slinky floor length gold silk gown to her bare toes peeking out from the hem. When he lifted his eyes to hers, his gaze held fire and admiration. He was telling her she was beautiful; she didn’t need to hear the words to know.
“Thank you,” she said with a smile.
Jozef stepped away from Shaun and reached for his white button up shirt. His aunt had sent a tuxedo for him to wear, but Jozef had chosen one of his finer suits instead. He told Shaun that he would wear the tux if she wanted, but he hated feeling confined. Shaun replied that she didn’t have an opinion. She didn’t say out loud that it didn’t matter what Jozef wore, he would be the sexiest man in the room. There was something magnetically appealing about his darkly intense demeaner. As if he hid a wealth of secrets and the only way he would give them up was if he was either fucking or killing.
Finally, they were ready.
Shaun added a hint of shiny lip gloss to her nude lips, otherwise she wore little makeup, allowing the shimmery golden dress to speak for itself. Leeza had given Shaun a pair of strappy satin sandals to match the dress. Shaun was grateful as the straps helped her feel more secure in the three-inch heels.
Jozef held her arm while she bent to slide each shoe on. He then bent down, kneeling at her feet, and buckled them for her. When he stood, he didn’t move away, instead taking her shoulders in his hands and rubbing his thumbs over her skin. In her shoes, Shaun was nearly the same height as Jozef. They would make an imposing pair.
He continued to stare at her as the air heated around them, charged with their chemistry. Jozef was a tactile person, always touching her when he got the chance. At first, Shaun thought it was his way of controlling her, but she quickly realized it was his love language. He was always touching her, whether they were having sex or not. He didn’t get anything out of it, except for basic human contact. He wanted to touch her and truly enjoyed it.
Shaun wished she felt more comfortable touching him back. Though her family was a loving one, they hadn’t been demonstrative. They didn’t often hug unless one of them had been absent for an extended period of time, and none of Shaun’s previous boyfriends had been particularly touchy with her. Shaun hadn’t realized she was missing anything until Jozef touched her, his magical fingers working to almost instantly relax her.
He turned away and Shaun thought they were going to leave to go to the ballroom, but he caught her arm and held her still. He pulled open the drawer to his desk and picked something up. As he turned back to Shaun, she caught a flash of something shiny. Curious, she watched as he opened his palm, showing her a delicate chain with a tiny heart.
She hadn’t expected anything else from him, but if she had, she would have thought a family of the obvious wealth the Kobas had would give huge, shiny, opulent jewelry. In fact, Shaun was positive none of the women of the family would show up at the party less than fully decked out in their icing. Yet, this simple and delicate chain meant so much more to Shaun because she knew it had come from Jozef alone.
He took her shoulders in his hands and turned her until her back was to him, then he placed the tiny heart against the dip in her throat, linking the chain at the back of her neck. Shaun lifted a hand to touch the precious metal as Jozef kissed the back of her neck.
He stepped away from her and, as she turned, held a hand out to her. She slid her fingers into his palm and looked at him, her vulnerability shining bright in her eyes. She didn’t think she was imagining the same look in his velvet blue eyes.
Chapter Forty-One
Every head in the room turned and the orchestra fell silent as Jozef led Shaun into the ballroom, pausing in the doorway for the occupants to look their fill. Shaun clung tighter to Jozef’s arm, while he squeezed her hand reassuringly. Being the object of such focused attention made her nervous and reminded her all over again of how different she was from these people.
Though Shaun had helped prepare the house for the party, she was still shocked