Undead Love: A Post-Apocalyptic Romance Page 23

  I wondered what it all meant. What was the point of the colored rooms? Why make a mask a prize? It didn’t make sense. I glanced over at Kirk, trying to figure it out, but his expression was unreadable, especially with all the makeup on his face.

  “Sir.” Gretchen handed me a plate of food.

  “Thank you.” I nodded my head at her, glad to have such a faithful and hardworking woman as one of my employees. It really made things a lot easier for me.

  For a while, everything was quiet. Everyone seemed to be enjoying their food. Light chatter floated through the room, filling it with a soft hum.

  “What are you thinking about?” Essie asked, leaning toward me so our faces nearly touched. “You’ve had this serious look on your face for a while now.”

  “Nothing… I was just zoning out.”

  “Daydreaming about me?” she teased, her fingers crawling up my leg.

  “You know it,” I smirked. “You’re becoming a greater and greater temptation by the minute. If the doors weren’t locked, I’d whisk you out of here in a heartbeat.”

  She laughed, a sweet and innocent sound that filled my heart, making it beat ten times faster. Was everything about this woman perfect?

  “Have you noticed Chris and Ebony?” She turned in her chair so I could see.

  The two of them were forehead to forehead as they whispered to one another. Underneath the table, their fingers were locked. Chris’ cheeks were dyed a subtle shade of red. He was actually blushing. I couldn’t remember the last time I had seen him blush. He must really like Ebony.

  “They seem to be getting along.”

  “Getting along? They are completely smitten with one another. I’ve never seen my sister look at someone the same way she looks at Chris.”

  I watched them a moment longer. Everything about them seemed intimate. There was no doubt that a fire was smoldering between them, flaring into an inferno that would soon consume them.

  “I’m surprised,” I said, finally looking away, my eyes settling on Essie’s face.

  “Why?”

  “My brother is pretty antisocial. He hasn’t had a girlfriend in a long, long time.”

  She chuckled. “Antisocial? I’m lucky if I can get my sister out of the house without dragging her.”

  “Then, I guess they really are perfect for each other,” I said, about to get back to my food when Kirk suddenly jumped on the table. His combat boots were inches away from my hand. I dropped my fork and looked up at him. Such an angle made his face look dark and sinister.

  “I hope you all had a nice meal because it is time to start the hunt!” He marched down the table, destroying perfectly good food in his wake. “This room’s clue is ‘youth’.” He pulled his hair into two pigtails and wagged his head wildly. “The youth of your childhood. Running through the neighborhood. Swinging on swings. Sliding down slides. Riding your bike. Scraping your knees. Afternoon naps in Kindergarten. Think of this as you look for an item wrapped in a bright red scarf.”

  Eyes started to roam the room, looking for the said item.

  “And, go!” he commanded, jumping off the table and disappearing into the mass of people who had gotten out of their seats.

  “Come on, we have to find that scarf!” I pulled Essie to her feet.

  “Not before us!” Ebony butted in with a wild grin on her face.

  We exchanged glares before heading in opposite directions.

  “Keep your eyes peeled.”

  “What do you think I’m doing?” We searched the China cabinet first, but there wasn’t a spec of red to be seen.

  “This should be blatantly obvious. Why can’t we find it?”

  “Maybe it’s hidden in plain sight,” Essie suggested.

  “Hmm, you might be right.” I tried to clear my mind so I could look at the room with fresh eyes. That didn’t help because before I could survey the room someone plucked a teddy bear off the couch. It wore a tiny red scarf around its neck.

  “I found it!”

  Kirk immediately tied a red mask to their face. “Congratulations, my friend, you have advanced into the elite.”

  Still, no one knew what that meant.

  Chapter 11

  ESSIE

  “Bummer,” I said, laying a hand on Allen’s shoulder. “At this rate, you might never get your chance with me.”

  He shook his head. “One way or another, you’ll be mine, I’m sure of it.”

  I shivered with desire. Deep down, I wanted him more than anything. Hell, I would have stowed away in a tiny broom closet if only to feel his hands roaming every inch of my body. His hips on mine. Mouth to mouth. Member raging between my thighs. But, I knew if I kept taunting and teasing him, things would only get better. I wanted him at the point of desperation – to the point where he could do nothing but ravish me.

  “Come on, everyone is moving into a different room.” I pulled him toward the line of people filing into a narrow doorway. Chris and Ebony were right on our heels, holding hands like they were a long-time couple.

  Once we crossed the threshold, we were met by a bright green room.

  “Ah! I’ve finally figured it out,” Chris said.

  “It was so obvious…” Ebony added.

