Unleashing Sin - A. M. Wilson Page 0,50

before I can.

“We’ll get these too. In case you put on some more weight.”

My brow furrows. “Can’t we just go shopping again?”

“We could,” he replies, tucking the pairs of pants over his arm, and starts walking. “Except if you think I’m spending a second longer in a store than I have to, you better think again.” He raises the arm holding the pants. “Saves me another trip out at least for a coupla months.”

“I mean, eventually, I’d hope, I’ll stop putting on weight. What if they never fit and you’re wasting your money?”

“I’ll donate them,” he mutters, pausing in front of a rack of flowery tops. The shirt is red and black roses, but the ¾ length sleeves are white. Without asking, he grabs a small and adds it to the pile. Seemingly in his own world, he starts weaving through the clothes again. I have to quicken my pace to catch up.

“You’ll … donate?” I don’t know why I’m confused, but I am. The thought of this big, dark, motorcycle-driving beast of a man donating some size 4 women’s pants surprises me. I would have expected him to throw them in the trash.

“Yeah,” he grunts. “Find a good women’s shelter to take them to. We can go through the clothes that don’t fit you like those pants from this morning. Donate those, too.”

I bite my cheek to keep from smiling as we hit the main aisle. “That’s a good idea. I’ll try on the things I have and make a donation pile. Can I, I mean, do you have a shelter in mind? Or can I help you find one?”

He turns abruptly to me, pinning me in place with his stare. “I’d like it very much if you’d help me. We can do it together.” Snagging my hand, he starts leading me down the aisle. “But first, let’s get out of this fuckin’ store. You need anything else?”

“Um …” I blush under the florescent lights. “I could use some panties.”

Alex’s body turns into a brick wall, and I run smack into the back of him.

“You’ve got underwear. I’ve seen them.”

Oh, God. My embarrassment grows. “They’re, um, very…clinical.”

Alex spins slowly until he’s facing me. His gaze rakes my face before he directs it over my head and sighs. I can’t tell if he’s impatient or uncomfortable. Either way, I wish I’d kept my mouth shut. I could have found a way to ask Elias’s mom to get me some nicer panties.

“Look, forget I said anything. I can tell this makes you uncomfortable.”

“You deserve the nicest things. If you want silk, I’ll buy you silk. If you want panties that aren’t sterile cotton, then fuck me, I’m buying you panties.”

Once again, the words out of his mouth surprise me. “Then … I don’t understand why you seem so uncomfortable?”

His jaw clenches, and he drops his gaze to his boots.

A beat of silence passes before I press, “Alex?”

He scans the area, so I do too, but we’re completely alone. The closest person I can see is a clerk at the checkout desk about two hundred feet away.

“Your hand was on my dick earlier, and your tongue was in my mouth.”

The breath I was taking stutters painfully in my throat, making a choking noise. “What?” I gasp as I clutch at my neck.

“What I’m sayin’ is I’m a man who’s going to have a really hard time watching you pick out panties and not picturin’ you in them.”

“Oh,” I squeak.

“Yeah,” he responds, his eyes darkening as he fixates them on my face. His tongue slips out and wets his lower lip. That one slow, intoxicating movement has tingles erupting in my lower belly.

“Well, I’ll just pick some out quickly. You know, to make you less…uncomfortable. You don’t even have to see them.”

“It’s fine, Shelby. Pick out what you need. I’ll just stand a little farther back this time.”

“Okay, Alex.”

He takes my hand again and leads me to the lingerie department. He does as he said and stands a little farther away. I do as I said and pick out a few pairs as quickly as possible. It’s hard when there are so many different types and styles. I grab a couple of each, trying to ignore the nauseated flutter I get when I think about the extra risqué ones, and the times I was forced into them to play the part for the men who paid for me. I don’t grab any of those—I have no use for them, and the mere sight