Page 32 of Ceremony of Lust
In the elevator, I tell her, “I hope you like the renovations. You didn’t pick out any furniture, so I hope I chose wisely.”
“I’m sure you did fine,” she murmurs.
It’s as though a flip has switched inside her. “Is something wrong?” The elevator comes to a jolting halt, and the doors slide open, revealing the foyer.
“I’m worn out,” she says with a weak smile. “And the night is not quite over.”
“Is that what you’re worried about, Yael? Our wedding night?”
She looks around the foyer until her eyes finally land on me. “You don’t know how confusing tonight was for me, Zev. When we are alone together, you tell me one thing, but then I’m surrounded by everyone else, and they all have their opinions.”
I empty my pockets, depositing their contents into a dish on a wooden console table. “None of their opinions matter, Yael. The only thing you should be concerned with is what you feel.”
She follows me as I walk into the main living space of the penthouse. I turn on the lights, revealing the finished renovations. I picked soft, luxurious furnishings I thought she would like and plush carpets to cover the cold hardwood floors.
“Your home is beautiful,” she breathes out as she walks around the space, still in her wedding dress.
“It’s your home, too,” I tell her, coming up behind her. My hand skims her arm, and I dip my head slightly, running my nose along the ridge of her shoulder. “You’re still wearing your wedding dress. I’ve had fantasies about you in this dress.”
My fingers brush along the long column of buttons on her back. “Do you know what I want to do to you in this dress?”
“If you cut it, I will kill you,” she jokes.
“Oh no, my darling, I wouldn’t dream of cutting it. You’re an absolute vision in this dress. The most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. The most beautiful bride Ripley has ever seen.”
“I doubt that,” she whispers. Her breath hitches slightly as my fingers work the top buttons free.
“If you weren’t, then Anders wouldn’t have cornered you tonight, and he certainly wouldn’t have attacked you.”
My fingers work a few more buttons free, but they aren’t the reason Yael shivers.
“What did he say to you?”
“Nothing of importance.”
“Don’t lie to me.”
“I’m not a liar, Zev. What he said wasn’t important because I don’t know what it means.” My fingers work the last of the buttons free and the dress loosens. Yael holds it up with her hands, but her shoulders are completely exposed. “He said I was ready to run like my mother.”
“Why did he mention your mother?”
She hums. “I don’t know.” She turns and faces me, her eyelashes fluttering as she looks up. “He also said you aren’t a good man.”
“Do you believe him?”
“No, I don’t.”
My hands reach up and loosen the tie around my neck. “And why not?”
“Everyone has their opinions, but the only one that matters is mine.”
“You’re a fast learner. And what is your opinion of Zev the Wolf?”
She drops her hands, and the top of the dress falls away, revealing a perfect pair of creamy white breasts. She makes no move to cover herself.
“I don’t know you well enough to have an opinion.” Her voice is like silk across my skin.
I slip off my suit jacket and place it across the back of a tufted armchair. Then my fingers work the buttons free at the top of my shirt. “You said you were confused, Yael,” I tell her. “Now I’m confused. Do you want me to fuck you tonight or not?”