11
Katy: this isn’t funny anymore. i’m worried. are you ok?
Katy: omg please answer me so i know you aren’t dead, ok?
Katy looked at herself in the full-length mirror and did not recognize the woman staring back at her. She looked like a fairy-tale princess.
Or villain.
Either way, she was stunning, and Katy never saw herself as stunning.
The long black dress Ryker had sent to her hugged every curve as if it had been custom-made. The shimmering material was something she did not recognize, but the soft black gown clung to her like silk, glittered like diamond dust. The dress hugged her shoulders and arms, dipping to a sexy valley between her breasts. Not so much that she was afraid she would fall out of the dress, but definitely enough to feel like a goddess. Ryker had even sent shoes to match with heels just high enough to complement the dress, but not so high she would be cursing his name within the hour.
The servants he’d sent to help her get ready were lovely women who apparently did not speak a word of English. They poked and prodded and helped her into the gown. They’d applied her makeup with a professional touch and styled her hair in a corona atop her head that she never would have dared on her own. They’d left several minutes earlier, and now she didn’t know what to do with herself.
A soft knock startled her, and she turned at the sound.
“Come in.”
Ryker stepped into her room, and her heart skipped a beat. His black suit hugged every muscle, the black shirt beneath made of the same material as her gown. All she could manage was to do was stare. And blush.
And want.
Damn him and damn Emily and damn this whole mess. I’ve fallen in love with him and one hundred percent betrayed my sister. I’m a worm. A villain in a fancy dress.
Her heart didn’t care.
“Mia Regina, I have brought you a gift.”
Mia Regina.My queen. She’d looked the phrase up after that first night and now wished she hadn’t. She wanted to be his queen. Wanted to keep him for herself. “But I didn’t—”
“Hush.” He placed a warm finger over her lips, and it took every ounce of self-control not to suck his finger into her mouth and start something. “These were my mother’s, her mother’s before her. For generations.” He opened a velvet box he’d been carrying under his arm.
Katy gasped. “But—” Oh…wow. There had to be a genuine fortune in diamonds and gemstones in the box. They were too much. “They’re too expensive, Ryker. What if I lose an earring?”
He chuckled as if that were funny. “It would please me to see you wear them tonight.”
“I’m not kidding. What if the chain breaks on the necklace? I can’t. I just can’t.”
Ryker lifted a stunning black diamond pendant from the box and walked behind her. He lifted the necklace over her head from behind, and she shivered as the cool metal settled between the valley of her breasts. The huge, rare black diamond, shaped like a teardrop, was surrounded with at least two dozen sparkling, flawless white diamonds. He leaned forward and kissed her bare shoulder as he fastened it in place. “You are mine, Mia Regina, and you will allow me to honor you tonight.”
He nibbled on the side of her neck as he wrapped his arms around her from behind and pulled her close. His gaze locked onto hers in the mirror. Held.
With a groan, she finally closed her eyes and leaned into him, tilted her head to give him better access. Tomorrow this dream will be over. Emily will be here. I’ll have to give him up. I’ll have to confess everything and hope she can salvage something from the mess I’ve made. Hope she can forgive me.
Because tonight? God. Tonight, I want to be his queen. I want him to look at me like he is now, always, like I’m the most beautiful woman in the world. Like I’m the only woman who exists. Like he loves me.
Ryker pulled her in closer. Whispered nonsense into her ear. Nibbled on her neck. Her heart both melted and shattered in turns.
Tomorrow. Tomorrow she would confess the truth to him and watch his gaze turn to hate. But not yet. Not. Yet. She opened her eyes to stare once more at the image of them together in the mirror and could not look away. This was her fantasy come to life, staring back at her from the smooth glass. “All right. If it means that much to you, how can I refuse?”
“Excellent.” He kissed her shoulder one more time before returning to the box and lifting a pair of matching black and white diamond teardrop earrings. As she fastened them in place, he brought her the ring. The setting she’d refused to choose but had desperately wanted was there, perfectly highlighting the large center stone.
“How did you…?” Her voice trailed off as he slid the ring onto her finger. Of course, it fit perfectly.
“I pay attention.”
She stared at the ring as tears gathered in her eyes. This wasn’t right. This ring was Emily’s. He belonged to her sister, not her.