AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I gasped, whirling to find Sigwulf standing directly behind me.
“Oh no, I couldn’t,” I sputtered. This could never pass for a work uniform. This wasn’t the sort of dress you wore to climb ladders and shelve dusty books. This was the kind of dress you…
You got married in.
Because it wasn’t a practical garment, there was no way Sigwulf could even pretend to buy it for my work. And even with my generous salary, I couldn’t afford it. The velvet alone was of exquisite quality. Its corseted bodice was lined with silver chains fashioned so finely they became threads. On those threads, clear crystal beads glittered like pinpricks of dew cascading down to the heavy swirls of the skirt. Expensive silver lace cuffed the wrists of the long sleeves, ran along the plunging neckline, and belted the low waist of the dress.
Sigwulf edged closer to me. His broad chest brushed my breasts, making my nipples zing as he reached over my shoulder. A clink of metal on wood, then a rustle of fabric, told me he’d unhooked the dress from its place. Without speaking, he strode over to the changing area and hung up the dress there.
“I chose everything for you today. You should choose something,” he said as he returned to stand in front of me.
“But I can’t choose that!” I exclaimed. “It’s not for work, and I could never afford it on my own!”
“You don’t need to afford it,” he said. He tossed a nonchalant hand at the items he’d already purchased for me that Frilda was currently packing into a large satchel. “I told you those were not gifts, and they are not. They’re for your work. But that one,” – his hand sliced the air until, like the arrow of a compass, it found its way to the green gown – “that one can be my gift to you.”
“But why?” I whispered.
He cocked his head. Then he answered me as if stating something entirely obvious, like the condition of the day’s weather, instead of saying something that nearly knocked me dead off my feet.
“Because I think, if you let it, it could make you happy. And I’ve decided that I want to make you happy.”
He leaned forward slightly, bending at his tapered waist and speaking quietly against my ear.
“We aren’t leaving until you try it on.”
The feel of his breath on my ear sent my eyes fluttering closed. Arousal squeezed my core, and I bit my lip to avoid giving a small moan when he spoke again.
“And Wynthea? If it does not fit, I will have it tailored,” he said. His voice lowered into something that almost sounded like a warning. “Now, try it on.”
Chapter 13
Sigwulf
I did not know when I had become so viciously demanding. I did not want to corner Wynthea. But I did think I might go half out of my mind if I didn’t see her in that gown.
I would probably go entirely out of my mind when I did see her in it, though.
I’d already struggled with my control when she’d come out in the grey-blue gown that hugged every curve of her body and turned her eyes to shifting, wondrous pools. Pools that would drag me right down into their depths if I wasn’t careful.
But I cared not a bit for being careful, now. All I cared about was seeing Wynthea flush with pleasure in a beautiful gown. All I cared about was emptying my coin purse until Wynthea was drowning in silk and velvet the way I was beginning to drown in her.
All I care about is keeping her.
The thought was so fast, so cutting, I was shocked I hadn’t started bleeding. My throat worked as I brooded, glaring blindly at the sodden grass beneath my boots. I wanted to keep her, just as I’d wanted to keep her that very first day.
No doubt it was deeply unethical and unfair to her for me to feel this way. To want to tighten my hold on her until there was nowhere left to turn.
I wouldn’t do it, of course. I’d never want to truly trap her. I very much hoped that the salary I’d promised her would help her build a new life. The beautiful kind of life that she deserved.
I hoped, even more deeply, and more secretly, that I could figure out a way to tactfully extend our working contract.
I was distracted from my thoughts by a rustle of fabric ahead.
Wynthea stepped into the main area of the booth.
My first thought was that, yes, we’d certainly need to get it tailored. Her palms were flat against her chest, holding up the sagging garment.
“I need – oh. I’ll wait until Frilda’s finished.”
