Page 35 of Keep Me (Rebel Hearts Heists 2)
Bond Girl
Sloane
“There you go, baby. You’re all set. I hope you never have to use it.” Kaden’s eyes are intense as he fastens the strap of my holster, that secures a tiny revolver, to my thigh. His hands skim over my skin as he lowers the silky fabric of the lavender gown I’m wearing for tonight’s rehearsal dinner. It’s an intentionally slow, sensual movement and he never breaks eye contact with me as he adjusts my dress back in place. His gaze makes my heart pick up its pace and my body immediately reacts to his touch and to the promise of endless pleasure in those eyes.
Kaden obviously knows how much his touch affects me, the bastard, and he draws me to him by grabbing my hips and pulling me closer. And you know what? Fuck the makeup and fuck the time I spent curling my hair and arranging it in a half up, half down do. If he wants me, I’ll deal with the ruined hair and makeup later.
It’s crazy maybe, but somehow this whole situation, this danger we’re constantly in has me in a permanently turned on state. I mean obviously the four sexy men in tuxedos that surround me have a lot to do with it but deep down, I feel like one of those glamorous Bond girls. Maybe I should have joined the FBI or even the CIA and live this kind of life on a daily basis.
Kaden smells delicious and I think that whatever I end up doing with my life after this doesn’t really matter as long as I have my men by my side, every single one of them.
“Hey dude, how about letting some of us get some sugar too, huh? Unless obviously you prefer me to smooch you, you fucking hot stuff.” Kaden growls, ready to tell River to fuck off.
Since that unfortunate kiss in the bathtub, River has been ribbing him constantly about kissing back and I think the banter between the two men is hilarious but whatever comment I was ready to make, dies on my lips at the sight of River.
“What th—What the fuck are yo—”
River is wearing a tux like the other three guys but what made me stutter is the green hue of his artfully tousled hair and the fucking makeup on his face. There’s no other way to say it, River is dressed like The Joker from Batman. The Heath Ledger version to be more precise.
In a way, I guess nothing should ever surprise me about River at this point but I’m seriously wondering what the fuck made him decide to dress this way.
He looks totally unfazed by my reaction. “What? They didn’t tell you, Kitten? Tonight’s a—”
“Masquerade ball, Rivs. Not fancy dress. You wear your tux or ball gown and then you wear a mask. Mask, not costume.” Royce smirks, handing me a flat, black box. “That’s for you, Princess.”
A silver lace mask lays inside the box, shimmering in its delicate, almost ethereal beauty.
Royce picks it up, making it look more fragile in his huge hangs, and steps behind me tying the silk strings to the back of my head.
“You look stunning, Honey Bunny.” Blaine places a soft kiss on my temple and then turns to his brother to receive a mask for himself. He and Kaden have simple black silk masks that just cover their eyes while Royce has a white mask that covers the left half of his facePhantom Of The Operastyle.
“Well shit, I had a mask for you too, River but I guess you won’t be needing it?”
And that’s one of the things I love about River: he doesn’t give a shit. He is who he is and the rest of the world can equally take it or leave it and it doesn’t make much of a difference to him. River smirks and confirms that he’s just fine as The Joker.
We all pile into the elevator and as soon as we get to the ground floor and leave the foyer of the hotel, we find a white limo waiting to take us to the private little marina reserved for the yachts owned by the hotel guests.
Or better, reserved for the small boats and tenders that ferry the hotel guests to their mega yachts anchored a little further out of the port.
The small docks are extremely busy tonight, with several tenders picking up guests and delivering them to the white monstrosity owned by Kronin.
I’m not even sure if I could call that a yacht or a mega yacht, it looks more like a small cruise liner with four levels of decks that right now are lit brighter than the strip in Vegas.
I take a seat between River and Blaine on the tender and the latter whispers to me not to leave their side tonight. “Honey Bunny, make sure that one of us is with you at all times. Especially if Kronin insists on showing you the art pieces he has in his private quarters. We don’t think that he’d try anything weird during a huge party, but you never know.”
I snuggle tighter into Blaine’s side as the tender picks up speed and the cold sea breeze makes the naked skin of my arms break out in goosebumps, and I promise him that I won’t leave their side tonight.
As our tender arrives, a muscled deck hand helps me out of the small boat and onto the lower deck of the mega yacht and I don’t miss the way all my guys immediately tense up. I smile because even though they have absolutely no reason to feel jealous, they’re hella cute when they get all alpha possessive on me. Especially because they stopped doing it among each other.
We are ushered into the main formal room that wouldn’t be out of place at the Kremlin, the tzar’s winter palace, or in any European royal palace to be honest. It looks like a grand ballroom, all wooden floors, full-length mirrors on the walls and a huge wrought iron and mosaic glass sky dome. The vibe of the room is totally old aristocracy belle époque, designed to intimidate the guests with an imposing grandeur that makes you forget that you’re actually on a boat.
I immediately spot Alicia and VDB greeting the arriving guests in the middle of the room but right now there’s no sign of Kronin. Blaine’s mother and her fiancé are the only people in the room who aren’t wearing masks and I examine their appearance as we walk toward them.
Alicia is dressed more as if she were preparing to attend a funeral rather than her own rehearsal dinner, in a floor-length, black gown that is completely covered with black crystals and shimmers with her every movement. Her long, raven black hair is smoothed down her back in a shiny silky sheet. She looks younger than her age but at the same time, when she smiles, you can see lines forming around her eyes and at the corners of her mouth and that makes her look suddenly older even though it’s really brief moments. I don’t know why Alicia is marrying VDB but she certainly doesn’t look like an ecstatic bride to be. Call it women’s intuition but I wouldn’t be able to stop smiling if I were marrying Blaine.
The thought hits me like a freight train because: a) it’s the first time I’ve realistically thought about marriage. Well, the first time after Pierce. And b) seeing the way VDB attempted to blackmail me into sleeping with him, could Alicia be under duress? And if that’s the case, what could VDB have on her to manage to force her into marrying him? I really need to find a moment to talk to Blaine alone but it’s obviously not right now because we’re right in front of the ‘happy couple’ and I’m suddenly busy forcing a fake smile on my face and lying about how much I love my bridesmaid dress.
I look around the room and there must be at least a hundred people drinking champagne and chatting away and that’s really kind of weird. When I think about a rehearsal dinner, I just picture the innermost circle, just really close friends and family. This seems a full blown affair as more and more guests arrive.
