Winter's Heart (23 page)

“It’ll be fun,” she promised, smoothing her hands over her hourglass shape. “And I can guarantee you that you
will
get lucky tonight.”

“I’m never going to make it until midnight,” he groaned, standing up from the desk and readjusting his penis once more.

Wrapping her hands around his arm, she leaned against him and teased, “That’s unfortunate since we plan on staying out until two or three in the morning.”

♥~♥~♥

Flynn was trying to kill him, which was the only explanation. It had been an entire week since Winter had seen her, and that had been for only a day and a half before he had to be back in Georgia to continue working on his film. It had been hell dragging his sorry ass away from her, especially after spending the entire time between her sweet thighs, and more than once he had been tempted to quit the film so he could stay. But she had laughed her heavenly laugh and sent him on the way, promising to keep her body warm and willing for the next time he came home. For tonight.

He hadn’t planned on coming home but he had accidentally told her about the masquerade party he had been invited to at
Velvet Smoke
. Seeing the way her eyes had lit up at the thought of dressing in costume, he hadn’t had the heart to tell her they couldn’t go because his schedule didn’t allow the time off. So, even though he had to leave early the next day, he had flown home, had his make-up artist friend create his beast look, and put on a ridiculous costume. All he really wanted to do was take her into his arms, kiss her until he forgot his name and then fuck her six ways from Sunday, maybe seven, and never leave her again.

To repay his kindness, she had answered the door wearing a ridiculously thin scrap of material pretending to be a robe, teased him by dropping said robe, and then disappeared into her room. If he had been two seconds quicker, he could have caught her around her waist and had her on the ground where they stood. Fuck, he could be buried inside of her right now instead of riding in the back of a limo to some stupid party with a raging erection between his thighs that was stealing all of the blood from his brain, thanks to that outfit she was wearing.

No, it was thanks to Flynn herself, who could be wearing a muumuu and still elicit the same response from him. It didn’t even bother him that she was keeping some sort of file on him, even though a part of him knew he should be concerned. But he knew Flynn, knew she wasn’t the type of person to betray him or his confidences. Once his dick was no longer stealing all of the blood supply in his body, he might remember to ask her for more details about the file, just to be on the safe side because he had gotten burned in the past before.

“Are you sure we can’t take the edge off before the party?” he asked, almost in despair. She was sitting across the seat from him, devouring him with her eyes, and teasing him with little glimpses of what she wore beneath the yellow dress. The tight
dress was really just a second layer of skin, allowing him to make out the detail of the fancy underwear she had on underneath.

He’d like to see her in the dress without the undergarments. And then he’d like to see her with the dress on the floor.

“I could kiss your penis and make it better but I think it would have the opposite effect,” she purred, a tantalizing seductress just becoming aware of her own power. Didn’t she realize she could have any man eating out of the palm of her hand? Pushing off the seat, she kneeled in front of him, putting her hands on his knees before sliding them up his thighs and getting awfully damn close to his rigid cock. Looking up at him through the filigree mask, she crooned, “Do you want me to kiss it, Beast?”

“I want to bend you over and fuck you until you scream,” he snarled, putting his hands over hers to stop their forward progress. “And I don’t think you want to show up at the party with your dress around your waist and my dick in your pussy.”

Her eyes dilated and she sucked in a breath, her chest rising and pushing her breasts out even more. Sitting back on her seat, she said in a breathless voice, “No, you’re probably right.”

“Now talk to me about something else before I lose control and fuck you mercilessly.”

Taking a steadying breath, she smiled, “I think I’d like to try champagne tonight.”

The unexpected comment, coming so far out of left field, took him aback for a second, making him realize just how very young she was. Oh, not in years but in experience. Well, a little bit in years as well. Giving her a reassuring smile, ignoring the persistent ache in his groin, he said, “That won’t be a problem.”

“It’s nice that we are riding in a limo,” she continued, her breasts still heaving as she attempted to have a normal conversation in her aroused state. “That way we can both get drunk….”

“I don’t drink to excess anymore,” he corrected before she could go down that path. “I barely drink at all.”

Her eyes grew downcast for a moment before she caught her lower lip between her teeth and softly asked, “Is it okay if I get drunk? I mean, I don’t have to but I’ve never actually done it before.”

“Why not?” he asked before she could say anything more.

Still chewing on that lower lip, she finally admitted, “I was always afraid of losing control but it’s like you said, I was just waiting for you to be there to catch me.”

How could she humble him and turn him on all at the same time? Giving her an indulgent smile, he murmured, “You can drink but I don’t suggest getting drunk with this group of people. You never know what someone will
try.”

“But won’t you be there to guide me?”

