Chapter 5 - A Gown for a Sinner
At four in the afternoon, two stylists, three makeup artists, and a mountain of garment bags invaded my room like a glitter-covered SWAT team.
They didn't speak English. They spoke French, rapid-fire Italian, and the universal language of aggressive hair-pulling. For three straight hours, I was plucked, buffed, contoured, and squeezed until I barely recognized the woman staring back at me in the full-length mirror.
The dress was a weapon in its own right.
It was emerald green silk that pooled around my heels like liquid gemstone. The neckline plunged daringly low, clinging to my curves before opening into a scandalous slit up my left thigh. My wild, unruly curls had been tamed into sophisticated, tumbling waves pinned back with emerald-encrusted clips. Diamond teardrops hung from my ears, cold and heavy.
When the stylists finally cleared out, the door clicked open.
Adrian stood in the doorway.
He was wearing a custom black tuxedo that made him look like a fallen archangel. His broad shoulders filled the frame, his crisp white shirt a stark contrast to the black velvet collar of his jacket. For a second, he didn't move. His dark eyes traveled down the length of the green dress, slow, deliberate, and burning with an intensity that made the air vanish from my lungs.
“Well?” I asked, trying to disguise my nervousness with bravado. “Do I look like a decoy, or just an expensive target?”
Adrian crossed the room in three silent strides, stopping inches before me. He reached out, his hand settling at the small of my back, right where the silk dipped dangerously low to expose bare skin. The heat of his palm seared through me.
“You look,” he whispered, his voice rough around the edges, “like the most dangerous thing in this city.”
“Flattery won't stop a bullet, Adrian.”
“No,” he murmured, leaning down until his lips brushed against my neck, right over the racing pulse point beneath my ear. A sharp shiver racked my body. “The three armed men I’ve hidden in the lobby will stop the bullet. But you, Maya... you are going to distract every single eye in that ballroom while I dismantle Marcone’s empire.”
He pulled back, his eyes dark with promise, and offered me his arm.
“Ready to play with monsters, Cinderella?”
I looked at his outstretched arm, squared my shoulders, and rested my hand on his sleeve. “Only if I get to keep the dress when we win.”
May you like
A ghost of a real smile touched Adrian’s lips. “Deal.”
***