Chapter 29
Twenty-Nine
RYLAN
“ Y ou look fine, Vi.”
Jasper’s low words are barely audible from where I’m perched against the wall beside her cracked open bedroom door. I shove my hands in my pockets and lean my head back, trying to remember how to breathe without my heart getting in the fucking way. I thought I’d gotten past all of this weird reactionary crap when Jasper and I figured out our shit last fall.
Dominic doesn’t look up from his phone as he closes his own door and stalks past me, his steps nearly silent despite the shiny black Hermes shoes he wears.
Fuck . That means this is going to be even worse than Jasper and I figured it would be. Dominic only ever gets this bad when he’s especially angry. Though, in reality, he’s been a festering cesspit of rage since the woman from the Council brought the official packet of paperwork informing us of the match. He’s a fucking keg of gunpowder just waiting for a match to get within ten feet of him.
With any luck, neither of his brothers will manage to be that damn match today.
“Fine? Just fine?” Violet’s not trying to be quiet the way Jasper had been. I can hear the nervous thread of her voice, and I clench my hands to keep from stalking in there. “Jasper, it’s his entire freaking family. I can’t be just fine.”
“Fine means good,” Jasper says, exasperated.
I sigh and knock once on the ajar door before leaning inside the room.
Violet stands in the doorway to her closet, her arms wrapped around her middle. She frowns as she turns away from where Jasper sprawls across the sofa.
“Is this okay?” she asks me.
She turns once to her right and then again to her left.
The dress is a goddamn masterpiece. A soft blue that makes her skin practically glow in a draping fabric that accentuates every single gorgeous curve of hers. It gathers on her left hip, a small smattering of jewels holding the fabric together. Is it a pin of some kind? It looks intentional, so I don’t ask. She’s done her hair similar to the gala, though more pieces frame her face this time. Her makeup is softer, the bold red lipstick traded for something nearly identical to the natural light brown of her lips.
My dick jumps, and I don’t downplay having to adjust myself.
Her gaze drops to the movement before flicking to Jasper and then back to me. The telltale blush of her embarrassment darkens her cheeks, and I smirk. She’s so damn bold in everything she does. But show her just how thoroughly she affects my body? Instantly shy and blushing like a damn maiden. It’s endearing.
“You’re gorgeous, Violet.” My voice is husky, but I don’t do anything to change it. “Honestly a bit overdone for Sunday brunch.”
Not actually true, but I want to see how she responds to my own humor. She pouts her lips, her gaze taking in my attire twice before she rolls her eyes.
“You’re nearly as dressed as the gala. Certainly just as formal as you were yesterday, where it was business casual,” she says, waving her hand toward me. “No way am I overdressed if you’re not.”
“He could just enjoy wearing suits,” Jasper says, sitting up and spreading his arms along the back of the couch. I smirk as his gaze catches mine.
Violet snorts, her nose scrunching.
“Absolutely not. He barely wore a suit to the gala that the Council demands everyone wear black tie for. He’d much rather be in a set of jeans and a hoodie. Though May really isn’t the best time for wearing hoodies. Not in LA, at least.”
An odd sense of pride flashes through me at her noticing my preferences.
Jasper nods. “Fair enough. Though we both play the part of well-dressed often enough that sometimes it feels like a second skin.”
He crosses the room, brushing his hands over his slacks before running his hand through his hair. He pulls Violet into his hold and kisses the top of her head.
“Do you believe me now? You’re beautiful, love.” He takes her hand and pulls her farther into the room and away from her clothes. He mutters, “Bianca’s going to have fresh pasta, and if we’re late, Victor and Lorenzo will eat it all.”
“They’re really that bad?” Violet tilts her head as she lets Jasper drag her closer to me.
“ Sono golosi ,” Dominic growls from behind me. “ Cibo e donne entrambi .”
I twist and take a step back, keeping both him and Violet in my line of sight. To her credit, she doesn’t balk, her spine straight and her hands steady where she has them pressed into her stomach. Jasper laces his fingers with hers as the silence stretches on, his worried gaze flicking between them. I swear I can smell fucking grapefruit .
Before it grows strong enough for me to be sure of it, Dominic nods once and says, “ è ora di andare .”
Jasper drops Violet’s hand and closes the space between him and Dominic, crowding into him and grabbing his hips.
“English, love,” he murmurs.
“ Accidenti ,” Dominic mutters, cupping Jasper’s face. “ Mi dispiace .”
While I normally enjoy watching Jasper soothe and settle Dominic—who knew that would be such a turn on for me—I focus on Violet instead, stepping between her and the others and cradling her face in my hands. Her eyes are wide, but her lips are bracketed in tension and her shoulders are stiff.
Impressive that I hadn’t been able to tell any of her unease until getting this close to her.
Running my nose along her neck, I hum the newest guitar solo Mark has me working on for the studio. The tension slowly leaves her body, and I bite the small, sensitive spot where her shoulder meets her neck. She gasps.
“Remind me to hide your scent blockers,” I mutter. “It’s criminal I can’t smell you right now.”
“My scent’s all over the room,” she whispers.
“You know that’s not what I mean,” I say, biting her earlobe. She shivers. I run my hand down her throat, chasing the goosebumps. My own scent dominates the space immediately around us. “It smells better when it’s yours and not mine.”
She hums and tilts her head, giving me more room. “I don’t think you’d appreciate everyone else being able to smell me, though. Aren’t Victor and Lorenzo both Alphas?”
The growl is swift and vicious, but she laughs rather than tenses.
“Yeah, that’s what I thought. Scent blockers it is.”