“You do realize that makes me even more of a jerk than Colin, don’t you? I just told you I would have seduced you even if I’d known why you’re so vulnerable.”
Anger swelled up in her, nearly choking her for a moment. “For the last time, I am not vulnerable. And I’ll decide who I think is a jerk or not.”
He shook his head, his mouth twisting slightly. “You’re very naïve, Emma.”
“Yeah? Well you’re very full of yourself. Not everything is about you and your supposedly horrible, selfish self. I’m not a victim, Vanni. Did you ever consider I’m doing exactly what I want to be doing? Maybe I’m the selfish one,” she snapped before she walked over to her closet, stiff-backed. She jerked open a sliding door and stared blindly at her wardrobe. “And I haven’t got anything to wear to whatever . . . stupid, uppity restaurant you picked,” she added angrily.
He didn’t reply for several seconds. She just listened to her own escalated breathing in the billowing silence, her back to him. She was so sure the evening was ruined. Suddenly his hands were on her shoulders. Exhaling choppily, she felt his lips move on her nape. She closed her eyes and shuddered. Relief swept through her. So did liquid warmth, the strength of her arousal in this situation shocking her to the core. He turned her to face him.
“You’re the opposite of selfish. But maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad thing if you were a little more cynical sometimes.”
“Really?”
He studied her face and frowned. “No,” he sighed. “Do you really forgive them for what they did?”
“You say forgive like it’s a dirty word,” she said. He just continued to pin her with his stare, waiting for an answer. “No, I haven’t forgiven Amanda yet. I’m working on it. It’s a process. For both of us. It’s not a black-and-white thing! How do you think forgiveness works, precisely?”
“I wouldn’t know,” he said blandly. “Certainly not in a similar situation.”
“She’s my only family. What do you expect me to do, throw her out on the streets? As for Colin, I don’t think he needs my forgiveness. He’s not going to be a major part of my life anymore.”
He didn’t respond immediately, but he didn’t move. You’re very naïve, Emma.
He didn’t say it, but his remembered words hung in the air at that moment. Suddenly he kissed her temple very tenderly, taking her by surprise and sending a cascade of shivers through her and raising goose bumps along her arms.
“Go and shower. I’ll pick something out for you to wear.”
“You will?” she asked, amazed. Then she looked at the clothes hanging haphazardly in her closet and thought of his expensive, immaculately organized wardrobe.
“No, that’s all right.” She saw his small smile before he brushed his firm lips against her warm cheeks.
“I wish you’d stop getting embarrassed,” he said.
“Well it’s not something I can stop that easily,” she fired.
“I just mean,” he said in a low, patient tone, despite the sardonic arch of his eyebrows, “that I wish you wouldn’t, because there’s absolutely no reason in the world for you to be embarrassed. Ever,” he repeated succinctly. One glance into his hard gaze, and she knew he didn’t mean her lame wardrobe, but the embarrassment she’d experienced facing Colin and Amanda with him standing at her side.
She appreciated that.
Eying him warily, she went on tiptoe and slid her mouth against his. He smiled that smile she rarely saw before he bent down to take what she offered in deep earnest. Then he was turning her in the direction of the bathroom, and Emma tried to remember what she was supposed to be doing, so befuddled was she by his kiss.
“I won’t profess to being an expert at this, but I’ll figure something out. Go on,” he said. She glanced over her shoulder as she walked to the bathroom. He was scowling darkly at her closet like it was an unexpected but worthy challenge.
* * *
There was nothing he couldn’t do, she thought fifteen minutes later as he opened her bedroom door for her. He’d chosen a dark teal blue, sleeveless cotton dress and paired it with a thick, dark purple belt that went with another outfit. Emma wouldn’t have ever thought to put the two together but it worked fantastically. She took the two items from him, dubious at first, and went into the bathroom to finish getting ready.
The dress, which she had long ago forgotten about, looked brand new with the belt to freshen it. The braided collar encircled her neck and left most of her shoulders and arms bare. She hadn’t spent a lot of time in the sun so far this year, but her skin still gleamed next to the teal of the dress. Then she added a gold, long necklace with a medallion at the end of it. It served to not only accessorize her outfit, but to accentuate the shape of her breasts in the draping fabric. Her hair was behaving tonight and waved softly around her face. She applied a little more eye makeup than was usual and a natural shade of lipstick.
The male heat in Vanni’s eyes when she exited the bathroom, along with a slightly smug smile, told her she was beautiful to him. She felt like she was pretty.
“I missed my calling,”
he said, his mouth tilting as he opened the door for her.
“Something tells me you’re much more of an expert at undressing women than dressing them,” she told him under her breath as she passed.
“I’ll happily do both for you.” It was shameless flirtation, but Emma couldn’t resist. She’d like to meet the straight woman who professed she could resist Vanni when his blue-green eyes went heavy-lidded and hot. She paused and brushed her fingers across his angular, whiskered jaw and went on her tiptoes.