“Perhaps you need another?” he offers. “I’m more than happy to…” He trails off, his pointed ears seeming to twitch as he slowly looks at the bathroom door. “We have visitors.”
My brow furrows. “Visitors?”
He nods, not looking pleased. “Come.” He grabs a towel and pulls me into the walk-in closet off the bathroom.
Goose bumps pebble all over my sensitive skin as he dries me with the soft cotton, his movements gentle yet thorough.
When he selects a dark red dress for me to wear, I stare at it. “Who does this belong to?”
“You.” He starts assembling a suit—which has a similar shirt to match the gown.
“But the Strigoi didn’t know my size or anything about me until last week.”
“Not true,” he murmurs. “They knew a great deal about you. But the clothes arrived yesterday. I put them away while you slept.”
I blink at him, then scan over the long row of items taking up an entire wall. “All of these came in yesterday?”
“Yes.” He glances at me. “What troubles you, pet?”
“I… I just assumed…” I trail off, studying him and then the items again. As well as a dresser in the middle.
Without asking, I go and open a drawer to find lingerie tucked inside.
Lingerie that reminds me of my time in Negru Castle.
It’s the same French brand.
“Are these from my old room?” I ask him.
“Yes. You never had a chance to wear them, so I brought them here.”
“And they weren’t from an old mistress,” I say, more to myself than to him. Because I know he never really had one of those.
However, he responds with, “I bought them for your visit, as I fully expected to make you walk around in my castle in nothing but gowns or silky panties. But my plans were derailed. So we’ll just… make it a rule for here instead.”
“A rule?” I echo, facing him again, my eyebrow rising. “What kind ofrule?”
“One where you are required to only wear items from that dresser when in our rooms. Or you can choose to be naked.” He smiles then as he adds, “You do like choices, right?”
“A somewhat joke from the usually serious Strigoi King?” I say, feigning shock. “Are you feeling all right?” I take a step forward and try to touch his forehead, but he grabs my wrist before I can complete the action and tugs me into a kiss.
Warmth reignites in my lower belly, my body instantly on fire for him as he parts my lips to dominate me with his tongue. But just as quickly as it began, it stops, his hand in my hair yanking me back to stare up at him. “I’m only this way with you,” he tells me. “Remember that. It’s going to be important soon.”
I arch a brow. “You’re telling me I’m the only one you can be funny around?”
“You’re the only one who will ever see me smile,” he corrects me, his teeth nipping my lower lip. “Now get dressed, mate. I want to see that red gown on you so I can fantasize about removing it later.”
“Seems like a waste,” I say as he releases me. “Just keep me naked.”
“If Marius wasn’t waiting in my sitting room, I would consider that.” His eyes roam over my breasts before returning to my face. “Stop stalling and put on the dress.”
“I’m not stalling, just talking.” I proceed to prove my point by donning the red silk fabric. It looks a bit formal with my wet hair, but I don’t really care. “Happy?” I ask after he turns to face me in his perfectly pressed suit.
“Am I happy that you chose not to wear anything underneath that sexy dress?” he returns. “Yes and no.”
I huff a laugh. “I seem to recall you being quite upset with me during our first dinner together—for wearing underwear.”
“I wasdisappointed, notupset. And that was only because I wanted you to wear the lingerie I’d purchased for you.” He cants his head. “I spent a great deal of time researching items specifically with you in mind. I very much want to see you model them for me.”
