Page 87 of Stalker's Toy

She’s seeing everything I’ve planned, and I love it.

Mia’s there, wearing a skin-tight, pleated black pencil skirt, a black and white striped blouse that flares out at the end of the sleeves, with a corset that has foursilver buckles.

The black pumps she wears have the same buckles as her corset, and I’m already getting hard.

Already.

I love every minute of this.

Every minute.

Every second.

Every.

Last.

Moment.

I can hear the crack when her expression changes.

The old woman’s disbelief is so loud, so violent, it’s almost a physical thing.

And then she covers it, recovers, because that’s what she does.

That’s who she is.

By the time Mia makes it through the door and heads toward me, my mother’s face is a blank slate, cold and ready to be filled with her next biting comment.

She takes in Mia’s skirt, her corset, her boots.

It’s all very calculated, and I don’t just mean Mia’s outfit.

I mean the old woman’s analysis, as if Mia is an opponent, as if there’s some point to losing this battle but winning the war. “Who the hell wears clothes like that?” she says.

I say, “The woman who will bear your grandchildren.”

And then there’s the crack again, the shock and awe and sound of all her assumptions breaking.

This time she doesn’t cover it up, and I know she wants me to see it, wants to let me know exactly what she thinks.

“I’m speechless,” she says. “For once, I am actually speechless.”

I don’t say anything.

Neither does Mia, and my mother thinks this means she has the upper hand.

It doesn’t.

Mia knows more than she should, playing the part as I snake my hand around her waist, holding her firmly to my side.

“But she’s so… so… dark…” She trails off, as if finishing the sentence is more shocking than the thought behind it.

“She’s more capable than anyone you’ve ever met,” I tell her, and she shakes her head, pretending it’s a joke.

“Is that why you’re with her, Henrik? To throw dirt on our name? To make a mockery out of the Lindbergs?” She half cries as she speaks.

It’s all fake. Just like her.

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