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Not to mention I walked like John Wayne for like, a week after.

With a fluffy brush and the swipe of some powder, Carter stood back and admired his work. “Damn, I’m good. Have a look.”

I hesitated, gazing down at my legs. The expensive silk trousers felt foreign against my skin, soft in a way I’d never known. I took a deep breath, expecting the corset to constrict my lungs, but it didn’t. The outfit was so out of my wheelhouse that a thought lingered in the back of my mind to call it all off and put my emotional support hoodie back on and ask Luc to spend the evening watching movies on the couch.

He’d do it. I knew he would.

Though in spite of feeling so exposed I also felt… thrilled. Like, sure this outfit would turn some heads, but the one thing they’d see would be me on Luc’s arm.

We hadn’t intentionally timed our bonding with the Halloween ball, but it felt climactic in a way that Carter completely ate up. He immediately scoured his brother’s closet for something that I could wear, considering that we were out of time to get something made.

I’d tried telling him that I couldn’t afford that anyway, but he wouldn’t have any of it.

Apparently, my first social outing after being mated was a total affair, and we had to make the most of it.

I don’t know when Carter became involved in “we,” but he was a hard man to say no to, even if I could see past the literal black cat energy.

“Tate…”

I snapped out of my thoughts, finding Carter watching me. He hadn’t dressed yet beyond his trousers, and stood in front of me, shirtless, with his inky black hair tied into a neat bun at the back of his head. Unlike me, he didn’t need any makeup. His flawless skin and dark lashes did all the work for him. At the nervous look on my face, he reached for the pack of makeup remover wipes next to him. “You can change anything at any time.”

He offered me the pack but after a few moments of staring at it, I shook my head. “I’ve come this far.”

With a deep breath, I pushed off the stool and turned around to the mirror behind me.

“Woah…”

Carter smirked proudly over my shoulder, crossing his arms over his chest.

I didn’t even look like myself. At least, I didn’t think so. My typically wild curls had been tamed into something out of a magazine, temporarily dyed darker than their usual ruddy shade by tinted hairspray. The shade matched the midnight blue liner rimming my eyes, smudged to eighties rockstar perfection.

I tugged at the hem of the corset, but it barely budged. Not that it needed to go anywhere; it was kind of… perfect.

Metallic blue roses illuminated the pitch-black fabric, catching the light when I turned. The inch-wide straps nestled securely on my shoulders and I put my back to the mirror, admiring the way the black laces wound in and out of the eyelets there and cinched me at my waist.

Though when my eyes fell to the waist of the silk trousers, my brows furrowed. They didn’t seem to match properly, even if they were made from the same fabric. Scanning the room, my gaze fell onto a bundle of black silk on the bed-the other option that Carter had offered me: a skirt. Naturally, I’d chickened out and gone for the trousers. The silk and the corset were already miles outside of my comfort zone, I didn’t think I could handle anything else. But now, I glanced between the corset and the skirt, wondering…

“You want to try it?” Carter asked, pulling my attention back to his. He watched me with one brow raised, smirking.

When he’d first handed me the skirt, I’d tossed it onto the bed like it had burned me. So I surprised even myself by nodding. Carter slid the skirt off the hanger and motioned for me to undo my trousers. They slipped off easily once they were unfastened, and Carter had me face the mirror while he pooled the silk at my feet. He knelt and slid the waistband up my legs, letting the hem hit the floor and the fabric extend as he settled it on my hips. He fastened the hook and eye closure on my hip, then tugged the zipper straight and secured the rest of the skirt. After a few shifts and tugs, the fabric settled around me, silk flowing around my legs and exposing one through a slit in the side that… perfectly showed off my black boxer briefs. Scowling, I tugged at the fabric.

“I think they blend in perfectly,” Carter said, “but you can tuck them up if you’re comfortable with it.”

I was hiking the cotton up my thigh before I even realized it. Maybe the skirt should have made me feel more exposed than even the silk trousers but it just… worked. The breath punched out of my lungs, and a smile teased at my lips.

“I didn’t know I could feel this way,” I said, breathless.

“What? Comfortable?” Carter teased, securing the tie on my corset and brushing a speck of lint or glitter or something off my chest. “Sexuality is so much more than a label on clothing, Tate. What are you thinking for shoes?”

I eyed both options: a pair of midnight blue platform boots that matched the roses in the corset, or the sleek black chunky heels. “The boots,” I said instantly. I don’t think I’m ready for heels yet. I can barely walk barefoot.”

Carter snickered and helped me into my selection, even lacing them up for me while I stabilized myself on his shoulder.

My stomach had been a steady flutter of nerves all day but when the knock at the door was timed with Carter finishing up my laces, it turned into a thunderstorm of emotions.

What if Luc didn’t like the feminine look?

What if I couldn’t walk in these shoes either and I fell on my face and made a fool of myself?