“You want to help dress me?”
“Yes I do,” I said softly. “Robe.”
She shrugged out of the robe, exposing the tattoo. A set of angel wings that flowed from her shoulders downward. It was a collaborative piece between a few of the tattoo artists in Esme’s pack. Feathers that were shockingly real, but softened with sweeping, shifting colors that made them feel like they were magical. Or even that the colors moved as you watched.
In one of the wings, there were words hidden in her father’s handwriting. Esme had a similar tattoo, and Eva had wanted something as well. It was beautiful.
“Here.” I knelt as she turned toward me and held out the underwear for her to step into. She did, balancing on my shoulder as I pulled them up, making sure I dragged my fingers over her skin. She was flushed pink by the time I was standing, nipples hard enough that they would be a problem later.
I tilted her chin up with a finger. “Two years and all the filthy things we do to you… why is this what makes you blush?”
“Because it still doesn’t feel real. I see so many people with partners who don’t care, and then you do this and… I love you.”
There was no resisting her lips. I tried not to kiss her too hard so her makeup wouldn’t be ruined. That part would come once we got home. “I love you,” I whispered.
The thigh band was in Tyler’s hand, and he kissed her leg. “As much as I’d love to spend hours getting you dressed, we need to go.” He wrapped it and made sure it was secure. “We don’t want to miss the red carpet after all your planning.”
“No,” she agreed. “We don’t.”
The jewels sparkled on her arm, and the back of the necklace draped perfectly between the two wings. Jack had the dress, and we managed to get it on and correctly fitted so she wouldn’tactuallyhave a wardrobe malfunction.
But holy shit. She was incredible. The heels that completed the look only made her look more like a badass.
Eva blew out a breath as I took her hand and walked her downstairs. “I’m really nervous.”
“I know. But you don’t need to be. Everyone is going to love it and you. If they don’t, they don’t count.”
She smiled and squeezed my hand. “Oh, I need my phone.”
“I’ve got it,” I told her. “And your clutch, if you actually need it.”
“You’re making it really hard to procrastinate,” my Omega grumbled.
“I know. Let’s go,” I called to the others.
We crowded into the elevator together, with Eva at the center. Her nerves sparkled under everything else, but more than that, she was happy.
“Thank you for taking care of me,” she whispered to us.
Four purrs were loud in the silence. Before the doors opened and we had to face the world, Jack turned and winked. “Always, Princess.”
EPILOGUE
PART II
________
EVA
Tyler took my hand and helped me out of the limo into the view of the press. Soundroaredaround us. A storm of butterflies the size of the city itself had taken up residence in my gut, but I pasted on my smile and tried to breathe.
“You’ve got this, baby,” Tyler murmured.
None of them felt the least bit panicked, and that helped.
We’d managed to keep the details of my tattoo and the show about Nautilus under wraps, but we were about to launch it with this red carpet, and I hoped it went well. Not only because this was a turning point in my career, but Esme’s pack had a stake in it as well. Their work would be judged on me, as well as the show I was helping them to make about the studio.
Jasmine stood at the entrance to the official carpet and nodded. “Ready?”
