Muse in Lingerie (Lingerie 1)

I watched her eat, fascinated by the way her mouth moved. She didn’t smear her bright red lipstick or make a single smacking sound with her mouth. When her mouth was full of my come, she’d had to swallow a few times before she could get it all down. It was impossible for me not to think about that moment whenever I looked at that tiny mouth. “You’re right. It is.”

Utensils tapped against the plate as we ate in mutual silence. I’d never had a woman over here for dinner before. I’d never had a woman over here at all, actually. When I picked up women on the town, I always used my place in Milan. Out here in the countryside, it was my time to be alone. But I didn’t want to keep Muse in the city, not when there was nothing for her to do. She would just stare out the window like a lonely cat. Here, she had the entire world at her feet.

Her pretty voice broke the silence. “How was work?”

I spent most of my day crunching numbers and going over the schedule for the next few months. The most daunting task was finding a replacement for my most famous model. I hadn’t even begun to deal with that nightmare. “That line of lingerie I debuted is selling all over the world. We didn’t meet the distribution deadline for America, so people are only getting the option to preorder. But I’ve never seen so many people preorder my fashion before. My brand has been propelled to a new level. It’s exciting…but a bit terrifying at the same time.”

“Terrifying how?” She cut into her fish and kept eating. She usually paired her bites with a bit of her salad. She didn’t touch her bread.

I dazzled the world with my creations, showed the world a line of fashion that women would die for. Men wanted to cover their mistresses with only the finest lingerie, and women wanted to be adored in the fabric. People weren’t just obsessed with my new model—but everything that she inspired. Now they would wait anxiously for my next collection. “How will I top that?”

“How long have you been doing this?”

“Nearly a decade.” I sipped the white wine, the bottle that Dante had recommended to me. He was knowledgeable about everything when it came to food. He was also a great manager, making sure the rest of the staff fulfilled their responsibilities on a daily basis. He was rewarded handsomely with a salary people would kill for.

“Then you’ve done it before.”

“But I’ve never made this kind of a splash. Barsetti Lingerie has always been known for its premium luxury. It’s always been a recognized brand. If my name is on it, you know it’s quality. But now my name is famous in a different stratosphere. It’s attracting attention in a whole new way. My sales have suggested I’m more than just popular. Now that I’ve raised the expectations, anything less than absolutely perfect won’t be enough. I can’t disappoint my critics, my customers.”

She finished her fish and then rested her fingers around the stem of her glass. “You won’t.”

I didn’t deserve her confidence. She didn’t know me well enough.

“You won’t because you care too much. You won’t release your next designs until you’re absolutely certain they will kill. And I can help you with that. Like I said, I want to be of use to you…since you saved my life.”

I loved hearing her gratitude. She hated this situation because all of her freedom had been stripped away, but she was grateful for it at the exact same time. Without me, her fate would have been terrible. Now I had an obedient woman that I didn’t even need to chain. I didn’t see her a slave—not when she was indebted to me. “You will be of use to me, Muse. You can count on it.”

* * *

I shut the door behind me then pressed my chest into her back. The halter top dress she wore revealed the gorgeous skin of her back. I pulled her hair over one shoulder and kissed her bare skin, tasting her sweetness. It was nothing compared to the erotic taste between her legs, but I enjoyed it all the same.

I kissed the shell of her ear and slowly moved my hands underneath the short dress she wore. I felt her soft skin, my callused fingertips gently caressing her. I moved across her belly button and then slid farther up, anxious to feel those perky tits. I’d seen her completely naked only once. That was when she’d stood on the stage at the Underground. I didn’t feel an ounce of arousal then because I was too pissed she was up there in the first place.

She was mine.

But now it was just the two of us.