AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Mia
Nothing could have prepared me for the sight of Terry in a tux. Sure, I had seen him in one a few times when we happened to be at the same events. But I had never seen him up close. Admiring him from afar was as close as I had gotten.
The black suit pants fit his body to perfection, as did the white shirt as it stretched over his tone chest and arms. He wore a deep-blue tie to coordinate with my blue dress. The fact that he coordinated with me made my heart soar. It was always the little things that he did that made me love him more. I was glad to see that he put that effort in for tonight as well. I thought I would be more nervous having him here picking me up for a formal occasion; something we had never done together before. But it was more giddiness and excitement of having him by my side.
I was wearing a deep-blue slip dress that flared out at the bottom. The neckline was sweetheart shaped, while the back was cut down to my ass—one of my favorite features of the dress. I also liked the way it flowed when I turned; the movement was beautiful. Ally and I had hit the jackpot when we’d found this one.
Biting his lip, Terry appraised me I spun so he could get a view of the whole thing. I always loved that hungry look he would give me when we were together, and it was nice to see that some things never changed. Terry wanted my body, and the thought gave me a little thrill.
“Well, what do you think?” I asked, batting my lashes at him. I knew the answer, but I wanted to hear him say it.
“Wow, you look so fucking beautiful,” he drawled. “Are you sure we have to go to this thing? I mean, I would love to just stay here with you and stick my head under that dress.”
I giggled at the dirty images that were popping into my head. I wanted that too. “No, we have to go.” Seeing his face drop, I added, “Unfortunately.”
The smile I was rewarded with at my last comment made it all worth it. His brown orbs lit up, and he was grinning from ear to ear. I sighed and looked up at the ceiling, closing my eyes. Yes, we had to get out of here. He was standing here, ogling me. Undressing me wouldn’t even be difficult. The dress had spaghetti straps, and I was certain that if you just pushed one strap off my shoulder, the whole thing was going to come off my body. I grinned at the thought.
I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to handle it if he put his hands on me. When we danced together, I would want to rub my body against his to get some friction. When he helped me from the car, I would wish his hands were traveling to far more interesting places than the small of my back. How could you desire someone who had hurt you so much? I’d never understand it, but for the moment, I wasn’t going to question it.
“We better go,” I finally managed. He offered me his arm and we were out the door, heading down the elevator, then into the cool Los Angeles evening. There was a black stretch limo parked at the curb, courtesy of Catherine. She felt we needed to arrive at this thing in style. I wasn’t going to fight her.
The driver opened the door for me, and Terry motioned for me to slide in. As carefully as I could, I gathered the flowy navy fabric and climbed in, scooting over to the side of the limo, my bottom caressing the leather as I moved. Terry climbed in behind me and sat across from me, our knees touching. The air inside the limo felt so charged, and I couldn’t bring myself to look away from him.
He smirked and my head dipped down to examine my shoes: the delicate silver pumps that we’d designed for our Night Life collection. I was so sure I’d never be able to wear them, but here I was, wearing them and sitting across from a man who looked absolutely edible. I swallowed, trying to hide my nerves.
“Would you like a glass of champagne?” Terry asked, gesturing toward the minibar to my right.
I shrugged, unsure if that was the best course of action for us. Alcohol could do strange things to us—well, to me. It could make me want to gather this devastatingly sexy man in my arms and take him anywhere but the ball, even though I had a speech to deliver and an appearance to make. But with the way he looked, I didn’t want to share him with the rest of the world. I wanted to lock him in my bedroom and devour him.
It scared me a bit. I never thought I would feel so deeply for Terry again. Maybe it was the fact that old habits die hard, or maybe we would never really be finished with each other. I started to consider this when Terry’s voice startled me. He was calling my name. I must have been lost in my own head longer than I knew.
“I’m sorry what?” I asked, blushing with embarrassment. I hoped my desires weren’t so clearly written all over my face. But based on the way he was smirking at me, I was guessing they were.
“You have to be at this thing, right?” Terry’s eyes were hooded when I finally met his. I had a feeling we were on the same page.
“Um, yeah. I have to speak,” I reminded him, cursing myself for agreeing to give a speech—the one that Catherine had carefully constructed and was currently resting in my clutch.
“That’s right,” he said with a nod. “Are you nervous?”
“Kind of,” I admitted, all thoughts of having a glass of champagne forgotten. I cleared my throat, trying to dissolve some of the tension. “Have you ever had to go to events like this before?”
A smirk crossed his face. I thought he could tell what I was trying to do, but he humored me. “Yeah, I’ve been to a few. The Met Ball once.”
I nodded, impressed, but I tried to hide it. I had always wanted to go, but I’d never been offered an invitation to the highly coveted ball. Maybe with Catherine’s help, I’d get there.
The air in the limo shifted, and I wasn’t sure why. Maybe it was because he could turn me on with just one look? Or because our conversations had been like this since the minute he’d picked me up. I uncrossed and crossed my legs—anything to cause some friction.
Terry snorted as he watched me. “Are you all right, Mia?”
The way my name fell from his lips, I wanted to fly into his lap and kiss his perfect lips. Thankfully, all ideas of that would have to wait until later. We had arrived. The limo slowed to a stop and the driver exited the vehicle to open the door.
“Saved by the ball,” he teased.
I said nothing. I only smiled as I watched him exit the car. His hand was extended out for me at the entrance of the limo. I took it and allowed him to help me from the back of the limo, a smile plastered on my face. That was Catherine’s first instruction when we spoke about what tonight would be like. “Always, always smile,” she’d told me. She said there’d be a million cameras flashing from the time I exited the car to the time we entered the ballroom. She was right.
With my arm in Terry’s, we made our way into the ballroom. There would be dinner before the honors were handed out. An attendant helped to direct us to our table. I dropped my wrap on the chair with my nameplate and turned to watch Terry examining the room.
