The Man in the Demon Mask: The Billionaire Neumann Brothers, #2

Chapter 1

As Emily walked up the outdoor steps to the second-floor apartment where she now lived alone, she held her head high and tried to act relaxed. Burke’s cousin, Andy, lived across the street. She had no reason to believe that Andy was spying on her now, but she hadn’t thought he was spying a week ago, either.

Burke and Andy were bad news. The police were watching them, but they didn’t know it. Yet.

Emily!

She froze, key in the lock. Slowly, she turned and flashed a carefree smile that she hadn’t thought she had in her. Andy, she called down. How are you?

Great. He grinned widely, showing blinding white teeth. Hold up a sec.

I’m in a hurry…

It was too late. Andy had left his trashcan—which looked suspiciously light—at the curb and was jogging over. He must have come from a run because he was wearing athletic shorts and sneakers. With his thick neck, big jaw, and sandy brown hair, he looked far too much like Burke for Emily’s comfort, and worse, he personified all of Burke’s shortcomings. Fake, condescending, a user of people.

What do you need, Andy? she asked, trying to keep her tone light. She was relieved when he stopped at the bottom of the steps.

The last couple of weeks, your lights are always off. You’re never home.

The apartment keys turned slick in her palms. I’ve been busy.

You haven’t been returning Burke’s calls.

Well, that’s because we’re broken up.

He’s worried about you. How are you affording the rent on this place without him?

None of your business, she wanted to snap.

Especially since you got fired. His forehead creased in a pathetic approximation of concern.

She wanted to slap him. Andy had gotten her fired after the breakup. Said it wasn’t fair to Burke to have to see her at work every day. Her years of loyalty at the janitorial supply company had meant nothing compared to Burke’s hurt feelings.

She shifted her weight to the other foot. I finally found a new job.

Where? Now Andy was showing a genuine emotion: annoyance.

Hired Hands Trusted Temporaries, she said. It was a big agency with locations across North America, so she wasn’t worried that Burke would be able to use the information to hurt her. Plus, she’d done a great job on her first assignments and had a perfect rating.

A temp? At your age?

Twenty-eight’s hardly ancient.

He grinned. You’re still cute enough. For now. You should ask Burke to come back.

Impatience flared in her. My life is better now.

She caught a hint of a crack in Andy’s all-American good looks. Something dangerous on the other side. You found someone to hook up with, huh?

Oh, no time for dating, she said, forcing a lighthearted laugh. Speaking of being busy, I have stuff to do. Thanks for your concern, Andy. You’re such a sweetheart, looking out for me.

I’m not the only one concerned, he said.

Emily wiggled her fingers in farewell. She quickly unlocked her door, ducked inside and bolted it again. Her hands were shaking, which was ridiculous.

And it made her angry. She didn’t want to be afraid of Andy.

Bastard, she growled between clenched teeth. She wished she had evidence against him to give the police. Helping put Andy behind bars would have been sweet.

Her cell phone rang. She fumbled trying to get it out of her purse, tried to keep the purse’s contents from spilling out, and ended up dropping everything on the floor in the living room. She sank to her knees and grabbed the phone.

Hello? she said, beginning to collect her tissues, lipstick, compact.

Emily? This is Hurley from Hired Hands Trusted Temporaries. How are you?

Great, she said, and was surprised to realize that her voice was as unsteady as her hands.

There was a pause. Are you all right?

Yes. She sat back on her heels and tried to channel the professional, self-assured version of herself. Sorry, bad connection. Do you have something new for me already?

Sure do, but it’s a weird one.

While Hurley talked, Emily inhaled as deeply and quietly as she could, then let it out.

You’d be assisting a very busy CEO, Hurley was saying. His name is Jasper Neumann. Have you heard of him?

No. But I’m sure I can help. My résumé—

Yes, your résumé is excellent, but he doesn’t need that kind of assistance. It’s a bit… special.

Emily could hear Hurley tapping her pen against something. The top of her desk, maybe. Frowning, Emily trapped the phone between her ear and shoulder and leaned forward to pick scattered coins off the area rug.

It’s really… special, Hurley said finally. Then, silence.

Hurley?

He needs you to, uh. To procrastinate for him.

Emily froze. I didn’t quite catch that.

