Page 141 of The Scandal You Started
Like he was seeing her for the first time again. Like, for a moment, he’d forgotten how mind-bogglingly beautiful she was, and he’d only just been reminded of it. Impossible, because he realised it every day, yet the vision she painted was like nothing he’d ever seen before.
In a dark green silk dress, she looked…like the queen of the forest.
The queen of his heart. His happiness. His life. His home.
The bodice was pleated horizontally across the slightly curved neckline, covering her generous breasts, while down her ribs and waist, the pleats were vertical, creating the illusion of a corset. It gently hugged her lavish hips before cascading to the floor. And every step she took flashed a teasing, tempting glimpse of the shape of her legs that a man could write a whole book of poetry on without having a single poetic bone in him.
Two-inch straps of the same folded material went across her upper arms, leaving her shoulders bare. A gold necklace with a teardrop pendant hung around her neck and matching earrings dangled from her lobes, the waves of her rosewood-red hair dancing around them. Her cheeks were painted with a lovely rouge, her lips with a duller pink, her lashes in black, and as she laughed with Hania, the shimmer on her eyes and cheekbones glowed even brighter.
But his favourite part, other than her, was the ivory silk gloves that ended above her elbows.
They ruined him. Nearly brought him to his knees, quaking and whimpering.
Sobbing like no man should.
Not just because they filled his head with all the erotic things he wanted to do with her in those gloves, but they also created the image of her walking into a Season ball on his arm.
As his wife. In his time.Meant to be.
It was her other side of the same coin. A hopeful possibility.
Entirely unwilling to release the wonderstruck delight floating through his chest, Dominic held his breath until Rayna’s glittering gaze collided with his. His lungs deflated as her laughter fizzled out into a bright grin that made his cheeks feel fuzzy.
Her lashes dipped in perusal, lazy and lingering, pausing somewhere below his chin.
He shifted as he tugged sharply at the ends of his sleeves, not exactly feeling shy or conscious but gosh did he hope she liked the way he looked. He received his answer when she pinned him under the heavy glow of her stare, and his chest puffed with pride like a damned male bird.
She and Hania stopped to collect Cassie from the man with a headset she was waving her hand around to, then the three of them came towards him and Matt. Dominic’s feet automatically moved him too, eager to be close to Rayna quickly. Matt followed suit.
“Okay,” Cassie said, grinning in a look of both stress and amusement. “I think this lot are sick of me telling them to double-check everything, so now that we’re all here and ready, should we head off to welcome in the guests?”
Dominicwaslistening to Cassie. He hummed his agreement as the others verbalised theirs. He just couldn’t take his eyes off Rayna, even when she flicked him a quick warning to focus. Up close, he realised she’d grown a few inches in height, likelybecause of some heeled slippers, and all he could think about was—
“Mr Dominic Thorne.”
He blinked and whipped his head around. Cassie, Matt, and Hania were grinning teasingly, while Rayna looked playfully disgruntled.
“I know Rayna looks absolutely stunning,” Cassie said with laughter lacing her words. “But try to focus on the guests until everyone’s seated at least.”
A guilty smile tugged at his mouth as his cheeks heated. He cleared his throat and straightened, clasping his hands behind his back. “Certainly,” he said with a nod.
Hania threw her head back and cackled, while Cassie shook her head, and Matt’s shoulders bounced with laughter. Then the older woman led the way, Matt and Hania followed, and Dominic slunk beside Rayna.
Unable to deny the chivalrous urge, or rather the possessive need to claim her, he offered her his elbow. Surprisingly, she took it, but he hated that his clothes prevented him from being able to feel her gloved fingers caressing his skin to gooseflesh.
“Everything you were thinking was written on your face, Dominic,” she grumbled quietly, a reluctant smile playing hide-and-seek on her mouth.
“I apologise, sweetheart,” he whispered, drinking her into his soul. “But you look lovely in silk. Exquisitely breathtaking. And I was not prepared to witness it.”
She rolled her eyes, her grin widening, and though it was hard to tell over her makeup, her ear warmed to a delightful shade of pink.
Rayna
By the time the hall doors were closed behind the last of the gala guests, all twenty-three round tables that seated ten each were nearly full. Black and navy tailored suits and gorgeous evening gowns of every colour stood out against the pale-gold cloths dressing the tables, the white candle and flower arrangements, and the dark cream curtains hanging over all the windows.
The large chandeliers above were dimmed for Cassie, the design manager, and the museum director’s presentation on the new exhibit. At the end of which, Rayna, Dominic, Matt, Hania, the other assistant curators around their table, and the exhibit designers at another, all stood to receive an applause for their support on the project.
From the table behind, Rayna could hear Kelly and Erin hooting loudly. She threw them a playful side-eye over her shoulder and was met with a round of grins and laughter from everyone else occupying the dark wood, cushioned chairs—Monty and his wife, River, Jake and his sister, Serena, and the museum receptionist, Maleeka, and her wife.
