10. Zander
Zander
“Do we really need to do this?” Finley asked from the dressing room.
We’d just landed in New York City two hours ago and I’d had this appointment set with my personal shopper for days. As soon as I knew they were all going to be coming with me to this party, I prepared everything to ensure they would look like they belonged.
“Little dove, we talked about this. The party we are going to is meant only for the elite in the industry. Grim Times got their first platinum album and they are celebrating it with a select group that just so happens to include me. I’m not going to let anyone have one negative thing to say about me bringing all of you.
So yes, we do, in fact, need to do this,” I explained for the fifth time.
For the most part, Finley had been great about it all.
Back in Tennessee, I had her go for a spa day where they trimmed her hair, gave her a facial, and anything that needed to be waxed, trimmed, or adjusted was also taken care of.
I’m sure there wasn’t much that needed to be done since Finley had to be the most stunning woman I’d ever met, but I was also biased.
The guys were another story, well, except for the twins.
They loved every second of it, never having experienced a spa day.
Each of them got haircuts, beards trimmed, and Derven talked them all into getting pedicures which made me laugh, but when they saw how much Finley was enjoying the time together, they sucked it up.
Now here we were in the heartbeat of New York City, getting the guys fitted with tuxedos and Finley in an evening gown.
The party was being held on a rooftop venue with lots of security and reporters lurking to get the best shots of those who showed up.
Unlike most people, we wanted these reporters to take our picture, chat us up and prove to the world we were enjoying a party with three hundred other people as witnesses.
So that meant everyone needed to look the part and I was ensuring that happened.
The curtain pulled back, and when Finley stepped out, my jaw hit the floor.
There, standing in a dress that hugged every curve of her delicious body in a color matching the cobalt of her eyes, was my mate.
The dress looked like it was poured onto her the way it clung to her until it reached just above the knees and flared out.
Slowly, she did a spin, showing off the exposed back and how the dress dipped right at the curve of her ass, then the silky fabric cascaded down the perfect roundness making my mouth water.
“Little dove, I want to bend you over and fuck the shit out of you right now. Part of me wants to tell you that you can’t come because I will kill any mother fucker who thinks they can even look at you,” I growled to her through our connection.
Her eyes filled with heat and her breath quickened. Finley’s spicy scent of cardamom and clove permeated the air, telling me just how much she liked that idea. My dick pressed against my jeans, begging for me to do exactly what I said.
Who would stop me? I’d rented out the shop while we picked out things. I could slip into the dressing room and show my mate just how much I like that dress.
“Holy fuck,” Colt said as he walked out of another dressing room in a black tux, a frown clouding his face. “There’s no fucking way she can wear that to the party. Everyone will be staring at her.”
“I believe that’s exactly what we want, isn’t it?” she challenged, glancing over at Colt.
“Not if we don’t want us all to end up in jail,” he muttered, tugging at the sleeves of his jacket.
Mason walked out next in a deep purple tux that no one but him could make look good. Noah joined us wearing the exact same thing, grinning at his brother. “Damn, we look good,” he said before they both gave each other high fives.
Lane stepped out fussing with his bow tie in a gray tux that worked well for him. It was odd to see him without his baseball cap, but he managed to clean up nicely. “Who’s going to jail?” he asked, then finally looked up and saw our woman. “Oh… never mind, I know the answer. We are.”
“Did you two pick the same tux just to mess with people?” Finley asked as she walked over to them, making us all salivate as the fabric let us know that she was not wearing anything under that dress.
The twins nodded. “We thought it would be fun to fuck with people. They’ll never know which one of us is which,” Mason shared, a giant shit-eating grin on his face.
“The more confusion we cause, the less they will notice you, or that was the idea. Now I’m not sure anyone is going to realize there is life at the party besides you and that perfect ass walking around. ”
Rath and Derven finally joined us, having taken longer to pick out what they wanted to wear.
Having been to many parties with the Dark Ring, they already understood the drill but struggled to find something they wanted to wear versus being forced to wear.
