“You show me yours, and I’ll show you mine,” he said.
She raised a brow, ready to yell, “Deal!” but he cut her off.
“But as soon as you’re down to your pretty custom lingerie, I’m going to give you the training you asked for.”
That made her frown. She didn’t want to train; she wanted to enjoy him. Wanted to please him.
“At-ah. No pouting. Not on my turf, princess.” He looked her over with raw heat. “Don’t worry, though; some of what I have in mind will wait until tomorrow. For now, we can stay in tonight.”
That made her beam. Last time they’d been together, he’d been on her turf and her time, and now the tables were turned. Tit for tat was proving to be tricky, and the best game she’d ever played. There was a time for control and a time to concede. She’d gotten her way the other night. Now she had to put her fate in Dex’s hands. Like the first night she’d met him.
“You’re the boss,” she said, and judging by the look on his face, that was the best thing she could have said.
“Ah, baby, say it again. Only slower and while you strip.”
She smiled and gave a small shimmy as she let one strap of her dress fall down her shoulder.
“You…Dex,” she exaggerated how she breathed his name, but he was eating it up with a big grin. “Mmm, you’re the boss.”
“Fuck yeah,” he said. She could definitely play this game, and so could he. His attention was wrapped on her. She let the other strap fall and started unzipping the back of the dress.
She felt sexy and flirty all at the same time, because Dex was looking at her like she was both of those things. Carefree and fun. She slowly let the dress come down until it pooled at her feet.
She kept her high heels on as she stepped from the dress and faced Dex in nothing but lace and silk that had taken her three weeks to hand stitch together.
“Sweet Jesus,” Dex said on an exhale, his green eyes raking over her entire body. Pausing at her breasts in the detailed demi cups. Then he trailed that gaze down to her panties. The lace lined her hips perfectly. Wearing these items made her feel powerful, but having Dex look at her in them? Made her feel special.
“Any critique?” she asked, a little nervous.
He shook his head. “Any man that has one word of critique for you is a damn fool. And I’m a lot of things, baby, but a fool isn’t one of them.”
A blush hit her cheeks, and she wanted to walk right over and plant herself against the sweet SAR and not come up for air until she’d fully kissed the breath from him. But she was on his time now. In his wilderness. And she had to play by his rules to survive.
“I have one request,” he said, his eyes meeting her face. “I’d love a full view of your amazing work on your amazing body.”
With a small grin, she slowly turned, displaying her ass and the thong panties and matching bra she was proud of.
She heard him hiss, and she looked over her shoulder. He was staring her up and down, running his big palm over his mouth and shaking his head.
“Something wrong?” she asked.
“Yeah,” he said. “I’m trying to figure out where you came from.”
“New York,” she said honestly.
He adjusted in his seat, and if she wasn’t mistaken, there was a hard rod tenting his jeans. Just looking at her turned him on? That made her feel powerful in a way she’d never experienced.
She slowly turned back around and faced him.
“Well, boss man, now that you have me here, what are you going to do with me?” she asked.
A wicked, sexy gleam hit his eyes. “A hell of a lot more than I was planning on.”
Dex could die now. He had seen the finest thing ever created, and her name was Michelle. He could officially hit the pearly gates a happy man. To hell with that, he wanted to experience the finest thing he’d ever seen until he did die. Because holy hell, the woman was stunning. Long, creamy legs, wild, red hair that was down and loose and so rich that he wanted to run his fingers through it. And that wicked black lace that barely covered her? Perfection.
Yeah, he was lucky. And he’d ride that luck until she discarded him. Because she was incredible. Strong-willed and stubborn and standing before him in nothing but her hard work. That was brave. But what bothered him was what he saw on her face—a little insecurity.
Something he was set to change.
He stood and took one step toward her. “You’re beautiful,” he said, and those pretty blue eyes softened. He reached out and trailed the back of his fingers from her ribs to her hip, watching that milky skin jump with goose bumps beneath his touch. “And your design is incredible. I don’t know what it takes to make these, but that’s what you should be doing.” He traced the lace around her hips. “You have talent.”
The way she looked at him made him feel like a man. As though with one compliment, he’d just changed her whole world. Hell, it wasn’t even a compliment, it was just the truth. She was talented.