Tricks & Treats: A Romance Anthology (12 page)

Chapter 4

The cab drove up the long driveway leading to the innocuous heritage estate. Mitch was amped up, ready to go, just as he always was before going undercover. He took a deep breath as the car stopped in front of the door, and he paid the fare and got out.

Mitch looked down at his black suit that he’d paired with a white shirt and black tie. He would have preferred to wear his street clothes, but his source had given him the run down on the place earlier that day, and had made it known that the Halloween party at Leather & Lace was strictly a formal event, and jeans would not have gotten him past the front gate.

He got to the door and pushed the button for the doorbell. A loud chime sounded from inside and the door opened before him. A man wearing a gold bear mask that concealed the upper half of his face, answered the door. He was wearing a dark red shirt, open at the collar, and a pair of charcoal, grey pants. He was tall, about Mitch’s height, broad shoulders and chest, and arms huge like tree trunks. The whole image of this brute of a man wearing a mask was ridiculous to him and he almost chuckled, but there was nothing amusing about the canines of the mask’s snout, nor the stern, tight-lipped mouth of the man below it. Mitch restrained himself as the man, probably a security guard, looked him over. Without saying a word to him, the bear ushered him inside, gesturing for Mitch to follow him down a narrow hallway. The walkway was dark, but for the soft orange glow from scattered sconces attached high on the wall. It was quiet and Mitch strained his ears to hear anything but his own footsteps and that those of the man he was following. He wondered if he was perhaps too early or too late for the party.

They stopped at a long, high desk at the end of a hallway, and the bear walked away. The female attendant behind the dark marble desk was tiny by comparison, and mostly obscured by the desk. She was also wearing a gold mask, hers a rabbit. “Your name?”

“Mitch Swanson.”

The rabbit consulted her list, of which he managed to sneak a peek before she looked up and smiled. She produced a gold mask, a fox. Mitch looked at it and raised a skeptical eyebrow at her. “Do I have to wear this?”

She nodded slowly. “Discretion is everything here at Leather & Lace. And plus, it’s Halloween. It’s our masquerade night.” She then took out a plastic bag and laid it on the top of the desk.

“What’s that for?”

“Your cell phone or any other electronics might have on your person.”

“Fine,” Mitch dug out his phone. He didn’t like leaving it behind, but he thought of the job. He knew that there would be no way of getting in there if he didn’t cooperate fully with the rules. He held up his cell phone, smiled and dropped it in the bag.

“Nothing else?” she asked.

“No. But are you going to take my word for it, or is there a body scanner you want me to step through?” he asked, challenging her, thinking about the Glock strapped to his ankle.

“No that won’t be necessary,” she assure him, ripping a tag from the bag and handing it to him. It showed a number that corresponded to one on the bag so he would be able to claim his belongings later.

“And why is that?”

“Because when you step through those doors,” she pointed over his shoulder to the double doors behind him. “And you start taking part, you won’t be able to hide much.”

As if on cue, the bear returned, and opened one of the heavy, wooden doors, and ushered Mitch inside. Mitch crossed the threshold of the double doors and he was immediately immersed into a carnival of sensuality. The lights were dim, while muted gold up-lights illuminated the walls. Dozens of people, all wearing gold masks mingled and the notes of laughter and polite conversation blended with the light music. Mitch looked around. With the exception of the heavy blanket of sexuality that hung thick in the air, it didn’t look different than any other formal party he’d attended.

He made his way through the crowd, winding his way around small clusters of people, overhearing snippets of regular conversation, recognizing some of the voices.

A woman walked by, wearing a mask and a skin tight, white dress and handed him a glass of champagne. He smiled in thanks and sipped. He took another keen look around the room from his new vantage point. Nothing seemed to stand out. He watched a man and woman walk through a set of heavy black curtains, thinking that anything of interest would definitely be going down back there. Still holding his champagne flute, Mitch walked a straight line to the curtains, and without hesitation he entered the next room.

