Winter’s heart rate kicked up. She had a vision of herself prancing out of the dressing room to model a sexy corset, garter and stockings. His arm was around her waist so that he must have felt her sudden tension. He leaned in close, his lips near her ear. His warm breath tickled her skin as he said quietly, “Your bra and panties are serviceable, but I’d like to see you in something else.”
She had a swift, embarrassing memory of her bra and panties lying so neatly on the chair beside his bed. Winter felt the betraying heat rise in her face. Sometimes she really hated that she had a redhead’s pale skin.
His muscular arm loosened and fell from around her when they came up on a table display of wispy underwear. “Here we go.”
“I don’t think that—”
Michael picked up a white lace thong and dangled the scrap from his index finger. There was a teasing gleam in his eyes when he looked at her. “I prefer that you don’t wear anything when we’re together, but a thong is okay.” He laughed when her cheeks blazed.
A salesgirl approached, and Michael turned away to address her. Winter pulled in a calming breath. She had only a moment to compose herself before the salesgirl took her in hand to help her choose the right sizes in several styles of lingerie that Michael said he wanted for her. The salesgirl made several trips back and forth from the silver-accented dressing rooms for Winter before Michael was satisfied that she had acquired a suitable lingerie wardrobe. She soon had thongs with matching bras, some silky teddies and, at Michael’s specific request, a black garter belt and black thigh-high hosiery.
“Very naughty,” he whispered in her ear, before his teeth nipped at her sensitive lobe.
While the lingerie was rung up, Michael touched her. The seemingly random touches of her lower back, the lingering of his fingers at her nape, teased her and made her heart race. By the time all of her purchases were made, Winter was trembling. She was certain that she knew how he meant for the afternoon to be culminated. She realized that she was not as reluctant for that as she had thought she would be.
Outside the store, Michael guided her to a slatted wooden bench and pulled her down beside him to the seat. He took out his wallet and flipped it open to extract a folded bill. He pressed it into her palm, gently closing her fingers over it. Michael raised her fist to his lips and kissed it, then let her go. There was no discernible expression in his ice-blue eyes. “I’m due at a friend’s barbeque. I’ll see you on Wednesday, Winter.”
He stood up and walked away, disappearing swiftly into the slowly moving crowd. As she gazed after him, her emotions warred and clashed inside her. Her heart still thudded, and her breathing was shallow. She had screwed up her courage, anticipating his suggestion that they return to his house. Instead, he had left her sitting on the bench. Just sitting there. She couldn’t believe it.
Winter became aware that she was still tightly clutching the bill in her hand. Without looking at it, she knew what it was. She put the hundred dollar bill into her purse and then gathered up all of the bags at her feet. She drew in her breath and let it out slowly. Well, that was an experience. Time to go home.
When Cathy got back to her apartment, she took all of the shopping bags into her bedroom and dumped them onto the bed. Opening the closet, she scooted all of her clothing to one side. Then she hung the fern-green jersey on a padded hanger in the empty space. She looked at the gown for a long time, a smile tugging at her lips. It was nice to have a beautiful dress again.
She turned her attention to her other purchases. The stuffed teddy bear she tucked carefully away for one of her visits to see Chloe. Though she saw her daughter every day, sometimes twice, she made it a point to space out presents. It gave both of them something of a boost when she surprised Chloe. The soft wrap, the shoes, and the jewelry that went with the jersey gown she added to the closet, making sure that they were separate from her other possessions. The new lingerie she folded and put away into the dresser drawers that she had emptied for the purpose.
At last satisfied, Cathy left the bedroom. The new clothing, Winter’s clothing, was completely segregated from her own wardrobe. Just like the money deposited into the separate bank account.