“You look elegant-sexy, not vulgar-sexy,” Alyssa reassured me when she noticed my obvious discomfort. I wasn’t used to dressing up; I still preferred jeans and T-shirts.
“Maybe I should…” I wanted to peel it all off and get into bed. I’d changed my mind once again. I didn’t feel like attracting inappropriate stares or cheeky comments from some passing idiot. I knew there were men who went to these parties to “hunt,” and dressed like this, I would look like prey.
“Selene, we’ll be with you. You won’t be alone. Besides, you know that dickhead deserves to eat his heart out over your incredible legs. Now, get that round ass in gear so we can leave!” She gave me a gentle, encouraging nudge, and I smiled shakily at her.
I grabbed my clutch and followed Alyssa out of my room. I needed my black winter coat, but I’d left it on the coatrack in the living room, so I was going to have to walk down the stairs under Logan’s and Neil’s watchful eyes, and there was nothing I could do to hide from them.
I sighed and gripped the railing on my right, my fingers tight around it. Alyssa walked in front of me, bold and self-assured. She carried herself beautifully in her high heels, unlike me, who only seemed to get more awkward and clumsy.
As I watched the movement of her hips, I wondered how any woman could trulylikeheels. They were unbearable; I could already feel my big toe throbbing in pain.
“Finally!” Logan groused, turning in his girlfriend’s direction. He stared at her with deep admiration, and as soon as Alyssa reached him, he kissed her and told her how beautiful she was.
“Hope I don’t have to fight off some assholes tonight,” Logan said,frowning slightly at Alyssa’s tight-fitting dress. Then he pressed another kiss to her temple, handed her coat to her, and turned his eyes on me.
“So, Selene, are you read—” He stopped.
I couldn’t tell what he was thinking, but Logan seemed to be momentarily dazzled. His eyes drifted down my body, and I realized he approved of the bombshell dress his girlfriend had picked for me.
“You… I mean… You look great.” He rubbed the back of his neck, maybe embarrassed or maybe just confused. Then he heaved a sigh and politely handed me my coat, just as he had done for Alyssa.
“Did I do a good job? What do you think? Selene doesn’t know how much potential she has. She could have any man she wants falling at her feet with a snap of her fingers.” She snapped her fingers and then headed for the door, Logan’s arm draped around her shoulders.
“I agree,” he answered, grinning at me, and together we walked out onto the porch, where we shivered in the cold air. My coat kept my top half warm, but my legs were freezing. The sheer pair of thigh highs I wore certainly did nothing to protect me from the cold.
Once outside, Alyssa and Logan went on ahead of me to Neil’s Maserati. The thought of him looking disdainfully at me or tossing some insult or cruel joke my way made my legs shake. Still, I silently followed the loved-up couple. Inside, however, I wanted nothing more than to scream, letting out all the frustration that had built up in the last few hours.
“Don’t be a dick. They’re running late because they’re women, and women need more time to get ready,” Logan said preemptively, anticipating what his brother was about to say. Then, he stopped abruptly.
Neil was leaning against his car door, looking bored. He had a lit cigarette clenched between his lips, and he looked peeved.
He’d waited too long for us, and he wasn’t used to it. Neil didn’t like to wait; he wanted everything, and he wanted it now.
“Can we go?” he asked Alyssa, looking seriously at her. He studied her outfit and raised an eyebrow without comment. Luckily, he couldn’t see me because I was still hiding behind Logan, where I planned to remain. Except Neil craned his neck to the side, looking for me, and when Logan realizedthat his brother was specifically trying to see me, he moved, showing me off to the devil himself.
I clutched my bag as his bright eyes slowly moved from the pronounced neckline down to the too-short skirt. Then on to the high heels that lengthened my figure unnecessarily.
My cheeks were scalding, and my breathing was rapid.
Traitorous feelings.
I looked around and focused specifically on a small bush nearby—anything to avoid looking at him. But I could feel his stare hot on my skin, burning the flesh upon which it rested.
Little by little, he was branding me, and I could feel the full power of it.
“Beautiful, isn’t she?” Alyssa commented, though I wished she would have stayed quiet. Compliments always made me feel shy, and I needed to feel strong just then, not weak.
Neil took a step toward me and then another. I could smell smoke as he got closer and closer, mingled with his regular pleasant scent. I lifted my chin to look at him when my nose nearly made contact with his chest.
I saw everything in his eyes.
I saw his audacity. His strength.
I saw his power. His fury.
I also saw his lust. The desire to bite into my flesh; the desperation to make me his immediately. I saw the yearning and the clash between his determination to resist me and the heat that had set him aflame—an exhausting torture.
I saw the urge he had to be inside me and his furious need, which had to be satisfied.
