The Mates of Monsters novel Chapter 38

I secure a heavy towel around my body then peek through a slit in the doorway. The bedroom is empty, but I hear David's voice coming from the living room. He must be on the phone with Tarlo; maybe David is updating him.

Tonight Jeremy planned for me to wear the emerald green dress. It's long with a sophisticated cut, not too young or too old. He calls them my dresses, but I feel as if I'm borrowing costumes for a ballet performance. I smile, twirl about the room, and put all my recently-learned knowledge on our politics to use. David says that shape-shifting, people-pleasing person is me. If he's right, then I have never been so fractured in my life. Funnily enough, I have never felt so whole.

I leave the bedroom in the dress so David can zipper me in. My hair tumbles down my shoulders, still partially damp, and I gather it to the side for him. "David?" I call and appear from the hallway.

He's standing in the center of the room, half-dressed with dress pants but missing his shirt. He looks me over with the phone still pressed to his ear. "I have to go," he says to the device, "we're heading to dinner soon... Alright... Okay. I'll call again tomorrow."

He hangs up and I ask, "Was it Tarlo?"

"I was checking in on things," he says. I turn and display my un-zipped zipper and he needs no instruction. He draws it up and I feel the fabric secure around me as I catch sight of his shirt folded on top of the credenza. His fingers slide from the back of the neckline to my waist, and he steps against me.

"Are you trying to break me?" He questions, lower, referring to my little show before showering; when I undressed. "Careful, Brigette."

I spin around and say, "I forgot to close the door."

He shakes his head in disapproval. "I have control, but I also have my limits."

"Is that a warning? I can't make you lose control?"

"Not if you want me to be gentle."