Mitch found himself in a smaller area, but it was just as crowded as the last room. However, the vibe was completely different. It was darkened, more like a nightclub. The music was different as well. It was louder and the thumping, driving bass beat filled the air, taking over, drowning out individual conversations. People were drinking, some were dancing, others were in clusters along the walls and draped over the various furniture. There was a bar, manned by two women, who like the woman with the champagne, were wearing tight, white dresses and gold masks. There were only a couple of other single people in the area, and Mitch realized that this must be a staging area of some sort. Where people meet before continuing their evening in the private rooms, he imagined.

“Is this your first time?” said a voice in his ear and he turned around to see a woman standing behind him. She wore a floor-length, sleeveless red dress that was cut low, exposing the cleavage of incredible breasts, and a high slit that rose to the middle of her thigh. Her gold cat mask obscured the top half of her face, but Mitch’s attention was drawn to her luscious red lipstick. It called out to him and he knew it would leave a scarlet trail if she kissed her way down his body. He was on the job, but dammit, that didn’t dismiss the stirring of interest he felt for her low in his core.

He leaned in, speaking loudly over the music, “is it that obvious?”

She shrugged. “You just had a lost, clueless, over-your-head air about you,” she said in his ear, her lips skimming the outer shell and her breath warm on him.

“I might be a little lost here,” he told her. “But there’s nothing about what happens here that makes me feel clueless or in over-my-head.”

She laughed again, and he loved the sound of it. “That sounds promising.”

He took another look around and saw that more people had joined them in the darker room. It seemed like the party was getting under way. Time to see what this place was really all about. “How about you show me around?” He offered his arm to her, and she took it, putting her hand in the crook of his elbow.

They walked through the bar area, Mitch and the mystery woman both sipping their champagne. He took a looked at the people around them. Men and women with their hands on each other. People kissing, all body language signalling sex. “So I guess this is where people find partners for the evening?” he asked her. Even though he was speaking loudly to be heard, he tried to keep his tone neutral, as if people weren’t in various stages of undress all around them.

“See? Maybe you aren’t so lost,” she said leaning in and speaking loudly with a bright smile.

He looked at her, her eyes were a vibrant emerald colour than sparkled with a playful energy from behind her feline mask. She sipped her drink. They stood closer together with every step they took through the room. Eventually they were flush together and her hip bumped his as she walked beside him. Mitch fought the distraction to keep his mind on the task at hand.

“What happens next?”

“They can either stay here, or they can move on to one of the other rooms.” She pointed to another set of lush curtains. “There are some scenes set up in public areas behind those. One can watch or take part. But there are also rooms you can use, where you and any number of people can be together.” They stopped walking and she leaned in closer. “Or if you have more… exhibitionist… tendencies you can avail yourself of a room that has a two-way mirror. If you’re willing to explore you’ll find the club will provide almost any type of toys, implements, or scenarios you desire.”

Mitch wondered if that included drugs or trafficked women. He had to find out. He figured that if either were available, it would be in the further rooms. He needed to get deeper inside. He stood and faced her.

The woman nodded and she drained her champagne. Putting the empty flute down on a nearby ledge, she took his wrist. “Alright let’s go,” she said, pulling him toward the interior rooms.

“Where are we going?”

“Behind the curtain. If you want to get a feel for this place, see where you belong, that’s probably where you should start. There a re a few public displays set up for you to peruse, and then people start dancing. It’s a lot of fun.”

There was no way he would be able to gather evidence if he didn’t ditch the brunette. But he couldn’t make himself do it. But, he also knew that having a woman on his arm – especially one as knowledgeable about the club – was beneficial, and would help him blend in. He liked her company, and even though he couldn’t see her face, she turned him on immensely. There was something about the way she moved, the way she spoke, the way she touched him – that hit him square in the chest. He hadn’t had such a reaction to a woman in a long time, and it was refreshing. “You don’t have to do that,” he told her. “I don’t want to cramp your style if you have plans.”