The way these two men carried themselves after years of torment and torture from the Dark Ring amazed me.
It was only in situations like this that I even remembered they had indeed suffered from PTSD.
They just showed it in their own subtle way.
Rath’s tux was avant-garde but fitted him perfectly.
It was an amazing deep green with stitched patterns on one shoulder and the cuff of the opposite arm.
It had a vest like usual, but the jacket was the difference.
One side was normal, the other draped down and was held closed by a wooden toggle.
It fit him as an elf and as a person, but more than that, he looked comfortable and confident in it.
Derven decided to take advantage of the fact that Finley had made him look completely human and dressed like you’d imagine a vampire would.
Crushed velvet smoking jacket style tux, with a black shirt, black pants, and to top it off, a black pocket square fluffed perfectly.
The most amazing part of all this was after he fed off Finley and was able to restore himself to full strength, he was immune to the sun.
Seemed Finley’s blood did more than curb his hunger and he was living it up to his full advantage.
While the bloodsucker was growing on me, I couldn’t help but clash with him on certain things.
He was of the mind that Finley should be able to freely move about assassinating people without us trying to stop her at every turn.
I understood his point that she was a trained professional and was more dangerous than most of us, but I couldn’t wrap my head around letting her put herself in a position to get hurt.
One thing, it only took one thing to go wrong and she would be hurt or wind up dead.
None of us knew how to help her besides Ayla, and to me, that elf was a loose cannon filled with rage—willing to do whatever it took to get her revenge on the Dark Ring.
I trusted Finley to make smart choices and to handle herself, but that didn’t mean I liked doing it.
She was my mate and I’m an alpha. My sole purpose in life was to protect her and provide for her.
This whole mess my mother put us in went against both of those things, so I tried to do my best not to let my fears cause more trouble.
“Nin mel, you look radiant,” Rath praised as he took her hand, twirling her about. “Like the queen you are, simply perfect.”
“You look rather handsome yourself in that color, sets off that long blond hair women would kill for,” she teased, pressing a quick kiss to his lips when he frowned. “No scowling, we’re meant to be having fun at this event, or so someone keeps telling me.”
I cocked a brow at her as her gaze drifted over to me, letting me know she was referring to me. “There will be more fun if you aren’t in a dress that makes men want to abandon all reason. How will you be able to sneak out of the party wearing that?”
“Easy, once I’m out of this dress, no one will recognize me with my hair up looking like the waitstaff,” she pointed out. “They will be looking for the shockingly stunning woman in the blue dress.”
“Remind me what we’re supposed to say if someone asks where you went? There’s no way that someone won’t notice you’re gone, or they haven’t had the chance to meet you yet,” I stated, crossing my arms.
Finley walked up to me and placed her hand on my chest, leaning in close as if she was going to kiss me but halted just before our lips touched.
“Tell them the truth. I had to step out for a moment to meet with a few people nearby for work. Let them know they shouldn’t worry.
I’ll be back soon since I’m incredibly skilled at my job. ”
I slid my hand up the back of her neck, pressing the back of her head toward me, closing the distance as I feasted on her lips that had been taunting me as she spoke.
This woman of mine was going to drive me mad, but I was going to love every second of it.
Slowly, I pulled back and pressed another kiss to her forehead.
“Now, what is it that I’m really telling them? ”
“The world’s most tried and true cop-out for women across the globe.
A sudden headache hit me and I went to our hotel room to rest for a moment.
As soon as she’s feeling better, I’m sure she will come back, first party in the limelight and all that jazz,” she answered, grinning up at me. “But I like the first version better.”
“We’re getting a hotel room there?” I questioned.
She gave me a bright smile. “Well, it’s Ayla’s room, but who’s to say differently. People wouldn’t argue with you, would they?”
“How the hell did you get a room in that hotel a week before the event?” I demanded, amazed at her skills.
With a shrug, she backed away, heading for the dressing room. “Some secrets I’ll keep for myself. Who knows when they will come in handy to surprise you.” With that, she closed the curtain and ended the conversation.
Or so she thought.