Page 245 of Trick or Stalk

I'm wearing a long black dress that hugs every curve before flaring slightly near my ankles. My dark hair hangs straight down my back, and Gracie spent far too much time making sure my makeup was appropriately Morticia.

Hades takes my hand. Without breaking eye contact, he lifts it to his mouth, his lips brushing my knuckles.

My stomach flips.

“You make a better Morticia.”

Jesus.

“You're really committing to this tonight.”

“Completely.”

“You know you can stop being Gomez now, right?”

His thumb moves over my fingers. “Who said I'm pretending?”

Heat creeps into my cheeks. The way this man affects me should be illegal.

My body is still pleasantly sore from this morning, and the memory of exactly how I got that way flashes through my mind.

Running through the woods. Hades catching me. His body against and inside mine. The way he looked at me afterward, like I was something precious and something he wanted to devour at the same time.

I squeeze my legs together.

His eyes drop. “Problem?”

“Nope.”

“Liar.”

“Come on. Let’s go inside.”

He chuckles.

Greycourt is even more beautiful inside. And creepy as hell.

Exactly as Halloween should be.

Candles cover nearly every available surface, although I'm pretty sure most of them are battery-operated, considering setting a historic mansion on fire would probably put a damper on the festivities.

Black roses fill enormous silver vases. Cobwebs stretch between chandeliers. Old portraits lining the walls are draped with black mourning veils. Music drifts from somewhere deeper inside the house.

Everyone is in costume. Some are elaborate. Some sexy. Some horrifying.

Almost everyone wears some kind of mask. Which probably should bother me after the past couple of weeks.

Strangely, it doesn't.

Maybe because Hades's hand hasn't left the small of my back since we walked inside. Or maybe because I'm finally beginning to understand that being afraid of something and enjoying fear aren't necessarily the same thing.

“Drink?”

I look up. “Please.”

He guides me toward one of the bars set up beneath an enormous staircase.

The bartender is dressed like a vampire.