More Beautiful

The waiter returned and took our orders. I fumbled with the chopsticks, trying to figure out the best way to use them.

"Have you never before, young lady?" Fu Shao asked with a smirk.

Was he mocking me?

"My parents never want us to use since we're a lady and I wasn't really allowed to go anywhere alone, so never had a chance to use it."

Bitterness rang in my voice.

"You can go anywhere you want now."

"Really? Alone?"

Fu Shao lowered his voice.

"With Xu or me, or Fang when Xu isn't available."

Of course.

"Here, let me show you."

He took his own chopsticks and held them up. I tried to imitate his grip and after a few tries, I managed to move the sticks without dropping them.

When our food arrived, I realized that it was much harder to grab onto something with sticks.

He watched with obvious amusement as I took three tries to bring a piece of tofu to my lips.

"No wonder B clan's girls are so thin if they eat like this all the time."

"You are more beautiful than all of them," he said.

I scanned his face, trying to figure out if he was being truthful, but as usual his face was unreadable. I allowed myself to admire his eyes.

They were unusual with their darker ring around the black. They weren't exactly cold right now, but I remembered them being that way.

He snatched a piece of marinated beef and held it out in front of me. My eyebrows shot up in surprise. He mirrored my expression but his was more challenging.

I leaned forward and closed my lips around the sticks, then pulled back, savoring the taste of the bulgogi beef.

Fu Shao eyes seemed to darken as he watched me.

"Delicious," I said.

He picked up a piece of Tofu next and I took it eagerly. This was better than trying to wrangle the chopsticks into submission.

I was grateful that he showed me this normal side of him. It gave me hope. Maybe that was his intention, but I didn't care.

The relaxation I'd felt during dinner evaporated when we returned to our penthouse and stepped into the bedroom. I went into the bathroom and took my time getting ready before I returned.

Hia eyes took in my long dark satin nightgown. It reached my calves but had a slit that went up to my thighs. It was still much more modest than the horrible thing I'd worn on our wedding night. And yet I was sure there was desire in his eyes.

Once he'd disappeared into the bathroom, I walked toward the window and busied myself watching the nightly skyline.

And I was almost as nervous as last night. I knew I wasn't ready for more than kissing.

So I didn't turn when I heard him come up beside me. His impressive stature was reflected in the windows.

Like yesterday he was only wearing short. I watched him reach out for me, and every muscle in my body tensed.

If he noticed my reaction, he didn't let it show. He trailed a knuckle down the length of my spine, sending a tingling sensation through my body.