Unmasked Desire Read online

But I was the mayor of this town, and I couldn’t have the rumor mill churning out insinuations that I was dating the town freak.

  I slipped my arm from his and strode across the parking lot with my head held high, letting him follow at his own pace.

  The car beeped, and I let myself into the front seat, careful to keep my eyes forward. If he was willing to show up in a mask and pay the funeral home to park a hearse outside the capitol, I didn’t want to know what other surprises he’d try to hide around me.

  A moment later, Colton climbed into the front seat next to me, smiling as he started up the rumbling machine. “You’re not scared are you, Mayor?”

  I shook my head. “Contrary to whatever you think right now, Mr. Black, I am perfectly comfortable with whatever you want to throw at me.”

  Okay, that was a blatant lie. But he didn’t need to know. And I was plenty on edge; I wasn’t going to let him get the drop on me today.

  He drove us out of town, heading west.

  “Where are we going?”

  “You said you wanted to go to a chain store for your costume. I thought we’d start there. Let’s get you outfitted. Plus, we can look around, see what jumps out at you for the best enhancements to your theme.”

  I nodded, even though I knew he was still teasing me, keeping something to himself. Whatever he had planned, I wasn’t going to let him affect me.

  In any way.

  Colton reached over and turned on music.

  If you could even call it that. It sounded like the soundtrack to a horror film. Creepy, dissonant tones, minor keys, punctuated with the sounds of chainsaws, shrieks, chains rattling.

  I knew he turned it on to get a reaction from me, just like every other thing he’d done since the moment we met.

  Even if my heart rate had sped up, and my palms were slightly sweaty, I wasn’t going to let it show. I had no intention of letting him know how he was affecting me.

  “So, Victorian masquerade. Are you expecting men in top hats and tails?”

  I blinked a couple times, trying to comprehend just what he was asking. “I hadn’t really thought about it. I just wanted to make it a classier affair, something above the usual theme.”

  “What about the town kids? Have you thought about them?”

  Of course not. “Surely there’s a way to make this theme fun for everyone? Isn’t there something you can think of?”

  “Oh, I’ve got a few ideas, sure. But I want to know what you’re thinking. I want to know how much you’ve planned out, how far you’ve thought through this party of yours.” He glanced over at me, that damn smirk on his face again. “It is your party, after all. Everyone’s going to be looking to you for how it’s all going to go down.”

  “What do you want me to say, Colton? That I haven’t thought any of this through? That I pulled the theme out of thin air, just to have something written down?” I sighed and shook my head at him. “This party was always going to be my weak spot.”

  He pulled off the road at the Stella exit and steered into town. “That’s why I’m here, I guess. Let’s get something figured out.” He stopped at a red light and reached over to squeeze my knee. “For what it’s worth, I don’t think you’ve got a bad start. I just want to make sure we consider every possibility. We’ll need to get flyers out soon with the theme. People will need time to get their costumes together for the ball. That’s the only reason I’m pressuring you to make sure we’re thought it all the way through.”

  The song coming out of the speakers changed to a fun, upbeat song. I almost believed it wasn’t Halloween related—until I realized it was The Monster Mash.

  “Is this really what you drive around listening to?”

  “In October, yeah.” He grinned and turned into a parking lot, where a chain Halloween store had been set up. “Why? Not a fan?”

  “Honestly, it sounds exactly like what I’d expect from you.” I smirked and looked up at the bright orange and neon green banner. “I thought you didn’t like these places.”

  “I don’t. But you said this is what you wanted. I’m here to oblige.” He shut off the Escalade and unhooked his seatbelt. “Lead the way.”

  Of course, he wanted me to lead. I could only imagine what sort of shenanigans he’d set up in here, or what else to expect.

  I squared my shoulders and lifted my chin, ready for whatever awaited me on the other side of the door.

  A fog machine smoked right inside the door, adding ambiance to a display of props. Zombie babies, moving on their own accord, looking more than ready to take a bite of someone who got too close.

