Page 50 of Lady of Darkness
He doesn’t answer me. His eyes are focused on the top of my head as he pulls and tugs. Moving lower, his fingers graze my neck before Gideon hands him a clear band. My body erupts in goosebumps when I realize… he just freaking braided my hair into a French braid.
Why the hell is that so hot?
“How do you know how to braid hair?” I ask him, my voice husky.
And damn him… because the braid suits the dress and my makeup perfectly.
“I’ve braided a lot of hair,” he mutters, one corner of his lips tilting up. “My subs liked it.”
Something raw and primal swoops through my core at his words.
“I see.”
“And for the dress,” he adds, reaching over to the dresser. “I had this sent over.” He hands it to me.
“Double-sided tape?”
He shrugs. “It should help hold the fabric in place.”
Huh. He certainly thinks of everything.
I add a couple of pieces to the inside of the dress, and he’s right. It stays.
“How do you know all of this? Why are you so good at picking out clothes and dressing women?”
He takes a step back and places his hands in his trouser pockets. “Because I like control, Harlow. Because I like to dress my subs and control what they wear, what they eat, how they walk, and who they talk to. Some dominants only want dominance in the bedroom. I want itall the time.”
He growls the last three words, and my pulse spikes. “So, am I your submissive, then?”
Something dark comes over his expression. “If you want to be.”
Thatwould have to be something I consider. I definitely wanted to explore the Dom/sub dynamic with him one day soon. Before I can respond, Alaric walks over to us.
“The car is here,” he says, smiling as he bends down to kiss me. “You look beautiful. A true Lady of Darkness.”
He twists me around so that I can study myself in the mirror. Gideon and Theo walk over, standing behind Alaric, Sterling, and I. Goosebumps claw up and down my skin, making it tingle. The five of us dressed up and together like this… I nearly lose my breath at the sight. I remembered seeing them at the back of my father’s funeral, but right now, they seem ten times more deadly. Back then, I referred to them as the four horsemen of death. But right now… the five of us look straight out of the underworld.
Four demons and their newest monster.
CHAPTERTWENTY-ONE
Alaric
We makeour way to the car–a Cadillac Escalade that has been retrofitted to look like a limousine inside. Harlow climbs in first, followed by the rest of us. The driver speaks to Theo before we set off, and once we do, the lights are dimmed and are replaced with low, red lighting.
I reach over to the small mahogany bar and pour us all a finger of whiskey. Handing the crystal tumblers out, we’re all quiet as we drink. The air is thick with anticipation, but the whiskey helps ease our nerves. Pouring a second round, we all clink glasses before setting them down.
“I think it comes as no surprise that Acadia is going to want Harlow in exchange for peace,” I tell them, looking at Harlow.
She stiffens, and her face pales at my words. “Why? What’s so special about me?”
Everything.
“They want the only thing we’re not willing to give up,” I growl. Looking around at the other guys, at Harlow–theyare my entire life. Whether they know it or not.
Acadia will rot in hell for eternity for trying to take what’s mine.
“And they know it, too,” Theo says glumly from his seat. “In asking for you, they will be starting a war.”
