Their Wife

Thirty-Eight

I didn't expect much, but I at least expected to see a glimpse of Ezra's face. Maybe even a little concern. But that seemed to be asking too much. Not only did I not catch a brief glimpse of him, I hadn't gotten a glimpse of anyone except Cindy and Nicole who had arrived an hour or two ago.

A sharp knock at the door cut off Cindy,'s overly exaggerated compliments that made my cheeks darken in a blush. The knock made that colour drain My stomach tightened and grew heavy. I knew it would most likely be one of five people, but seeing as I had heard the constant arrival of guests all morning and afternoon so far, I couldn't be too sure. For all I knew, it could have just been a lost, wandering guest on the other side of that door.

It was not a lost, wandering guest.

Without waiting for a response or an invitation, the door swung open on its hinges. It opened to reveal a cold, even faced Zev standing on the other side.

I was taken back for a moment at the sight of him. He wore a sharp, sleek black suit with black leather shoes. His white hair was styled back, revealing the sharp points of his ears that were decorated in fine pieces of metal and jewels. His cool, lavender eyes were narrowed on me. I could almost feel the heat brush over my skin from his charged gaze.

Cindy gasped before dropping into a curtsy. "Lord Zev!" She greeted.

Bursting with excitement, before I could realize it, she grabbed my arm and started pulling me towards him. The girl was nice, but she was charged up like that drumming bunny from the battery commercials.

I had to carefully lift up the tool skirt of the dress to keep from tripping over it as Cindy forced me to match her slightly longer stride. She, on the other hand, seemed to have no problems as she marched me towards Zev. Even with the skirt of my dress eating half of her leg up, she showed no sign that it was a hindrance.

When we reached Zev, she passed me off to him like a father would a bride. I shot Cindy a strange look just as Nicole walked in carrying a pair of mauve heels that went with the tulle dress I wore. It had a dark, dusty rose fabric underneath that peeked out through the thin tulle and lace that was layered on top. The ruby necklace Cassius had given me rest at the hollow of my neck. My hair was pulled up and back, away from my face. The curls strategically fell from the updo that Nicole had given me, framing my face and neck perfectly.

As I looked up at him, Zev gave me a forced smile that didn't reach his eyes while he held out his arm for me to take. "You look lovely, doll."

My hand tensed in the crook of his elbow at the compliment that was equally as forced as his smile. It would have been less insulting if he had outright said he disliked the way I looked. The fact that he lied felt that he pitied me enough to do so. It meant I was pathetic enough.

I returned his strained smile with one of my own. When I turned to Nicole to grab the shoes as she handed them to me, it felt like I had severed two strings keeping the corners of my mouth up when the smile I was giving Zev dropped. I waved off Nicole's attempts at helping me put on the shoes and instead choose to lean against the bed as I buckled the straps in place. It proved more difficult than I thought it would be given that I couldn't bend over properly due to the suffocating corset I wore.

"Thank you, ladies, for taking care of and preparing my wife," he charmingly said to Cindy and Nicole as they stood stationed by the wall, side by side with their hands behind their backs as I put the shoes on. They both flushed at the compliment.

I don't know why, but I didn't like the hint of genuineness that appeared in Zev's eyes as he smiled at the two. I mentally shook my head. Who was I kidding, no one liked to be singled out.

Once I was done, I striated while smoothing out the fabric of my dress down the front. Noticing, Zev walked over to me and held out a hand for mine. I complied without much thought and placed my hand in his ice-cold one.

We said our goodbyes to the two blushing women before making our way out of the room. When we were out of sight I was positive Zev would drop my arm as though it was diseased, but no, he surprised me. Instead of dropping my arm, he tightened his hold and pulled me closer to his body.

I stumbled on a particularly sharp tug, crashing into his body. Instead of shoving me away, he wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled me closer. I felt his hand as it firmly gripped my hip in his hold.

"Be careful," he warned as he steadied me.

My alarms instantly went off as my guard slammed up. This was too different, too considerate than it should have been after how he had left the other day.

A feeling of dread pooled in my gut.

My mouth dried as a foreboding sense of fear started blanketing me. Suddenly, I had an intense need to correct him about the events that took place yesterday. It was like something was telling me I needed to.

"Ze- Lord Zev," I started, choosing to stay safe and address him with his title. "I have to tell you something. Yesterday didn't happen like you think it did," I started explaining as we walked down the empty hallway. I had to just get it all out before the ice in his eyes made my words shrivel up in fear. "I didn't hurt that boy. Lady June did," I explained. "She started hitting him while Lady Rose held me back and acted like I was the one-"

"Shhh," I flinched when he trailed his fingers down my temple before tucking a few loose strands of my hair behind my ear. He had stopped us in the middle of the empty hallway. "You don't need to explain, doll. I understand completely."

My brows furrowed in confusion. He understood?

"Come on, the others are waiting for us," he said as he reached down and held my hand in his, locking our fingers together. He started pulling me down the hallway without looking back at me once.

The unease in my stomach twisted.

I didn't believe him.

Their Wife Book's 1 and 2 are complete and avaliable on Patreon! Their Wife Book 3 is currently being updated on Patreon and Their Thief is available!

https://www.patreon.com/xoDirtyLove