[h2]Esme[/h2]
 Esme’s smile grew as she felt how her voice, words, and actions were affecting Dean at the moment. It was precisely what she was going for, showing her that she hadn’t lost her touch. The clenching of his jaw, his shudder, and the heat building around his collar all excited her and egged her on more. She knew she should pull back a bit since they had a job to do, but she was having fun, maybe a little too much fun getting him worked up and possibly falling apart internally. But it wasn’t every day they got to come to places like this and were able to forget themselves and become someone new for a night. So, why wouldn’t she play the role as far as she could? Next, it was her turn to shudder and bite her bottom lip as Dean spoke low and brushed his lips against her cheek, then his nose. Her lip-biting turned into a bright smile with her tongue pressed to her teeth as she looked deep into his green eyes, took in his words, seductive smile, and the brushing of his lips on hers. She was tempted to kiss him right there in the stairwell. 

Her bright smile quickly turned into a smile to match his, and she brushed her lips against his. Then, she raised her hand and gently ran a finger along his jawline before answering with a purr to her tone. “Take care of your business, handsome, but don’t take too long. I won’t wait forever.” Her eyes sparkled with playful mischievousness as she looked into his eyes and rested her hand on his neck, her thumb brushing along his jaw. Esme was moments from giving in to the urge to kiss Dean when she felt Duke walk up. From what she could feel, he had gotten the information he was after, which she was happy about. His timing was terrible, though. Duke then cleared his throat and stepped up to them. When Dean pulled his face away from hers, Esme let her hand fall from his neck to her side as Duke spoke and placed a hand on her lower back. Her face changed to a more serious one, and she was a little surprised by Duke’s action but said nothing. Before she could turn and look at Duke, Dean was already looking back at her and asking her to wait for him. 

She opened her mouth to reply, but Duke sighed and spoke again. Emse turned so she could look at both while they talked about what they would do. She remained quiet between them as there was no way she could get a word in edgewise. When Duke announced he was taking the owner’s ex-wife home, she lightly shook her head with a light laugh as the boys laughed like teenagers. ‘Of course, the first woman he came across would have been the owner’s ex-wife.’ she thought. Her gaze returned to Dean when he shrugged his shoulders and looked down at her. “I’ll be fine. You two, go and get that necklace.” she told him warmly as she looked into his green eyes. When Dean kissed her, she returned it with a soft smile behind the kiss. Then Duke kissed her on the cheek moments after she and Dean broke theirs. She couldn’t help but laugh lightly at how comfortable he was getting at placing kisses on her cheeks. Esme watched Duke jog up the stairs before Dean could even step away from her, then looked back at Dean. “I’ll be waiting for you. Just don’t keep me waiting too long.” she smiled with a sparkle in her eyes. 

Esme waited for Dean to step away from her and walk up the stairs before she moved from her spot to make her way to the ballroom. She stopped just before entering, taking a deep breath and slowly releasing it, taking in the grand room. She felt a little awkward walking in alone. This was the first time she had ever walked into a room this grand alone. After spotting the bar near the back of the room, Esme stepped in and headed straight for it, weaving through the people and saying a few ‘excuse me’  and ‘pardon me’ along the way. Before she could make it to the bar, she was stopped by a man in a dark green mask. “Excuse me, gorgeous. Would you dance with me?” he asked. She momentarily thought about it, thinking it would be a good way to pass the time while the boys did their thing. “I’d be happy to.” she replied with an air of sophistication and a warm smile. The man smiled back, pulled her toward him, and placed a hand on her middle back as he led her to the dance floor.

The two shared an awkward dance, and they talked, and he led her around the room. He was extremely handsy and forward. He had no boundaries, even with Esme moving his hands where they should be and warning him. He slipped several pieces of jewelry down the top of her dress to buy her affection. When he grabbed her breasts, that was the last straw. She drew back her hand and slapped him as hard as she could across his face, turned, and walked off right into the arms of another man in a crimson mask. He immediately pulled her into him for a dance, and the process started again, almost the same as the last guy. Just this guy actually had the audacity to slide his fingers down the top of her dress, resulting in him getting slapped, too. Not many paid attention to the two interactions, to her relief. ‘If Dean and Duke were in here to witness that, all hell would have broken loose.’ she thought. She stifled a laugh at the image that came to mind of Dean and Duke beating the hell out of the two men. If she had been anywhere else, she would have punched them in the face instead of slapping them.

