Hmm. It was good to know he wasn’t completely broken, not if the rapid response of his cock to his wandering thoughts was any indication.
Dean turned to Suz and offered his full attention so he could finish this conversation and track his quarry. “God of Mischief. Why am I not surprised?”
“I was shocked when Pepper suggested it. Shocked, I tell you.” Suz laid a hand on his arm, one brow rising as she discovered there was no padding under his costume. “You, on the other hand… Tell me again why we’re not fucking like it’s going out of style? You are pumped, dude.”
“We’d set the world tipping off its axis if we started anything.” Dean motioned toward the last of the party disappearing up the stairs. He had to tread carefully, because Suz was just mean enough to mess with him if he let her know he was interested in one of her friends.
Ah, friendship. So many layers of love and torment all mixed up into one bundle of pain in the ass.
But it was safe to ask one question. “What’s happening upstairs?”
She pulled the Iron Man mask from under his arm and slipped it over his head. The damn thing covered not only his face, but also his ears and the back of his head. He felt like a frickin’ mummy.
“Haunted house. You do a loop, get freaked out, then come down at the front stairway. You should try it.”
“I won’t be scared,” he said. His voice echoed strangely under the solid plastic contraption before escaping through the breathing holes.
Her eyes lit up. “Oh, that’s cool. Say something else.” She sounded weird, too.
“Anything you want, baby.”
She gave a full-body shimmy and her smile widened. “Okay, I know we’re not fooling around, but if you want to call me sometime while you’re wearing that thing, I’d have no objections. I think you could make a woman orgasm just with your voice.”
“Dean is talking women to orgasm now?” Lynn was there, curling her hands around Suz’s arm. She eyed him for a moment. “Doesn’t seem like too much of a stretch.”
“The mask makes him sound like he’s got an accent. Maybe British,” Suz insisted. “Very Cumberbatchy-like.”
Neither of them could see him roll his eyes. “If you don’t mind, I’m off to track down the ghosts and goblins upstairs.”
“See?” Suz crowed in delight as Lynn slapped a hand over her mouth. “Verbal foreplay at its finest.”
He was still shaking his head as he broke away, but instead of heading toward the start of the upstairs tour, he jogged to the front door. He took the steps two at a time, dodging through the costumed guests as he moved against the flow to the end of the haunted house.
Sneaking through the door the next time it opened put him into near total darkness. He inched along the wall, ducking into alcoves so he didn’t ruin anyone’s spooky surprises, but the entire time he kept his eyes peeled for one person.
Sound effects of moaning and blood-curdling screams echoed off the walls, but he was too primed to take notice of anything or anyone but her.
A glowing vision in the middle of a fog-filled marsh.
He’d walked into a wide space lit with dancing fireflies. People drifted at random through the room, gasps of fear escaping along with the occasional squeal of delight. His goddess stood near the wall, not moving. She’d pulled her cowl up so the only thing he could see was the shape of her under the robes, her delicate hands clutched together over her chest.
He was two steps away when the lights went out.
Dean froze, waiting for something to leap at them, but nothing happened for a full minute. Then static, before Pepper’s voice rang over DreamMakers’ battery-operated backup sound system.
“Holy blackout, Batman. Sorry, guys—we’ve got a power outage. Looks like the entire block, but don’t worry, I’ve got someone going for the emergency switch. It’s pouring rain outside, so if you just stay put, you can avoid getting soaked. And everyone up in the haunted house, take a load off and sit yourself down. Don’t try to get out—there are too many booby traps, and we don’t want anyone hurting themselves. It should only be a couple minutes.”
The message ended with a high-pitched screech from the system.
Great. Maybe this was punishment for being an ass for most of his life. Then something bounced off him, and a feminine gasp floated past his ears. He reached out instinctively and caught an armful of silky softness.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered.
It was her. His goddess. Holy shit. He needed to offer sacrifices to the Great Pumpkin or something for this. “No problem. You okay?”
“Sure. I like being stuck in the dark.”
He laughed as he reluctantly released her. “It won’t be too long.”
She caught his arm before he could put some space between them. “Can I stick with you?”
An enormous crash sounded from across the room, followed by the sound of tinkling glass. Curses rang out, then an unapologetic male voice. “Crap. I bumped a fucking lamp or something.”