Masque (2 page)

The blonde dropped her bags. “Okay, I’ll take the stairway
to the left and you take the one on the right.”

Rena glanced upward. “Great. If you see anything unusual,
yell. I want to see a ghost.”

“Believe me, you’ll know if I see one.”

As the two ascended the grand stairways, Synn followed. He
glanced around, surprised Mrs. McMurray hadn’t appeared yet. Not that he
minded. Their two guests seemed to be open to the spirits who lived here, but
he hoped they could settle in first. At least until he introduced himself, and
the way he wanted to introduce himself had his cock paying attention.

Rena headed down the hallway on the second floor, opening
doors and looking inside. Her mumbled words made her opinions of each room
clear. Everything from “hideous” to “extraordinary” passed by her lips. Lips,
full and red, with no rouge, begged for a kiss.

When she had passed judgment on all the rooms, she returned
to the one second from the stairs. He tried to ignore the fact she stood
outside the bedroom next to his. It appeared fate continued to play with him.

He followed her inside as she gave the bedroom a thorough
inspection. He could not fault her taste. Decorated in pale yellows and deep
purples, it suited her. When she moved next to the large four-poster bed, he
couldn’t resist standing behind her, inhaling her unique scent. Her hand
touched the quilt, and he ran his fingers along her bare arm, wanting more than
anything to turn her around and kiss her.

She stilled but didn’t pull away. “Is there someone here?”

He remained silent, but placed his hands upon her arms and
let his breath brush by her ear.

A shiver ran through her body and Synn grinned. A responsive
woman was exactly what he needed. Triumph filled his heart and he brought his
chest in contact with her back.

Her breathing grew rapid, but from sexual excitement or at
being touched by a ghost? He bent his head to kiss her neck when a scream rent
the air.

“Reeeennnaaa!!!”

She pulled away and ran across the inside balcony that
connected the two stairways on the second floor.

Irritated, he tried to ignore his reborn need for a woman.
Adjusting himself within his pantaloons, he followed. Who was causing problems
now?

Rena came to a halt before an open doorway. Inside, the
blonde stood with a candelabra held before her like a Roman shield.

“What is it, Val?”

She pointed to the corner of the room. Before the open
wardrobe doors stood Mrs. McMurray. Synn silently sighed. At least Mrs.
McMurray was a kindhearted soul who wouldn’t hurt a three-legged cat.

Rena clapped her hands as she joined her friend. “It’s a
ghost. A real, live ghost.”

She probably wouldn’t appreciate him correcting her
oxymoron, so he remained silent and invisible. He leaned against the doorframe
behind the women, but where Mrs. McMurray could see him. The older woman’s
expression turned from concerned to relieved.

Rena approached her. “Hello. I’m Rena and this is Valerie.
We are pleased to meet you.”

Mrs. McMurray gave her guests a deep curtsy.

Rena turned back to look at Valerie and smiled. She had the
whitest teeth he’d ever seen. She mouthed the words “she has no legs”, her eyes
wide with surprise.

Valerie glanced toward the older lady and sucked in a breath
before nodding.

Facing Mrs. McMurray again, Rena addressed the spirit. “Can
you tell us your name?”

Mrs. McMurray shook her head then lifted her gaze to him.
Her pleading look had him cursing inside. He had wanted more time, but he
couldn’t ignore his friend’s request. She wouldn’t be able to vocalize until
closer to the full moon. Blast.

Allowing himself to materialize, he answered for her. “Her
name is Mrs. McMurray.”

Rena spun at the deep voice that caressed her senses. Before
her stood a woman’s wet dream come to life, though as a respectable woman, she
shouldn’t be having wet dreams, or so she’d been informed.

The man looked as if he’d stepped out of a
nineteenth-century drawing room, except his coffee-brown hair hung loose about
his shoulders. She was pretty sure it should have been tied in a queue to be
proper. His entire demeanor projected upper class from his sharp nose and
angular clean-shaven chin, to his broad-shouldered stance. A rather tall stance
it was too, with one snugly encased leg crossed over the other. But his eyes
stupefied her. They appeared gray, ancient, yet flickered with bright shards of
blue.

Valerie recovered first, brandishing her tightly held
candelabra as she stepped forward. “Who are you and what are you doing in
here?”

He straightened and gave them a formal bow. “My name is Synn
MacAllistair. That is Synn as in S Y N N. I’m the caretaker of the ghosts.”

