I could make her all the promises in the world about how well I am going to take care of her, but she needs to feel it herself.
She needs to feel like she did it herself.
And until then, she is trapped in the headspace of her past.
When she falls asleep on the couch, I move her into my bed. As her head lulls against my chest on the walk down the hallway, she curls her fingers into my shirt and breathes me in.
“Mine,” she murmurs in her sleep.
It’s a hot knife to my chest.
I want Scarlett, still.
I love Scarlett, more than anything.
But I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to trust her.
I don’t know if she’ll ever be free from her past and ready to live in the present with me.
So when I lay her down and cover her over, I don’t join her. And until I know what tomorrow brings, I can’t let myself go there.
Not now.
And maybe not ever again.
“Igot you something.”
Scarlett takes the box from my hands and opens the top, revealing the crimson dress inside. Her fingers move over the material, and she blinks up at me.
“Wow, Ace. You did good.”
“The devil should wear red,” I answer.
She smiles, and her fingers move over the intricate beading and layers of material.
“Very Gatsby-esque.”
“That’s the idea.”
She unzips her other dress and pulls it off her shoulders, letting it pool on the floor below her. She’s all black lace and legs and tits and ass, and I’m hard as fuck watching her shimmy into the new one I bought her.
She struggles with the crossing straps on the back and gestures for me.
“Can you help?”
“Aye.”
I fix it for her and zip her up.
And then, to keep myself focused on the task at hand, I get straight down to business. I retrieve the case that came with it, and I swear Scarlett gets excited even looking at it.
She knows it’s too big to be jewelry inside, it could only be weapons. And I would bet all the money in my bank account that my little hellraiser has some wet panties right about now.
“What is it?” she asks.
“Patience.”
I spin her around and open the case, retrieving the two black knives first. And then delicately, I trace the material around the base of her neck with the tips before I find the hidden sheaths beneath the straps of the dress.
