The Millionaire's Masquerade (Erotic Romance Novella) Read Free Page A

don't even look like me." Meg touched her hand to the sensual woman in the mirror. She hardly recognized herself and worried that maybe Aidan wouldn't recognize her either.
    The muffled ringtone of Eartha Kitt purring
Santa Baby
shook Meg from her daydream, and after pulling everything off her bed, she located her phone beneath a mountain of plastic bags. "Hello."
    "Ms. Daniels? This is your chauffeur. Your car is outside," said a clipped voice.
    "Car? I didn't order a car. Who sent you?"
    "The answer to that question isn't worth my job, ma'am. Let's just say an admirer."
    "An admirer, huh?" Her excitement mounted and she stared at Ellory who shrugged her shoulders.
    "Okay. I'll be there in a second." Meg hung up and grabbed a small purse from the bedroom floor. Her stomach cartwheeled, and it took all of her willpower not to hurl. The stench of vomit clinging to her pores would turn off even the most ardent man. "What if this is some kind of elaborate set-up?" She clutched her purse to her chest. "What if I make a fool of myself?"
    "I'm not listening to anymore of your weak ass excuses." Ellory shoved her out of the apartment door and practically dragged her downstairs through her still-empty store. "Your pumpkin awaits, Cinders."
    Outside, a stretch limo with blacked-out windows idled in the bustling lamp-lit street, and a uniformed chauffeur held a door open.
    "Do me a favor," Ellory said with a hug. "Relax and let the night take you where it will."
    "I promise." Trying not to panic, Meg gulped down a breath and slid into the car, but when she saw the empty backseat, cold disappointment sliced her heart.
****
    Aidan stood by the ice bar and sipped a Bushmills on the rocks. He'd attended one of these parties on Independence Day. But preferring not to partake in the
celebrations
, he'd networked, drank beer, and left early. Plenty of women had offered him their company, but he'd declined. He wasn't what you would call the biggest fan of one-night stands. This evening, he'd already been propositioned numerous times, but the only woman on his mind was Meg.
    She'd taken the bait, and the thought of seeing her hardened his dick. For two years, he'd denied himself Ms. Daniels, but tonight he'd finally get some relief. There was no more denying himself anything. The driver texted him saying they were on their way. With traffic, it should take no more than thirty minutes for them to arrive—thirty minutes too long.
    The abandoned sugar warehouse on the Hudson had been transformed into a winter wonderland. In a few hours, his brother Cole, along with the Forrester Events team, would strip the place bare, and it would be as if nothing ever happened. Their younger brother Ronan, Cole's business partner, usually looked after the tear down, but he'd flown to Dublin at the beginning of the week on some kind of secret mission.
    These parties were a safe place for the glitterati to indulge their desires without worrying about the paparazzi or kiss-and-tell stories. If the mayor wanted a socialite to trail him around the party as if he were her pet, he could. Same thing if a box office heartthrob wanted to wear cuffs, a collar and a slave mask while licking his mistress's feet. No cameras, no phones, and a ten-page confidentiality contract meant no evidence.
    He wandered around the makeshift club, only stopping to talk when necessary, and discreetly turning from any partygoers who'd decided to begin their festivities early. Some of the guests took the idea of a masquerade to extreme lengths and wore costumes that wouldn't seem out of place in a Victorian brothel. Aidan preferred to keep it simple and stylish with a tuxedo and a plain black masque.
    A message lit up his phone informing him they'd arrive in two minutes. Anticipation tightened his gut, and he made his way to the ground floor. He debated going to meet her, but decided he would watch from the shadows. He wanted to see how she reacted to the hedonism happening around her. To