The Cursed Pharaoh's Bride

Chapter 26: Wine, Dine, and Romance

Carolina

I adjust the strap to the five inch gold heals Tori let me borrow. I give myself one last glance in the mirror to make sure everything is in place. My large, bouncy curls cascade down my back loosely. My makeup is bold but elegant, particularly around my eyes. My plump lips were painted with dark nude lipstick. Tori really did a good job with my face. I almost can't even recognize myself. I even put in contact lenses.

Tori also let me borrow a dark blue cocktail dress she had that she said fit "a little loose on her". Well, it fits pretty snug on me. It hugs me borderline scandalously around each and every curve. It was an elegant long sleeve dress that came down to my ankles with a deep slit cut at the leg and an open back. A part of me is afraid Elijah is going to make me change. He's such a jealous caveman. Though, lately, I can tell he's been trying to not be so...macho. He's said he's been around powerful women but he also says the modern day has made it so widespread, he still has trouble processing it. I'm just glad he's taking to the concept of boundaries.

I take a deep breath before grabbing my matching gold clutch and walking into the living room. When Tori looks up to see me, she starts squealing like a school girl.

"You look gorgeousssss," she sings. "Where are you guys going for your date?"

"First off, it's not a date," I reply. "Second, he's taking me to some fancy restaurant, which he's done before."

Tori rolls her eyes at me. "Clearly this is different," she urges. "If it wasn't, why would you go through all the trouble of dressing up?"

I can feel my face heat up at the thought of how I got into this situation. "Well," I say hesitantly, "Elijah and I have been meeting up for lunch and whenever he picks a place to eat, it's always fancy. Yesterday he wanted to go to this upscale restaurant but I told him I didn't want to keep showing up to these places underdressed. So, he let me pick where we got to eat yesterday on the grounds that he got to take me to the restaurant he wanted tonight for dinner. That way he could give me enough time to dress appropriately..."

Tori gives me a pointed look. "So the man basically asked you to dinner. Like a date. He tricked you into a date," she states matter-of-factly.

"For the last time, it's not a date. We've been doing this for the past two weeks. We're just two friends trying out a nice fancy restaurant," I explain.

"Yeah, you're two friends with unbelievable sexual tension trying out a fancy restaurant," Tori snorts.

"Tori!" I whine. I stop when I hear a knock on our door.

Tori jumps up from the couch she was lying in. "I've got it," she exclaims. Before I can stop her, she opens the door to reveal Elijah.

He's in a crisp, white dress shirt, a form fitting dark grey vest with matching dark grey dress pants, his blazer in his arm. Despite being very formal, he manages to make the look a bit more relaxed by omitting a tie and leaving the first few buttons of his shirt unbuttoned, giving us full view of his delicious collar bone. He has his raven locks brushed to the side. I notice in his hand he has a large bouquet of white lilies, my favorite.

"Hello, Tori," he nods to her politely. His eyes then travel into the apartment, landing on me. His icy blue eyes start at my feet, slowly raking up my body until they settle on my eyes. A shiver runs down my spine at the feeling of lust and hunger that radiates from his intense look. "Carolina," he says darkly. My body warms up at his tone.

I shakily walk towards him, afraid I'm going to fall over. "Elijah," I respond breathlessly. The edges of his full lips curve upwards into a small smile. Though, the darkened look in his icy blue eyes don't seem to go away.