So I run.
I lift my skirts in both hands and force my way through the crush of bodies. Behind me, Zacarias shouts my name. I duck under a man’s arm and swerve around a woman’s frothy skirt, plunging deeper and deeper into the crowd.
There’s a potted palm on the edge of the dancefloor, and I force myself into the alcove with it, my chest heaving and my heart thundering. A moment of privacy, that’s all I need. As soon as I’ve calmed down, I’m going straight upstairs to my room and locking the door. To hell with the ball. Mama can yell at me in the morning if she wants, but I’m not risking that man coming near me again.
Finally, my breathing slows and I can stand up and look around. There’s no sign of Zacarias among the whirling bodies. Chin up, I step out from between the palm fronds and make my way around the edge of the dancefloor, carefully not meeting anyone’s eyes.
“Señorita. Señorita!”
I walk faster. If they’re talking to me, they can go away and leave me alone. A waiter steps in front of me, a glass of champagne on a tray. There’s a napkin lying next to it.
The man smiles and gives me a little bow. “From a gentleman who didn’t give me his name, with his compliments.”
I glance at it warily. There’s something on the paper napkin, and when I looks closer I see that it’s a sketch of a fox in black ink. My heart races, and I snatch up the napkin and open it, certain that there will be a message within.
Meet me on the mezzanine in ten minutes.
I sob with relief and hurry toward the stairs, leaving the bewildered waiter behind me, the paper napkin crumpled in my fist. There’s a mezzanine above the ballroom, and the music and laughter fades away behind me. It’s cool and quiet up here. There’s a large, dim room full of sofas, tables and bookshelves, and a corridor at the far end. I pick up my skirts and run, determined to search everywhere, hoping that I didn’t conceal myself so long behind the potted palm that he gave up and left.
As I pass an alcove, a hand reaches out and grasps mine. I see the flick of a black cape. A broad brimmed hat. Two dark eyes sparkling behind a mask.
The Black Fox scoops me against his hard body. Then his mouth is on mine and he’s kissing me like he’s as desperate for me as I am for him. I open my lips to him and his tongue caresses mine with the passion of a long lost lover. I moan against his mouth and wrap my arms around his neck. He’s here. He’s here.
He pulls away, panting against my lips, and I cling to the folds of his cape. I need him to obliterate what just happened. As I search his blazing eyes behind his mask, I feel love for him fill me from head to toe. He’s the one I crave.
I press my mouth against his once more. “Thank all the stars in the sky. You’re here.”
The Black Fox braces his hand against the wall behind my head and gazes down at me, his thumb rubbing over my lower lip. What I can see of his face is filled with so much tenderness. “You don’t even know who I am.”
I trace the bristles of his short, black beard with my fingertips. “Yes, I do. All I want is you. I’ve never begged a man for anything in my life, but I need you, Black Fox.”
“My sweet Lolita.” He groans and kisses me again. His hat is knocked to the ground and my fingers tangle in his thick, dark hair. Everyone feels very far away as our mouths crash against each other’s in the dim light.
“Why are you here?” I whisper, sliding my hands up his broad chest. “Are there criminals at the ball?
“No. I’m here protecting someone.”
“Who?”
He brushes his lips over mine. “You.”
He kisses me again, a bold, searing kiss, one that takes my breath away. His hands slide possessively around me and I want to cry out for everyone to hear that I’m his. His, and no one else’s. It’s the Black Fox who my body craves.
“I have to taste you,” he says roughly. He lifts me up onto a table and draws handfuls of my skirt up. I lean back on my palms, watching him caress my legs as if I’m made of the softest silk. His fingers slip beneath the delicate elastic of my underwear and draw them down my thighs.
I bite my lip, knowing that my mother and Zacarias would think it’s wrong, even disgusting, to let a stranger touch me like this. I’m tired of other people dictating my life. I’m making my own choices, and tonight I choose the Black Fox.