HisMarriageBargain (12 page)

The moisture in his mouth dried up the longer her show and,
well, tease went on. She grabbed the belt and shimmied into it, settling it on
her hips before attaching the first suspender. She managed to get all four
fastened without any of the grumbling and fumbled attempts he’d seen from
previous women. It was a real skill.

Autumn gave him a cool look before slipping into a pair of
dark-patterned heels with bright-pink bottoms and striking a pose in front of
him, one hip jutting out.

“Make sense to you?” she asked.

Sammi could only nod. He got it. He’d watched and committed
every second to memory.

Autumn knew what skimpy underwear and a little lingerie did
to men. She was also fully aware how men looked at her. It was usually a lot
like how Sammi watched her now. It was as if she wasn’t a person, but an object
to be masturbated on and treated without reverence or care.

Like trash.

All humor evaporated, leaving Autumn empty inside. She
rubbed her chest and grabbed the closest thing she could. A slinky black dress
that was loose on top and hugged her hips and thighs. She turned her back on
him and exchanged the tank top for the dress. They were going to have dinner
with his friends anyways. She might as well dress up.

“Take that with us. You look really nice in it,” Sammi said,
his voice a little husky.

She glanced at his reflection in the mirror and met his
gaze. There was lust there, but something else.

“Thanks,” she mumbled, opening her underwear drawer.

The packing continued in near silence. The sounds from the
neighboring apartment and the street bled into the space, providing a backdrop.

“Anything I can do?” Sammi offered again.

Autumn couldn’t be upset with him for reacting like a man.

“Why don’t you go into the closet and pick out some dresses
for me to take?” She hoped he’d pick things suitable for whatever situations
he’d be throwing her into. Her wardrobe wasn’t exactly high-class.

“Sure.” He got up and stepped into the walk-in closet, one
of the few perks to the apartment.

Autumn breathed a sigh of relief and bent to dig through the
piles of clothes she’d discarded while packing for their trip.

“Hey, try this on real quick. I can’t figure out if I like
it or not.” Sammi stepped out of the closet holding one of her bargain store
finds.

“It’s just a blue cocktail dress.”

Autumn took the dress and laid it on the dresser. She
quickly pulled off the black, slinky dress and dropped the blue one over her
head. Wordlessly Sammi pushed her arm aside to tug the zipper up while she
smooshed her boobs into the bodice. It was a tight sheath with a straight-across
neckline and a skirt that hit mid-thigh.

“I like it. Bring it.” He returned to the closet, leaving
her blinking at her reflection.

“Okay. Where would I wear this to?” She turned this way and
that, not entirely sure when she wore the dress last. It had nice cap sleeves
that hit her tattoos just right. The angel and demon tattooed on her shoulders
were perfectly displayed by the cut of the material, which she loved.

“I don’t know. Out?” he called.

Autumn rolled her eyes and started picking through the shoes
discarded on the floor.

“You have a lot of dresses.”

“I used to go out a lot.” A truth wrapped in a lie. She just
wasn’t ready to talk about the days when she’d dressed up like the Reba song
Fancy
,
looking for a date and a meal.

Just be nice to the gentlemen, Fancy, and they’ll be nice
to you.

Yeah, well, that was a lie.

“Hey, try a few more of these on, will you?”

Sammi laid one pile of dresses on the bed and held out four
to her.

“Really?” Autumn picked a bright-orange one that was nothing
but a bunch of strategically placed straps.

“Hey, I’m curious.” He held up his hands and grinned. “Nah,
I really wanted to see these three.”

“Okay.”

Sammi’s phone rang and he rolled his eyes. “Be right back.”

“Yeah right,” she muttered, and couldn’t help but smile. The
man had serious issues with phone dependency.

Autumn wiggled out of the blue dress and pulled on a flowing
pink one that was more modest, even innocent-looking. She seemed to recall
wearing it to a garden tea thing she’d gone to for some reason. The stockings
and garter belt did nothing for the dress, so she took them off and stowed them
in the box. A pair of neutral wedges completed the outfit, or at least as
complete as it would get for now. She headed into the living room where Sammi
sat on the couch, head cradled in his hand.