  Allen and I both turned to look at them. “What are you talking about?” I asked.

  “I should have seen it from the beginning. The colors... The clues... The red masks...” Chris shook his head, disappointed with himself.

  “Just tell us what it is already,” Allen demanded, getting a little annoyed with his brother. “I don’t need all the suspense.”

  “And for this room, your clue is ‘adolescence’.” Kirk’s voice reached my ears but I didn’t pay him much attention.

  “Don’t tell me you guys don’t know.” Ebony had a smug look on her face like she always did when she knew something I didn’t.

  “No,” Allen answered, his lips pressed together in a hard line. “But I would love some enlightenment.”

  “This whole game is just a recreation of Edgar Allen Poe’s The Masque of the Red Death,” Chris answered.

  “And… what’s that?” I asked, raising an eyebrow. There were already goosebumps prickling my arms. Something about the Red Death just sent a shiver running through my spine.

  Was this game about to take a deadly edge?

  “Well, in summary, this guy has this party where everyone wears masks. His house is considered a fortress against a plague that is going on outside of it. But then, someone wearing a red mask comes in and infects everyone with scarlet fever.” Ebony’s voice took on a dull tone as she droned on like she was a professor giving us a lecture.

  I faked a yawn, much to her irritation.

  “If you didn’t want to know, why did you ask?” she snapped, crossing her arms over her chest. “Next time, Google it instead of asking me.”

  I rolled my eyes. “You’re so childish sometimes.”

  She didn’t bother with a response. Instead, she stomped to the other side of the room.

  “You know, when you were telling me about your scary Halloween game, I was expecting something a little better.” Chris teased. “This is nothing but a couple of scavenger hunts and a poor attempt at bringing in a fine piece of literature.” He shook his head, joining Ebony near the fireplace.

  Allen’s face darkened.

  “Forget them,” I said, squeezing his hand. “They are just mad that they are supposedly so smart and yet, they can’t figure out any of the scavenger hunts.”

  He nodded. “I can’t wait to see the look on their faces when we find something first.”

  I smirked. “Me too. It’s about time someone put Ebony in her place.”

  Determined to outdo our older siblings we started to search every crevice of the room, even though we had no idea what we were looking for. We had been so concerned with learning the layout of the game that we hadn’t properly listened to Kirk.

  “Do y
ou think you could find your friend and ask him to repeat the clue? I feel like we are trying to find a needle in a haystack here.”

  “If I could find him… But he seems to have disappeared.” Allen looked around the room. “You’d think it would be easy to find someone dressed up as the Joker.”

  “Should we ask Batman to help us?” I pointed my thumb in the direction of a chubbier man who seemed to be sweating his way through his costume.

  “Oh? Old Bill? He’s as senile as Adam West himself.”

  “I don’t think he’s actually crazy. I just think you’ve been watching too much Family Guy.”

  “Guilty as charged,” Allen admitted.

  With no sign of the item or Kirk, we continued our search, hoping to get lucky.

  “Have you noticed that there are fewer people in this room?” I asked, opening a trunk beside one of the couches. Of course, it was empty.

  “Hmm, you’re right. Maybe people got bored and decided to leave?”

  “But, I thought the doors were locked?”

  Allen walked up to the main door and tugged on the handle. “You’re right. So, how are people leaving? Have you seen anyone leave?”

  “No…”

  We looked at each other for a moment, trying to figure out what was going on.

  Suddenly, Kirk appeared. “Are you trying to escape?” he asked, leaning against the wall. “Because no one escapes my little game…”

  Allen let go of the handle and turned toward his friend. “How do you keep doing that?”

  “Doing what?” Kirk asked innocently.

  “Just popping up. It’s like you just spring out of thin air or something.”

  “Maybe I do.” He grinned mysteriously. “But a true magician never reveals his secrets.”

  “If you’re a magician, where’s your fluffy white rabbit?” I asked.

  “I’m sure I could find one.” His fingers danced across my collarbone for a fleeting moment before Allen slapped his hand away, getting between us. “But, it might not be easy…” he said, glancing at Allen.

  “No. It’ll be impossible,” Allen growled, still standing in front of me, his eyes intense and full of jealousy. In a way, I was taken aback by how possessive he was being. Did he want me that bad? Bad enough to fight his friend? Because that’s what it looked like.

  “Maybe you’ll have better luck with Jessica Rabbit,” I said, trying to ease the tension that had built between the two men.

  “And face the wrath of her husband? Have you seen the size of him?” Kirk shook his head. “I rather make it out of this alive… but I can’t say the same thing for anyone else.” He winked before disappearing into the room.

