Murray
Yael draped herself in the doorway of the bathroom, her heel kicked up, eyes sultry. She cocked her hip to the side, and in the blood-red satin dress she wore, the whole picture of her was sinful—and she damn well knew it.
“Ready?” I asked, nonchalant.
She slowly licked her lips and held up two tubes of lipstick. “Almost. Should I do pale pink or devil red?”
“You know the answer, monster.”
Her mouth spread into a grin. “Pink. I’ve got enough of the devil in me already.”
I held my finger up. “Ding, ding, ding.”
She painted her lips while I waited. As much as I didn’t want to watch, I didn’t have much choice. Yael had always been the devil on my shoulder, digging her way in deeper by the year. I hated her sometimes, but I never stopped looking at her.
She carried her lipstick in her hand and held it out to me. “Will you carry this for me?” Her palms smoothed down the sleek fabric of her dress. “No pockets in this frock unfortunately.”
“Frock?” Chuckling, I took her lipstick. “Fuck.”
Reaching out, she patted my lapels. “You clean up mighty fine. No vinyl to be seen.”
Winking, I held out my elbow for her to slip her hand through. “I’m saving that for the wedding tomorrow. I brought my formal vinyl.”
“Silly me, I was picturing you in an evening gown.”
“You joke, but I’d look fly as hell in floor-length sequins, and you damn well know it.”
She looked me up and down, amusement playing on her lips. “You’re right. I’m glad you chose pants, otherwise you’d upstage meandthe bride.”
In the elevator, I took some liberties by running my hand down Yael’s side. She yelped and swatted at me, but didn’t jump away, which was pretty huge progress.
“I like the feel of this dress on you. The shine is calling to me,” I said.
“You’re welcome to feel up my dress when I’m not in it.”
I held up my hands in innocence. “I’m your boyfriend, right? Seems like I should be allowed to touch my girl’s dress.”
She turned to face me, laying her hand flat on my stomach—mylowerstomach. And damn if my dick didn’t jump at her proximity.
“Oh? Is this okay then?” she asked huskily.
“I know you want me to be offended, but I’m not.”
Her eyebrows pinched, but she didn’t move her hand. “Are you ever going to compliment me?”
Taken aback, I frowned down at her. “What?”
Ihadn’tcomplimented her, but she didn’t want that from me, did she? I mean, she had Harris clones drooling over her on the daily. She had no use for my knock-off, discount thoughts on how utterly stunning she was.
With a heavy sigh, she dropped her hand and turned away as the doors opened. The lobby buzzed with music and a din of conversation coming from the bar. The wedding party had reserved the patio for the night. Yael and I wove through the throngs, and when I nearly lost her, I threaded my fingers through hers. Her steps stuttered, but I steadied her by gripping her hip and didn’t let go until we reached our destination.
Then I moved beside her and slipped my arm around her waist. Her face tipped up to mine, her perfect brows still puckering. I pressed on the line between them with my thumb and dipped my head to kiss her bare shoulder.
“You look like my own personal demon, Yael,” I rumbled beside her ear as I straightened.
Her lips parted. “Is that my compliment?”
“It’s just a fact. But if it’s not enough, then I’ll tell you look beautiful and your dress is sexy.”