You’ll need to procrastinate for him, Hurley said. She’d regained the self-assured tone of voice she normally used.

Emily mulled over that puzzling sentence while she stared at the medium-pile rug fibers pressing up between the fingers of her left hand. The rug’s tan color almost made it look like she was pushing her palm into sand.

Hello? Emily?

Sorry. I’m not following. Emily pushed to her feet. She’d have preferred to stay on the floor, but her knees were starting to ache, and she needed to get ready for her shift at the grill. To help him stop procrastinating?

No. He requires someone who will come to his place of work and… procrastinate.

Procrastinate on what? Emily asked. I’m really confused.

It’s… yeah. Me, too. Hurley sighed. We get some weird requests, but this one takes the cake. I’m sure they’ll explain when you get there. The important thing to know is that it pays double your base rate.

Emily’s jaw dropped. How many hours?

It’s corporate, so, nine to five. And it’s a two-week commitment, assuming the first day goes according to plan.

A month’s wages for two weeks of work? She’d be able to make a dent in one of the credit cards she’d maxed out after Burke and Andy had gotten her fired.

She reached for the pen and notepad sitting on the table.

In that case, I would love to procrastinate for Mr. Neumann, she said.

Whatever the hell that meant.

Chapter 2

Emily quickly but very, very carefully stripped out of the knee-length blue skirt and tan vertically striped blouse she’d worn to work.

It was one of only four outfits that Burke hadn’t destroyed the day she kicked him out, and if she hadn’t forgotten her dry cleaning slip at the office, he’d have gotten everything.

All because of that man at the club. The gorgeous stranger in the demon mask.

Three months ago, but it felt like another lifetime.

When Burke had informed her that night that he needed her to come with him for a work thing, she’d imagined something boring. Sitting around with his extended family while they debated the profit margins of paper towels and automatic air dryers.

Then he surprised her by telling her to look nice. So she spent time fluffing up her long curls (even though Burke always hinted that she looked sloppy when she didn’t straighten her hair). She put on a bright red blouse, tight black jeans, and heeled boots.

You’re kinda hot tonight, Burke said. Let’s go.

Emily was surprised when he pulled into the parking lot in front of Working Out the Kinks, the BDSM club she’d frequented off and on for six months right after college. All that had been a few years before she’d met Burke, and she’d never told him about it. They weren’t kinky together. He hadn’t tried, and she certainly hadn’t asked.

Her heart pounded as she walked through the oversized red doors. Stepping into the black marbled foyer was like rolling back time. The club had the same layout as before. Register and coat check to the left. Private rooms all down the corridor past the coat check.

And to the right, the main club, with semi-private rooms, and, of course, the very public stages. There was an upstairs section as well, but it was for VIPs only, so she’d never been there.

Why don’t you wander around for a bit? Burke said to her as Andy and Andy’s father entered. The men have business to attend to.

The men, huh? She rolled her eyes. Whatever.

That uptight chick is heading for a breakdown if you turn her loose in a place like this, she heard Andy say as she walked away.

She didn’t even wince. They talked about her like that all the time. She blamed Andy. Burke wanted to impress him, so he never told Andy to knock it off. But he didn’t laugh, either, and he always apologized later, when they were alone at home.

She wandered deeper into the club and noticed many of the guests were wearing elaborate masks. She spotted a cocktail waitress who seemed vaguely familiar. She doubted the waitress remembered her. It had been several years, after all, and it wasn’t like she’d ever been a big spender.

Could I get a cosmo? Emily asked.

Sure, hon. Give me a few minutes. I’m slammed tonight.

What’s with the masks? she asked a slight man wearing nothing but black shorts, black construction-wannabe boots, and a black captain’s hat. The seat beside him, which shared the same round table as his, was empty, so she sat, relaxing into the plush red velvet.

It’s Mysterious Monday, he said. He leaned closer, a twinkle in his eye. That’s when all the married guys come out to play.

Eww, she said.

Eww, yourself, he said.

If they need masks, they’re probably not here with permission.

So? He waggled his eyebrows. If you’re going to be judgey, you should put me across your knee and give me a sound spanking.

No, thanks. She turned away from him, but there wasn’t anyone on the other side to speak with. Two women dressed in corsets and shiny black pants were walking by. They slowed.