He nodded slowly, “Yes, but what happens if I have to take a leak or something? I don’t want to leave you alone and vulnerable amongst that pack of hyenas.”

“Then I’ll simply go with you.”

“Into the men’s room?”

“I’ve done it before.”

Throwing his head back, he roared with laughter, the little minx got him! “You do know that if you follow me into the bathroom here, everyone will think we’re going in there to fuck, right?”

Shrugging her slender shoulders, she gave him a kitten’s smile, “Then we go in there and fuck. After you take your leak, of course.”

“Of course,” he grinned, shaking his head at her growing boldness. Exchanging smiles, he felt the car come to a stop and he faced his Beauty, “Are you ready for this?”

“As much as I’ll ever be,” she answered, flashing a bit of her insecurity before putting on her seductress’s smile and slipping her hand into his.

After the chauffeur opened the door and they slid out, he escorted her to the front of the line. He felt sorry for the fools who stood there, knowing most of them were never going to see the inside of
Velvet Smoke
. Glancing at his Beauty out of the corner of his eye, he had the strongest suspicion that she would be allowed in without a second’s hesitation. And then she’d be led to the VIP section and treated as royalty while the vultures figured out which one would have her first.

He wasn’t going to let her out of his sight for a single moment. He’d follow her into the ladies’ room if need be. With a fierce scowl that could rival the scary beast mask he wore, he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her in tight against his side. She gave a little giggle as she stumbled over her heels and fell more firmly against him and that was alright with him because he liked her being as close as possible.

At the door, he handed the bouncer the platinum invitation that indicated he was VIP and needed to be treated accordingly. Not that he gave a damn about any of that but they generally had more privacy in the VIP room and better drinks. The attendant bowed, “Right this way.”

“What was that about?” Flynn asked beneath her breath, watching with wide eyed wonder at the world he took for granted. “He didn’t even ask for your name.”

“Only a handful of people have that platinum piece of paper,” he explained softly next to her ear. Nuzzling a little closer, breathing in her light, floral scent, he continued, “No names are required because that piece of paper guarantees anonymity if that is what’s desired. What happens in the VIP room remains in the VIP room.”

“Like Vegas,” she murmured, figuring it out in her head. “Only, here in L.A.”

He smiled, “Something like that.”

As they entered the dimly lit club, he saw a lot of faces he recognized, despite the fact that it was supposed to be a masquerade. Gina St. John was there dressed in a bra and pair of panties pretending to be a nurse. Her long, red hair was loose, shimmering around her body and he almost felt sorry for her. After her departure from the show, at her request because she wanted to star in movies, she hadn’t had much luck. Most of the movies she made were direct to video and the last he heard, she was thinking about doing a porno. Drugs hadn’t helped, taking a toll on her once-flawless skin. 

Nolan Mars was there as well, wearing a loin cloth and not much else. He was surrounded by a bevy of scantily clad beauties, most likely a bunch of wannabe actresses willing to sleep with whoever promised them the moon, and at the moment that was Nolan. The man was looking around the room when his eyes landed on Flynn and stayed there. He started to push his way through the crowd to get to her but Winter skillfully steered her away only to freeze when he came face to face with the past he hadn’t wanted to share with Flynn.

Flynn felt all of the muscles in Winter’s body tense as he turned to the right and suddenly froze. Rubbing her hand along his back, blind to anyone not Winter, she asked, “What is it?”

“It’s the girl,” he bit out. “She’s wearing the mask, only the eyes are cut out so she can see.”

“Are you sure it’s the same girl?” she asked softly, glancing around to spot this creature who had unknowingly shared Winter’s bed.

“Positive,” he said through clenched teeth. “There’s no mistaking that mask.”

Reaching up, she pulled his face so he was looking down at her. Pasting a brilliant smile onto her own lips, she ordered, “Smile, Beast.”

His lips curled but it wasn’t a smile and with the beastly disguise, he looked positively feral. Rubbing her thumb along his firm lower lip, she urged him once again, “Smile, my love. She’s nobody, remember? If you freeze when you see her, she’ll figure it out that you’re
The One
and even if you’re in disguise I think she would track you down and rip off the latex so act like she doesn’t exist.”

Sure, she was giving him the same advice he had given her regarding photographers but unlike her, he actually needed the advice because a ghost from his past was standing somewhere
nearby. Going up on her tiptoes, pressing her breasts against his chest, she breathed into his ear, “If you can get through the night without giving yourself away, I’ll fuck you in the limo on the way home.”

He pulled his head back and stared down at her as she smiled back in perfect innocence, as if she hadn’t just spoken those words out loud. A slow smile eased the taut muscles of his face. “You’re really trying to kill me here, aren’t you?”

