“You look delectable,” he says, licking his lips.
“It’s okay? I don’t think Sly liked it. He said people shouldn’t see me in it.”
He laughs as the elevator doors open and we step inside. He presses a button, then turns to grin at me. “I think he meant that you look so good that he doesn’t want others seeing you in it.”
“I… I don’t know what that means,” I tell him honestly.
He pulls me against his chest, his fingers trailing over my cheek. I swallow nervously. “It means that you look so hot that he doesn’t want others looking at you like that. He’s jealous. He only wants us to look at you with lust.”
“Oh.” I’m not sure what else to say. I didn’t realize Sly felt like that. “And you?”
“What about me?”
“Are you jealous?”
“As long as you’re with me, then I don’t need to be. They can look, but only the four of us get to touch,” he whispers ashis fingers skate down my chin and his thumb swipes over my lower lip. “That is, if you want us to.”
“I do,” I whisper back.
Just as his head starts to dip toward mine, the elevator pings, and I jump back as the doors open. He squeezes my hand and leads me into the lobby. I don’t ask where we’re going as he leads me down the hall. When we stop in front of a fancy restaurant, I realize he’s taking me to dinner.
A dinner where I didn’t have to cook or clean? I smile and wrap my arm around his as we wait for the hostess. I glance down the hall and see three familiar heads poking out of a doorway. When they see me looking, they quickly pull back, and the door closes. I bite back my smile as Dex pulls me with him, following the hostess to our seats.
We’re placed by a window that overlooks a small garden. There’s a small tea light candle on the table, and the dim lighting adds to the romantic atmosphere. We’re handed menus and then left alone.
Dex glances around at the surrounding tables with a frown. “This isn’t right,” he mumbles, pushing to his feet. I watch in confusion as he swipes the candle off the empty table beside ours, then he moves around the room, stealing the fake little tea lights from a dozen tables, some of which have people sitting at them. They look at him like he’s insane, but nobody questions him, not even the staff.
He finally plonks back in his chair across from me and places them, one at a time, around the table until every free inch is covered in them. “Much better!”
He looks up at me in such eager excitement that I don’t have the heart to tell him I don’t need all of them to make this special. Instead, I smile as I tell him. “This is really nice, thank you for bringing me here.”
“I’m glad you like it. Do you need help ordering?”
I look down at the menu, and my eyes widen at all the choices. “I can have any of these?” I ask, unable to keep the hope from my voice.
“Of course, order anything. Do you know what everything is?”
I quickly peruse the list of items and nod. “Yeah, I’ve made most of these.”
“I thought you only ate salad and healthy stuff?” he asks in confusion.
“Yes, but I still had to cook nice things for Robert. I’ve made most of these, but I’ve never tried them.”
“He’s a fucking abusive asshole,” Dex grits out, his anger surprising me.
“He wasn’t abusive,” I say in defense.
“Not all abuse is physical, baby,” he says, reaching out to place his hand over mine on top of the table. “What you just explained, that’s a form of abuse. Just because he never left a mark on your skin doesn’t mean he didn’t leave any on your soul.”
CHAPTER TWENTY
DEX
Ithink I fucked up. And when I see her eyes well up with tears, I know for sure I did.
“Shit, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that. Please don’t cry!” I beg.
“It’s not that,” she says, shaking her head as she brushes the tears away and fights to compose herself. “I just… I feel stupid.”
