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I looked around the room for Ethan. People were shoulder to shoulder standing around waiting for a drink. I stood on my tiptoes and scanned the dance floor, looking for the Hercules-sized man dressed as a cowboy, which was what his costume was supposed to be. I sent him a text letting him know to look for Catwoman and Lara Croft before downing another shot.
A commotion upstairs in the VIP section caught my attention, and I spotted Ethan sitting on the edge of the railing twirling a lasso over his head, trying to catch people as they walked down the stairs. I nudged Juliet and nodded my head toward the VIP section. “Up there. Let’s go.”
Thirty minutes later, I had come to two conclusions. One was that although Ethan was a definite ten in the looks department, he also had the mentality of a fifteen-year-old boy, which he had continuously showed over the last half hour as he shook bottles of champagne and tried to pour them all over the women in the VIP section. Second, he definitely had a drug problem and not only kept snorting things up his nose, but trying to make me do it as well. Gone was the charming man I had talked to at the store, and in his place was a sweaty, drug-fueled asshole. It was a total turnoff.
Juliet was dancing with someone dressed as Batman about twenty feet away, and when Ethan offered me the white powder for the tenth time since I had sat down, I rolled my eyes and made a beeline for her. “Mind if I join you guys?”
“Of course!” Juliet grabbed my hand and tugged me closer. “Not going well, huh?”
I scrunched up my nose. “Nope. It’s not gonna happen with him tonight.”
The three of us danced together with Batman holding onto Juliet and Juliet holding onto me. After a few minutes, Ethan danced his way over to us and tugged me close so my back was pressed against his chest. He wrapped his arm around my waist and ground his crotch into my ass.
I looked over my shoulder at him and waved my finger from side to side. “No, thank you.”
He tightened his grip, his tongue slobbering up my neck. “Don’t be a tease.” His breath reeked of alcohol, and I jerked my head away from him.
“Not interested, Ethan.” I tried to unlock his fingers from around my waist, but he held on firm.
“You know you want it.” He ground his hips against me, making my stomach turn.
My body tensed and I balled my hands into fists. Oh, so he wasthattype of guy. The kind that didn’t like to hear the word “no.” My nostrils flared as I lifted my knee and slammed the heel of my boot into his foot as hard as I could, satisfaction rushing through my body when he groaned. He let go of my waist and I jammed my elbow into his gut, making him yell out again. “No means no, asshole.”
Two men pushed through the crowd, wearing the same black outfits and red masks as the bouncers downstairs. One kicked Ethan behind the knee and he fell on the floor with a yelp. I grinned as he flailed around, trying to get away. Served him right. The other bouncer reached down, pulled his arms behind his back and dug his knee into his back. The bouncer pulled out a walkie-talkie and spoke into it, but I couldn’t make out what he was saying over the loud music. He looked up at the third floor where a man stood with his arms on the railing with five other men surrounding him. He was dressed in all black as well and wore the same type of spooky mask, but his was white rather than red. I assumed he was the boss around here.
The boss nodded, and the bouncers picked Ethan up and dragged him through the crowd away from us. I looked up and mouthed,Thank you. He didn’t acknowledge what I said, but I didn’t really care. Guess dealing with drugged-out people was just another day at the job for him.
Juliet rushed over with Batman trailing behind her. “Nova! Are you OK?” She pulled me into a hug.
“Don’t worry, I’m fine.” I hugged her back and smiled. “You know me. I can take care of myself.”
“What an asshole.” She gripped my hand in hers and glanced between me and Batman. “Do you want to leave? I can order us a car.”
I shook my head and looked over her shoulder at Batman. “No, no. Everything is totally fine. Let’s get another drink and see if we can find a Robin for a foursome.” I chuckled as her mouth fell open and I headed in the bar’s direction.
After two more drinks, I started loosening up again. Juliet seemed more worried than I was, but I assured her I was fine. Do you know how many times I’ve had to deal with a man who got too handsy with me? A lot. Unfortunately. But Grams had always made sure I knew how to defend myself, and tonight was one of those nights I was thankful she had made me take those self-defense classes.
I watched as the man in the white mask and his entourage made their way around the VIP section. There was a confidence in the way he moved you couldn’t help but notice. And I wasn’t the only one who noticed. Woman after woman approached him, fawning over him. With the flick of his wrist, he dismissed each one though. I lost track of him after a while and went back to enjoying the music.
Juliet was engrossed in a conversation with Batman while I sipped my drink. Looked like the tables had turned tonight, and she would be the one getting her garden watered, not me. That was OK, though. One perk of owning a sexual wellness shop was that I had access to an unlimited number of sex toys.
Lights flashed all around the room in different colors, making it spookier. You could barely make out people through the clouds of fog pumping from the machines. After a few minutes, the fog cleared, and I locked eyes with the man in the white mask. The boss man. He stood in the middle of the dance floor, people going out of their way to give him space. He lifted his hand and pointed at me, then motioned for me to come to him.
I looked to my left, then right, and then back to him. Was he talking to me? I pointed at my chest and mouthed,Me?with raised eyebrows. He nodded his head, and I glanced at Juliet. She was laughing and touching Batman’s chest. Oh, you could bet your sweet ass she was getting laid tonight. I caught her attention and motioned to the dance floor. “Be right back,” I yelled over the music.
I made my way through the crowd to get to him, unsure of what he could want. Were we in trouble? Was he going to kick us out? When I finally reached him, all my racing thoughts slammed to a screeching halt. This man was big—and not just tall, although he towered a good six inches over me, but muscular. And, with the scary white mask on, intimidating as hell.
“Um. Yes?” I stood in front of him as the people around us continued to dance. He held his hand out to me and motioned around the dance floor with the other hand.
“Oh, you want to dance? With me?” I clenched my hands together, not sure why he wasn’t speaking.
He nodded again, his hand still held out. I looked him up and down, trying to decide if I was in serial killer territory or not. I mean, he had helped me out earlier—helped me, not saved me, because I’d had the situation under control. He was dressed in a black suit, with matching black tie and that super-weird mask. I mean, I knew it was a Halloween party, but damn, it was scary to look at. It was all white with fabric covering the eye holes, so you only saw black. And the smile painted on the mask was in a zigzag that reminded me of a demon in a horror movie I saw when I was a kid.
I grabbed his hand. “OK, boss man.”
Nova La Roux. Risk-taker. Danger-seeker. Born-again virgin.
I swayed my hips to the beat of the music, his hand resting on my side. He didn’t grope me in any way. He was letting me lead. I lifted my arms above my head, letting them move freely with the beat of the music. I wasn’t worried about anything at that moment.
