Chapter 36 Playing with fire
~Sage~
Three days passed without incident.
No guards dragging me to Damon's office. No accusations. No punishment.
Keith and I kept our distance in public. It was the smart thing to do, the safe thing, but it didn't make it any easier. Every time I saw him across a room, my body remembered his hands on my skin. Every time our eyes met for a fleeting second, I felt the ghost of his lips against mine. We were two magnets being held apart by invisible forces, and the tension was slowly driving me insane.
On the fourth morning, a package arrived at my door.
The servant who delivered it offered no explanation. She simply handed me a sleek black box tied with silver ribbon and disappeared down the corridor before I could ask any questions. I brought it inside and set it on my bed, my curiosity burning as I stared at it.
There was no note on the outside. No sender's name. Nothing to indicate where it had come from or who had sent it.
I untied the ribbon slowly, lifted the lid and pushed aside layers of delicate tissue paper.
A gasp escaped my lips as I stared at the package inside.
The dress was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. Deep emerald silk that shimmered like liquid when I lifted it from the box. The dress was so soft it felt so luxurious that I was almost afraid to touch it.
I held it up against my body and turned to face the mirror. The design was deceptively simple but devastatingly sexy. Two thin straps that would sit delicately on my shoulders, leading down to a neckline that plunged in a deep V between the breasts. The waist was fitted, designed to hug every curve before flowing into a skirt that would fall to mid-thigh. A slit ran up the left side, promising to show far too much leg with every step.
This was not a dress for a quiet dinner. This was a dress designed to make a man lose his mind.
I noticed a small card tucked into the bottom of the box. It was undoubtedly Keith's handwriting, bold and confident across the cream-colored paper.
Wear this tonight. Nothing underneath. I'll come for you at eight.
Heat flooded my entire body, starting in my chest and spreading outward until even my fingertips felt warm. I read the card three times, my cheeks burning hotter with each pass. Nothing underneath.
He wanted me naked under this dress. He wanted me to spend the entire evening knowing that only one thin layer separated my skin from the open air.
The thought made my thighs clench together involuntarily.
I pressed the card against my chest and smiled like a fool, standing alone in my room with a dress worth more than anything I had ever owned and instructions that made my pulse race. Whatever Keith had planned for tonight, it was going to be dangerous and reckless.
I couldn't wait.
The hours until eight o'clock felt too long. I tried to distract myself with books, with television, with pacing around my room like a caged animal, but nothing worked. My mind kept drifting back to the dress hanging in my closet and the man who had sent it.
By four o'clock, I couldn't stand the waiting any longer. I decided to start getting ready, even though I knew it was far too early. At least it would give me something to do with my hands.
I ran a bath, filling the tub with hot water and adding oils that smelled like vanilla and jasmine. The steam rose around me as I sank into the warmth, letting it ease the tension from my muscles. I took my time, shaving my legs carefully, making sure that every inch of my skin was smooth and soft. I washed my hair twice, massaging the shampoo into my scalp until it tingled.
After the bath, I wrapped myself in a fluffy towel and stood in front of my vanity. My reflection stared back at me, cheeks flushed from the heat, eyes bright with anticipation. I looked like a woman about to do something reckless, and I supposed that was exactly what I was.
I started with my skin, layering on moisturizer until I practically glowed. Then I moved to my makeup, taking more care than I ever had before. I wanted to look perfect tonight. I wanted Keith to take one look at me and forget how to breathe.
I kept my base natural, just enough foundation and concealer to even out my skin tone without hiding the flush that seemed permanently painted across my cheeks. I spent extra time on my eyes, blending warm bronze and gold shadows across my lids, adding a subtle shimmer to the inner corners that would catch the light when I moved. My eyeliner was sharp enough to cut, a perfect wing that extended just past the outer corner of each eye. Three coats of mascara made my lashes look impossibly long and full.
For my lips, I chose a nude shade with just a hint of rose, something that would make my mouth look soft and kissable without being too bold. The dress was the statement piece tonight. Everything else needed to complement rather than compete.
I dried my hair slowly, letting it fall in loose waves around my shoulders. It had grown longer in the months since I arrived at the estate, now reaching past my shoulder blades in a cascade of chestnut brown. I debated pinning it up but decided against it. Keith liked my hair down. He liked to run his fingers through it and grip it when he kissed me.
The thought made me shiver.
Perfume came next. I dabbed it on my pulse points, my wrists, my throat, the space between my breasts that the dress would leave exposed. Finally, at half past seven, I stepped into the dress.
The dress was so thin that I could feel every subtle movement amplified by the lack of anything beneath. My nipples hardened almost immediately, pressing against the dress in a way that was entirely too obvious.
I looked at myself in the full-length mirror and barely recognized the woman staring back.
The emerald brought out colors in my eyes that I had never noticed before. The neckline plunged exactly as far as I had feared, showcasing the curve of my breasts in a way that was elegant and obscene all at once. Every time I moved, the slit in the skirt parted to reveal my thigh.
For shoes, I chose simple black stilettos that added four inches to my height and made my legs look endless. A delicate gold chain around my throat was my only jewelry, apart from a pair of small diamond studs in my ears.
At exactly eight o'clock, there was a knock at my door.
My heart leaped into my throat as I crossed the room to open the door. I paused with my hand on the doorknob, took a deep breath to steady myself, and pulled it open.
Keith stood outside my door. He was dressed in all black, a fitted shirt that stretched across his broad shoulders and dark slacks that emphasized the length of his legs. His hair was slightly disheveled, as if he had been running his hands through it, and his jaw was shadowed with just enough stubble to make him look dangerous.
But it was his eyes that made me freeze.
They swept over me slowly, starting at my heels and traveling upward with an intensity that made my skin burn. His eyes trailed from my legs, to my hips, to my breasts framed by that plunging neckline. By the time his gaze reached my face, he looked like he wanted to tear the dress away from my body.
For a long moment, he didn't speak. He just stared at me like I was a vision he was afraid would disappear if he looked away.
"Cinderella," he finally said, his voice rough. "You are the most beautiful thing I have ever seen."
The words washed over me like warm honey, settling deep in my chest. I had never felt beautiful before Keith. Pretty sometimes, attractive on good days, but never beautiful. Never the kind of woman who could stop a man in his tracks with just her appearance.
But the way he was looking at me made me believe it.
"You clean up pretty well yourself," I managed, surprised my voice came out steady.
He smiled, that slow dangerous smile that always made my knees weak. Then he extended his hand toward me, palm up, waiting.
"Come with me."
I placed my hand in his without hesitation. His fingers closed around mine and he pulled me gently out of my room.
We walked through the estate in silence. Keith led me down back hallways and through doors I had never noticed before, avoiding the main areas where we might be seen.
When we stepped outside, a sleek black car was waiting. Not one of the estate vehicles I had seen before, but something low and expensive that gleamed under the evening stars. He opened the passenger door for me, waiting while I slid inside before closing it gently and rounding to the driver's side. I breathed in as he settled into the seat beside me, watching his hands as they gripped the steering wheel.
"Where are we going?" I asked.
He glanced at me sideways, a smile playing at the corner of his lips. "You'll see."