“No one knows who he is,” Diana said.
Even she had heard the gossip regarding the three hosts of the party. The other two were generally understood to be Lord Kittrell and Lord Sayres, but Lucifer was the mystery that had spawned enough gossip to intrigue even Gwen, who stared hard at the man. But it was Diana who abruptly gasped as Lucifer flicked his wrist at someone in a gesture she recognized well. It was a tiny movement, as crisp as it was restrained, and yet it carried such a note of command that it could not be anyone but the very same Lucifer who plagued her household.
Good God, what was he doing here? Could she not escape her home for one night without its unnerving aspects following her here as if to stalk her. Because at that very moment, Lucifer looked across the grass to stare long and hard at her.
She drew back. She was in the company of her family. Surely he wouldn’t…
“He’s coming over,” Amber whispered. “Do you think he means to talk with us?”
Of course, he did. After all, Diana had taken extra pains to see that she never crossed paths with him in her own home. Naturally, he would plague her on the one night she truly escaped. So Diana took pains to look elsewhere, most specifically at the dance floor. If someone asked her to partner with him, she would immediately agree. But no one presented themselves, and so she stood stiffly by as Lord Lucifer approached the box.
“Good evening, beauties and sir,” he intoned.
That was definitely Lucas. She would recognize his voice anywhere.
“Good evening, Lord Lucifer,” Amber responded. “Do you come to tempt us to sin?”
“Most definitely.” He turned and looked straight at Diana. “What of you, my lady? Would you indulge the devil with a dance? I would allow you to flit about me to your heart’s content.”
Diana’s gown was themed as a butterfly, the dress expertly dyed, and the mask fitted with wings of blue and black. “I am afraid I am not a lady to be tempted by sin, my lord,” she said darkly.
“Oh, go on,” Gwen said as she dug her thumb into Diana’s thigh. “You love dancing. And as we are here specifically for fun, then you cannot decline.”
Beside her, Lilah agreed with a daring smile. “If you will dance, then I shall dare to find a partner myself.”
“Perhaps you and Lord Lucifer—” Diana began, but Lilah cut her off.
“No! I shall find my own gentleman. Come along, Gwen, let us go hunting for dance partners.”
Odd to see Lilah so forceful, but it was a welcome change. And as the two ladies departed, Elliott asked his wife for her hand, and that left nothing for Diana to do but accept the inevitable.
“Very well, Mr. Lucifer,” she said. “I see, I have no excuse.”
If he noticed she had called him by his name in her household, then he did not react. Instead, he gestured to their now empty box. “If you prefer to sit here, we could talk—”
“Definitely not.” In truth, the music was calling to her. She wanted to be on her feet. It would help her work off the disquiet she felt whenever he was near. She stood as calmly as possible and even took his hand to allow his escort.
“I mean no insult, Diana,” Lucas said. “I merely wanted you to have an evening’s fun.”
She turned to look at him, her heart lurching. “Surely, you did not arrange for this whole evening merely for me.”
“I did.”
She stared at him a moment. Her gaze swept across the park as she calculated the cost of a party like this, even if it were split with the other two lords. The amount was staggering. Unless…
She blew out a breath. “You have made up with your family then.” Accessing his estate funds was the only way he could have had the money for this. “I am so pleased. They should know that you live.”
“They do not.” Three words, spoken with implacable coldness, as he pulled her into the opening stance.
She faced him, her mind scrambling. “But Lucas, your family deserves—”
“I am Lord Lucifer, madam,” he said sternly. “The great deceiver. Do not think you know the purpose of my actions.”
That was rubbish, every bit of it. “You are merely being dramatic, as you are wont to do,” she said. But even as she frowned sternly at him, her insides were twisting with a warmth she couldn’t deny. “Did you really arrange all this—”
“For you. Yes.”
“But how did you manage it?” she asked. “It must have cost the Earth.”
“And the sun and the moon,” he said. “All for you.”
With a gesture at the orchestra, there was a loud clang as if to announce the opening of the masquerade. In truth, they’d been playing for a bit, but suddenly, everyone separated as Lucifer led her onto the dance floor. And—to her shock—Gwen and Lilah came as well, partnered with Lord Satyr and Lord Ares, respectively. It was a stirring moment as Lord Satyr made some opening remarks—a plea for everyone to enjoy themselves to the fullest—and then the three couples began their dance. Other couples quickly followed, but Diana had never opened a ball before, and this was a marvelous experience.
There was no more talking, per se, but certainly touching of hands, moving of feet, and shoulders. Their eyes met and held when it was appropriate, and even when it was not. Diana couldn’t believe such extravagance, and yet wasn’t he the one who had climbed her wall in a rainstorm, then tumbled at her feet just to beg for her hand in marriage? Lucas was a man of extreme passions. Or rather, he had been twelve years ago. It was certainly in character for him to arrange an entire masquerade party for her.
But really…just for her?
The idea kept tickling her insides and made her smile in the most embarrassing way. Her cheeks flushed, and not from the exertion of the dance. And when they came together as the steps proscribed, she allowed him to pull her a little too close and touch her a little too long. This was a masquerade, after all, and she could be forgiven for a bit of fun. There were no society matrons here to judge the distance between couples, and several pairs were already far closer than propriety allowed.
Lucas did not speak to her, nor she to him. Everything was done by way of their bodies. When he held her hand, his smallest finger slipped beneath to caress her palm. When he was meant to swing her around, he squeezed her tightly and put more effort into pulling her close than in drawing her around. But all of that paled in comparison to his gaze. Hot, dark, and so appropriate to his Lucifer moniker. His eyes smoldered when she met his gaze. Unwavering, unnerving, and so delicious to have his attention riveted upon her.
By the end of the dance, her heart beat much too fast, and her lips felt parched as she wet them with her tongue.
His gaze fell to her mouth, and she remembered the way he had kissed her that night before her wedding. The way his tongue had invaded her mouth and their bodies had pressed together with a desperation that nearly swept them both away.
Sometimes—like now—she wished she hadn’t stopped him. At least she would have known one night of true passion. One night unchained from responsibility. One night with a man she desired and who made her think of nothing but their two bodies becoming one.
“Diana,” he rasped. “The way you look at me. It’s like—”