  Clenching my jaw, I moved past it. Just to step on a pressure pad and set off a skeleton with glowing red eyes.

  Colton’s laugh behind me as I jumped was just cruel.

  “Having fun?” I rolled my eyes and headed for the costume racks. A Victorian costume and a delicate mask. Maybe not even a mask. Maybe just makeup to look like I was wearing a mask. It was easier to stomach than an actual mask tied to my face.

  “See anything you like?” Colton’s voice sounded muffled, and I didn’t need to turn around to know he was messing with me again.

  Still, I looked over, bracing myself for the worst.

  He wore a lumpy, misshapen mask. I wasn’t sure what he was supposed to be, but it didn’t take away the creep factor.

  “Not yet. But I’ve just started. I’m sure I can find something here.”

  Something made of polyester that wouldn’t look anything like the picture on the packaging, probably. But at least it’d be done.

  One of the racks had a deep purple, faux velvet dress, with a mock corset. “How about this?” I pulled it and spun around, looking for Colton.

  Who had already run off.

  Sighing, I draped it over my arm, looking for somewhere to try it on. It wasn’t exactly what I was looking for, but it was something. And if it looked even halfway decent, I’d be done.

  The dressing rooms were poorly constructed from black curtains, and I quickly pulled the dress on, not bothering to even get completely undressed to try it on. It wouldn’t look any better without my slacks on.

  The biggest problem with these dressing rooms? No mirror.

  Just as I was about to step out of the dressing room, a skeletal hand reached into the black curtain, its bony fingers extended right for me.

  And then, Colton’s voice. “Join me, Angela Bartell. Be my undead bride.”

  Had he really made his voice rattle, like he really was made of bones? Or was I just imagining it?

  Pushing past the other side of the curtain, I shoved my way to the mirror and looked myself over in the costume.

  The ill-fitting, cheap-looking, not-at-all right for the party costume.

  Colton made the skeleton he held wrap its arms around my waist before propping the skull on my shoulder. “What do you think?”

  Grumbling, I sighed. “I think we’re going to have to go to Bizarro’s.” It was the last thing I wanted. The worst idea I’d ever had, really. But what else could I do? I wasn’t about to wear this polyester, poor excuse for a Victorian dress.

  He made the skeleton’s hand smack against my ass before he pulled it away. “Good choice. Let’s keep walking around, see what props catch your eye.”

  “You mean make me jump?” I rolled my eyes and moved past him to go back into the dressing room.

  “No, I actually do mean what catches your eye. I want to know what parts of Halloween you want to see at this party.”

  Thankfully, he kept his skeleton out of my dressing room as I changed back into my work clothes and picked up my purse. Small favors, I guessed. It wasn’t like he was even remotely close to not bothering me with his props and jump scares. But at least he had the decency to not do it while I was half naked.

  Colton waited outside the curtain, and he offered his arm. “Shall we?”

  “Why do you do that? Why do you want to link arms, hold my hand?” I wasn’t used to it, and I wasn’t sure I liked it. E
specially not from him.

  “Angela, I know this stuff scares you. And as much as I like to watch you squirm, I really do want to get through this. I want us to have a good plan for the event. And we’re not going to get anything done if you take off running.”

  “Well, you did tell me to wear running shoes.” I smirked slightly as I let him link my arm around his. “Let’s do this. Get it over with.”

  He led me deeper into the store, into aisles of props, skeletons, bottles of blood.

  And a full wall of masks.

  There was no way he didn’t feel me cringe. My whole body tensed, from the tips of my toes all the way to my jaw. Why did anyone think a full-rubber mask covering your entire head was a great idea? And the ones with hair were somehow worse.

  Colton shifted so he was standing in front of me, a blockade between me and the offending wall.

  “Okay, Angela, I know you clearly don’t want to share anything with me. You don’t want to talk about it, that’s fine. But you have to at least give me something. This isn’t a normal reaction.” He pulled me away from the wall, until I couldn’t even see a tuft of hair from it. “I’m not going to tell anyone. And I’m not going to judge.”

