Halloween Howl
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You re Cordially Invited | Tinnean
2
 WHAT S this? Wills asked when he came home from work
one evening. On the console table by the front door was an
invitation.
 Want to go to a Halloween Ball, babe?
 You re cordially invited& . He looked up from the
invitation, interested.  Who s this Charlemagne?
 He was voted Le Roi this year, king of the escorts.
 I take it it s an honor to be invited?
 Yeah. The paper was parchment and the invite was
stamped in gold leaf. I d been Le Roi one year myself, and I
knew how high the cost of those invitations could run.  But
that s not the reason I d like us to go. I wanted to show him
off.
 You do want to go? Hmmm. I haven t been to a
Halloween party since college.
 You ll do it?
 Sure. As long as nothing comes up with work. It should
be fun.
 Great!
 So, who will we go as?
 I was thinking of going as Zorro.
You re Cordially Invited | Tinnean
3
 Awesome!
But he didn t tell me what costume he d be wearing.
 I want to give it some thought, okay, babe?
 Sure. Just don t let it go too long. It ll be a bitch getting
anything decent then, and you ll wind up wearing a generic
costume.
 Like an orange T-shirt that says Halloween costume? I
won t let it go too long.
 And promise you won t wear those 501s and the tool
belt! I d be fighting  em off all night long!
He looked happy.  I won t, I promise. He ran his hand
over my hair, then dropped his hands to my waist and pulled
me against him. He was hard.
I remembered something his cousin Harry had said.  Do
you have a weakness for redheads, Wills?
 I have a weakness for this redhead. His eyes were on
my lips. He ran his tongue over his lips and leaned toward
me. My eyes closed, anticipating his kiss.
The smoke alarm went off.
 Shit! We raced into the kitchen.  I hope I haven t
burned dinner!
 I ll take you out if you have.
But it turned out I hadn t.
After we d gone to bed and made love, and just before I
You re Cordially Invited | Tinnean
4
fell asleep, I wondered if taking Wills to this Halloween Ball
was really a good idea. Charlemagne was a redhead.
Suppose Wills& .
I fell asleep before the worry could become full-blown.
NOTHING came up at work, and as Wills had promised, he
got home early. He let out a soft wolf-whistle when he saw
how I was dressed: all in black, from the flat-crowned hat on
my head to the knee-high boots on my feet. A sword hung at
my waist, a cape hung from my shoulders, and a bullwhip
hung from my belt. A silk mask covered my upper face.
 God, you look hot enough to eat! I don t want to muss
you now, but later, when we get home& .
 I ll hold you to that. Now, go get yourself ready,
handsome.
 Give me twenty minutes, babe.
Wills never fussed with himself. He showered, shaved,
and combed his hair, but never made a big thing of getting
ready.
This time he ran over the time limit he d set for himself,
and I wondered what was taking him so long.
 Um& Theo, he called from the bedroom.  I m& uh&
I m not sure about this& .
 Come on out and let me see what you look like. If worse
comes to worse, you can wear one of your suits and a pair of
shades and go as a Secret Service man.
You re Cordially Invited | Tinnean
5
He gave a choke of laughter.  I don t think so. The Lone
Ranger walked out of our bedroom.  I m sorry, babe. I
thought this was a good idea when I picked out the costume,
but I didn t realize these pants would be so& so tight!
I couldn t tear my eyes away from his body. Dressed in
pale blue except for the black boots and black mask, he
made the perfect foil for my Zorro.
The usual bland suits he wore had to be the reason no
one had fucked him before me. Well, it was their loss, and no
one was getting a chance at him now.
And Wills was right. His pants appeared to be spray-
painted on. The holster belted around his hips framed the
discreet bulge of his genitals.
 Are you&  I cleared my throat.  Are you wearing
underwear?
 If you could call it that. He turned around so I could
see his ass.  It s a G-string.
I licked my lips.  So I see. It s a good thing I ll be armed.
Even though he wasn t wearing those lick me, suck me, fuck
me jeans, I d still be fighting off horny rentboys all night. I
pulled out my sword, slashed the air with it, and went
forward into a lunge. Then I straightened and put it back in
its scabbard.
 And you& you don t mind that I look like this?
