizing me up—along with my outfit.

“This place is pretty amazing,” Gio said. “I’ll give you a tour after we get a drink.”

I tore my gaze from the women and looked around again. I definitely wanted a tour. I felt as if I was in the middle of a dream. Someone owned this house—someone lived here. I couldn’t believe the amount of wealth and affluence around me.

My gaze drifted over the sea of faces and the small groups of people chatting and laughing as Gio drew me toward a bar set up in the far corner of the room near the towering windows. Men were dressed in expensive slacks and crisp dress shirts. The women wore spendy cocktail gowns in a variety of colors and towering heels. I didn’t spot a single chubby person in the crowd. They were all fit and toned, looking as if they’d stepped off the pages of GQ and Covet. My gaze shot back to the trio of women we’d passed, none of whom were looking my way anymore. Fidgeting with the strap of my dress, I was suddenly glad for the mask. I definitely didn’t have a model’s body like them, and my dress—though it had felt fancy back at Laney’s apartment—seemed like nothing compared to the outfits around me.

“Here.” Gio pushed a long-stemmed glass into my hand. “It’s a mimosa. I took a guess as to what you might like.”

“Thanks.” Right now, I didn’t care what I drank. I was more anxious than I’d been when Gio had picked me up.

Some kind of instrumental music seeped out of hidden speakers in the ceiling as I lifted the glass and sipped. A man and woman in masks smiled our way. With one hand at the small of the woman’s back, he ushered her forward, but his gaze slid down my body while hers hovered on Gio before the two moved around us toward the bar.

Weird. The man had been checking me out right in front of his date, and she’d been checking Gio out in front of him.

Shaking off the strange thought, my gaze skipped past the couple, over the other guests, and came to rest on a dark-haired man in black slacks and a white dress shirt whose face was covered by an eye mask that was black on one side and an antique white porcelain on the other, giving him the appearance of the Phantom of the Opera. He was all alone, leaning back against the wall, his hands loosely resting in the pockets of his slacks, no drink anywhere near him, and though I couldn’t see the color of his eyes, I could tell they were locked on me. Under his watchful gaze, a shiver raced down my spine, one laced with both fear and an excitement that came out of nowhere.

Gio’s hand closed around my upper arm, and he turned me toward him. “How about a tour of the estate?”

My skin tingled. From the edge of my vision, I could see the man in the corner was still watching me. But this time, his jaw was flexed beneath his tanned skin, and even though I couldn’t see his eyes clearly, I recognized malice filling his gaze.

My heart thumped wildly against my ribs as Gio led me through the back of the house. Did the man in the Phantom mask know me? Did he know Gio? I glanced over my shoulder several times but couldn’t see him any longer.

We moved through a massive library with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves, past an office, and into a great room that opened to a huge kitchen and spanned the entire back of the house. Even more people lingered here, laughing and drinking. Leading me through the throng of guests, Gio stopped to say hello to a few people but never bothered to introduce me. I barely cared. I was too busy looking over my shoulder for the Phantom, wondering who he was and why he’d looked at me like that, but he was nowhere to be seen.

My hand shook as I sipped my drink again. I’d probably just imagined the Phantom’s reaction to me. I was no one in this sea of people. No one anyone at this party would care much about, anyway.

Long minutes later, I was glad when Gio pulled me out of the house and onto an enormous balcony that overlooked an English courtyard lit up around a central fountain. “Come on.” Taking my hand, he led me down a massive set of marble stairs to the courtyard below. “You have to see the waterfront. It’s spectacular.”

Everything about the property was spectacular.

At the bottom of the stairs, we passed a waiter holding a tray of empty glasses. I drained the rest of my drink, set the glass on his tray, and said, “Thank you.”

There were fewer people out here, but music still echoed from hidden speakers, and groups of men and women laughed and chatted in the warm evening breeze as we moved through the courtyard.

“This place was built back in the 1920s by a Russian industrialist,” Gio told me as we walked. “He patterned the fountains on the property after some in St. Petersburg.”

“He liked marble statues, I see.” I’d noticed there were all kinds on the property—mermaids, Greek gods, maidens holding dripping jugs of water. Naked statues seemed to be a theme in this place.

“Yeah, you could say that. The place covers almost ten acres, it has thirty bathrooms, fifteen bedrooms, four pools, three tennis courts, a full gym, even a lazy river in the lowest level inside.”

“Well,” I looked up at him, feeling more relaxed outside where I could breathe, “who doesn’t like a lazy river?”

