I tuck the silky strands of her black wig behind one ear. “All good?”
“All good,” she replies softly.
And so it begins…
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN - Samantha
Ari wasn’t entirely surprised when I changed my return flight to today after the signing rather than waiting until tomorrow morning. I’m sure he assumes it’s my normal reasons for not wanting to stay gone too long. In a thousand years, he’d never guess I’m dying to get back because I have a torrid date with Alec Brand.
In my head, he’s still very much Alec Brand. It’s like Dr. B died the instant I found out he was Alec. I’m not sure that’s healthy, to be so utterly fixated on someone, but it is what it is.
When the electronic voice of my navigator tells me my destination is on the right, I start looking for the correct building number. I park in the lot to the side and walk around to the front.
I’m a little surprised when I see the dress shop. The awning reads Little Shop of Borrows. There are prom dresses in the window, as well as wedding and evening gowns. I’m not sure what I was really expecting, but I don’t think a formal clothing rental shop was it.
A bell jingles when I push open the door. After a few seconds, a small, mousy woman of middle age shuffles to greet me.
“Is there something I can help you with today?” she asks in a hushed librarian’s voice.
“I’m looking for Ursula.”
Behind her tortoise shell glasses, I see the woman’s nondescript blue eyes scan me from head to toe and back again. Finally she nods. “This way.”
I follow the tiny woman to the back of the store, behind the counter and through a door that reads EMPLOYEES ONLY. It opens into a small ante room housing two other doors. One reads BREAK ROOM. The other reads MS. URSULA. The woman leads me through the second door.
The room is as dramatically different from the main store as desert is from the ocean. The walls are covered in thick, red velvet, the floor is polished black marble and the lighting is so dim it takes my eyes a moment to adjust. When they do, I see a woman lounging on a black leather settee in the corner.
As fluidly as a cat, she swings her feet to the floor and stands. Slowly, she approaches me. She stops several inches from me and I see that she’s quite tall and quite stunning.
Her midnight hair cascades over her shoulders like rivers of ink, gushing into cle**age that any stripper would be proud to boast. Her eyes are dark and smoky in the pale oval of her face and her lips are stained ruby red. When she speaks, I’m not at all surprised by the low, husky sound. It suits her perfectly.
“You must be Samantha.”
I nod. I knew Alec would call ahead. He obviously has something very specific in mind. But now, after seeing this room in the shop, I’m a little concerned about what that might be, about what I might be getting myself into.
“I’m so glad to see Alec active again. It’s been too long.” She reaches for my hand and leads me to the center of the room. She urges me to step up onto the small pedestal there.
“Undress.”
It’s not a request; it’s a command, issued as she walks to a dimly-lit desk that’s barely visible behind a lacy tri-fold screen. She comes back with a measuring tape. When she sees I’m still fully clothed, she crosses her arms over her chest as if settling in to wait. And to watch.
I start peeling off clothes. It’s an unnerving task with her looking on, even though I only disrobe down to my underwear.
When I’m finished, she approaches me, maneuvering me this way and that, dragging the tape along my limbs and around my waist. She doesn’t write down a single number. I hope she can remember them all, because I’m not coming back.
When she’s finished, she gives me a graceful nod and purrs, “You may dress. I’ll have Marilynn show you out.” And with that, she disappears through the door, leaving me to get dressed.
Alone.
********
It’s well after dark by the time I arrive at Alec’s home on Seabrook Island. I park in the driveway and cut the engine. I sit behind the wheel, staring at the single lighted window for several long minutes before I open the door and get out. After I pull my bag from the back seat, I make my way up the steps to the front door.
It opens before I can even knock.
Alec is standing in the opening, wearing black slacks and a pearl gray silk shirt, unbuttoned at the throat with the sleeves rolled up. I’m pretty sure I’ve never seen anything sexier. “I was afraid you’d changed your mind,” he says as he reaches forward to take the bag from my shoulder.
“No you weren’t,” I blurt. He knew I would come. Maybe more than I did. It’s disconcerting, but it’s true. He knows he’s got me.
“No, I wasn’t,” he replies honestly. And he grins. For the first time, I get to see not the polite, cool gesture, but a genuine smile. And I’m totally disarmed. Here is yet another deadly dimension to this dangerous man.
“At least you’re honest,” I mutter as I step inside.
“I’m always honest.”
I could argue that, based strictly on the Alec Brand / Dr. B thing, but I don’t. There’s no room for that here. Not now. By unspoken agreement, we’ve moved on. My being here says that. Besides, this weekend is for…something else.
“Always honest, huh? Then you can tell me what you have planned for this weekend,” I say casually as he leads me through his magnificent home.
“I could. But I won’t. You’ll just have to trust me every step of the way.”
I’m trying.
Alec leads me up two levels to what I assume is the master bedroom. It occupies the entire third floor and includes a private balcony beyond the bank of windows that dominates one side of the room.
Although I associate Alec with dark colors, which suit his brooding personality, this room seems to fit something in him as well, even though it’s done completely in stark whites and rich creams. From the plush antique white duvet to the bear skin rug in front of the white marble fireplace, this room screams luxury and sensuality, both adjectives I would use to describe Alec.
Alec sets my bag in the corner beside another door then leads me through it into the most opulent bathroom I’ve ever seen. Its rich beauty is further accentuated by the softly flickering candles that cover every white surface.
My stomach twitches in excitement when Alec stops in the center of the room and turns toward me. Taking both my hands in his, he brings one to his mouth and presses his lips to my knuckles.