Chapter 17
danielle
“These are kind of pretty. I’m surprised this store has a decent selection of plus-sized dresses, to be honest.” I looked at the three dresses I had slung over my arm while I fingered the fabric of another one on a display rack at the back of the store.
The formalwear store was closing in thirty minutes, so I needed to try this on and make a fast decision. Thankfully, it wasn’t very busy in here. I hadn’t seen any other customers, and the salespeople all seemed to be at the front of the store.
“I think you’d look amazing in any of those. Are you ready to try them on? I can go get a saleslady if you need me to.” He gestured toward a chair as I added the fourth dress to the stack on my arm. “Why don’t you sit there while I get someone to unlock a dressing room?”
He was so freaking sweet! None of the guys I’d dated had ever been this attentive to me. Maybe it was bisexual men? If that was the case, I wasn’t sure I could go back to dating self-centered straight guys.
“Thank you.” I beamed up at him from the chair as he collected the dresses from my arm and hung them on a nearby rack.
“Be right back, my goddess.”
While I was sitting there, I got a text from my friend Regan, who was enrolled in the MFA program at IU with me. It was a photo.
I opened it up to reveal a group of grad students in street clothes, huddled up with a sign that read, “Get well soon, Dani!” Her text message said,
Regan: We heard about the accident, and we’re so sorry. Hope you will be able to come see the show. And I guess I should be thanking you because I ended up getting recast as Marian. *heart emoji* *kiss emoji*
I flushed at the thought of Regan getting my role. I shouldn’t be angry or jealous, but?—
Well, I was still having a hard time dealing with this. I’d pretended things were peachy-keen-jelly-bean to Raine and everyone in the polycule, but the truth was…
I was still struggling.
Rage was starting to consume me when Aris came back with the saleslady, who introduced herself as Sasha when we first came in. I swallowed down my anger and painted a smile on my face.
Acting skills came in handy all the time.
“You’d like to try those on?” Sasha pointed to the rack where Aris had hung the four selections I’d made.
“Yes, please. Would you mind unlocking the bigger room? I’m on crutches.” I pointed to my cast.
“Oh, yes, of course! No problem whatsoever.” She walked over to the wall where five dressing room doors stood in a line and unlocked the last stall. “Let me know if you need another size or anything else.”
She nodded and walked away. Aris helped me to my feet and carried the dresses as I made my way over to the room, pushing the door open with one of my crutches.
Holy shit, it was ginormous!
The dressing room was more like a boudoir. There was a padded bench with a vanity and round mirror, a small sofa with gorgeous luxe upholstery, a shaggy pink rug, and a crystal chandelier. In the center of the room was a pedestal, and, on the far wall, a tri-fold mirror. Everything was soft and feminine.
“This must be the bridal dressing room,” I gasped, looking at the opulent surroundings. “It’s freaking gorgeous!”
“Do you want me to wait outside?” Aris popped his head through the door and took a look around. “Holy shit, look at this place! I had no idea it would be so huge.”
“Me either. And you might as well come in. I can probably use help with the zippers, and it’s not like you haven’t already seen me naked.”
He chuckled. “Facts!” He hung the four dresses on a wood and brass bar beside the vanity. “I’ll just sit over here. Let me know what I can do to help.”
Dressing and undressing in front of people was second nature after doing a lot of theater. The dressing rooms were usually crowded, and sometimes there was such a short turn-around between scenes, you needed the costume crew to strip you out of one costume and throw you into the next. So, trying these dresses on in front of Aris shouldn’t have fazed me in the slightest.
However…
I stood there holding a slinky red floor-length dress in just my bra and panties as his gaze hungrily devoured me. Catching sight of myself in the mirror, it would have been easy for me to disparage my cellulite, fat rolls, and love handles. But with that look in his eyes of pure lust, and the way one of his hands inched toward his crotch—to cover up his erection, perhaps? How could I not try to see myself as he saw me?
A zaftig goddess.
That was the way he saw me. He told me so. And he showed me in his lingering touch, his lusty gaze, and his sweet kisses. In the way our bodies moved together, him delighting in my curves, in everything I had to offer as he took his pleasure and gave me mine in return?
Eyes locked on him, I slid the slinky material up my thighs, to my hips as I worked my arms into the sleeves. The deep V showed part of my bra—I’d have to wear a different one or no bra at all if this was the dress I chose. I turned around, revealing my bare back as I swept my long hair into a messy bun on top of my head. Now our hairstyles matched.
