Feeling daring, I take a step closer to him. I’m already losing our battle, so why not get some additional benefits out of it?
Before I can succumb to the desires burning me alive, Asher lifts my dress from the bed. He handles it more gently than I am sure he has any woman as he places it over my head. The high thread count feels like heaven when it floats over my skin. After wearing dowdy sweatpants and holey shirts for over a month, its quality is undeniable. I can’t see myself, but I feel like a million dollars.
When Asher’s heavy-hooded gaze locks with mine, I realize I am worth that and so much more.
Chapter 18
Asher
My temperature blazes out of control when I step back from Zariah so I can get a full look at her. Heads are going to swivel when I enter my club tonight, and none of them will be for me.
I hadn’t planned to dress Zariah; I merely wanted to see if she appreciated the gift I bought for her, but her smell had me coming undone. It’s a pure scent, one too virtuous for me to corrupt, but too provocative to ignore.
No woman has ever tempted me enough to dress them before. Usually, I’m shredding off their clothes until they sit tattered on the floor, but I wanted to dress Zariah, to see if the five-thousand dollar dress Roderick handmade for her matches the fire that roars through her when she has the gall to go against me.
She thinks I haven’t heard her private thoughts the past two weeks. She’s wrong. I heard every one of them. For the most part, they were amusing. It’s not often you’ll find a man strong enough to go against me, so for a woman to work up the courage makes me wonder if she did flourish into the woman I always thought she’d be.
“Do you have shoes?”
Zariah’s eyes widen before they shift to a stack of three lined up against a wall in her prison-like room. They’re all without heels and nowhere near as glamorous as the dress she’s wearing.
Her eyes startled back to mine when I shout, “Velika?!”
I’m not shocked when my cousin pops her head into my room too quickly for someone not dying to see how accurate the measurements I gave her were. My dimensions were spot on. Zariah’s dress fits her like a glove. It accentuates her curves and has more than my cock swelling.
“Yes?”
I can see Velika wants to say more. She’s brimming with as much excitement as Zariah, although I’m sure their excitement is for entirely different reasons. Velika was hoping my wish to dress Zariah in expensive threads was because I was forcing her into the industry she assured me time and time again Zariah would make a killing in. That isn’t what I’m doing. I merely wanted to get her a gift for her birthday—a peace offering I’m eager to outdo at every opportunity if it keeps the flame alight that Zariah’s eyes are holding now.
I keep my focus on the task at hand. It’s a fucking hard feat. “Zariah needs shoes. Size seven and a half with a minimum of a three-inch heel. I don’t want her tripping on the front of her dress.”
Velika presses a pen against her lips. “Silver or black?”
I say “Silver,” at the same time she suggests, “Black.”
Knowing I’m not a man to argue with, Velika exits the room only to return a few seconds later with a pair of strappy silver shoes with red soles. They have a chunky heel that shouldn’t cause too much trouble to a heel-wearing novice. If my mother’s claims are true, Zariah’s father hid her from the world years before makeup, heels, and dresses that cost more than most men earn a month entered her life. I’m not even sure if she had her first period before he stole her from not just the entire world, but me as well.
I accept the shoes from Velika before raising my eyes to Zariah. “Thoughts?”
She peers at me in surprise, stunned I’m seeking permission. She’s wearing the shoes no matter her reply, but I don’t mind entertaining her suggestion a mere second before showing her why my choice will always be the right choice.
My attitude takes a step back when Zariah murmurs, “They’re perfect.”
I pace away from the bed to hide my smug grin. I also need some room to adjust my crotch without witnesses. Her two short words were delivered too huskily for my cock not to ignore. It has me desperate to sink into her as I had planned before Velika interrupted us. It’s lucky she is family, or she would have paid for her interruption dearly.
After wordlessly gesturing for Velika to leave, I motion for Zariah to sit on my bed. She does, albeit nervously. She’s anxious she’s moments away from being mauled again, and I’m panicked she’s right.
I stripped her of all her power the instant she entered my realm, but right here, right now, she has more authority than me. When her eyes met mine earlier, there was something in them I’ve never seen before. It’s controlling my motives. I’m trusting nothing but it—a glint I don’t understand, but will give anything to see time and time again.
It takes everything I have not to increase the split in Zariah’s dress. I want another taste of her scent before banging out a brutal all-night long fuck session, but I can’t do either of those things. I need to keep my game face on. The event I organized tonight isn’t just about tradition. It’s a prime opportunity for me to continue my investigation into the people responsible for Dominique’s death. Once that is done, I can lose myself in the woman responsible for diminishing my wish for vengeance.
Zariah can distract me all she likes, because what I said earlier is true. I will have both my revenge and my childhood wish. I just need to play my cards right, to remember who I am and how I got here.
If anything, Zariah’s presence tonight will help cross both items off my wish list. The leaders of Russia are gathering in the one spot, so arriving with a beautiful, distracting brunette on my arm will not only have the men’s mouths drying up, it will make them believe I’ve forgotten my quest for vengeance. Who needs to avenge the death of a whore when he has the once princess of the underworld on his arm?
Their inaccurate notion will benefit me greatly. Cowards stop hiding when they believe they have nothing to fear. It’s a brilliant plan, really, one I should have thought of weeks ago. Alas, it took Zariah’s inflamed cheeks, pouty lips, and the seductive taste of her cunt for me to see sense through the madness. I just need to keep my shit together for a few more hours, then I can give in to temptation, succumb to the desire hotter than the most dangerous fire.
I’ll make Zariah mine andonlymine.
