Masquerade by Lace Daltyn Read Free Book Online Page A

Beth
felt the strangest sensation infuse her body as if a slow burn turned warmth
into fire and tried to consume her. Old visions of tangled bodies filled her
mind with ideas.
    “I’m guessing you’ll be
sore tomorrow.”
    “Sore?” She wanted to be
sore. Gloriously sore from a long night of lovemaking .
    He pointed. “Your feet. Remember?”
    She mentally shook
herself. “Yes. My feet. They’re already sore.”
    “I can help with that.
Sit back down.”
    Beth, still half lost in
the dream she didn’t want to end, envisioned Anthony’s
hands doing wonderful things to her body as she sank to the bench.
    Instead, he went down on
one knee in front of her and settled her foot on his thigh. Beth wanted to dig
her toes in, let them creep up and feel his cock rise underneath her. She
wanted to know that he hardened for her. That she could have that effect on him.
    Then his fingers pulled
her out of the sensual haze she’d immersed herself in.
If a foot could sigh, hers would have as Anthony performed his magic. Starting
with her heel, he massaged her muscles with tender care. She forgot everything
as his thumbs moved over the ball of her foot and up to her toes, then back
again. Heel to toe, back and forth, turning her muscles into pliant, relaxed
strands of tissue and bone.
    Beth took a deep,
satisfied breath and closed her eyes as he pulled all the ache and tension out
of her body with his skilled hands. Hands that glided over
the contours of her ankle and made long, fluid strokes along her calf. The
back and forth motion lulled Beth into a peacefulness that had eluded her for
too long.
    Without thought, her legs
parted as he worked his way up to her knees. When his hands stilled, Beth
opened her eyes. And saw stark, naked need showing behind
Anthony’s mask.
    Every bit of yearning,
every ache for a lover’s touch rushed back, flushing her skin, filling her with
a hunger that pooled low in her stomach, making her wet with a too-long
unquenched yearning. Beth licked her lower lip, wishing it were his tongue
moistening her lips. She brazenly parted her legs further, begging him to put
out the raging fire burning her from the inside out.
    The grip he had on her
knee tightened and Anthony’s eyes darkened, matching the lust she knew her own
eyes reflected.
    Certain he was the one, that this was the moment, Beth leaned back, giving him access.
    Anthony’s jaw clenched
once, twice, and a third time before the sledgehammer hit her. He let loose of
her leg, his face turning from feral to neutral like the flick of a light
switch. There would be no satisfaction tonight for either of them.
    Humiliated, Beth clamped
her legs shut. Then anger took over. Anthony wasn’t unaffected. She’d seen the lust in his eyes, and his
hands fisted at his sides. So why did he always stop? Something more had to be
going on. Did it have to do with Holly? He was hiding something from Beth. She was
certain of it. She stared at him, trying to decipher the look on his face but
the mask made it almost impossible to read his expression.
    “Take off that damn mask.”
    He smiled that slow lazy
grin of his. “Uh uh.”
    “Why
not?” Beth crossed her arms over her breasts.
    Anthony shrugged, and she
almost missed how his eyes paused on her chest. “It’s like a second skin to me
now. Besides, better to keep some mystery, right? After
all, this is Masquerade.”
    “Doesn’t
seem like there needs to be any mystery.”
    Anthony rose, but before
coming to a complete stand, he leaned in until she could smell the coffee on
his breath. He stared at her lips for a moment before whispering in her ear.
    “I’ve never seen anyone
look as sexy as you do in this—” he put his finger underneath her bra strap and
followed it down to where it met her cups, “—outfit.”
    Every ounce of anger
disappeared as Beth’s body answered the simple touch. She arched, unable to
deny the need for his touch. She wanted more.
    “Not even Holly?” She
breathed