I pushed the dooropen. “What’s your name?” I asked over my shoulder withoutlooking.
“Mason. Mace.”
I imagined himholding out a hand to my back but didn’t look to check as I shooedhim into the dungeon room, ignoring the timer lightbox bolted tothe wall inside the entry. We wouldn’t need that tonight. “Allright, Mace. Here’s what’s going to happen—”
“Nice,” he commentedfrom somewhere behind me, interrupting my train of thought.
My concentrationscattered, and I returned to the reason I’d brought him downstairs.“What is?” I peered into the hallway, checking both sides, but noone hung around, fortunately. Feeling around, I left the key on acustom bench all the rooms shared. Mostly so guests couldn’t lockthemselves in, unless that was a part of their game.
“The setup. It’svery clean. Lots of options.” His disembodied voice continued fromthe far side of the room.
“Yeah, I suppose.”Could I run for it? Lock him—Mace—in, throw the key atKillian, and be done? Go back to my safe job for the evening andaway from the fixed whipping post that made its presence known byboring a solid hole in my back?
“You been in herebefore with someone?” His voice stayed soft and casual.
Too casual.
“Look, I didn’tbring you down here for a quickie session—” I spun to face him, thedoor closing behind me as my hand rose to cover my mouth.
Mace rubbed hisshoulder blades across the tall, fixed column of torture as thoughit were a scratching post.
Beneath the brightlights the dungeon afforded, I could study his boyish flop of brownhair that hung over his mask, the arrogant smile his archer’s bowlips offered as I watched him. But his eyes—that was where I gotlost, let myself be distracted from my pinnacle of fear.
They were assessing,a deep brown, almost black. Not cold, but filled with a degree ofpassion that roiled beneath the surface. Matched to the hard set ofhis strong jaw in an otherwise friendly face, I knew he’d be atough lover, demanding and unforgiving, if the mood struck him.
His body filled theblack pajama-like suit with ease, but no excess bumps made anappearance. The cloth that strained across his shoulders spoke ofmuscle tone and acquired strength.
My inner fruit batscreamed in abject horror and tried to bust through my skin. Iagreed with the concept, but there was nowhere to go. Whilecreating an atmosphere of fear was a regular Halloween tactic, itwasn’t what I had in mind in an enclosed space, even for a fewminutes.
That, paired withMace rubbing his itch out on the whipping post, doused me in twinbuckets of ice and fire all at once, and I couldn’t take my eyesoff him. Part of me wanted to see how hard he could be, or if thesofter, boyish side was included in the playful part of hisnature.
The other halfneeded to run for the hills because of that damn thing in themiddle of the room. Blessedly, he stood between me and it, but myhand hit the handle to the dungeon door nonetheless, pressing downway too hard in my desperation to escape.
The handle nevergave.
I twisted, blinkingat it, and checked the light box next to the key. Its little redlight proved it useless. I must have bumped the timer on theoutside earlier, and now I was locked in with him … and thatthing.
Fear seeped into mybones, filling them with heavy shards of ice. This wasn’t how Iintended my Halloween to go at all.
Chapter Two
Mace
She stared at me inabject fear. No, not me, but at the post I leaned on. Her chestrose, and her pale skin sank to the kind of alabaster reserved forancient statues. Rosy, full lips parted, the tip of her tonguepeeking through as if scenting the air, and my cock hardenedinstantly. Between the sexy skirt she wore and her tats, it was ano-brainer. The girl was incredible.
And scared.
She and that posthad a history. I didn’t need to do more than read it in her eyes toknow her truth.
First thingsfirst.
“I told you myname,” I reminded her.
“Yeah?” Her defiancecracked under pressure as she tried the door handle behind herback, again and again, shoving down on it.
“I don’t knowyours.”
“Too bad.” Sheworked that handle like a grease pump as panic built tension aroundher in an almost visible cloud of darkness. Shadows flickered alongher arms as she fought with the handle in frantic motions thatachieved nothing at all.