He glanced up and gave her a slow once-over. She seemed to
meet his approval.

Autumn twirled slowly and Sammi gave her a thumbs-up.

She repeated the fashion show with the other outfits,
meeting with the same approval with each. They were her most conservative
dresses, probably from the recesses of her closet because she couldn’t even
remember why she owned them.

The phone call didn’t seem to be wrapping up, so Autumn took
the time to go through the rest of her room and even the bathroom, pulling
stuff she thought she’d want. She poked her head out of the bedroom after
almost half an hour and he was still where she’d left him.

That wasn’t any fun.

Autumn glanced back into her bedroom at the overflowing box,
the orange dress catching her eye.

Why not?

Getting into the dress was a contortionist exercise of
wiggling the bands of orange studded fabric to the right place and scooting the
largest band around her hips.

It was a remnant of her past. She’d used it as a Halloween
costume once and never gotten rid of it for whatever reason.

She turned this way and that and eyed herself in the mirror.
Once she’d been unhealthily skinny and the so-called dress had had some
breathing room. Now it hugged her like a second skin, but she could still rock
it with the best of them. Autumn didn’t even mind the added weight. It was
muscle and a soft rounding of her body. Normal, even. The emaciated pictures of
her later teen years were disturbing.

Autumn stepped into the gold heels and strutted out of the
room.

“Yeah, send that over and—”

She glanced at Sammi with his mouth hanging open
mid-sentence and his gaze bouncing between her breasts and ass. Yup, she still
had that strut, and she worked it all the way to the pole gracing her
apartment. She wrapped her hand around it and walked a half-circle, leaning
outward.

It was like riding a bicycle, not that she wasn’t guilty of
twirling every now and then. But this time was different. There was an
audience, and one that mattered.

The pole slid against her palm, not quite smooth, but she
could work with it. With a hop, she wrapped one leg around the metal and spun,
using her abdominal and thigh muscles to keep her vertical. The surface wasn’t
polished or smooth enough, so her thigh squeaked as she made the full circle
and she laughed, destroying the seductive spell of the moment.

“I’m going to have to call you back,” Sammi said in a rush.

Autumn completed two more rotations, letting her head tip
back as she slowed her momentum, then stepped off the pole, gripping it with
one hand to keep her upright. She might still have the ability, but her core
muscles weren’t up to par anymore. At least not for that activity.

Sammi’s mouth hung partially open as he continued to stare
at her.

“What do you think about this dress?” she asked innocently,
placing her hand on her hip and twisting.

“That’s hot.” He adjusted his slacks, never taking his gaze
from her.

“Really? What part?” She tossed her hair over her shoulder
and started toward him, slow and sensual, crossing one foot in front of the
other to give her swagger.

“All of it.” His eyes were so wide they were about to pop
out of his face.

The way his gaze crawled over her left nothing to the
imagination. He wanted to fuck her, here and now. It was empowering to know he wanted
her, but better because she wanted him too.

“Sammi?” She stopped in front of him, her stance wide, the
hem of the dress barely covering her now.

“Yeah?” He glanced up to her face and their gazes snagged.

“Does watching me turn you on?”

“Everything about you turns me on.” Stark honesty. She liked
that.

“And the stripper pole routine’s just, what? Boring?” She
smiled as he chuckled.

“Boring is not what I’d call that.” He adjusted the crotch
of his slacks again. His erection tented the front of his pants.

Autumn placed her knee next to his thigh and leaned over
Sammi, gripping the back of the couch with one hand. He stared at her breasts,
now eye level.

It was different with him. She’d never danced, or even
pretended to, for anyone else. He could touch her if he wanted to. He owned a
piece of her heart; even if it was less than perfect, he meant something to
her. What, she didn’t know, but she’d figure that out later. Right now things
didn’t have to be complicated.

He wanted her body and she wanted him.

Sammi gripped her hip and swiped his thumb over bare flesh.

