Tricks & Treats: A Romance Anthology (22 page)

“Hey yourself. Looks like your lucky tonight?” She smiled at him and then nodded at the table.

“I certainly hope so.” He smiled, his eyes never leaving her.

Cassie’s cheeks warmed at the suggestive nature of the comment, but Shi never missed a beat as he called the waitress over to order some drinks.

In no time Scarlett was engaged in conversation with the other friend and Cassie was left standing next to the table without a wing man. She hadn’t dated in well over five years. Not that she wanted to date mind you, but everything that had just happened with Jack shattered her self-confidence until there was little left. She didn’t even know how to look up at Mr. Steely Eyes and offer a simple greeting.

Come on Cassie, it’s just a hello.  

She dragged her eyes from the green felt roulette table and up over his black pants, noticing how they clung to his hips. Her gaze trailed up over his fitted, charcoal coloured dress shirt until she finally met those penetrating eyes. She coughed. “Ahem…hi.” She offered a tentative smile.

His eyes crinkled as he watched her. “Hi,” he said, and offered her a gentle smile as if sensing her discomfort.

She shifted nervously and looked away. This was painful. The girls were laughing with his other companions. The cute blond one touched Shi’s arm and whispered something into her ear. Oh Cassie hoped the walls of their suite were sound proof. There was nothing worse than lying in bed listening to one of your friends have mind-blowing sex in the next room.

Cassie sucked in a breath and turned back toward him. “So, do you live here?” It came out a little higher pitched than she would have liked.

A hint of a smile threatened to curl his lips. “Here in the casino? No. You?”

Her face grew hot. “No, of course not. I meant here in Las Vegas. I live in Boston.” She
had lived
in Boston, previously, until her cheating fiancée broke her heart, but this probably wasn’t a good time to bring any of that up.

His full lips parted, revealing a perfect set of white teeth. God he was a work of art. The line of his jaw was square, almost as if it was drawn with precision, and when he smiled a dimple appeared in his right cheek.  She bit her lip until it hurt. This was crazy. She had just met this man and her heart fluttered wildly in her chest like she was sixteen again.

She shook her head trying to shake the feeling that had come over. It was a feeling she had felt before, but it was a distant memory now. Attraction.

“Are you ok?” he asked.

“Of course. I’m fine. I just—I’m sorry, I need to take this.” She fished in her purse for her iPhone, which was still switched off from the plane earlier. She held up a finger and said, “Nice to meet you, but I really need to take this.”

Cassie was desperate to get away. She looked around, but the roulette table was still crowded as another group of gamblers had picked up where the others had left off. His friends appeared preoccupied vying for her friends’ affections. Mr. Steely Eyes leaned against the roulette table with his body stretching back to allow some small space for her to slip by.

Really? The only way to get away from him was to get closer to him.

“Thanks,” she said, wishing the universe would swallow her up whole. She summoned up a breath and moved closer, slipping through the small space between his broad chest and his friend’s back. That’s when her nose was assaulted by the most delicious smell of leather and spice. Her heart raced.

The friend talking up Scarlett took a sudden step backward and Cassie lost her balance, falling right into Mr. Steely Eyes’ arms. But he didn’t just catch her, oh no, he caught her and then held her close. So close her brain cluttered up with white noise like a transistor radio trying to find a signal. Her iPhone slipped from her hand and hit the floor and for a moment she didn’t care. She couldn’t move. More precisely she didn’t want to move.

“Thought you had a call to take, Boston?” She was so close to him his breath fanned her nose. It was delicious. Cinnamon. She had to move before she melted into a mushy swooning puddle right there on the casino floor.

“What? Oh, yes right.” She blinked a couple of times trying to look down between them to see where her phone had landed. His grasp on her never slackened. What was wrong with her? This guy was hot as balls and she couldn’t get away fast enough. No! The sane part of her conscience called out to her. He’s a man. They’re all alike. Run while you still can.

