Page 11 of She's Mine

“I have a surprise for you,” I said, as Alyssa laid two plates of grilled chicken salad on the table in front of us.

Alyssa took a sip of her iced water and raised a brow. “You do?”

“Yeah, I just got off the phone from the manager at Brioni on Rodeo Drive.” At this, Alyssa let out a little gasp, but didn’t say anything, so I continued speaking. “She agreed to close for the afternoon so that you can have the boutique to yourself for a private shopping spree.”

The grin that covered Alyssa’s face was dazzling, and for a moment, it took my breath away.

I recovered quickly as Alyssa jumped up off her seat and started dancing around the kitchen.

It was adorable.

After lunch, we headed to Rodeo Drive, where the owner of Brioni — a woman in her 40s, with long, red hair, named Claire — greeted us pleasantly.

“Good afternoon, Miss Blythe, it’s so good to see you again. Your bodyguard here has informed me of the situation, and I’m more than happy to welcome you into the store for a private afternoon of shopping.”

Claire led us through the store to a small seating area where she had refreshments waiting for us. “Please, help yourselves to drinks and pastries. I’ve prepared some outfits and accessories I think you’ll like, but please feel free to look around yourself, too.”

I settled on the plush leather sofa and helped myself to a cup of coffee, while Alyssa browsed the offerings Claire had arranged for her.

Arms laden with clothing, Alyssa disappeared into the changing room. My jaw almost dropped to the floor when she appeared a short time later, wearing a tiny, black string bikini.

“What do you think?” Alyssa asked, doing a twirl and exposing her perfect rounded butt cheeks to me in the thong bikini bottoms.

The way my dick hardened in my pants gave the immediate answer, but I ignored it and replied, “You’d need some sort of kaftan or cover up, or you’ll end up sunburned.”

From behind me, I heard Claire giggle, but Alyssa ignored the boutique owner, and scowled at me.

She flounced back into the fitting room, and the next time she came out, she was wearing a stunning, pale gold Atelier Versace dress, with a plunging neckline and a high slit on one of the legs. She looked ethereal in the gown, and while it still showed off her amazing body, it wasn’t as skimpy as the bikini had been. And somehow, this made it even sexier.

My true feelings must have shown on my face before I got a chance to adopt a stoic expression, because she smirked as she did a little pirouette for me.

“I see you like this one a lot more,” she said.

I shrugged. “Yeah, it’s okay, I guess.”

Alyssa pouted, crossed her arms over her chest, and stomped back to the fitting room.

“You’re not fooling anyone,” Claire whispered in my ear, as Alyssa changed into her next outfit.

My body flushed with heat at having been caught out, but I trained my face to remain impassive and replied, “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Claire rolled her eyes, but didn’t argue with me, and instead stepped away to find some more outfits for Alyssa to try on.

The next outfit Alyssa came out of the fitting room wearing was simple, more casual attire, consisting of some cropped pants and an oversized sweatshirt. The color of the sweatshirt complimented Alyssa’s bright blue eyes perfectly, and I loved the way she looked in something so relaxed.

Unbidden, an image of the two of us snuggled together on the sofa watching a movie appeared in my mind. It was a scene that had happened countless times since I’d been Alyssa’s bodyguard, but in the vision in my mind, instead of sitting on opposite sides of the couch, Alyssa was sitting next to me, her head resting on my shoulder, as my arm curled protectively around her body.

I felt hot all over, and quickly sought out Claire. “Can I get a glass of water, please?”

I didn’t even comment on Alyssa’s outfit, which of course caused her to sulk and stalk back into the fitting room.

I was trying to regain my composure when my phone started ringing in my pocket. While I was at work, I had all but a few numbers redirected to my answer machine, meaning it could only be Jeffrey or my mom calling, and that meant the situation was serious. Mom was the only person apart from Jeffrey that I allowed to call me during work hours, and that was because she was sick and had no one else. Six months ago, my mom had been diagnosed with aggressive breast cancer, and she was currently undergoing chemotherapy. I considered myself lucky that I had a job that allowed me to fund her expensive treatment, and a top class medical facility. For as long as I’d been alive, it had always just been me and Mom. I’d doanythingfor her.

Knowing Mom would only be calling if it were an emergency, I stepped away and answered the phone.

“Hey Mom, what’s up?” I asked, stepping out of the shop for a moment.

“Hey David, I’m so sorry to bother you while you’re working, but the care worker you hired to take me to and from today’s chemotherapy hasn’t shown up. I tried calling the agency, but they didn’t know where she was, either.”

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