Rena took a deep breath. She could feel her cheeks heating
as his voice reverberated through her body. Sin fit him. When he moved his gaze
from Valerie to herself, his intense scrutiny warmed her. She swallowed. “Uh, I
didn’t think anyone lived here.”

His stare held hers captive. “I do.”

Valerie retreated to stand next to her. “Oh really. With a
padlock on the outside of the gate?”

He raised his right brow, the look of arrogance worthy of
Mr. Darcy. “There is a postern gate.”

Rena racked her brain. She’d heard that word before. Oh yes.
“I thought only the owners of a castle knew the secret to that rear exit.”

He raised his brows together. “That is true but I
desi—discovered it while following a small boy around the Abbey.”

Valerie crossed her arms. “A small boy?”

“Yes. The children in the neighborhood dare each other to
get close to the Abbey. They want to see the ghosts, who are quite harmless to
humans.” He gestured to the housekeeper. “Mrs. McMurray here will become more
solid as the full moon approaches and will be pleased to help you in any way she
can.”

They turned and stared at their ghost, having forgotten her.
The older woman nodded vigorously, her white cap covering her gray hair falling
to the side. Mrs. McMurray’s plump frame included pudgy arms sprouting from a
short-sleeved blouse and a white apron that protected her skirt, but from the
knees down, she didn’t exist at all.

Rena’s heart pounded. A real ghost. If what Synn said was
true, that the ghosts would become solid, the possibilities for her new venture
were endless. Could the ghosts serve breakfast to the guests? How would she pay
them? She couldn’t resist asking. “Are you the one who keeps it so clean in
here?”

Mrs. McMurray blushed and nodded again. She actually
blushed
.

Synn clarified. “She and a dozen maids have kept this place
clean for centuries in the hopes that someone would come here to live. Do you
plan to stay?”

She turned to answer him, but Valerie gave him a
disapproving look. “The real estate agent didn’t say anything about anyone
living here.”

He sighed, clearly bored. “No, I imagine he didn’t. He is
what we refer to as a lickfinger.”

Rena chuckled at the strange word. She couldn’t help it. It
sounded backward.

Valerie didn’t find the expression funny. “Well, you need to
know, Rena owns this castle now, abbey, whatever you want to call it, and she
has the right to throw you out.”

Rena grabbed her arm. “Valerie.” She changed her warning
tone to a more pleasant octave as she addressed the sexy man in front of her.
“You are of course welcome to stay, Synn. Perhaps you can help us understand
the ghosts, the history of the Abbey and anything else that might be helpful.”
She smiled encouragingly. She didn’t want him to leave.

He gave her an arrogant nod. “I would be happy to be of
service. Perhaps I should start by helping you to bring your personal items
upstairs as the footmen will not be solid enough to lift anything for another
week.”

Another week? How strange. She didn’t remember seeing
anything on television regarding ghosts changing with the moon. “Thank you.
That would be perfect.” She could tell Valerie didn’t trust him. She, on the
other hand, was thrilled to have him in the Abbey. Anyone who could help her
succeed was welcome. The fact that the man was incredibly hot didn’t hurt
either.

He nodded once and held his arm out to her. She looked at
her friend and shrugged, then looped her arm with his. The second they made
contact, a sizzling sensation raced across her skin.

He didn’t move. Did he feel it too? He gazed down at her,
his face serious. “Shall we?”

She nodded, her throat having closed at his look. There was
something sensual about his lips. They were strong, full and serious and made
her want to taste him. Sheesh, hadn’t she learned anything from her failed
engagement? She needed to keep her libido under control. Men like Synn wouldn’t
appreciate her scandalous thoughts. Besides, who used phrases like “shall we”?
He was too far out of her league. Probably from an old Nova Scotia family who
could trace its ancestors back to King Robert the Bruce of Scotland.

As they descended the stairs, Rena could picture herself in
a beautiful ball gown entering the foyer to meet her beau. The image was so
powerful, she stopped. Could this have happened here? In an abbey?

“Rena?”

Synn had covered her hand with his and the sizzling sensation
started again, but there was more warmth to it, like the tingling gel she’d
bought once and threw away before Bryce discovered it. She lifted her gaze to
Synn’s. His intense focus unnerved her, and she looked back down at the
entryway. “I can picture grand ladies descending these staircases in beautiful
gowns, but that couldn’t be, because this was an abbey, right?”

She chanced a quick look into his face and caught a glimpse
of pain and anger in his eyes before he masked it with a matter-of-fact look.