  I frowned. “Later.” It wasn’t what he wanted, and I knew that, but at least it was something. I could talk about it. Maybe. But not here. Not surrounded by tall, hulking inflatable monsters looming all around.

  “Okay.” He wrapped his arm around my shoulder this time, tucking me in against him like I was a scared child.

  It wasn’t far off from how I felt.

  “Do you see anything that catches your eye?”

  “I don’t know.” I looked around, but most of it looked plastic. Cheap. Disposable. “I want this to be classier than an inflatable dragon arch.”

  He nodded, as if he understood completely. I supposed he probably did. Even through the scares, I could see the effort he’d put into his props, the quality and care for the Halloween horror yard was evident everywhere you looked. I hated looking at any of the scary objects, but I wanted to see the craftsmanship he’d put into them. It was nothing like the store full of cheap holiday thrills we were surrounded by.

  “Let’s look around, get a few ideas, see if anything sparks your fancy. I might be able to make what you want, if you give me an idea of what that might be.”

  I pursed my lips. I didn’t want any of this stuff. “I guess, if we’re going more antiquated, more Victorian… there should be a luxuriousness, but also a sense things might be haunted. Like when you see an old Victorian house that’s been abandoned.”

  “You’re leaning toward ghosts.” He smirked.

  “No. Not ghosts.” God, I sucked at this. It wasn’t like a fall festival, where I just had to make sure there were haybales and pumpkins and lots of oranges and reds and yellows. This was Halloween. The masquerade party.

  “Okay, not just ghosts, but a haunted feel. Abandoned.”

  I shrugged. It didn’t make any sense. It sounded contradictory.

  “What about Victorian zombies? Or Monster Masquerade?”

  I didn’t know what exactly that would look like, but, “Victorian Monster Masquerade? I like the sound of that.”

  He nodded, as if it was all coming together in his head. “Okay. I’ve got some ideas. Let’s go get some lunch, talk through it a little more.”

  I nodded, even though I still had no idea what exactly we were doing. We had a place to start and he was enthusiastic about it.

  6

  Colton

  We drove back to Jubilee Falls, and I headed for Basil and Olive without really discussing it with her. It was one of the best restaurants in town, and I wanted to treat her to a good meal.

  It was the least I could do, after I’d clearly set off some sort of trauma she insisted on keeping quiet.

  Angela was quiet the entire drive and didn’t even offer a snarky response to my choice of restaurants.

  I didn’t know what was going through her head, and all I wanted to do was peel back her layers and find out.

  “Table for two, please. A booth in the back.” I slipped the host a twenty, just to ensure we got the best table possible.

  But Angela hardly saw it that way.

  “You bribed the host?”

  “I wanted a good table. You can’t act like you’ve never done the same.” I shrugged and let her choose which side of the booth she wanted.

  She sighed. “I don’t get you at all.”

  I sat across from her, even though part of me wanted to slide in next to her, to press my thigh against hers and see just what other sort of reactions I could get out of her. “What’s so confusing about that?”

  “You’re a therapist. You work with kids. But you spend all this time, all this money, on turning your house into a Halloween playground every year. And then you throw money at the funeral director, and at the host, as if it’s nothing.”

  “It kind of is.” I shrugged. I didn’t talk about my wealth much; I never saw the need to. “Twenty bucks to me is nothing. But to Larry, or Mark at the host stand, it could mean a lot more.”

  She pursed her lips and her brow furrowed, as if she was desperately trying to figure out what I meant.

  “I inherited a lot from my parents when they passed. And then when my uncle followed, I inherited from him too. The rest has been wise investing and living well below my means. It’s not Davenport money, by any stretch of the imagination, but it is far more than enough to get by.” I picked up the wine menu, and quickly scanned the list to find a Chianti worth sharing. I smirked at Angela over the menu as her eyes stared at me with scrutiny. “What?”

