She loved pretty clothes; she just didn’t have many. Not because she couldn’t afford them, but because she had no place to wear them. No one she wanted to impress, and impressing herself had always seemed a waste of time, especially when all she did was train to fight. She moved to the rack of clothes. Dresses of every sort hung in a long line. Then jeans and blouses, T-shirts and sporty tops. What wasn’t here probably hadn’t been invented yet or wasn’t worth having. Beneath the clothes were rows upon rows of shoes in protective clear boxes. And they were all her size.
“You’re trying to spoil me,” she murmured, keeping her back to him to hide her reaction to the gift.
“I’m still seducing you.” He kissed her shoulder, a smile curling his lips as he pressed them to her flesh.
“Hmm, so what are you after other than what you’ve had already?” She turned to him, her brow arching as he stared down at her, that sexy little half grin tilting his lips, his gray eyes swirling with whatever emotions he kept within himself.
Didn’t he know he already had all of her?
“You—” He touched her nose with his index finger “—have no clue. Now, see how fast you can make me drool with one of those dresses. I’m betting I can hold out all of ten seconds.”
“Think you can make it ten seconds, do you?” She fingered a bronze “almost there” dress. So soft and buttery she was certain she’d barely feel it against her flesh. It was short, the back low, the straps strappy, the bodice obviously snug, and low as well.
Seth looked at the dress and swallowed tightly. “Five seconds?” he said faintly. Her lips twitched. “I’ll get dressed.”
She pulled the dress from the rack and bent to pick up the strappy high heels that went with it.
“You have matching panties,” he said hoarsely. “They have a bow at the back too.”
He did like those bows.
Dawn gave a low, light laugh, surprised at how lighthearted the sound was. For a moment, a few short moments, she’d forgotten the events of the day before and allowed herself to be free. Just free. As Seth pulled his evening clothes from the closet, Dawn retreated to the bathroom with her clothes. It didn’t take her long to dress. Her hair was to her shoulders now, layered about her head so it lay
naturally and easily around her face. She added a slight curl to the ends, then applied a minimum amount of makeup.
She changed panties. She wore the bronze. The bow at the back was tiny, flirty. If she moved just right, the impression of it would show through the dress.
And the dress was a dream. Light as air, it flowed over her. Snug and flattering, it shimmered over her body to just below her thighs. The strappy sandals added to her height, and as she stared in the full-length mirror, she let a rueful smile tip her lips.
She loved girly clothes. She loved dressing up, but there had been no fun in it with no one to see her efforts but herself. No, that wasn’t true, there had been no fun in it without the chance of seeing Seth. She brushed at the long fringe of hair that fell over her forehead, a narrow ribbon of it brushing past the side of her eyes, then applied a light gloss to her lips before reentering the bedroom. Seth was lacing his dress shoes. He glanced up, then froze. His expression shifted from curious to downright wickedly lustful as his gray eyes darkened.
“You didn’t last five seconds,” she informed him as she posed before him, one hip cocked, propping her hand on it and letting him look his fill.
She felt beautiful when he stared at her like that. She felt awake, aware, and all female.
“God have mercy on mortal men,” he finally breathed out roughly as he came to his feet. His white silk dress shirt emphasized his broad shoulders. The black slacks cinched at his flat abs and made his ass look like a female fantasy come to life.
He breathed out roughly, shook his dark head, then moved to the dresser across the room. When he returned, he was carrying a gold chain, close to half an inch thick and gleaming with a soft sheen.
“Seth, you can’t keep buying me things.” She stared at the chain until he laid it around her neck and attached the clasp.
It lay just at her collarbone, and as she turned to the mirror, she saw how the rich luster picked up the light tan of her skin.
“And these.” The gold hoops were simple in design, but as they came together with the dress, Dawn realized she looked classy. That understated elegance she had always admired in other women was now a part of her.
She touched the chain as his hands settled on her shoulders and his eyes met hers in the mirror. They gleamed with possessiveness, with hunger and something more. Something she could hope was love.
“I want to see you in emeralds.” He bent his head and kissed her shoulder, his fingers playing with the thin strap next to his lips. “Nothing but emeralds. A necklace of them, with a tiny gold bow as a clasp. And dew drops of emeralds falling from your pretty ears.” He nipped her earlobe.
“Yeah, those would go great with my uniform.” She frowned in the mirror. The woman looking back at her was too familiar, somehow, too easy to get used to.
“You don’t have to go back to Sanctuary, Dawn.” His fingers tightened on her shoulders. “You could stay, with me.”
In his concrete jungle. Where cement and iron covered the earth and the smell of the land was obliterated by the smell of toxic fumes, industrial waste and those who would no more know how to survive in the mountains than a babe.
But, as she stared back at him, she realized that unless she could adapt to his world, then she would face her world without him.
“You don’t have to decide right now.” He stepped back, his expression becoming bland, cool. “We can talk about it later.”