With his hands neatly tucked behind him, he replied, "Change into something else, I'll wait." He turned his back to her, dragging his hand with him, as he did.
Her eyes lifted suspiciously, taking note of his hands moving along with his body. First they had been tucked behind him, and now this?
Her lip curved into a small smile, as she moved to her closet. She was about to grab a dress when she remembered she didn't have any underwear. Frantically, she began searching for at least some shorts, or pants.
Neither of these two clothing items were available. Only dresses were present.
She sighed, and the distressed sound drifted into Ace's ear. "Is everything okay?" He asked.
"Yeah yeah," she said, quickly snatching the first dress her hand held. There was no way in hell, she could just tell him about the lack of underwear. She'd rather the ground open up and swallow her first.
She dashed into the bathroom, her chest, rising and falling as she rested her back against the door.
In that position, her eyes trailed to the railings, and found the panties she had worn underneath her gown, last night.
"Oh thank you!" She breathed out in relief, then praised hersed for the good sense to wash, and dry it.
"Here we go," she whispered, as the panties slid up her legs. "Now that's what I'm talking about." She jiggled her waist a little. In the middle of doing that, her eyes find a button just by the side of the sink area.
Curiosity consumes her, and she presses it. She squeals when a compartment on the wall slides open, revealing a glass wall.
"Oh my God!" She clapped, as her reflection stared back at her.
Bouncing from foot to foot with excitement, she proceeded to put on her dress. It's short, and flare, stopping just below her thighs. Just like every other dress in the closet.
Her face fell flat, as she stared at her reflection. She was not used to exposing so much skin. Her Aunt warned seriously against it.
A lady was supposed to be covered at all times. A lady must never be vain about her beauty; makeup, and packing your hair into anything other than a ponytail, constituted of vanity. These were the rules.
Sometimes, she would flip it and scream at her for being so skinny. "No one could ever love someone who is all bones." She closed her eyes, hearing her aunt's voice.
"You should be grateful I tell you to cover up. Imagine prancing around town, showing the poor men nothing but bones."
In the same breath, she would slut shame her. "There's a demon within you Fay. A demon that pushes you to seduce men with your flaming hair from hell, and those wicked green eyes of yours."
These words, and the rules never applied to her own girls. But it never really stopped Fay from caring for her.
"She took care of you Fay. Don't be ungrateful," she muttered, as she opened her eyes.
Her eyes widened when she remembered she had left Ace standing outside. Doing a quick one-eighty, she hurried out of the bathroom, and returned to the room to find him glaring at her.
"Were you getting a degree there?" He scolded.
"No." She shook her head vigorously.
The movement had his eyes on her body again. Now she was putting on a dress that showed every inch of those legs. Long enough to wrap around his waist twice.
His groin area tightened, as the image formed in his head.
"Get a hold of yourself Ace!" A voice in his head chided.
Taking a quick second, he readjusted his mind, focusing his attention on other things instead. "How'd you sleep?" He asked, when he observed her bed.
"Wonderfully! The bed felt so nice," she geeked.
"And the food?" He cocked a perfect brow.
"Even nicer. The chef was so good to me too."
"Great. I have something for you," he said.
"What? Like a gift?" Her voice rose, as a glimmer formed in her eyes.
"That's one way to look at it," he said, pushing his hand forward.
"You were really hiding something!" She blurted out, when she saw the small shopping bag in his hands.
He didn't respond, only stared at her strangely. "Sorry for my outburst," she apologized nervously, biting her lip afterward.
Everything she did was so pure, so innocent, but ignorantly suggestive. He couldn't blame her for not knowing how she affected others with her facial movements.
For example, all he could see were her lips, after she had bitten them. And the more he looked, the more he wanted to engage.
"She's a stranger Ace. You need to get laid somewhere else, before you complicate things with her," his voice of reason warned.
With that thought, came the image of Reign. She was mad at him now for marrying someone else, but just like a dog and his master, all he needed to do was whistle, and she'll come running back to him.
"Here." He stretched out the bag, after he had settled on what to do in his mind.
She moved closer to him, and accepted it. "Can I check what's in there?" She asked politely.
"Go ahead, it's yours now," he half shrugged a shoulder.
"Okay!" She exclaimed, and ran to the bed. Plopping on it, she began to take out the items in the bag.
First was a phone box. Her eyes lit up when she saw it was the latest version. "You bought me a phone?" She asked, unable to believe the sight before her.
"You don't like it?" He had asked Grant to pick whatever. Any problem with the choice was solely on him.
"I love it! Thank you so much," she hiccupped, and he just knew she was about to burst into tears.
He instantly got the ick. Just seconds ago, she had moved him enough to want to see what those cherry lips tasted like. Thankfully, she had just reminded him why he picked her in the first place.
"Open the rest of it," he urged.
She nodded, and obliged his orders. The next was a box. She opened it, and found a diamond ring in it. "What's this?" Her lip pursed, and her face grew pale from shock.
"A wedding ring? We don't want to raise any suspicion, yeah?"
'Right,' she thought. He couldn't not raise suspicion with any other type of ring. It had to be this one, expensive enough to buy both her and her generation yet unborn.
"Isn't this too much?" She dropped it on the bed, afraid to even touch it. If something happened to it in her hands, she would never be able to forgive herself.
"Pick up the ring, and wear it Fay," he said in that voice that informed her he wasn't fishing for an argument. Defeatedly, she quickly grabbed the ring and put it on. To her greatest surprise, it fit perfectly. "Th-ank you," she stuttered in fear.
"Go to the next," he ordered.
It was another box. As she opened it,she dreaded what she would find inside with the way he was so casual about blowing money away.
Maybe it was because of the condition she grew up in, but she could never imagine being rich enough to afford all of this.
Her eyes did a double take when it landed on the card. It was a black one. She flung it on the bed, and jumped to her feet. "No! I can't possibly accept that," she shook her head.
She was okay with signing away one year of her life to him, where he could basically do whatever he wanted with her in exchange for a fixed price. This was just going overboard.
"What'd you mean you can't accept it?" He remained calm as he quizzed her.
"It's a black card. I've seen those at the restaurant. What could someone like me possibly do with that?"
He knew she had an unhealthy low self esteem but he never thought it was this bad. Ninety Nine percent of the world's population would kill to be in her position, yet here she was, acting like a fool.
"It's my card, in my name. I'm just giving it to you so you can get whatever you want, while I set up an account for you."
"I already have an account," she protested.
"Really? In whose name?" Something told him it was in her aunt's. Her eyes lowering, pretty much confirmed that.
Without much thought, he walked over, and stood in front of her.
"In your aunt's name I presume?"
Her heart skipped a beat, both by his presence, and how well he had read through her.
"I was too young to get one of my own. It's not a big deal." She tried to defend it.
"That's not an excuse. You're old enough now. Maybe you don't understand, Fay. I don't give a fuck about your aunt!" She flinched at how easy it was for him to curse.
"Bu-t—"
"But nothing. You're going to hold that card, and use it whenever you like. You're also going to open an account of your own, where all your earnings will be managed solely by you. Do you understand?" He lowered his voice, as his gaze drifted fleetingly to her trembling lips.
"They're my family Ace," she said, finding the courage to look into his cold eyes.
"No darling," he ran an even colder finger across her cheeks, making her shudder with both fright, and another feeling she couldn't make sense of. "For the next one year, I am your only family. Everyone else is dead to you. Say it," he compelled her to, by throwing the details of the contract in her face. "Say it," he repeated less harshly, as he brushed that same finger across her lip.
"You're my only family," she breathed out, completely under his spell.
"Good girl."