“Probably,” she confessed with a shrug.
“It’s a corset and a skirt. I want you to promise me you’ll give it a try.”
“That doesn’t sound too bad. How long is the skirt?”
“Shorter than what you’re used to. Which is why you’ll also be getting a long jacket to wear over it for the walk from the car to the club.”
A corset. She could do that. Corsets gave you a waist, right? Maybe she’d actually look thinner than she really was. It was better than being paraded around naked, anyway. “Okay.”
“That’s my good girl.” With a low hum of approval, he slid a hand around her waist and down between her thighs. “I think you deserve another reward.”
An hour later, she’d decided any outfit was worththatreward.
Chapter 16
Katherine
True to his word, the next afternoon, a package was courier-delivered to her house. She’d hoped they’d be getting ready together, to help soothe the nerves she couldn’t seem to keep under control on her own, but since he couldn’t be sure when his game would be over, he was planning to get dressed at his house and pick her up later that evening. Since she didn’t have him ready and available to answer the dozens of questions racing through her mind—on top of the dozens he’d already answered the night before—she’d settled for a cleaning spree. By the time the courier arrived, her kitchen sparkled like new and there wasn’t a speck of dust to be found anywhere in the house.
Carefully cradling the white box in her arms, she carried it to her bedroom and placed it on the bed. The only thing keeping her from the outfit her Sir had chosen for her was a red silk ribbon wrapped expertly around the box. She wiped her sweaty palms on her leggings before tugging at the ribbon and slowly lifting the lid from the box.
A moan of purely feminine pleasure escaped her as she lifted the corset from its resting place atop the tissue paper. It was gorgeous. Nearly solid black, with accents of red ribbon laced down each side from nipple to waist, the top and bottom edges trimmed with black satin ruffles, it was possibly one of the most beautiful pieces of clothing she’d ever laid eyes on.
Shedding her t-shirt, she pulled it on. The fit was perfect, and each hook pushed her breasts higher until she worried they might smother her. But she didn’t care. Looking down at the smooth skin threatening to spill over the top of the boning and her newly-cinched-in waist, she felt…sexy.Sexier than she could ever remember feeling.
Right up until she looked in the mirror.
Sexy went out the window. All she could see was how her fat bulged out under her arms and over the top of the corset digging into her skin. And speaking of arms, there was no way to hide her globs of flab in this thing. Sleeves were her friend for a reason. Her reflection blurred as tears filled her eyes. There was no way she could embarrass herself or Austin by going out in public like this, no matter how much he wanted her to wear it.
Maybe if she explained her issue with the corset, she could make him see reason. Surely if she told him how uncomfortable she was, he wouldn’t be upset with her. And even if he was upset, she could handle whatever punishment he decided to give her.
Welts on her ass were well worth not humiliating herself in front of a bunch of strangers.
With her mind made up, she headed for the shower. And since she was actually feeling a little guilty about not wearing the outfit he’d chosen for her, she took extra care with curling her hair and painting on her makeup. Hopefully, she wouldn’t sweat it all off by the end of the night.
Or cry it off. Would Austin really be upset enough with her to punish her to the point of tears? She’d read about it in books, but so far, his punishments had been fairly light by those standards. What if he followed through on his promise to punish her in front of the entire club and she couldn’t take it? Would everyone think she was a horrible sub? Would they think Austin was a bad Dom?
Shit, shit,shit. Maybe she should just wear the corset.
No. She was going to wear the dress she’d picked out herself. With the off-the-shoulder sleeves and shorter hemline, it was the most revealing thing she had in her closet and the closest thing to “club wear” she could find, but it was still nowhere near as embarrassing as the corset and skimpy skirt Austin had sent over.
She’d just zipped the dress up over the black, lacy bra and panty set she’d chosen when her doorbell rang. Steeling herself against the argument to come, she took a deep, bracing breath and opened the door.
His eyes, lit with excitement, quickly clouded over with displeasure as he scanned her outfit and she nearly dropped to her knees to beg his forgiveness. How had she forgotten, so quickly, how much she hated disappointing him?
“Hi.” Her voice shook with nerves, which seemed to snap him out of his thoughts.
The disappointment cleared and his eyes were once again that pale, stunning blue, sparkling with a dash of humor. “You’re not dressed, kitten.”
“I, um, decided to wear something else.” There. She’d said it. No turning back now.
“Oh?” One single syllable, delivered in a casual, conversational tone. And somehow it still sent a chill down her spine.
“Yes. The corset is lovely, I just wasn’t very comfortable.”
Stepping across the threshold, he closed the door behind him before grasping her chin in his hand. When he tilted her head back, forcing her to look up at him, her breath caught in her throat at the predatory gleam in his eyes.
“Do you need to use your safe word?”