Page 131 of Hide and Keep

All I see is Ever.

I saw her hair. Some of the pieces in the front are pulled back and twisted to look like a braid or a crown—I’m not sure because Chloe didn’t specify—while the rest of the midnight strands are in soft curls.

And I saw her makeup. A brown smoky eye—a term I did pick up on—with a touch of shimmer on the inner corners, and mink lashes—heard that one, too—that make her light eyes pop even more.

But I didn’t see her dress. Ball gown? It’s a ball gown. White and lacy as well, except nothing virginal like her panties. With a low plunging neckline and no straps, the top is a transparent corset with delicate flowers covering her tits and cascading all the way down the full-length, flowy skirt.

And I sure as hell didn’t see the look in its entirety. Ever looks like a bride about to walk down the aisle to the luckiest man on earth.

Staring at me, she asks, “You need help?”

My lips part but nothing comes out, not even a puff of air. She’s taken every single ounce of it because she’s literally breathtaking. There’s no other way to describe her. Earlier,when I said the same thing, that wasn’t breathtaking. That was breath-disrupting.Thisis breathtaking.

“Say yes,” I hear whispered beside me, and blink. Was I not blinking before? “Your bowtie. Say yes.”

“Yes,” I croak out.

Ever’s lightly glossed lips quirk…

Until something nudges my arm. Then those lips turn into the most beautiful frown.

The woman next to me… I think she elbowed me. What’s her name again? Who even is she? It doesn’t matter. Not to me.

But definitely matters to my protectee, who looks like she’s about to go on a rampage.

I start walking toward Ever, away from her next victim, fighting to keep her eyes the entire time.

Look at me, Ever Munreaux. All I see is you. All. I. See. Is.You.

If my own mother was in the room right now, I wouldn’t know it. The most famous celebrity could walk in and I wouldn’t even notice. An atomic bomb could detonate, andstill, I doubt I’d be able to take my eyes off Ever. The moment she came out of that bathroom, everything and everyone ceased to exist.

All…

Except…

Her.

“I do,” I rasp.

Something foreign infiltrates her eyes as they oscillate between mine. It looks kind of like uncertainty but Ever Munreaux’s all arrogance, all the time.

“You do?”

I nod. “Yeah. I…” I lift the ends of the bowtie. “I need help with this.”

The unidentifiable emotion disappears as she closes the distance between us.

My hands aching to reach out and grab her, I ball them into fists at my sides.

With her face less than a foot away from mine, I let my gaze roam every feature, memorizing each one. Forget her wet underwear. This is the memory I want to carry with me to the grave. Whoever gets to stand across from her, promising to love and protect her for as long as they both shall live, is in for the biggest challenge. Ever’s a pain in the ass—as well as every other body part—but damn, going to bed next to her every night would make it all worth it.

While she’s tying, a pop of color enters my vision. It’s so jarring, I’m forced to scrape my eyes off her face to investigate.

It’s a bracelet on her wrist, one of those beaded ones again, but purple this time. I don’t need to know anything about fashion to know it clashes with her current attire.

“Another protection bracelet?”

I already told her she doesn’t need that shit around me.

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