CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Desmond
Watching Lorelei step out in the off-the-shoulder brown satin gown that I had acquired for tonight’s evening leaves me breathless.
The large gemstone necklace with matching earrings, which my grandfather had given her as a late wedding gift, sits comfortably on her neck, dazzling the whole world with its sparkle.
She is beautiful.
She walks up towards me, and I take in every feature of my wife. Her large, ample eyes, her lightly painted cheeks, lush eyelashes, and ruby red lips would make her the envy of tonight’s ball.
“Is something wrong?” Lorelei asks in a weak voice.
“Have I told you how beautiful you are?” I ask as I stretch my hand out to her. “You are the most beautiful woman in the world, and I am lucky that you are mine.”
She chuckles, her laughter warming my belly as I hold her hand.
Usually, I tend to avoid balls and meetings where you frolic around with friends and partners.
However, tonight, I need to show my presence since a full-scale war between my father and me will start in a couple of days.
It is the reason why my grandfather had insisted that Lorelei and I go.
“Do you think they’ll like me?” Lorelei asks nervously as we step onto the red carpet.
“Trust me, they’d be a fool not to be charmed by you,” I whisper to her. “And if they don’t, we can just leave, and I’ll pull off all your clothes.”
She slaps me lightly on the shoulder, and I smile.
This woman has charmed me, and I love it.
With her in my arms, I go around introducing her to some of my grandfather’s friends who are eager to meet Lorelei.
Surprisingly, her nervousness seems to disappear, and a few times, Lorelei seems to shine even better than I expected.
“You should try a slightly brighter gemstone since they match the color of your eyes,” she tells Madame Fontanne, the Chairwoman of the Cultural Heritage Board of Velhaven, who assures her she’d try that out.
My initial concern about her feeling out of place here tonight soon disappears as I watch her mingle and talk easily.
“Well, well. Look who finally made their way here.”
That voice definitely belongs to Miles Sinclair, a second cousin of mine who has always goaded me whenever he gets the chance.
“Don’t you have other people to disturb, Miles?” I ask, sipping my champagne.
He laughs, telling me that he still can’t believe that I had finally decided to settle down despite how often I had sworn that I would never get hitched.
Yeah, a few months ago, I had bragged that I would remain single.
Now, I realize how much of a fool I am, and maybe one day, Miles will get to see the same.
“Should we be expecting little kids soon?” I freeze at that statement. I have never really considered that, but the truth is that I wouldn’t mind having kids with Lorelei. Hell, I’ll give everything I have to have little versions of her running around.
“That remains to be seen,” I say to Miles, who simply nods.
“I’m glad to see that you’re happy, but you might want to get your wife away from Edith.. She’s out for blood, and your wife seems to be her target.”
Edith, his twin sister, has always been a bit stuck-up since we were kids. She would always bully anyone she thinks is below her, and just like Miles had mentioned, she has probably decided on Lorelei as her new target.
“Do you really know what it feels like to be here?” I hear Edith’s arrogant voice as I draw close to them.
The four ladies around Edith feel a little bit uncomfortable, and I notice Lorelei seems a little bit stiff. Her eyes are focused on Edith, who seems a little bit frustrated that she isn’t having her way.
“My beautiful wife, I see you’ve met my perky cousin,” I say with a smile as I join them, pulling my hands around Lorelei.
“Desmond,” Edith mutters, the words forced through her teeth.
“Edith. I see you’re just as haughty as ever.”
She rolls her eyes at my greeting. Two can play her game, and I’ll not have her insult my woman.
“As I was saying, you still have a lot to learn to truly belong here,” Edith continues, ignoring my stare.
Okay, that is it!
“Well, I don’t care what or who you think you are,” I begin, my statement drawing a round of gasps from the ladies, Edith included. “If you dare mess with my wife, I swear you'd better be able to hide somewhere I won’t be able to come after you.”
Maybe I had taken it a bit over the top, judging by how Edith's face turns pale.
“Thank you so much for your concern, Edith, and forgive my husband’s rude manners.”
Her husband. Lorelei referred to me as her husband!
I smile to myself as she leads me away. I turn to Edith as I gesture with my hands that I will keep my eyes on her. “Don’t you dare bully your cousin.”
“Second cousins, actually, and she started it,” I say in my own defense.
“Still, do you know that you just scared her?” Lorelei whispers hoarsely, and I can’t help but laugh.
She really looks nice with the way her brows furrow in annoyance. “There really is no need to antagonize anyone, especially in your attempt to defend me.”
“Are you saying you don’t need me to defend you?” I ask playfully, as I lean close to her, my face inches away from hers.
“Something like that. You know we’re in public, and people will stare,” Lorelei says as she bites her lower lip.
Gosh! I love it when she does that.
“So? Let them stare. All they’ll see is a man who is in love with his wife. I would even love it if they see how much you mean to me.”
