Page 259 of The Invite
@nightcrawler
A masked Ace stands in all his drool-worthy glory with his ripped torso on display, his eight-pack abs shining, and his signature iron chain curled around his fist. So much sensuality and violence oozes from him. I feel a fissure of heat upon seeing the end hooked to the collar on a girl kneeling at his feet.
“Looks like Ace found his plaything for the night,” drawls Augustus.
I gulp at those words.
She looks more like his sex slave, especially in the tight cutout dress with a long braid resting between her breasts.
I suppress a shiver when Ace’s blue gaze lands on me, recognizing us instantly. They crinkle in the corners before thinning with broodiness. Approaching our booth just as we enter it, he leans on the table, and quips, “Joining as a couple tonight?”
“That a problem?” says Augustus dryly.
“You’ll be breaking every woman’s heart.”
“I only care about one heart and it belongs to her.” His arms circle my waist, pulling me against his chest. “The woman of my dreams.”
I melt into a puddle.
“Does this mean our days of shooting together are over?”
“It’ll just be me and her.”
“You wound me,” says Ace in mock sadness.
“You’ll survive,” grunts Augustus, dismissing him, “Go annoy the woman in your booth.”
Shooting me a wink, Ace turns and ambles away. I glance away at the same time he pets the kneeling woman. I’m so out of my depth here and the night has barely begun.
All week, I’ve been sitting on pins and needles, waiting for news from either Arjun or Michael. Four days after my call, I received a vague text from Michael that they were all set and I’d be hearing from them today. I pray to God they’re ambushing Debolina tonight and their plan worked out. I don’t think I’ll relax until they tell me she’s been caught and put behind bars.
Augustus’s heat pressing against my back yanks me to the present.
I look up and watch more of the guests arrive and claim their booths. There are two more couples just like us. A super tall man in a full Simon ‘Ghost’ Riley costume takes the stand on the other side of us.
Everywhere I gaze, someone is more mysterious, more dark, and more captivating.
Across the room, two men share a booth. One is dark-skinned while the other is the opposite. Their tattooed upper body glistening with fake blood while the lower half of their faces are covered in a mask. A set of long and angry horns popping out of their heads. They look like savages who found their way out of the woods.
One of them skirts vicious eyes in my direction, trapping me in a web of fear.
My attention—thankfully—is suddenly drawn to the last person to enter.
A single biker chic in a blood-red helmet.
Long and lean legs encased in dark blue denim with knee-high black boots make her hips sway as she confidently struts to her booth, well aware she’s commanding the attention of the entire crowd. A gloved hand reaches for the zipper of the cropped and fitted black leather jacket to tug it down until her cleavage is bare.
She’s stunning, dripping with sensuality and an air of ‘don’t fuck with me or I’ll bite’.
‘Huntress’ is written at the top of her booth. To the side, I watch in awe at the video of her that’s playing, where she’s doing a stunt on a sexy sports bike. In the middle of a tarmac, she drifts the bike around on one wheel. Smoke billows out around her while the rapt audience forms a circle, recording and cheering.
I’m impressed with how effortless she makes it appear.
Here I am—afraid to simply sit behind one without looking like a fool.
Spinning until I face Augustus, I stab a finger in his chest. “You need to teach me how to ride fast.”
“Planning to give her competition next year?” he teases, jerking his chin toward Huntress’s corner.
