Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 89142 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 446(@200wpm)___ 357(@250wpm)___ 297(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 89142 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 446(@200wpm)___ 357(@250wpm)___ 297(@300wpm)
“Thank you.” My cheeks are blazing. “You look nice too.”
“Nice?” He grins.
“Very nice?”
“I’ll take it.”
I pick up my glass of water.
“I’d like to take you somewhere,” he says.
His previous words emerge in my mind.
Somewhere private. A place where the darkest of desires can be satisfied. Somewhere…underground.
I swallow another sip. “Where?”
“Somewhere you will be completely safe,” he says. “You have my word.”
His word?
Odd how I want to believe him. I don’t even know him.
“I don’t know you well enough to accept your word,” I say.
“That’s true. You don’t. But I hope you come with me, anyway, for after tonight, you’ll know for sure that I’m a man of my word.”
How I want to. I want nothing more than to go with him, see what he has to offer me.
He hasn’t tried anything with me so far, other than to brush his lips over mine. Then again, we’ve always been here, at the bar. In a very public place.
“Perhaps…we should stay here,” I say. “Maybe get to know each other better.”
“I think we’ve done all we can here.”
“Try to understand. I’m a woman. I’m vulnerable. I don’t even know your name.”
“I don’t know yours either, Angel.”
“It’s Francesca,” I say. “Frankie for short. Frankie Thomas.”
Phantom says nothing, but his smile fades. Have I upset him?
“Are you looking for a date, Francesca?”
“I don’t know what I’m looking for.” I stand. “Scratch that. I know exactly what I’m looking for, and this isn’t it.”
He touches my arm gently. “Please. Don’t go.”
“I told you my name. Now you tell me yours.”
“I can’t tell you my name,” he says.
Is that a touch of remorse in his voice? I’m not sure.
“But,” he goes on, “I can tell you something else about myself.”
“All right. I’ll take it.”
“We have something in common.”
I lift my eyebrows. “Oh?”
“Yes, I’m a writer.”
“What makes you think we have that in common?”
He smiles. “The first night we met, you told me you’re a junior editor.”
My cheeks warm. He’s right. I did, before I decided to play along with his fantasy.
“Is there a lot of time for writing while you’re busy haunting the opera house?” I ask.
“You’d be surprised how much free time I have,” he says, chuckling. “I’ll make a deal with you. Come with me. Let me show you what I want to show you. If you like it and you choose to stay, I will tell you my name.”
“Where do you want to take me?”
“A place where all your dreams can come true.” He pulls a piece of silk out of the pocket of his pants. “But first, I need to put this over your eyes.”
Oh hell no.
I take the last sip of my water and set the glass down on the bar. “I’m so out of here.”
“I understand.” He pulls a card out of his front pocket and hands it to me. “Call me if you change your mind.”
The card is black with a white mask on it. It says simply Phantom with a phone number.
I hold the card. It burns against my fingers.
I want to go with him.
But I’m a smart woman. What kind of woman lets herself be blindfolded and led…who knows where?
Except—
“Phantom?”
“Yes?”
“Is the place you’re taking me some kind of club?”
“Perhaps.”
“And you promise my safety?”
“Not only do I promise it.” He glances at Alfred. “Tell her, Al.”
“Phantom here’s a good man,” Alfred says. “He can guarantee your safety, and so can I.”
“All right. But why the blindfold?”
“The club requires it. If you’re not a member, you can’t know where we’re going.”
“How will I get there, then?”
“Very simple,” Phantom says. “I will lead you.”
What I’ll do for a story.
My intuition doesn’t often fail me, and I feel very safe with Phantom. It makes no sense, of course, and the place he’s taking me may not be a BDSM club after all.
But I think it probably is. He already told me he’d like to bind me and gag me, so he’s into that kind of kink. Why else would it be so secretive?
Phantom leans close to me, brushes a kiss over my cheek, and I swear sparks shoot all the way through me.
Then he ties the blindfold across my eyes. “We’ll be there soon. I’ll tell you where to go. Tell you if you need to step up or down.”
“Okay.” My heart flutters.
But not out of fear.
No.
As much as I should be feeling afraid, I’m not.
My heart is fluttering out of anticipation. Out of…arousal.
The silk is cool and soft against my eyes, and Phantom takes my hand.
“Come with me,” he whispers.
I go willingly, not knowing who I’m with, not knowing where I’m going.
But I’m exhilarated. Excited. Electrified.
I’m seeking a thrill.
And I know I’ll find it.
He guides me through what feels like a hallway, with carpeting under my feet, and then down some stairs.
Then another flight of stairs.
And another hallway, this one also carpeted.