Muse in Lingerie (Lingerie 1)

“There’s nothing to ask them about. All you’ve heard is a rumor. And most of the time, rumors stay rumors. I wouldn’t involve my father anyway. He left that life behind decades ago. I’m not dragging him back into that. I’m a grown-ass man, and I don’t need my father for anything. He should be coming to me for help—not the other way around.”

“I get what you’re saying,” Carter said calmly. “Just don’t want to underestimate this guy.”

“I’m not afraid of him, and you shouldn’t be either, Carter.”

* * *

When I returned to my bedroom, there was a breakfast tray in the living room. One plate had been devoured, and only a few crumbs remained behind. The coffee had been drunk, and she’d used all the cream in her coffee.

“Where were you?” She stepped out of the bedroom in one of my t-shirts, probably because she didn’t want to put the formal dress back on. And her lingerie didn’t cover anything anyway.

Seeing her in my t-shirt only made her look sexier. I walked to the bedroom, my hands itching to take off the piece of clothing that reached all the way to her knees. I grabbed the material and pulled it over her head, revealing her naked body and her white panties. “Doesn’t matter.”

“You left pretty quickly.”

My arms wrapped around her waist, and I guided her to the bed. “Carter came to see me.”

“Everything alright?”

I backed her up to the bed, the backs of her knees touching the mattress. “Nothing you need to worry about.”

“That’s not a good answer…”

“He said he’s worried about Knuckles. Heard some bad things about him.”

All the color immediately drained from her cheeks. “Does that mean he’s coming after me…?”

The second I saw the fear in her eyes, I wished I hadn’t said anything. “No. And even if he was, you have nothing to worry about.” My hand wrapped around her neck, and I squeezed her until I could feel her pulse beat against me. This woman never had anything to worry about as long as she lived. As long as she was mine, no other man would touch her. I was the only man she would ever have between her legs. She could go wherever she wanted—because she was invincible.

That didn’t allay her fears. “You don’t know him the way I do…”

“And you don’t know me the way my enemies do. You’re safe with me. I promise you.”

Her eyes shifted back and forth as she looked into mine, her breathing still escalated.

My hand cupped her cheek, and I pressed my mouth close to hers, close enough for a kiss. “Muse.”

Her fingers wrapped around my wrist.

“I don’t make a promise I can’t keep. I can’t promise you happiness, but I can promise you that you will always be safe with me. So don’t think about him again. And don’t ever think about him when you’re with me.”

Her fingertips tightened on my wrist, and her eyes became steady. She looked at me with a new ray of hope, like she finally believed the promise I just made to her. She rose on her tiptoes slightly to kiss me.

I should pull away. I should end the kisses now. I only did it to make last night enjoyable for her, but now that fairy tale was over. It was just fucking and coming from now on. But when she kissed me like that, I felt powerless to stop it. I wanted her to keep kissing me, to keep giving me her tongue as she searched for mine.

And I wanted to kiss her back just as much.