“Could you zip me up?”
“Gladly.” He sprang off the sofa and closed the distance between us in only a heartbeat or two. The zipper offered a little resistance at the widest part of my back, but he eased it up, then gently turned me around to face him.
“Fucking gorgeous,” he said. “Red is a beautiful color on you.”
He stepped away so I could look in the mirror. I wasn’t going to brave the pedestal with this cast on my leg, but the dress covered the cast nicely. I actually felt beautiful as I stared into the tri-fold mirror. The dress’s bodice was gathered and met in a faux knot at my left hip, the pleats skimming over and accentuating my curves. It clung to my hips and a little to my belly, but then flared out beautifully at my thighs into a full skirt that skimmed the floor. The fabric was silky and shiny, but thick enough that it hid any lumps or bumps.
Holy shit. I do look like a goddess.
“Do you think Noah would like it?” I asked him, but to be honest, I couldn’t take my eyes off my reflection. I’d worn plenty of bespoke costumes before, but this dress…it molded to my curves like it was made for me.
“Fuck, Danielle…it’s… My god.” Aris almost shuddered, like his words just refused to come out. He stepped back over to me and tilted my chin up so my eyes were forced to meet his. “Noah is a man with exquisite taste, and he is gonna want to eat you alive in this dress.”
A breathy chuckle escaped my lips as I processed his words. “Is that a good thing?”
“My beautiful goddess…” He didn’t answer. Instead, his lips claimed mine, stealing my breath as he wrapped his arms around me, forcing me to surrender to his passion. As he pressed against me, I realized my earlier thoughts had been correct: he was hard as a rock, his thick cock nearly bursting out of his pants when he ground it against me.
I pulled back. “So should I try the other ones on or not?” I looked over at the bar that held a black ballgown with gold sequins, a floaty light pink chiffon number, and a stunning royal blue column dress.
“Let me show you what I think of you in this dress.” He reached behind me to pull down the zipper.
I glanced down at the tag, suddenly distracted by the price. “Oh, fuck! Was this on sale? It’s five hundred dollars?”
“Don’t worry about that.” He slid the zipper down and pulled the dress until it was puddled at my feet.
I snatched it up and got it on a hanger, placing it back on the bar with the others. When I hobbled back around, he had unzipped his pants and was stroking his cock, that look of lust in his eyes from earlier so intense, I thought he might stalk over to me, throw me down on the sofa and have his way with me.
And…well…
That was very nearly what happened.
“I need you, Dani,” he growled, taking me into his arms, his teeth and lips toying with my ear as he wrapped my hand around his cock. “Feel how fucking hard you made me in that dress.”
I gulped. “Um…”
“Let me fuck you,” he said. “Right here, right now. Fuck, I feel like I’m about to explode.”
“Oh, I don’t know. What if Sasha comes back?”
“You’re buying a five-hundred-dollar dress. I’m sure she works on commissions. She’s not going to give a fuck what we do in here.” His dimples were on full display, making it nearly impossible to argue with him.
“Uh…”
Then he did something I really didn’t expect. He actually picked me up!
“What the fuck, Aris?! You’re gonna break your back, for fuck’s sake.”
“Shhh….” He carried me over to the sofa and set me down gently. Then he pulled down his pants and stepped out of them. “Now…how can I fuck you with your leg in the cast?” He surveyed the sofa and his face lit up. “Lie down and put your leg up here.” He pointed to the back of the cushions.
He yanked at my panties, wanting to slide them down, but he was in such a hurry, he just fucking ripped them off me. “Okay, I owe you a new pair. Let me see those tits.”
He was so determined, so crazy with desire—I’d never seen this side of him, this dominant, almost forceful side, and I had to admit it was fucking hot as hell. I reached around and unhooked my bra, tossing it across the room as my bare breasts spilled onto my ribcage.
“Fuck, that’s more like it.” He knelt on the floor beside the sofa and went to work on my nipples, while his hand teased my pussy lips apart. “Holy fuck, you are already so wet!”
“Well, seeing you like this is pretty arousing,” I confessed.
“Do you want me?” He knelt on the sofa cushion between my spread legs, his hazel eyes boring into mine.