We moved down another set of marble stairs that overlooked one of the three tennis courts he’d mentioned. A stage was set up on one end of the court, and dozens more people in masks filled the space, dancing to jazz music that floated on the breeze.

“Do you feel like dancing?” Gio asked.

I wasn’t sure what I felt like. I just knew I felt totally out of place. And I didn’t like feeling that way. I liked control. Specifically, I liked being in control. It was safer that way. I didn’t belong in this world, not even a little.

Maybe Luciano Salvatici was on to something.

“I-I don’t know,” I managed, not wanting to think about the Beast.

Gio took my hand again, and I let him because it—at least—seemed familiar. “Let’s get another drink, and I’ll show you the pool and the dock.”

Multiple bars were set up all over the property. I waited while Gio ordered us another drink and glanced out over the bodies moving to the music.

“Here you go.” Gio handed me my drink and took my hand once more. “The pool is really something.”

I sipped my mimosa and wrinkled my nose as he led me down yet another set of marble stairs. This one tasted slightly salty, almost as if the bartender had accidentally dropped margarita salt into my glass. I drank it anyway because I was still feeling unsteady and knew the alcohol would calm me. But I vowed this would be my last drink for the night. I didn’t want to get wasted and do something stupid, especially here, where I was already a major outcast.

“Whoa,” I muttered as we moved down the last set of stairs to the pool deck. “You weren’t kidding when you said it was really something.”

It was one of the biggest pools I’d ever seen, lit up in turquoise by underwater lights with an island in the middle and another naked statue spewing water up into the air. Beyond the pool, a dock stretched out over the dark sound, and I could easily imagine a giant yacht parked at the pier.

The pool was empty tonight, but there were a few people on the chaise lounges around the deck. Some sitting and chatting, one couple stretched out and kissing with seemingly no care that anyone could see them. Out on the dock, I could make out a few more people, but this part of the grounds was definitely less populated than anywhere else we’d been.

“It’s really stunning,” I said, averting my gaze from the couple making out as I took another sip.

“It is. Do you want to check out the dock?”

I eyed the long line of boards that stretched out over the dark water and tried to ignore the sudden roll my stomach took. “I don’t think so. I’m not really a fan of water. Unless it’s in a glass.”

He chuckled.

Silence stretched between us. Whispers and the sounds of kissing drifted our way from the couple on the chaise. Face heating, I turned toward Gio and tried not to notice. “So, um, how often do they hold parties like this?”

“Whenever the mood strikes.” He nodded at my glass. “How’s the drink?”

I looked down to discover I’d already sucked back three-fourths of it. The alcohol was definitely working. My anxiety had ebbed, and warmth seeped through my veins. “Good. Though I definitely think I should have some water after this.”

“Good idea.” He steered me back toward the steps. “Let’s go find you some, then I’ll show you the rest of the house.”

We passed back through the courtyard and into the house. I swapped out my empty glass for a bottle of water and took a long sip. Gio showed me the rest of the main level, then led me downstairs and showed me the game rooms, two-lane bowling alley, the lazy river, and theater room. My skin grew warm, and I knew it was from the heat of the indoor pool. We moved back upstairs and looked around the top level.

“Hey,” Gio said in the hallway after he’d shown me another bedroom suite even more elaborate than the last. “Are you okay? You look a little flushed.”

I wasn’t sure. I was suddenly very light-headed and tingly. Everywhere. I pressed a hand against my brow above my eye mask. “I think I need some air.”

He took my hand and led me toward the stairs. “Come on.”

The palm of his hand was warm against mine and soft. Very soft. All my attention seemed to zoom in on that one spot where we touched.

We wove around people on the stairs and in the massive entry of the house. The air felt stifling, and claustrophobia pushed against me. I instinctively looked for the Phantom, but the faces and masks blurred around me, and I swayed. Gio wrapped an arm around my waist and helped me out the massive front door. When we finally stepped out into the fresh night air, I drew a deep breath that helped a little as I tried to keep the grounds from spinning.

A man lingering outside with a cigarette spoke to Gio in Italian. Gio laughed and said something to the man I didn’t understand, then took my hand and drew me away from the valet and cars still unloading partygoers. I wasn’t sure where he was taking me, but seconds later, we were alone on a dimly lit path that led away from the house into the trees.

“What was that about?” I asked. Tall trees towered above us. The sounds of the party faded in the air to my left. Something in the back of my head warned I should be cautious about where he was leading me, but the gentle breeze felt so good and his hand so soft, I couldn’t seem to pull away from his touch.

