"Elisabeth Leslie - Masks" - читать интересную книгу автора (Leslie Elisabeth)

I saw Stephan immediately. He was Elvis, and he was dancing up a storm. His partners were identical blonde twins -- on the surface. They had similar build, and identical clothing, but my practiced eye made out the nanomasks. They were Wantiki masks from last fall, before the African hackers got the bugs out of the expression mirroring algorithm. So both girls had slightly vacant smiles, but that didn't bother Stephan. He was really whooping it up on the dance floor.

When the music changed, Elvis became Ford, complete with that cute little scar. With the change of face came a change of partners. Stephan got into it with a tall red-head. I danced with a couple of guys, some wearing pretty good masks, but I kept an eye on my wayward husband. He wasn't getting too rowdy, but then I put my plan into action.

Between numbers, when Stephan turned into Brosnan, I dumped my current penguin and shimmied across the floor. I caught Stephan's eye, and he crooked his finger at me. The beat picked up and we started to dance.

I hadn't felt so alive in months. I guess I've been working too hard. I was feeling naughty, and the skimpy costume had my hormones going. I wanted to see how far Stephan "I won't have any fun" Kaufmann would go when his wife was not around. I guess I found out.

The next dance was sultry. The snow drifts blowing outside gave an odd contrast to the heat on the floor. We really got into it, moving, touching, grinding. I was thinking Swayze would be more appropriate right now, but he's not in the library of Stephan's mask. The feathers on my costume tickled erotically. When the song ended at last, Stephan pulled me by the hand to a back room.

He held the door for me, then caught me from behind around the waist. Music flowed from the walls, enveloping us in waves of sound. The room was lit by a row of tropical fish tanks along the near wall, while a blizzard tickled the windows opposite. He lifted the edge of his mask and nibbled on my bare shoulder. His warm kisses traced a path along the nape. His fingers brushed the feathers away, teasing, then he found the strip on my skirt. Our garments fell to our feet as his fingers glided over my skin. We made love on the floor behind a bed, with the party raging in the next room.

Afterward, I popped home and tucked the bird costume into a back closet. I washed up and went to bed, fuming. I kept rehearsing what I would say when Stephan got home, but I couldn't picture myself actually saying it.

An hour later I heard him at the front door. He took his sweet time cleaning up before coming into our bedroom. Despite the tooth cleaner, I could smell the beer on his breath.

"So did you have fun?" I asked tightly. I could feel the venom dripping from my mouth.

"Huh? Well, you know I never have any fun when you're not there."

"So you didn't dance with anybody?" I really tried to keep my voice neutral.

"No. I met Mitch and Brice, and we got out of the penguin jackets and played pool in the basement all night."

"You didn't have a good time?"

"Not really," he said, "but I heard this really wild story from the guy who borrowed my mask."