Kill The Innocent

Chapter Fifteen

***

I step into the closet and immediately see the dress Declan was talking about. It's black and falls to the floor. The dress is sparkly and has a slit that goes to what seems about the waist. It's spaghetti strapped and has the slightest of a heart neckline.

It's fucking gorgeous.

I walk up to it and shove the rest of the clothes aside so I can look at it better, but then something shiny catches my eye. A chain hangs on a nail in the wall with a rusted skeleton key on the end.

My brows furrow when I see that and I wonder what exactly that could be the key to. "Hey, Dec?"

When I don't get a response, I step out into the room to see that Declan wasn't in there. Oh well. I'll ask him later.

It had been a few hours since we woke up this morning and took a shower, dinner was at 5, and it was just before 4, I wanted to start getting ready ahead of time so that I could curl my hair and the curls will have time to slightly loosen up.

I pull the dress off the hanger and slip into it, using the mirror to help pull the zipper up in the back, when I turn around, I can't help but feel slightly insecure. The dress clings to my body and seems to show off everything. The slit comes up just before my panties and my entire leg is showing. Not to mention the top of the dress that dips down enough to see my cleavage. I never wear anything like this. It feels foreign on my body and I don't like it.

I also don't want to disappoint Declan by wearing something else. Nor do I have anything else that would fit this formal dinner, since we didn't get to go shopping when we went into town--thanks Nolan--so I have no other choice but to wear this dress.

I walk into the bathroom to curl my hair and I end up getting my mind off the dress for a while, focusing on the curls and other things like how fucked up my life is.

I've never been happier with someone in such a terrible place in my life. It doesn't make sense to me how I could be feeling all these positives and negatives at once. I mean, really. My brother lied to me my entire life and he may or may not be trying to kill me, but I'm over here falling in love.

Love is fucked up.

Love is so fucked up.

When I finished my hair and was almost done with my makeup, Declan walked in. "Valerie?"

"In here," I said, leaning over the counter and getting closer to the mirror to put on my mascara. Declan walks in and stops at the door. When I turn around, my breath seems to hitch in my throat.

He's wearing slacks and a button-up, but most of the top buttons are undone, revealing all his tattoos. His dark hair is combed back, with a few pieces falling in front and he looks fucking hot.

No, fuck the word "hot." Declan looks fucking scalding. 

I feel myself gasp slightly, barely audible to hear. I watch his eyes gaze me up and down and I feel insecure, crossing my arms over my chest.

When I do this, he walks into the bathroom and pulls my arms to my sides. "Lore did a really fucking good job. Remind me to thank her."

"It's pretty, I just...it feels...I don't know. I feel like it just shows off everything." I explain, my eyes finding the ground to hide my embarrassment.

"Valerie," he says, his bent index finger finding my chin and lifting my face to meet his eyes. "You look fucking stunning."

Butterflies erupt in my stomach and only intensify when he kissed me. "As beautiful as you look in this dress, I can't wait to rip it off of you."