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“I know it is going to be uncomfortable, Tessa, but it is only for a bit. You can take it off at the first opportunity.”
He crouched down so she could step into the dress, biting her tongue as he worked the fabric up her legs and over her hips. He gently turned her so her back was facing him, and she eased the bra off, breathing in through her nose and out through her teeth at the movements. When the dress was fully on, the brushing of his fingers along her spine as he zipped the back made the bond purr with pleasure, and she fought against the urge to step back into him, to feel him pressed up against her.
Theon turned her once more so she was facing the mirror that had been hung on the wall. She had to admit the dress was beautiful. If it didn’t feel like she was wearing shards of glass right now, she would say she actually liked it. She met Theon’s gaze in the mirror and found his eyes dark, his pupils dilated as he drank her in. They lingered on the plunging neckline before dropping to her legs. The dress stopped just above her knees, and she felt far too exposed. She had never worn anything like this.
When he finally dragged his eyes back to hers, his voice was thick as he said, “You are stunning, Tessa.” His hands were still on her waist where he’d placed them to turn her, and now they slipped down a few inches to her hips, his thumbs running along the upper swells of her backside. “Simply stunning.”
Her eyes narrowed on his in the mirror. “I look like a gutter rat, Theon,” she replied, noting her limp and messy hair and tired eyes.
“No, beautiful,” he said, shaking his head. “You look like salvation and temptation all rolled into one.”
Tessa felt her cheeks grow hot, and she broke his stare, her eyes dropping to the floor. “Can you get me a brush? Hair tie? Hair pins? Things so I can at least look somewhat presentable for greeting a Lord and Lady?”
Theon nodded, and as she moved to sit in the lone chair, he went to the door and spoke quietly with Luka. When he came back, he crouched before her once more, picking up the flip-flops. “You will have to wear proper footwear when we get there, but you can put these back on for now.”
“At least there are no socks,” she muttered under her breath.
“Is your aversion to socks solely because of how you are feeling right now?” he asked, sliding the other flip-flop on.
“No. I mean, that is the biggest issue right now, yes. But I don’t like socks in general. I don’t like the feeling of them on my feet. It’s just…gross.”
He looked up at her, his hands coming to rest gently on her knees. “Socks are gross?” he asked, amusement in his tone.
“I wear them, obviously, but I take them off as soon as possible. I don’t even really like shoes. I prefer to simply be barefoot.”
“Socks are bad. You get difficult when you are hungry. What else do I need to know?” he asked, reaching up and tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.
She met his gaze at the question, his hand lingering on her cheek. “That I’m not your salvation or your temptation. I’m not your anything.”
His features hardened at her words, and his jaw clenched. “We both know that is not true, Tessa,” he finally said, brushing his thumb along her lower lip. Then he reached for her right hand and brought it to his lips, pressing them to the Mark there. Her breath hitched at the feel of his mouth on her skin. He rubbed his thumb along the Mark, studying it for a moment before he brought his eyes back to hers and said, “You can fight it all you want, but you are going to belong to me. Every piece of you.”
A knock on the door had him rising to unlock it. Luka handed him a small brush and hair pins. She quickly brushed out her hair before twisting it into a quick and simple knot at the nape of her neck. She secured it with a few pins while Theon leaned against the wall with his arms crossed, watching and waiting. When she finished, he gave her to Luka, who had already changed into a black suit like he’d worn at the Selection Ceremony. While Theon was changing, Luka led her to a small bathroom where she quickly brushed her teeth and took care of personal needs.
Theon was emerging from the dressing room in his finery when she came out of the bathroom, and she was ushered back out to the vehicle. He tucked the blanket around her, pulling her into his side to lend her his body heat, and she blew out a breath as the bond urged her to take more. To touch more. To want more.
Tessa knew she should be nervous. Theon and Luka certainly made the Arius Lord sound intimidating enough, and she’d seen Theon’s father at the Selection. She should be feeling all kinds of apprehension and anxiety, but she couldn’t say that she felt much of anything beyond exhaustion at this point. A familiar numbness was settling into her soul despite her best efforts to keep it at bay.
The trek to the Arius House was beautiful. Twilight had set in, the sun low and nearly behind the mountains now. When Luka turned onto a road bordered by trees so thick it was like turning into a tunnel, Theon leaned down and grabbed the pair of black heels she’d worn the night prior. Tessa’s feet hurt just looking at them.
Theon helped her change out of the flip-flops, then brought his hand to her cheek. “Do not speak unless spoken to, Tessa. He will expect you to kneel as is custom for the Fae before the Lords and Ladies, but you do not need to. You are in enough discomfort as it is. Do you understand?”
“I…”
It would be seen as incredibly disrespectful not to kneel when being presented to a ruling Lord.
“Do not fight me or push me away in front of him, and do not ask questions,” he continued.
His features were tense and anxious, his eyes hard and urgent.
“I understand,” she finally replied. He was her Master after all. What had he said? She obeyed him above all others.
“Good girl,” he murmured, leaning forward and pressing a soft kiss to her brow.
Tessa pulled back from him and slid to the opposite door, looking out the window just in time to see Arius House come into view. It was massive. Made completely of grey and black stone, it was towering, even amongst the surrounding mountains. It was at least four stories high, more in some places. The west and east sides had towers reaching higher still. The length of the house itself twisted and turned amongst the mountains, making it impossible to see just how much land it occupied. Stone archways led off to various wings of the house, and she saw numerous staff, some Fae and some mortal, going about their tasks.
“You live in a castle,” Tessa deadpanned, the vehicle coming to a halt in front of steps that led up to the large double entrance doors.
“It is not a castle,” Theon replied.
