Page 310 of Reign

She stands at the edge of the pool in the late afternoon light, practically glowing with happiness, and for a second I forget how to breathe.

The black fabric is too small, stretched tight across her body like it was designed specifically to test every ounce of my control. Her breasts spill over the triangles with every small shift, soft and full and impossible to look away from. When she raises her arms above her head, stretching beneath the sun, the bottoms slip lower on her hips and reveal the soft curve of skin just above the crease of her thighs.

Sunlight catches the sheen of oil across her shoulders and the long line of her spine.

She looks hot.

Soft.

Happy.

Completely, devastatingly mine.

I should regret choosing the bikini.

I don’t.

I love the way she keeps looking around as though she still can’t believe the pool, the house, and the ocean beyond it belong to her too. I love that she has spent the last hour rushing from room to room, demanding to see everything, her excitement growing louder with every unnecessary feature she discovers.

I love knowing I gave her this.

I don’t love that every man within fifty feet of the pool can see her in it.

I catch one of them staring a second too long.

His eyes snap away the moment he feels mine on him, but the damage is done.

“Inside,” I order.

Every man on the patio moves at once. Doors close. Footsteps retreat. Within seconds, the space is empty except for Elena, me, and the quiet lap of water against the tile.

She turns toward me and laughs, bright and thoroughly entertained.

“Did you just clear the entire patio because someone looked at me?”

“Yes.”

“You bought me this bikini.”

“I’m aware.”

“And then made me wear it around all your men.”

“That was my mistake.”

Her eyes travel over me slowly. “A tragic failure of judgment.”

“One I’ve corrected.”

She laughs again and steps closer to the edge of the pool.

“You going to keep staring at me, or are you getting in?”

I take my time looking at her.

“Get in first.”

Her brows lift as that spark of mischief I love enters her eyes. “Why?”