Then, there was the Lucy I saw underground at Desire. You couldn’t fake the perfect submission she exhibited down there. Maybe I was just as wrong about her as she had been about me all these years. We saw what we wanted to see instead of what was actually there.
The bourbon warmed me from the inside out. I grew confident that after a good night’s rest, I could try to start fresh with Lucy in the morning. She might not be ready to pivot on a dime when it came to our relationship, but we had all the time in the world. Eventually, I’d make her see that I was ready to turn over a new leaf.
Bidding Liam goodnight, I walked back to our apartment. Locking the door behind me upon entry, I trudged up the stairs, my body feeling weighed down after the two glasses of liquor. Reaching the top, a sliver of light fell across the hallway, and I noticed the door to Lucy’s home workspace cracked open.
Sighing, I knew the endless engagement press was stealing precious time away from her design work. Deciding in a split second that I didn’t need to wait until morning to show her I supported her, I padded silently to the door, pushing it open slowly, not wanting to startle her.
Expecting to find her in the midst of one of the many tasks I’d watched in the creative process during our time in her Milan studio, I stopped dead when I saw what she was working on.
Gone were the mannequins donning bridal attire, and in their place were new ones, dressed in various types of lingerie. Lucy knelt before one with her back to me, dressed only in another silk shorts set—the kind featured in every adolescent boy’s fantasy of pillow fights—making minor adjustments. There hadn’t been a single hint in Milan that intimate apparel was apart of the Lucy Remington brand, so I was caught completely off guard.
Then, the irony hit me that she was designing lingerie when I told her to destroy all her panties. In my loosened state, I couldn’t stop the chuckle slipping past my lips at the thought.
Lucy’s gasp reached my ears—a clear sign that my presence had been discovered—and I watched her black hair whip around, nearly smacking her in the face as she turned to face me. Those blue eyes were bigger than I’d ever seen as she stared at me with a mix of fear and anger.
What was she scared of?
I almost couldn’t breathe past the thought of her being frightened of me. That was the last thing I’d ever want.
The silence stretched on for what seemed like hours, and when it became evident Lucy wouldn’t be the first to speak, I took the lead. She might not realize it, but there were subtle hints of her submission even in this moment, and I intended to use that to my advantage.
Commanding, I asked, “What’s going on here?” Lucy’s eyes darted around the room, and I knew, right then and there, she was trying to think up a lie, so I added firmly, “I want the truth.”
Dropping her eyes, her voice was barely above a whisper. “Working.”
“These are your designs?” I gestured to the five mannequins scantily clad around the room.
Biting her lip, she nodded, saying nothing more. Venturing further into the space, I walked from mannequin to mannequin, surveying her work. Each piece was beautifully made and designed. I would expect nothing less from Lucy at this point.
Color rushed to her cheeks, but her eyes stayed fixed on the floor as she fidgeted with her hands. “Yes.”
Maybe it was the liquor heating my blood and making me bold, or perhaps my secret carnal knowledge of the womanbefore me, but I couldn’t stop myself from tilting her chin up with my fingers.
“Beautiful,” I declared.
One single word, but it held so much meaning at this moment.
Thinking my declaration was aimed at her designs, not realizing I meant it for her, she whispered in explanation, “No one knows.”
It was borderline terrifying how well this woman I was set to marry kept secrets. Lucy was leading a double life in multiple arenas. What else didn’t I know about her?
Daring to push my luck, my thumb moved from her chin to tug at the plush lower lip she held between her teeth, pulling it free. “Naughty, naughty girl.”
The reaction to those words was a shiver so visible that I had to hold back a groan from the memory of the last time I had my hands on her. Playing with fire, I lowered my hands to her hips and gently turned her body to face the scantily clad mannequins, standing behind her. Pulling her long black hair over one shoulder, I exposed the column of her neck before placing my mouth next to her ear, whispering, “You are so talented.”
With that simple praise, I felt the tension leave her body. I began moving my thumbs where they still rested on her hips, drawing light circles over the silk of her shorts, further propelled in my actions by how her breathing changed, now coming in short staccato bursts.
Boldly, I tugged her earlobe between my teeth, and the resulting gasp was music to my ears. Releasing my new chew toy, I decided to paint her a little picture, the words rolling off my tongue as thick as honey a breath away from her ear. “I can picture you in the black teddy, the lace caressing your soft alabaster skin. The deep V-neck accenting your perky little breasts as they heave, ready and waiting for my attention.” I allowed myself to groan at the mental image I created. “Hmm.I can see you shifting your thighs, using the friction of the thin scrap of lace between them to ease the ache—an ache you know only I can ease. Can you picture it, baby?”
Lucy’s head dropped against my chest, and she moaned out, “Yes.”
Damn, I was rock-hard, and primal instinct had me pulling her hips back so she could feel how badly I wanted her. That’s when I knew Lucy was fully in a trance from my words because she engaged in our little dance, grinding her ass against my erection.
I decided to continue. “As stunning as you look draped in black lace, I wouldn’t be able to take another second of it concealing your perfect body from my gaze. Slowly—fuck, it would besoslowly—I’d unwrap your body like it was a gift on Christmas morning. A gift for my eyes only.” A shuddered breath worked its way up her chest as I placed a feather-light kiss to the side of her exposed neck. “Once fully revealed, I would take my time, worshiping each incredible inch until you were writhing beneath me, desperately begging me to put you out of your misery.”
“Please,” Lucy whispered.
“Not so fast, sweetheart,” I chided softly. “You’d be begging for my cock to fill you, stretch you, and take you to the stars as you know only I can, but first, I would need to slake my thirst between your creamy white thighs. God, you taste fucking incredible, just the perfect hint of sweetness. I could live there, feasting on your pussy for the rest of my life.”
