DAHLIA WESTBROOKE
My day was ruined 7 A.M. sharp on a Monday morning after I finally decided to log back into my old email account. At the top of the messages was a name I didn't expect to see, and when I clicked on it to read the rest of the message, my mood further plummeted to the depths of Hell.
I was positive I was hallucinating, but after checking a few more times, the contents of the mail hadn't changed.
There was absolutely no way my half-sister from Hell was inviting me to her husband's birthday party, considering the bad blood between us, but as I settled deeper into a chair in the library, I realized how much the invitation made sense.
Word had probably spread in our circle that someone had seen me after falling off the grid for almost a year, and it would be a bad look for the 'family' if I didn't attend Grayson's birthday party being that we were once engaged. Thankfully, I hadn't been around to witness how that mess had completely unfurled. The first few months were enough Hell for me.
It was in this sour mood that Viktor found me in the library, tucked in my usual corner. It was Sunday, meaning he was at home all day, but he usually spent more time locked in his office than with me. Not that I was complaining. Breakfast and dinner were enough for me, especially after I'd discovered the effect his presence had on me in the early hours of this morning. The more distance between us, the better.
"What's with that frown?" He asked, casually lifting my feet to plop down on the couch before he replaced my feet across his thighs.
My anger momentarily wavered, and I was stunned instead, staring at him incredulously. What the heck? When did we graduate to casual touching?
"Well?" He asked again, cocking a brow at me.
I blinked slowly, shaking my head to clear the fog that had filled my skull. "Sorry, I was just wondering when I gave you the permission to sit here, let alone touch me."
"I apologize. Do you want me to leave?" He shot out the question like a challenge, silently daring me to lie to him. To lie to us.
I cleared my throat, rolling out the kinks in my shoulders. "I suppose you can stay," I muttered. "I need someone to talk about this with anyway, and Eden is at brunch with her family."
He nodded. "Talk to me."
"So, my sister invited me to Grayson's birthday." I paused, feeling the rage slowly rise in my chest. "Actually, just read this yourself."
I passed the phone off to him, silently brewing with anger as his eyes flittered over the words on the screen. He made a face when he was done reading the email, but he said nothing.
"Bethany is totally insane," I huffed. "And the most infuriating part was where she said, 'I'll understand if you won't be able to make the party because of your earlier entanglements with my husband. I'm sure it's not easy to get over your first love and see him move on with the love of his life. Nevertheless, I'd love to see you there, if you can put aside your affection for Grayson for one night'."
Yes, I had read her mail an unhealthy number of times, enough to memorize it in its entirety, and unfortunately, her attempt at getting a rise out of me was working, just not in the way she intended.
"You don't have to attend if you don't want to," Viktor suggested, shrugging nonchalantly like the problem was so easily solved, but that was where he had it wrong.
Not attending was absolutely out of the question.
"No, I'm definitely attending." I was sick of her trying to belittle me everytime with her stupid, faux maturity. Maybe it was time to fight back for once by simply showing up unbothered. What could she do to me, anyway? I was no longer in the clutches of that family, and I was free to do as I pleased.
A new idea formed in my head, and I smiled, adjusting my position on the chair, so I was looking my dearest husband in the eye.
"We are attending," I amended my earlier statement. "This will be a good time to introduce you to everyone."
Viktor raised a brow. "You want to introduce me to your family and acquaintances?" Doubt laced every syllable.
"Of course!" I paused as another thought crossed my mind. "Unless, of course, you don't feel comfortable attending?"
In my selfishness, I hadn't considered that huge parties were perhaps not his scene. A boulder of guilt slammed into me like a freight train, shattering the rest of my lingering excitement. It was so unlike me to be this thoughtless, and I hated it.
He shook his head, his jaw locked tight. "I'd rather we didn't attend at all, but if you're going, then I am, too."
***
I questioned my intelligence and decision to attend the party the moment I stepped foot into the venue, the smell of expensive perfumes and thick colognes hitting me hard until my eyes watered.
Eyes pricked at my skin, and I contemplated turning around for a second—sticking things out to Bethany be damned—but a firm hand on the small of my guided me out of the maze of crippling doubt filling my mind.
I wasn't here alone. For reasons unknown to me, Viktor had gone along with my plan to show him off to everyone gathered here tonight. It was supposed to be a clear statement.
I'd moved on, and Grayson meant nothing to me.
"Dahlia?" The deep, quiet voice at my side silently feeling me out steeled my resolve. We were doing this.
I met Viktor's searching stare—what he was searching for, I had no clue—with a determined nod, silently letting him know I was fine. The worry in his eyes only eased by a fraction before he finally mirrored my nod with a reluctant one of his own.