“Actually, women did descend these staircases in grand ball
gowns. The structure was built as a Pleasure Palace. The name Ashton Abbey was
added as a bad joke, but there is a beautiful chapel in the back, so it
couldn’t have been all licentiousness and depravity.”

“A Pleasure Palace? That sounds decadent.” They continued
their descent. Maybe women came to show off their costly dresses, play poker,
and, heaven forbid, smoke cigars. “I think it would be lovely all lit up. Maybe
for a charity dinner. Oh, are there any charities in town?”

As they reached the bottom, Synn unlinked their arms and
faced her, his look condescending, like the ones Bryce used to give her.

From habit, she straightened herself to her full height.

He must have noticed because he quirked his brow. “I think,
perhaps, you should learn a bit more about the Abbey before throwing a ball as
there are many who reside here.”

Her shoulders fell. He was right, of course. She hadn’t seen
the entire place yet and already her event-planning instincts were sending her
off in another direction. She came to open a haunted bed-and-breakfast, not
throw parties. She looked up into Synn’s face to apologize, but his gaze made
her catch her breath. Admiration shone in his eyes before he turned away to
pick up her suitcase.

Stunned and baffled, she hesitated before grabbing her
laptop. “I’m sorry. You’re right. I need to get a feel for the place first. I
hope you can help me with that.”

He was already striding toward the stairs when he stopped,
but he didn’t look at her when he spoke. “It will be my pleasure to help you
feel this place.”

Rena squirmed as strong fingers stroked up the inside of her
legs, causing her to open them wide. In her dream, a stranger devoted himself
to her pleasure. Stretching her arms above her head, she gave herself up to his
ministrations.

The fingers traveled over the tops of her thighs, through
her tight brown curls and passed her warming pussy. She moaned. She wanted them
to stroke her, play with her clit, but they moved up her body instead. The
strong male hands cupped her breasts, kneading.

Yesss.

The hands brushed across her nipples, turning them to hard
points. She arched, silently asking for more. Thumbs and forefingers took each
nub and rolled. As fire shot to her clit, her limbs weakened.

The bed dipped beside her and as the hands left her breasts,
a heavy weight settled over her, spreading her legs farther apart.

“Yes.”

A warm, strong mouth encircled her left nipple and sucked.
Her body responded with enthusiasm as her folds grew wet and her leg pressed
against a hard, long cock.

The image of Synn flashed through her mind, waking her. She
opened her eyes, alert now in her new, strange bedroom. Unfortunately, the
physicality of the sensations didn’t stop. Her nipple remained hard in the
three-quarter moon’s light.

“What the…”

A feeling of being watched held her in its grip. She grabbed
the silken sheet over her body. “Is someone here?”

The coolness of the sheet on her sensitized nipple made it
respond. She trembled and turned on her camping lantern set next to the bed on
an elaborately carved nightstand. The room glowed to life, but shadows remained
in the corners.

“Hello?” She didn’t expect an answer, but she calmed a
little at hearing her own voice. The fact was, she had woken from a very
pleasant dream to find her nipples hard and her pussy ready. Yes, a dream. She
couldn’t have had a ghost touching her because according to Synn, they wouldn’t
be solid enough…yet. And she’d seen with her own eyes Mrs. McMurray’s legless
form.

There had to be a reasonable explanation. Hell yeah, she was
horny over Mr. Sinful. Bryce was right to break their engagement. She was too
interested in sex. She shouldn’t have tried to marry into an old Maryland
family. At least her dream would have been acceptable behavior for Bryce,
simple man-on-top-of-woman sex. He only approved of the missionary position.
That and doggy style. Heaven forbid should she want to be on top. But then
again, any sex dream was a sign of her middle-class standing, according to
Bryce.

Thinking about him caused her anger and hurt to resurface.
Pulling back the sheet, she threw on her extra-large t-shirt, which hung to her
knees, slipped into her slippers, and lifted the lantern.

Maybe a little exploring in the middle of the night would
produce a few ghosts. At the very least, it would take her mind off her
ex-fiancé and how inferior he made her feel.

As she descended the staircase in the dark, her lantern’s
feeble light engulfed in blackness, she had to admit the Abbey at night was a
bit scary. As much as she wanted to meet more ghosts, a granola bar from the
kitchen seemed like a better idea, but as she reached the entryway, she
couldn’t ignore the blue glow coming from the room to the left of the stairway.
It was the entrance to the other wing, and according to Synn, it contained the
“colored rooms”, whatever that meant. She hesitated, watching the glow flicker
along the archway.

