Page 8 of Reign

After one final check, I grab what I need off the black, floating marble vanity and head back toward Libby’s bedroom.Isabel– I remind myself a thousand times to use her new name from now on – was adamant that we get ready separately so she’s getting ready in the spare room. The same one where she’s been sleeping because short of forcing her, she’s been stubborn about sharing my bed even after I promised to keep my hands to myself.

Both women are treating this like they’re getting ready for a high school dance, but they were correct when they told meit’s different for women,so I just let them be. They haven’t taken any swings at each other yet, so I’ll count that as a victory.

Walking down the hall toward her room, my feet not yet used to the stylish brown oxfords but marveling at their comfort, I think back to that night at Richard and Bea’s. The night I discovered that Isabel’s fiancé was Willem Van den Tweel. The shock of seeing his face was nothing compared to the rage of seeing his hand stretch possessively across her bare back. I was sure my head was going to explode from the pressure of holding myself together. Her navy-blue dress and belt of seashells teased me all night with glimpses of her tan thighs and flawless, smooth skin. When I caught her on her way to the bathroom, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to let her go. I knew Willem had caught me looking more than once, but I couldn’t stop myself.

Knocking on the bathroom door now, I smile because tonight, I won’t have to let her go. She belongs to me… rough patch aside.

I smell the vanilla in the air before the door swings open. Libby has always smelled like sunshine and honeysuckle, but tonight, it’s definitely vanilla and it’s making my mouth water.

She cracks the door, and finally,finallygives me a small smile. If I’m not careful, my heart will implode. Her hair is pulled over one shoulder and done in some kind of fancy knot that looks like it was effortless but probably took an hour. Her bright eyes contrast against her tan face and the liner around her eyes steals my next breath just like the first time I saw her look like this.

“Well?” she asks, shrugging a shoulder and opening the door all the way so I can see her outfit.

I just stand there with my mouth gaping open, unable to form words.

She chuckles and turns around. “If you’re just going to stand there, at least be helpful. Can you zip me up?”

It seems like such a small request but she’s asking me touch her… which is a huge fucking deal right now. So huge, I almost miss my opportunity because I’m too busy drinking her in and she starts to fumble with the zipper on her own.

“No, no. I’ve got it.” I gently bat her hands away, taking over. I take my time pulling the zipper up its path, letting my fingers trail up her back slowly leading the way, the zipper following in their wake. “You look beautiful,wife. I’m a lucky man.”

I meet her eyes in the mirror and for a second I think she’s going to argue or say something smart, but she lets her guard down just a bit instead, and says, “You clean up well yourself.”

This suit is tailored to fit my body perfectly and she hasn’t stopped staring at the exposed skin at my throat where I left two buttons undone since she turned around to give me her zipper. I know she’s as turned on as I am because I can smell her arousal. Even if I couldn’t, the way she’s rubbing her thighs together gives her thoughts away. It takes everything in me not to sit her on the counter, spread her wide, and taste her right now, but she’s just starting to come around and I don’t want to scare her away or piss her off.

I decide to tease her though. Consider it payback for leaving me the way she did in the pool. I could announce what I’m doing, but the sadistic part of me wants to find out if she’d let me see this through so I drop to one knee and trail my fingers up the outside of her thigh, pushing the hem of her dress higher as I go.

Her breathing catches as she looks down at me but she doesn’t tell me to stop.Fuck, I love her reaction to my touch.

“Cas, we’re supposed to be getting ready,” she says, but there’s no conviction in her voice.

“Baby, I’ve been ready. Now I’m helping you.”

She arches a perfect eyebrow at me, wondering how this is helping her get ready. Still staring down to see what I’m doing, I work quickly, “accidentally” stroking her through her silk thong as I strap the thigh holster on.

“What the hell?” She pulls the rest of her dress out of the way so she can see her new accessory. I slip the small .9mm into the holster and drop the skirt of her dress back down to hide it. “I like it,” she finally decides. “Thank you.”

Things have gone better than I thought they would so far so I take another chance and reach into my pocket for the small, blue box I put there earlier. Just in case.

Five

Libby/Daniella/Isabel

THE WEIGHT OF THE GUN brings me peace. At one time it would have unnerved me to have a loaded firearm on my person so intimately. Now, its presence is preferable.

Casandro – I have to practice so I don’t slip up tonight – is standing behind me and I catch his eyes in the mirror. His eyes are black and I feel the hard length of him as he presses into me from behind. My traitorous body is responding to him forcefully. But if my head and my heart aren’t on the same page as my overly aggressive pussy, then nothing is solved and I’ll just be pissed at myself for giving in.

Reaching into his pocket, he pulls out a rectangular shaped blue box. The steam from my earlier shower is still in the air as a memory zaps my brain as if I’d been electrocuted.

Will comes into the bathroom and places a martini on the counter for me. “Thought you might like a drink before we go.”

I eye it appreciatively. “Thank you. I’ll be ready to go in about twenty-five minutes.”

He sets his drink down next to mine and reaches into his pocket. “I also got this.” He pulls out a red ring box and opens the lid revealing the biggest damn diamond I have ever seen. No shit, the rock has to be at least three or four carats.

“Ohmigod, Will!” This isn’t the diamond he proposed to me with. That ring lives in the box in my drawer whenever I go to the gym, surfing, or to the cultural arts center.

A smile breaks out on his face. “I know this one is different, but I thought you could use an upgrade since I got a bonus already.”

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