He placed the clothes on the chair, searching through them until he found something red. “Opal, I want you to do something for me.”
“What do you want me to do?”
“I want you to model these.” He lifted a red lace bra with matching French lace knickers.
A blush stained her cheeks. “Will you turn around?”
“No. I want to watch you get changed into them.”
She shook her head. “I can’t do that. We can’t do that.”
“We’re married,” he said.
In her heart she was shouting and punching the air for joy. In her head she knew otherwise.
“No. You still won’t try them on?”
She shook her head.
“How about I let you look for work.”
“That’s blackmail,” she said when she processed what he’d said.
“From what I hear it’s effective.” She frowned. “Never mind. If you try these on for me, I’ll let you look for work.”
“You can’t stop me looking if I try those on or not.”
“Do you really want to see the power I have over stopping you from looking? I could make your life a little difficult,” he said.
“Why?”
“Because I want something, and I’ll do anything until you give it to me.”
“But you said you didn’t want me in that way.”
“I’ve changed my mind. Take the underwear and try them on, Opal.”
Something had changed in him. His eyes were darker, and the way he walked was filled with a purpose. This wasn’t the happy-go-lucky Tony she knew. This was a predator intent on getting what he wanted.
He passed her the underwear. She took them and watched as he went and sat down. Red wasn’t her colour. She tried to avoid the colour because of her lighter skin tone. What did she do?
Taking a breath, she placed them on the stool. The dress had a zipper in the back, and no matter what she did, she couldn’t unzip the dress on her own.
“Could you help me?” she asked.
“Come here.” His voice sent a thrill of excitement through her.
She moved to where he sat. Tony stood and eased the zipper down. She felt his hand touch her back. The heat of him spread through her body.
“Thank you.”
But she didn’t pull away. He held her, his other hand circling her waist. She heard him inhale as his lips brushed her neck. “You smell so good.”
“I need to go and get changed,” she said.
“I know. I like having you in my arms. It’s where you’re supposed to be.”
He let her go, and she walked back up. There was no way she could work around putting the underwear on without looking like a complete clown. She would have to remove everything.