Page 210 of Hell Hath No Fury
I grin and push the blush away. “I like it.”
“Can I help you?” a lady at the front desk asks as she approaches us. She lowers her nose at me in that same way rich people usually do when they spot me. My drenched clothes definitely give away that I don’t belong in a place like this.
Vincenzo steps forward, blocking her from coming to me. “Dressing room.”
The woman swallows and stares him up and down. “And who will be paying for that outfit?”
“I will,” he snarls.
She huffs but eventually caves. “All right. Dressing room’s that way.” She points me in the right direction.
“Thank you,” I say under my breath as I carefully grab the purple dress off the railing.
Vincenzo grabs my wrist, stopping me. His smoldering eyes are directed only at the lady who runs the store. “She said ‘thank you.’”
“It’s fine,” I mutter under my breath.
“No,” he responds in a calm but threatening manner. “She disrespected you.”
The way he looks at her almost makes me want to say a prayer for her.
Who really is this man?
The lady looks embarrassed, and she quickly steps back. “You’re welcome. Take your time.”
Vincenzo’s lip twitches until the woman finally spins on her heels and returns to the front desk register.
Just one look already made her scurry off like a scared little mouse.
Who has that kind of power?
A dangerous man.
I clutch the dress close and quietly walk to the dressing room, not taking a breath until I’ve locked myself inside.
Oh my God. What are you even doing, Emilia?
What were you thinking going along with a man like that?
He could do all sorts of things to you, and no one would ever find out!
But it’s too late to turn back now. He’s right outside this room, waiting for me to put on this dress and see if it fits.
I take a deep breath and start undressing. No point in delaying the inevitable. Though, when I slide the fabric over my skin, I’m surprised by how well it fits.
I chuck my wet clothes onto the wooden chair in the back and open the door when I’m ready. The glinting look in his eyes catches me off guard as they swoop over my body from head to toe, his tongue dipping out to lick the top of his lip.
“Gorgeous,” he says.
And just that one word makes my skin erupt into goose bumps.
Compliments from random strangers have never made me want to blush. And I don’t understand why I so easily go with everything he says and does.
He has this kind of charm about him that’s impossible to ignore.
But it also makes it hard to defy him.
“Almost like it was made just for you,” he adds, making me smile.
