“It will be!” the modiste announced. “As you can see…” She hurried toward Lady Thalia. “The back is not done up properly. Once it is, and once I make the necessary adjustments…”
“I could not do it myself.” Lady Thalia looked across the shop and found her maid. She widened her eyes at the maid, who jumped on the spot.
“Sorry! I will just –”
“Allow me.” Caspian strode across the store and straight for Lady Thalia. She saw him coming and her eyes widened in surprise, soon replaced by an angered glare.
“There is no need,” she said.
“In this world, if you want something done right, you must do it yourself.” He reached her and cocked an eyebrow down at her, daring her to argue. “Now, if you do not mind…”
She looked up at him curiously, her green eyes assessing him, no doubt searching for some sort of trick. “If you must,” she sighed and turned around. “It is not as if saying no to you has worked in the past.”
Caspian was only supposed to tie up the back of the dress. In fact, he could not even say why he was bothering. He did not care what dress she wore. But his usually sharp mind, detached from emotion, wasn’t working how it was supposed to.
For that reason, what was meant to be a simple gesture turned infinitely more… erotic.
His hands shook as he took the leather cords and began to tie them. His fingers brushed the bare flesh of her skin, he heard her gasp and hold her breath, and he stepped in closer so that his body was inches away. He struggled more than he should have done, his fingers continuing to graze her skin. He could feel hershaking too, he could see the flush on the back of her neck, and if he did not miss his guess, he would have said that she was not breathing.
The room around them seemed to vanish.
Just the two of them, alone, as he slowly brought her dress together. He pulled it tight, which had her leaning back into him, her hair under his nose, her backside pressed into his crotch, his body leaning over her as if he meant to wrap her in his arms.
He could hear his own breathing. His heart racing. His eyes drifting to the bareness of her neck, her supple skin, so smooth and perfect. It was not like him. It was not how he usually behaved or thought. But in that moment, all Caspian wanted to do was lean down and place his lips on her neck…
“Almost done?” she asked suddenly.
Caspian snapped himself from the moment and dropped his hands. Then he took a quick step back. “Y – yes,” he stammered. “All done.”
“Isn’t it perfect?” the modiste said. “Oh, you look beautiful.”
Lady Thalia was looking at Caspian curiously, and he looked away as if she might be able to read what was on his mind.Good luck, as even I do not know what is on my mind.
“I suppose so,” she sighed and turned to find a mirror. “Yes… it will do.”
She was not happy with it, and even Caspian could see the apathy she held as she looked at her reflection. The yellow of the dress was nice enough, but it was missing something… an answer found when he saw her eyes flick across the room, landing on the purple fabric swatch from before.
Caspian should not have cared. This wedding was for a purpose, and it had nothing to do with his wife’s wants or needs. It barely had anything to do with his own. And yet, he remembered the feeling that had taken him just now, at the dull, empty look in her eyes, he simply could not help himself.
“It will not do,” he said loudly. “The yellow…” A shake of the head. “It does not suit her nearly as well as you say.”
“Oh…” The modiste blinked. “I… I think it is a lovely color.”
“I do not wish for lovely,” he said. “She is to be my wife and when people see her, I expect them to be star-struck. Dazzled.” He pointed across the room at the purple swatch. “That is the color that will do it.”
The modiste frowned. “Your Grace, forgive me, but the yellow –”
“Is not what I want.” He looked right at the modiste, not with anger, not with fury, but with an expression that he used often,one that told whoever he was speaking with that they would be smart not to argue.
“Of course,” the modiste said with a nervous bow. “Allow me to…” she hurried across the room.
Caspian found Lady Thalia and was unsurprised to see her watching him with unabashed curiosity. He tried to remain composed, no expression whatsoever, but a smile somehow crossed his lips, and then it reached his eyes.
Lady Thalia frowned in surprise, and then she matched his smile when she realized what he had done. It was such a small thing, but in the context of everything else, both seemed to understand just how huge a moment it was.
Just like that, this wedding, this marriage, became infinitely more complicated.
Caspian hated complications.
