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"You heard me. I want to imagine you in that G-string every day."
"I . . ."
"Throw the others away, Serenity. I'm going to fill your drawers with new lingerie, the kind I like."
"That’s not part of your guardian duties."
"No, but I am expanding my duties from this moment on."
"I should say no."
"But you won't?"
"No. I want you to think of me dressed in that lingerie."
"Fuck!"
"You started it. When do you get back? By the way, where did you go?"
"We'll talk about that another day. I'm arriving in New York early in the morning, but I’m taking you to lunch with my family tomorrow."
Ares
CHAPTER THIRTY
"What?"
"Are you more shocked by my family's invitation than me wanting to choose which panties you're going to wear, Serenity?"
"I don't . . . um . . . I never . . . I don't think I know how to deal with so many people together."
Now I'm the one who's fucking surprised. "You perform on stages all over the world, capturing the audience's undivided attention for hours."
"None of those people see me. They only see the dancer, not Serenity. I'm not good at this whole interacting with strangers thing."
"You don't want to go?"
"Why would I go? I don't know them. They are your family. That would only complicate things."
Is she scared of a simple lunch? Something in my chest contracts. "What are you afraid of?"
"I'm not afraid. I just don't think it's appropriate."
"As I said before, that ‘appropriate’ line has already been crossed."
"And will it continue to be pushed farther and farther?"
"I don't understand."
"Will you kiss me again? I assume so, since you stole my panties."
"I didn't steal your panties. The others looked like grandma ones. In fact, I'm doing you a favor. I'll give you a complete new collection of lingerie."
"That sounds kind of perverted."
"What do you know about perversion?"
"Not much, but I've read about fetishes," she says, lowering her tone. From the noise in the background, I assume she's getting into the car with the driver.