For someone who prided herself on staying in control at all times of her life and situation, something had gone radically wrong over the past couple days.
She practiced her deep breathing as the staff swarmed over Tyler, wiping his face and knuckles clean. He seemed totally unperturbed by the fawning attention. The short pause was enough to allow her to realign her thinking, and as the area cleared around them she spoke firmly.
“If you tell me more about the meeting at eight, then you can leave, and Monsieur Stephan here will get me froo-froo’d in no time.”
Instead, the annoying bear lowered himself into one of the luxury leather chairs strategically placed at the side of the room. “I’ll stay. In case you need me for anything.”
He had that air about him, the one of
“You plan to stay while I try on underwear and dresses.”
His eyes snapped with amusement, a sparkle in the depths of the black. “You have a problem with that?”
Yes, but damn if she’d let him take the advantage in this round. Somehow in the past couple of minutes, things had changed. This assignment of hers wasn’t some favour she was doing for him. Or a job that would protect the Takhini pack.
This was a war on a personal level, and Caroline meant to win. Just like she never allowed shifters to know when she was afraid, he couldn’t find out how much having him here freaked her out.
So she did the only thing possible. She lied her ass off.
“No problem. Not for me.”
Then she loosened the robe and let it fall to the floor.
Chapter Nine
It was a good thing he was sitting down or Tyler would have fallen over.
Never in a million years would he have predicted her to be so bold, and yet—perhaps he should have. She’d done nothing but the unexpected since the first moment they’d met.
His bear poked him, eager for a glimpse of something more than her ankles. His gaze had dropped with the robe, so he started at her toes and worked his way up, slowly. Savouring.
She stood like a warrior, not a model, both feet planted firmly. Her strong legs had visible calf and thigh muscles, noted in passing as his gaze landed on the plainest pair of cotton panties ever. Cream coloured, they were thin enough the pale curls over her mound could be seen through the material.
He subtly adjusted position to allow room for his growing erection.
The visual tour increased in pace as his gaze rose past a trim waist he couldn’t wait to wrap his hands around. He barely allowed himself a glance at her chest, because getting lost while staring at her tits might be the equivalent of falling into horizon blindness.
So he ended up at her mouth a lot sooner than he’d expected where her expression could be labeled nothing less than a smirk. Her eyes said it as well. She was laughing at him.
Yeah, he pretty much deserved that. But then again, this was only the beginning of the evening.
“Did you get my list?” he asked Stephan, not looking away from her mocking gaze.
“Of course, sir.”
“Let’s try the blue set first, then, with the full-length gown. That will give you time for adjustments if needed.”
Her mouth tightened slightly as Stephan stepped in front of her and slipped off one bra strap. Then, damn it, there were too many bodies between Tyler and her for more than momentary glimpses. Flashes of naked skin that did more to tantalize than satisfy.
When the proprietor of the shop finally stepped away, Tyler found himself on the edge of his chair, a mere second away from bolting to his feet.
The view was beyond spectacular.
Caroline had been eased into a one-piece outfit with a corset-like top that emphasized the flare of her hips. The cups that held her breasts—he’d never been envious of a piece of fabric before. Only he was, the gentle swells of flesh rising above the shimmering silk moving slowly as she breathed.
Her blonde hair fell around her shoulders like she’d just crawled out of his bed, all soft and warm and satisfied, and damn it—
His bear was really working the imagery.
Tyler cleared his throat. Fought to use his vocal cords. “Lovely.”
It shouldn’t have come out so growly and lust-filled, not if he’d been in control, but that was the issue. He
He moved his gaze to the proprietor, catching his eye before flicking a glance toward the door. This probably wasn’t the first time Stephan had been silently ordered out of his own shop. The owner dipped his chin before gesturing to his assistants.
“We will be back in a moment,” Stephan declared.
Once the room was down to just Caroline and Tyler, the classical music playing in the background was softer than his panting, damn it.
Caroline shifted her stance. When she spoke, her words came out low and lusty, teasing his eardrums like they were erogenous zones. “I take it there’s a reason I need to have a fancy dress?”
He didn’t stop appreciating the view. “Next week Tuesday. There’s an event for the heads of the clans every few evenings beginning tonight, concluding in a formal dance.”
She glanced at the door the shop workers had vanished behind, then stepped off the platform and paced toward him. Slowly. Hips swaying as she moved, breasts wiggling just right, her naked flesh pale peach-coloured in the soft lighting. “So this
She was nearly close enough to touch. “No notes. There’s a secretary who does that. I need you to help me impress those clans who think I’m too impulsive because I’m single.”
Caroline planted her hands on her hips before easing her palms upward. He watched, mesmerized, as she caressed her rib cage, along the sides of her breasts, not stopping until she’d threaded her fingers through her hair.
He was going to die of a lack of oxygen. He seemed to have forgotten how to breathe.
When she pressed her fingers to his chest, he swore his heart stopped as well. Yes, he was going to die here and now, one body system shutting down after the other.
His cock would be the last thing to succumb.
Tyler shoved himself back as she wordlessly demanded until he was fully seated on the couch. Then, hallelujah, she climbed on top, her shins resting on the leather on either side of his legs.
“So, this is a date?” she asked.
Tyler attempted to focus on her face. “What’s that?”
“A date. You asking me to join you for the conclave isn’t a political arrangement, it’s a date.”
He’d swallowed his tongue. A second earlier he’d glanced down far enough to notice the material of her outfit, when she was in that knees-spread-wide position, barely covered her pussy. “Not a date. Political. Necessity.”
The words surprised him as they slipped past his lips.
“Really?”
Caroline eased herself closer. Closer. Until her torso rested right against his.
Their faces were only inches apart, the rest of them touching. The warmth of her sex centered squarely over the erection that bulged the front of his trousers. He was unable to resist sliding his hands onto her hips.
She licked her lips. “Political necessity. Good to know.”
He wasn’t sure what he wanted to touch next. Taste next. Her lips were so close. The scent of her
