Chapter 40: Corey.

MARIA

The vampire stalked through the door, not even bothering to knock.

He took one look at Maria standing a few feet away from the bed with her hands behind her, struggling to pull up the zipper of the gown, his eyes falling to her thighs where the dress had ridden up to reveal a bare expanse of skin, then he turned away with a dismissive, “Get ready, we’re leaving in five minutes.”

She threw him a glare that he didn’t see because he was already slamming the door shut.

As if she was deliberately delaying on purpose.

The gown that the maid had given to Maria last night turned out to be even shorter than she’d thought it was, but if that was the only problem with the gown, she wouldn’t have been complaining.

Not only did the gown stop at mid-thigh—sure, she wore a lot of gowns that stopped mid-thigh, but then they weren’t flared—it also had a neckline that dipped very low, as low as the tops of her breasts, and to top it all off, the gown was tight. Which made it very hard for her to