“Just someone who recognized me. Are you feeling better?”

“Yes. Much better.” My body felt light and relaxed out here, and away from the swarm of people, I could breathe easier. “I think it was just too many people inside.”

“Yes. Definitely too many people.” He stopped on the path and turned to face me. One arm slid around my lower back and pulled me up against him.

I sucked in a surprised breath and looked up at his face cast in shadows beneath the trees.

“You look scared, bella.”

“I-I’m not scared,” I lied. My gaze dropped from his eyes behind the sinful mask to his lips. His suddenly very tempting lips.

A rush of heat gathered in my breasts and shot straight between my legs, surprising me. Gio was definitely an attractive man, but I wasn’t interested in him. Not once in the last few days had I been aroused with him. Now, though, staring at his plump lips so close to mine, my body felt as if it were coming to life, and all I could think about was pressing my mouth to his to find out if he tasted as good as he suddenly looked.

Those luscious lips slowly curled in a wicked, knowing smile, and his gaze dropped to my mouth. “Your heart is racing. I can feel it. I can also feel your nipples hardening against my chest as you tremble.”

My face heated in the darkness, and my heart beat even faster. I held my breath and waited as he leaned toward me, unsure if I wanted him to kiss me or not. But his lips never met mine. Instead, his cheek grazed my temple then his mouth was at my ear, whispering, “Trembling is good. Very good. Before this night is over, I plan to feel you tremble all over.”

He drew back and smiled that devilish grin beneath his mask, then he released his hold on my waist and slid his hand down my arm until his fingers laced with mine. “Come, bella.”

Come… The word pounded in my brain in time with my pulse. It was a demand, an order, a command I couldn’t seem get out of my head. Why couldn’t I get it out of my head? Why did it sound so blatantly sexual?

My skin felt sticky, my dress clinging to my flesh in a way that made me want to rip it off and run naked through the trees. Luckily, another house appeared before I gave in to the urge. This one was designed in the same European style as the main house, but on a smaller scale.

“What is this?” I asked as he pulled me up the steps toward the heavy wood front door.

“More of the party.”

He knocked several times. Muffled music drifted from inside. Seconds later, a burly man in a suit opened the door and gave Gio and me the once over. He spoke in Italian—did everyone here speak Italian?—and waited while Gio answered. Seconds later, he stepped back to let us enter.

Music pounded out of speakers somewhere in the house, a steady thumping beat that infused my body with excitement. We moved through the marble entry and into a large, dark living room. A strobe light pulsed over the bodies packed together, dancing. But unlike the couples we’d seen down on the tennis court, these weren’t innocently swaying. These were grinding together, hands streaking over bare flesh and dwindling clothing, kissing hungrily, tongues flicking in the blinking lights. Some bodies grouped in twos and threes and even foursomes as they mimicked sex acts in every form.

My skin tingled even more, and my breaths came fast and shallow as I watched the undulating bodies move to the beat. Gio stepped up behind me, and his heat enveloped me like a blanket as I stood at the threshold of the room. His fingertips traced the line of my spine and hovered just over my backside, sending tingles all across my flesh.

“Do you see something you like, bella?” His hot breath fanned my ear, and a shiver rushed over my skin. I stood still, trying to think, trying to make myself move, trying to find words to speak, but the blood pounding in my veins and gathering in the tips of my breasts was all I could focus on.

“I see lots I like,” he breathed against my other ear, sending another shiver down my back.

Two women, a blonde in a blue butterfly mask and a redhead in a cheetah mask, moved up on my left and grasped Gio by the arm. Surprised, I watched as they pulled him away from me. He grinned back with an impish curve of his lips but didn’t fight them. I stood both confused and mesmerized as the women tugged him into the middle of the room and began to dance—one at his front, her hands sliding up and down his chest while she ground her hips against his, the other rocking her pelvis into his ass as she scratched her manicured nails down his spine.

I wasn’t sure what I was seeing. Blinking several times, I tried to force my eyes away, but I was unable to do even that. The blonde tugged Gio’s shirt free from his slacks and lifted her mouth to his. In the pulsing light, I watched their lips fuse, both shocked and aroused by the scene unfolding in front of me. The redhead at his back reached around to stroke him through his pants, her body continuing to rock and undulate against his ass while he kissed the blonde. Several seconds passed, then Gio broke away from the blonde’s lips and turned to close his mouth over the redhead’s. But not before he sent me another lustful look that shot heat straight to my center.

