Authors note: This is one of a group of stories between Marcus and Morgan. Marcus is a somewhat shady character who has various underworld connections, Morgan is a legitimate business woman. This is the first story I have published so I hope you enjoy it!
Marcus sat in the water taxi, looking out as his driver stopped outside the palazzo in San Marco. It was an old Venetian building, typical of the district and period but he barely noticed as his bad mood continued to simmer. Once the driver had moored the glass topped boat, Marcus stepped out onto the staircase leading up to the building. Instructing the man to wait for him, he strode up to the main entrance, ignoring the beautiful façade and 18th century marble adorning the building as he made his way inside to greet the host of the party, a business associate of his who usually kept a low profile in Venice due to his underworld connections.
Marcus made his greetings, charming as usual but inside he was frustrated. Morgan was supposed to be with him but her flight had been delayed so he was stuck at a masked ball in Venice, on his own instead of enjoying himself with her. It had been a month since he’d been with her and he missed her intensely.
He grabbed a whiskey from a passing waiter and downed it quickly before taking another. He thought that if he wasn’t with her, he might as well have a few drinks, relax and leave the party when he wanted. He tugged at the black mask he was wearing, he felt uncomfortable in it and the dinner suit he’d put on….he wasn’t a fan of black tie parties but somehow it seemed more bearable if he was with Morgan.
The party was already underway, Marcus scanned the room, spotting people he recognised despite their brightly coloured masks, mostly business acquaintances. He sat at the bar, starting to feel a little less bad tempered as the whisky began to mellow his mood after the first hour. His thoughts wandered to Morgan and he thought about the last time he’d been with her. He remembered waking up beside her and the slow morning fuck they’d shared before she’d left Italy…….he could feel his cock stirring in his trousers so he pushed the memories thoughts of her out of his head and turned back to study the group on the dancefloor.
His eyes wandered around the room, the masked gathering was clearly having more fun than him. His gaze moved up to the gallery and stopped. He saw a woman at the top of the staircase wearing a traditional Venetian mask in gold and black with a plume of black feathers and gold braiding, it covered most of her face but Marcus could tell she was looking at him. His eyes travelled downwards, she was wearing a black evening dress and long black silk gloves that covered most of her arms, as his gaze dropped lower he could just make out her feet, she was wearing strappy sandals with high spiky heels on her bare feet…..just the kind of thing Morgan would choose. Marcus smiled as he thought that, Morgan loved high heels, the higher the better.
He looked back up at the woman and realised she was beckoning him, he knew the party was a safe environment, no enemies, no police officers….the host was too careful to make security mistakes as most of his guests were in the same types of business as Marcus. The woman was curling her finger at him, inviting him up the stairs to the gallery…..he was curious as to who she was and if he knew her.
He crossed the room at a leisurely pace, stopping to talk to one or two people on his way……he didn’t know who the woman was and would not give her the pleasure of hurrying to be in her company.