Page 88 of Morally Black Betrothal
Clothes. A blue dress. Modest, just like most things about her. Blue silk capped her shoulders and flowed over her body like water to just below her knees, and a V-shaped neckline dropped to just above her décolletage instead of revealing anything more. All wrapped up, like a package begging to be torn open and really split apart—you depraved monster.
I was no better than a fucking dog.
Simone toyed with the simple gold chain around her neck, and the ring I’d given her flashed under the light.
The one that told the world she was mine.
“You look stunning,” I said honestly. I couldn’t help myself.
A blush tinted her skin rose under my stare. “I—thank you. You, um, look nice too.”
I glanced down at my black suit and the white shirt, sans tie, that I’d been wearing since this morning. The ones that looked the same as a dozen others hanging in my closet.
I looked like a waiter. An expensive waiter in a custom suit, but a waiter just the same.
“I should have worn something blue. Then we’d match.”
Both of us grinned like idiots.
“Come in.” She stepped aside. “You’re in luck. My sister just ducked out with her kid for dinner, so you won’t have to meet her quite yet. I just need to turn off the lights, and we can go.”
I followed her into the apartment, which was a far sight cleaner than the last time I’d been here. “No bread today?”
She grabbed a set of keys off the battered table. “No, today I was too busy arguing with my fake fiancé.”
“What an asshole,” I said, earning another grin.
“Am I dressed all right?” Simone tugged at her skirt. “I wasn’t sure where we were going.”
“You look fantastic, but maybe there’s something missing.”
She froze. “Oh, no, what?”
I reached into my breast pocket and pulled out the blue velvet box. When I opened it, Simone’s expression was worth ten times what I’d spent on the trinket.
Her gaze bounced between the contents and me. “Are those…?”
“Diamonds,” I confirmed. “A small token of my appreciation.”
Again, her hand drifted to the gold chain at her neck. The chain that, if I was being completely honest, fit her perfectly. Better than any shiny rocks.
I considered tucking the box away, suddenly aware of how gaudy the gift was. But I kept it out as she leaned down. I could at least enjoy the awe on that beautiful face.
“Wow.” She hovered a fingertip over the stones. “They’re beautiful.”
“They’re nothing,” I mumbled, unable to stop staring at her.
Her eyes darted up to mine, a silent question lingering within them. I flashed what I hoped was a gentle smile instead of thealien mix of terror and desire coursing through me, then pulled out the necklace and handed the box to her.
“Turn around.”
She complied, giving me access to the nape of her neck. A few more errant strands of blond drifted there, and I ghosted my fingers over her skin, struggling to keep my lips from following.
What would she taste like there?
The scent of lilacs was stronger now.
She shivered under my fingers.
