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“Maybe if you told me why they call you the Wolf, I’d stop bringing it up.”
If it was possible, his expression hardened even more and the temperature in the store dropped by about twenty degrees.
“Fine. You win. Don’t go.” Setting the mask down, I brushed past him, headed for the exit. I didn’t get far before his hand locked on my bicep and yanked me to a stop, his mouth close to my ear.
“What the fuck you mean ‘don’t go’?”
“Exactly what I said.” I matched his glare and straightened my spine. “I’m a big boy, Sasha. I don’t need you to babysit me for the rest of my life because one bad thing happened.”
Both of his eyebrows went up. “One bad thing?Onebad thing?” Ah, fuck… here it comes… “Do not stand there and act like it was nothing. I have a right to be concerned. You could have died, Roan! You almostdiddie!”
“But I didn’t. And excuse me,yourright? It didn’t happen toyou. And it was months ago, so can you fucking drop it already?”
“No.” Figured.
As much ashehated being reminded of the fact I was beaten to a bloody pulp and left for dead in an alley,Ihated it even more. But I especially hated that every so often we played the “Who suffered more?” game. I didn’t want to discount his feelings on the whole event, but I also wanted to maybe, one day, get on with my life. I couldn’t exactly do that while he was still being ridiculously overprotective.
Someone cleared their throat next to us. “Can I help you gentlemen find anything?”
Sasha also cleared his throat and tugged the lapels of his suit jacket, blatantly ignoring the clerk while walking in the opposite direction.
I tore my gaze away from Sasha’s retreating form and smiled at the old woman dripping in scarves and chunky jewelry. “Yeah, actually. I’m interested in that gold mask over there,” I said in the most upbeat voice I could manage, pointing toward the front of the store and well away from the sulking Russian.
“Oh, lovely. Let me get it down for you.”
“Thank you so much.” I smiled again, only letting it fall once her back was turned. Sasha and I didn’t venture out into public together very often and when we did we tended to fall into this dynamic — he would be the abrupt/borderline-rude attack dog, growling and barking at anyone who so much as looked at him wrong, and I’d have to charm the offended party with as much charisma as I could muster so we didn’t a) get kicked out or b) have the cops called on us.
Throwing a glance over my shoulder, I caught sight of Sasha across the store, his head tipped back and his eyes closed like he was praying. I didn’t know what his deal was with going to a charity event, but he was acting like it was the worst thing I’d ever asked him to do. Considering the things that had gone down in our relationship so far, this seemed like a very minor thing to pick a fight about.
On top of that, it was another reminder of the vastly different worlds from which we came. Trying to navigate between them wasn’t always easy, especially since Sasha was under strict orders from his boss to not engage in or display any “queer shit” in public. It only added to the stress and was one of the primary reasons we preferred staying in, other than Sasha’s disdain for people as a whole. But now we had a chance to gooutand do something, like a normal couple, without risk of being seen. I didn’t expect him to be as excited about it as I was, but I didn’t get why he wassopissed.
The woman pulled down the mask I’d indicated and held it out to me. I nodded my approval and she started the process of ringing me up.
Even from a distance, I felt Sasha’s ice-blue gaze raking across my skin, practically searing a hole right through me. I turned slowly and locked eyes with him. After being on the receiving end of his death stare time and again I was unfazed by it. Then I did the one thing I knew would guarantee an end to this squabble — I flashed him my most radiant smile, exuding all the American warmth and goodwill he simultaneously loved and hated.
A second later, he rolled his eyes and muttered something under his breath.
“I’ll take the wolf mask, too,” I said to the cashier, feeling none of the happiness I outwardly projected.
* * *
Beingthat Bennett was the host and he was anything but predictable, the masquerades were never held in the same location from year to year. Last year was at the Field Museum. This year? One of the historic mansions built during the Gilded Age by one of the many millionaires who popped up in Chicago at the end of the nineteenth century. If memory served, it was part of the Bancroft estate, to which Bennett was somehow connected. Either way, it was an impressive venue.
When we climbed out of the car, Sasha stopped in his tracks. I couldn’t tell if it was the size and opulence of the house, the gobs of Halloween decorations, or the sea of people milling about that had him on edge already. Probably all of the above.
Slipping my hand into his, I tugged him forward. He promptly ripped his hand free, giving me an icy glare from beneath his ornate wolf mask. “Public.”
“Masked,” I spat back, grabbing his hand again and giving it a hard squeeze.
“I don’t like this,” he murmured as we drifted through the foyer and into the dark, glittering ballroom. Everything was draped in black and purple silks and damasks with candles and spiderwebs on every surface. Skeletons, bats, and stuffed crows were scattered around the room, along with elaborate displays of black and purple flowers. “Someone could see us.”
“Masks,” I reminded him for the twentieth time as he plucked his hand out of mine. “Besides, it’s not like I’m going to jump your bones in the middle of the silent auction.”
In addition to the side-eye he gave me, I could tell his nose wrinkled beneath the mask. “What the fuck does that mean? Is that a Halloween joke? Because it’s not funny.”
“It’s just a saying,” I replied, lacing my fingers through his. I held onto his forearm with my other hand so he couldn’t disentangle himself quite so easily. “It means I’m not going to fuck you in front of everyone, so relax.”
“Relax.” He scoffed, muttering under his breath, “I’ll relax when we’re home and I can take this ridiculous thing off.”
