Page 46 of Once Bitten, Twice Mine

“What is with your obsession with being home by dark? Do you expect some monster to pop up and take me from the road?” Diya said before leaving the room.

Yes.

She wanted to run after her best friend and tell her about the danger she was trying to save her from. That she was being cold for Diya’s safety because she had invited the monster into all of their lives, but when she turned, the dressmaker accidentally pricked her with a pin, and she was pretty sure she swore in French.

“Sorry.”

“Don’t move. I’ll be very upset if you bleed on this dress.”

She didn’t want to bleed on the dress either, but she expected it was for a different reason as the sun sank lower on the horizon.

“You might want to think about leaving yourself before it’s too late.”

“I’m not afraid of the dark.”

Caroline wanted to tell her that maybe she should be afraid of the dark, but didn’t want to get stuck with a pin again.

“Well, isn’t this a lovely little scene?”

She froze as she saw Valeria behind her in the mirror. The cloud cover outside made her lose track of just how much daylight was left, and her calculations were wrong. Though she wasn’t sure how she missed the squeak of the opening door. Boredom must have dulled her senses.

“What are you doing here?”

“Admiring the view,” Valeria said as her eyes traveled down her body. Caroline squirmed despite the sharp glare she received for the movement. Heat flooded her face when she realized Madame Gavreau was witnessing the tension between them.

“I’m sure we’re almost done. I can find you afterwards.”

“But what if I want to watch?”

“Why?” Caroline’s brow furrowed.

“You’re very beautiful. It would be a waste if no one were around to see it.”

“People will see it at my wedding.”

The dressmaker moved her right arm into position to mimic the pins she placed on the other side. It embarrassed Caroline to have her there, but she was grateful the other woman was seemingly ignoring the conversation.

Valeria’s eyes darkened. “Your fiancé doesn’t deserve to see you so beautiful.”

“Well, he’s the one paying for it.”

“I’m not arguing whether he should pay, but that doesn’t mean he deserves anything else from you.”

“Then who deserves to see me like this?”

“Me.”

“My designs are meant to be seen,” Madame Gavreau scowled.

“My approval is more than enough. A man wouldn’t know what to do with such splendor.”

Caroline wanted to apologize for Valeria’s rudeness, but the words stuck in her throat as she saw how Valeria stared at her. Hooded eyes raked over her body before stopping at her bosom. Her pink tongue darted from her mouth, and something in Caroline’s stomach clenched. No one had ever looked at her with such desire before. Not even Edgar.

“Mr. Andrews will be quite pleased with your work, Madame Gavreau.”

The dressmaker made a small sound of what Caroline guessed was agreement, but she didn’t care about her reaction. The jealousy that burned in Valeria’s dark eyes was what she craved, and it was even better than she imagined. She should have been afraid of the dangerous glint in her eyes, but it only lit Caroline up from the inside.

“I wonder if you would still think that if you knew what your Mr. Andrews was up to right now.”