“Never,” she denied, sliding her hand into his. “Now point her out so I know which one she is.”

“She’s impossible to miss,” he said, steering her in
Ginger’s
direction. Leaning down, he whispered, “It’s the pale gold hood.”

Her eyes widened as she saw the surprisingly beautiful mask. It was, as Winter said, pale gold but it was elegant with intricate designs etched into it. The eyeholes were surrounded by jewels, as if to draw attention to the fact that she hadn’t had any at the time. Swirls of color swept outwards
from the corner of the new eyeholes, covering the entire mask and making it a work of erotic art.
Ginger’s
lips were painted a bold, rich red, drawing attention to her mouth, and her eyes were lined in charcoal, almost as if trying to hide within the shadows of the mask.

She was trying to find Winter. Did he even realize that?

As they walked past the girl in question, she was so proud of the way Winter handled himself. He smiled down at Flynn and didn’t even spare
Ginger
a glance. She could feel his heart thrashing madly in his chest but she ignored it, unwilling to unmask him to anyone. Coming to a stop, she curved her hand around his neck and pulled him down to reward him with a quick kiss. She should have known better than to tempt the beast as his arms slid around her waist and he hauled her up against his body, letting her feel how horny he was.

Thrusting his erection against her belly once, twice,
Ginger
forgotten, he growled, “Leave me some peace of mind, my Beauty.”

Breathless, she could only nod as he let her go and led her through the club, which had become a blur of noise and color after that little display of desire. With stars in her eyes, she barely felt the costumed people bumping into her, knocking her into Winter. He looked down at her with a fierce look on his face as he squatted down, wrapped his arms around her thighs and tossed her over his shoulder.

“Beast!” she cried, though every instinct in her body had wanted her to use his name. Pushing herself up so her head was no longer upside down, she saw the amused looks of those around them. Winter’s hand came down on her ass and her elbows turned to rubber for a second, pressing her stomach more firmly against his hard shoulder.

“Just until we get to our table, my Beauty,” he growled, his voice subtly different.

But being pressed against his shoulder reminded her that in her excitement, she had forgotten to use the girl’s room before she left. Squirming around so she could talk in a voice quieter than a shout, she said, “Can I go pee first?”

His shoulders shook as he chuckled but he let her slide down his body. Holding her steady when he set her on her feet, he shook his head with a grin, “Only you, Beauty. The bathrooms are this way.”

Instead of pointing the way and sending her off on her own, he wrapped his paw around her hand and pulled her hard against the front of his body, guiding her from behind and protecting her from the other party goers. His wandering hands may have wandered upwards once or twice and brushed over her breasts but she didn't mind, not really.

“I’ll wait right here,” he growled, leaning against the wall and crossing his arms over his chest. “Five minutes or I’m coming in.”

“Five minutes.” She rolled her eyes at him; did he know nothing of women’s bathrooms? The line itself could take five minutes or fifty minutes. “I’ll be as quick as I can.”

“Five minutes,” he reiterated.

Pushing into the room, she was surprised to find several open stalls, though the bathroom itself was packed with stick thin women in barely-there clothes. She felt like a gawker at a lingerie fashion show. Making quick work of her business, she came out and washed her hands, studiously ignoring the white powder on the counter. It amazed her that they were doing that in public with no concern of being busted. Of course, the club probably turned a blind eye and the ones snorting the powder probably had enough money to get out of any drug charges anyway.

“Excuse me,” a woman murmured, pushing up to the counter to wash her hands as well. In the reflection, Flynn saw that it was
Ginger
, AKA Addison Holmes.

Clearing her throat, she pasted on a friendly smile, “I love your mask. It’s very unusual.”

Color flooded the woman’s neck as she met Flynn’s eyes in the mirror, “It was a gift.”

“From a lover?” she asked, turning around and leaning her butt against the counter as she smiled at the girl.

“Yes,”
Ginger
said simply, avoiding Flynn’s probing eyes. She turned to leave but Flynn stayed by her side until they were in a little sitting area.

“Is he here tonight?” Flynn pried, morbidly curious to know more about Addison, the girl who had become the secret lover of a stranger. At
Ginger’s
blank look, she tried for breezy and lied, “My boyfriend wants to put a hood on me but I refuse to be hooded by the normal hoods out there, you know? They’re frightening and I don’t think I’d feel comfortable wearing one. But your hood… it’s a work of art, isn’t it? I think I would be proud to be hooded in that.”

Ginger
blinked her eyes and offered a small, tremulous smile, “It
is
pretty, isn’t it?”

