Ella stared at the mirror, barely recognizing herself. Her mom had helped her pick out a dress while shopping the other day, insisting Dante would love it, but Ella didn’t know if she had the guts to go down there looking like this.

He’d just gotten back from helping set up the rehearsal dinner venue, and she could hear him laughing downstairs with the other guys.

She fingered the deeply sloping neckline in a silky, loose V that revealed ample cleavage. The dress was tight everywhere else, curving down to hug her waist and ample hips, embellished with little black crystals that sparkled from any angle. The tiny cap sleeves could barely be called that, resting on the edge of her shoulders, revealing most of her décolletage.

Her mother clucked approvingly as she gave Ella a reassuring rub of her shoulders. “You look beautiful. You have such a nice figure. Why don’t you show it off more?”

Because someone told me I was ugly. And when they violated me, I believed it.

She touched her own skin above her collarbone, marveling at how smooth it was. Why did she have to hide all the time? She wasn’t alone facing Cliff anymore. And she knew if she told Dante, he would believe in her.

She was safe. Safe to be beautiful. Safe to not hide.

She was wearing small, crystal-covered black heels, and hoped she wouldn’t trip in them.

Her curls were styled and pulled up in a loose up-do, with several free around her face.

“I know it’s your sister’s rehearsal dinner, but tonight should be fun for you, too,” her mother said, messing with her hair one more time.

Ella nudged her hand away and turned to give her mom a hug. “Thank you. I’m sorry I stayed away.”

“Was there something wrong?”

“No,” Ella said. “I just… It doesn’t matter. From now on, I’m going to come home more.”

Her mother’s face lit up. “I’m so glad. Now let’s go down and show that beautiful man what a gorgeous lady he’s got.”

Ella took a deep breath. “Okay.”

She followed her mom, who was wearing a similar dress in dark blue but with a small beaded jacket over it, to the top of the steps. As she looked down, she saw Dante, wearing a sharp, silvery suit with a light-blue shirt and a gray tie, looking tall and muscular and just unbearably handsome as he looked up at her.

When he gaped, it was the best compliment she’d ever had.

Dante was a lot of things, but caught off guard wasn’t usually one of them.

She laughed to herself, hoping this was just the start of many times she made him look at her like that.

He came to greet her at the bottom of the stairs, taking her hands in his as he looked her up and down. She snorted when he paused extra long on her breasts and cleared her throat until he looked up.

She was going to make a snarky comment when she realized his face was bright red. He put a hand up to his mouth, closed in a fist, and sat there for a moment, as if he were thinking of something to say.

She smoothed the dress nervously. “Do you like it?”

“Like it?” he sputtered. “It’s beautiful. Amazing.” His golden eyes narrowed. “I want to tear it off you right now.”

“All right,” her father boomed. “Whatever you two are talking about over there, I don’t want to hear it.”

She giggled. “I guess we should head out.”

“I guess so,” Dante said, still looking frozen in place.

“All the blood went to your head?” she teased.

“And other places,” he muttered.

She laughed and swatted his arm, but he looked dead serious. She put her arm through his. “Come on. Let’s go dance the night away.”

“I get to dance with you?” he asked, sounding flabbergasted. His suit was silky, and she loved the feel of his broad muscles underneath. She felt so safe with him.

“Of course,” she said. “Unless you want to let someone else do it.”

He let out a sound like the sort of feral growl a tiger might make, and she looked at him in shock. “I’m not letting anyone come near you in that dress. You’re all mine tonight.”

As she felt blood rush into her cheeks, she realized something startling. Some part of her, when he said, “You’re all mine,” was okay if he meant forever.

Oh damn, she was falling hard for this man.

* * *

Dante loved the feel of Ella in his arms. Her scent, some kind of perfume that mingled perfectly with her natural floral, spicy fragrance, was an aphrodisiac.

Her body in that dress was blowing his mind.

When she looked up at him, smile sparkling, eyes glowing, he felt he’d never been happier in this world. In any moment of either of the times he’d lived in.

He wanted to take her home and make love to her right now.

He did another quick scan for Cliff, wanting at all times to see if he was around, but luckily, the other man seemed to have gotten the idea. Either from Dante’s fight with him or from Ella’s family booting him out of the house.

He stayed away from the bridal party and mostly hung out with a group of male friends that Dante suspected might be shifters, too, based on the similar heights and builds between them.

That explained why Cliff had been stronger than he’d expected when they fought.

On the other hand, Dante didn’t know what would happen if he had to fight Cliff in shifter form while he himself wasn’t able to shift.

So right now, all he could do was keep an eye on him.

Which wasn’t easy when all his eyes wanted to do was stare at his mate.

“Last song for me I think,” she said breathlessly. “You okay to do one more?”

“I could do this forever,” he replied, meaning it with all his heart.

A youngish-looking man came up beside them, tapping her on the shoulder, “Can I butt in?”

“I will kill you,” Dante said flatly, and the man’s face paled as he turned and ran.

“He’s joking,” Ella called after him, stifling a laugh.

“I wasn’t,” Dante said. “He put his hand on you. He had no right.”

“And you have the right?” she asked, looking up at him with those sweet eyes that were allowing themselves to be more and more vulnerable.

“Of course I do,” he said. “You’re with me, right?” And as far as he was concerned, that was forever.

She sighed and let him sweep her up in another spin. The dancing they did here was different than his time, but he’d quickly picked it up. It was more like moving while lightly hugging, and he loved it. She took his lead, looking into his eyes with admiration, and he got to admire her beautiful body as they moved around the floor.

When they finished, everyone clapped for the musicians, who started another song.

Ella looked over at the table where her parents were still eating, talking to relatives, and her sister was sitting next to her fiancé.

“Do you want to get out of here?” he asked.

She looked over. “I suppose we should stay a little longer. Just to be polite.”

He didn’t want to, though. He wanted to get her home and put his hands on her. He couldn’t believe he’d even waited this long. He could already imagine peeling that dress off of her, all the things he wanted to do.

All the ways he wanted to win her over, making her fall so hard for him that by the time she found out his secrets, she would be hopelessly won.

So she would never leave.

The thought of her not choosing him struck pure fear into his soul, because now that he’d found her, there was no way he could live without her.

His eyes wandered over to Cliff again. Why did she want him to stay away from Cliff? Was she worried he’d kill the other man or that the other man would kill him? At first, he’d been offended, thinking she’d implied he was weak.

But what if it was the other way and she was worried about him hurting Cliff?

That was a dark thought, and he pushed it away. It was paranoid, and while that was normal for males in love, he wasn’t going to let it affect their time together.

“Are you okay?” she asked. “You’re getting that shady look again.”

He raised an eyebrow. “What?”

“You know, sometimes tonight you’ve just been looking off in the distance and squinting and then scowling really hard. Is something bothering you?”

Oops. “No.”

“Good,” she said. “Let’s go eat some cake.”

“Sounds good,” he said, leading her back to the table, making sure Cliff was nowhere in sight. Mine, his heart said. Mine.

While she ate, he would sit there and think about all the things he would do when they got home together. All the ways to show her exactly how he felt.