Page 123 of Dangerous Contract: Part 1

This woman. Raz stared back at the road as the rain fell harder. His mind was replaying her words over and over again.As long as I’m with you, Orazio, I’m okay with anything.Would she still feel that way after he returned from his killing spree? Would she start to hate him once she learned he’d killed her ex-husband?

Chapter Twenty-Six

MONIQUE

––––––––

Monique stared at her reflection in the mirror.

A smile crept across her face. It was hard to keep it off. She’d tried. It kept popping back into place. One of her besties had once told her that when you’re happy, it shows. You can’t hide it. It will emanate from you like a light.

Her bestie was right. Monique was happy. And it was showing. She couldn’t hide it. She couldn’t dim it. It was deeply rooted in her. And she loved it. Monique turned to the side, staring at herself in Orazio’s bathroom mirror.

This sheer dress is everything,Monique thought to herself. Since they were staying in, she’d opted for this one. She’d had so many to choose from since Raz had purchased every last one of the dresses she’d tried on.

Still, for a stormy night like tonight, this one was the best option. Monique posed as she took in her reflection.Look at you, Monique Rose. Looking like a snack.She giggled at her own thoughts. But she had to admit, she looked really pretty tonight.

No, not just pretty. She looked sexy. There, she’d said it. She looked sexy. And not sexy for a big girl. But sexy, period. She couldn’t believe she’d allowed Trevor to make her believe she was anything less than a queen.

He’d had her thinking she was frigid and that she just didn’t like sex at all. He’d had her thinking she was hard to please in the bedroom. He’d beaten down her confidence, making her too shameful to leave the house for fear that others would judge her because of her size.

Well, others did still judge her because of her size. But that had nothing to do with her. That was all on them. It was proof that they were unhappy with themselves. Like the woman at the boutique. The woman Raz had gotten fired.

He didn’t know Monique had overheard their conversation. She’d pretended not to. To be honest, she’d been embarrassed and had wanted to hide when she’d heard the woman’s words. If the sales clerk had said those words to Monique instead of to Raz, Monique wouldn’t have wanted to hide. She would’ve stood up for herself.

But having Raz hear those ugly words embarrassed her. It had made her wonder if he would now be embarrassed to be seen with her. She’d sometimes felt like Trevor had been embarrassed to go places with her for that reason.

Yet, her Raz hadn’t hesitated to put the woman in her place. He hadn’t made a big show of it. He hadn’t even wanted Monique to know it had happened. He’d quietly defended and protected her.

He’d been her hero. Her knight in shining armor. Monique blinked back tears. She would thank him one day. For now, the pink scarf tease would have to be thanks enough. Her cheeks heated as she recalled how brazen she’d been in the car.

She’d almost talked herself out of doing it three times. But she’d worked up her courage and let her heart and her hands lead her. They hadn’t steered her in the wrong direction. The sounds Raz had made as she’d teased him were worth the effort.

And tonight, after dinner, she wanted to hear those sounds again. They’d left her craving more of him. Would it be too muchto ask him to make love to her first, then eat dinner? Monique sighed.

Where was all this horniness coming from? Perhaps from years of sexual frustration. If Raz wasn’t careful, she’d wear him out tonight. She chuckled but stopped when Raz called her name from the other side of the door.

“Dinner’s ready, love.”

“Oh, okay. Here I come.”

“Take your time.”

Monique smiled. Where Trevor had been impatient and rude, Raz was patient and kind, catering to her needs in a way no one had ever done before. Shaking her head, she told herself to stop comparing Orazio to Trevor.

It was like comparing a Maserati to one of her nephew’s remote-controlled cars. They both looked like vehicles, but one was smaller and useless to a grown woman. Monique chuckled as she ran her hand over the front of her dress one more time.

“Okay, Monique. Let’s go!” After her mini-pep talk, she turned away from the mirror and exited the bathroom.

Raz was waiting on the other side of the door for her. He’d changed clothing also. He was now wearing a black suit, with a black button down and black tie. His shoes were also black. From the way his suit fit him, she knew it had been tailored for him and only him.

And Monique wanted to tear it off him. Swallowing, she chastised herself for being so damn horny. Seriously, what was wrong with her? Raz stretched his hand out. She placed her palm against his.Damn, his hand is big, just like another part of him.

“You look beautiful,” he told her, gaze roaming over her already overstimulated body, making her nipples harden.

“You too,” she told him.

“Thank you, love.”

---