She crumpled her t-shirt in her free hand, not sure what to
do. She could ignore the glow and wait until morning. After all, she hadn’t
explored those rooms yet. What if the floor contained a hole to a dungeon or
something and she fell in? Valerie wouldn’t find her until morning. And Synn
would… Wait, that’s what it was. Synn with a lantern that had a blue glass
cover. If he was in the room, she’d be much braver about meeting another ghost.

Courage back in hand, she stepped into the doorway. “Synn?”
She scanned the contents. No Synn, but there appeared to be a round bed
complete with blue satin sheets in the middle of the room. Around the perimeter
were settees and fainting couches. The blue glow came from a fire lit behind
two large blue glass windows, one located on the inside wall and one on the
outside wall. Was there a double outside wall?

She spoke a little louder. “Synn?” Only he would know how to
light the room at night. He had to be around somewhere. Unable to ignore her
own curiosity, she stepped to the bed and stroked her hand over the sheets.
Their silkiness slithered beneath her fingers, but wasn’t it a strange
accommodation for an abbey? And what was a bed doing in this room? There was no
door on either end, only large archways.

Too awake to contemplate going back to bed, she settled on a
fainting couch to wait for Synn’s return. Wouldn’t Synn make the perfect
rebound lover? But after a two-year engagement and two months of being
heartbroken, she just wasn’t ready.

She stared at the play of blue light upon the bed. It was
hypnotizing until a movement disturbed her peripheral vision. Snapping her head
around, she caught a glimpse of a disappearing ghost. They must be able to
appear and disappear at random.

She had no time to ponder the oddity before she was joined
by two other people…or rather ghosts, since their bodies were nonexistent below
their knees. The couple strolled arm in arm, elegantly dressed in the height of
nineteenth-century fashion. The pale-blonde woman’s gown of light-blue silk had
a very low neckline, hugged her waist and spread wide in a hooped skirt. The
man was slender and tall, or maybe the high-waisted pants he wore and the top
hat made him appear that way. They both held bird-feathered masks before their
eyes that far surpassed any Mardi Gras mask she’d ever seen.

The pair stopped and he turned the blonde to face the bed.
Throwing his mask aside, he began unbuttoning the back of her dress.

Oh, no. The room must be a bedroom. Intellectually, Rena
understood the couple wasn’t there, but every one of her senses told her they
were, and the last place she wanted to be was in a ghost’s bedroom. Pulling her
legs from under her, she stood, but the woman waved at her. Rena froze. They
were aware of her just like Mrs. McMurray. The blonde smiled and motioned for
her to stay seated.

If this abbey was going to be her success story, it would be
appropriate to be polite to those who lived there and helped her. But, if they
were going to bed…maybe she should wait and see. She sat against the high back
of the couch, but let her legs dangle over the side in case she needed to make
a quick exit.

The blonde, satisfied, looked back at the man and nodded. He
continued to unbutton the lovely blue dress and helped her step out of it. She
wore a long shirt and skirts beneath. Once he had laid the dress on one of the
settees, he took her mask and methodically divested her of all her clothes. It
took a while to bring her down to her naked skin.

Rena worried the edge of her t-shirt, but when the last
piece of clothing fell away, the blonde was revealed to be curved in all the
right places, like a
Playboy
bunny.

She should leave now, but when she tried to stand again, the
woman turned toward her and shook her head. The ghostly husband, for he had to
be her mate based on the light kisses he pressed upon his wife’s neck,
shoulder, arm and ankle as he undressed her, shook his head as well. Clearly,
she was supposed to stay.

The husband removed his hat and set it next to his wife’s
clothes. He had darkish hair, cut quite short, and his face was sharp and thin
like the rest of him. He stepped up to his wife and kissed her on the mouth.

Rena melted at his kiss. It was beautiful, loving and
tender, but possessive. Bryce had never kissed her like that.

When the kiss ended, the wife sat upon the bed, giving Rena
her profile. The blonde had large breasts with thick nipples. Her husband stood
in front of her, fully clothed, and took each nipple between his fingers and
thumbs and played.

Heat rushed to both Rena’s cheeks and her pussy at the
sight. This was wrong. She had to go, but the woman glanced at her and shook
her head. They wanted her to watch them? Valerie would never believe this! But
she had little time to think of Valerie as another couple wandered in from the
entryway. They nodded a greeting at the two ghosts already in the room and at
her, but floated into the next room.

How strange. It was as if they strolled along the street,
Victorian fashion, and had not just passed a couple about to make love.

