Perfect Masquerade Book 6

chapter 1

Jin stood in your doorway pressing you into  lingering kiss after lingering kiss.  He had surprised you last night by showing up after 9 pm with Soju and pizza. 

You were still finding your way after more than a year apart but Jin had been steadfast in taking every opportunity to see you , if only for a few hours.

Last night had been intense and too brief as always and now you were postponing goodbye as long as possible.

Jin exhaled deeply and placed his forehead to yours.  He was renewed just by stepping in your door and into your arms.  He hated to leave you and was ignoring the watch ticking minutes away. 

As he finally withdrew from you he looked down and thought again how beautiful you were.  His mind began roaming over the times and ways you had taken his breath away.
He leaned in for another kiss, calculating when he could see you again.

Suddenly he remembered something important he had left in the car in his haste to get to you.

“Wait" he said as he kissed you “I forgot something”.  He grabbed his bag on the way to the car and quickly returned.  In his hand he had a large black box.

Stepping back inside he held the box in front of him, oddly nervous.

Jin was still in awe of the fact that you had forgiven him for his stupid selfish decision.  A part of him still worried you would change your mind and decide he was not worth the strain his lifestyle placed on your relationship.  At your encouraging smile, he handed you the box.

The box opened to reveal an invitation and two exquisite masks.  You looked at Jin puzzled and he explained. 

“This is for a charity masquerade ball.  We go every year.  Will you…” you watched as Jin swallowed hard “ will you be my date?”

It pained you to see him so unsure of himself, or of you.  You had told Jin that your heart was unreservedly in this relationship, but he had still had not forgiven himself.

“Jin!  This looks like so much fun!  I would love to go with you!” you kissed him in genuine excitement.  The invitation was exquisite.  The actual invitation was printed in black and gold on heavy vellum paper.  The date was for 6 weeks from now.  You made a mental note this would be about the time Jin would be returning from his latest trip.  This would be an exciting reunion!

Looking further in the box you were taken by the black velvet lining.  Inside the box were two delicate masks.  You gently raised the smaller one to your face and glanced at Jin.  He groaned and said “Yes, this……..” and kissed you.

“These are for keepsakes.  We will choose elaborate ones for the first part of the evening, then after the charity auction is the unmasking, then we put simple ones on for the rest of the evening"  seeing a frown begin on your face he took you in his arms “What's wrong?”  he asked.

“ “This sounds very…” you trailed off.

He kissed you and said “it is.  The agency gives us a clothing allowance for it, so don’t worry about that part. Do you feel comfortable working with JangMi?”

You nodded at him.  JangMi was Jin's new stylist.  She was older and married and you Liked her as soon as you met her.”Yes, I trust her"

“Good” he said" she will help with any questions and will coordinate my things with what ever you select.  I can’t wait to see you that night" Jin's imagination was already running wild.

  He bent to kiss you again, the kiss quickly blooming into hunger for you. He held you close, one hand caressing your face, his mouth and tongue pressing and tasting yours.

Unfortunately his phone rang . He took a deep breath and glanced at it.  He had missed 3 messages.  He was going to be late. Damn it!!

You pulled away and stood hugging yourself.  This was going to be a long break from him, but you had the party to look forward to now.

“,I love you" he whispered, kissing you on the cheek.

He slipped out the door before he gave into temptation again.

“I love you" you called after him.

He blew you a kiss before he stepped in the car.  You watched until you could no longer see his car before you turned and went into the house.