know how she can be. Whenever they came to visit over the years, they always chimed in whenever she said or did anything bitchy to me.”
“At least someone did.” His eyes darkened. “Be aware that if she steps out of line at the reception, I won’t ignore it, Vienna. You’ve dealt with enough shit from that woman. Those days are over. She doesn’t get to do that to you anymore. I won’t allow it.”
I’d wax my eyebrows clean off before I’d admit it, but his protectiveness woke my libido right up every time.
“The same goes for Travis and Hope,” he went on. “They’ll be just as closely watched, and they’ll be just as swiftly handled if they decide to play games. In other words, don’t worry about any of them.”
“I’m not worried. I’m just so done with their bullshit. In fact, can we not talk about them? They only ever bring my mood down.”
His eyes slid to the dressing bag. “We can talk about the gown that’s hanging on that rail over there.”
Like a dog with a bone. I folded my arms. “I’m not showing it to you.”
“You can give me one peek.”
I shook my head. “Not happening.”
He took a step toward me. “I could persuade you,” he said, his eyes raking over me in a way that was nothing short of an eye-fuck.
“Nu-uh,” I said, backpedaling, but he matched me step for step. “You’ll have to wait.”
“But I don’t want to.”
“Well, you’ll just have to. I mean it, Dane, I’m not showing it to you.” I halted as the back of my knees hit the futon. “Good things come to those who wait.”
“Good things come to those who pursue them.” He very gently tipped me backwards, so that my ass landed softly on the futon. “Undo your jeans.”
“If you think you can sexually torture me into agreeing to show you the dress, you’re wrong. But you’re very welcome to try.” I snapped open the buttons of my fly. “I’m not one to turn down an orgasm.”
A wicked smile curved one side of his mouth. “Who said anything about me making sure you came?”
At dumb ‘o’ clock in the morning, I dried my wet hands using the small towel in my private bathroom. I’d woken from a bizarre dream and would have gone straight back to sleep if I hadn’t desperately needed to pee.
Having done my business, I padded out of the bathroom and softly closed the door behind me. The slight creak of the hinges made me wince. Sure enough, Dane’s eyelids flipped open. More, his entire body went rigid, and something that resembled panic flashed across his face. But then his gaze landed on me, and the stiffness leeched out of him.
God, I hated his father. Hated him. There were times I wanted to piss on his grave.
Pretending not to notice Dane’s reaction to the noise, I climbed back into bed and lay on my front.
He turned on his side to face me. “Are you all right?” he asked, his voice low.
“Yeah,” I quietly replied. “I had a weird dream; it woke me up.”
“What was it about?”
“Simon and Corrine. They were arguing at an airport. I was trying to play peacemaker, but then I got pissed because she tried to snatch my suitcase.” I shrugged. “Like I said, it was weird.”
Dane slid his hand under my camisole and stroked the pads of his fingers along my back. “Do you dream about her much?”
“No. Her face isn’t always very clear when I do. It was a long time ago that I last saw her.” I wouldn’t be surprised to hear she was dead, given the lifestyle she’d led.
“Has she ever tried to contact you?”
“Nope.”
“Do you wish she had?”
“Not at all. The only good thing she ever did for me was stay out of my life.”
“What about Simon?” Dane began to slowly trace each bump of my spine. “Has she ever contacted him?”
“If she has, he and his alters have all kept it a secret from me. I can’t envision them doing that. Freddie would definitely tell me if she made contact.”
“Why?”
“He’s afraid of her. That’s why he never surfaced around her. She didn’t even know Freddie existed. He made me promise to keep him a secret from her.”
Dane slid his hand all the way up my back and rested it between my shoulder blades. “Did the other alters converse with her?”
“Mostly one of Simon’s previous alters, Stella. She was eighteen. She hated the world and used to bitch at