Kissing Her(12)

My body burns as he takes my hand and leads me into the mall. I’m nervous and excited all at once, but I can’t imagine he’ll actually come in the dressing room with me. Right? I thought he meant he’d just help me pick things out, but I guess Ragnar has other ideas.





Chapter Eight





Ragnar





I hold Bee’s soft hand in mine as we walk through the doors and to the left. The reason I chose this mall is there’s a Neiman Marcus here and I have a personal shopper on call today in case Bee was okay with coming here.

When we get to the store she tries to look at a few racks of clothes, but I point to where we’re going and we take the private elevator up. At the end of the hall is a small waiting room with plush furniture and a receptionist is there to greet us.

I feel Bee tug on my hand as we’re led to the showroom. When I look at her I see her eyes are wide and she’s struggling to take it all in.

“I don’t think I can afford this type of place,” she whispers, and I lean down a little and speak softly.

“You don’t have to worry about a thing.” I place a finger over her lips when she opens her mouth to protest. “Answer one question for me and then you can decide if we stay or leave.”

She cocks her head to the side but then nods.

“Have you ever been spoiled?”

“What do you mean?” she hedges.

“In any part of your life, Bee. Has anyone in your family ever taken you shopping and given you free rein? Or have you ever had a birthday where all you wished for happened?” I touch her chin to get her to look at me because her eyes have drifted to the floor. “Have you ever been loved so thoroughly that you went to sleep at night without a worry in the world?”

I see a tear well up in her eye and I wipe it away before it can fall.

“No,” she says simply and then shrugs.

“That’s why I’m here, little Bee. I’m here to spoil you rotten and give you all that you’ve missed out on.”

“It just doesn’t seem right, I guess.” She shrugs one shoulder, but I can see her looking around at the racks of clothes.

“I’ll tell you what. You can take home one bag of clothes with you today and the rest will come to my house. You can take more as you need them so it doesn’t feel like so much at once.”

I have no intentions of letting her be away from me for much longer, but if I give her the illusion of choice, then maybe it will soften the blow of getting an entire store dumped on her today.

“I’m sure your sister will come home with bags of things to brag about. It would be good for you to have something, too, since you’re the one I’m courting.” I lean in closer so my lips are just a breath from hers. “I wouldn’t want your parents to get the wrong idea about my intentions.”

“You, um, I think you’re right.”

My lips touch hers too quickly for what I want to do to her, but I resign myself to kissing her forehead and pulling her into my arms. Just then the personal shopper walks in and I have to think she intentionally picked that moment to come into the room.

“You must be Bee,” she says as she holds out her hand and ignores me just as she’s been instructed to do. “I’m Grace and I’ve got a lovely selection of clothes for you to try on. But first, can I get you something to drink?”

“I don’t know,” she says and looks to me for guidance.

“We’ve got champagne if you’d like to indulge a little,” Grace says and winks at Bee conspiratorially.

Bee’s cheeks heat and I wonder if she’s remembering how she acted last night.

“Chocolate milk?” I offer, and Bee looks up at me and nods happily.

“Perfect. Would you like cookies to go with it?” Grace asks, not batting an eye to the request. I can imagine with the money they charge they’ve seen it all.

“Yes, please.” Bee bounces on her toes and I realize she’s probably restricted with her food just as much as everything else in her life.

“The dressing room is just through here.” Grace opens two velvet drapes and inside is a larger room with a settee inside and wall-to-wall mirrors. “If you’d like to step in there is lingerie to the left. I believe Mr. Black has your measurements spot on.”

Grace looks her up and down and nods in confirmation. I don’t know how she can tell with all the layers of clothes she has on, but she’s the professional.

She holds the curtain and I walk through. Again Grace doesn’t bat an eye. I’m sure it is standard protocol for couples to be in this area together and when she drops the curtains I see her hang a privacy sign on the outside. Grace is going to be getting a very large tip today.

Inside is a small table upon which sits a tray with perfect rows of silk. I pick one up and see that it’s a matching bra and panties set. I think about these delicate items next to Bee’s perfect, untouched skin and my hand begins to shake. How have I ended up here in this room? I’m a dirty man who has made the money I’m going to spend on her today illegally. But it’s just a fleeting thought as I place the silk back in the tray and turn to face Bee.

“Are you nervous?” I ask and brush my knuckles along her jaw.

“A little.” She’s fidgeting with her fingers as she says it.