Masquerade (4 page)

The frown beneath the
bartender’s mask deepened as he swore under his breath. “Better let me fix that
up. Have a seat.” He waved her into a tableside chair. “Be right back.”

True to his word, he
returned quickly and plunked a first aid kit on the table. He opened the kit, rummaging
for supplies. Beth wondered why he
didn’t
take the mask
off, but it didn’t hide the concentration on his face.

He glanced up, and the
intensity of his gaze stole her breath. She could get lost in those eyes. When
they dipped to her lips, she felt liquid threads of heat spread through her
body, settling deliciously low and centered between her legs.

He cleared his throat,
then
turned his attention back to her injury, settling his
arm underneath hers with care as he began to clean the scrape.

Bent over as he was
,
his head was so close she could smell hair product and
wondered if his hair would be stiff with it. It
didn’t
look it. She reached out and touched a curly strand, causing him to jerk back.

“I just, umm, wondered if
your hair was as soft as it looks.” Her cheeks were
flaming
now.

He grinned. “Go ahead and
let me know what you think.”

She ran her free hand
through the dark waves.
Oh, yes.
“Um,
yes,” she said with a sigh. “It’s soft.”

Beth realized she still
had her hand tangled in his hair and yanked it back, gaining a grunt from him
as she tugged. “Sorry,” she said.

“No worries. Thanks for
the compliment, I think.”

“Well, it
is
soft. I mean, for a guy’s hair.” She
put a hand to her cheek, trying to cool it. Not usually this socially inept, Beth
wanted to slide under the table and vanish. Wondering where normal Beth had
disappeared to, she stared at the wall as he laughed, then returned to his
ministrations.

Hyperawareness of his
gentle care, kind eyes, and come-hither cologne wrapped itself around Beth in
a very
pleasurable warmth. She wished
he’d
look up.
She’d
like to stare into those eyes for an
eternity.

“Ouch,” she said when he
touched a sore spot.

His head came up.
“Almost done.”
But
he didn’t return
to cleaning her wound. Instead, his eyes, surrounded by the darkness of the mask,
stayed with her, holding her captive.

Beth
didn’t
want to break the moment. She wanted to stay right here and stare. He was so
close. Only inches separated them. She ran a tongue over now-parched lips and
his eyes dipped.

When he looked back up,
they
were filled
with dark fire. He inched close
enough for her to smell the coffee on his breath.

“Breathe, Beth.”

She
hadn’t
realized she was holding her breath and let it go with a soft whoosh. Power
surged through her at the slight shudder that racked his body.

No more than a
finger’s
width from touching her, his eyes focused on her
lips
.
He whispered, “I’d really like to kiss you right now.”

In the best Marilyn
Monroe voice she could come up with, she invited him to do just that.

Instead, he backed away slowly,
showing his reluctance. “I can’t.”

“C-can’t?”

“Can’t.”
He gritted his teeth and wrapped her elbow, then stood, shoving the chair into
the table hard.

Even though
he’d
never touched her lips, they felt like the aftermath of
an intense make-out session.
Or
, at least, as far as
she could remember. Beth ran her finger across them and was gratified, at
least, to see his frown deepen.

“You work here now,” he
said. “No fraternizing with the employees, remember? Didn’t the boss give you
the talk?”

He whipped the bar rag
over his shoulder and headed for the bar. “Fuck, this is going to be hard.” It
sounded like he was talking to himself, but frustration carried his words back
to Beth.

Beth heard, understood,
and agreed. She rose under the weight of an unanswered need that surged through
her body begging for release.

Her elbow-fixer-bartender
was back at the job, clanking things louder than before. Beth approached and reached
for her suitcase.

“I don’t even know your
name,” she said.

“Anthony.” He
didn’t
look up from what he was doing.

“Anthony.” She repeated
the name, testing it. It sounded good. “I like it.”

“Yeah, well, don’t like
it too much. I...need this job.”

Beth stared at him,
knowing her mouth was about on the floor. How can
guys
turn it off so quickly? Moments ago, they were about as intimate as two people
can get without finding a bed.
He’d
almost kissed her.
Then he flips a switch and brushes her off? She stared at him for several
moments. When he kept working without even a glance at her, she snatched up her
bag. With her head held high, and a clear “you missed out” sass to her sway, she
left the bar, forcing herself to not look back.

Bright sunshine
momentarily
blinded her and stifled her anger. Beth stood
there, adjusting to the change, fuming, and trying to figure out what to do.
She only had three hours until she had to be back here to work.

What a strange idea, that
she was about to start work in a bar. She was a dental hygienist. The craziest
thing
she’d
ever done before today was to cut her
hair. She touched the auburn strands, glad that it had grown back. Short hair
on her heart-shaped face had been a disaster.

Beth started to whistle
for a cab,
then
remembered. No purse meant
no
money. She had the stake Sally had given her, but knew
she’d
need to make it last.
So
,
taking a deep breath, she tied a shirt around her waist to cover the gaping
hole in her jeans, hefted her suitcase, and started walking.

She was halfway home
before she wondered how Anthony had known her name.

****

Fuck. Beth’s cocky departure
would have made Anthony laugh had it not been for that frigging hole in her jeans.
Anthony wiped his jaw, certain it
was covered
in
drool. It
wasn’t
, which made sense considering the arid
desert his mouth felt like. His pants, however, were sweating bullets.

The woman was
hot
.
Wasn’t
she
wearing any fucking underwear? All
he’d
seen was
creamy skin on an ass that topped every other one he’d ever noticed.

Between that peep show
and the almost-kiss, he was so hard he
couldn’t
think
straight. He needed to hit something. He stared at the door. Pound would be a
better word. He needed to pound something.
In and out.
Again and
again and again
.

