Chapter 13
Thirteen
Dare
A week later, I stand with my hands clasped behind my back and look out into the graying mid-afternoon sky. It is cold and rainy here, with the sky indicating that it will soon grow dark. I stand under the small amount of protection that is offered at the Morgan mansion.
Staring down the long driveway, I check my watch, thinking that Talia is going to be late.
Then I see a car pulling up the long driveway.
It’s a Lincoln Town Car, one from a service that I hired, not a Rolls-Royce or a Ford Escalade from my grandfather’s fleet of cars.
I didn’t want anybody to ask questions about Talia, so I decided to use an outside chauffeur service.
At last, the car pulls into the turnabout and stops.
I step forward, making sure that Talia is actually the passenger.
But she soon emerges, dressed in her usual dowdy corduroy skirt and the same heavy wool coat with worn patches in the sleeves.
Her hair is at least brushed this time, and if I am not mistaken, she wears a little rouge on her cheeks.
She does not look half bad. I rake my gaze over her as I take her arm.
She looks at me, her expression catty. "Dare," she says by way of greeting.
My lips twitch. "Talia. You are very nearly late."
"Yet I am not. Let’s go. Let’s get this over with. I never want anything to do with the Morgan family ever again."
Gripping her by the arm, I turn and head inside. As I step through the threshold, I lean down and whisper a warning into her ear.
“I have you for the entire day. You are bought and sold. And I will choose the right moment to tell my twin’s fiancée that he is a dirty cheater. Before that, you should just keep your fucking mouth shut. Smile pretty and act like you fucking belong here."
She shoots me a murderous look, and her mouth thins into a tight white line. I give her a cool smile and continue to usher her through the foyer.
When we reach the long hallway, I pull her to the left, opening a door to the oversized coat closet.
She looks at me, poking her tongue out against her cheek, and heads into the little room.
I flip the lights on, and she waits until I close the door before cocking her head and motioning at the room. "What’s going on?"
"Relax. There’s no need to be so uptight. I brought some clothes for you to change into."
Talia’s eyebrows fly up. "What?"
Heading over to the wall lined with coats, I fish out a garment bag and present it to her. She looks at me skeptically and takes the bag, pulling the zipper down to reveal a sleek silver dress.
Her mouth turns down at the corners, and her eyes tighten on me. "You didn’t say that I would be required to wear a costume."
"It is not a costume. It’s a very expensive Valentino dress. I expect you to put it on and not ask any more questions about it. After all, I could just decide that fifteen thousand dollars is not worth it to me."
Her mouth balls up tight, and she huffs. "Where am I supposed to change?"
I gesture around the room. "Why do you think that we are in a closet?"
"Absolutely not. I’m not changing in front of you."
"Oh, my God." I roll my eyes. "First of all, it’s not like I haven’t seen everything that you have to offer before. I have seen better, honestly. Second of all, if you are really that uptight, I’ll turn my back. Does that make it better?"
"Hardly."
Sucking in my breath. I turn around and peel my own overcoat off to reveal the carefully hand stitched Armani suit underneath.
"I don’t hear you changing," I say.
Talia gives a dramatic huff and starts rustling around. She doesn’t say anything, so I hang up my overcoat. I turn my head one fourth of the way back, and she makes a loud buzzing sound.
“Don’t!” she warns.
I face forward, rolling my eyes. "I was just going to ask if you want me to throw your old clothes away."
She makes an angry sound, and I hear clothes thudding on the floor. "Obviously not, Dare."
I grin a little to myself, unable to help it. It’s too easy to mess with Talia. She’s so buttoned up and extremely uptight that the opportunity just can’t be passed by.
She heaves another sigh and says, "All right, you can look."
I turn around and see her acting like she doesn’t know what to do with her body. She is draped in a long silver chain dress that hits the floor with a dramatic flair. At the moment, she is holding the halter top and looking rather distressed. She grimaces.
"Do you mind doing the back? I can’t get it on my own.”
I smirk and approach, my gaze drawn to her silky smooth, pale skin at her shoulders.
Before now she dressed like a freaking nun, so seeing her bare skin is titillating in a certain way.
