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“Mostly. The coat is Trevor’s creation, and he helped me finalize the embellishments. I couldn’t get what I saw in my head to work with the fabric. That man is a genius.”

I run my fingertips over his spine, then pull the burgundy ribbons on the corset. “Don’t let Liska hear you gush about his man. He’s the jealous type.”

“Yeah?” He spins in my arms when I’ve successfully tied the corset as tight as possible. “Are you the jealous type?”

“Never have been before, and you are such a gentleman; you’d never provoke me.” My lips hover over his, fearing one kiss will derail us.

“True. If I’m provoking you, there will be naked time involved.” He sashays toward the mirrors to check out my tying abilities. “You did great, baby.”

“I did nothing.” I wrap my arms around his torso and rest my chin on his shoulder so we’re staring at each other in the mirror. My shirt matches the ribbons of his corset as if they were cut from the same fabric. “Your outfit should be illegal. It fits so good.”

“Did you see the best part?” He traces the hickey on his collarbone, and he hasn’t covered his tattoo.

“Omyfuckingod. I need to mark you every day.” I kiss his mark, and a primal instinct bellows, Mine!

“You’ll get zero complaints from me. We should go before one of us loses control.” Sky pecks my lips and glides by me.

Chapter 19

Skylar Engelhardt/ Lark Angel

The team provided a car and driver for the night, but we’re backed up, leading to the drop-off point. There are so many flashes of light; at first, my brain thinks it’s a strobe light.

But as we inch closer, I see the swarm of media and a carpet. “Mav, you didn’t tell me there’d be a step and repeat.” My voice goes up an octave with stress.

“What’s a step and repeat?” he asks cluelessly.

“It’s what they call the red carpet for the media. You pose and make your way down the line.” My pulse ticks up, and I wipe my clammy hands on my pants.

Mav’s completely unbothered. “Oh.” He turns me to face him. “You’re upset?”

“No.” I use my cell to check my makeup and confirm the eyeliner is in place and not creating raccoon eyes. “It’s too soon to go official. Your parents might see us.” Forcing a confrontation with his parents is the fastest way to end whatever we have going on.

His warm palms cradle my face, drawing my gaze from the phone. “Sky, if you don’t want to do the press line, I understand, but I’m proud to be here with you.”

“You should drop me off here, or better yet, you can get out, and I’ll get out around the corner,” I strategize, and his face falls.

“I asked you to be my date, not a guy I sneak into the event. I’ll ask the driver to take us around the corner.” He leans forward, and the magnitude of this slaps me.

“Wait, you won’t do the carpet if I don’t?” My breath puffs out rapidly, and I forget how to inhale.

“No, you’re my date, and where you go, I go and vice versa.” His long fingers rub the tension in my nape.

“But you’re wearing a Trevor Fox original suit, and isn’t this event his best publicity?” I say, an octave higher still.

“Sky, I’m not leaving you, especially when you’re having a panic attack.”

“This is not a panic attack. This is five stages below that.” I shut my eyes and concentrate on getting air into my lungs. I’m living in the twilight zone where Mav’s unbothered by parading me around the media. He might not care now, but he will if they discover who I am.

“Hey, it’s fine. We can go home.”

I lean into his steadiness and calm. “Mav, what if someone connects me as your date to my website? You don’t understand how bad that will be for you,” I reason with him.

“You’ve mistakenly put me on a pedestal. We talked about this. I play hockey, and I’m bisexual, and I don’t care if people find out. You’re who I want to be with.”

My stomach does a triple flip, and his hazel eyes shine with hurt. It’s obvious I’m wrecking the night, but I can’t take it back.

There’s a knock on Mav’s window, and he lowers it. He talks to Finn, but the roar in my ears drowns out their words.