Slowly, I made my way down the ginormous closet, feeling the clothes along the way. I stopped at the end, near the gowns, and my fingers trailed along their material. Every single gown was made of comfortably silky cloth. None of them had restricting corsets or endless tulle or plunging necklines meant to titillate.
Tears formed in my eyes when I swung back to face Jax. “Is all of this...for me?”
He stood just behind me, having followed me silently, an unsure look on his face. “It is.”
“When? And how?” I somehow managed in a choked whisper.
“I hired a dozen seamstresses the day that you broke out of your chambers. I knew that I couldn’t let you leave, and I wanted to take care of you. It made my instincts absurdly happy to provide this for you, even if you didn’t know about it and I was keeping you captive.”
Another burst of warmth coasted through me. “So, it wasn’t just the green gown you had crafted for me that I wore to meet King Paevin, or that chest of clothes you brought along to Leafton?”
His throat bobbed. “No.”
“You had all of this made just for me?”
“I did. I made it very clear to the seamstresses what your tastes were. I hope I got it right.” He raked a hand through his hair, suddenly looking unsure. “If I didn’t, I’ll?—”
I wrenched him to me before he could utter another sound and kissed him.
His lips crashed into mine, his hands automatically going to my waist to pull me closer. Our mouths moved as one, and his taste flooded my senses. He tasted of wind and pine, hope and love. He tasted of home.
When I finally pulled back, I was breathless.
A smoldering look filled his gaze. “I take it that I got it right?” He smiled cheekily.
“You did.” I ran a hand over one of the sweaters near me, still panting and breathless from our kiss.
My fingers encountered thick and soft material. I held the sweater up. It hung to mid-thigh and would be warm and comfortable when strolling through the chilly halls at night. “But this isn’t the regal sort of attire a queen wears.”
Jax cocked his head. “Perhaps not usually, but who’s to say that can’t change? Why should a queen be required to wear restrictive, uncomfortable gowns from dusk until dawn while the king wears comfortable pants and woolen tops or tunics and breeches?”
The tears in my eyes grew so thick that I could barely see. Blinking, I glanced at the gowns at the very end again. “And those are for when duty requires me to wear such finery?”
I surveyed the collection. There were around four dozen gowns, each of a different color with unique embellishments.
“Traditionally, we dress formally each night for the evening meal.” Jax came up behind me and encircled my waist. “But if you don’t like them, we’ll get rid of all of them.”
I laughed, the sound between that of joy and disbelief. I ran my fingers along the dresses. They were just as soft as the sweaters. “They’re beautiful, Jax. No, not just beautiful. They’re perfect. And I’m not entirely averse to wearing gowns, you know. It’s simply that in my life with my guardian, I never had a choice, and he always chose ones of styles that I didn’t favor. But these...” I pulled out one.
The dark navy dress had a fitted top encrusted with thousands of shimmering dark sapphires. From the waist down, the skirt was layer upon layer of fine, sheer-like material. It flowed like water to rest in a pool around my feet. And attached to the shoulder area of the gown’s top was a cape made of the same sheer material, but at only one layer thick, the cape was slightly see-through. More glittering sapphires adorned the cape’s clasp and seams.
The gown was breathtaking. Bold. Utterly beautiful. Yet I could tell from the cut and feel that it would be comfortable to wear for an entire day.
“I love this one.”
His lips curved in a satisfied smile. “Try it on for me. You can wear it tonight to meet my parents if you like.”
My cheeks warmed under his husky declaration and the arousal coasting from him into me along our bond. I swirled my fingers to indicate that he should turn around, then I quickly undressed and slipped into the gown.
It easily slid up my body, and the clasps in the back were something I could even clip together myself, nothing like the stays and hundreds of buttons that commonly befitted the gowns my guardian had insisted on. I didn’t even need a lady’s attendant to wear this dress.
Once done, I smoothed the navy material over me, marveling at how perfectly it fit, then I clasped the sheer cape around my shoulders, hooking it to the dress in clasps just above my breasts.
Jax’s large frame blocked the mirror at the wardrobe’s entrance, but looking down, I was able to see that while the gown showed off my figure, it wasn’t revealing, and the sheer layers of the skirt were lightweight and airy but not see-through. This gown would be easy to move in and wouldn’t make me feel exposed. Yet it was beautiful enough that I felt regal.
“Well?” Jax asked, still turned away. “The suspense is killing me.”
I laughed lightly. “You can turn around.”
