Married To The Man Behind The Mask

of the Metropolitan Museum, the November wind

ove behind a massive marble statue just off the dance floor. Two figures were tangled together. The man'

Her f

drifted up on a gust of cold air. "You're such a delicious man,

against him. His voice dripped with practice

gust. She knew that line. He'd used something embarrassingly similar on her month

to claw into high society. They had marketed their daughter relentlessly, and this engagement was nothing but a gilded co

rattling against the silence.

ight. The wedding date will be announced

like a physical weight. The arrang

jacket, glance at the screen, and hold a silencing finger up to the actress be

le of something important," Angus'

s-breathed right next to the

in three days," she said, her voice perfec

s let out a low, d

on't expect me to give up my life, sweetheart." He sounded amused, as if she'd asked him to penc

nuckles turned white. "Meet me by the champagne tow

ngus's hands roamed her waist, possessive and utterly indifferent to the fiancée watching from above. The disrespect made Iris's nails bite

ld tobacco, creeping from behind, silent and pre

s deep and freezing as a bottomless lake. The man wore a half-face black and gold mask, his features obscured by the balcony's sha

scoff vibrate

ting dog?" His voice was a deep, gravelly baritone, br

a step, her spine hittin

oaking herself in that haughty Ivy League ar

ame eclipsing the dim light. He cut off every escape route. He raised a hand, long, calloused fingers brushing

rmured, his voice dropping lower. "Play the

's eyes narrowed, the polite mask shattering. She gl

ket, produced a dark silk handkerchief, and slowly wiped his finge

.. destructive way to get bac

ant and Angus below. The rebellious urge she

Iris's pulse quickened, but it was not panic. It was revulsion-pure, cold revulsion at the thought of his eyes finding her, of enduring his smug, condescending s

He was still watching her, that dark, knowing

e dropping to a low, steady murmur tha

ed fractionally beh

e heat of his body seeped through the thin silk

ry smile curved

st the lapel of his jacket. In the dim light, her lips curved in

en't kissed a