“Scandalously sexy.”
His mouth twitched. “That can’t be a real color.”
“I’ll help you out. It’s black, by some designer Fallon insisted I try, with a neckline and thigh slit guaranteed to ignite all your alpha-ness.”
His fingers tightened. “Am I’m being punished?”
“If you consider punishment having to stare at me throughout this surprise I have forgotten, then… yes.” I stared at my shorts and cropped tee, with the flip-flops that tap-tap-tapped. “Or I can dress like a slob.”
You’ll never dress like a slob, Bedisa. No matter what you wear.
Why not stay in? I offered, gliding my hand down his arm. I won’t wear anything.
“This is my gift to you,” he said with a mysterious little twitch to his smile. “Be a good girl and punish me.”
I dressed quickly. The dress was everything I’d described, slinky, sexy, with that can’t-wait-to-seduce-you vibe. I wore strappy sandals since Grayson warned me we’d be walking. I left my hair loose, with one side pulled back with a glossy clip.
When I walked from the bedroom, his eyes glittered. The indrawn breath he took was slow and hard. He was beautiful in slacks and a shirt. Black, of course, but we were mirrors, the perfect couple. The sleeveless design of the dress revealed the tattoos he’d inked on my skin. The dread lord sigil.
“Beautiful,” he said. We walked hand-in-hand toward the center of Azul. The town was lush with spring flowers. The sky was gorgeous, the evening breeze sweet and teasing.
“Do you remember what you wished for?” he asked before sending the image into my head, and I listened to the sound of my voice from months ago.
I’d like to see the sunset, someplace warm, where I can sit outside at a little café table with a red umbrella. There’d be flowers, and I’d have a glass of white wine, a view of the lake and the light on the water. Hear music playing. The last calls of the birds before they roost for the night. Children laughing.
He’d said, “That’s fairly specific.”
And I’d asked, “Will we ever have that again, Grayson?”
“I can’t guarantee the weather.”
But the weather… the weather was perfect. I didn’t stop smiling when he led me to the café, where the red umbrella caught the last rays of the sun. The view of the lake was breathtaking. A bottle of white wine waited in a bucket of ice. I nearly fainted when I saw the label and recognized the vintage.
“How much did that…” I strangled on the question. My pulse was pounding too rapidly.
Grayson deftly removed the cork. Poured a half inch into a stemmed glass, held it out.
Ambrosia was on my tongue as I sipped, swallowed, and managed a husky, “Is this the most expensive bottle in the world?”
His eyes brightened, grew secretive. “So rare, men are lined up ready to fight me for it. Antoine sent this bottle. A gift for you.”
My knees weakened. I slid into the chair he held out. My love, my mate, settled across from me, mystery and love drifting across his face. I reached across to grip his hand.
However you want me, I’ll meet you there.
However you need me, Bedisa. I’ll hold you there.
The sun shifted lower in the sky. The first vermillion spangles danced on the lake, spreading ribbons across the water. Birds cried overhead, the songs of evening. The breeze brushed tender fingers through my hair. I tightened my hand around Grayson’s and stroked his skin with my thumb.
“You forgot one thing,” I murmured, barely containing the tease.
And the Alpha of Sentinel Falls, the Dread Lord, smirked at me. “Did I?”
He tipped his head.
Clowns tumbled into the street, leading a parade of delighted, laughing children. Red balloons floated from strings. Clown-sized cars honked and circled. Dancing goats dressed up in flowers nudged at the planters, always hungry for more. Levi joined in the fun. Laura. Fallon and Mace. Leo. Hattie. Oscar. So many others.
The words he’d said so long ago floated through my head.
