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I hold the gown at arm’s length, my breath turning shallow. Something like this has to be a one-of-a-kind design. I don’t understand why Roman is being so generous when we both know I’m only staying until I’ve finished the portrait. If he wants sex, he only needs to ask.
Later, after rubbing paint off my fingers, I finally open the huge Gucci chest, which splits vertically into two sections. The left is a tiny closet with my jackets and coats on wooden hangers and the right consists of five leather drawers.
Annalisa packed all my things carefully, with accessories in the top drawer and my toiletries at the bottom. I shake my head, marveling at her attention to detail, wishing I wasn’t always so cynical about people. Sometimes, all I ever see are their faults.
After a long soak in the bath, I tame my unruly curls with a deep conditioning treatment, blow dry it with a diffuser, and apply a light layer of makeup.
The lingerie is a perfect fit, as is the dress, which accentuates my curves and makes my skin pop. How did Roman know I suit autumn and winter shades?
I barely recognize myself in the mirror. The bodice cinches my waist and flares out a little at the hips, creating a more exaggerated hourglass. That thick strip of diamanté-encrusted fabric I saw earlier sweeps behind my right hip, exposing my thigh, while silk fabric swoops from my waist around the front of my hips so I’m not flashing my panties.
The gown is so dramatic that my face looks under-dressed. I approach the mirror and apply darker colors to match the outfit, as well as a bronzer that stretches down to my neck.
When I step out of the bedroom, Roman is already waiting in the studio wearing a wine-colored suit so dark it borders on black, and a plum-colored shirt that accentuates his olive skin.
My breath catches.
We’re matching.
His eyes move up and down my form, and a slow smile spreads across his face. Heat rises to my cheeks. He looks like he wants to devour me until I’m a quivering, moaning heap.
“You look beautiful,” he says, his voice low. “I can’t wait to show you off to all my guests.”
I shuffle on my feet. No one has ever looked at me with such intensity before, at least no one who ever wanted to take me out on a date.
“Thanks,” I murmur. “You look good, too.”
He raises his brows. “Only good?”
“Fishing for compliments?”
“Maybe I am.” He puffs out his chest. “What do you think?”
I resist the urge to roll my eyes. No man this handsome could ever be insecure about the way he looks. With one smile, he can make a woman forget he’s a killer. Roman could stroll into a nightclub empty handed and walk out with a harem.
“Alright, you’re as handsome as the devil,” I say.
Roman flashes me a panty-melting smile of straight white teeth. “The devil, you say?” He reaches into the inside pocket of his jacket and produces a black velvet box. “Interesting choice of words, because I fuck like a demon.”
Heat floods my pussy. The worst part about that statement is that it’s accurate. Not wanting to start anything sexual, I drop my gaze to his hands.
“What’s that?” I ask.
“Go to the mirror, he says.
Returning to the bedroom, I try not to quiver as Roman stands at my back, opens the box, and extracts a necklace made up of small diamonds set within tiny silver circles.
It’s the most exquisite thing I’ve ever seen. Most diamond necklaces are arranged in regular patterns, but this one has random groupings of jewels that appear organic. In some places, the links are only one-diamond thick, then they increase to two clumps, then six and any number in between.
“This is so beautiful,” I whisper.
“I saw it and immediately thought of you.” He drapes it around my throat and fastens it at the back of my neck.
“What do you mean?”
“Unusual. Unpredictable. Unexpectedly unique.”
He leans in close and inhales my hair with a deep sniff that makes my skin tingle. Shivers run down my spine and settle in my core.
