Manhunting Masquerade بواسطة Joanne Rock

The heat of Eric's body surged right through Chloe's satin gown. If that molten temperature was any indication of how much he wanted her, tonight was going to be every bit as sizzling as Chloe had imagined.

She stood motionless in his arms, caught up in the hum of desire between them even though the rest of the dancers on the floor had already shifted gears into an updated tango rhythm. "Do you care to clarify exactly what you mean by that, Mr. Matteo? In what ways would you like to see me be more aggressive?"

His cheek brushed her temple as he leaned closer. "Ever the lawyer, aren't you, Chloe?" He trailed his hand possessively over the curve of her waist, the flare of her hip. "In this case, I'd be happy to spell it out for you, counsel."

He steered her toward the edge of the dance floor, into the shadows and away from the swirl of bright costumes and sequined skirts. "I don't want you to hide behind that cool lady-lawyer mask of yours any longer." He cupped her cheek with one warm palm. "And while you're at it, I also want an uncensored view of those red garters you're wearing, but I don't want to have to hunt for them under all those skirts." His thigh grazed hers as they spoke, making her all too aware of the gossamer cling of her silky stockings. "I want you to show them to me. Slowly."

Her breath caught in her throat and refused to return to normal. Her heart rhumbaed, salsaed, and slow-grooved in her chest, igniting an erratic flow of blood to her body parts. Her fingers chilled while her most secret places burned.

"Don't tell me I rendered the lady lawyer speechless." He ran his fingers down her shoulders until he held both her hands.

That's exactly what he'd done. Chloe had never been at a loss for what to say, but she couldn't seem to distance herself from the tide of sensual hunger long enough to use her brain for thinking purposes. She simply stared at his mouth and thought how much easier it would be to kiss him....

Until Cleopatra-Lexi appeared over Eric's shoulder and cleared her throat. Loudly.

Marie Antoinette-Amanda materialized at her side, looking surprisingly compassionate given her "Let them eat cake" notoriety. "Chloe, honey, we just wanted to check up on you to make sure you're okay."

Did barely breathing count as okay? Chloe managed a nod as Eric backed up a step.

Fortunately, her gladiator was thinking more clearly. He offered his hand to Cleopatra, the more obvious watchdog of the pair. "I'm Eric."

The Queen of Eqypt raised a skeptical eyebrow but shook his hand. "I'm Lexi Mansfield ? your worst nightmare if you're bothering my girlfriend."

Chloe found her tongue before Lexi got the wrong idea. "Actually, we were just making plans for the rest of the evening." She shot a meaningful look in Eric's direction. "Will you excuse us for a minute?"

Eric walked his fingers down her spine, an intimate gesture her friends couldn't see behind her back but that Chloe felt in every tingling nerve ending. "I've been meaning to have my fortune told tonight anyway. I'll meet you back here in five."

He leaned close to kiss her cheek. As he brushed his lips across her skin, he whispered, "I'm dying to know if this is my lucky night."

While she was still reeling from that comment and Eric disappeared into the crowd, Lexi and Amanda crowded her, hungry for details.

"We couldn't leave without checking on you, girlfriend." Lexi steered Chloe toward the ladies' room, the age-old safe territory for discussing men.

As they plowed through the smoke-filled women's lounge toward the mirror, Amanda draped an arm around Chloe's waist. "He's gorgeous, Chloe, but I'd bet my Prada purse that he's the one who represents turbulence and change like the fortune-teller said. Are you sure you're ready for that?"

Chloe fluffed her red curls as she stared back at her reflection. "We made a pact, didn't we?"

Lexi sighed as she withdrew a pick from her evening bag and worked on Chloe's hair for her. Chloe's family had never so much as kissed their daughter in public, so Chloe had always appreciated the warmth of her girlfriends' affection ? right down to their fussing over her like Cinderella before a big date.

"We made a pact to force us to be more adventurous, but that doesn't mean we aren't going to be careful," Lexi admonished. "How well do you know this guy?"

Now there was a loaded question. "Well enough to know he's not my type, but that he'd never hurt me. We battled it out in court last month and we were both ? intrigued. He's too rich, too blue-blooded, and too much like the rest of the bottom-line oriented men in my family's world. Since there's no way I could fall for a guy like that, he's the perfect candidate for my night of daring. Right?"

Amanda and Lexi exchanged glances over Chloe's head. A gesture she hadn't missed, thanks to the mirror. "That doesn't mean he's going to bring turbulence and change to my life." Although the little voice in her head argued he'd already turned her world upside down, intrigued her as much with that sharp mind of his as with those glorious pecs. But she didn't want to listen to any little voice that would talk her out of this. She wanted her night of daring, damn it! "He's just going to spice things up a bit." She shook off Lexi's primping and straightened her gown. "You guys might not want to follow through on the pact for adventure, but I do."

After making sure Chloe's cell phone was fully charged and turned on, Lexi and Amanda said their good-nights. Neither of them had found Mr. Right at the Silk Masquerade, but Chloe had at least found Mr. Right Now. And for tonight, that was enough.

No sooner had she emerged from the ladies' room into the club than her gladiator appeared ? bronzed and gorgeous, his heated gaze meant only for her. "Ready?" he asked her.

A world of meaning communicated to her through that one word. Was she ever. She wanted to take this adventure to the extreme tonight. "Yes. But I don't want anything so trite as a 'my place or yours' line. I don't think I can wait that long to show you that little item you mentioned wanting to see."

His gaze dipped to ease over her breasts, belly, and finally ? her thighs. "Honey, I wouldn't dream of asking you anything so trite. I'm willing to wait about five minutes to see those garters, so why don't you find the quickest place I can get you alone."