Page 44 of Fortress of the Heart

“So I am?”

“You’re here, Katiya. Let’s not go over it again,” I say, annoyance in my tone.

“If you need something from downstairs, buzz Maurice and he’ll have it for you.”

“What if I want to bake something?”

I frown.What the fuck?

“You bake?”

“Sometimes.”

I shake my head, trying to get the vision of her in an apron with flour everywhere. I lean against the door jam, unable to step in any closer.

She goes over to the bed and fuck me if she doesn’t sit down and test the bounciness.

I divert my eyes.

“Plush,” she mutters, spreading her hand over the silk Versace duvet cover.

She glances at the walk-in closet full of clothes her size. I had them sent over before our arrival, along with everything a girl of twenty-three could need in the way of cosmetics and makeup, thanks to my second assistant, Georgie. Fuck knows why I bothered, but there’s probably no need to punish the girl further, and who knows, it might make her a little more comfortable for the short time she’ll be here.

“I suppose those are all my size, right?”

I rub my chin, trying not to smile. “Size four?”

“You have done your homework.” Her eyes dance with enjoyment as she wanders over to the dresser.Oh shit.

She opens the top drawer and fishes out some black lace panties…

“And these?” She swings them around on one finger. “Did you pick these out yourself?”

I swallow hard.Fuck.

She smirks, reaches in and pulls out a matching, see-through black lacy bra.

“My second assistant,” I explain. “She obviously has a different idea about what’s considered luxurious yet comfortable.”

Oh yes, even my prisoners have nothing short of extravagant.

She’s got a look in her eye, kind of like a cat right before it gets the cream…She examines the fabric and the label. I already know what it is.

La Perla.

Jesus Christ.

“Exactly my size.” She smirks. “Tell me, Marco, how did you correctly guess my cup size?”

I used to think, eight hours ago when I first met her, that there were no chinks in my armor that would be visible. Except I’ve failed. I’m far from delighted to find out that I have a weakness.

Katiya fucking Petrov.

Who’d have thought her future undergarments would be the final straw that broke me.

“I didn’t.”

She shakes her head. “Come on now, don’t tell me you just happened to guess my correct size,” she teases. “Would you like me to model them for you so that you know your visual skills haven’t failed you in your old age?”

---