Page 161 of Defiant Beta

“With?”

“Dexter Pieter.”

She scrunches her nose. “He’s dead.”

I bounce on my tiptoes, too excited to stand still. “Nope. He faked his death in a massive explosion. Now he’s just Vincent Madden. There were helicopters and everything. Did you see?” I beam at her.

She stares at me for a beat, and I realize that I never told her who Vincent was, just that he was the math professor at Haven Academy, there to get justice for his murdered omega. Her confusion soon clears as she puts the pieces together.

"Explosion? Ah, now I understand why you like him so much," she says, wrapping her arm around my shoulder and guiding me toward the staircase. “Come on, let’s check out your closet. It's lucky you left all those new dresses here. Something poufy?"

I rest my head on her shoulder, thinking of the perfect dress for dinner with Vincent. “No. Something elegant.”

Halfway up the stairs, she pauses, scowling at me. "Why doIget the big, poufy dress, the big hair, and three different mascaras whileyouget the elegant dress?”

“I don’t make the rules, sis.” I grin at her. “But if those were the rules, I’d be breaking them anyway.”

Laughing, she squeezes me and continues upstairs. “Come on.”

Chapter 48

Della

At exactly seven,I hear a knock on my apartment door.

I don’t have first-date jitters; I'm a massive ball of stress and tension, and I have no idea how I’m going to get through tonight.

I’m used to looking out for my sister, but dates?

Dates?

I take a deep breath for courage and open my front door.

Vincent is in black jeans, a white button-down shirt, and a black jacket, looking sexy as hell.

I look down at my slinky, ankle-length black dress, nervously plucking at the silky fabric. “I’m overdressed, aren’t I?”

When he doesn’t respond, I peek at him through my lashes. I went all out—elegant black dress with thin straps, silver sandals, and smoky eyes with dark red lipstick. My shoulder-length auburn hair is wavy, and according to my sister, very sexy.

But maybe it’s too much.

“Vincent?”

It’s like watching someone come out of a dream. He shakes his head, blinks, and stares some more. His mouth opens. Then it closes.

I take a step back. “I can change if?—”

He slides an arm around my back and tucks me against his chest. He’s kicking off serious heat as he touches his lips to mine in a whisper of a kiss. “You look beautiful. You opened the door and I just…”

Words fail him, and I grin. “You like the dress?”

“I likeyouin the dress,” he gently corrects me. “Shall we go?”

“Okay.”

I’m hyperconscious of the hand Vincent is resting at the base of my spine, his little finger a half inch away from grazing my ass.

“You keep watching me,” he says as he guides me out of my apartment and into a mild evening. His black Audi sits parked right outside.

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