Esme then pushed through the crowd again, trying to get to the bar for a drink she desperately needed and to get away from all the men trying to grope her. Before she could make it, she was stopped yet again by a gentleman in a navy blue and silver mask. “Excuse me, Miss.” he said politely. “Would you join me for a dance?” He carefully picked up her hand and kissed the back of it. Esme hesitated to answer, and this caused him to look up from her hand with a warm smile. “I understand your hesitation after the two that asked you. They had that slap coming. A lady as beautiful as you shouldn’t be treated as such.” he told her. “Thank you.” she replied with a small smile. “I swear I’ll give you the respect you deserve. You deserve to have a good time while you’re here, and I plan to give you that with a decent dance.” he told her. “When the dance ends, I’ll get you a drink.” Esme softly sighed and nodded, and the man smiled brightly and gently pulled her to the dance floor. He took her into his arms just as a new song began to play and led her around the dance floor, his hands never moving from their starting positions. 

The two shared a wonderful dance, talking and getting to know each other through the story she fabricated about herself. By the song's end, she had him wrapped around her little finger, and he didn’t want to let her out of his sight. He asked her for another dance, which she accepted after he came clean about who he was. She did her best to hide her shock, but she never could have guessed that she would have met up with the owner’s son, Dravin. One more dance turned into two more, with the whole ballroom watching them and clapping when they were done, as they were not simple dances. After the last dance, Dravin linked her arm with his, like the gentleman he was, led her to the bar, and got her a drink as he said he would, a glass of wine. No other men came to her while she stood by Dravin’s side, which relieved her. “Marabella?” Dravin said after a moment, using the name she had given him. “If you’d allow me to, I’d like to show you something.” Esme smiled warmly and nodded. “Okay, lead the way.” she said just as warmly at her smile. 

Dravin smiled ear to ear at Esme’s acceptance of his offer. Taking her left arm, he wrapped it around his arm, led the way out of the ballroom, and up the stairs in the stairwell. Esme grew a bit nervous as they walked up the stairs, but it vanished when they turned to go down another hallway and through the room's double doors. The room was massive and filled with many artifacts from different periods. “This is my personal collection.” Dravin said, letting go of Esme’s arm and gesturing her forward to look as she pleased. Walking further into the room, Esme took a sip of her wine and looked around. “My, this is some collection you have.” she said, putting a little surprise in her tone. Dravin chuckled and shook his head. “This is only part of it. There's more through that door to the far left.” he told her with a bright smile. Esme felt Dravin’s eyes on her the entire time she walked around the room, looking at the objects in glass cases. She could tell that most of the objects were the real deal, while others seemed fake. When Dravin felt she had seen the best pieces in the room, he led her to the other room door with an excited smile.

Esme could feel his excitement and couldn’t help but smile as she walked with him into the room. It was just as massive as the previous room and filled to the brim with artifacts. She felt there was something, in particular, Dravin wanted her to see, but she didn’t dwell on it as she felt something strange in this room. It was like something was drawing her in. It was a strange sensation. Dravin stayed close to her side as she walked around the room, watching her face as she looked at each artifact. As she moved around the room, the pull she felt became stronger and was difficult to ignore. After getting through most of the room's artifacts, Esme finally came across the glass case she was being pulled towards. Inside was an antique silver ring that obviously had magical properties from what she felt. She looked at it from every angle she could, taking in the stones and noting that it could be used by an empath or as a witch talisman before looking at Dravin. “How did you get your hands on such a rare piece?” she asked with genuine interest. “I’ve looked for years and only ever come across them in books.” 

Dravin stepped closer with a chuckle and looked down at the ring. “This isn't the item I figured you’d be drawn to, but I can see why you are, due to how rare it is. I now see you’re drawn to the rarer artifacts.” he said in slight surprise. He went through a long spiel of how he got it from a crazy older man in Utah and got it for a steal a couple of years ago after she confirmed she was drawn to the rarer artifacts. Esme nodded as he spoke and looked back at the ring in the case. A ring like this shouldn’t be in the hands of someone who knew of the supernatural through stories and nothing about the real things. Esme fell into deep thought as she stood there. If she played her cards right, and with some help from her empathy, maybe she could talk Dravin out of the ring and have him give it to her. She knew she couldn't leave this room without that ring. After some emotional manipulation and some sweet talking, Esme managed to get Dravin to open the glass case and give her the ring along with a beautiful purple jade hairpin, which was the item he thought she would have been drawn to. 

Esme quickly put both items in her wristlet and talked him into going back to the ballroom. As they entered, they were met by Dravin’s father, who had been waiting for them. He immediately took Esme’s glass from her, handed it to Dravin, and then pulled her into a dance as he asked her to dance with him, giving her no time to refuse or give Dravin a chance to protest. He led her to the middle of the room and started a conversation with her that quickly turned awkward. He talked about looking for a good woman for Dravin, how he was looking for a new wife, and how he felt she could be that woman for either of them after watching her. As the conversation continued, she began to fight with his hands traveling over her body and him trying to kiss her. As he became more aggressive, she started looking around the room for Dean and Duke to give them a look of help to get her out of this spot.