Page 109 of Masked Sins
Realization dawns.Of course.“Right, I remember you now. I think we met at one of the various weddings. Maybe Miles’s?”
He pours my drink and hands me a wristband so that they know I’ve gotten my one allotted drink. “I think it was Liam and Zoe’s rehearsal dinner. But honestly, I don’t remember most of that night. The alcohol was floooowing,” he says, smirking.
My cheeks heat when I think of that night. The kiss with Orion.
Guilt swirls inside me when I think of what I’m about to do. When I think of betraying Orion in a weird way, maybe I should call this whole thing off until my feelings for him settle down.
If I don’t meet Starboy, I’ll never know…
“Yeah, it was a wild night for sure.”
“What brings you to Inferno?”
I add the fancy salt to my hand, shoot the tequila shot, and then bite into the lime.
“Damn,” Mark mutters, shaking his head. “You’re a pro.”
“I can assure you that I am not,” I reply, laughing. “I’m meeting someone here.”
He swirls his finger in front of him as he gives me a conspiratorial smile. “Ooooh? Well, have a great time. Orion is around here somewhere. I saw him earlier.”
His words roll through me slowly, sending a shock wave skittering down my spine.
“H-he is?”
Mark shrugs. “I think so. Unless he snuck out the back door.”
Dread fills me.Of courseOrion is here. I can’t run into him—can’t let him see what I’m about to do and who I’m about to do a scene with.
“I should get going,” I tell Mark, slinging my purse over my shoulder. “Thank you for the drink.”
Mark studies me with narrowed eyes. “Be safe.”
“Yeah, I will, thanks,” I say absentmindedly, waving goodbye as I walk upstairs to the private rooms.
Unless he’s here with the woman he’s seeing?
That thought has me curling my fists at my side. What if he’s here with her?
The tequila I just drank threatens to come back up, and I place a hand over my throat.
Here I am, getting jealous that Orion might be with the person he’s seeing, just before meeting the guyI’mseeing.
This is so screwed up.
It’s his club. He’s allowed to be here. But Ihatethe idea of him coming here right after our kiss—like he needed to seeher.Like he had no desire to be near me.
I’m such a hypocrite.
Continuing my walk down the hallway, I try not to imagine my stepbrother in one of these rooms. Instead, I get to a nondescript door at the end of the hallway labeled “Hypnosis.” Taking a deep breath, I smooth my hair down before pushing the door open.
It’s empty, but there’s a door in the back between two large bookshelves.
Closing the door behind me, I look around the room—which is set up to look like some sort of office. There’s a desk with a couple of fake prescription pads. There are legitimate books on psychology lining the shelves, and it reminds me slightly of Orion’s office.
Stop thinking about him.
There’s a large, cozy-looking couch made of white leather, and though the lighting is low and ambient, it feels warm andcomforting. My heart gallops a mile a minute inside of my chest, so I take a seat on the couch as I wait.