As if the movement was some sort of signal she exhaled and
straddled his lap, running her fingers through his hair. She loved the way he
got this wild, rough look when they fucked. Not quite as perfect as his
put-together self she’d walked into the apartment with.

She spoke with her lips almost touching his. “Hope I wasn’t
interrupting anything important.”

“No idea what you’re talking about.” He nuzzled her cheek,
dragging his lips across her skin. He clasped her free hand and held it against
his heart. The accelerated
thump thump
beat against her knuckles. Every
moment was precious.

She kissed him, sealing her mouth over his. He sat up
slightly, pressing harder against her and closing the distance between their
bodies. He thrust his tongue into her mouth and she could taste the mints
they’d shared earlier.

The hand at her hip slid between her legs, palming her bare
mound. She sucked his tongue and moved her hips against his hand. His fingers
slid through her folds and into her pussy. Her breathing stuttered in her chest
as he curled his fingers deep inside her.

He broke the kiss. “You aren’t wearing any underwear.”

“Couldn’t have panty lines in a dress like this.” She moved
her hips again, fucking herself on his hand. “I like how you feel in me.”

He dropped his mouth to her shoulder, kissing the bare skin
there as he thrust his hand in time with her hips.

“Do you want me?” she whispered.

“Yes.” His voice was dripping, thick with lust.

She dropped a hand to his groin, stroking his cock through
the fabric of his pants. His motions faltered, but she never did. He grabbed
her wrist and pulled his fingers from her pussy.

“Fuck this, we’re using a bed.”

Even better.

Sammi wrapped his arms around her waist and stood, grunting
slightly as she hooked her legs around him. Her pussy clenched, empty, but not
for long.

Autumn laughed all the way into the bedroom where he gently
tossed her on the worn mattress and dumped the pile of dresses on the floor. He
froze at the foot of the bed, one knee on its edge.

“Fuck.”

“That’s the plan, isn’t it?” She sat up grinning, grabbed
the front of his shirt and tugged.

Sammi followed her back down to the mattress, taking her
mouth in an enthusiastic kiss, hands in her hair and body caging hers
perfectly. The thick line of his erection pressed against her abdomen. She
clawed at his shirt, popping buttons and yanking it off. Thank goodness he
didn’t wear anything under the button-ups. The slacks took a bit more work, but
he helped her with those, kicking them and his shoes to the floor.

While he shoved his underwear off, Autumn reached for the
bedside table where she kept an emergency stash of condoms. She turned back to
Sammi as he tossed his wallet to the side—holding a foil packet. She held up
her bounty and he chuckled.

“Great minds think alike.” He grinned at her, no judgment,
just lust.

She tore open her packet first, so he tossed his aside and
sat back, hands on his thighs. She sat up and grasped his hard length. A thrill
shot through her as she stroked him, running her fingers up and down his smooth
flesh.

“Shit that feels good,” he muttered as she pumped him.

“Think how much better it’ll feel inside me.”

“Hell yes.”

She rolled the latex on him and half expected Sammi to
pounce on her. But he didn’t.

He pushed her back into the mattress, kissing her mouth and
cradling her face in his hands. She arched up into him, but he would not be
moved. She tried to reach between them, but he didn’t make room for her.

“Sammi,” she groaned.

“Sh.” He kissed either side of her mouth, slow and gentle
like.

Her body screamed for release. Now. To fuck, hard and fast.
But he wasn’t playing that game with her, not this time.

Sammi let go of her face with one hand and pushed between
their bodies. He dipped his fingers into her pussy. She gasped as he pushed the
clit ring back and forth, slow, almost lazy like.

Autumn lifted her hips in an effort to gain more friction,
to encourage more stimulation, because damn, that felt good. She raked her
fingernails across his shoulders and nipped his bottom lip, but nothing spurred
him on. It was as if he was determined to draw this out, make her beg. Her
nipples were hard, and even the strips of fabric rubbing them felt good, but
not as good as it would if it were his chest she were rubbing against.

“Sammi,” she said again, this time with frustration laced
through her voice.

“You’re so fucking impatient.” He chuckled as he spoke, the
vibrations resonating in his chest, against her skin.