Under the Mask

By Aliyah Burke

A Spartan, a gypsy—masks for a night pure sex—and the birthmark which throws all anonymity out the window.

Finally free after a nasty year-long divorce, Kailey Cox attends a masquerade party with the intention of one thing—remaining anonymous and finding a handsome man to bed. She discovers a Spartan warrior to accommodate her.

Rand Paxton is drawn to the sexy gypsy he takes to his room. Seeing her birthmark, he believes he knows who the woman is. Confronting her, any doubt fades. Problem: For a man often in the spotlight and a woman who now prefers anonymity, can they make it work?

Rand's up for the challenge—he'd wanted her long before he discovered Kailey was Under the Mask.

***This book is connected to May You Always and is a rerelease***

• Language: English
• Publisher: Sensual Romance Publishing
• Release date: Mar 29, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393246244

Aliyah Burke

USA Today bestselling author Aliyah Burke is an avid reader and is never far from pen and paper (or the computer). She is happily married to a career military man. They are owned by six Borzoi. She spends her days at the day job, writing, and working with her dogs.

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Copyright

Under the Mask

Copyright © 2020 Aliyah Burke 2nd Edition

Cover Art Copyright © Designs by K

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by an information storage and retrieval system-except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review to be printed in a magazine, newspaper, or on the Web-without permission in writing from the publisher or author. The unauthorized replication or allocation of any copyrighted work is illegal. File sharing is an international crime, prosecuted by the United States Department of Justice and the United States Border Patrol, Division of Cyber Crimes, in partnership with Interpol. Copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is punishable by up to five years in federal prison, a fine of $250,000 per reported instance, and seizure of computers.

This book is a work of fiction. All characters, places and events are from the author’s imagination and should not be confused with fact. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, events or places is coincidental. All trademarks, service marks, registered trademarks, and registered service marks are the property of their respective owners and are used herein for identification purposes only.   

Published by: Sensual Romance Publishing

Under the Mask

By

Aliyah Burke

Blurb for Under the Mask

A Spartan, a gypsy—masks for a night pure sex—and the birthmark which throws all anonymity out the window.

Finally free after a nasty year-long divorce, Kailey Cox attends a masquerade party with the intention of one thing—remaining anonymous and finding a handsome man to bed. She discovers a Spartan warrior to accommodate her.

Rand Paxton is drawn to the sexy gypsy he takes to his room. Seeing her birthmark, he believes he knows who the woman is. Confronting her, any doubt fades. Problem: For a man often in the spotlight and a woman who now prefers anonymity, can they make it work?

Rand’s up for the challenge—he’d wanted her long before he discovered Kailey was Under the Mask.

Dedication

You know who you are. Thank you!

Table of Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

About the Author

Additional Books by Aliyah Burke

Chapter One

Kailey Cox adjusted her mask to ensure total anonymity, lowered the shoulders on her peasant top, and stepped through the open ballroom doors with Artemis at her side. The massive room in the prestigious hotel overflowed with people who, like her, were in costume. She was attending a huge fundraiser in support of banishing illiteracy among both children and adults. Something she agreed with wholeheartedly.

This is gorgeous.

She glanced at her companion, Karma Whitfield—best friend in the world—who stood beside her dressed in a stunning and sexy Artemis costume. Had they not arrived together, she wouldn’t have known it was her.

I agree. Tell me again, how’d you get tickets for this? Kailey gazed about, taking in the champagne fountains, chocolate waterfalls, and other lavish displays.

I know people.

Rolling her eyes, she laughed. You mean you slept with a guy who gave them to you.

Karma tugged on the hem of her very short skirt, appearing extremely unrepentant. Hey, I knew him.

You know you’re wrong, girl. So, so wrong.

Hush. He was smiling when I left him. Besides, you need the night out. What better way to forget the asshole extraordinaire than by spending some time with incredibly rich, most of which are hot, men?

She didn’t care about rich. Nevertheless, being out was a nice thing as opposed to not being out again, spending another night at home, and dwelling over what had been her life for the past year.

They took flutes of champagne from a passing waiter’s tray. She drank and thought about her ex-husband Brad. The divorce had been long and drawn out. Nasty, lasting over a year. Some of her friends—not Karma—had tried to set her up on dates. She’d refused them all.

Divorcing or not, she was still a married woman until the ink was dry stating it was final she wasn’t about to commit adultery. Despite that fact, Brad had had zero qualms about doing so. She’d walked in on him with not one, but two other women. In their own bed.

A deep breath as she pushed back the memories. This was why she was here tonight. She was free of that ball and chain.

Forget the rat bastard. Karma touched her bare shoulder before pushing Kailey’s long black locks back.

How’d you know?

We’ve been friends since we were in diapers, long enough for me to know. This is a party. You are officially divorced now and get to find some fine ass stranger to shake out the cobwebs.

She almost snorted her drink. Cobwebs?

Behind her headgear, which obscured most of her face, Karma winked. You’ll remember. It’s like riding a bike. She waved a hand around. Have fun. Karma blended into the crowd, leaving her alone along the outskirts.

Part of her wanted to retreat further, like to her room. This wasn’t her anymore. Brazen and outspoken had not been her for a while. She preferred the sidelines, the shadows. But she didn’t run, didn’t hide. She wore a costume. No one would know her. This was her night.

She had plans to make the best of it. A smile tipped her red-glossed lips in a satisfactory manner. First, she would explore this room and mingle. After all, like Karma said, this was her time now. She was free.

The hotel was magnificent. Lavish ornaments from Asia added an exotic flare to the place. She mingled, chatted, danced, and drank. Finally, needing some time to herself, she stepped outside to get a breather. She stood along a balcony, trailing her fingers along the smooth marble balustrade. The night air cooled her heated flesh yet didn’t chill her.

Pray tell, what’s a lovely gypsy woman doing out here all alone? A deep voice questioned from behind her.

She’d gotten many compliments on her outfit and tried to ignore why it was this one, spoken