Page 13 of Bound Bride
It's stunning.
Four floors of beautiful carved stone, with pillars framing the large front porch.
Tall green trees line the building, covering the space between each window, while a large vine plant stretches up one side of the building and covers the pale stone in colorful flowers illuminated by the lights hanging from under several balconies.
It's like something out of a dream and I scarcely mask my awe as Kon leads me up the steps.
"This is your home?"
"Yes."
"Your actual home?"
"Yes." Kon glances at me. "Do you not think it suits me?" The front door swings open, controlled by a man dressed in a smart gray suit, and we walk into a foyer with a black and white marble floor. A wide, ornate staircase faces me, leading upward and then splitting off in opposite directions.
"Oh it suits you," I reply softly. "I've just never…everbeen in a place this beautiful."
"It is now your home, so if you wish to redecorate…"
I gape at him. "Excuse me?"
He shrugs off his jacket and my mouth runs dry at the sudden appearance of muscles thick enough that his shirt can barely contain them. "Do you not wish to?"
"I… I hadn't really thought about it."
"I had your things placed in our room on the third floor. You will find everything you need there." Kon's lips twitch into something I choose to believe is a smile, then he turns and walks past the stairs and down a dark hallway while fiddling with his cufflinks.
Ethan follows and Calvin remains with me.
He escorts me to the third floor and into a bedroom so vast that it's about as big as the entire hovel Mathew was keeping me in for the past six months.
A handful of suitcases sit stacked on the floor near the gigantic bay windows, which lead out to a balcony overlooking the vast back gardens, and several closets are filled to the brim with brand-new clothes, all in my size.
For a man who knows nothing about me and is some kind of monster, he sure thought about everything.
The urge to collapse into bed is strong.
Every part of me aches and throbs and sweet relief floods through me when I step out of those killer heels and wrestle out of my wedding dress.
But as sweet as sleep would be, Mathew's threat lingers in the back of my mind like the screech of a bird.
There's no time like the present.
As expected, one of the suitcases, likely packed by Mathew, is filled with lingerie.
My task couldn't be clearer.
After tidying my makeup and brushing my hair, I dress in black lace crotchless panties and a black lace corset bra that scarcely hides anything, then I take a deep breath and open the bedroom door.
Calvin immediately averts his eyes skyward and clears his throat.
"Where is Kon?" I ask sweetly.
Calvin keeps his eyes anywhere but me until I pick out a silky housecoat from my suitcase, then he leads me down through the house to where Kon is busy in the kitchen.
He doesn't look up when I enter, but he angles his head toward me and finally looks at me when I shed the housecoat and hop up onto the counter.
Spreading my legs as wide as I can, I lean back and smile coyly.