 I don t mind, Wills. Not much, at any rate. I tossed my
cape over my shoulder, swaggered across the room to him,
and pulled him into my arms, running my lips along his jaw,
You re Cordially Invited | Tinnean
6
breathing Spanish love words into his ear. One of my clients
had been an undersecretary at the Spanish Embassy.
 Theo, that s Spanish!
 I thought as Don Diego Vega that would be
appropriate.
Wills s arms came around me and his mouth took mine
in a ravenous kiss.
He had a weakness for Spanish love words? I d have to
remember that.
THE annual Halloween Ball was being held this year at the
William Henry Harrison Hotel, down the road from the
Madison Arms. The ballroom was smaller, but since it wasn t
a night off for all the boys, the crowd wouldn t be as great.
When we walked in, the orchestra leader took one look
at Wills and signaled his horn section. They began to play
the  William Tell Overture.
Wills touched the mask over his eyes. Apparently secure
that his disguise was in place, he grinned and let out a
breath.  This looks really nice, Theo.
Orange and black draperies hung from the walls, and
pinned to them were cutouts of bats and black cats, ghosts
and cauldrons, witches and warlocks.
 Seńor Zorro.
I turned to find an angel standing there tall, well-built,
You re Cordially Invited | Tinnean
7
blue-eyed, blond. He must have been new to the area; I
didn t recognize him. His tunic was blindingly white and
white wings rose above his head, the feathers tipped with
gold. At his side hung a massive golden sword.
 I am Michael. His majesty would like to see you. He
gestured toward where Charlemagne stood, surrounded by
his court. Michael s eyes ran over Wills.  And your friend.
Charlemagne was dressed as the Prince of Darkness,
from the pointy little horns on his forehead to the red suede
boots on his feet. Who would have thought someone with his
hair coloring could carry off all that red?
Well, no time like the present to see if my lover was
drawn to Le Roi s red hair.  Come on, babe. I ll introduce you
to him.
I was concentrating on his reaction to Charlemagne and
failed to notice the werewolf who staggered up to us. He
threw his arms around me.
 I love a man wearin a mashk. He planted a slobbering
kiss on my mouth. Although it was early in the evening, I
could almost get drunk from the alcohol fumes on his breath.
The ballroom was noisy, but I had no trouble hearing
the click of a pistol s hammer being thumbed back.
 It might pay for you to remember that the bullets in the
Lone Ranger s gun are silver. Let him go, werewolf. Wills
was pointing the gun at the werewolf s head.
 Uh& . The werewolf blinked owlishly, staring down the
barrel of a Colt .45.
You re Cordially Invited | Tinnean
8
 Find someone else to kiss. Zorro is mine.
I took the werewolf s arms from around me and stepped
away from him, wiping my mouth with my sleeve.
 Shorry. There s no need to be shelfish. Jus wanted a li l
kish.
 Someone get Jay out of here. Charlemagne had
approached without any of us realizing it. Well, maybe Wills
had. He didn t seem surprised.
 That s Jay? Oh my God, I m gonna be sick!
 Want me to shoot him, babe?
 Please, not here. It was hard enough to persuade the
management to let us hold the Halloween Ball here since
new people took over. Charlemagne let his eyes drift over
my lover.  So, you want to introduce us, Zorro?
 This is the Lone Ranger, Mephistopheles. Ranger, this
is 
  the Devil. Wills holstered his pistol.  Your Majesty.
 I don t recognize you.
 He s wearing a mask, I growled.
 Even with the mask, I m certain I would recognize a
body like that.
A flush ran up Wills s cheeks and disappeared under his
mask.
 Would you care to spend some time at my table? I m
sure I can interest you in& walking on the wild side. After
You re Cordially Invited | Tinnean
9
all, he glanced across the room to the entrance where
Michael stood, watching him with ancient wisdom in his
eyes,  if I can convert an archangel& .
 No, thanks. I m here with Zorro.
Charlemagne regarded him thoughtfully.  And you go
home with the one you came with?
 Right.
I grinned below my mask.  If you ll excuse us? The
orchestra was playing  Sway. I took Wills s hand and led
him to the dance floor.
The fingers of one hand twined in his, the fingers of the
other kneaded his hip and drew him closer, and we began to
move across the floor.
WILLS looked at his wristwatch.
