The women didn’t get to sleep until after two in the morning, sleeping until noon. It was a luxury she’d never before allowed herself. When she awoke, the day began in earnest and she was plucked and waxed and twisted in every imaginable way.

She was now standing before a full length mirror and didn’t recognize the person staring back at her. The dress was stunning and showed off every one of her curves to perfection and the accessories Jasmine and Trinity had added were over the top. She really felt like a princess about to enter her first ball. Jasmine had insisted on her borrowing some jewelry and Nicole was terrified one of the huge sapphires was going to fall from her ears. She didn’t want to even think about the cost of them.

“You’re the most stunning creature. When Ryan see’s you tonight he’s going to have a heart attack. Beyond that, every man in the room will be determined to whisk you away from him. I can’t wait to see his face,” Trinity said, coming up to stand beside her.

Nicole thought she was the one who was stunning. Both Trinity and Jasmine were beyond gorgeous in their gowns and jewelry. No one would ever be able to guess they’d both had children because it certainly didn’t show in their perfect figures. Nicole never would’ve realized she was equally as devastating.

When the women finally made their entrance into the hall, wearing their jeweled masks, every head in the place turned to watch. The three cousins sucked in air, which wasn’t released for some time. They were the most stunning women in the room.

Nicole looked around the huge room and wondered how the women had talked her into going to the party. She wanted to turn around and leave the instant she saw all the fancily dressed people filling up the place, all wearing masks. She was so out of her league. She really did underestimate her own beauty.

Jasmine and Trinity were whisked away by their husbands, leaving Nicole standing their feeling foolish. Ryan wasn’t approaching her, which she figured was most likely a good thing but she was also too insecure to handle being all alone.

She turned to leave, when someone tugged on her arm. “Is that you, Nicole?” a voice asked her.

“Yes,” she answered. She couldn’t figure out who was speaking to her. The masks certainly hid one’s identity but she should still be able to have an inkling of who the person was.

“It’s Stephanie, we went to school together, remember?” she said and Nicole then knew exactly who it was. They’d been friends for years but like everyone else she’d once been close to she’d lost contact.

“It’s so great to see you Stephanie, it’s been too many years,” Nicole said, truly meaning her words. It was nice to see another familiar face in a crowd of strangers. Stephanie gave her a hug.

“Don’t let this party intimidate you, Jasmine would never invite anyone who was too horrible,” Stephanie reassured her.

“I know but I feel too old to be at a dance,” Nicole told her self-consciously.

“Seriously you need to live a little bit, once in a while is my philosophy. I remember from school you were far more likely to study than attend a dance, so let go and pretend you have no responsibilities for a night. Most people won’t even recognize you and you look beyond gorgeous, so stop worrying about things and allow yourself to have a great time,” Stephanie told her.

Nicole knew Stephanie was right. What made anyone in the room any better than her? Ryan was insisting she hang on his arm at certain events like arm candy so she’d better get used to it. Besides, just because the other people in the room were blessed with more money than they needed didn’t make them any better than her.

A lot of the people were from money and hadn’t worked an honest day in their lives. She didn’t mean Jasmine and Derek. They were the nicest people she’d ever known. She could see from the looks of some of the guests it was all about who had the most expensive things and that was a huge turn off for Nicole.

“I’m off to find some sexy man to whisk me off to paradise,” Stephanie told her. “I’ll look for you later, it really was great to see you,” she added and hugged Nicole.

Stephanie took off in one direction and left Nicole to wander around to a quiet corner. She grabbed a plate and swiped some food. She was starving and the smells from the food were making her stomach growl. She was used to eating top ramen, or a good soup, when she was really lucky, so the table full of delicacies’ was making her practically drool.

She was still living each day as if she was on her last meal. It was how it had been for too many years to remember anything different. She loaded her plate to overflowing, then snuck off to a corner and started shoveling it in, praying no one noticed her. She was certainly not acting like any of the other women who’d never eat at a function, in fear of gaining a pound or getting something stuck between their teeth.

Ryan was standing in a group of people, desperately trying to keep up with the boring conversation but his eyes were following Nicole everywhere she went. He was trying to maintain some distance from her but the second he’d spotted her in the figure hugging gown, his groin had jumped to life and he’d known he was far better off to avoid her for a while. He certainly approved of whatever the girls had been up to the night before.

He half listened to what his companions were talking about. He nodded where he was supposed to and uttered a comment here and there but his eyes never left Nicole. He felt his lips tilt, as he noticed her flick her eyes around the room guiltily, then fill her plate to overflowing. If he had any doubts she wasn’t one of the high society women normally at the parties her full plate would’ve clued him in. He was thinking he was going to play a game with her that night.

