Beneath This Man(108)

'Shoes!' Zoe sings, leading me off towards the Egyptian elevators.

An hour later, we return to the plush personal shopping area with a young guy pulling a rail of dresses and shoes. Jesse is still sat on the sofa with his phone to his ear.

He smiles brightly and disconnects the call. 'Have fun?' he asks as he gets up and smoothers my face with his lips. 'I missed you.'

'I've been gone an hour.' I laugh and grip his shoulders as he pushes me back.

'Too long.' he grumbles. 'What have you got?' He brings me back up to vertical.

'Too much to choose from.' I say. I managed to convince Zoe to abandon the lace gown. In fact, I avoided anything that was attached to a security wire.

'Go try.' He slaps my bum, and I turn to follow Zoe and the rail into a large fitting room. Zoe's admiring face doesn't escape my notice.

For the next few hours, I'm trussed into dress after dress. I count twenty dresses, all of which are stunning and all of which Jesse approves of.

Zoe disappears for a while, leaving me to sit and wonder which bloody dress I'm going to choose. They are all too nice. My head jumps up when she walks back in with another rail of dresses, but these ones are more day dresses and evening dresses, not gowns. I look at her, completely confused.

She shrugs. 'I'm under strict orders to make you try lots of dresses, so I got these,' she says as she goes to the back of the rail. She comes back to the front holding the lace gown. 'And this too.'

'What?' I blurt, pushing myself to my feet. I'm in my underwear and gaping like a goldfish.

'Well,' She starts towards me, 'He didn't say to try this gown in particular, but he did say you must have what you want.' She smiles brightly. 'And I know you really want this one.'

'Zoe, I can't,' I stutter, trying to convince my brain that the dress is hideous - disgusting. Damn right awful. It's not bloody working.

'If it's the price that's bothering you, then don't worry. It's within the budget.' She hangs the dress on the wall hook.

'There's a budget? What's the budget?' I ask hesitantly.

She turns and grins. 'The budget is; there is no budget.'

I groan and collapse back into the chair. 'Can I ask how much it is?'

'No.' she replies cheerily. 'Put this on.' She hands me a black lace bodice. I start to get myself into it and Zoe turns me around to fasten the row of hook and eyes trailing up the back. I'm distracted from my hesitancy with the thought of Jesse's face and all this lace. I smile. He'll orgasm on the spot.

I'm helped into the gown by Zoe and presented to the oversized mirror. 'Holy shit!' she exclaims, and then slaps her hand over her mouth. 'I'm sorry. That was so unprofessional of me.'

Holy shit, indeed. I turn slightly to view the back and gasp a little. It clings to every curve I have perfectly and skims the floor when I raise on tiptoes. The lining under the lace is matt, giving the delicate, intricate pattern a shimmery effect, and the deep neck line is perfect with the cap sleeves sitting just off my shoulders, revealing my collarbones. I hear Zoe scuttle off and return.

She kneels before me. 'Put these on.' she instructs. I pull my eyes from the mirror and look down to find a pair of black, sling back Dior heels at my feet. I feel a faint coming on. I slip them on and Zoe stands back. 'Ava, you have to have this dress.' she says, deadly serious. 'Go and show Jesse.'

'No!' I blurt rudely. 'Sorry, I know he'll love it.' It's lace and it's black. He'll pool at my feet, I know he will, but what about the slight exposure of flesh? Will that be cause for my neurotic control freak to tackle me to the ground and wrap me in his body to stop anyone from seeing my skin? And, finally, how much does the damn thing cost?

I quickly battle with my conscience over the bloody dress as Zoe hands me a clutch to match the shoes. I want to cry. I knew I shouldn't have tried it on. 'Did he see it?' I turn to face Zoe and she looks at me all confused. 'This dress, did he see it on the rail when you came back?' I ask.

'No, I think he's gone to the gents.' she replies. I raise my hand to my mouth and start frantically tapping my front tooth with my nail.

'Okay, I'm having the dress, but I don't want Jesse to know.' I'm taking a risk with this. Zoe claps her hands together, and I smile at her delighted face. 'What's all this?' I point to the additional rail she's dragged in.