Page 77 of Unbound Boxset

She stiffened. “I suppose I did. But you’re safe from me. I’m not interested in playing games.”

His voice was rough and demanding. “Then what did you want?”

Hailey refused to turn around, refused to meet those mocking eyes. “I saw a man who was lonely. Separate. I came up here to find out what could cause someone to feel like that.” She paused. “Now I know.”

She shut the door behind her. On the stairs, the bare breasted woman thrust upward to receive the ministrations of her lover. The man flicked his fingers over one juicy red nipple, then bent his head. She closed her eyes in delight.

Hailey rushed past them and stopped in the ballroom. Tears burned behind her eyelids but she refused to give in. She had been wrong. She wanted to meet Ciro Demitris, but he was too beyond her, too ensnared in these wicked sexual games that she couldn’t seem to play. Theodore was right. She was way out of her league.

Hailey grabbed a glass of champagne and took a few healthy swallows. Though repulsed by his arrogant statements, the pounding heat between her thighs was still too real. He excited her with his command; his masculinity; the raw heat shimmering in those blue-gold eyes. She tried to fight the vivid picture swirling past her of what she could do with the Phantom. Tried to ignore how badly she wanted to be the bare breasted woman being pleasured.

She thought of leaving, but why let Demitris win? The party could still strip away her restrictions and allow her to express some freedom.

Her heels clicked on the highly polished marble floors as she explored the mansion. A twelve-piece orchestra took up the front part of the room, and couples danced to old classics like Glen Miller and Frank Sinatra. Men in dark suits and tuxedos escorted women dressed in rich velvets and shimmering satin, hidden by a variety of masks that enticed as much as they concealed. A mingling rush of perfumes and sweat wafted through the air.

A crystal chandelier sparkled above as she walked through the ballroom. Long banquet tables were filled with every type of food imaginable, so she tried some caviar for the first time, and indulged in tiny bite sized morsels cooked to perfection. The walls were filled with gorgeous watercolors and art work she immediately knew were priceless. A circular staircase reminded her of the old southern style in Gone with the Wind, when Rhett Butler first spotted the beautiful Scarlett.

The champagne helped. Suddenly, a stranger pulled her into his arms and swept her across the floor. She opened her mouth to protest, but as the music swelled, she gave herself to the moment. The sweet fire of alcohol heated her blood. One man’s arms led to another as she danced with a long line of suitors, and looked into faces hidden by masks.

Something inside of her loosened and broke through her normal reserve. As the hours ticked toward midnight, the music changed to a grinding, sexy hip hop; pounding and pulsing in a more demanding rhythm. Hailey swung from partner to partner. She threw back her head and relished in the freedom of the moment, and then someone’s arms were catching her again, and she was pulled toward a broad chest and held in an iron grip.

His gaze burned with a masculine demand behind a gleaming white mask. Hailey stumbled, and her fingers automatically gripped the sleek folds of his cloak as she fought for balance. He drew her closer until every carved muscle of his body pressed against hers. The demanding thrust of his cock settled between her thighs. Her stomach dipped as liquid heat pulsed in demand.

She tried to fight the demands of her body. Heavy, tender breasts. Tight nipples rising to greet him and be freed. Heart beating rapidly in her chest.

Hailey shuddered. “Why did you come?”

A smile touched his lips. His jaw held rough stubble and gave him a more dangerous air. The diamond in his left ear caught the light and glimmered with icy brilliance. “Curiosity. You haven’t satisfied it yet.”

Fear flamed to life. Hailey wondered if he spotted the emotion in her face. “I’m not part of your fantasy, Phantom. I’ll dance with you, but I won’t play your games.”

“Then you’re lying to yourself, sweetness. The moment you put on the mask and stepped through the gates you told me you wanted to play.” His fingers trailed the length of her spine in a gentle caress, which contradicted the hardness in his eyes. “That’s what you’re here for.”

“And what are you here for?” she asked. “You sit in judgement, hiding behind a cloak and a mask while you watch and wait. It’s easy to be cynical of life when you refuse to be in it, Phantom. Perhaps that’s your own secret fear.”

Another man reached out to grab her. Demitris twisted her around to avoid the outstretched arms, and his black cloak swirled around their legs as she was led to the other side of the room.

“You’ve got a sharp tongue,” he said.

“And you’re arrogant.”

Did his face reflect surprise or was that a trick of the light? Hailey wondered if there was anyone who surprised him. Something told her he had lived so long in the shadows, he didn’t know anything else existed.

“I don’t know if I believe you,” he said. “It could be clever words and a clever act. Lies mesh too easily with truth when people play games, and women know that better than anyone.”

“You’re also a chauvinist,” she told him pleasantly.

“Maybe you know who I am. Maybe you decided to play with fire because you feel safe behind a mask.”

Hailey nodded. “Maybe you’re right.”

“Who are you?” he demanded.

She stared at him through the carved eyeholes. She had come tonight to be a different person, but suddenly, she wanted to give him the truth of who she was. For once, safe behind her mask, she wanted to reveal herself to him in a way she never had before. The possibility of such surrender made fear curl and tighten in her stomach. Along with excitement.

“My name is Hailey.”

“What do you want?”