Page 19 of My Merciless Don

She looked down at the dress and smiled before widening the gap in the door, reaching for it and sauntering into the room. It was clearly an invitation, but I ignored it. Instead, I leaned against the doorway, one ankle crossed over the other, and folded my arms, a smirk on my face. I thought she might at least use the ensuite bathroom to change, but she simply dropped the sheet covering her body as she reached for her panties.

I gasped, turning away.

“Don't be shy,” she called, “you can look if you want.”

I turned my back on her pointedly.

I heard her clothes rustling as she got dressed, and as much as I tried to turn my back on her, my mind's eye insisted on giving me a play by play of what she was probably doing. Adjusting her panties, so they fit properly on her ass. Reaching for her bra and cradling her breasts in them, so they sat high and firm like a pair of mangoes. Then shimmying into her dress, the red scarlet clinging to her curves. The palms of my hands itched to cup a soft curve, be it breast or hip or ass, and I frantically tried to think of something else so that my pants wouldn’t suddenly be too tight.

“You can turn around now.” She said airily and I hesitated. I didn’t put it past her to trick me into seeing her naked, though why she was so bound and determined to do that I couldn't imagine.

I turned around slowly, raking her frame from shoulder to ankle. I was right about the red silk and how it clung to her hourglass frame. Beginning with the high mandarin collar that emphasized her long elegant neck to the panic button drawing attention to her cleavage. The tight-fitting bodice with its twisting gold embroidery lovingly outlined her feminine curves, leaving nothing to the imagination, culminating in an above the knee hemline which had her shapely legs on display. The Qipao design suited her so well.

She reached for a brush, her eyes on me, and began to brush her long brunette locks so they fell to one side. I watched mesmerized, unable to tear my eyes away. “I need you to help me with my shoes.” She said suddenly startling me.

I looked down at her bare feet and frowned. “Your shoes?”

She pointed at the strappy pair of sandals she'd been wearing when I took her from the hotel, “I can't exactly bend over in this dress.”

My lips twisted in a smirk. “So being naked you don't mind, but bending over is an issue?”

She gave me a look as if I was the dumbest ass on earth. “The dress is too tight for me to bend over.” She said slowly.

I looked her up and down again, and then shrugged. If she said she couldn't bend down, I would have to take her word for it. I stepped into the room and went down on one knee like I was going to propose. “Put your leg on here,” I said patting my knee.

She tried to lift her knee and failed. She had to reach down and pull up her dress lightly before her foot could rise far enough to rest on my knee. Without acknowledging her actions, I grabbed her foot, trying not to notice the soft skin in my hands – clearly she took skin care seriously. The size and shapeliness of her foot was giving me flashbacks to Amy. I didn’t like it one bit.

I slipped on her sandal, twining it up the back and then the front of the foot. The gold of her sandals just happened to match that of her dress, a serendipitous coincidence. Once I had tied one shoe, I grasped her ankle and put her foot back down before picking up the other. She was so close to me that I could feel the heat and smell the musk emanating from her inner thighs. I breathed it in discreetly, feeling intoxicated by the scent of her as I tried to focus on tying her sandals. She didn't say a word to me, but I could hear her breathing. It seemed a bit labored to me, as I brushed my hand against her athletic calves and then ran a finger down to her ankle.

Touching her was addictive, as much as I did not want to enjoy it. Once her shoe was tied, I sat back and looked up at her. “All done.” I said, hoping she wouldn’t think anything of the roughness of my tone.

“Thanks,” she said, her face studiously blank and removed her foot from my knee. I couldn’t help feeling a little disappointed at the loss of contact.

Focus Cassio.

I took a deep breath. There was no time for this nonsense. We had a deal to broker.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

AUDRY

This guy likes me. The way he was caressing my feet as he put on my shoes for me… I've never had such a sensual experience performing a mundane task. By the time he was done, he had me dripping wet, which was not a good condition to be in when going into the lion’s den.

“Follow me,” he said as he strode out of my room as if nothing had happened.

I was still kinda freaked out about the picture of my doppelganger, who also happened to be his fiancée. As an adopted child, it brought up a lot of questions for me; questions I wasn't sure I was ready to explore.

I just needed to get this thing done, get my stepfather's approval, and move on with my life. Things were already more complicated than they needed to be.

I sat in the car, next to Marco, feeling kind of put out by how he was ignoring me. His eyes were glued to his iPad. I knew there were a lot of moving pieces he needed to be aware of, but still…

“Are you ready?” He asked me when the car came to a stop. For the first time he turned and looked at me. I stared back just taking him in. He was a man who favored a black suit with a black shirt - which was kind of passe considering we were in LA.

But I couldn't deny that he looked as good as fuck. He lifted an eyebrow at me. “Cat got your tongue?”

That's when I remembered that he'd asked me a question. “Oh, uh yeah, I'm fine. I'm ready.”

He nodded once. “Good.”

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