"If all of this gets too much, just say the word," he whispered to me, his thumb massaging my spine lightly. "I'll handle it."
"Thank you. Really." I let his soul-sucking eyes bewitch me for a second, looking deep into their depths so he could see the sincerity reflected in mine. "You didn't have to come along at all, but you–"
He silenced me with a kiss to my temple, his lips rising a fraction, but that tiny slip was enough to make my insides tingle. "You can repay me by saying my name at the end of the night."
With that and nothing else, he guided me deeper into the room, the warmth of his palm pressed firmly against the bare skin of my back. I still marveled at the sheer beauty of the dress, and choosing it had been a no-brainer after I'd combed through my mini mall disguised as a closet.
The dress was a sultry, temptress-like creation sporting a plunging, halter neckline that dipped all the way down to my stomach, the sheer lace bodice clinging tightly to my skin. Gold embroidery and scattered crystals traced the deep neckline, curving down the body to blend into layers of dusty rose and champagne silk that swished around smoothly with every step I took.
Viktor had been temporarily rendered speechless when he saw me in my dress, and I took that as a good sign, pleased with my choice for tonight. Did it reveal more skin than I'd usually go for? Yes. But I knew it'd have the intended effect of getting everyone to talk. The more eyes I could draw to Viktor and I, the better.
I hadn't gone so tall with the heels, settling for a pair of four-inch strappy gold sandals that did little to bridge the height difference between us, but at least I knew I'd be comfortable in them, so there was that.
We didn't get farther into the room before Bethany ambushed us, a tight smile on her nude lips. "Dahlia! I didn't think you'd come!" She exclaimed, which was really code for, I thought I'd run you off with my message.
I straightened my posture, tipping my chin forward, a silent tell that I was rising up to her silly, little challenge. "I couldn't pass up on a chance to see everyone after so long. I wouldn't miss it for the world." I faked a sweet smile. "Have you met my husband?" I placed a hand on Viktor's back, guiding all of my sister's venomous attention toward him. "Viktor, this is Bethany, my father's other daughter I told you about."
A startled expression I'd never seen on Bethany's face materialized after I casually dropped the introductions, but as always, she was quick to catch her slip up. She wasn't high society's princess for no reason, after all. "You were serious. I'm surprised, Dahlia. How could you not invite us to your wedding?" She placed a hand over her chest, feigning hurt, ever the actress.
"I'm Bethany," she addressed Viktor, a pleasant smile curving her glossy lips. "Calling me our father's other daughter is an interesting way of calling me her sister, but you know Dahlia. Ever the comedian." She held her hand out to Viktor for a handshake, tucking a perfectly styled piece of hair behind her ear with the other, her big, blue eyes dragging down his body in a way that left a nauseating taste in my mouth. "It's nice to meet you."
It wasn't surprising to see her trying to work her charms on a man I'd just introduced to her as my husband while she actively had a husband of her own. One whose birthday party we were currently at, might I add, but Bethany always had a problem with keeping her hands to herself. Case in point, Grayson.
Viktor regarded her with a simple nod of his head, causing her smile to falter, and mine to grow wider.
Ha, take that, sticky fingers!
"Um, you- I have to meet up with other guests," she stammered the made up excuse, clearly embarrassed that he hadn't given her the reaction she craved. "Mom should be somewhere around here. Don't hesitate to say hi to her."
She was gone in the blink of an eye, her tail tucked shamelessly between her legs in defeat. In no time, she was swallowed up by the crowd, and I turned to Viktor with a wide grin on my lips.
"Good boy." I patted his chest twice. "Keep this up, and I'll be saying your name even before the night ends."
He angled his body toward mine, his eyes darkening until the blue in them was completely swallowed up. "Good boy?" His fingers pressed deeply into my spine, communicating his frazzling control over his restraint.
I let myself forget we were in the midst of a crowd for a second, leaning into him slightly. "You did good. I thought I'd praise you a little."
He let out a tortured sound from deep in his throat, a cross between a laugh and a groan before he whispered something in Russian under his breath. He shook his head once, clearing the brewing storm in his eyes.
"Let's move on with this party before I throw a wrench in your plans, and show you how much I liked hearing you call me that," he said gruffly, running his free hand down his jaw. "And Dahlia?"
"Hm?"
He bent at the waist, and the moment his lips brushed my ear, I knew he was about to say something scandalous. "If I have it my way, you won't be saying my name at the end of the night. You'll be screaming it."
I made a startled sound in the back of my throat, my eyes widening.
His lips moved to my temple again, pressing a kiss against the skin before he pulled away, putting a respectable distance between us again. "Don't tempt me unless you're open to that possibility."