“Want some help?” he grinned, earning a deadpan stare.
Worth a try, his wolf piped up.
Ronin dutifully stood, giving Mireille his back. The sounds of rustling tulle and popping buttons sent goosebumps shivering over his skin as he read the message on the tiny card.
Beautiful blooms for a blossoming beauty. Spare a moment for us after the show? - O
Ronin snickered, even as an unexpected twinge of jealousy squeezed his chest. “Your new boyfriend’s quite the poet. Think he uses these lines on all the females?”
Mireille grunted as she struggled to remove some part of her costume. “Thanks to our little date last night and Juliet’s gossip-mongering, it looks like I might actually find out.”
“You did okay up there,” he said, changing a subject that he suddenly had no interest in discussing. The thought of Otto putting his slithery hands on any part of Mireille…
She scoffed. “I missed a step during my solo. Stupid,stupidmistake.”
“I doubt anyone noticed.”
“Inoticed. I should’ve practiced more this week instead of spending so much time reviewing those damn files.”
Ronin’s brows furrowed. “Are you always this hard on yourself?”
“It’s the only way to ensure perfection,” she said flatly. “You can turn around.”
He spun, struck dumb by the outfit she’d changed into for Otto’s benefit. For a fleeting, foolish second, he wished she’d worn it for him.
Loose pink pants flowed past her feet, hanging low on her hips and exposing her toned stomach. The wide neckline of her silky crop top bared a creamy shoulder.
Waves of burnished copper tumbled to her waist, and he crossed his arms to keep from stepping toward her and running his hands through it.
Fuck, why were the beautiful ones always the most infuriating?
He swallowed. “I was teasing you, Mireille. You were a marvel.”
A gorgeous blush crept across her cheeks before she turned to her vanity and straightened the hairbrush. He bit back a chuckle.
A knock sounded at the door. “Mistress Valette?” The stagehand’s voice wobbled. “Y-you have another visitor.”
Otto, Ronin mouthed and Mireille nodded, gesturing for him to sit back down.
Which he promptly did, then stifled a groan as Mireille settled into his lap.
The heady combination of her scent, her soft skin, and her perfect ass atop his groin inspired his wolf to howl so loudly he was worried Mireille herself might hear it.
She looped an arm around his shoulder, then swept her hair away from her neck. “Nuzzle me.”
“Wh-what?” The haziness he felt could no longer be blamed solely on the Delirium.
“Nuzzle my neck,” she commanded through gritted teeth. Ronin’s wolf bounded across his heart in playful anticipation. “For Otto.”
“Right.” Ronin swallowed, his eyes darting to the pulse pounding beneath Mireille’s jaw. At least he wasn’t the only one affected by their proximity.
He ran his nose along her throat, then placed a hand on the curve of her hip. She exhaled a breathy little whimper, likely unintentional, that shivered down his spine.
“Come in!” Mireille crooned as Ronin replaced his nose with his lips, dragging them along her shoulder as his fingers caressed the edge of her waistband. He could’ve sworn he felt her press in closer.
Fuck, yes.
Jurgev Otto entered the room, wearing a finely-tailored baby-pink suit peppered with pastel polka dots. His serpent’s eyes blew wide at the sight of Mireille tangled up with Ronin. Before the door snicked shut, Ronin caught a sliver of Kosera’s broad back.
