I let out the breath I was holding as his hand pressed deeper into my back and, soon, he began gliding me across the floor to the beat of the music.
He was a wonderful dancer. Fluid. Attuned to my body. He guided me in all the ways I could understand, all while his eyes stayed connected with mine. My neck was craned back to keep him in my view, trying to read the few facial features I could see while we twisted and turned around the dance floor.
His presence was almost overwhelming. The way he gripped my hand, the way he held me tightly, the way his body pressed into mine and invaded all the spaces I didn’t take up. The way his gaze pierced through my walls, and the way I suddenly felt comfortable in his arms.
The tension was overpowering and I suddenly found myself short of breath.
The song started to fade, and I could feel my chest rising and falling rapidly. There was a spark of worry that started in my chest. I didn’t know if I could catch my breath. I broke my stare with him as the song slowly switched into another one, but I felt him tug me to the edge of the room as everyone started to trickle back onto the dance floor.
I followed him without a second thought and I didn’t even understand why.
He took my hand protectively, but not forcefully. He was leading me, not tugging me like Crystal had been all day today. I studied the back of his body, the way his broad shoulders quickly tapered into his hips. I studied the long lines of his legs and the way his black shoes glistened with the colors of the strobe lights flickering across the room.
By the time I turned my attention to what was in front of us, I was being led into a part of the building that was partitioned off by a large, black, velvet piece of cloth.
We stopped in the dimly lit hallway and he quickly turned in my direction. I gasped, backing myself into the wall as he took a small step toward me. His hands reached out for my mask, trying to lift it from my head and I grasped his wrist. The point of tonight was for no one to see me. No one was supposed to know who I was. If he saw my face, it would be easy for him to know I was lying about my name. I didn’t even plan on giving anyone my name, honestly. The plan was to stick close to Crystal and Eli and just witness.
Digest.
Experience.
His eyes connected with mine and there was an odd sort of softness behind them. His body was chiseled underneath his clothes, but there was a slight hint of something else. Not sadness and not weakness. Softness wasn’t really the word, either.
Patience.
He was waiting for me to give him consent and there was something about that idea that made me oddly comfortable.
I slid my hand from his wrist and swallowed hard. He proceeded to remove my mask slowly. Intimately. Almost as if he were unwrapping a present. My face came into view as I looked up at him and the patience behind his eyes vanished. Now, I was looking into the eyes of a man who considered me his prey. His eyes grew steely as his hand cupped my chin and he slowly twisted my face from side to side, like he was studying me.
Making sure I was up to his standards.
“Perfect,” he murmured.
His voice was low, like rolling thunder off in the distance. He wasn’t the Dark Prince. He wasn’t mangled royalty. He was the oncoming storm and something told me I was about to get wet.
Soaking wet.
He raised his arm and snapped his fingers, and suddenly, a pair of servers appeared. The man and the woman were clad in nothing but straps and buckles with all of their most intimate parts on display. The man was holding an ice bucket with a bottle of what looked to be extremely expensive champagne and the woman was holding two long-stemmed glasses. I watched the man they called the Dark Prince inspect the glasses before he took a look at the champagne. He was examining everything closely, attentively, like he was in control of every single thing that went on in front of my eyes.
That was what he was trying to prove.
That he was in control.
He waved them off so they could pour the champagne. Then I saw the man hand him two glasses. He held one out for me, and I took it, rocked by the attention he was giving me. He wasn’t just making sure things were perfect for him, he was making sure things were perfect for me.
I had no idea what I was doing. I’d never even been on a proper date, much less found myself alone with a man like this. The intensity of his gaze and the fact that he didn’t speak caused my heart to pound deep within my chest. The man and the woman stood there while we sipped our champagne in the dimly lit hallway, his eyes grazing up and down my body. I could see them sparkling, drinking in my curves while his decadent lips curved around the champagne glass.
I’d finished the champagne quicker than I’d intended, causing a shadow of a grin to pull at his cheek.
He plucked the glass from my hand and, just for a second, our skin touched. It sent electricity ricocheting up my arm, puckering my skin as my eyes widened. I had no idea why this man called to my body the way he did, but as he held his hand out for me, I realized what he was doing.
He was asking for my consent again.
I could feel the wetness growing between my legs as I stared at his hand. My heart was pounding in my chest and the blood was rushing through my ears. I was a virgin, a young girl taking care of her orphaned brother. I had no experience; I had no skills. I had no idea what I was doing in a place like this and I sure as hell didn’t know how to pleasure a man like the one that was standing before me.
But I knew one thing for certain, one thing that rang out in the forefront of my mind. His commanding demeanor and his ruggedly handsome appearance called to me in a way no man ever had before and I knew, if I walked away from this, I would never forgive myself.
So, I slipped my hand within his and, for the first time since I’d seen him on that balcony, he smiled.