All Over Again (Sequel to Wanted Man)

Chapter Eleven

CHAPTER ELEVEN

McKenna smiled as she stood before the full length mirror. “What do you think?”

Loki came around the corner into her dressing room and stopped in his tracks. “Beautiful.”

“Thank you.” She caught the cool silk skirt between her thumbs and forefingers and did a half-twirl in front of the glass. She’d been looking so forward to wearing her newest dress this evening, and was also very relieved to see that it fit every bit as perfectly as Kirsten and Anya assured her it would.

Sewn of flowing white silk, the gown was Grecian in style, with a high (forgiving) empire waistline and held up by a single shoulder strap of braided gold thread embellished with crystals over her left shoulder. Anya had also taken great pains with her hair that night, twisting McKenna's hair until it was piled high in intricate coils and accented with a gold and crystal-dotted hair wrap threaded all through the style. With it, she wore her favorite diamond and emerald teardrop earrings and the matching diamond and emerald choker Loki had given her the night before their wedding. Since then, he’d insisted on giving her more jewelry than she could ever possibly wear, but those two pieces remained her favorites.

She peered over her shoulder at him and scrunched her nose as she smiled again. “I know. I love this dress. Cordelia did a magnificent job on it.”

“If I could write the beauty of your eyes, and in fresh numbers number all your graces, the age to come would say, ‘This poet lies; such heavenly touches ne’er touched earthly faces.’”

“Shakespeare?”

He nodded, coming up to slip his arms about her waist and rest his hands on her round belly. “And I mean every word of it. I tried to tell you this when you were pregnant with Selig. This—” his hands slid down to cradle her tummy—“only makes you ever more beautiful in my eyes, love. This is the proof that you are mine and before you yell at me about being a caveman, know this, I see you not as a possession, but I still want other men to know you are spoken for.”

“Everyone here knows, Loki,” she said, smiling at him over her shoulder. “But I think, on a basic level, you’re right. I think men are hardwired to want other men to know their territory is marked and what better way to do that marking?”

He kissed the side of her neck. “So I am not a caveman?”

“Oh, no, you are. But you’re my caveman and I’m used to you.”

His laugh came soft on her ear. “And you are never more beautiful than you are like this, love. Think how beautiful you’ll be when you cannot see your feet.”

“Ugh. Don’t remind me.”

“It will be all I can do to keep my hands to myself when that time comes.” He nipped her neck, along the curve of her shoulder.

“Well, keep them to yourself for now. We have to go.” She reached for the gauzy white wrapper draped over her vanity bench and slid it about her shoulders.

He stepped back. “Very well. Am I presentable?”

She gave him a long, slow up and down perusal and pursed her lips. He looked absolutely fantastic in black leather leggings and a black tunic adorned in gold and silver. “I don’t know… something isn’t right.”

“What?” He glanced down, smoothing a hand over his tunic and the other along one thigh. She almost sighed, but managed to keep it to herself as he shook his head. “What’s the matter?”