Page 34 of Sins of Seduction
“The box breaks,” Jax repeated. “I understand your reluctance. I’ve felt it. You don’t want to let me in because you know this is what we do—our cycle we repeat every time we find each other again. I can’t promise you it will be smooth sailing this time, but I’m telling you I’m willing.”
Jax cupped the back of her neck as he leaned his head against hers. “I’m not running anymore. I’m not saying it’s going to be easy, and we will stumble a lot, but I want to explore this part of your world with you.”
This was his confessional—every sinful deed he wanted to commit with Raven had been left in the air around them. He wasn’t looking for absolution though, just the freedom that came with experiencing the pleasures Raven had once promised could be found at the hands of another while she watched.
They both sat in silence for a moment, even the sounds in the house had stilled as if it was holding its breath too, to see which way Raven would fall. She was his judge, jury, and executioner. She could very well tell him that he was too little too late and there was no hope for them in any aspect and these three days were all he was ever going to get or she was going to give him what they both wanted.
“If we do this,” Raven started, and Jax felt a pressure ease off of his chest. His body relaxed a fraction, not daring to hold on to hope that he’d finally gotten his Raven back. He wasn’t going to fuck it up this time.
“There’s a party at the end of the week. I need to check if I can bring you, and if they say yes we need to discuss our boundaries and safe words in case either of us gets uncomfortable with anything we thought we’d be okay with.” She sat back, concern etched all over face. “You really want to do this, and I mean truly for you? Don’t participate in this only because it’s something that I want. I don’t want this to be something you enjoy doing now and somewhere down the line it becomes a regret or you try and throw the ‘I only did this for you’ line in my face.”
The prospect of attending the party with Raven so soon had anticipation curling around his body, but it was overshadowed by the hurt her words caused. He hated how right she was to question him. When they fought, Jax had fought dirty, looking to shame her for what he was feeling, but he was beyond that now. He was older and had a clearer picture of what he wanted, without the influence of other people.
“I want this,” Jax stated, hoping she heard his truth. “Even if this doesn’t work out, though I hope it does, I’ll never regret this,” he cupped the side of her face, pulling her back toward him. Her breath hitched so slightly that Jax almost missed it and he smiled.
Jax glanced down at her lips before he locked eyes with her, enjoying the way the brightness of her golden orbs always shone into his darkness. Being with Raven made Jax understand why people preferred the dark to the light. It was easier to blend and hide in—one could almost pretend they were normal amongst the monsters that lurked in the shadows.
It was in the light that people—that he—feared. It was where he was forced to face the truth about what lurked inside of him. It was in her light that he’d been shown the shadows he needed to confront and understand to be whole. His growth came from her being unapologetically her, and if this was all he ever got again, he still wouldn’t regret it. She opened him up to a world that existed outside of everything he’d ever known—everything that was comfortable.
“I will never regret this, Raven, because I will never regret you.”
Detective Daniel Cruz dropped into his chair at his desk. Sleep made his eyes heavy, and the pile of paperwork on his desk made him want to light a match and torch it all. He seemed to be running in circles getting no closer to solving the murder of Louis Bastillo. There were too many fingerprints in and around the actual crime scene to make sense of who could have been the suspect. Even after countless interviews from the people who worked at and frequented Lush, no one stood out to Cruz or his partner Greyson. They kept hitting dead end after dead end, and it was just making Cruz pissy.
Their captain had decided to allow Lush to open back up and to send in undercovers to see if what happened to Bastillo was a one off thing or someone was targeting the guests of Lush. Cruz thought the idea was a sound one until their captain decided to send him, Greyson, and a couple of others into Lush, which Cruz knew would go over spectacularly with Raven.
“Why did you have to open up Lush?” Cruz murmured under his breath, wishing Raven would disappear and leave Ivywood. The woman had been nothing but a nuisance in his life the second her and Jax crossed paths.
Cruz let out a yawn as he looked at the package he’d received on his quick trip to his apartment to shower and change. It was addressed to him just as the invitation had been, but he hadn’t opened it yet. There was no return label just like the invitation, and when he did a quick online search, the address on the invitation was in the wealthier part of South Ivywood. He had to do more digging, but he found out that the mansion hosted parties for the type of people who visited Lush. Cruz wanted to believe it was a mistake—a hoax of some sort—but something about the invitation told him it wasn’t.
He grabbed his letter opener and cut open the package, hoping there wasn’t anything explosive or crazy inside. When nothing popped out at him, he flipped the box over and a black and silver face mask dropped out along with another invitation and a note.
Come one
Come all
To the fantasy ball.
Don your mask
Friday at 8pm sharp.
Dare to be brave and explore
Whisper your darkest secrets to enter
And you’ll get to watch a pretty Raven fall.
Cruz looked over the note and compared it to the invitation he’d gotten the first time. This one had been typed on red paper, and the beginning was the same, but where the invitation had been part of the message this time, the invitation and note were on two separate papers. He also noticed that whoever put this together had capitalized the R in Raven, which made Cruz think this all had to do with Raven Wright.
Was this Bastillo’s killer toying with Cruz?
He wanted Raven to be guilty, and looking this note over was starting to make Cruz feel like he might have been right. Raven didn’t hold the knife that killed Bastillo, but she was responsible somehow.
Cruz picked up the mask, surprised by the softness that touched his skin. “Whisper your darkest secrets to enter and you’ll watch a pretty Raven fall,” Cruz reread the last line, contemplating if he was going to actually show up or not.
He’d never been to Lush before Bastillo’s death, though thanks to Pierce, he’d known what happened inside that club. Cruz wasn’t one who believed in swinging, kinks, or fetish play when it came to sex. He liked to fuck like any other able-bodied male, but he didn’t believe in the extra shit—some of it he even found morally wrong. He wasn’t sure if he went to this he wouldn’t stick out, mask and all, but if this party led him to the truth, he’d be a fool not to go.
“Nice mask,” Greyson’s voice startled Cruz. For a big guy, he sure knew how to move around quietly. “I didn’t take you for a masquerade type.”
