Page 127 of Ruthless Desires: Vol. One

One of my neighbors texted me to let me know that my mom showed up at my apartment the other day. Thankfully, I wasn’t there—the guys haven’t wanted me to wake up alone from my nightmares, so I’ve been staying with them.

It’s been a hectic couple of days. Elliot concocted a cover story for me, so when I “turned up,” I told the authorities that my kidnapper just let me go, and that I never saw his face. The police chalked it up to my kidnapper grabbing the wrong girl, just like Elliot predicted they would.

Sitting straighter, I say, “What do I need to know?”

There’s more?

“You have the dress, Ol?” Elliot asks.

“Of course I do.”

Elliot stands, offering me his hand and pulling me up. With one hand against my lower back and the other tilting my chin up, he kisses me so softly, so sweetly, that my knees almost go weak. “Go with Oliver. We have something to show you.”

I give him a questioning look, but he ignores it as Oliver shuffles me into the hall. We head upstairs, and once we’re in his bedroom, he disappears into his closet.

“Oliver, what’s going on? What do I need to know?”

“You’ll find out, princess. In the meantime,” he says, stepping out of the closet with a red dress and black heels in his hands, “let’s get you all dolled up.”

I eye the dress. “That looks familiar. You kept looking at it at one of the boutiques we were at this weekend. But you didn’t pick it out.”

“Yeah.” He grins, holding the dress up to my body. “It’s a bit different than the dresses you were going for. But we’ve been planning on taking you to Evolve ever since Sunday night, and it’s perfect for that, so I grabbed it a couple days ago.”

My mouth drops. “Evolve? Like,theEvolve?”

It’s a super exclusive nightclub that I never, ever thought I’d step foot into. And the guys can get in? What the hell?

“Yep. Now get dressed.” He hands me the dress, and then he disappears into his bathroom.

I strip, setting my clothes on top of his dresser. Then I pull on the dress. It’s a blood red satin slip dress, and it hugs my body perfectly. The cowl neck dips down gracefully, and I brush my fingers against my bare collarbones.

When Oliver comes back into the room, his eyes rake over me with so much heat I squirm. He’s put eyeliner on, and I find myself staring at him, because fuck.Fuck,he looks good.

Grabbing my hand, Oliver pulls me into the bathroom. There, he does my hair and makeup, peppering my skin with kisses as he does. By the time he’s done, the only thing I want to do is strip him bare.

“You look stunning, princess.” He turns me around so I can look at myself in the mirror.

He didn’t use a lot of makeup, but he painted my lips the exact same shade as my dress. Paired with the earrings and necklace he put on me, I really do look amazing.

“Do you like it?”

“I do. Thank you, Oliver.”

His fingers run down my sides, sending a shiver of delight through me. Then with one hand on my lower stomach, he presses my back into his front. The other snakes up my body until his thumb brushes over one of my nipples.

I bite the inside of my lip, suppressing another shiver. But then his lips are on my neck, running downward with a feather-light touch, his breath tickling my skin.

Gripping his arms, a small whimper escapes my mouth. Then he chuckles and pulls away. At the loss of him holding me, I stumble into the counter, grabbing it for balance.

“We should meet the others downstairs. They’re probably waiting for us already.”

With a groan that he snickers at, I grab my heels, and then we find Rhett and Elliot in the foyer. When they see us, Elliot’s jaw drops, and Rhett actually freezes.

After a few seconds of stunned silence, Elliot runs a hand over his hair. “Fuck. You two look entirely too good right now.”

I almost suggest we stay in, but Rhett was insistent about me knowing whatever it is I need to know, so I decide against it.

Later. There’ll be time later.