The woman on the bed pulled away from her husband’s fingers,
causing her nipples to stretch, and her breathing increased. The husband let go
and shook his finger at his wife, who promptly took it into her mouth. His
expression changed from playful to lustful in a heartbeat. The woman scraped
her teeth along his finger before releasing him. She turned, repositioning
herself. Now she faced Rena. She sat on the bed and spread her legs wide, or
rather her thighs were wide as there were no body parts lower. Her husband
removed his tails, cravat and shirt, and knelt next to her.

As the woman opened her labia to show her clit, warmth
flooded Rena’s body with excitement and embarrassment, but she couldn’t have
looked away unless the room was on fire. Unfortunately, she was on fire.

The husband removed his wife’s hand and at her pout,
replaced it with his own, spreading the folds, pulling them back until his
wife’s hard nub was visible as well as her opening below. With his other hand,
he presented one finger and brought it under his wife’s leg and up. This gave
Rena a clear view as he sank the finger as far as it would go into his wife’s
pale pussy.

“Oh.” Rena started at the sound of her own voice. Already
wet between her legs, she squirmed. It would be too easy to lie back on the
couch and play with herself, but not in front of these people…ghosts…whatever.

The man pulled out his finger, added another and sank them
deep inside before pulling them half out and back in. At the new invasion, his
wife lay back on the bed, her legs still over the edge.

Rena’s attention was distracted by another couple meandering
into the room. They were dressed in similar fashion, but the woman wore a hat
with a feather and had dark hair. The two appeared to chat as they strolled
through, though no sound emerged. Then the brunette noticed the couple on the
bed. She had a brief conversation with her husband, and they redirected their
stroll to the settee next to Rena’s fainting couch.

Rena wondered if she would need the couch for its stated
purpose at the rate things were progressing.

As the new couple sat, they kissed, but the wife kept her eyes
on the pair on the bed. Her husband reached inside her scooped neckline and
pulled out one breast to tweak with his fingers.

Rena’s breasts ached as her own nipples turned painfully
hard. She closed her eyes, blocking out the scenes before her, but when she
opened them again, the husband on the bed moved his hand to circle his wife’s
clit. Slowly, he used two fingers to penetrate her at the same time. Her hips
pressed into his hand as she reached out to grasp the silken sheets. She opened
her eyes and stared at Rena.

It was as if she participated in their intercourse by
watching. Squirming on her own couch, she pulled her t-shirt down a little
farther, hoping the wetness between her legs had not leaked onto it.

The woman’s eyes closed as her husband stroked in and out
while increasing his rhythm on her hard nub.

The couple next to her were enjoying themselves as well. The
man now had the woman’s skirt hiked to her waist as his hand buried between her
legs and his mouth suckled on the nipple held aloft for him by the gown. His
lady continued to watch the couple on the bed, licking her lips and panting as
her husband played with her.

Rena wasn’t quite sure how she found herself watching two
couples having sex, but there was no way Bryce would have approved. She should
be ashamed of herself. Bryce would be. She was too hot and ready to be wife
material.

She returned her gaze to the couple on the bed just as the
lady came. Rena imagined a high-pitched sound as the blonde screamed, her whole
body shaking with her passion. Her husband removed his hands from her and
dropped his pants as she lay panting. His long, hard cock stood straight before
him. He rolled his wife over and, pulling her up by the waist, set her into the
doggy position.

Now the couple was in profile, and Rena couldn’t stop
watching as the husband found his wife’s cunt and slid his cock inside. The
woman threw her head back as he pulled out and pushed in again. The next time
he drew out, his wife pulled away and slammed back into him. He grabbed her
hips to control the rhythm as if he knew she wanted to climax immediately, but
he wouldn’t let her. He reached one hand under his wife and tugged on a nipple.
She went wild. Soon they were both out of control, their sexual desires
rampant. He grasped his wife’s shoulders and pounded his hips against her ass,
his cock visible as it slid in and out, gleaming with his wife’s juices.

Within minutes he had thrown his head back, the muscles in
his chest tightening while his hips stayed glued to his wife.

Rena’s own pussy throbbed with wanting as she gripped the
edge of the fainting couch. She’d never seen someone else make love before, at
least not in person. She glanced at the couple next to her. The woman’s head
had fallen back, both breasts were hanging over her neckline and the man licked
between her legs.

It was all so erotic, so hot. She needed to go to her room
and come. She looked back to see if the couple on the bed were finished and her
gaze collided with Synn’s. He leaned against the archway of the room,
breathtakingly handsome, with one eyebrow raised.