Midnight Whispers (The Midnight Duology #1)

Chapter 11

11

I tug at the hem of the short black dress Flora demanded that I wear. Between the low-cut neckline exposing the top of my breasts and the length barely cupping below my ass, this dress is leaving very little to the imagination.

“These can’t really be our costumes, Flo. Can this even really be considered a dress?” I ask as I look myself over in the mirror.

She’s curled my hair, which has fallen into loose beachy waves down my back. The makeup might be just as bad as the dress, honestly. Flora covered my eyelid in shimmery dark gray eyeshadow—a smokey eye is what she called it—and put a deep red lipstick on my full lips. Only after adding the fake fangs, of course.

“You look hot as fuck, Lil. Please, babe,” Flora begs, “for one night don’t be such a prude. Mystery man will be begging you to take him home in this. Now hold still!” She drips fake blood onto my bottom lip. It begins to run down my chin and dries quickly.

I sigh heavily. “I don’t even look like myself.”

“That’s the point, goof. It’s Halloween!” She stands back and looks me up and down. “I’ll be shocked if you don’t get laid tonight.” I look away from her, refusing to acknowledge the heat that’s blooming in my cheeks. I would never be good at poker, and I’ve never been able to lie. My face gives away literally everything .

“The Uber is here. Let’s go!” she exclaims.

The drive to the building where the event is being held isn't long. It used to be the original government building or something, so it's near the center of town. Vines crawl up the cream-colored building, invading the brick and wooden framed door and windows. Most of the town, if not every adult, are in attendance and dressed to impress.

The costumes range from scary to, well, slutty and I’m fitting into the slutty category tonight. However, the heads that are turning in my direction are making me feel… sexy, maybe even powerful. I adjusted my dress, pulling down the hem and trying to adjust the top to expose my breasts some more.

Flora looks at me and gleams with pride. “Yesss, bitch! You have the curves, now show them off!”

The inside has been transformed into a great party space, and like most of the town's events, there was no expense spared. Halloween has been one of the town's favorite holidays to celebrate for generations and this has always been one of the biggest events. It’s after ten, so all the families have left the party and returned to their homes, and now it's mainly the singles and the adults who are childless that are here. I look around the room for Cedar, but I don’t see him anywhere.

Flora turns to me with a grin. “It’s an open bar, so I’m going to get us something! What do you want?”

“I don't like to drink, Flo. You know that!”

“Okay! If you change your mind, let me know!” she sings, and smiles while walking over to the bar .

I follow the music into the room behind the stairs. The only lights are the colored ones coming from above the DJ booth. There are a ton of people dancing in the space, so it's a little crowded for my liking. But it takes almost no time at all before I get lost in the music, feeling the rhythm sending waves through my body. My movements are fueled by the sensation of being watched. I dance through a couple of songs before I realize how ridiculously thirsty I’ve become, so I head to the bar. Looking through the crowd as I make my way across the first floor, I’m searching for Flora while also looking for Cedar again.

“Can I have some water?” I ask the bartender, ignoring the awkward side glances from the others standing at the counter.

She hands me a bottle of water and I mutter my thanks as she goes back to taking orders from everyone else. A chill blow through the room and the hairs on my neck stand up. My attention directs across the room, to the dark corner near the threshold.

The breath hitches in my throat as I make eye contact with someone leaning up against the wall. He has one leg propped up, maintaining his balance. I look him over. He’s dressed in all black, but his striking dark brown, almost black, eyes command my attention. They almost get lost in the skeleton face paint he’s wearing It’s both terrifying and alluring at the same time.

The corner of his mouth curls mischievously, but his eyes never leave mine. There’s something magnetic about him that’s pulling me in his direction, which my feet desperately want to oblige. As if they have a mind of their own, my feet begin to move toward him. The room blurs around me, as if every other person has left and the only two who remain are him and I. A sense of familiarity hangs thick in the air between us as desperation to be near him fills me.

My trance is broken when Flora interrupts my path.

“Hey!” she shouts. “I’ve been looking for you. I met the most amazing guy. I swear he’s reincarnated from a Greek god or something.” I try to look over her shoulder, but the man is gone. Disappointment fills my chest.

“Earth to Lil. Are you listening?”

“Sorry,” I replied, looking back at her quickly. “That’s great! What was his name?”

“Dammit. I knew I forgot something.”

Laughter erupts from both of us.

“Let’s go dance!” I exclaim.

“I’ll meet you there. I’m going to see if I can hunt him down and get his name.” She turns quickly and goes back from where she came.