She smiled and shook her head. “I don’t have any plans,” she assured him, her voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper in his ear, “at least, none that don’t involve you.”

Chapter 6

The next room was even darker, and the music just as loud though. The only light, however, came from many tall pillar candles scattered throughout the room. Mitch and the woman did a lap around the room, he tried to keep his eyes peeled for anything that might seem unusual. But he had to be honest, there were a lot of unusual things going on. He wasn’t sexually inexperienced by any measure, he’d been with his share of women, but he hadn’t yet been introduced into the world he was travelling in that night.

A group gathered around a man as he bound a woman in rope using a series of intricate knots around her arms, shoulders and chest. Mitch and the woman stopped to admire the work; the masterful skill behind it appealed to him.

“See something you like?” she asked him in a playful tone.

“It’s definitely interesting,” he admitted.

They moved on to various other scenes some tame, some extreme. Mitch’s eyebrows rose behind his mask as he watched a hairy, overweight man with a leash attached to the leather collar around his neck, being led by a women wearing a leather bustier and dangerously spiked high heels; and then again in another corner, as a woman was flogged with a leather strap. Mitch bristled at each of her cries and almost intervened.

The woman to his side must have felt his tension, and gripped his forearm. “Hey, it’s okay. Everything here is consensual. None of this would be happening if she didn’t want it to. In many ways she’s more in control than the guy with the strap. He’s there for her.”

Mitch nodded. This surely wasn’t his world. “Sorry. It’s just jarring.”

“I know. I remember my first time here. It took some getting used to seeing other people’s kink on display. Until I found my own place, I mean.”

“And what’s your kink?”

“On the kink spectrum, I guess I’m pretty vanilla,” she giggled. “I’m not that big into pain or bondage, but I often find myself in exhibition rooms.”

“Oh really?” His interest. “So you get off on people watching you?”

“Yeah, I guess,” she shrugged. “I also love the masquerade nights. Everyone’s anonymous. It’s just one night, and there’s no tangly commitment issues the next morning.”

He looked around at everyone in their gold masks. There was no way to tell who was who. “But how do you know who you’re with? Isn’t it risky? Why not meet people through regular channels?”

“What regular channels?” she asked. “Meet online creeps for coffee? Swipe left or right on someone who’s a kilometer away? Or perhaps go to a nightclub and drag off with strangers?” She shook her head. “Those activities are more dangerous for a woman than anything else. At least here, I know people are tested, vetted, and the premises are secure. It’s completely safe here,” she told him.

Mitch nodded. He couldn’t argue with that. It was completely safe,
unless
you were a trafficked woman who was served a lethal dose of illegal drugs.

“I actually started off serving drinks here,” she explained, gesturing to the women who walked through the room, holding aloft trays of drinks. Of course, I didn’t participate then, employees are forbidden to, but I was always intrigued by it. So when I stopped working here, I joined.”

Mitch plucked two champagne flutes from a nearby server and he handed one to the woman. “They like to make sure everyone is hydrated,” he commented.

“Frees the inhibitions,” she told him. “But they’re careful not to overserve.”

“That’s good,” he said, sipping.

A crush of people entered the room at once, the noise volume more than tripled, as the dozens of revellers swarmed around them. The room was suddenly crowded, definitely over-capacity. It was time for everyone to get on with the festivities, it seemed.

Mitch turned around, and saw that his escort and her gold cat mask was gone. They’d been separated, but the crowd was so dense and the room so dark that he couldn’t see a trace of her, not even her bright red dress.

He turned and crashed someone else. The bear in the red shirt. The one who worked there and ushered him into the party. Mitch’s champagne sloshed in his glass, but none spilled. Mitch’s instincts twitched, as the two men stood chest-to-chest, eying each other through gold masks. Each of them waiting for the other to move aside. Soon, the bear twitched his head, and stepped aside, walking past Mitch, knocking his shoulder in a sure sign of aggression. Mitch thought it curious, and turned to watch the man move throughout the crowd. He took another quick look around the room. There was no sign of the woman.

