Queen in Lingerie (Lingerie 4)

“Your dad is a wise man.”

She shrugged. “That’s what they say. He tried to talk some sense into Conway a few times. Carter did too. I guess seeing you with someone else was all he needed to get his shit together…”

I didn’t want his family to think I actually slept with someone else. I didn’t even date anyone. “The tabloids reported that incorrectly. Nox and I were just friends. I told him I wasn’t ready to see anyone for a while, so he said he would settle for my friendship in the meantime.”

“Really?” she asked. “Because he was hot. Like, hawt.”

I chuckled. “He’s pretty easy on the eyes.”

“So…is he staying in New York?” she asked with hope in her voice.

“He owns a few gyms there and inherited a nice apartment from his parents, so I don’t think he’s going anywhere.”

“Damn.”

“But Mr. Right is out there somewhere, Vanessa. Keep looking.”

She sighed. “I’ll keep looking, but sometimes I worry I’m too picky. My standards are just too high, and no man can reasonably meet those requirements.”

“I think it’s good you don’t settle. There’re a lot of jerks out there.”

“True. Conway included.”

I chuckled. “No…he’s alright.”

When midnight rolled around, Conway still hadn’t come to bed.

He was still working hard in his studio.

I wondered if I should grab him and drag him to bed, but if he was in the moment, I shouldn’t interrupt him.

But now that I had him back, I didn’t want to sleep without him beside me. I wanted his smell wrapped around me, his delectable warmth. His deep breathing was my lullaby, and with him beside me every night, I never felt so safe.

So I lay there in the dark, eyes wide open as I waited for him to join me.

Thirty minutes later, I heard the door in the other room. He shut it quietly behind him, and then his footsteps sounded on the floor. He was barefoot because he hadn’t changed since he walked into the studio. He was just in his sweatpants. His black silhouette appeared in the bedroom.

“Had a good session?”

He pushed his sweatpants and boxers off his body, stripping until he was in nothing but his skin. His expression was hard to see in the darkness, but I imagined he wore an aggressive look. His movements were quick and short, and he yanked the covers back until my legs were revealed.

He suddenly snatched me by the ankle and yanked me to the edge of the bed. Like a kidnapper grabbing his victim while they slept, he dragged me to the edge then pulled off my panties. He didn’t bother with my shirt and sank between my legs, getting his dick inside me like he’d been hard up for hours instead of minutes.

He gave one shove, and he was inside me, buried between my legs. “My muse.” He rocked into me hard, fucking me like an animal. All his sweet gentleness was gone, and now he was ferocious. He gripped the back of my neck as he pounded into me, fucking me harder than he ever had. “Mine.”

My nails latched on to his back, and I buried my face in his neck, letting him do exactly what he wanted. I inspired his pieces, and now he was hard, just thinking about them over the last twelve hours. “Yours.”

11

Conway

“What do you think?”

Nicole stared at the seven different pieces I’d made, her expression impossible to decipher. She always wore the same look, regardless of the occasion. Even when she was in front of the cameras, she didn’t crack a smile.

She passed by each mannequin, her fingers resting across her lips.

I didn’t care about her personal opinion. But she had a talent for choosing what the audience would love. “They’re amazing. I love the switch in mood. Winter is coming. The dark colors are perfect for that. They’ll be an amazing hit for Christmas. I think this is a home run. Not necessarily better than your last line, but different and unique enough. Where did you come up with this?”

Muse. Watching her touch herself painted perfect fantasies in my mind. I imagined many different scenarios, mostly me catching her in the act, watching because she hadn’t noticed me. It was every man’s fantasy, to walk in on a woman pleasing herself.

And to find out she was thinking of him.

Walls had surrounded my brain, and I couldn’t think through the barriers. The depression and misery clouded my ability to think. My sex life was uneventful because I was jerking off to photographs of my ex.

How could I design a decent piece of clothing?

But now all those restraints had been removed.

I could think clearly again.

“You know how, Nicole.”

She didn’t look at me. “I’m glad she’s back. I was getting worried.”

“That makes two of us.”

“But I’m also concerned you’re too dependent on her.”

“Makes two of us…again.”