“Very,” Flynn agreed, pulling the girl’s arm so they were sitting on the plush couch. Leaning closer like they were old girlfriends sharing a secret, she gave her a sparkling smile, “My boyfriend is into some kinky shit,
ya know? Even so, I don’t think I’d have the balls to wear any of the accessories out in public. You must really love him.”

Tears welled in the girl’s eyes and suddenly Flynn felt like a complete bitch. Wrapping an arm around the girl’s slender figure, forgetting for the moment that the girl was three years older than her, she lowered her voice, “I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to make you cry….”

“It’s not that,” Addison wept, waving her hand through the air and sniffling, her strained laugh sounding pathetic. Reaching out, Flynn grabbed some tissues from the box and handed them to her. “Thank you.”

“So, what is it?” she probed, knowing she was going to go to hell for keeping up the pretense. She could put the poor girl out of her misery but she was selfish enough to hide Winter’s identity for eternity.

“I gave him three years of my life,” Addison whimpered. “And even though I never met him, never knew who he was, I fell in love.”

“Maybe he was just really good at sex.” Because he was and she could say that with absolute certainty. It still didn’t change the fact that she felt like shit for making the girl cry.

“Well, he was that,” Addison agreed, delicately wiping her nose. “But he was tender, too. He cared about my pleasure and in the year that we’ve been apart I haven’t found another lover like that.”

“How many have you tried?”

“Too many,” the girl admitted in a soft, shame-filled voice. “I wear this damn hood to all of those clubs and the men flock around me but none of them are him.”

“Maybe you’re looking in the wrong places,” Flynn offered lamely, since Winter didn’t frequent those kinds of clubs. For being such a kinky and horny bastard, she was a little surprised to realize that.

Addison snorted in disbelief, “This guy could do things… you have no idea.”

Oh, she had some idea but she wasn’t going to admit to anything. And was it wrong that she felt sorry for the girl? She knew what it was like to be consumed by Winter and how much it hurt to be apart from him. But she actually
knew
Winter the man, not just Winter the sex master. At the same time, knowing how perverse it was, she wanted to know what Winter did to Addison. Trying to go for casual, she drew a figure on her bare knee and asked, “Like what kinds of things?”

Twisting so she was more fully facing Flynn, Addison’s eyes lit up with excitement, “He does this thing with his tongue… I don’t know how to describe it but it gives you just the most powerful orgasm in the history of orally-given orgasms. And the things he can do with his cock. I swear, I was never into filthy, kinky sex until him and now....” she heaved a sigh and seemed to deflate right in front of Flynn’s eyes. “And now I am trying to find someone to fill the ache he left behind.”

Was this what life was like post-Winter? Languishing in despair to be fucked in various and sundry ways? Traveling to random sex clubs in the hope of finding a replacement, knowing he will only be a mere shadow of Winter? Swallowing against the guilt and the fear, she rasped, “I’m really sorry.”

“There you are,” Winter’s voice growled with a hard edge to it. Warm paws came down on her bare shoulders and she was jerked to her feet. Addison’s eyes went wide in her masked face as she stared past Flynn to her fantasy lover, never making the connection. “I said five minutes, Beauty. It’s been fifteen.”

Giving Addison one last sympathetic look, she pasted on a smile, “I was just leaving.”

“It didn’t look that way from where I was standing,” he growled. His body was vibrating with tension and she knew he was close to snapping. “In fact, I think you’re going to have to be punished, Beauty. I won’t fuck you for a week.”

“You can’t do that!” she cried out, twisting around in his arms to face him. Even beneath the mask, he radiated fury and she tried using her wiles, rubbing against his terribly aroused body, “I’ll be good.”

“You won’t get out of this,” he bit out, his eyes moving past her to Addison. A strange look came over his face as he turned back to her. She didn’t understand until Addison brushed past them and stuffed a piece of paper in her hand. In a lower voice, hauling her out of the bathroom, he asked, “What did she give you?”

Opening the paper, she saw the word
Eroticism Arts
. With a trembling hand, she held the piece of paper up for him to read. “I think she just gave me the name of the place where you can buy me a hood.”

His eyes darkened but he held himself stiffly, pressing his lips into a firm line, “You won’t change my mind,
Fl… Beauty. An entire week without penetration.”

“What will you do?
We only have tonight.”

He brushed his thumb over her mouth and leaned down until his lips were next to her ear, “I’ll be in my second favorite place.”

Her lips formed an
O
as he led her once again to the VIP section. As they walked, a terribly awful, wickedly hot idea grabbed ahold of her. She’d have him fucking her before the night was out and he wouldn’t have any idea what hit him. Wrapping her arms around his arm, she pressed her body along the length of his and smiled to herself because she knew all of the right buttons to push to get exactly what she wanted.