In the Eye of the Beholder by Dianna Roman

Author:Dianna Roman [Roman, Dianna]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Wild One Press LLC
Published: 2023-08-07T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 22

Eric

“How do you like the suit?”

Daniel fidgets with his tie where we stand in the foyer waiting on my mother. “It’s alright.” He shrugs. “A little tight though, if you ask me.”

The smirk playing at the corner of his mouth is a hundred percent a dig at our very first interaction. I had hoped after that night in the pool, we were done with misconceptions and grudges, smoke and mirrors. I fear now that I witnessed the removal of his armor, only to be replaced with more if he’s back to his sassy retorts. It took everything inside me to resist throwing him over my shoulder and whisking him up to my room when he made that feral noise at lunch earlier today.

He’s punishing me for knowing the secrets he shared freely. Other than it being in his nature to do so, I don’t quite understand why yet. I thought we shared something.

Letting my gaze travel the length of his body before we’re interrupted by my mother, I lean closer and murmur, “It becomes you.”

And it does. Eddie knows how to dress a body. Silver fitted slacks, matching jacket and tie, and an ink black dress shirt that matches the color of Daniel’s hair. He looks suave and handsome. I’m already regretting taking him to Mish’s club, which will be full of hot-blooded ticket holders.

Cheeks tinted pink from my compliment, the snark has clearly escaped him at the moment. Do they turn that adorable hue in the throes of passion? How accurate was that sultry moan he teased me with at lunch?

“Oh, look at how charming my two boys are,” my mother calls.

Her black gown rustles airily as she makes her way to us. I chuckle at the thigh-high slit in the skirt. She’s still proud of her dancing legs.

“One minute,” she cautions as I reach to take her coat from her. “I want to get a picture of the two of you.”

“Mom,” I warn. “Daniel doesn’t need to do that.”

“It’s fine,” he assures her, stepping close to me.

The knowledge that a picture of him and me will exist in the world makes my heart happy. Following his cue, I inch closer, settling my hand on his lower back so my shoulders won’t hide any part of him.

The sleek fabric of his suit jacket is thin, revealing the hardness of his muscles underneath my touch. There’s something else though, too, something hard. Tracing my ring finger down its length, my breath catches. The puckered feel of tiny rosebuds, the thin boning. He’s wearing the corset I left for him.

Turning my head casually as my mother snaps the camera feature on her phone, his Adam’s Apple bobs in his throat. I want to see it. I want to trace it with my lips and watch the expressions he won’t be able to conceal, but I can’t. I won’t. Not like this.

I know how he’s punishing me now for those secrets. I remember all too well the wicked gleam in his eyes with the most nervous men at the bar.

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