  “Wine with lunch? Really?”

  “Sure. Why not? It’s not like I’m going to order liver and fava beans to go with it.” I waited to see if she’d react, if she’d show any sign she knew what I was talking about, but if she did, it didn’t play over her face.

  Clearly, we needed to do a horror movie marathon soon.

  She shook her head and picked up her menu, perusing the options.

  But when the waiter came by, I quickly ordered for both of us. “We’ll share a bottle of the ’73 Chianti, and then I’ll have the lamb osso bucco, and the lady will have chicken parmesan with zucchini noodles instead of pasta.” I plucked the menu out of her hands and handed them over to the waiter before she could argue.

  Her mouth still hung slack jawed as he walked away.

  “You can’t just order for me.”

  “Did I order badly?” I raised an eyebrow at her, tempting her to argue.

  “I was going to get a salad.”

  “This is going to be better. I promise.” I smirked as she still stared at me, agog. “Besides, why would you just get a salad, when there are so many more flavorful options?”

  “Maybe you don’t have to work hard to maintain all of that,” —she gestured vaguely at my chest and shoulders— “But I actually do have to work at it.”

  So, she had noticed. Interesting.

  “It’s one meal. Besides, I can think of a few ways you could burn off the calories, if you’re really worried.”

  I knew I was pushing her buttons, getting her hackles up, but I wanted to know where her line was. I wanted to know just how much she’d put up with from me.

  “Colton, I don’t know what you think this is…”

  “Lunch. It’s lunch.” I grinned. “A business lunch, if it makes you feel better.” I reached across the table and took her hand in mine, tracing my fingers over the back of her hand. “But when it’s done, we’re going back to my place.”

  I could’ve sworn her breath hitched.

  The pink flush of her cheeks, though, was something she couldn’t hide.

  “Colton, I don’t think that’s such a good idea…”

  I held her gaze for a moment or two, watching as her pupils grew, swallowing the dark brown irises until there was hardly any iris to be seen. Her breath was shallower. I was having an effect on her.

&
nbsp; “We have to test out some makeup for the masquerade. It’ll give me a better idea of what we need to do for the party.”

  She let out a sigh. One of relief or of disappointment, I wasn’t sure. “Oh, of course. That makes sense.”

  The waiter brought the wine and poured a couple glasses, and I smirked to see her take a long, slow drink. Clearly, any disapproval she had had dissipated.

  I sampled the wine as well, letting the flavor dance over my tongue before I swallowed.

  She watched me carefully as we waited for food.

  I was tempted to keep pushing her, to find out what her buttons were, but she was wary of me, and I didn’t want to lose the small bit of ground I’d gained.

  Yet.

  Lunch arrived, and I started in on my lamb, not waiting to see if Angela would order something else, or if she’d eat what I’d ordered her. I doubted she had anyone take care of her; it would’ve surprised me if she let anyone else order food on her behalf.

  The soft groan escaped her lips as she bit into her chicken for the first time gave me all the satisfaction I wanted.

  When she caught me watching her, she blushed and looked down, avoiding my eyes. “What?”

  “Just trying to decide how to make you up this afternoon. I want to find just the right look.” I didn’t need her to know how her groan affected me, or how much I wanted to hear more.

  She pursed her lips. “Nothing too gross. I don’t think I could handle monster make-up.”

  Smirking, I realized what I needed to do. She would make a gorgeous zombie. I could already picture it.

  We finished lunch in mostly quiet. She wouldn’t meet my eyes, her focus solely on her plate, her wine, or the simple artwork on the walls around us. I could tell she was uncomfortable, but I couldn’t tell what was causing it—the prospect of being made over into Halloween make-up, or just being here with me.

  Angela waited in the Escalade while I went in and grabbed my makeup kit.

  I’d invited her inside, but she adamantly refused to go back through the backyard.

  Not that I minded. I was curious where our lovely Mayor lived. I wondered what filled her house, her walls, what passions she had besides running a small-town government.