Page 35 of Three Bites

I thought he was going to be my shield but no, the bastard had thrown me under the bus.

“I got a gift for you, Tristan,” Matthias winked and booked it out of the room when the older vampire was busy staring at me. “I will be back in half an hour! Have fun!”

“Matthias, you bastard!” I fumed, but when the door closed behind him all the boisterousness left me.

I took a step back into the hot air of the bathroom, feeling unsure of myself. Matthias assured me Tristan wouldn’t be mad at the breach of privacy but that dog also left me to face the blues alone, so I couldn’t trust his assessment.

“I see both Theo and Matthias had managed to get you out of your clothes,” Tristan murmured into the stillness. I flinched. “But I would like to offer you the opposite; would you let me dress you, Victoria?”

Blinking, I cast a dubious look at the pile of my damp clothes.

“That won’t be a problem. I have procured something better for you. It was supposed to be a gift for later, but there’s no time like the present,” Tristan presented a gentlemanly hand to me, his upturned palm waiting. “Will you let me show you your gift?”

Tristan did everything he could to appear non-threatening. He didn’t block my path to the exit or hurry me up, just waited for me to come to him as if I were a stray cat he wanted to befriend. The neutral expression and the soft tone of his voice helped as well.

My fingers alit gently on his palm and he led me towards his bedroom, not caring how I was leaving wet footprints on the carpet.

“Forgive me for the presentation,” Tristan said as he opened his closet and pulled out a beautiful dress. “It came in a big, beautiful box with all the additions… but I have a reason why I took it all out.”

He laid the magnificent dress and accessories for it on the bed. Matching shoes, jewelry, hair decorations… The silky, flowing fabric of midnight blue hues draped into a beautiful dress. A gradient of lighter color at the lower edges and the darkened color rising to the top created an utterly captivating combination.

“For… me?” I asked, not quite believing Tristan went to so much trouble just for the girl he met a few days ago. But I wasn’t just plain old me to them, was I? Theo told me they considered me theirsoulmate. Of course they would want something, someone they considered theirs, to look beautiful. Was this going to be my role? Eye candy? Would they scorn the simple and comfortable pants I liked to wear?

“I know it’s a bit much to wear here and now… I wanted to present this dress to you when we were ready to leave here and you had a cause to celebrate,” Tristan said, his hand going tothe back of his head in an embarrassed gesture. “But I think it’s better than wearing those soggy clothes? I can throw them in the dryer and they should be ready to wear again when Matthias comes for you. Or, if you prefer, I can lend you something of mine…”

His explanation reassured me a little: it was one thing to wear a designer dress to an upscale restaurant, or whatever celebration they had planned, and another thing to be expected to pose as a beautiful pet all the time. I enjoyed putting on makeup and turning myself into a goddess when the occasion called for it.

“Yes, that would be good. The dryer, that is,” I said awkwardly.

Tristan nodded and immediately put his money where his mouth was and went to load in my clothes, not expecting me to do the household labor.

He did it so quickly I was still deliberating undoing my towel cocoon when he returned.

“Please, let me help you get dry?” he offered.

Tired of shielding myself from an attack that kept not coming I turned my back to him and opened the towel, letting him take it from my outstretched hands. He pressed the fluffy fabric against my skin, first gently, then with brisk efficiency as he toweled all my limbs, then got on one knee to dry my feet with worshipful attention. Once he got up, he cradled my breasts through the fabric. Even though he touched me only as much as was needed to dry my body it was enough to make my nipples pebble into little peaks, which couldn’t have escaped Tristan’s notice. And yet, he finished his task without straying, then transferred his attention to the dress.

“Ah,” he stopped in his tracks and it took me only a second to realize what was the issue both of us forgot about.

My old pair of underwear was currently being dried.

“It may be presumptuous of me, Victoria…” Tristan started slowly. “...but I do have another gift I had planned to keep for a while… until you were more comfortable with me.”

“Show me,” I demanded.

“Very well,” Tristan opened one of the drawers and pulled out a small box with a splendid red bow. The black packaging with golden lettering spoke of a bespoke product hiding inside.

I had a feeling I knew what it was.

My tongue flicked out to moisten my lips as I reached to undo the ribbon. It fell to the side smoothly and, under the lid of the box, I found…

Underwear.

Beautiful, sexy, outrageouslingerie.

The sight was enough to make even Tristan flush. The red color climbed high on his aristocratic cheekbones as he held his hands behind his back in a nonchalant pose.

The dress, while tremendously beautiful, wasn’t anything I hadn’t worn before as a young lady of a rich house. But I had never allowed myself to wear something this… this…decadent, as this lingerie.

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