I want to roll my eyes at Julian. He is being unreasonable and paranoid, like always. I wore this dress for him, only him. I couldn’t care less if a hundred other eyes are on me, I only care about him.
My outfit is not even that revealing. Looking around the room, I see more than half of the women here showing more skin than me.
My mind briefly flashes to the time Julian took me to that godforsaken auction. I had been almost naked then. I shudder thinking about that time. We weren’t always as happy as we are now, and the first few weeks I spent with him, I’d much rather forget altogether.
I used to be scared of my husband, terrified, actually. Now, I’m only terrified of losing him.
“You’re in a bad mood,” I say softly, leaning in.
“I’d feel better after killing a few people in here,” he growls, glaring at every person that dares to look our way.
I almost roll my eyes at him again. “That’s not very Christmas-like of you.”
“You didn’t expect me to be jolly, did you?” Julian grunts in response. It would never cross my mind to use the word jolly to describe Julian. Brooding, dangerous, and unreasonable are much more likely.
“No, maybe not that far, but I did think you might have a little bit of fun. You do know that word, right?”
Julian snorts. “My kind of fun and your kind of fun look very different. What’s important is that you enjoy yourself.”
“Oh, Julian,” a female voice suddenly interrupts. I look up to see a beautiful blond woman wearing a bright-red dress approaching us. She is tall, much taller than me. Her long slender legs peeking out from a slit up her thigh with each step she takes.
Her lips are painted the same canary red as her dress, and her bright-blue eyes are framed by thick midnight-black fake lash extensions.
“Chelsey,” Julian greets the women sternly. She takes the hand Julian is holding out, but then leans in and kisses him on his cheek, shocking us both. Julian actually pushes her away slightly, looking equally pissed and annoyed.
Unfortunately, this Chelsey person does not take the hint. Instead of taking a hike, she keeps going on and on about how she hasn’t seen Julian in forever and that they should have dinner to catch up soon.
“Chelsey, have you met my wife, Elena?” Julian interrupts her rambling.
“Oh, I don’t think I have. Is this her?” she asks, pronouncing it like she is surprised by his choice. I have the urge to grab a handful of her blond curls and rip it from her scalp. “She is so short.” She giggles.
Forcing a smile, I glance at Julian. His anger and annoyance have turned into amusement. His lips are pulled up into a grin, and his eyes turn mischievous.
“Well, it was great running into you. Best regards to your father. Maybe we’ll find some time to catch up soon.” Julian smiles, throwing hot coals into the raging fire inside of me.
“I’m sure we will,” she chirps shamelessly. “I’ll see you soon.”
Ignoring my presence completely, she turns around and walks away, swaying her hips seductively. I turn my attention to Julian, who is still looking at me, amused.
“What the hell was that?” I snap.
“Do you have any idea how sexy you look when you’re jealous?” Julian smirks, dragging his fingers over my bare back. My body instantly responds, heat creeps up my neck, and warmth fills my lower belly.
No, no, no! He is not so easily off the hook. All night, he has acted jealous of guys simply looking at me, and now he is patronizing me for being upset when he flirts with someone. I don’t even want to know how exactly he knows her.
“Explain, mister, or so help me…” I’m not sure what the hell I’ll do, but the threat passes my lips before I can fully think of a response.
“Chelsey’s father and I used to be business partners. As long as I’ve known her, she’s had a little crush on me, but I’ve never touched her if that’s what you’re worried about.”
Relief floods my veins. I’m well aware that Julian has been with other women prior to meeting me, but knowing of them and seeing one of them in the flesh are two different things.
Even without him touching her in the past, my mood is souring by the second simply thinking about the whole interaction. Trying to banish those thoughts from my mind, I look around the room. I need to find something else to think about.
“Jealousy looks good on you, but pouting does not.” Julian leans into me with his minty breath fanning over my cheek. “You know I was just teasing you. I would never discard a queen like you for trash like her.”
“I’m not pouting,” I lie. I definitely am.
“Can we just forget about her and enjoy the evening? She is nothing, Elena. She’s been throwing herself at me for years, but I don’t want her. I only want you.”
“I’ll try, but seeing you with her brought up old feelings. I get that’s just me being insecure, but how would you feel if I had been with men before we married?” At my words, his whole body stiffens, his eyes darken to a storm-cloud blue, and his fingers dig possessively into my skin. I’ve hit a nerve, and my entire body tingles at the knowledge.
“I would’ve killed every man who ever touched you before me.”
“Exactly,” I murmur.
Julian sighs. “You are right. I shouldn’t have teased you like that. Let’s forget this, get a drink, and have some fun.”
“I don’t want a drink,” I answer quicker than necessary.
Actually, I do want a drink, I just can’t have one, but he doesn’t know that yet. That secret will be his Christmas present in the morning. “I do want something to eat, though. Can we go to the buffet?”
“Of course.” Julian nods and holds his arm out to me.
I loop my slender forearm into his muscular one, and he leads me to the far right wall of the banquet hall. The wall is lined with large tables, and a colorful array of warm and cold foods are spread out like art. The food is so creatively presented, it’s almost too beautiful to eat.
We grab some plates, and I load mine up until there is no space left.
“Hungry?” Julian chuckles, looking at my plate.
“I didn’t eat much today, I had to make sure I’d fit into this dress, after all,” I lie again.
I normally tell Julian the truth, but I really want to keep this secret until tomorrow morning. There isn’t much I can give a man who has everything money can buy.
This will be the greatest gift of all.
We choose a table to eat at, and my mood slowly returns. Maybe I was just getting a bit hangry. When I’m finished eating, Julian goes to get me a piece of cake, and while I wait patiently for some sugary goodness, my eyes scan the room without any particular focus.
I take in the sea of people, old and young and all dressed to impress. My eyes move over a hundred unknown faces until I catch a single known one. I freeze. Then I blink.
People move in front of me, obstructing my view. When they move past, he is gone. Disappearing like he wasn’t there at all.
Frantically, I look around, trying to find Lucca again, but he has simply vanished.
“You okay?” Julian’s deep voice startles me.
“Yes…yes. I’m fine.” My eyes must have played tricks on me. Why would Lucca be here? No, there is no way. Julian’s paranoia is rubbing off on me, that’s all.
“Is this still about Chelsey?” Julian huffs, handing me a piece of chocolate cake.
Without answering, I take a huge bite of the cake.
“If you don’t stop your pouting, I’ll have to take you somewhere quiet and show you just how much I want you.”
The chocolate turns even sweeter on my tongue at his threat, and my insides turn as mushy as the cake on my tongue. Swallowing, I sit the plate on the table.
“Maybe that’s exactly what you should do,” I purr in the most seductive way I can manage. I’ve grown bolder when it comes to sex, but I am nowhere as bold as Julian.
Julian’s gaze becomes heated, his pupils dilate, and his tongue darts out to moisten his bottom lip. I can tell he wants me, is thinking about all the ways he can take me.
“Let’s go, then, my queen,” he growls, his voice wrapped up in desire. Shock courses through me but then fades away when his hand encases mine. “I hope you didn’t think I was joking,” he whispers into my ear, “because I’ve wanted to rip this dress off you and fuck you since the moment you appeared at the top of the stairs earlier.”
“Julian.” I gasp as if his words aren’t already turning me into a pile of mush. He tugs me to my feet, and my body collides with his, sending a shiver of lustful need down my spine. Will I ever not be crazy for this man?