 Is it time to go? I asked. We d agreed to leave at
midnight, just before everyone would unmask. He had work
tomorrow.
 Yeah. Are you sure you don t want to stay? You re
having a good time.
 Because I m here with you. Let s get our goody bags
and go say goodnight to Le Roi.
We went back to our table and gathered our bags and
my cape, which I d removed when I d found it made dancing
difficult.
You re Cordially Invited | Tinnean
10
The Prince of Darkness was in earnest conversation
with the Archangel Michael. He glanced around.  You re not
leaving already?
 We have to go. The Lone Ranger has to be up bright
and early in the morning catching bad guys. I didn t think it
was that funny, but Wills bit back a snicker.
Charlemagne ran his eyes over Wills again, and I
wanted to pull out my sword and run him through.  Are you
sure I can t interest you in a trick or treat, little boy?
 I ve got my treat, thanks. Wills s arm came around my
waist.  It was nice meeting you, Your Majesty. Sir. He
nodded to the man dressed as the Archangel.
 Bright blessings upon you, William. And you also,
Teodore.
 Uh& thanks. Goodnight. That was odd. But then Wills
wound his fingers in mine, and I forgot about it.
The doorman hailed us a cab, and we got in and gave
the driver our address. It seemed almost no time before the
cab was pulling up in front of our building. We got out, and
Wills paid him. There hadn t been a single wrinkle or bulge
in his costume except for his package and I wondered
where he d kept his wallet.
We climbed the stairs, and I let us into the apartment.
 Did you have a good time, babe? I yawned, tipped my hat
back off my head so that it hung from its thong around my
neck, and removed my mask. Wills did the same.
 Yeah. Like I said, I haven t been to a Halloween party
You re Cordially Invited | Tinnean
11
since college. This was a blast. What s in the goody bags?
Candy?
 Not exactly. I pulled out the items one by one.
 Whoever is Le Roi has them put together. Condoms,
flavored lube, cock rings, butt plugs& .
His lashes hid his eyes for a moment and he blushed.
Would he consider wearing one? Oh, not to work. He was too
professional for that, but maybe around the apartment?
 & gift certificates for massages or to a hair stylist or
restaurant or& 
 A tie clip? Wills had taken a small jeweler s box out of
his bag and opened it to reveal a black cat arched and
hissing above words marked out in diamond chips.  87th
annual Halloween Ball.
 Charlemagne always was a show-off.
 Wow. Eighty-seven years? Who d have thought they d
be going on for so long?
 Nothing stopped them, from what I was led to
understand, not even the Depression or the Second World
War, although attendance was sparse during those years.
 Makes sense. He closed the box and put it back in his
bag.  Are we gonna go again next year?
 You d want to go?
 Yeah. I mean, I know it s supposed to be for escorts,
but it was fun, and if you don t have a problem with it& .
 No problem. No, definitely no problem. It never failed
You re Cordially Invited | Tinnean
12
to amaze and surprise and yes, thrill me that he was
looking to the future! I pulled him against me and rubbed
my groin against his.  Trick or treat, little boy?
You re Cordially Invited | Tinnean
13
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TINNEAN has been writing since the third grade, where she
was inspired to try her hand at epic poetry. Fortunately, that
epic poem didn t survive the passage of time; however, her
love of writing not only survived but thrived, and in high
school she became a member of the magazine staff, where
she contributed a number of stories.
It was with the advent of the family s second computer the
first intimidated everyone that her writing took off,
enhanced in part by fanfiction, but mostly by the wonder
that is copy and paste. While involved in fandom, she was
nominated for both Rerun and Light My Fire Awards. Now
she concentrates on her original characters.
A New Yorker at heart, she resides in southwest Florida with
her husband and two computers.
Ernest Hemingway s words reflect Tinnean s devotion to her
craft:  Once writing has become your major vice and greatest
pleasure, only death can stop it.
She can be contacted at [e-mail], and can be
found on Live Journal: http://tinnean.livejournal.com/ and
on Facebook. If you d like to sample her earlier works, they
can be found at http://www.angelfire.com/fl5/tinnssinns
/Welcome1.html.
You re Cordially Invited ©Copyright Tinnean, 2011
Published by
Dreamspinner Press
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Cover Art by Anne Cain [e-mail]
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Released in the United States of America
October 2011
eBook Edition