Chapter 6

The air in the private room was thick, heavy with the scent of beeswax candles, expensive perfume, and the lingering sweetness of spilled champagne. Outside, the muffled swell of the orchestra played a waltz that seemed to drift through the heavy velvet drapes like a ghost, but inside, the world had shrunk down to the space between my thighs and the heat of his body. I was still wearing my mask, a delicate thing of gold leaf and white lace that covered the upper half of my face, leaving my lips exposed for his kisses, but my costume had been shed, left in a tangled heap on the floor near the door. I was bare except for the sheer stockings that clung to my legs and the small scrap of silk that barely covered my cunt. He stood before me, tall and imposing, his own mask a simple black half-cover that highlighted the sharp, commanding line of his jaw. He looked down at me, his eyes dark and hungry, assessing me like a prize he had already decided was his. I felt small beneath his gaze, submissive and ready, my heart hammering against my ribs like a trapped bird. "Come