Beautiful Moves (Shifting Steel Book 3)(52)

Ella walked through the bathroom door, shut and locked it. She turned and her jaw dropped. It wasn’t the tub that was the size of a small pool, or the wall-to-wall onyx, that had her stunned. It was the nineteen-sixties beaded chiffon party dress that hung next to a Louis XV kidney shaped dressing table, covered in brand new cosmetics.

Ella nervously walked over to the table and examined the items. They were all appropriate for her skin tone. She looked at the dress with mounting dread. It didn’t have a label indicating the size, but she knew it would fit her.

“Oh god,” she retched, as she backed away from the things that were obviously purchased just for her.

Ella started hyperventilating. It felt like the walls were closing in on her. She wondered earlier what Drake wanted with her. Well the other shoe had dropped. The first day, when he pressed her against the wall, grinding his arousal into her stomach, came rushing back. Ella attempted to forget the incident, since nothing else had happened. But she couldn’t ignore this. Drake clearly had expectations she was unwilling to live up to.

One, breathe. Two, breathe. Three, breathe.

Ella tried to force her fear down to a manageable roar. She grabbed a glass of water with shaky hands, and sat on one of the benches, before she collapsed.

Her thoughts went to Wolf as they had several times over the last few days. She’d give anything to have him here. She didn’t want him in harm’s way, she just really needed to feel a comforting set of arms wrapped around her.

Ella wished she’d met Wolf sooner. Their time together had been all too brief. He was so damn maddening, sexy and funny. He forced Ella out of her comfort zone, and showed her a bliss she never believed possible. And she didn’t have to hide from him. Then in the span of a few hours her life turned to shit.

Shut it down, Ella, she scrubbed the tears from her eyes. You’ll figure a way out of this mess.

Ella pulled her emotions back into herself and locked them away, like she had so many times before. She got up stripped and stepped into the enormous steamy tub.

Ella languished as long as she could in the salon sized bathroom, before emerging, wearing the couture dress Drake picked out for her. She was tempted to forgo putting on the thong panties, but some underwear was better than no underwear. Regardless Ella washed out her trusty Victoria Secret bikini briefs and stashed them where she hoped they’d dry for later. How butt floss ever became fashion was a mystery.

Drake glanced up and sniffed the air. He arose from the chair and stalked forward. Ella stood deathly still as he circled her, wearing an imperious judgmental expression.

“You did not like the perfume I purchased for you?”

“I don’t wear perfume much.”

Ella used as little of the overpriced products in the bathroom as she could get away with. Regardless of their price, they made her feel cheap and dirty, like Drake was trying to buy her off.

“Good. I think we will get along better than I imagined.” Drake leaned in close to her back as he spoke. “I have a keen sense of smell and much prefer a female’s natural perfume.” He took a deep breath at the crook of her neck. “But I have come to accept that woman like such frivolous things.”

Ella tried her best to not tremble as Drake violated her personal space. She now wished she bathed in every fragrance in the bathroom. She kept her eyes straight forward, focusing on the roof of the nearby Venetian hotel.

“Are you familiar with the jewelry maker Ungaro?”

“No.”

“No, what?”

“No sir,” Ella corrected, while clenching her jaw.

“They have a rather ingenious line of trinkets. I had them make something special for you.”

Drake clasped the gold choker around her neck. Ella glanced down to see a rather impressive amber pendant. Drake stepped in front of her and admired the necklace.

“I thought it would go nicely with your hair and eyes. I can see that I was correct. Anyway, this piece isn’t just lovely, it’s stunning like the woman whose neck it graces.”

Drake pulled out his iPhone and tapped the screen. Ella dropped to her knees when a surge of electricity coursed through her. She suppressed the scream bubbling in her throat as she clawed at the necklace.

“Ah, ah, ah. That stays where it is. The little bauble is my guarantee you will mind your manners while we are out.”

Ella panted on her hands and knees, trying to regain her composure. Drake was a sadistic inhuman beast.

“As much as I like you in this position, it will have to wait till later,” Drake commented, his crotch a few inches in front of her face.

Ella desperately wanted to punch him in the nuts, but she wasn’t willing to risk getting lit up like a Christmas tree again. She still felt the pain radiating from her neck down her spine.