Tristan opened his mouth to protest, but she slammed the door shut and clicked the lock in place, making her intent clear. No men allowed. Not even pleasure slaves.
Julia slipped out of her jeans and T-shirt. Clad only in her mismatched bra and panties—next item of business: lingerie—she stole a moment to study herself in the mirror. A single bulb hung straight above her, its bright rays unforgiving. She turned left, then right, then left again, frowning the entire time. No matter what the angle, the image did not please her. Ugh. When had she put on another ten pounds? And why did she have to like sugar and despise diets?
“Mirror, mirror on the wall,” she muttered, pivoting for a back view. Her frown deepened. For some reason, her butt seemed extra wide today, as if her fat cells had fornicated with Twinkies and spawned a thousand little babies.
Before she worked herself into a good panic about her winter body becoming her hibernating-bear body, she focused on the attributes she maybe kinda sorta admired. Her breasts were nice and far more than a handful. Would Tristan like them?
Ugh. Why did she care?
“Mayhap we should forget the gowns and leave you just as you are. No man could resist you like this.”
Heart slamming in her chest, Julia swallowed a frantic scream. Tristan stood behind the door. And, because of his immense height, he towered over it, giving him a perfect view inside the room. “What are you doing?”
Thankfully, her bra and panties covered the crucial areas. The bra and panties just didn’t cover the embarrassingly…soft areas. Still, that didn’t save her from embarrassment.
Except, when she reached for a dress to use as a shield, she noticed the fire in his eyes as he looked her over. The same fire she’d seen right before he’d kissed her.
Goose bumps broke out over her skin, feminine power going straight to her head. He found her attractive.
I might not ever wear clothes again. His admiration did things to her. Erotic things. Tingles in her naughty bits, flutters in her belly. Her heart thudded against her ribs.
He grinned, reminding Julia of a naughty toddler who’d just found a piece of fuzzy candy under the couch cushion. “I am safeguarding you. What else?”
“Peeping, that’s what.”
“Can I not do both?”
She bit her tongue to stop a snort. “I’m fine. I’ll be fine,” she said, making shooing motions with her hands. “You should go.”
The fire in his gaze blazed all the brighter, as if she’d offered him a scorching invitation and had every intention of seeing it through. “But you do have need of me, little dragon, I can tell,” he said softly. Peering at her puckered nipples, lifting the fabric of her bra, he flicked his tongue over an incisor. “One day soon I will prove it to you.”
Ohhhh. She hadn’t issued an invitation. She’d issued a challenge, and he’d accepted. Why was that so sexy? “Wh-where’s Gary?”
Watching her, he drummed his fingertips atop the door ledge. “Mayhap I should do to you what I did to him.”
A gasp slithered out of her throat. The hard slash of his brows had her picturing severed limbs and blood-soaked wood floors. “You didn’t kill Gary, did you?”
Only silence greeted her, causing her veins to crystallize with ice.
“Tristan, please tell me you didn’t kill him.”
“I won him over,” he said with a slow grin.
Oh. Ohhhh. A cool tide of relief swept through her, only to fade when she recalled the state of her undress, her arousal flaring anew. Once again, she shooed him away. If he stayed, she might do something foolish and make a move on him. “Ladies dressing room. No men allowed. You get it. Goodbye.”
“During your lessons,” he said, staying put, “I am in charge, my word law. Buying new clothes is lesson one. That means right now, you obey me. And I wish to stay.”
Balls! He had her there. She couldn’t break another “parameter.” Being desperate, she had only one option available. Her gaze imploring, she said, “Please, Tristan. I’m begging you. Go find Gary.”
Tristan stiffened, eyed her with a riotous emotion she couldn’t identify; maybe she didn’t want to identify it. She suspected she’d just glimpsed a pain so deep he never should have survived.
“Are you okay?” Concern swamped her as she closed what distance between them. When she stopped, only the width of the door kept their chests from touching. She clasped the warmth of his hand within her own. “What’s wrong? You’re so pale.”
Fury and incredulity etched the lines of his face. “You begged me,” he stated coldly. “You begged me to leave.”
“Of course I did.” What did that have to do with anything? Exasperated, she gave him a stern, no-nonsense glare. “Will you please just go?”
Without another word, he turned and stalked away.
Urgency plagued her as she tried on her clothes and struggled to forget Tristan’s delicious ogling or odd reaction to her pleading.
When she finished, she picked her top ten favorites, then swiped several pairs of slacks from a nearby rack and rushed to pay. Despite Tristan’s hopes to the contrary, “drocs” were sometimes necessary. She sidled up to the register. She was just accepting her change when Tristan approached, Gary close behind him.
She gave the salesman a quick glance—he was still all smiles—then focused her attention on Tristan. “I’d like to hit a few more stores before we head home.” She’d taken the day off, and she was going to get all of her shopping done one way or another.
“Very well.” With deliberate leisure, he rested his hip against the counter and leaned his face toward hers. “But you are not to beg me again. Understand?”
Julia swiped a stray tendril of hair from her eyes. “Why?”
A muscle jumped beneath his eye. “You should not have to beg for anything. Ever. If you do, I’ll spank you.”
Why, why, why did her pulse leap with excitement? “Just try it, tough guy, and you’ll finally
