A Christmas Betrayal

The party

Dawn

My feet step back, and the glass in my hand shakes. With quick, smooth movements, his gloved hand grabs mine.

“Don't drop it, or you will attract attention,” He says in a soft, panicked whisper.

With wide eyes, I look up into the empty void of his glasses that are embedded into the mask. “Who... who are you?”

He shakes his head. “You will know when it’s time. Though I wonder, why did you run away from Dave? He must be worried sick looking for you. Should I tell him where you are?” He tilts his head to the left before tilting it back slowly to the right. I don't even need to see his eyes to know his stare is intense, I feel it.

I snatch my hand out of his and shake my head vigorously. “Please don’t tell him where I am, I can’t go back to that hell house.” I blink a few times, my heels click as I add some more distance between us.

“Then I can take you back to mine,” He chuckles. That chuckle—why does it sound so familiar? “Now imagine what he will do if he finds out his wife kissed another man?”

“Please…”

He laughs once again and shakes his head before he steps forward, closing whatever distance was between us. He leans closer to my ear, and my body shivers when his lips brush against it.

“Don’t worry, I am only teasing you, but you will be mine soon, then Dave will know what it’s like to have the woman you love taken from you.”

He pulls back, and my wide eyes stare at this tall, hot, mysterious man in front of me.

“I am not the woman he loves, he loves my sister Tara. He has been having an affair with her. I heard him tell her that he loves her.” I tell the masked, tall man in front of me, leaving out the part where he has never said the very words to me. Pitiful, isn't it?

I am so hopeless, such that a part of me fears that if he found me and begged me to his and told me it's me he loved all along, I would fall for it.

He clicks his tongue as he slowly shakes his head. I blink back and focus on him once again. I can't let my mind wander.

“If he doesn’t love you, then why is he looking for you like a madman?”

I take my time to take in his height, he must be standing at 6'3 because his height is the same as Reed's friend.

I am at a loss for words, as I only stare at him for a minute. "That's obsession, not love. He is going crazy because he lost a prized possession, and without me, his status as a millionaire might just come to an end."

He hums as he looks around, his head pausing for a second before he faces me once again.

"I see if that's the case," He leans forward, his face inches from mine. "Be careful, Dawn, Dave might just be at this party in one of these masked faces.”

I can feel the smirk behind the mask. A certain level of cockiness is just sitting underneath. I know he is trying to shake me up, but I won’t show him that. Dave thrived on that lot, and I have been learning to have composure in every situation.

“You won’t be able to have me.” I grit out as I fist my palms.

He leans back and huffs.

“We shall see about that, and when I do, your body will be writhing under mine, begging for more as I give you a thrilling experience you have never felt before.” His voice deepens as he lazily says the words. I swallow a few times and stand firm, even if my mind has swayed a little.

“That will never happen.”

“Like I said, we shall see about that.” With that, he disappears into the crowd.

I need to know who this man is. I just have to find out what his real purpose is. Something is going on, and he wasn't in the booth by chance, that I am sure of.

The feeling of being watched comes back, and I head out of the hall. I stand outside by the railing and take a deep breath. The cool breeze brushes against my exposed skin, and I feel much better. The crowd of masks was beginning to suffocate me anyway. I look at the vast landscape in front of me, and the view is just beautiful, the lights on the ground only add to the beauty of the place.

The sound of footsteps grabs my attention, and when I look, it’s Reed heading my way.

“I thought I would find you here,” He says as soon as he stands next to me. His bubbly nature instantly makes me feel better.

I can’t lie that the man’s words affected me in some way. He knows so much about me, yet I don’t know anything about him.

“You know me and crowds,” I say with a sigh.

“What’s wrong, you look down?”

“I don’t know, I feel like someone is always watching me. I think I have a stalker,” I say, feeling a little restless.

The feeling has been more intense since I got to this party.

“Are you sure you are not just being paranoid or something?” He asks.

My heart begins to race. “No, I am not. Maybe it’s Dave, maybe he found me, and he is watching from afar. He might be waiting for the perfect moment…”

“Hey,” He grabs my shoulders and shakes my body till I keep quiet. “He isn’t watching you. Dave doesn’t have that kind of patience. I will look into who might be stalking you, okay,” He gently nudges his head and I nod.

“Okay,”

“Now stop worrying about that, I will protect you.” He assures me.

Two men stand near the railing, and one of the voices catches my attention. I know that voice from anywhere. It’s my nightmare, he is here, and he is so close. I keep staring ahead even though my mind is focused on them.

“What information have you found?” He asks the man standing next to him. Probably his investigator, I can’t tell with their masks on.

“Rumors are saying she didn’t run far. But someone with more power than you might be protecting her. Whenever I find a lead, it turns out to be a dead end.” The man complains with distress in his voice.

“I will try to find out what connections she has and who is protecting her. For now, keep searching.”

The man from the booth was right. Dave is here.

The cold voice has my body inching closer to Reed.

“What’s wrong?” He asks in a low voice.

I slightly turn my head in the direction he is standing. “He is here,” I whisper.

Reed immediately grabs my hand and begins to walk in the direction of the parking lot.

“Where is Vincent? I haven’t seen him tonight.”

“He is waiting for us at the parking lot.”

We reach the area, and a man in a black skull mask is standing in front of Vincent’s car. He gives off dangerous vibes such that if I didn’t know it was Vincent, I wouldn’t have dared go near him. The mask is just scary, and with his huge muscular workout body and tall height of 6’3, I would have freaked out more. He walks closer to us, and his chocolate-brown eyes shine through his mask.

“Dawn, listen to me, Vincent will take you home and stay with you for a while. I have to stay behind and do something. With Dave here, I just need to find out what he knows and who is talking to. I need to shut them up immediately.” Vincent tells me, his eyebrows etched with seriousness.

“But…” He disappears before I can finish my sentence.

I stump my feet and mutter some profanities.

“I guess it’s just you and me, sweetheart,” He chuckles.

This voice… is lighter anyway.

"Don't call me that!" I snap, and he only laughs.

I finally take my time to take in the rest of his outfit, and he is wearing black faded jeans and a gray muscle shirt. He is giving off the scary bad boy persona, and the veins on his arms stick out in all directions.

I lick my lips and look elsewhere.

“I guess, let’s go.”

“ Yeah, let’s do that.” He says it slowly.

I don’t know why, but I don’t trust Reed's friend. He could be anything, for all we know.

We both get into the car and finally take off our masks. We throw them in the back seat and I try not to look at the handsome man sitting next to me too much.

I begin to fumble with my seat belt. For some reason, I can’t get it out.

The strong scent of musk hits me, and my body just melts for a minute. Vincent’s face is right in front of me as he takes the belt right out of my hands and into his. My breath stops as my heart ricochets. He sticks his tongue out and tastes the air in front of him before he licks his juicy lips. Everything is happening in slow motion. As if it’s not enough, he turns to face me to stare directly into my eyes. Our lips are close, and I am breathing harder than I should. The world just seems to stop, and I forget who I am for a minute.

He inches closer, and I forget to breathe.

He suddenly smiles and leans away fully. I can finally breathe.

I look out the windows with a huge frown.

I blame the long periods of not being touched by a man, it must be what’s getting me this excited. I can’t break my promise to myself. I don't need any distraction from any man. Whether wealthy or not.

“We better go before I lose it and do something I am not supposed to do.” He says as his chest heaves up and down.

“What is that exactly?” I ask

The moment of silence stretches till he finally responds.

“Kiss you, Dawn,”