Page 152 of A Duet of Darkness and Dreams

I shake my head. “You look unbelievable.”

She smiles and brushes her large dark curls over her shoulder. “And you,” she says, standing back and looking me up and down. “You look damn fine in a suit, Noblar.”

Raising my eyebrows, I reach out and my fingertips grip her waist. “You think so?”

Her eyelashes flutter and she hums in appreciation. Someone clears their throat and I look over at the noise to find Hector with two drinks, one in each hand and looking very seriously at me from under his stetson. I retract my hand and tuck it into my pocket.

“Pá!” Izzy says, moving past me. “I’m so glad you both could make it.”

“Of course, Isa. It’s a big night.”

“Hi, Señor and Señora Rodriguez,” Becks says, stepping forward. “Wow, Izzy, you look amazing!”

“So do you.”

“Looks like everyone is heading to their seats, which means we should too,” she says. “But we seem to have lost Key. He went to get a drink and never came back.”

I lift my chin and look over the crowd for a solid minute before finally spotting Key over by the employee entrance. “What the hell is he doing over there? Key!”

His head snaps up and I raise my hand to indicate we’re about to head into the theater. With a nod, he walks back over, draining the drink in his hand in one gulp. When he reaches us, I can’t help but notice a suspicious shine to his eyes. “Sorry,” he says, with a short sniff. “Had to use the john. Let’s go.”

Izzy looks back at me with a nervous grin. “Ready?”

I grasp her fingers, my thumb brushing over the top of her warm hand. “Lead the way.”

Epilogue

ISABELLA

My stomach is in knots. I don’t think I’ve ever been so excited and nervous all at once, but as we make our way into the theater and sit down at our designated table I take a moment to breathe. There are photographers and journalists scattered among the periphery of the room and I find it odd that I’m not among them, but there are other priorities here tonight. I’m shocked my parents were able to make it. My dad hates California, so when we invited them to the award ceremony I was sure he wouldn’t be able to make it. But, he’s here.

Everyone I love is here and it fills my heart with so much joy.

We all take our seats and as the lights dim and the master of ceremonies walks across the stage to noisy applause, I close my eyes.

“Have I told you just how fucking stunning you look tonight?”

Before I even open my eyes, a smile pulls at my lips. When I do look, Dave’s gaze is resting on my face. “You did.”

He leans a little closer and lowers his voice as the MC tells a joke to the crowd that laughs politely. “How am I supposed to concentrate on being here when you look like that?” I feel hisrough hand land softly on my thigh where the dress splits apart under the table.

“Would it make it better or worse if I told you I wasn’t wearing any panties?”

The soft smile drops from his face and his eyes become sharp, focused, as his fingers grip my thigh so tight I gasp.

My parents look over at me and I quickly cover the gasp with a cough, grateful that the long white table cloth covers where Dave’s hand is moving right now.

“Are you trying to kill me?” Dave asks. “First a suit and tie, now this?”

“Just think of all the ways you’re going to celebrate with me later.”

The back of his fingers just barely brush against my pussy and I bite down on my lip hard to keep from squirming out of my seat.

“I hope you’re well rested, because you’re in for a long, long,longnight.”

His hand is gone and he sits up in his chair, straightening his back as though he’s not as turned on as I am. My core throbs, and my nipples ache, and for one wild moment I think about abandoning the ceremony and taking Dave to the nearest bathroom so he can fulfill his promise early. He looks so damn good in that suit, but nothing compares to the glory of him in nothing at all.

“For our next award,” the MC continues.

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