He pulls back just slightly, his brows raised. “Do you?”
I take one of his hands and lay it to my side, and his fingers smooth over the lace, tracing the shape at my waist, then up to the low neckline. “What color?”
“Rose,” I tell him. “I guess. That’s what they called it. It’s this hybrid sort of pink-purple color that doesn’t look like any rose I’ve ever seen.”
He leans in and takes another whiff. “Let’s call it jasmine. That’s what I smell. And you’re soft, like a delicate petal.” His hands brush over my hair, feeling over the pearled pins and the curls. “I miss your braid, princess.”
I laugh again and shake my head. “Yeah, me too. But this is nice, you know? To dress up for a bit.”
His hands cup my face, his thumbs tracing lines back and forth across my jaw. “You’re going to need to dress up a lot more once this becomes official. This war won’t last forever, Alice. And you’ll have to be with Kane. In public.”
“And the public are going to have to get used to my leggings and your hoodies sometimes,” I shoot back, enjoying the way his cheeks pink because I know he fucking loves it when I wear his clothes.
His thumb drags higher to the corner of my lip. “Will I ruin your makeup if I kiss you?”
“I don’t really care,” I confess.
It seems he doesn’t either, because he leans in and takes my mouth hotly and a little desperately. The kiss slows, but he doesn’t really pull back before he speaks again. “You look beautiful, Alice.”
I close my eyes and hold him tighter. “Thank you. I’m nervous, and I hate that…” I lick my lips, my tongue brushing his too. “I hate that we can’t all do this.”
“We will,” he says. He leans back and drops his hands low, reaching for mine. His fingers are thick and powerful, and I feel protected. “Trust me, I know Kane has some commitment ceremony plan. He’s not going to be satisfied with just one wedding.”
That makes me laugh, and Phoenix grins as he lifts one hand and kisses my knuckles.
Then my heart skips a beat because I realize why he’s here. It’s not just for the kissing. “It’s time?”
He nods, then slides his hand into the crook of my elbow as he gently turns me toward the door. “I won scissors, paper, stone against James to be the one who walks you down the aisle.”
I laugh at the mental image, and I put my hand over his, squeezing as he leads me toward the stairs. We’re not getting married in the manor, but the rest of the boys must already be on their way to the venue.
“As long as you’re not giving me away.”
He laughs and leans in for a kiss as we reach the ground floor. “No, darling girl. Never.”
There’s a car waiting outside for us. A driver with a small smile.
Kane made almost all of these arrangements because I’ve been trapped inside, a princess in a tower. But my happily ever after isn’t going to involve some rescue. There are no white knights on horses waiting to drag me away. And if any showed up, I’d fight them to stay.
As I slide into the seat next to Phoenix and let him hold me as the car pulls away, I can’t help but wonder if maybe I got lucky.
It’s the last thing I want, though, because luck always runs out.
Every eye is on me.This place feels like a church, though it’s not one. It’s some sort of old stone building that looks like it’s been imported from the Renaissance era. There are vaulted ceilings, the walls are stone and echo with every note from the four-person orchestra, and there’s a sort of pressing omniscience about this place like some invisible figure is watching us, waiting to determine our fates.
Phoenix is stiff at my side, and I look up the makeshift aisle to find Kane waiting, looking stoic as ever. James and Ari are at his side, and I don’t miss the presence of guards at every entrance and every exit.
It doesn’t feel like a wedding. It feels like a threat.
I don’t recognize a single face in the crowd, though I didn’t think that Kane’s invite list would include any of my so-called friends from my former life or any of the Romanos. I have no doubt it’s probably being livestreamed somehow so my former father can watch his defeat.
That gives me just a slight spring in my step, and I hear Phoenix chuckle very quietly under his breath.
“Eager, sweet thing?”
“For tonight,” I say, because that’s one more thing that will no longer be held out of my grasp. Tonight, the rest of Kane will belong to me.
Phoenix laughs louder, and I see Kane raise a brow, but he says nothing when he holds out a hand and takes mine. Phoenix lets go, but Kane doesn’t allow him to step away. Instead, he pulls him in and presses a kiss to his cheek.