Chapter 136: Buying Lingerie For Vesperia
"Let me dress you," Azriel murmured, his voice a low, possessive rumble. His hands didn’t just touch her; they lingered, his palms molding to the soft, yielding curve of her waist, claiming her even in the silence.
Vesperia didn’t argue.
She couldn’t.
The sheer dominance in his tone had her pulse hammering against her ribs.
Her breath hitched, coming in warm, uneven gasps against his collarbone as she stepped into the matching crimson silk bottoms.
She drew the gossamer fabric up the long, flawless line of her thighs, the material sliding over her skin like a liquid caress until it settled snugly over the flare of her hips.
She lifted the structured bustier, slipping her arms through the delicate off-the-shoulder straps.
The rich ruby silk molded instantly over her ribs, hugging her tight, but the back panel, strung with fine, gold-threaded cords, hung loose and open, exposing the pale, inviting expanse of her spine to the cool air of the dressing room.
Azriel turned her gently toward the three-sided mirror, stepping in close behind her.
The heat radiating from his body was an invitation and a threat.
His broad chest pressed firmly into the curve of her back, his powerful thighs framing hers, pinning her between the glass and his strength.
His fingers, steady and sure, took hold of the gold laces.
"Tighter?" he asked softly, his lips grazing the shell of her ear, his hot breath stirring the loose blonde locks of her disguise.
"Tighter," she answered, the word escaping as a husky shiver that vibrated through her entire frame.
"Make sure it doesn’t give an inch."
Azriel obeyed and pulled the laces taut, the flexible wyrm-rib boning contracting with a sharp snap.
He cinched her waist into an impossibly sharp taper, forcing her breath to shallow as the garment squeezed her midsection, which in turn pushed the full, heavy swell of her breasts upward into dramatic, breathtaking prominence.
The teardrop fire crystals hanging from the center gore flared with an ember-like light, pulsing in sync with the heat flushing her skin.
He tied the laces off with a firm, punishing knot, his palms smoothing down the crimson silk over her hips to anchor the fit, his touch possessive.
In the reflection of the glass, Vesperia’s disguised hazel eyes were blown wide, her pupils dilated as she tracked every brush of his hands.
"Well?" she asked, her voice dipping into that velvet, teasing purr, though the frantic flutter of her pulse in the hollow of her throat betrayed her.
"Which do you think looks better?"
Azriel didn’t answer immediately.
He let the silence stretch, building the tension until it was nearly unbearable.
He leaned down, brushing his lips across the warm crook where her neck met her shoulder, feeling the instantaneous jolt that stiffened her spine and made her toes curl.
"I’m taking both," Azriel declared, his tone leaving no room for negotiation.
Suddenly, his hands traveled upward, sliding under the silk to grab her breasts from behind.
He squeezed them firmly, his fingers digging into the soft flesh, molding her breasts in his grip.
"I mean, with a body like this, how the hell could any lingerie not look great on you?" He groaned low in his throat.
"Even if you just wore a scrap of cloth, you’d still look sexy, and that’s while you’re in this disguise."
His voice dropped an octave, turning dark and hungry.
"But if we’re talking about your real body..." He surged forward, pressing his lower body flush against her. Vesperia gasped, her back arching as she felt the thick, rigid length of his cock slam against her.
"Fuck, I’m hard."
Vesperia shivered violently, the sensation of his long, veiny dick pressing hard between the cheeks of her ass sending a bolt of pure electricity straight to her clit.
She leaned back into him, her voice a desperate, needy whisper.
"Want me to suck it off?"
Azriel smiled, a predatory glint in his violet eyes, as he gave her breasts one last, bruising squeeze.
"No. Let’s go. Rosalind might be waiting for us already. And if I let you get your mouth on me now, I’m definitely not stopping until I fuck you into total exhaustion."
Vesperia let out a shaky moan, pressing her ass back against him, shaking lightly with anticipation.
Her tail flicked instinctively, the tip grazing the length of his cock through his trousers, a teasing promise of what was to come.
"Sure," she breathed, her voice thick with lust.
With a reluctant sigh, Azriel helped her peel off the crimson lingerie, his hands lingering on her skin as he assisted her back into her previous clothes.
They exited the dressing room, carrying the two sets of lingerie as trophies of their encounter.
As they walked back toward the counter, Azriel’s gaze drifted.
He stopped abruptly, his eyes locking onto a mannequin in the window display.
Beneath the optical illusion, his violet irises flared with an electric, predatory spark.
