9

Rae

October 2th, 201

My tongue tasted like cotton, yet I remained in bed for who knew how long. Time didn’t exist in this state of being.

Satisfied. Horrified. Turned on. Scared.

What in the actual fuck did I do last night?

And why did I want to do it again?

I gingerly ran my fingers across my neck, remembering vividly how it had felt with that man’s hand wrapped so tightly around it, I nearly lost consciousness.

Twice.

I nibbled on my bottom lip. I couldn’t remember anything afterwards. I couldn’t remember exiting the tent, the ride home. Hell, I was scrubbed clean, and I couldn’t even remember that.

Viv didn’t have the strength to carry me up here, give me a shower, and put me to bed.

My heart skipped a beat at the other possibility, but there was no way Viv would have let that man get in her car and come into my place. No way.

Was there?

My eyes fell shut as I imagined it though. That man fucking the shit out of me, following Viv home, forcing her to let him take me up here.

My heart picked up and I immediately reached for my bedside table. I opened the drawer and pulled out my new favorite toy before leaning back in the bed, letting the soreness of my body only push me further into my little fantasy.

I pulled my knees up and let them fall open, one hand finding my hardened nipple while the other toyed with my cunt, teasing myself until I felt the wetness grow.

Maybe the man had tossed me onto the bed and undressed me, sliding his rough and calloused hands over my skin.

He squeezed my tits, twisted my nipples until my body reacted, moaning against his touch, despite my exhaustion.

He wrapped his hand back around my throat, cutting off my air, and shoved himself between my legs, forcing them apart, opening me up to him and only him.

“There you are, Princess,” he growled, the outline of his hardened cock prevalent.

Princess, I liked that. I liked the way he said it, as if it belonged to me and only me. As if he were making some sort of claim on me.

He wastes no time in pulling out his cock, teasing me.

I pressed the toy into me, my back arching against it. “Fuck,” I moaned, pushing my hips up into it.

I slid my hand into my hair and pulled tightly, the pain shooting straight down my spine as my toes curled into my sheet.

He slides his cock against my pussy, his other hand sliding around my pelvic bone and pressing down hard.

I groaned, pushing back against it, sliding the toy in me just as he slid his cock in. “Fuck, yes,” I whimpered, pulling harder on my hair as I rocked against it, picturing him holding me down, snarling my name, fucking me in a way I had never been fucked before.

My entire body tightened seconds before I came.

I sagged back into the bed, pulling the toy out carefully. God, what was wrong with me?

Was he thinking of me just as much as I was thinking of him?

That was a toxic train of thought.

But was he?

With an eyeroll, I finally forced myself up, groaning at the pain that shook through my body. I needed to get ready for the masquerade tonight. No more thinking of the masked man, this was important. It’s all I could think about right now.

Yet there he was, lurking in the darkest corner of my mind like a ghost attaching itself to my soul.

I had settled into a new state of mind. The state of mind Donna had drilled into me for years.

I was going to a masquerade, surrounding myself with people of a higher class. The highest class. I had to act like I belonged. Like I wasn’t just some attention seeker on social media or some whore that let a man in a mask cover her in bruises the night before.

I was one of them.

Proper, formal, too good for the public.

I did my hair in fancy twists so it was out of my face and falling down my back.

My makeup tonight was dark, my eyeshadow black and red, my lips lined in deep red. My dress flowed around me, made of black silk that drifted over my curves easily, and every time it slid across my skin, goosebumps followed.

It had a drop back so low, it only barely covered my ass. The front was bunched just above my breasts, the straps less than an inch thick. The slit was so high, I couldn’t even wear a thong. My heels were black and buckled around my ankles, revealing my newly manicured toes, also dark red to match my nails.

I slid my hands over my hips, twisting in the mirror, admiring the way the dress fit me. God, I looked good. Like I belonged at this event. Like I belonged among these people even though I couldn’t remember a thing about any of them.

I was Marla Bennett’s daughter, and tonight, I would do her proud, I was determined.

With a roll of the shoulders, I pulled on my mask, tying the thick black ribbons back into a bow on the back of my head.

It was beautiful, just covering the bridge of my nose and up. Black with swirls of gold and red decorated it, and despite the fact that it was far from looking like a skull, all I could think about was the man from last night.

I wondered what made him choose me. There were millions of people in this city, what made him decide to start following me? Was he a follower obsessed with my Instagram? Or did he just see me outside of the precinct and decide I was the one he wanted?

I shook the thoughts away and called my driver, asking him to meet me out front before gathering my things.

I would make this a good night. No matter what happened. Donna had prepared me well for nights like this. Teaching me all about finances, marketing, contracts, business in general. I knew about art, and I even spoke three different languages.

“Thank you, Donna,” I thought towards her. I resented her for leaving me right after my mom’s death, but she taught me everything I knew. Skills that would give me a good life later on.

My phone started ringing as soon as I stepped into the elevator. I felt the tease of irritation growing when I saw the name. “What?”

“Are you going out tonight?” Max asked, clearly busy with something by the grunts in the background.

“Yes, and I will be busy.” I shouldn’t have answered the phone. Why did I answer the phone?

“Because I am a slut for self-destruction,” I had told Viv yesterday. God, it couldn’t have been more true.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were going to the carnival?”

He sounded like a whining puppy, begging his master to explain why he had stayed locked in a cage while I went out. “Because you don’t have the right to know where I was going. I barely know you.”

“That’s because you choose to fuck men in masks rather than spend time with your brother.”

A chill ran down my spine at that confession. So he didn’t leave the park last night. He had watched me. Watched that man do what he wanted. He had seen it all. “Goodbye, Max.”

“Yeah, go have fun, fucking slut.”

I hung up, a horrible feeling twisting my stomach. He had seen it all. So what though? What was he going to do? Call the police? Tell them I willingly let some scare actor fuck me in a circus tent?

Where would that get him?

I chewed on my thumbnail. Shit. Once Captain Bard heard about that, he would certainly never take me seriously. Not even a little bit. So whatever progress I did have, if I had any, would be lost in that allegation—

No, no. I would not let him ruin this night for me. It wasn’t about me or him, it was about Mom. This night was about her. I had to show the people out there that I didn’t just crumble when she died, that I could take her place in their society without complications.

I inhaled deeply and released a slow breath as the elevator doors opened. This was important.

It was everything.