Page 40 of Benedict’s Rejuvenation (Dark Patriots #5)

Yes, we saw them in their dresses at the boutique when they bought them. They looked beautiful in them. However, they’d added the right amount of gilding to their lilies, as Fabian would say, and they were even more breathtakingly stunning.

I felt like I was escorting a queen as I walked into the venue where the event was happening.

I held Kensy close and made sure she was steady on her heels.

She walked in them without a problem, but I still did it.

I never understood how women could balance on those things.

Sure, they were sexy as fuck, but I was glad I was a man.

Kensy had what she referred to as a light smoky eye going on. It made her light gray eyes stand out. Her cheeks had barely a hint of color, and then her lips were coated in a shiny red that made me think of a candied apple you’d see at the fair. It was perfect with her dress.

To show off the necklace and earrings fully, she’d done some complicated twist thing to her hair, which made her appear more regal and bared her neck and ears.

Her toenails and fingernails matched her dress, the way her lips did.

I hadn’t seen when they got nail polish, but they’d spent time this morning painting each other’s nails as they whispered and laughed.

Her dress conformed to her killer body, and the slit up the side, with the heels, made her legs look impossibly long.

Kensy’s skin glowed. I asked her what gave it that sheen, and she informed me it was body oil.

I inhaled a light scent that I loved. I’d have to get the name of it to ensure she never runs out.

Her small gold clutch purse completed her look.

Keeley was dressed very much the same, but instead of red nails, she had purple to match her dress, and her lips were a color that changed based on the lighting, taking on a deep purple cast. Her eyes were made up similarly, but with hints of purple in the eye makeup, which helped her darker gray eyes stand out.

Keeley’s hair was up too, but in a slightly different style.

No one could deny that the sisters were almost identical in many ways and were indeed very beautiful and desirable women.

If Wynne saw them, I couldn’t see how he’d be able to resist speaking to them.

Not only had we admired them and exclaimed over how gorgeous they looked, but Justin and Heath did the same.

Of course, Heath threatened to steal them right out from under Beau and my noses.

The ladies laughed as we issued our threats of what we’d do if he tried.

The two guys stayed in the house when the limo driver arrived to pick us up.

As soon as we were en route, they’d head out to get themselves set to be our overwatch in case anything unusual happened outside the event or if we needed to be extracted.

We had arrived and were standing in line, waiting to show our invitations. A large influx arrived at the same time. Kensy leaned close to me. I bowed my head to hear her better.

“I forgot to tell you that you look incredibly handsome tonight. I want you to stick close, or you’ll be the one stolen.

And tell your bosses that I’m not giving the dress or shoes back.

If they want them, they’ll have to find my hiding place for them.

I’ve never felt this amazing and desirable dressed up before. ”

“Hummingbird, words defy how ravishing you are tonight, but you’re beautiful without any of this. And I can promise, they won’t take the heels or the dress back. If they wanted reimbursement, I’d pay for it, but they won’t.”

Beau was softly chatting with Keeley ahead of us. Moments later, we were able to step forward and present our invitations.

“Gentlemen, ladies, please enjoy your evening, and thank you for supporting the charity. Make sure to check out the items up for auction. They are incredible. You’ll be at table three.

You can ask an attendant to show you where that is.

Your names are at your place setting,” the woman who was checking invitations against their list said.

No one was sneaking in here. Opposite her was an older gentleman doing the same thing she was for a group next to us.

I wondered if they were a couple. Entering the room behind them, we found ourselves in what I referred to as a gallery.

On the opposite side from us, I saw more open doors, and people were moving in or out of them.

That had to be the ballroom where we’d have dinner, listen to the speeches, and dance later.

In the gallery, lavishly decorated tables were set up, with attendants standing behind them.

As we wandered, not wanting to sit all night, we discovered that the tables contained the various prizes they had up for auction.

You would make your bids on small cards and then drop them into an enclosed container at each table.

We had fun discussing what we thought each item would top out at.

We chatted with others who came to stand at the tables when we were there.

It was easy and fun to navigate around the long, rectangular room.

As we did, we continued to scan our environment casually.

We pretended to be searching for friends.

Unfortunately, we didn’t see Wynne. And we’d studied his photo enough to recognize him when we saw him.

Later, an announcement was made for those having dinner to please proceed to their tables.

Dinner would be served in fifteen minutes.

We headed to the doors into the inner ballroom.

At the door, additional attendants directed us to our tables.

Table three was positioned at the front of the room, facing the long, raised dais where two long tables were arranged.

I took it to be for guest speakers and top donors, which meant Wynne should be there.

If he were, all he had to do was look out, and he’d see Kensy and Keeley.

I pulled out Kensy’s chair and kept a comforting hand on her back as she elegantly sank onto it.

As soon as she was seated, I took mine. Beau was doing the same with Keeley.

She was seated on the other side of Kensy.

This would allow Beau and me to box them in, so to speak.

As other people joined us, we smiled, introduced ourselves, and engaged in light chit-chat that allowed us to get to know each other on a superficial level, discussing where we were from and that kind of thing.

If Wynne wanted to check into us to see if we posed a risk, he’d find that we had ideal backstories. To keep things simple for the women, we retained our first names and only had fake surnames. We were Benedict Montgomery, Beau Pierce, Kensington, and Keeley Morgan.

Without being obvious, I kept watching for Joshua Wynne to enter.

I was about to give up and assume it was a bust and he wasn’t attending after all.

It was one minute before the dinner was to be served.

I let out a relieved sigh when I noted Wynne slipping inconspicuously into his chair on the dais.

He was there alone, and his smile reminded me of a shark.

Kensy casually leaned over and whispered something that almost made me laugh aloud. “Look out, piranha alert. Watch those teeth.”

She was smirking at me. I cut off my laugh, but I lightly nipped her upper ear, then blew into it. She shivered. “Behave, or I’ll have to spank you,” I warned her.

“Oh, please, do,” she lightly moaned back.

“I swear we can’t take these two out anywhere. You’d think the way they act, they’re the ones getting married,” Beau joked to the people at our table.

This set off a discussion about who was with whom and whether they were married, dating, or something else.

The servers brought the meals directly to our seats, as we had provided our selection choices in advance.

We then steered the conversation to those who had attended this event before, and if anyone knew the people on the dais.

One older couple claimed they’d been doing it since the beginning, and they happily filled everyone in on everything they knew about the major donors, including who was up there, along with the main sponsor.

The woman in the couple was Margot, and her husband was Francois Virgil.

She gushed about Wynne and how generous he was.

Francois agreed, but he wasn’t quite as taken with Joshua Wynne as his wife was.

I could see how Wynne might charm women, especially if taken only at face value for his looks and money.

It was when you got underneath the veneer that you might be shocked.

I had nothing to confirm he had Aimée Ferrante hidden anywhere, but he gave off this vibe that made my neck hairs rise.

The meal passed pleasantly. The food was actually good.

Sometimes, at these types of things, the food was barely edible, but they’d spent money on the dinner.

And at five thousand dollars a plate, they should’ve.

After most people had finished their dessert, the speeches began before the dancing could start.

There was talk about why they started the auction, which was for a noble cause.

It was intended to provide educational funding for children who would otherwise not have the opportunity to attend college due to their home lives.

A lot of them lived in very low-income neighborhoods or families.

Wynne was eventually asked to say a few words.

When he stood up there, he was collected and gave a practiced smile.

He spoke about the charity and how he loved supporting it, explaining why it resonated with him.

It was a very moving and seemingly sincere speech. My gut told me that he was full of it.