Page 18 of Ace of Swords

“I’ve just found the pièce de résistance of this shopping trip,” she called breezily to me.

“Fantastic, then let’s wrap it up and get out of here. Give me your credit card while you’re at it and I’ll find Amy. Maybe I can salvage a few hours at the office.”

Her black AmEx card came sailing over the door and landed by my foot, followed by the price tag that fluttered down beside it.

Chantel Dressing Gown, Amethyst. $3,885.00

“Are you out of your mind!” I shouted. “No dress is worth that price.”

I was so close to extricating myself from this nightmare. I was minutes away from getting into my car, reporting back to Sergio that the trip had been successful, and having kept my dick safely in my pants the entire time. I didn’t want a fight, I just wanted her to go with the fucking plan, act like an adult for a change. Be just alittlereasonable for once.

“It’s not a dress, it's nightwear. Like a bathrobe. I’ve been looking for something like this foragesand Ihaveto have it. So suck it up, I’m getting it,” she said like a little brat.

“Then some of this other shit has to go back,” I growled, pulling up the list I’d been keeping on my phone. “I’ll read you my spreadsheet and you tell me what you can live without. We’ll start subtracting until we get within Sergio’s budget. Let’s start with Gucci Tortoiseshell Sunglasses. That’ll free up about $600. Agree?”

“No,” she said bluntly.

“How about the Brent Black straw hat for,” I couldn’t believe I was reading this correctly, “$900?”

“No.”

I was close to my breaking point. It was like she was trying to make this difficult for me.Hold it together, Rolland,I told myself.Ihad the AmEx card now and I was in charge. I could wait her out. She had to come out of the dressing room eventually.

But then she did something I hadn’t been expecting.

She threw the door open.

Holy fucking shit, how had I gone my entire life not knowing what a Chantel Dressing Gown was and that it is absolutely worth every penny? My eyes immediately zeroed in on her ass. The gown was a sheer deep purple floral lace, and I could see Tatiana’s white lace thong through it. Raising my eyes to the mirrors, I saw the front of the gown. She wasn’t wearing a bra and the flower print of the lace concealed her nipples. A sash cinched the waist, and the robe parted giving a clear view of her legs. She was practically naked in front of me, and no scenario I’d anticipated included coming face to face with her like this.

Amy’s voice rang into the suite. “Can I help you out with anything else, Ms. Montalla?”

Tatiana's eyes locked on mine. “I’ll just need a few more minutes to finish up,” she called out. “I think I have everything I need.”

When I heard Amy's heels click away, I focused back on the beautiful woman in front of me. How was she so calm? “Listen,” I hissed, training my eyes on hers and trying to block out the infinite reflections of her body flooding me from the mirrors, “you’re not walking out of here with this garment. I’m going to go outside, pay for everything else, and you’ll meet me at the registerwithoutthis ridiculous getup.”

A storm of emotions ran across her face. Gathering the hem of the gown, she seemed to grow several inches taller before my eyes. “You’re not my father and I’m not your little girl, Rolland,” she sneered at me. “If you want it off, you’ll have to do it yourself.”

Shit. Why was that so tempting?

She studied me with hot anger making her eyes glow. “Trying to weigh the pros and cons, Rolland? You don’t need to make a new spreadsheet because I’ll tell you what’s going to happen. You’re going to turn around and go pay for everything, includingthis,and you’ll find some way to explain it my father.”

Who did she think she was to order me around? To act so unreasonably, so haphazardly with my life. It was time for me to take control. “Take it off,” I gritted through my teeth.

She was dead calm. “I told you, if you want it off, you’ll have to do it yourself.”

I was livid. There was a rhythmic whooshing in my ears and my blood was spiked with adrenaline. I reached out and roughly tugged at the sash, causing the robe to open wide, exposing her. I closed the distance between us with a single step, pushing her against the mirror mounted on the wall.

We stood there silently for what seemed like an eternity, both of us breathing heavily from anger or excitement, I wasn’t sure. I didn’t have a next move planned out. I couldn’t think of a single action to get myself out of this situation. Or if I even wanted to.

I kissed her roughly, pressing her against the mirror. My action broke down the wall between us; Tatiana moaned, collapsing into me. Her tongue slid into my mouth and she started clawing at my jacket, sliding it off my shoulders. There was urgency in our every move; I didn’t want to risk thinking. I just wanted her.

I nibbled down her neck, across her clavicle, until I reached her breast. Grabbing her flesh, I covered her flushed nipple with my mouth, swirling around the hardening bud and feeling her slump against me, her knees buckling. I squeezed her breasts together and sucked on her other nipple, encouraged by the sounds she was making, a low moan I could feel vibrating in her chest.

She grabbed a fistful of my hair and drew my head back up, covering my mouth with another kiss. Her hand meandered down my chest, tweaking my nipple and stopping at my belt. The sound of the zipper opening and the feeling of her hand over my boxers had my cock throbbing. She traced her fingernails up and down my shaft a few times. Every nerve in my body was on fire and I was holding my breath.

“This is what you really want, isn’t it?” she whispered in my ear. She was rubbing her hand firmly against me now, still over my boxers. Each time she stroked up, she avoided the head and stroked back down. I was trying to match her strokes, desperate for her to touch my skin and the most sensitive tip.

“Tell me what you want,” she said. “Answer me.”

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