“Yes…please.” Just two soft words, and that was all he needed.
He guided his cock to my entrance and groaned as he plunged deep inside me with one thrust. “Oh, fuck, Danielle…”
I reached around him, my hands on his back and then sliding up to his shoulders as he thrust into me, his hips finding a steady rhythm. My hands tangled in his hair, loosening his man bun and eventually sending his shoulder-length tresses cascading around his face.
Oh, fuck. He was so gorgeous. Absolutely breathtaking. Just looking at his intense concentration as he stroked inside me was going to make me come. The desire pooled deep in my core as his cock rhythmically slammed against my G-spot. No man I’d ever been with had been able to hit it so easily—was it the way he was curved or his shape? I didn’t know, but it was like his cock was an arrow and my G-spot had a bullseye painted on it.
That silly thought distracted me for a second, but then he sank his teeth into my neck, bringing me back into the moment. After a few nibbles, his lips found my earlobe, and he rasped, “I can’t hold back much longer… You’re gonna make my cock explode if you keep squeezing it like that.”
I was completely unaware I was doing that, but just hearing him say he couldn’t hold back pushed me over the edge. “God, Aris…me too…”
“That’s it, baby, milk my cock, take it all…”
It was at that point I realized he wasn’t wearing a condom.
Was he?
No, he wasn’t. I would remember him putting one on. Right?
He collapsed on top of me, his breath heavy on my neck as he worked to control it. He stayed inside me until I worried about making a mess on the sofa, and then I was forced to rouse him from his reverie.
“Aris…hey…”
His head jerked up. “Fuck, Dani…”
“Can you get me something to clean up? We’re gonna ruin this?—”
“Oh, fuck!” He seemed to snap back to reality, and he was off that sofa faster than a cheetah pouncing on an antelope. He rushed over to the vanity, grabbed a wad of tissues and was back at my side in a flash to clean me up.
“I’m so sorry, Dani. Oh my god…I wasn’t even thinking.”
“It’s okay,” I assured him.
“You’re on the pill?” he asked, hope in his voice.
“No, but I just finished up my period a few days ago.”
His brows drew together. “Fuck…I don’t like the sound of that.”
“Well, I’m pretty regular. I shouldn’t ovulate until next week.” I shrugged.
He finished wiping up the mess he made. “Let me know if you want me to pick up a morning after pill for you.”
Oh, god. I had never even thought of using something like that. Never been in a position where I needed to. But the pill made me gain weight, and I was too worried to try one of the longer-term options. I hadn’t had any prospects for so long that I… Well, I just hadn’t been thinking about anything other than condoms, but if I was going to have sex with Aris regularly…
But then he also had Noah in the mix.
Oh, god. Had I just made a terrible mistake?
“Don’t worry about STIs,” he seemed to be reading my mind. “Noah and I both got tested when we started seeing each other, and neither of us has been with anyone else since then. We were both negative for everything.”
“Okay. Well, I haven’t had sex in a couple years…”
“Years?!” He looked shocked. “No, that’s not good. That goddess body needs to be fucked well and fucked often.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. He was too adorable for words. He helped me off the sofa and gathered up all my clothes for me, including my bra, which had been flung halfway across the room. “Oops, I almost forgot about your panties…”
“Yes, RIP, panties,” I said solemnly as he tossed them in the trashcan beside the vanity. “Well, they’re definitely going to know what we got up to.”
“Probably smells like sex in here too…”
“Everything okay in there?” came along with a knock at the door.
My entire body flushed with embarrassment—and I was already pretty flushed, at least my cheeks and chest, just from the sex. I felt like I was literally on fire as I called out, “Yes, just finishing up. We’ll take the red one.”
Aris grabbed the hanger. “Can you get dressed on your own? I’ll go pay for this.”
I smiled. “Yeah, that will get her out of our hair,” I whispered. When he started to head toward the door, I froze. “Hey, wait! You need my credit card!”
He grinned as he pulled a gold credit card out of his pocket. “It’s Noah’s. He insisted.”
“I can’t let him pay for a five-hundred-dollar dress!”
“He’s a doctor,” Aris reminded me. “You’re a grad student. It’s for his event. Just let him pay, love.”
He didn’t even give me a chance to argue. He simply patted the dress slung over his arm and briskly walked out of the room, leaving me naked with my mouth wide open, sputtering.