The Morning After
Light streamed through my window, bathing the room in a warm golden glow.
I slowly opened my eyes, expecting to see my beautifully decorated bedroom-the one I had spent hours making perfect.
Instead, I was met with a modern white room.
“What the hell?” I mumbled to myself.
I tried to sit up, but something was holding me down.
I looked down.
An arm.
A very muscular, tattooed arm, I might add.
My eyes followed the arm until they landed on the man lying beside me.
His black hair was messy from sleep, and his facial features were absolutely gorgeous. He looked like a fucking Greek god.
And those lips.
Damn.
Those lips.
The perfect shape. The perfect color.
I was staring at him so intensely that I almost forgot where I was.
Almost.
A sudden movement snapped me out of my daze.
I looked up and realized it wasn’t just him.
Another Greek god emerged from the bathroom.
His brown hair was still dripping from the shower, Water droplets sliding down his broad shoulders and over every inch of his tattoo-covered body.
I shamelessly started at him for a moment before looking up at his face.
His green eyes met mine.
I froze. I couldn’t lie- I was captivated.
Then reality came crashing back.
Where the fuck was I?
Who were these people
And, more importantly, what the hell had I done last night?
As I tried to piece everything together, I noticed his eyes drifting downward.
He stopped.
I frowned, wondering what the hell he was looking at.
Then I followed his gaze.
Oh.
Oh, no.
I was completely naked.
I immediately yanked the covers up to my chest, shielding myself as quickly as possible.
My face burned.
I scrambled out of bed, taking the covers with me. I didn’t even care if I woke the black-haired Greek god that was still asleep.
My eyes landed on my clothes scattered across the floor.
Thank God.
I quickly snatched them up and changed as fast as I could. Then I grabbed my purse from the nightstand and practically sprinted out of the apartment.
I called an Uber and made my way home.
The second I stepped into my comfortable little apartment, I checked my phone.
Forty-five missed calls.
From Synthia.
Forty-five.
Times.
“shit.”
I immediately pressed the call button beside her name and waited.
After a few rings, she answered.
“LINNEA! WHAT THE HELL!? Why weren’t you answering my calls!?” she screamed.
“I looked for you at the bar and outside the club! I thought you died!”
I winced and pulled the phone away from my ear.
As she continued yelling, memories from last night slowly came rushing back.
Oh.
Right.
Last night.
The previous evening, I had been sitting peacefully on my couch, reading one of my favorite books and petting Chubbs, my cat, when someone started banging on my front door.
“Let me in, or I’ll break your door down!”
I knew that voice from anywhere.
Synthia.
I sighed and got up to open the door.
Before I could even open it all the way, she shoved it open, pushed past me, and threw a bunch of bags onto the floor.
Startled, Chubbs immediately bolted toward my bedroom.
Synthia turned toward me with a slow smile.
I didn’t like that smile.
Not one bit.
That was her I’m about to drag you into something you don’t want to do smile.
“What is all this?” I asked with a sigh.
“Dresses!” she exclaimed. “We’re going to the CLUB!”
“Yeah, no. Not happening.”
I crossed my arms.
“You know parties aren’t my thing.”
“Come on,” she whined.
“You never go out!” she continued. “Plus, I don’t want to go to the club alone. What if I get kidnapped by a hot guy and can’t escape?”
She said it dramatically, like she was genuinely concerned.
I gave her a deadpan look.
“We both know you’d love that.”
“True.”
She smiled.
I rolled my eyes.
“Just this once,” she pleaded. “I promise you’ll have a good time! I won’t leave your side, I swear!”
I really didn’t like going to clubs.
They were loud, crowded, and full of drunk people. Not to mention, nothing good ever seemed to happen when people went clubbing.
Synthia tried making a puppy-dog face at me.
It didn’t work.
Unfortunately, I knew her well enough to know that if I said no, she’d keep asking until I eventually gave in.
I sighed.
“Fine.”
“YES!” she screamed. “I knew you’d say yes!!”
“I only said yes because if I said no, you’d keep asking until I said yes.”
“Yeah, yeah. Now let’s get changed! I brought a ton of dresses for you to try on.”
She handed me a stunning burgundy dress.
I took it into my bedroom and changed.
When I slipped it on, I was surprised by how perfectly it fit.
Synthia and I had completely different body types. She was more petite, while I was curvier.
The dress was strapless and hugged my body before ending at mid-thigh.
It was shorter than what I was used to wearing.
I walked out of my bedroom to show her.
She was completely absorbed in her phone.
I cleared my throat.
She looked up.
Her jaw dropped.
“Linnea.”
She stared at me.
“You look stunning. That’s definitely the dress.”
I looked down at myself.
“I don’t know. It feels a little short. I swear if I walk, it’s going to slide all the way up.”
“Linnea, you look hot. You look sexy.”
She looked me up and down before grinning.
“If I were a guy, I’d already be on my knees.”
I sighed.
“Fine. I’ll wear the dress.”
“That’s my girl!”
While Synthia changed, I called out Uber/
Once that was sorted, she sat me down and started doing my makeup.
