She slipped back into the room shortly after him. The women moved back to resume caressing him, but she stepped in the way, plucking an empty wine bottle from the table. "Could you grab a new one from the kitchen, thank you very much." She handed it to the tall woman, all sweetness, using her best hostess voice.
The woman frowned warily, but complied. She took the moment to slip beside him, resting a hand on his shoulder. He smiled at her out of the corner of his eye victoriously, bragging, but damn it all if she was going to let him kiss her, run away, and then kiss some other strange woman.
He slid his hand across her back slowly before gripping her roughly and pulling her to him. She slid onto the arm of the chair, balancing her weight against him. Plucking his cup from his hand, she swallowed the end of the glass and turned to the indignant woman beside her, who had come back with the wine. She held the empty cup out to her. "Oh yes, please." The tall woman's eye twitched as she tried desperately to swallow her hatred.
Olaf practically purred. "My Countess."
She took a sip from the glass then handed it back to him. She felt powerful. The fact that she liked that made her uneasy. Her husband has never been happier. He was practically humming with excitement. He kept pulling at her hip, hoping to shift her into his lap. She wouldn't budge though. She needed to win.
He had never been more attracted to a woman in his life. She was everything a man could dream of- and the dress she was wearing didn't help. The skirt was full and spilled out around her, falling over her knees like icing on a cupcake, pinching at the waist, making a sharp angle with her bust. The neckline drew across her collarbones, accentuating the pale glow of her skin. He noted with pride the spot of purple at the base of her neck. Good. Let them all know. He passed the glass back to her.
She pulled at the sweet wine, enjoying the way its taste sat on her tongue and lingered in her throat. Its mulled heat mixed with the fire in her belly. He was her husband sure, but was this what she wanted? Was he what she wanted? Did she even have a choice? She took a larger swallow. She didn't know anymore. When she passed the glass back to him their fingers touched.
They were the picture of marital bliss, a true power couple. She wouldn't look at him, but he had kissed her and planned to do it again as soon as he could. It felt nice to be on the other side of jealousy. He found he didn't mind the wanting gazes as much when she was leaning on his shoulder. His Countess. His. As he took the glass from her, he kissed her hand. She shot him a warning glance to not press his luck. How adorable. He winked at her and she turned away.
His dinner parties, if you could call them that, were always so boring. She had no desire to speak to the guests, and though she would much rather sit in the corner by herself, she had cornered herself into protecting her husband's misery. Great. She watched him drink and felt her stomach tumble again. That was happening more often than she cared to admit. She brushed the hair back from her forehead. She didn't care for him-she couldn't- there was no way. But in a small, simmering, whispering part of her, she wanted him, and she couldn't pretend she hadn't noticed. She grabbed the wine back from his hand.
He was surprised at her quickness. She snatched the cup away from him, swallowing the end of the glass in one gulp. God she was attractive. He shifted his attention away from her back to the table. What were they talking about? He leaned in, trying to pick up the conversation. It was still his duty to be a good host, no matter how beautiful the hostess may be.
She needed to find out- to figure out if it was simple curiosity or genuine desire tugging at her. It wouldn't be easy. She could only trick him into brushing against her so many times before he would notice. Not that any touch of hers ever went unnoticed- he grabbed any chance he had to, well, grab her. She needed him to need her in a calculated way, she needed to find out. She needed a plan.