“Oh well,” he muttered to himself into his glass, before draining it. She had been a nice distraction, but it was time to get down to business. He put the empty glass on a nearby table and headed off in the direction the bear had gone. Thankfully, that brute of a man was not as hard to track. His masked visage loomed over the crowd, weaving curiously through the throngs, making loops, nudging into people as he passed through. Mitch found it puzzling. Something definitely did not feel right about him, or the way the man was gliding through the crowd.

He followed behind at a discreet distance, following the man. Mitch stopped, and took a deep breath. Something wasn’t right. The music bumped, and the way the bass beat thrummed through his body. It felt like he was standing next to a large speaker, but a quick look around told him he was not. Mitch felt his skin tingle, and then warm pleasantly. His pulse quickened, and he could hear the blood as it rushed past his ears.

As he looked around in the dull light, his vision was blurred. He blinked quickly, in an attempt to dispel it. It didn’t work. He took a deep, calming breath, felt himself stumble slightly, and put a hand on a nearby wall to steady himself. He didn’t feel right, but he didn’t feel bad, as a pleasant glow surrounded him. He was high. He looked at his empty champagne glass, thought of the man in the bear mask, and the realization dawned on him.
The damn bear had
drugged him.

“Son of a bitch,” Mitch spat out, trying with all his might to focus his attention of finding him in the crowd. The man’s weaving through the crowd finally made sense. He was dosing the guests with some substance.

Mitch came away from the wall and rejoined the crowd. His periphery was blurred, and the multi-coloured strobe lights help. Every time someone brushed against him, it caused ripples of pleasure to rush throughout him. Mitch focussed on taking deep breaths and getting across the room. He tried to clear his head by recounting everything he knew about MDMA, one of the drugs that had been found in each of the victim’s – heightened awareness and a sense of euphoria were the primary effects. So was an increased sex drive. And even though he was still trying to find the bear, he couldn’t help but also train his eyes to look for the red dress. Increased sex drive? He chuckled as he thought of the woman behind the cat mask and felt a stirring behind the zipper of his pants.
Check to that.

Despite the growing obstruction in his pants, he pushed on, scanning the room for the bear mask. All around him people were dancing, gyrating to the driving beat of the hip hop music that was playing. He dodged flailing limbs and grabbing hands, and then he spotted him again. The bear was parting dark curtains, looking into another room, before disappearing between them. Mitch stalked toward the curtains, following his quarry, but a firm hand on his shoulder stopped him. He turned, preparing to pull away, when he saw the woman in the red dress.

“I found you,” she said. “You looked lost again. Do you want to dance?”

Mitch took another look at the curtains the bear had passed through before he turned back to the woman. He knew he should have continued his hunt, but whether it was the woman’s hands on his shoulders or the drug running through his system, he wanted to ignore the job. He sighed loudly. He couldn’t ignore the job. “I’m sorry, kitty cat. But I’ve got to go.”

“You’re not leaving already, are you? What, are you scared?” she challenged him, a frown turning down her lips. She smoothed her hands down his front, they slipped underneath his jacket and it might have been the drugs, but Mitch could swear that just her touch was scorching her skin through his shirt. He had a choice to make. He could either extricate himself from the woman, disappointing her and his dick in the process, or he could just escape with her for a few minutes.
What could a few minutes possibly hurt?

“I’m not scared, and I’m going anywhere,” he murmured, his voice a low growl. “Not yet anyway.” He didn’t think for a second before wrapping his arms around her slim waist and pulling her to him. He lowered his head and crushed his lips to hers.

The woman’s palms were flat on his chest, but she didn’t push him away. Instead she curled her fingers over his chest, bunching the fabric of his shirt in her fists, pulling him closer before winding her arms over his shoulders.

