Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 78236 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 391(@200wpm)___ 313(@250wpm)___ 261(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78236 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 391(@200wpm)___ 313(@250wpm)___ 261(@300wpm)
“What are the plans?” I ask.
“Well, tonight, we’ll be at my place. But first, I have to take you somewhere.”
“Where?”
“I seem to owe you a lot of red lacey things.”
“Two, to be precise,” I remind him.
“Yes, two.” He nods. And that’s all the answer he gives me. Through the window, I take in the busy New York evening in comfortable silence before we come to a stop.
“Where are we?”
“My building,” he says and offers me his hand.
I take it and follow him out of the car. I spot a familiar face as soon as we walk into the building. Dawson is standing there and offers me a gentlemanly smile. He always seems so polished. Crue keeps his hand on my lower back as he leads me into a bar area. It’s quiet, but I notice a bunch of women in the corner who are wearing robes.
“Red, you requested?” Dawson asks, and I look at him, confused.
“Yes, Dawson, red.”
“Easy.” He nods and moves over to the women in the corner.
“What is Dawson doing here?”
“Dawson owns multiple lingerie chains. He’s flown over part of his new collection in advance or your viewing only,” he says as I turn toward the women.
Then, they all at once drop their robes and walk toward us.
I immediately pin my attention on Crue. “You want this? Women walking around half naked?”
“It’s not them I’m watching.” And he isn’t lying because his eyes have been on me the whole time. I turn back to the women as each of them comes to stand in front of me and gives me a full turn. When I glance at Crue, I see him whispering something to Dawson, who is now behind us. I focus back on the women, and one hands me a glass of champagne. I take it, but I am still confused by what’s happening.
“What am I supposed to do?” I whisper to Crue.
Dawson laughs from behind me.
“Tell me which one you like best,” Crue says.
Looking closer at the outfits, the women display, I say, “The lace with the leather nipple covers.”
“Good. Your woman has expensive taste,” Dawson says.
I twist my head to look at him. The words “Your woman” doesn’t sit right with me. I’m not his woman. I’m a woman he’s fucking. And now buying expensive lingerie for.
“How much?” I ask Dawson.
“The top is three thousand, and the bottom is two. If you want the whole combo with the stockings and garters, you’re looking at just over six grand.”
My mouth hangs open at that total. I have money, don’t get me wrong. I tend to spend my money on work clothes, food, a few pieces of what I would consider nice lingerie, and nothing else. But my prices are in the hundreds.
“We will take one of every outfit. All in red,” Crue says.
“How much is that?” I ask.
“At least fifty thousand,” Dawson replies with a grin.
“Fuck.”
“Yes, I plan to. While you’re wearing them,” Crue says as the women collect their robes and exit the bar. “Thanks, Dawson, you can go now.” He waves Dawson off.
This is… too much.
Crue watches me pace back and forth. “Care for dinner, princess? My apartment is upstairs, and food is waiting for you.”
I spin around to face him. “What are you doing?” I ask.
“Me?” He looks confused. “I’m planning to feed you, then I hope to fuck you later.”
“And that’s all? Because it seems like you have a motive.”
“And what motive would that be?” he questions from where he lounges in the booth.
“You know what I’m talking about.”
“No, I don’t. You’ll have to spell it out for me.” His fingers tap on the table.
“You want me to marry you.”
“I’ve never hid that motive.”
“I will not become another wife. A stay-at-home, do-nothing-but-have-your-babies woman.”
“Who said anything about staying at home?”
“I won’t marry you.”
Lazily, he says, “So you’ve said.
CHAPTER 32
Crue
At the long wooden table that seats twenty, I sit opposite Rya.
“Why so far away, princess? Come sit next to me.” I tap the chair beside me.
She shakes her head with a defiant smile, taking a mouthful of wine. Her hair is pinned up with a loose curl around her face. The low-cut, skin-tight black dress shows off every inch of her devastating body, including her peaked nipples.
“You asked me for dinner in your home and then forced me to dress in this. If you want to appreciate me, you can do it from a distance.”
I smile, taking a swig of my whisky. It doesn’t matter. It won’t be long until I coax her onto my lap. I’ve been hard since the moment she walked into the room.
Two servants stand to the side as the private chef comes out with a plate of steak for me and a lentil specialty for Rya that the chef told her he was excited to make.
“I cannot believe you live here by yourself.” She scoffs like she doesn’t believe what she is seeing while looking up at the chandelier. “The dining room is like an art exhibition in and of itself.”