When she finally finished, I looked in the mirror.
I swear I looked like a completely different person.
I swear I looked like a completely different person.
For once, I actually looked confident.
I stared at my reflection.
“I look sexy,” I said aloud.
“HELL YEAH, YOU DO!” Synthia yelled.
I laughed.
It was a good thing we had finished up my makeup because my phone buzzed.
Our Uber was here.
“Synth, our ride’s here.”
We grabbed our bags and headed outside.
The ride to the club was surprisingly short. I guess I didn’t live as far from one as I thought.
When we arrived, Synthia and I got out and walked toward the bodyguards standing outside.
Synthia pulled out two golden passes.
The bodyguard looked at them, nodded, and let us through.
The second we entered, Synthia grabbed me and dragged me through the crowd of people toward the bar.
She ordered two shots.
I stared at her like she’d lost her mind.
I never drank.
I gave her my best absolutely not look.
I hated the taste of alcohol.
She gave me the if you don’t drink it, I’ll force it down your throat look.
Don’t ask me what that look actually looks like.
It’s hard to explain.
I reluctantly took the shot.
And I immediately regretted it.
Eventually, Synthia and I made our way to the dance floor.
The music was so loud that I could feel the bass vibrating through my body.
We danced together for a while.
Then, just like that, Synthia disappeared.
I looked around.
Of course.
She had left me for some guy.
Of course she did.
Even though she promised she wouldn’t leave my side.
I sighed and continued dancing anyway.
That’s when I felt a pair of strong arms wrapped around my waist from the front.
I didn’t open my eyes.
I just kept dancing.
A moment later, another pair of hands settled around my waist from behind.
Okay.
That got my attention.
I opened my eyes.
And froze.
The two Greek gods.
The black-haired one stood in front of me, while the brown-haired one was behind me.
I didn’t know what had gotten into me, but suddenly I felt confident.
Maybe it was the alcohol.
Maybe it was the dress.
Maybe it was them.
Whatever it was, I started moving against the man behind me.
His green eyes darkened as he watched me.
His hands tightened around my hips, and a low groan escaped him.
I felt a shiver run through me.
The black-haired man watched us with an amused smirk.
Apparently, he didn’t want to be left out.
He leaned down until his lips were near my ear.
“My name is Amos,” he murmured. “And the person you’re grinding against is my best friend, Cassian.”
His voice was so deep that I could practically feel the bass of it in my chest.
I swallowed.
“What’s your name, princess?”
He gently lifted my chin, forcing me to meet his eyes.
“Linnea,” I breathed.
“Such a beautiful name,” Cassian said
His voice was deeper than Amos’s, but there was something rougher about it- something almost primal. Amos’s voice was smooth and deep, the kind that made my stomach flutter. Cassian’s was lower, raspier, and somehow more dangerous. It made heat pool in my lower stomach.
The sexual tension between the three of us was insane.
I was going crazy.
And somehow, somewhere in between the music, the alcohol, and the two men standing way too close to me, I ended up leaving the club with them.
The rest of the night was a blur.
“HOLY SHIT, GIRL!”
Synthia’s voice pulled me back to reality.
“You had sex with two Greek gods!?”
“You lucky bastard!”
I groaned.
“Okay, okay, calm down. I have a huge hangover, and you’re screaming in my ear.”
“Oh. Yeah. Sorry, girly.”
She lowered her voice.
“Ill let you get some rest.”
“Thank you.”
I hung up and headed toward my bathroom.
The second I looked in the mirror, I winced.
I looked horrible.
My hair was a mess. My eyes were tired, and my neck was covered in marks.
I stared at my reflection.
“What the hell did those two do?”
I touched one of the marks.
“Were they hungry or something?”
I shook my head.
Whatever.
I needed a shower.
After a long, hot shower, I changed into my favorite hoodie and sweatpants.
I climbed onto my bed.
I wasn’t exactly tired anymore, so I grabbed my phone and started scrolling through Instagram.
I had a bit of a mask fetish, so my For You page was basically filled with masked men.
I’m not saying I hated it.
It was just a little hard to scroll in public without someone noticing what I was watching.
I continued scrolling until familiar masks appeared.
My favorite masked men.
Dark_Vigilante & Midnight_Phantom.
I immediately stopped scrolling.
Their masks were unlike anything I’d seen before.
Dark_Vigilante wore a mask unlike the typical kind that stopped around the eyes. His covered his nose completely, too.
The color was a gorgeous midnight purple.
Midnight_Phantom’s mask was even more distinctive.
It covered his face, but somehow still gave the illusion of human features.
High cheekbones.
A strong jawline.
A straight, ridged nose.
And the entire thing was black.
I stared at the screen.
For some reason, I couldn’t look away.
I had no idea why.
Maybe it was the masks.
Maybe it was the mystery surrounding them.
Or maybe I just liked staring at ridiculously attractive men.
I smiled to myself and continued watching.
I had no idea those two men were about to become a much bigger part of my life than I could have ever imagined.
