Seeing Selena, Raymond showed no surprise.

From the staircase, he regarded her with a composed, assessing gaze—his eyes raking over her figure, the striking elegance of her dress, as though appraising an intriguing object from above.

After a deliberate pause, he descended, each step unhurried, his presence magnetizing. When he finally reached her, his lips curved into something that might have passed for a compliment, though the tone betrayed otherwise. "The dress ...