After I find the trash for my water bottle, I leave the room and go back to the dance floor. Easily finding the rhythm, I lose myself in the music once again. Music has always been something I loved. Before Mom left, I took dance classes in L.A. Ballet, jazz, tap, you name it… I took the classes. Dad tried so hard, but he couldn’t keep up with the time commitment or financial burden as a single parent. Was I disappointed? Yes, but I just added it to the list of ways my mother hurt me.

I sway back and forth, moving my body to the rhythm with my eyes closed. A familiar chill washes over me, my skin erupting in goosebumps at the sensation. My body stills as a foreign firmness pressed against me.

“Don't turn around,” a deep voice whispers against my ear, “just keep dancing.”

His scent of leather and tobacco is intoxicating, so I do as he commanded. He places his hand firmly on my hip, pulling me closer to the hardness of his body. I hold my breath as his other hand takes hold of my hair, his fingers lightly grazing over my skin as he moves it from one side of my neck to the other. He trails his hand lightly along my side, softly riding the curves of my waist before settling on the other side of my hip .

We sway, our bodies moving in unison as the rhythm continues. His mouth hovered at the nape of my neck. He inhales deep and slow, as if to savor my scent.

I swallow hard before asking, “Are you going to tell me your name?”

“No,” he answers abruptly.

I move my head slightly, looking at him from the corner of my eye. I can faintly see the white and gray lines of the skeleton face paint and my heart drops.

“You were in the bar earlier, watching me.”

“I was.”

“Why?”

My stomach drops when his lips gently touch my shoulder. His hand inches, moving closer inward.

“I can't seem to stay away from you.”

He can’t stay away from me?

“You drew the portrait?” I ask. “The notes and peony were from you too, weren’t they?” The tip of his tongue trails up my neck, stopping just below my ear. I move my arm up and around the back of his neck. Even on the dance floor, where we are surrounded by all these people and lights, his skin is still cold as ice.

“Mmhmm.” He hums in my ear as he inches his hand closer, lowering it to just below the hem of my dress. “Tell me to stop, Lillia.” The tips of his fingers graze my skin, sending waves of fire through me.

“Don’t stop.” I say breathlessly, not recognizing the sudden onset of bravery.

He lowers his hand to my inner thigh and up to between my legs, where he finds the lack of underwear. A deep sigh escapes his lips, blowing a small gust of warm air against my neck before he nibbles softly on my skin. I let out a moan, not caring who around us hears .

“Shit,” he hisses. “I have to go.”

My eyes fly open, disappointment sinking deep into my gut. “What? Why?”

“Your friend is coming.”

I look around for Flora, but I don’t see her in the room.

“Don’t go. I don’t even know your name.”

“Think of me.”

“What do you mean?”

He drags his teeth along the skin of my neck. Pulling me closer, he drags his finger over my slit. “When you touch yourself tonight,” he whispers against my ear.

Only seconds pass before his hands are off my body. I whirl around, but my stranger is already gone. The fog that filled my mind begins to disperse and shame fills my chest. I just let a stranger touch me. Not only that, but in public ! The most unsettling part is how much I enjoyed it and how much I want him to touch me again.

It was unlike anything my body had ever experienced, not that I had much to go off. When Parker and I would have sex, he would finish and then roll over and fall asleep. The scent of whiskey and cigarettes always covered his skin and seeped out of his pores. He never saw the point in touching or finding ways to please me; if his dick got sucked and he got off then he was fine. It wasn’t until I bought my first vibrator that I learned the ecstasy that was an orgasm, so after he would fall asleep, I’d just finish myself off.

The level of desire I felt with Parker was nothing near what I felt with this absolute stranger. It was almost like he had just placed me under a spell; my body reacted to everything about him. His touch and his scent were all consuming and I found myself hoping I’d see him again.

Hands waving in front of my face break the trance I seem to be in.

“Lil, you okay?”

My eyes focus and immediately find a very concerned Flora standing in front of me. “Oh shoot. Yeah.”

“You zoned out on the dance floor.” I look around and realize I am in fact still in the middle of the dance floor. Flora cocks her head as she continues, “I’m going to go to the bathroom, why don’t you go get some water?”

“Good idea, Flo.” Giving a half smile and beginning to walk away, my head drops in disappointment.

“Oh, hey! Did that Cedar guy show up?”

“No,” I shake my head. “Maybe he got busy or something.”

“You good?”

“Yeah.” My voice is anything but convincing.

“I’ll meet you at the bar. I might piss myself if I don’t find a bathroom right now . ” She responds, wiggling her hips in a dramatic pee pee dance. It’s hard to not laugh when Flora is around. She has this insane natural ability to lighten the mood.

I turn and go to the bar; the smell of whiskey immediately causes bile to rise in my throat. Chewing on my bottom lip, I lift my eyes and meet Parker’s gaze. My heart sinks into the deepest part of my stomach.