Page 15 of The Player
A complete and utter mindfuck.
This whole place and the men that ran it were all those things. None more so than Will Stokes.
I still couldn’t work him out. Sometimes he was boyish, immature even. But knowing he was a soldier meant that couldn’t really be the case, not all the time. He’d faced the worst of humanity. He was a vigilante. A fighter. He’d lived to tell a dark tale but didn’t seem to want to dwell on it.
To others, he appeared to live his life like he didn’t have a care in the world. But there had to be more to him than what he showed. Of all the conundrums, he was the one that puzzled me the most. He intrigued me. Not evil or laced with devilish thoughts like Adam and Devon. Not calm and calculated with a side of crazy like Colton and Tyler. Will was just… Will. Loose with his tongue, but you knew he meant well despite it all. An act first, think later kind of guy. To some, he was a villain. To me, he was a guy who’d lived through awful circumstances. That didn’t make him a bad guy, just a tainted one. And at the end of the day, weren’t we all tainted in some way?
Slowly, I moved closer to the entrance as the line of people that stretched around the perimeter of the building made their way inside. I peered up at the huge windows that ran the length of the building as I picked my way over the cobbled stones on the drive. The windows were blacked out on the ground and first floor, making them look like gaping holes of darkness that led to Hades’ underworld. A gothic palace hiding its deadly purpose; wickedness, and sinful debauchery that we were all lining up to be a part of.
The Annual Masked Ball, that’s what we were all here for. It was the soldiers’ twist on a masquerade ball, only there were no fancy masks, feathers, fans, and ballgowns here, only the most fucked-up and crazy outfits you could imagine. Demons, devils, and monsters were everywhere. It was a horror fan’s wet dream.
I’d kept my outfit simple yet sexy. I was cat woman, but my black cat mask was leather studded with a collar fixed around my neck and a lead that hung right between my tits to give it a little bit of an extra something. My hair was tied up in a high ponytail and my black catsuit fitted like a second skin. From the glances I was getting, I knew I’d chosen right. Hannibal Lecter strolled past and peered over his shoulder to give me the once-over. Yeah. I felt good about tonight.
I reached the entrance and showed the doorman my invitation. My sister, Shelley, was already inside. Her and Colton were doing a Gotham theme with their outfits. He was going to be Two-Face, and she was Poison Ivy. Not that I’d see much of them. They’d probably be on the first floor, making use of the special rooms The Sanctuary had to offer their exclusive members, or as I called them, the sex rooms.
I found myself wondering what Will would dress up as.
Would he be using the first floor tonight?
And why did the thought of that make my stomach twist?
I didn’t care.
I really didn’t.
Oh, who was I kidding? I totally did.
As I walked through the doors, I noticed a familiar figure leaning against the wall opposite the entrance. In a sea of people gathered in the foyer, making their way to the main hall, he was all I saw. A blue boiler suit with his arms crossed over his chest. A Michael Myers rubber mask over his head, but I knew who it was. And as he pushed himself off the wall and pulled the mask off, his hair sticking up and falling in messy waves all over the place, giving him a cute boyish look, I felt a flurry of nerves that I fought down as quickly as they appeared.
“Took your time, didn’t you?” Will called out as he sauntered through the small crowd to stand in front of me.
“Skulking in the shadows waiting for me again, are you?”
I quite liked that he’d been waiting for me. I wouldn’t tell him that, though. He’d probably struggle to get the mask back on for how big his head would grow.
“When you look like that”—his eyes moved up and down my body, and he bit his lip—“I’ll skulk anywhere you want me to.”
I stood back, folding my arms and giving the same assessment of his outfit that he’d just given to mine.
“Michael Myers, huh? Kind of ironic you chose to dress up as a guy who never speaks.”
“I’ll break the mould,” he announced with a grin, spreading his arms wide. “Show everyone what Michael would do if he had my charm and animal magnetism.”
“Michael on acid. I can’t wait,” I replied, dripping sarcasm.
ChapterSix
WILL
Michael on acid, indeed.
I swallowed; my throat dry as I tried to calm my nerves. Having her standing in front of me, looking like she did, made me feel all out of sorts, and I wasn’t used to feeling like that. She was the one wearing a leash, but I was the one who felt collared. I’d have followed her anywhere, she had my total and undivided attention. I always was a sucker for black leather, and I was no caveman, but tonight I felt protective of her. I wanted her to be dressed like that for me and only me. I didn’t want any other fucker looking at her, getting ideas.
She was mine.
She hadn’t agreed to that yet, but it was only a matter of time.
“You look fucking sexy,” I said, reaching forward to pick up the leash that hung between her tits, giving it a little pull. “This is… fun,” I teased, but what I really wanted to say was, ‘I’d love to use this later. Will you crawl on your hands and knees for me like a good girl and let me choke you?’ I went with the safer option. But after a few drinks, who knew where the night would go?