Except
he’d
signed that damn contract. He could lose everything if he gave in to his
desires. Fuck. Anthony resettled his cock, trying to find a more comfortable
spot in already tight jeans and glanced at the door.

It would almost be worth
it.

Chapter Four

Beth remembered enough
about Chicago to find the loft easily enough, but arrived there dripping with
sweat. Home
wasn’t
anywhere near this humid. She
stared at the re-purposed office building.
It was a far sight
different from the modest duplex she lived in.

After punching in the
security code, Beth stepped into blessedly cool air conditioning and sagged
against the elevator, grateful to leave the heat behind. Inside the fourth
floor apartment, she looked around in shock, expecting a duplicate of Sally’s
garish office at Masquerade. Instead, she found sleek lines and ultra-modern
furniture and fixtures, completely different from her apartment where muted
fabric patterns had replaced the dark leather furniture Steve had taken with
him.

Sally’s
condo
was a large, airy place with lots of windows to let in
daylight. She liked that. Her own apartment had a lot of light, too. One of the
first things
she’d
done after Steve left was to
replace all the silk plants he’d preferred with living ones, all of which
thrived in her well-lit environment.

A touch of homesickness
enveloped Beth, and she thought of
Cape
Girardeau
. She wondered how things were at work. Tina
had been able to absorb most of her clients for this week. It might be strange,
but Beth loved her job. It was very satisfying to do her part to keep her
clients in good health.

In fact, the only area of
her life in ruins related to love and sex. She shook her head.
This
escapade of hers was crazy. Today, so far, had all but
convinced her
she’d
be just fine without a significant
other in her life.
Or
sex.

Beth peeked in the
kitchen and heaved a huge sigh of relief when she saw the fridge already
stocked with a variety of food and drinks. She
didn’t
relish the idea of going back out into the heat until she absolutely had to.

There were two bedrooms, the
spacious one obviously the master suite. Beth gaped at a bathroom larger than
her living room and decorated in gray granite. The shower, with multiple
showerheads, was bigger than the walk-in closet she wished she had at home.

Beth dropped her suitcase
and uniform on a couch designed for lounging and shook her head. Sally definitely
had a thing for these couches. Then she threw herself on the king-size bed, her
hands digging into the luxurious mauve and dark-gray silk comforter. The window
coverings even matched.

Okay, maybe this day
wasn’t
a total loss. Beth grinned. This loft was ritzier
than any place
she’d
ever stayed at before. If this
was
how she’d be treated while here in
Chicago
, she could handle things just fine.

She climbed off the bed
and unzipped the uniform bag, pulling out a pair of shorts with a very small,
very flirty, skirt attached that Beth doubted would cover her buttocks. On top
of that was a bra that looked more demi than bra. Both were in a rich green
jacquard and patterned with embossed acting masks.

A mask dropped to the
floor and she picked it up. It was black with feathers that matched the uniform
colors. It looked decadent and mysterious. She walked over to the mirror and
put it up to her face, surprised that it felt so comfortable. Almost like a
second skin and it
didn’t
affect her vision in the
least.

Looking down at her now
ruined jeans, Beth glanced back at the skimpy uniform and wondered if she had
the nerve to wear it out in public.

She only had three hours
to decide before she was due to show up for her first shift.

After phone calls to the
bank, the Department of Motor Vehicles, and her cell-phone company, Beth sank
into the floral-scented water of a tub large enough for two people.

She trailed her fingers
through the water, wondering what it would be like to be here, in this tub,
with someone else. Steve would never have tried bathtub sex. For him, it was
always in the bedroom, always the missionary position, and always over too
soon. She thought of those last few attempts at making love. With little or no
foreplay,
they’d
had to use a lubricating gel. Even
then, she
hadn’t
felt, well, anything. His kisses seemed
more of a chaste peck than a declaration of love.

Was that all there was to
sex? Should that be enough to arouse her?
She’d
only
been with one man prior to Steve, and only that one time.

Granted, it had been one
glorious, mind-blowing time. Beth smiled.

Then
her
smiled disappeared. Would she never find that again? Was there no one who could
want her enough to kiss her to sunrise? Even the sexy bartender had been able
to resist what little temptation she obviously presented.

She touched her lips,
remembering how much
she’d
wanted him to kiss her. Would
his lips be soft or firm? She sucked her finger into her mouth. Would he thrust
his tongue in, invading her, or gently persuade her to open to him?

The warm water lulled her
senses as Beth’s hand caressed her cheek,
then
followed the line of her neck to the base of her throat, imagining Anthony’s
hot kisses leaving smoldering trails along the same path. He would continue,
his lips claiming her as they moved down the vee between her breasts, along the
underside, then finally paying attention to nipples aching with new longing.

Her tight tips arched
into the air, needing touch. She moaned at the first gentle pinch. His hand
would cup her other breast with tender care as he sucked her nipple, pulling
it, sending shards of white-hot desire coursing through her.

Then his hand would move
again, along skin roughened by the cool air even as his touch left burning
embers everywhere. He would wander lower, caress her leg, working his way up
her inner thigh, coming closer, closer.

“Oh!”

The first touch to her
clit sent blood rushing to Beth’s head. She left her breast and reached down,
opening herself to him as he plunged his fingers into her, feeling her wetness
and how ready she was for him. He returned to her clitoris, rubbing slowly,
then faster.
Faster.
Faster.

The sensation started to
build, and Beth could have screamed with joy.
Finally, she would orgasm
. She closed her eyes and pictured short, blond
hair as he raised her hips and dipped his head to her core.