Mitch kissed the bow of her upper lip, then the corner of her mouth, then he captured her pouty bottom lip between his teeth and nipped lightly. His first taste of her was sweet, intoxicating, and he wanted more, needed more. His tongue delved past her lips and into her mouth, as he heard and felt the moan that rose from her throat, capturing it in his mouth. Not taking his mouth from hers, he walked them to the nearby wall behind her, pinning her against it with his own body, making sure she didn’t miss his rock hard length behind his zipper.

She squirmed against him, and the feeling made him gasp. It must have been the serotonin rush that came along with the drugs that he’d unwittingly ingested. The possibility that she’d been drugged as well occurred to him. He might be feeling the effects, but he wasn’t about to continue knowing that she might be under the influence.

He pulled back, his libido screamed at him in frustration. “Wait.” He said.

The woman’s chest rose with every heavy breath she took. “What’s wrong?”

“Do you feel okay?”

“I was a second ago,” she told him. “What’s going on?”

“You’re not under the influence of anything, are you?”

She shook her head, and dropped her hand to cup him through his pants. “Just two glasses of champagne and you, darlin’,” she assured him. She squeezed him lightly. The shock of her touch reverberated through his body, the pleasure sending a shot of white light to his brain, clouding his vision again. When he looked at her, he only saw the woman inside the halo of golden illumination.

The music of the nightclub-like setting of the room was muted by the sound of his heart beating in his ears, and strobing lights flashed around them, adding to the surreal feeling of having this incredible woman writhe against him, pulling him in to her. With every touch, he felt the electricity on his skin and the charge pulsed throughout his body, underneath his skin. He might have been tripping from a powerful drug, but goddammit, he was sure he only felt her, and she felt so good against him.

He returned his attention to her mouth. Her lips were still red, and he went back for more. As his mouth took hers, pulling her in deeper, he could hear the hard plastic of his mask, clicking against hers. He reached out to lift hers, to remove it and reveal her face, but she stopped him, her fingers covered his.

“Leave it on,” she said.

He nodded, remembering her previous wish of anonymity. He wanted nothing more than to see her, but at that moment he would do anything she told him to. “Okay,” he agreed.

Putting both hands to his waist, he lifted her, revelling in the pleasure of the way her legs wrapped tightly around his waist. Pinning her to the wall with his upper body, Mitch ran his hands up her thighs, her bare skin felt better, softer, than anything he’d ever touched in his life. He gripped her ass in his hands, her flesh was firm, and he discovered, she was not wearing any panties.
Easy access,
he figured. He edged his fingertips further, until he found her. She was bare, and warm and wet, waiting for him. Using his thumb, he circled around her rigid clit before he inserted one finger and then another.

She gave a small cry and tossed her head back against the wall, the muscles of her thighs quiver gripping him his waist live a vice as he touched her. He watched acutely, watching the ay she reacted to his touch, how responsive she was to him, and he didn’t think he’d ever wanted anyone more.

As if by magic, there was a waitress beside him. He took a look at her. He didn’t want a drink at the moment, and he wondered why she would even stop at his side. When he looked down at her tray, however, it all made sense when he saw the offerings of foil-wrapped prophylactics she was holding. He grabbed blindly into the tray, taking a condom. He fumbled with his zipper, lowered his pants a little, and extracted his throbbing, rock hard dick from his pants. In record time, he rolled the condom over his length, and he primed himself at the strange woman’s entrance. Grasping her waist, he raised her against the wall, and then lowered her onto his erection, until she was completely seated in his lap.

She gasped. Her quick intake of breath, raspy and loud in his ear. The feeling of her was so great, so intense, that he dropped his head and groaned into the crook of her neck, before pulling his hips away, withdrawing himself out and then slamming back into her, filling her again. He’d never experienced any pleasure greater than being with her. The combination of the strange, anonymous woman, the crowd of people around them, some watching enviously, was new to him. And while his enhanced feelings could be attributed to the drugs he’d been slipped, it didn’t take away from the pleasure he felt.