Page 13 of Enthrall Shadows
I could hear music beyond the door.
Chrysalis?
I reached out for Dex.
That’s right. I’d left him back at the hotel to rest. I needed to get back to him soon.
I’d not had one of those nightmares in a while. They were triggered by stress; triggered by the ghosts from my past.
Glancing at my watch, I saw that I’d been out for thirty minutes.
I poured coffee into a mug from a silver pot. Somebody had brought in that tray. Richard, maybe? If not, the stranger would have observed my current state.
I hoped they’d be discreet.
Waiting for my coffee to cool, I scanned the office.
An impressive book collection neatly filled the floor-to-ceiling shelves. With the plush high-back chairs at the back of the room, it reminded me of a gentlemen’s club.
I chugged the delicious, cooled coffee and poured myself another cup. Caffeine rushed through my veins.
They had served me the Cole brand, of course.
I stood and walked over to the wall mirror, straightened my tie and ran my fingers through my ruffled hair in lieu of a comb. My reflection wasn’t too bad, considering.
I noticed a golden Venetian masquerade mask resting on a nearby shelf and picked it up, examining its craftsmanship. An enigmatic disguise—just what a distinguished gentleman needed.
Placing the mask over my face, I tied the silk straps at the back of my head to secure it.
Stepping out of Richard’s office, I blinked to clear my vision as I considered which way to go.
I went left, ambling through the sea of well-dressed masquerade guests. I avoided the guard who’d stopped me on the way in—just in case.
I nabbed two flutes of champagne off a silver tray as though I meant to offer one to another guest and then followed a group of tuxedo-clad guys into a noisy room.
Inside, a cocktail party was in full swing, the women in elegant gowns and the men in formal wear. Nothing scandalous going on here—other than striking submissives in fine strips of latex with pasties over their nipples. A few of them were topless.
An arousing vision to behold.
To my right, a man wearing a masquerade mask knelt loyally beside a dominatrix. He was being a well-behaved male sub—she literally had him leashed.
To each his own, as they say.
Two scantily dressed submissives approached me and bowed their heads.
“No,” I said firmly.
Their faces lit up with mischief and then they ran off, vanishing into the crowd.
How any warm-blooded male managed to walk around here without a boner was beyond me—it would take a small miracle.
At the end of the great hall towered an impressively carved double doorway. Well-guarded, it made me wonder what went on in there.
I handed one of the champagne glasses to a petite blonde and reached for the chain dangling from her collar, hoping I wasn’t stealing her from anyone.
I led her across the ballroom, trying to blend in, and stopped in front of the intriguing doorway.
“Password?” asked the well-dressed doorman.