  “What do you think he meant by that?” I asked, looking at Allen. A deep chill settled over my bones. “He wasn’t being serious, was he?”

  “Of course not… This is just a game. He’s just trying to scare us.”

  I knew he was right, but deep down, this sense of dread settled in the pit of my stomach.

  Chapter 12

  ALLEN

  Eventually, someone found the item. I groaned, starting to get frustrated that I couldn’t find anything. All I needed was one item and I’d have Essie all to myself. Her sweet flesh beneath my fingers. Her lips on mine. Her legs wrapped around my waist as her back arched and she screamed my name.

  “I don’t know how much more of this I can take…” I whispered as we left the room.

  She just smiled knowingly. She was fully aware of what she was doing to me and she was loving every second of it. This woman was a vixen. One that would drive me crazy.

  Together, we walked down a long hallway, following the crowd. It was half the size of what it once was. But, where had everyone gone?

  “Intermission!” Kirk bellowed into a megaphone. “Please return to this door in thirty minutes! But, don’t get lost, who knows what might be lurking in the shadows!” When he was done with his announcement, he plopped down into a director’s chair and pulled out a newspaper, flipping through the funny pages. He seemed totally absorbed in himself.

  “Well, what do we do now?” Essie asked, leaning on me, batting her eyelashes.

  “Oh, I can think of quite a few things…” I smirked, my hand on her ass, squeezing the supple flesh. “What do you say?”

  “I say, let’s see where the night takes us.”

  My smirk deepened. Quickly, I took her by the hand, guiding her through the maze-like corridors until we reached the stairs.

  “Race you,” she challenged as soon as she took off her high heels.

  “You’re on.”

  In a flash, she was bolting up the stairs. Her steps were light and airy, barely making a sound. I followed after her, my own footsteps thundering against the polished marble. I was just about to catch up with her when the train of her dress tripped me up.

  I fell forward, catching myself before I could face plant.

  Essie looked back. “Are you okay?” she asked, while still running up the stairs. She wasn’t about to lose her lead.

  I didn’t bother to answer her as I got to my feet, sprinting up the stairs.

  Even so, she beat me to the top, standing there triumphantly. “Slowpoke,” she teased.

  I kept running, tackling her into my arms. We rammed into a nearby wall so hard that a nearby vase rattled on its stand. She gasped, the air escaping from her lungs. I took my opportunity to kiss her – hard.

  Our lips started their erotic dance, melding into one. My hands were already exploring her body, taking in every inch of her.

  She wrapped her arms around my neck, tugging on my hair as her tongue slithered into my mouth, tangling with mine.

  My chest burned with a deep, carnal passion. Inside my pants, my cock came to life, rubbing against her thigh as my hand slipped under her dress. My fingers tiptoed onto her panties, feeling the silk material for the first time.

  Lace. With a little bow. I liked that. I liked that a lot.

  Slowly, my hands moved onto her ass, feeling the bare skin.

  Mmm, a thong to boot. Could things get any better?

  I hooked my finger around the thin piece of fabric and tugged on it, causing it to dig between her cheeks.

  She moaned into the kiss, her head tilting back.

  I immediately lowered my lips to her neck, sucking on her skin, leaving behind small little hickeys.

  “Allen…” The sound of my name on her lips sounded so sweet. I wanted to hear her say it over and over again, louder and louder. I needed to feel her desperation – to know that she felt the same burning heat inside of her as I did.

  I pulled a little harder, the fabric straining to stay together. I thought about ripping it right off.

  I was just about to do so when she pushed me again. “Don’t think you can weasel your way out of finding an item.”

  “Are you really going to make me wait?” I asked, my boner obvious through the thin material of my pants. “If I wait any longer… I might just die.”

  “Hmm…” She thought it over but still shook her head. “I wouldn’t mind screwing around with a zombie if you did.”

  I groaned loudly. “I swear… you’re going to be the end of me.”

  She giggled and flipped her hair over her shoulder. As she stepped back into the light of the hallway, her cheeks seemed to glow with a soft pink radiance. God, she was beautiful… I just had to have her.

  “Fine. If that’s what it takes…”

  “I look forward to it.” She winked, heading down the hall. “We have twenty minutes to kill. Why don’t you show me around a bit?”

  “What do you want to see?”

  “Anything.”

  “Anything?” I asked.

  “Whipping out your dick won’t count,” she clarified.

  “Damn. Just when I thought I had found a loophole.” We both laughed. “Anyway, I know exactly where to take you. I think you’ll love it.”

&nbs
p; Chapter 13

  ESSIE

  We stepped into the elevator, riding it down to the first floor. There, loud music boomed from the ball room where people were grinding together into one big sweaty mosh pit.