Page 133 of Vicious Desire (Fallen Royals 4)
“What was that for?” He grins.
“You conspired with Margo, didn’t you?” I ask. “You knew before I did—”
“I certainly hoped,” he counters. “Optimism isn’t a bad thing, Appleton.”
Butterflies flutter in my stomach. “That’s true.”
He ducks down and kisses my cheek. His lips move to my ear. “I’m optimistic we’re going to have a fantastic night. Then I’m going to strip this dress off you and kiss every inch of your—"
My fingers dig into his shoulders.
“You’ll be screaming my name before the night is over.”
Every word is going straight to my core.
I’m ready to go upstairs now.
But he steps back and offers his hand, guiding me deeper onto the dance floor.
What must be four or five songs later, Eli disappears to fetch us punch while Skylar and I dance our way to an empty table. I’m breathless and grinning by the time Eli finds us.
“Morrison,” Eli greets Skylar’s date.
Ah, that explains it.
Except narrowing it down from there will be the trick—Liam or Jake? They’re similarly built, the same hair color and eyes.
And the mask hides the rest.
And I can’t ask—how rude would that be? Preposterous. I suppose I’ll interrogate Eli about it later, but until then…
That mystery will dig at me a little longer.
“There’s Parker,” Skylar says suddenly.
Our other friend has arrived.
She’s dropped the gothic attire in exchange for startlingly feminine. A bold royal-blue dress hugs her slender body. It’s backless with a sweetheart neckline, and she’s paired it with a pearl necklace and white satin gloves that go up over her elbows. Her makeup is more delicate than I’ve ever seen it. The white mask only covers half her face, similar to the Phantom’s.
And the best part is that she walks in with more confidence than I’ve never seen from her. She doesn’t have a date, but more than a few heads turn in her direction. I don’t think she’ll have any trouble finding a dance partner.
“Do you want a pearl necklace?” Eli whispers in my ear.
It takes me a second, but I don’t think he’s talking about jewelry.
My mouth drops open, and I elbow him in the stomach.
“Is that a no?”
“It’s, ‘If you’re good,’” I answer.
He grins.
Parker comes over and falls into the chair beside me. “High heels are awful.”
I giggle. “You look like a different person.”
She rolls her eyes. “Isn’t that the point? To become someone else?” She reaches over and lifts my cup, sniffing the contents. “Anything exciting happen so far?”