Page 48 of Vile Emotion
My face feels foreign to me, was I always this pretty? A smile appears before I can stop myself.
“You look beautiful, Juliana.”
“Thank you.” My cheeks warm and I look away. I don’t remember the last time someone said I was beautiful.
“Okay, let me help you get dressed.”
I go without hesitation and quickly change making sure not to show her my back. Once everything is on my body, including body oils for my leg because of the mid-thigh split the dress has, I stand in heels that I haven’t worn in years.
Monica stands back and looks me over.
“What?” I touch my hair and body wondering how wrong this looks. “Is it too tight? It feels too tight, no?”
Monica opens her mouth to say something but there’s a two time knock on the door and the door opens.
“Are you do–.” Alaric starts but stops talking as his eyes land on what I’m wearing.
The room goes silent as his eyes peruse my entire body from head to toe.
“Fucking Spellbinding.” Are the only words out of Alaric’s mouth and the world seems to have slowed.
It didn’t stop but it slowed around us, around me.
My eyes drink him in and it’s like he’s put me under a spell with his all black suit but there’s detail to his suit jacket. I know it’s custom made and no one else has this because there’s the detail of aCrownein gold lettering that matches my dress sort of. Did I just notice now that his hair has grown again? What?
Someone clears their throat in the room but all that does is prompt Alaric to take steps towards me. The fog hasn’t cleared as his fingers reach out and trace over the moon-shaped curve.
“Enjoy these diamonds, my wife.” He says then his fingers touch my bare skin for a second and as if he notices he did it, he moves it but slips his hand into mine.
Hislet’s gois muttered under his breath and he says nothing else as we exit the room leaving everyone else behind.
His words come back to me and don’t leave me alone.
Fucking Spellbinding…
34
Neither of us have spoken since I touched her bare skin. I’ve touched her before but this felt different, very intimate. Like a lover stroking their most precious lover’s skin so they can feel their touch and let it linger.
We’re almost there but my mind is focused on something else, yes, it’s the mayor’s charity event and yes, I should have warned her but there was too much going on.
Juliana thinks I forgot about her because of Mia but if anything, being around Mia has made me hyper-aware of Juliana. Mia is everything Juliana isn’t and my brain is pushing me to say that’s even better but something else is debunking it.
“What are the rules?” Juliana interrupts my thoughts.
“Rules for what?”
The confusion is clear on both of our faces but for different reasons.
“For this.” She points past me and it clicks that we’ve arrived. I didn’t hear a single thing.
“Hmm,” I glare at her as best as I can to mask whatever else is trying to come to the surface.
“Let me guess, rule number one, I can’t leave your side. Two, I’m representing you so I have to act accordingly. Three, I haveto remind them that I don’t hate you. Four, school my face and five, don’t speak about any important charities?”
This causes me to smirk almost letting out a chuckle but I clear my throat catching myself.
“I didn’t say you couldn’t speak about any important charities. Go ahead and mingle, just know that if you do something wrong, I’ll know.”