Pretty girl, one said. Pretty cat. She handed Emily a cat mask.

For me? Emily asked, surprised.

The woman nodded. She had green eyes and black hair, neither of which looked real.

Emily stood—it seemed the polite thing to do—and pulled on the mask, which obscured her entire face. The eye slits were barely adequate. She made little claws of her hands and pawed at the air.

I knew it, the woman said with a delighted laugh. She fingered one of Emily’s curls. What sexy hair. Are you here to play? Where’s your armband?

I’m just having a drink while I wait for someone, Emily said. And then, because even though she really didn’t care what Andy thought, she wanted to prove to herself that she wasn’t uptight, she added, I used to play, but not so much these days.

Too bad, the woman’s friend said. You’re delicious. She had an accent. From England, maybe. Emily felt a little giddy, like she’d met a celebrity.

The women wandered off, but Emily got to keep the mask. The submissive who didn’t mind cheaters had also wandered off, which was fine by her.

After sitting again, she swept her gaze across the room. Two women were punishing a chubby man on the center stage. One of the side stages was empty. The other held a man fucking a woman who was chained spread-eagle to the wall.

Emily watched them for a minute and felt a surge of long-repressed desire. Burke wasn’t the man she’d dreamed about. Sure, he made her laugh, and he was hot as hell. But he spent too much time with his drug-dealing cousin.

It’d be better if he were less hot, more reliable, and more sexually adventurous, she thought, and immediately felt bad. He cared about her, even if he had trouble showing it sometimes.

She glanced around, looking for the waitress, but she wasn’t back yet, so Emily returned to watching the crowd. Dominants, submissives, switches…

A man stepped out from one of the private rooms. She froze.

A demonic mask, complete with horns, hid his face, but the rest of him was male perfection. She licked her lips and laughed softly, imagining what Andy would think. Leering at people from behind a mask? That was the opposite of clutching her pearls and passing out.

The guy was strikingly tall. Like the submissive who’d sat next to her, he was shirtless.

Unlike the submissive, he had broad shoulders and a torso that could have been sculpted of granite. And he was wearing jeans, not shorts.

Oh, heaven help her. She couldn’t stop staring at him as he raised his arm. He was holding a cat o’ nine tails. He draped the evil-looking whip over his shoulder.

Putting it away, she realized. She was curious to see whoever he’d been whipping, but he walked off without a backward glance. Someone he’d met at the club, then, and not a girlfriend or wife. The thought that he was single made her tingly.

Dumb, she scolded herself. She had Burke. And anyway, a guy like that probably wanted a leggy model who would look good on his arm.

But for some reason, she felt an almost desperate yearning. Like there was an opportunity slipping away from her. Like nothing else in life mattered.

Where’s my drink? She glanced around for the waitress, but there was still no sign of her. When she looked forward again, the man had disappeared.

Her heart lurched, and she frantically scoured the crowd for him. Maybe he’d gone back into the room, to continue the scene?

Then she spotted her demon. He’d been on the other side of the center stage. The submissive who’d been sitting beside her was now approaching him.

She watched as the submissive dropped to his knees, his head bowed.

The demon stepped around him without looking down, and Emily laughed aloud. That submissive was so obviously desperate, he needed to set his sights a little lower.

Well, she told herself, he did try you first. Comparatively, he started at the bottom.

Because I sat next to him, she said, still laughing. She’d forgotten how much fun it was to come to the club and see all the interesting people, their interactions.

Cosmo, said a voice behind her. The cocktail waitress leaned down and set the glass on the small round table. I have to drop these off. Pay me when I come back.

She hustled off, a full platter of drinks balanced on one hand, the other hand gently nudging oblivious guests out of the way.

Emily lifted up the mask to take a few sips of the drink, then settled it over her face again. Where had the hunky demon gone? She scrutinized the spot where she’d last seen him, then expanded her scope.

Where the hell was he—

Oh. Heading her way.

Thank goodness for the mask and the dim lighting. She could stare at him without consequence.

That’ll be thirteen dollars, the waitress said, obstructing the world’s best view.

Emily wrinkled her nose behind her mask. Prices had certainly gone up since she’d last been here. She reached into her boot to grab the two twenties