I let my eyes rove over what little there is of her exposed skin as I circle her, drawing my hands over her shoulders.
I will admit, there is something sensual about her back and her shoulder blades. I suppose I would be the same with any woman, but it’s even more so with Talia, who resents having her shoulders bare.
It’s naughty when I get to look at her. And when I get to skim my hands up her neck?
She shivers, and it is unquestionably sexy. I hear her shuddered inhalation and smile as I take the fabric from her hands and knot it swiftly. As soon as I am done, I smooth my hands over her shoulders once more, but she moves away, turning on me with a spiteful look.
"That’s enough," she says. "I can’t believe you talked me into this in the first place."
I shrug and point to a shoebox. Talia bends down to open it and finds a pair of silver high-heeled sandals. She puts her feet in them and fastens them without another word, but she glares at me, making her feelings known.
As if I had any question about that.
Giving her a careful smile, I reach for a shopping bag and unveil a long blonde wig. It’s styled to perfection, and it features a champagne colored, multi-tiered look.
Talia gives me a flat look. "I think that’s overkill, don’t you? After all, Burn might not even recognize me."
"Well, that's what I’m counting on. But all that lovely copper hair of yours makes you pretty easy to spot."
"Is that a compliment? Do you find me memorable?" She asks.
I level a gaze at her. "Come on. Put the wig on. Weren’t you the one that was just saying how much you want to just get this over with?”
She takes the wig from me, looking at me as she puts it on. After fussing with it for thirty seconds, she puts her hands on her hips and looks at me, presenting herself for final inspection.
"What do you think?" She asks. "Do I pass the test?"
I give her a small smile and nod. "You’ll do. Let’s go."
We step out of the coat closet, leaving the mess of her clothes behind. As we head down the hallway once more, Talia catches her reflection in a mirror and freezes. Her eyes are wide; her gaze is glued on her figure in the dress.
"What?" I ask, losing patience with her.
"I just…" She shakes her head. "I barely recognize myself. This dress is so different from what I would normally wear."
"That’s the point, don’t you think?"
"I… I guess."
I put my arm around her waist, pulling her away from the mirror. She totters for a few moments, struggling to walk in the high heels I gave her. But after a moment, she finds her balance.
I cast a gaze down her figure, thinking to myself that if I weren’t so laser focused on rubbing my brother’s misdeeds in Daisy’s face, I might be able to take the time to admit that Talia isn’t horrible looking. In fact, she is rather the opposite of horrible-looking.
With her borrowed clothes and long blonde wig, I find her extremely attractive.
Her ass looks like you could bounce a quarter off it in this dress and the perky mounds of her tits almost knock the breath out of me. I can see exactly why Burn picked her.
She’s hot, under all that dumpy junk that she usually wears.
She feels me looking at her and eyes me sternly. "Don’t get any ideas, you overgrown bully."
Arching my brow, I feign surprise. "Me? Get ideas? I would never."
She rolls her eyes. "Are you worried about Remy recognizing me? It’s only been a few days since I was in front of him in his office."
I give a snort. "No way. He has definitely forgotten about you by now. He has always been forgetful, especially of younger women. No offense, but he doesn’t really see you as being a full person."
Talia elbows me in the side, scowling. I raise my hand, gesturing.
"Hey, it’s not my point of view. It’s my grandfather’s. He’s never had a good memory for people, and now he has to be reminded who the wives of his nieces and nephews are."
She stops, pulling at the side of her dress. "Okay. Let’s just hurry this along. This dress is really itchy, not to mention the fact that I’m afraid that one of my boobs will fall out somehow."
"I have you for the full day. So just suck it up. It’s the last day that you will ever have to see the Morgan family."
We head into the living room after I adjust our poses so that Talia holds onto my arm.
"One more thing," I whisper. She looks at me, arching a brow.
"I know that you aren’t very good at hiding your emotions. Keep a blank face while you’re at the Morgan estate. Trust me, you’ll thank me later for warning you."
I’m expecting a glare or an eye roll. But instead she looks at me passively, not reacting to what I said in any way.
A smile plays upon my lips, and I tilt my head toward the living room. "Come on. Let’s go into the lion’s den."