\A wicked, devastatingly sharp smirk played at the corner of his lips as a decadent picture formed in his mind.
Tucking the thought away for a heartbeat, he continued toward the counter.
[LIVE CHAT]
[Sadistic69] (Red): HE BOUGHT BOTH! AHAHAHA! SEVENTY SUN-GOLDS GONE IN AN HOUR! MY BOY IS DOWN HORRENDOUS AND WE LOVE TO SEE IT!"
[Nine_Tailed_Vixen] (Cyan): The way he laced that corset from behind... the tension in that mirror was absolutely suffocating
[Moon_Priestess_99] (Cyan): Look at Vesperia trying to act collected while her heart is beating out of her chest...
[God_Slayer_Klara] (Red): Next stop: Duchess Rosalind. I cannot wait to see her reaction to that Moonlit Dawn ring.
The Catkin merchant waited behind the polished counter, her pointed black ears twitching with acute, amused curiosity.
Taking in the lingering flush on the regal blonde woman’s face and the prominent, unmistakable ridge straining against the young man’s trousers, a slightly shocked smile tugged at the feline’s lips.
Approaching the counter with effortless composure, Azriel unhitched the leather pouch from his belt and flicked the cord open.
"The crimson bustier and the black lace cut-out set," Azriel said smoothly, counting out seventy gleaming Imperial Sun-Golds onto the glass surface with crisp, heavy clinks.
"Box them discreetly in runic-sealed silk."
"R-Right away, young master!" the shopkeeper purred, sweeping the gold into her register with practiced flickers of her claws.
She deftly folded the enchanted silks between dark velvet layers, tucking them into an unmarked, aura-dampening case.
Azriel took the parcel, slipping it seamlessly into his spatial ring alongside the ironwood case containing Rosalind’s ring.
Side by side, they stepped through the front entrance.
But the moment the cool breeze of Oakheaven brushed their faces, Azriel paused, tapping his temple as if struck by a sudden realization.
"Wait for me out here a second, Ves," he said, turning back toward the door.
"Forgot something at the counter."
Vesperia arched a honey-blonde brow, but offered an amused wave of her hand.
Don’t take all day, boy."
Azriel slipped back through the mahogany doors.
The Catkin merchant looked up, her tail swishing in mild surprise.
"Is there an issue, young master?"
"No issue," Azriel said, offering a slow, enigmatic grin as he pointed directly toward the lingerie on the front display.
"Do you have duplicates of that piece in the back?"
"The Celestial Eclipse set?" Her eyes widened slightly.
"Yes, we have several tailored cuts in stock."
"Pack two," Azriel stated with calm, decisive authority.
"One in the exact proportions of the matriarch I just fitted... and another a single size smaller."
The feline merchant blinked, a flash of startled realization crossing her amber eyes before she composed herself with an intrigued bow.
"Understood at once."
She vanished into the vault, returning moments later with two ornate silver-embossed boxes.
"That will be one hundred Imperial Sun-Golds, honored guest."
Having exhausted the liquid coin from his dungeon crawl, leaving only fifteen sun gold coins, Azriel reached into his coat with zero hesitation.
Using Rosalind’s wealth to buy her an engagement token had felt entirely wrong.
But using her card to purchase something like this?
That was an investment he was more than happy to charge to the household.
He produced the sleek, matte-white credit card Rosalind had gifted him.
The card was unadorned save for a pair of intertwining golden and violet rune etched into the core, an exclusive, custom-minted imperial black-line card, carrying no account numbers and virtually zero spending limit.
The merchant stared at the terminal as the card tapped against the receiving rune.
The interface flashed a blinding, iridescent violet, bypassing all credit-clearance protocols and approving the transaction instantly.
Having handled wealth from every guild across the province, she had never seen a card of this tier in her life.
"Your... your transaction is complete, My Lord," the Catkin stammered, bowing so deeply her ears brushed the counter as she handed over the boxes.
Azriel swept both cases into his ring with a satisfied smirk, stepped through the boutique doors, and rejoined Vesperia on the cobblestone walkway.
The matriarch glanced at him sideways, her golden-hazel gaze narrowing with keen, feline suspicion.
"What did you run back in for?"
Azriel looped his arm casually around her waist, pulling her close as they blended back into the flow of the bustling boulevard.
"Just planning ahead, Ves," Azriel whispered, his violet-under-brown eyes gleaming with raw mischief.
"You’ll see soon enough."