Page 110

Riley finished getting ready and pulled out a pair of black rhinestone studded earrings, passing them to Blaire. “Put these on.”

Blaire put them in her ears, surprised her holes hadn’t closed. Caleb made her take her earrings out six months ago and stop wearing them because they were too flashy, saying that’s why one guy asked for her number at the diner. It was stupid; he was just looking for an excuse to control her. She’d had pierced ears since she was a child. But she stopped wearing earrings rather than battle for something that small.

Blaire couldn’t believe what she had tolerated. Working with Professor Sinclair had made her see how much she had fallen into compliance with Caleb’s demands even before the threats on her life. Her efforts were intended to bring back the good stepbrother she once knew and cared for—still seeking approval. She had rationalized his behavior would change if she gave in. These were all trauma responses to abuse; the professor told her. She wasn’t magically healed, but she wasn’t wearing blinders anymore. She worked on healing one step at a time. Allowing herself moments like this—where she did things she would have been forbidden to do before—gave her power back.

Once Blaire finished, Riley opened her closet door. “Come check it out.”

With a sigh of resignation, Blaire crossed to the full-length mirror, trying not to trip on the new area rug with the heels she wore. As she took in her reflection, she gasped. She didn’t know what to say. She still looked like herself but amplified. The torture of allowing Mera and Riley to pull the lacing tight shaped her torso nicely, and her judgment about the bust had been wrong; she nearly spilled out of it.

“You look like sex in heels.” Riley grinned like she’d been given a thousand birthday gifts all at once. “Lukas is going to lose his mind.”

Mera crossed her arms, shaking her head. “Hasn’t he been doing enough of that lately?”

“Well, at least this time it’ll be for good reasons,” Riley said with a laugh.

Blaire fidgeted and tugged on the bust of the corset to try to pull it up higher; the tops of her breasts were very much on display.

Riley looked at her and giggled. “Yeah, not happening. We’ve locked that corset down tight.”

Looking down at her phone, Mera said, “Kai says they’re waiting in the courtyard now, so we need to go.”

Riley grabbed her cropped leather jacket and bag off Blaire’s bed as they headed for the door to meet up with the guys.

It was surprisingly easy to walk in the heels Riley brought her. Blaire hadn’t worn heels since her high school graduation, but these block-style heels provided better balance.

Mera exited the dorm building first, followed by Riley as she swished her black skirt with a hot pink tutu beneath it back and forth. She reminded Blaire of a child sometimes, but it wasn’t a bad thing. Blaire stepped out into the courtyard behind them and glanced toward the trio of young men waiting. Lukas wore his signature tight black jeans with a couple of chains hanging at his hip and what looked like a black Henley beneath his leather jacket.

“Well, at least someone was allowed to dress in their usual clothes,” Blaire muttered.

Riley shrugged. “Yeah, but his natural look works for the club.”

“I thought there was, like, a gothic dress code or something. He’s definitely not gothic. Nor Aiden, for that matter; he’s wearing a pair of black jeans and a black t-shirt. That’s definitely not dressing up. The way you were acting…”

“Well, not exactly, but he looks like a badass, so he fits,” Riley said, as if that was the most obvious conclusion. “Aiden does what he wants. That’s as gothic as it gets for him.”

Mera laughed. “Well, Kai obviously looks the part, and even Seth looks nice with the black slacks and black button-down.”

Riley fidgeted with the safety pins clipped on her shirt, not responding.

As they approached the guys, Blaire heard Kai say, “The gothic look suits her.” Suits who? She was the only one who had never dressed like this before. She straightened her spine self-consciously, and now Lukas looked at her strangely. Did she mess up wearing this?

She swallowed hard as Lukas raked his eyes up her legs and over the dress. His gaze lingered at the way too exposed bustline before moving to her neck and then stopping on her face. Her eyes widened at the intense flash of hunger lingering there. She allowed the quick flash of a smile; maybe she didn’t look completely awful.

“She looks hot, right?” Riley said proudly, as if she did all the work.

Aiden rubbed the back of his neck and Seth rolled his eyes at her.

Lukas cleared his throat as Blaire closed her eyes, her cheeks and neck flaring with heat. He growled low in his throat. Her eyes flew open to see his gaze focused on her neck, his eyes glowing subtly around the edges of his iris. He ran his tongue over his lower lip. She shivered, biting down on her shiny bottom lip as she watched him. The air between them crackled, and she overheated in the cool spring air.

Aiden nudged Lukas forward and he stumbled toward Blaire.

Lukas cleared his throat. “Y-yeah, yeah, she looks great.”

“And I’m sure that’s the PG version of what’s going on in his head,” Aiden said with a smirk.

Seth laughed, then looked at Riley and fell silent. She looked at him and then away just as quickly.

Blaire looked down and fidgeted with the hem of her dress before Riley perked back up.