Carter bristled, looming over the attendant, who shrank back, the smirk dropping from his face. “This is fucking ridiculous.”
“Come on, let’s go.” I tugged at his arm, needing to get him away before he did something stupid. He glanced down at me, his eyes barely visible behind the lights of the mask, but I could see the way his expression softened slightly, and he let me pull him away from the shooting gallery. The lights faded behind us as he took control and quickly moved us through the crowds, away from the carnival, past the skatepark, towards the subway and the graffiti wall that marked the edge of the skatepark.
The sounds of the
carnival were replaced with the noise of the occasional car rumbling down the road over the subway, and the wind whistling through the trees. We came to a stop, back in front of the wall again. Reaching into the pocket of my hoodie, Carter pulled out the canister that he’d given me earlier. “Are you in the mood for some art?”
Art?
“Why?”
He grabbed another canister from his own pocket, and gestured towards the wall. “Want to add to this?”
“Are we allowed to?” I whispered.
“We can do whatever we want. Tonight, there are no rules.”
8
I stared up at him, his hooded figure towering over me, the glow of his mask giving him a sinister, otherworldly vibe. But somehow, I felt…happy. Excited, even. Who knew that a mask could be so freeing? “Let’s do this.” I examined the wall, at the colourful images and words spanning the length. There was space at the far side, where the writing had faded, and I headed towards it.
I felt Carter’s presence at my back, and when I came to a stop in front of the wall, I heard him inhale sharply, followed by a clatter as the canisters fell to the floor. His arms came around me from behind, and he gripped my throat with one of his huge hands as he pressed his body against me. This time, I felt no fear. Only an intense rush of desire, that intensified when he tightened his grip.
I arched back against him, a soft moan escaping my lips.
“You want me, don’t you?” His voice held no hesitation—he knew exactly what he was doing to me. I nodded, and he pressed closer. “I can’t wait to have you. To leave my marks all over your skin, hearing you gasp for breath as you come all over my cock.”
I gasped right then, vivid images making my knees go weak. This shouldn’t have been turning me on, but it was, and my head was spinning. No one had ever…I’d never even heard anyone speak the way he did before. Yes, my sexual experience was extremely limited, but I didn’t think I was that clueless. I already knew there was another side to Carter Blackthorne, based on the way he treated me, but this…this was so unexpected. My nipples hardened beneath my leotard, and I pressed my body back against his. He was hard already, and we were both breathing heavily. What was he doing to me?
“I need your number. And your name.” He released his grip on my throat, sliding both his arms around my waist. “There’s something about you, something different to the other girls I know. I already know I want more than just tonight.”
His words had the same effect as being doused with a bucket of icy water. Tears filled my eyes, again. I trembled in his grip, the guilt spiralling through me as I struggled to compose myself. I was so close to blurting out the truth at that moment, I had to bite my tongue, hard, to stop the words spilling out.
Thankfully he seemed to sense I was at my limit, as he released me and bent down to swipe the cans from the floor. Grateful for the distraction, I took the can he handed to me and faced the wall. “What do we paint?” My voice thankfully came out steady.
“Whatever we want.” Shaking his can, he pulled off the lid and aimed it at the wall. Directing the black paint in a steady stream, his artwork gradually took shape. It was simple as far as art went—the outline of a mask, identical to the ones we both wore. I studied it carefully, then rolled my own canister to check the colour.
“Let me help.” I uncapped mine, and went over the black slashes he’d already painted, highlighting them in neon blue to symbolise the glow from the lights. “I can’t believe I’m doing this. What kind of influence are you having on me?”
“Don’t you like being my little deviant for the night?” His tone was amused. He stopped what he was doing and turned to watch me as I finished up highlighting the mask. Gripping his phone, he took a quick photo of our joint efforts, then continued to stare in my direction as I sprayed the last couple of lines. “You look so fucking hot doing that.”
I laughed self-consciously, no clue what to reply to him. My artwork complete, I dropped the canister to the floor and stepped back to look at it critically. If only I had more colours…I could have done something truly amazing.
“I really want to kiss you right now.” Carter suddenly pounced on me, and I was powerless to stop him.
I really wanted to kiss him, too.
He pulled me around the side of the wall. Behind it ran a narrow gap, all along the length of the wall, between the wall and the vertical bank that led up to the road. It was just wide enough for a person to squeeze through.
I tried not to think about exactly what was crunching under my feet as Carter tugged me into the tight space, moving deeper behind the wall. “No cameras here. No one to see who we really are.” He reached down and pushed my mask up on top of my head.
No light, either. My shaking hands went to his neck, and after pushing up his own mask, he bent his head to mine. I felt his hot breath on my lips, and then he kissed me.
This kiss was different. This time there was no fear, no dominance on his part, only two people who were in complete agreement. He explored my mouth, and with every stroke of his tongue, I fell further under his spell.
The glow of a bright torch suddenly illuminated the space we were in, shining on Carter’s face. “Hey!”
We both startled at the loud bellow, Carter tearing himself away from me and slamming his mask back down over his face, and I scrambled to follow suit. Even in my panic, I couldn’t help feeling grateful that the light had been pointing at his face rather than mine. As soon as the thought entered my head, the same rush of guilt that had been surging through me on and off all evening returned with a vengeance.