“You look perfectly scrumptious. Lee picked it out himself. I was sure he would ask me to do it,” Eve said.
“Do you often pick out lingerie for Lee’s subs?” She couldn’t help it. Eve was intimidating. Gorgeous and graceful, Avery couldn’t help but wonder why Lee wasn’t interested in her.
Eve’s eyes widened briefly. “No. I have never done it because he’s never had a sub.”
“Never? But he talked about how long he’d been in the lifestyle.”
“Oh, he’s been in the lifestyle for years, but he’s never spent more than a night or two with a sub. He’s a bit of a manwhore, if you know what I mean.”
Avery shook her head and looked around, praying he couldn’t hear them. “Don’t call him that. He really doesn’t like to be called that.”
Eve’s face lit up, a bright smile crossing her lips. “I heard you had questioned his profession. Oh, my dear girl, you’re going to be so much fun. I wasn’t talking about him being an actual hustler. I was talking about the fact that he hasn’t settled down. He’s seemed content with one-night stands and hook-ups. I was very happy when he said he was bringing you here. It’s practically bringing you home to meet the family.”
The word “family” sat in her gut like a rock. She still couldn’t get Lydia’s words out of her head. Had she really done the wrong thing? Would she take it back in the hopes of pleasing her in-laws?
“Your Master is on his way,” Eve said, gesturing toward the door across the floor. Paths were laid out in cobblestone, weaving their way around the trees and bushes and patches of flowers that dotted the floor along with large areas dedicated to pleasure and pain.
Avery knew the minute she saw Lee that even if she hadn’t been wearing a too-tight corset, she wouldn’t have been able to breathe. He was gorgeous, six foot three inches of perfectly sculpted male in leather pants and a vest that showed off his chest to perfection. His black hair shone in the moonlight, the crystal of his green eyes making him look like a predator in his natural habitat. He stalked toward her, a panther in a primeval garden.
His eyes caught hers, and she wondered what the hell he saw in her.
“Don’t,” Eve said.
“What?” They were getting closer. Lee seemed to have found a friend, and they were both walking her way. His friend was just a little taller than Lee. Lee was an elegant panther, but the man with him was a gorgeous tank of a guy. What was she doing here? Everyone was beautiful.
Eve forcibly turned her, taking her attention away from the men. “Don’t start in with the insecurities. I’ve been watching you all night, and I can tell what you’re thinking.”
“Well, look at him. Am I wrong to wonder? I don’t belong here.”
“You don’t see yourself the way he sees you. I have very little time to impart something that could make the difference in whether or not this relationship works out so listen up. That man has changed since he met you and for the better. No matter what happens later on, know that. Do not let your insecurities come between you and potential happiness. You make the choice in how you see yourself. You can see your own beauty or you can warp your image until it’s so distorted you’ll never see yourself the same way again. Don’t ask why he’s here. He’s here and he wants you. He can’t fake that.”
He couldn’t, could he? And why would he bother? Still, Avery felt the nasty bite of insecurity as Lee walked up to her. He was so tall and strong. She was short and couldn’t walk for very long without falling on her face.
“Is that the way you greet me?”
Funny how he didn’t yell, but she had no trouble hearing him over the heavy gothic rock. It was like that deep, dark chocolate voice of his had a line to her ears that no amount of noise could overcome.
He held a hand out. She’d noticed that Eve had gracefully fallen to her knees, her head bowed in perfect submission. Avery looked at her, every line of Eve’s body perfect.
She couldn’t even get into position properly without a hand down.
Lee’s hand found her chin, tugging it up and forcing her to look at him. “Don’t compare yourself to her. She’s been doing this for a very long time.”
“I won’t ever be able to move like she does.”
He leaned in, speaking directly in her ear, his voice full of some unnamed emotion. “Perfection on the outside means nothing to me, Avery. We don’t do this like anyone else. This is ours. We’re not going to be like them, do you understand me? We’re just us. This is just you and me, and we do this our way.”
Tears threatened because it was the perfect thing to say. She realized now that he’d been trying to say it all week. He’d talked to her about how he practiced BDSM, but they would find their own way. There was no wrong way or right way. There was only their way.
She put her hand in his and allowed him to act as a balance as her knees found the floor.