Page 119 of Taste of Addiction

“Enlighten me, Claire,” I deadpan.

“Drumroll, please!” she announces but doesn’t wait for me to do anything, because I refuse. She uncovers my costume. “You’re going to be a sensually seductive snowflake. And me?” She pulls the trench coat’s flaps back to reveal her red velvet and white fur outfit. “Santa’s ho!”

“You didn’t.”

“Oh, I did. And it’s done. Settled.”

“I was completely joking when I said these ideas, mind you.”

She shakes my shoulders, jostling me from my once peaceful state. “Get excited! Go nuts. Yay! These were your best ideas to date.”

“You know Graham is coming back, and he won’t let me leave this place if I am just wearing some snowflake pasties.”

Claire’s hand flies to her chest. “Gah, show your master some respect.”

I laugh over her fake disgust. She is something else.

The next hour is a whirlwind of fabric and makeup and open gawking. Claire dresses me in an outfit that is entirely white and blue. She laces a white corset up my spine that has silver and blue snowflakes attached to the rim at my chest. A flaring skirt with a fur trim slides up my hips, paired with knee-high shiny pleather boots with pom-pom balls attached to the lace ends.

Claire adds silver, white, and blue sparkles to my hair—twisting up half into a cute curly snowflake clip. My eyebrows get brushed with glitter paint, while my mascara is a pasty white. She adds several layers of eyeshadow in different shades and makes my eyes look icy.

Claire hands me a mirror and steps back to get the full view of her handiwork. “Wow,” I gasp, “I look like I just came out of the freezer. You really know how to make my eyes pop. Thank you!” I honestly was not expecting to like what she had planned, but with the exception of the too-revealing outfit, she kept it super classy.

“I can see you’re trying to give Graham a heart attack.”

Claire and I jump up from the couch over the masculine sound coming from the entryway. We both glare at Nic, while holding our chests. Glitter shakes out of my hair from the force of my movements, making me sneeze.

“Next time warn us!” Claire yells, barely able to catch her breath.

“Hi,” I say, running over to give him a hug. I haven’t seen him since Thanksgiving at his parents’ house. “Graham is out doing something for work. He’ll be back soon.”

Nic looks at my attire. “You know Graham is going to go ballistic, right? I mean, when it comes to you, it doesn’t take much for him to get crazy and controlling.”

“Oh, so you met the man before,” Claire says, rolling her eyes. “Pretty sure if I wasn’t the best friend, I would have been thrown into the river by now.”

Nic eyes her as if seeing her for the first time. “You do bring on the trouble.”

I glance down at my outfit, earning a smack on the arm from Claire.

“No, don’t you dare feel guilty for how you are dressed,” she snaps. “You look freaking hot. I’m telling you, I would bang you if I had a dick.”

“They make devices like that you know.”

“Ugh, Angie! You have such a fertile imagination!” she accuses.

“Probably because some of your humor has brushed off on me.”

“Well, I only speak in facts. And the fact is, that man of yours is going to cream his pants when he sees you.”

“Or kill us both,” I counter.

“Yeah, I vote for that one,” Nic chimes in, looking like he is going to enjoy the showdown I am sure to have with his brother.

Claire’s huff echoes in the room. “You guys exaggerate too much. Maybe he will be so distracted by my awesome makeup skills that he will completely miss what she’s wearing.”

“Right,” Nic says with mirth.

Claire has never really told me if the two of them have had much interaction. I mean, technically, he’s her boss. But I am not sure of what the agency was like before I joined. Seems like a lifetime ago. So much has happened since I first walked into Entice Escort Agency for an interview with Nic. I was a different person then. Someone who lacked self-esteem and still saw the good in most people. Maybe a part of growing up means losing some of my naivete.

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