Their bodies rocked and groped and fondled in the flickering light. Around them, I noticed others were doing the same, but my gaze kept straying back to Gio and the two women, and even though I told myself I shouldn’t be there, that I wasn’t supposed to be seeing this, I couldn’t make myself leave.

My skin was on fire. A hot ball of need gathered low in my belly and slinked between my legs. Gio’s gaze locked on mine as he kissed the redhead, and I saw the same fire in his eyes that I felt. He broke the kiss and smiled at me. The blonde took his hand and drew him toward the stairs. My stomach tightened with both fear and excitement as I watched him lick his lips and nod for me to follow.

I didn’t want to follow. I didn’t even want to be here. But my blood was like lava, my skin sizzling, and every time I watched those women skim their fingertips over Gio, I felt as if they were touching me. Sparks of desire shot straight to my core with an insistent burn that threatened to consume me.

My feet moved as if controlled by some unseen force. I felt as if I were outside my body, watching from a distance as I followed the trio up the stairs. I had no idea where they were headed. My chest rose and fell with my shallow breaths. The women drew Gio into a dark corridor and the three disappeared through an open door. Throat thick, I floated after them. But when I reached the door and looked into the room, I knew I wasn’t floating. I knew because the earth suddenly solidified beneath my feet. As firmly as the doorjamb at my side that I grasped to keep from falling over.

Dimly, I registered that the walls were red—blood red—and lit by sconces. Chairs were lined up around the periphery of the room. A few people were seated, their faces flushed, their hands roving over each other as they watched the show, but my eyes were locked on the middle of the room. On the bodies naked and tangled together on the mattresses laid out on the floor. On the hands touching, lips sucking, and naked bodies thrusting against each other in a sea of groans and grunts and screams.

My face flamed. My limbs grew heavy and loose. Blood thumped in my veins in time with the heavy beat of the music and rushed into my belly and lower, making my stomach quiver, making my thighs tremble, making my sex clench with a need I didn’t know I had.

The blonde tore her mouth from Gio’s, reached for the straps of her black dress, and shoved the garment to the floor, leaving her dressed in nothing but a black lace bra and panty set. A leopard-print tattoo ran up her side, from her outer thigh all the way to the underside of her breast. She dropped to her knees in front of Gio while the redhead at his back made quick work of the buttons on his shirt and jerked it from his chest. I watched with wide eyes while the blonde tore his slacks open and swallowed his erection.

Gio groaned and dropped his head back against the redhead’s shoulder. At some point, she’d shed her dress too and now wore nothing, not even a bra. Nothing but her own leopard-print tattoo that ran across her low back and dipped between her butt cheeks like a thong. I watched her lips press to Gio’s throat and her breasts to his back while she reached around to tweak his nipples and the blonde bobbed up and down on his cock.

My heart pounded as I stood locked in place, barely breathing while I watched the trio feet from me. Everything inside me ached for physical contact. When Gio drew the redhead to his side and squeezed her bare breast, my own breasts grew heavy, my nipples stiffening as if he were touching me. And when he kissed her, tangling his tongue with hers until she groaned, fire exploded inside me, igniting a craving that pushed me forward.

A hand closed over my forearm before I took two steps into the room. Sparks of electricity shot outward from the spot, bringing my attention around. In a daze, I recognized that the man who’d stopped me was tall, his hair dark, and the upper half of his face was covered by a mask that was black on one side and antique white cracked porcelain on the other.

The Phantom. The one who’d watched me earlier. The one who’d made my whole body shiver. The one who was now drawing me toward him like a moth to a flame.

Somewhere in the back of my mind, I knew I should be scared. He was a stranger. I knew nothing about him. But the thoughts were flitting, racing away before I could grasp them. All I could focus on was how hot my skin felt. How insistent the ache was between my legs. How plump and pink and tempting his lips looked beneath that mysterious half mask.

The same unseen power that had pushed me up the stairs possessed me, infused me with confidence, with desire, with a blinding, burning need I couldn’t control. I stepped into him and lifted my mouth to his, groaning the second our lips met. Hard male muscles brushed my tingling breasts. Soft masculine flesh pressed against my lips. But it was the swift intake of his breath that ignited the desire inside me like a spark combusting into flame.

That and the way he opened to my kiss and drew me into his mouth like a pit viper luring its prey out of the safety of its shelter and into the dangers of the wild.