“Because I can be in and out of there with clothes in a couple of hours.”
“But they won’t fit properly,” Max said.
“So? I need them today.”
“We could ask the hotel to send someone over for alterations. But the fabric is cheap.”
“I’m fine with it. Really. I’m appreciative as heck. You don’t have to do this.”
“I told you I’d take care of you. Now, no more quibbling. We’ll go to those shops to find a few things for the time being, but we’ll have proper fittings, too.”
“I don’t know what to say,” she said.
Maxence smiled and leaned across the table. He’d been holding back ever since he’d met her, but he wanted more from her now.
He looked directly into her eyes and smiled. He drew one finger under her jaw, lifting her chin as if he was going to reach across the table and kiss her. “Say yes.”
She was watching him like she was fascinated. “Yes.”
He blinked sleepily and felt his heart expand. “Say yes, Sir.”
“Yes.” She watched him like a mouse stares at a snake. “Sir.”
“That’s better,” Max said, settling back.
“Who are you?” she asked him. Her voice was still breathless.
“My name is Augustine,” Maxence said, smiling at her and relishing the moment. “With you, I’m just Augustine, your friend. Your benefactor, if you will. But I like it when you call me Sir.”
“All right,” Dree said. “Sir.”
“Excellent. I think we’re going to have a lovely few days together, pet.”
After lunch, Maxence took Dree shopping for a few hours, first to theprêt-à-portershops where she kept asking him if it was okay if she got something until he lowered his voice and told her to stop asking. He did enjoy that she showed him the clothes she wanted him to buy, modeling fuzzy sweaters that clung to her hourglass figure while he reclined in a chair and watched, whetting his appetite. He wished it were summer so she could wear sundresses with swishy skirts that would allow him glimpses of her thighs at opportune moments.
He received more texts from family and friends at home while they were shopping.
Uncle Jules is going to try to steal the council from Pierre. You should come. Pierre needs you, or we need you to save us from both of them.
You shouldn’t have left. Things are getting tense. This isn’t going to end well.
Jules said someone threatened him, suggested it was Pierre. I don’t know WTF is going on with those two. They’re both planning to fight for it.
These things were no longer Max’s problem, and he had made it clear to all of them that he was out. This constant haranguing had to stop.
After buying casual clothes at the shops, Maxence took Dree to the designers that were more his taste. The hotel concierge had indeed been able to arrange showings and fittings on short notice.
At the Alexander McQueen boutique, he’d dressed her like a voluptuous little doll. First, he selected a gray and black silk dress that the brand called a “dancing dress” for its fluttering hemline that bore a visual reference to Parisian can-can dancers, and then he chose a black and scarlet sheath that hugged and tugged her curves in all the ways his hands hungered to.
When they emerged from the designer’s shop with a promise that the two dresses would be delivered to the hotel within hours, Dree was nearly hyperventilating.“Those prices are obscene.”
He laughed. “The gray dress isn’t even couture.” The black and red one was.
She said, “I don’t know where I would even wear those!”
“Tomorrow, we’ll attend a ballet at thePalais Garnier,thus crossing two items off your napkin. That’s the gray dress. Wednesday, we’ll attend a charity ball I’ve been invited to. That’s the gown.”
“Wow! Are you sure? I thought you were just going to lock me in a room and screw me six ways to Sunday.”
