Empress in Lingerie (Lingerie 5)

He stood with his hands held together in front of his waist, dressed in jeans and a collared shirt. He was the caretaker of the house, managing it when I was gone, but I didn’t consider him to be a butler, so there was no reason for him to wear a tuxedo.

“Yes?” I turned back to him, trying to read his silence.

“Your guest is asking for you.”

I’d been avoiding her because I knew what she would ask. But I couldn’t avoid her forever, and real men shouldn’t have to avoid anything. “Is she outside?”

He nodded.

“Send her in.”

“Alright.” He walked out and shut the door behind him.

Vanessa appeared a moment later, wearing a new pair of jeans and a t-shirt that Richard had supplied for her. It didn’t fit because the clothes were a few sizes too big, but this woman could wear a damn poncho and still be model material. Without makeup or doing her hair, she had natural beauty that always made her gorgeous. Something about her high cheekbones and beautiful eyes made me hard under the towel.

I stared her down, the fire reflecting in her emerald eyes, making them smolder even more. I watched her look me straight in the eye, like she was doing everything she could not to stare at my nearly naked body. She’d already seen me shirtless, so I didn’t see why it mattered. “I can come back at a different time…”

“Say whatever you came here to say. Don’t waste my time.”

“Okay…” She cleared her throat, concentrating on my eyes. “I just—”

I dropped the towel in front of her, not caring if she looked at my dick. Even when I was soft, I was impressive. But when I was hard, I was a behemoth.

“Uh…wow…okay.”

I turned to my dresser and pulled out a pair of black boxers, a wide grin on my face. I pulled them up to my waist then turned back to her. “I’ve seen you naked. Now you’ve seen me.”

Her cheeks were slightly red, despite her olive skin. It was the first time she appeared somewhat flustered. Even when I threw her on the floor and threatened to kill her, she didn’t lose her cool. But looking at my fat cock made her shy.

It was cute.

I stood in front of her in just my black boxers. “Yes?”

She crossed her arms over her chest, pressing her tits tightly together. “Are you going to finish getting dressed?”

“I am dressed.” Some people thought a suit or armor was the most intimidating clothes to wear, but I disagreed. A strong naked man was far more intimidating. I didn’t need a bulletproof vest for protection. The muscle all over my body was all the protection I needed.

Vanessa lost her voice again, obviously uncomfortable by my nudity. She did her best to cover it up, but I was starting to read her better.

“Did you sleep well?”

“Yeah.” Her voice was strong again, like she was relieved at the change of subject. She saw my hard dick, and if I was hard, it was because she was in the room. My bulge was still in the front of my boxers, and the more flustered she became, the thicker my girth became. “I hadn’t slept in over forty-eight hours, so I couldn’t stay awake even if I wanted to.”

I’d slept like shit. But the night before, when I’d intended to kill her, I slept like a baby.

“So…what’s going on?” she asked bluntly. “Are you going to let me go?”

That wasn’t an option. “No.”

“Then what?” she pressed. “It won’t take long for my family to realize I’m missing.”

“They haven’t called you yet.” I’d been keeping an eye on her phone. Once her parents called and she didn’t answer, I’d have to prepare for the worst.

“I never go longer than a week without talking to my mama.”

I loved the way she called her mother that, with deep affection. I hated the Barsettis, but I admired her loyalty to them. Even under threat of torture, she refused to betray them. She didn’t want them to be killed trying to avenge her death because she cared more about their safety than her honor. She was a strong and fearless woman, taught to fight with everything she had. She didn’t sit around and wait for someone to rescue her. “We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.”

“If you’re going to keep me, then what are you going to do with me?”

She offered herself to me, offered to bed me until I was satisfied with her. But she warned me that one night together wouldn’t be enough. I would just want more of her. That kind of promise aroused me, hearing a woman speak of her bedroom skills with such certainty. I could take her up on that offer, but she only extended it to save her life.