He let go of her then and eased down to pick up her phone, handing it to her with ease.

“Thanks.” Her voice was breathy. Was it warm in here?

“Looks like you lost your call,” he said with an arched brow.

She glanced down at the phone that hadn’t actually rung and said, “Yeah, guess so. I should…” She pointed in the direction of the main hallway. “I’m going to just go see who that was.”

He smiled and her knees threatened to buckle. She turned in the direction of the piano bar and hurried inside, flopping into a big leather chair with a heavy sigh. What had just happened? She tried to collect her thoughts while taking advantage of the full view of the roulette table from her seat. Her friends were still engrossed in conversation with Mr. Steely Eyes’ friends, but he was now nowhere to be found.

“Can I get you something, Miss?”

“Limoncello martini, please.”


“Coming right up.”

Cassie sighed and straightened her skirt over her knees. She was flustered as all hell. When the waiter laid the martini in front of her she downed it in two gulps and laid the glass back on the table before he had turned around.

With wide eyes he asked, “Another one, Miss?”

She nodded. “Keep ‘em coming.”

***

“I look absolutely ridiculous.”Cassie stared at herself in the mirror. Siobhan’s costume included fishnet stockings and a tight leather bodice that pushed her boobs nearly up to her chin. “Where did you get these boots? They look like something Lady Gaga would wear.”

“You look sexy as hell, Cass.” Scarlett stood next to her, fastening her earrings in to place. Siobhan had left no detail to chance. She had scored black spider-web earrings with a spider caught in the middle and a red jewel in the centre of its back. “Do you know how envious I am of that fiery red hair and those amazing green eyes? And don’t get me started on that figure. Here, help me with this choker.”

Cassie clasped her friend’s necklace into place as Siobhan bound into the room with three riding crops in her hand. “Ta da! What’s a hard core dominatrix without a crop?” She snapped it in the air until it made a smacking sound and then let out a throaty laugh. Standing in front of them with one hand on her hip that jutted out perfectly, Siobhan O’Mara looked every bit a dominatrix. She would bring every man in the room tonight to his knees and she knew it.

Scarlett giggled.

“There’s no way in hell I’m hauling that around with me all night,” Cassie said. “It’s bad enough you’ve dressed me up like a cheap floozy from Fields Corner.” She blotted the red Perfect Score Mac lipstick Siobhan insisted they all wear as part of the costume.

“Girl, you look like a high class call girl who blows senators, not one of those dirty skanks from Fields Corner!”

Cassie laughed at Siobhan and the three of them lifted their wine glasses.

“Where is this party anyway?” Cassie asked.

“I don’t know. All I have is an address.”

“Is it here on the strip at one of the other hotels?” Scarlett asked.

Siobhan checked her phone. “No. It looks like a residential street address. I have a number for a car service I called earlier. They’ll be here for us around nine.”

“A car service? Wow. That’s some host,” Cassie said.

“That’s a rich host, “Siobhan said.

“I’m surprised you two gave up the new friends you made downstairs to go to this party? It looked like you were hitting it off.” It was Cassie’s last-ditched effort to get out of this ridiculous costume and check out the Bellagio’s room service menu.

Siobhan smiled wickedly. “As it happens…they had their own invite to the Masquerade Ball.”

Cassie stopped breathing. “You’re kidding me. All of them?”

Siobhan nodded slowly, as a big grin spread across her face. “Don’t think I didn’t see how you blushed talking to Jay earlier.”

“His name’s Jay?” Cassie asked.

“You were pressed tight against him for like five minutes and you didn’t even ask him his name?” Scarlett joked.

Cassie felt her cheeks burn again. Great. Now her whole face matched her lips.

“It wasn’t like that…” she started, but the ding of Siobhan’s phone drowned her out.

“Car’s here, ladies. Let’s roll!”