That might have been a bit too much for her, as Lorelei’s cheeks burn red from embarrassment. She reaches for the passing waiter and takes a glass of champagne, which she drinks almost immediately. I laugh right beside her, unable to believe how easy it is to tease her.
“I’ll get back to you for this,” Lorelei threatens playfully.
“Trust me, I can give you a few ideas on how-” I begin before Lord Cartridge joins us.
“How much I envy you both. I remember when Helen and I got married forty-eight years ago,” the old man begins.
Since he is one of my grandfather’s best friends, I just can’t escape from him. Lorelei and I listen to him go on about his affairs back in the 80s, and I almost feared that we wouldn’t be able to escape until Lorelei tells him she needs my help checking out the buffet.
“Ah, I see. Well, good luck on the young one,” he says, winking at me.
I almost want to tell him that we aren’t expecting, but Lorelei stops me. She thanks Lord Cartridge as we walk away.
“Why did you stop me?” I ask her.
“Do you still want to listen to him go on? Honestly, my feet ache, and I’d like to sit down.”
I tell her we can find somewhere to sit, and we step out into the hallway, where there are a handful of people walking by. I spot the door to the stairway, and I point at it. “Let us go there.”
Lorelei follows me, and soon, we’re sitting at the bottom of the stairs as she takes off her heels.
“Being beautiful does come with a lot of stress.” I laugh at her comment.
“But it was totally worth it. Don’t you see how everyone had their eyes on you tonight?
” She looks at me for a moment. “You don’t need to try and flatter me, Desmond.
” “Who says I’m flattering you?” I pat her nose.
She leans her head on my shoulder as she wraps her arms around my right arm. “A part of me still feels like this is just a dream. That I’d wake up and I would have to go to work as a temporary Dispatch Supervisor. Why are you so good to me?”
Because you deserve the best.
“Because I love you, Lorelei.” She tells me about her discussion with my grandfather earlier today and how he had mentioned that I had chosen to work as an analyst, not because he forced me. She asks why I had lied about that instead of telling her the truth.
“Would you have believed me if I mentioned that I fell in love with you at first sight?”
She pauses, then shakes her head. “I’ll probably think you were just trying to win me over.”
“Which is exactly why I didn’t mention it. Besides, I had trouble believing it myself. I mean, I have always had a thing for curvy women, so at first, I wanted to chalk it up as simple attraction, but it was more than that.”
“It was love at first sight?” She suggests.
“Yes. It was love at first sight. Something my grandfather had always talked about.”
I have never believed I could find something as precious as what my grandparents had.
Until the moment I met Lorelei, I had always believed that I’d either die single or end up in a complicated marriage like my parents.
Why they are still married is beyond me since they barely spend up to a week under the same roof.
“Do you know what I realized when I was in that cabin with Logan?” Lorelei suddenly says.
“That he is really messed up?”
“No, not that, silly,” Lorelei hits me playfully on the shoulder. “It’s how much I had fallen for you myself. Yes, I know our worlds are far apart, and even now, I’m not entirely sure if I’d ever fit into your world, but I know I want to be with you.”
My heart jumps with joy at her statement, and it feels like the wall between us has vanished completely.
“I have always felt that way from the very moment I met you. Why do you think I offered to marry you?”
She looks at me, her eyes carefully searching mine. She suddenly kisses me, and my desire rises to the surface as I kiss her back.
“We should stop unless you want me to take you right here,” I growl, knowing that I need to hold myself back.
“What do you think about us skipping this party early?” She asks huskily.
There are still a few people I need to meet with before leaving, and I whisper in her ear that I can finish everything within ten minutes, and we can be out of here.
“Let me take one look around then,” Lorelei says as she slips her heels on and gets onto her feet.
She walks towards the door, and I watch her with amusement. I am so lucky to have her as my woman. She reaches for the door, and before she pulls it, she looks back at me and winks.
“See you downstairs in twenty minutes,” she says before slipping out of the door.
Yes, I am in love with Lorelei, and it is a good feeling.
Taking a deep breath, I calm myself down as I still need to handle a few more meetings.
We both had made quite an impression tonight, and I’m sure my grandfather would be pleased with what I have done so far.
I can tap out tonight and spend time with my lady.
Heaven knows I’ve missed her so much.
The thought of exploring Lorelei has me excited, and as I slip back into the party, I know I can’t wait any longer. No, I need to get out of here and into bed with her because it has been so long since I tasted her, and my desire is bursting at the seams.
“A quick visit to the stairway,” Miles says as he hands me a glass of champagne. “I’ll say I envy you, cousin.”
I simply shake my head, and I assure Miles that what he thought happened did not happen.
But it will definitely happen after this party.
“Well, enjoy yourselves, you love birds.”
“We will, Miles. Even without you telling me, I intend to enjoy spending time with my wife.”