Why not start from scratch and pretend to be strangers? He could romance her and add some mystery to their relationship. Nothing else seemed to be working to keep her mind off her worries, so why not spice things up, he thought. He was getting more excited by the moment, imagining how things were going to end that night.

Ryan watched as she glanced around again and seemed to sigh a bit as she didn’t think anyone was watching her.

He couldn’t believe he’d almost refused to come to the masquerade. His mood lightened up considerably. As he looked around he noticed all the women wearing their usual skimpy designer dresses and ostentatious jewelry.

Even though it was a masquerade and everyone was supposed to disguise themselves, the women wanted to be noticed and most held masques on sticks, so they could move them aside. He was personally wearing a Zorro mask but it hadn’t taken the barracuda women long to figure out who he was and they were swarming him. They would be shocked to find who he chose to take home with him. Most of the people in the room knew nothing of his past.

“Ryan, you didn’t hear a word I just said,” the grating voice of the current female trying to hold his attention said to him. She’d been giving him signals for months she was readily available and looking for her next husband to keep her in the lifestyle she was so accustomed. He hadn’t wanted to be rude to her but he had a feeling he was going to have to spell it out in black and white, he wasn’t interested.

“I’m sorry, my mind was on business,” he easily lied, soothing her feelings. She gave her best fake smile and rubbed her barely covered breasts up against his arm. He felt nothing from the touch. “I’m sorry to leave you ladies but I’m going for a bite to eat, then I have business to discuss with Tom,” he said, as he pulled away from the group.

“You know how to find us when you’re ready to play instead of talk business,” another woman pouted at him. He couldn’t even remember her name. He needed to make it known soon he was no longer available, although he knew that wouldn’t stop most of the women he was used to dealing with. He walked away and forgot all about them as soon as he left.

He kept his eyes on Nicole, feeling a clenching in his gut, as he tried to figure out what she was thinking of the party. He knew it was so far removed from her normal life she was most likely uncomfortable.

He was stopped several times on his way over towards her and had to fight to not growl at the continued interruptions. He wanted to get to her before she decided to slip away. He wouldn’t be able to play out his game if she were to run away and change. After all it was a masquerade; the night was about secrets and romance.

He ignored the next couple of people who tried to stop him and made a beeline toward Nicole. Damn, she was so unlike the stick figure women surrounding him. She had on a fitted black dress, showing off her luscious hips and impressive breasts to perfection. Her stomach was flat and her legs seemed to go on forever. She was wearing a pair of high heels that only enhanced those gorgeous legs. He would definitely make sure his cousin’s spouses took her out shopping more often, since he greatly liked the affect.

He wanted to see her dark hair released from the bun it was currently tied in. He wanted to rip the mask off her features and see her flawless skin but then the mystery of the game would fade away.

“How are you this evening?” he asked her from behind, as he finally made his way to her darkened corner. He had to fight the smile as her entire body stiffened for a moment as she slowly turned to face him. He felt another clench in his gut as she looked at him with her incredible blue eyes enhanced by make-up to look even more exotic than ever before. The part of her face he could see was stunning, as usual. Let the games begin.

Nicole looked at Ryan and forgot how to speak for a moment. He was seriously the sexiest guy she’d ever encountered before, even with the mask, or maybe because of it. He towered over her own five and a half foot height, making her have to look upward. He had broad shoulders, shown to perfection beneath the custom made black suit. He’d been gorgeous as a teenager but the man before her was simply breathtaking.

His full lips were tilted up in a smile that seemed to be hiding some kind of a secret. His intense green eyes were looking at her as if she was his next conquest and she found the idea wasn’t unpleasant. She saw his hand lifting towards her mask and quickly took a step backwards.

“I’m wonderful and yourself?” she finally managed to answer him, with what she hoped was the proper amount of mystery.

“I’m much better now that I’ve managed to find you. Have we met before?” he asked. She couldn’t figure out what he was playing at but she found she was intrigued. She knew he had no doubts about who she was but for some reason, he wanted to play a game. She was willing to play along for a while, especially after her glass of champagne. She also had added confidence from her clothes and expertly applied make-up.

“I believe I’d remember meeting you but isn’t the whole point of a masquerade to remain a mystery?” she asked him. She was surprised by the quivering in her stomach, which didn’t seem to be subsiding. She had to admit she was still attracted to Ryan and his admiration was stroking her ego.

“Ah yes, a masquerade is full of mystery but I’m finding I really want to see what’s behind your mask,” he said, putting his full amount of charm behind the words. The longer they played their game, the more aroused he was getting. He couldn’t ever remember wanting a woman as much as he wanted her. He forgot his cousins were even in the room and completely forgot about all the other party goers. He had eyes for only Nicole.