Siobhan and Scarlett grabbed their black leather clutches and headed out of Cassie’s bedroom where they had perfected their costumes. Cassie took one last look in the mirror. She felt even more ridiculous in this get up now since finding out Mr. Steely Eyes would be in attendance.

She picked up her glass and swirled the last of her red wine before downing it. Her face would be covered with a mask so no one would know who she was anyway.

***

After about thirty minutes in the back of a stretch limo they left the bright lights of the Las Vegas skyline behind them and entered a high-end residential section. They weren’t just in the burbs; they were in the high-end burbs. The only evidence of life was a glimpse of light that broke through the thick wall of trees lining the long driveways. There was some serious money here.

The car slowed and turned into a gate that opened automatically.  The car wound its way through the tree-lined driveway toward a well-lit mansion decorated with intricate stone work. The elaborate fountains and light gave the place an old-world European feel. Dozens of costumed people lined a red carpet to enter. As her brain worked over-time to take in her surroundings, Cassie noticed the lack of pumpkins or nurses or silly costumes. This was serious. These people barely wore any clothes, and if they did, it was revealing and suggestive and they were all…beautiful. It was like a prerequisite.

“Wow,” said Scarlett. “This is amazing.”

“Fuck me. This is how I want to live,” Siobhan said.

The limo rolled to a stop and their door opened. “Ladies,” a deep voice said and a hand appeared to assist Siobhan, Scarlett and then Cassie out of the luxurious car.

As Cassie stepped out and took in her surroundings her mouth gaped. “Is this for real?” she whispered.

“It is tonight.” Siobhan slapped her ass. Cassie let out a small yelp and moved forward. “Come on ladies, I want in on this party!”

They took their place in the red carpet line. When they reached the front of the line they were met by a man and two women. One woman gave them a plain black mask to fasten into place; the other gave them a token. Cassie took the token and turned it over in her hands. The number thirteen sparkled in the moonlight. She smirked. Unlucky thirteen sounded about right. The man stood behind a cloth-covered table behind a glass bowl.

“Memorize the number on your token please,” he said.

“What’s this for?” Cassie held it up, examining it. Even it looked expensive.

A sly grin spread across his face. “First Masquerade Ball? Oh you’re in for a treat.” The two women with him laughed. “Pop that token right in here, doll. In you go. You’ll be scooped up in no time.”

Did he just growl at her? Cassie scooted by him, dropping the token into the bowl with dozens of other pieces and followed her friends inside.

What the hell had Siobhan gotten them into?

***

If the mansion’s exterior was considered impressive, its inside was like something directly out of a movie. A sprawling staircase was the focal point of the atrium leading in opposite directions from the landing. Floating above all of it was the largest, most sparkly, shimmery chandelier Cassie had ever laid eyes on. It looked like a hundred thousand diamonds glittered from the ceiling.

“What a pad,” Scarlett said under her breath. She took out her phone and snapped a picture.

“Will you put that away!” Siobhan said, swatting at her arm. “Jesus, Scar, you’re going to make us look like hillbillies. And hillbillies don’t belong here.”

“Neither do we,” Cassie said.

“Will you at least try to have fun, Cassie?” Siobhan asked. “We’re here, we’re dressed to kill, and we’re anonymous. That’s the recipe for a great night, but you have to want it. I got you this far. Now, you can choose to have fun or you can go sit in the corner and let all this pass you by.” She kissed Cassie on the cheek. “It’s your choice, Cass,” Siobhan said and walked away.

Cassie immediately felt guilty. Siobhan had created this weekend just for her. She had pulled out all the stops. Sure, Cassie was a little uncomfortable about tonight, but Siobhan was right. She just had to give into it and let loose. She grabbed a glass of champagne from a passing waiter clad in nothing but a black thong and a white mask, and boy, was he ripped.

In fact, all the wait staff was barely dressed. They milled around the room, serving hors d’oeuvres and champagne. By the time she tore her eyes away, Scarlett and Siobhan had moved through an opening leading out of the massive house.