"Trust me," he said, and took her hand as he followed the shapely assistant through a doorway Sophie hadn't previously noticed. She found herself in a boudoir style changing room, all padded grey suede walls and mood lighting. A large central chaise longue dominated the space, clearly a resting perch for Lucien to observe from if he wished.
He wished.
The assistant hung Lucien's selections in the mirrored changing space behind a screen for Sophie and then left the room, clicking the door with a quiet but definite thud.
"Do you need me to unzip your dress?"
Sophie stepped behind the changing screen, hot, bothered and glad of her side zip. The realisation dawned on her that Lucien needed to stay right over there on the chaise if she were to have a hope of getting through this surreal experience with any degree of poise. "I'm good, thanks." She was impressed at her own casual tone.
"You can say that again, princess."
Sophie's fingers shook as she stood in her own suddenly woeful underwear and considered the three confections before her. So, which to try first? He'd selected three very different styles, all of which were far more risqué than anything she'd ever owned.
She stripped off. Quickly overcome with giddy panic at being completely nude, she opted for the relative familiarity of a standard bra and knickers combination first - or so they appeared on first glance, anyway. As she stepped into the knickers, it became obvious that they weren't your average daywear. High cut over her hips, silk-lined black lace covered the barest of essentials. Somehow, they seemed to make her legs magically longer and her waist smaller. Mesmerised, Sophie stepped into her high heels for the full effect. When she hooked the matching bra over her arms and into place, she gasped out loud at the realisation that the demi-cups weren't designed to cover her nipples. The bra supported her breasts perfectly yet exposed them completely.
"Let me see."
Christ. She'd almost forgotten Lucien was out there, which was ridiculous given their situation. She couldn't go out there in this.
"Either you come out here or I'll come behind there, Sophie. Which would you rather?"
"Lucien..."
She heard him move to get up, and placed her hands over her breasts in panic. "Stay there. I'll come out."
She knew her cheeks were burning as she stepped out into Lucien's sightline with her hands crossed over her breasts. "You seem to have chosen a bra with bits missing," she said, trying to keep her voice light.
"Put your hands down."
Sophie closed her eyes for a second. Could she? It was ridiculous. He had seen everything. Why did she feel so much more exposed wearing these beautiful fragments of lingerie?
Lucien reclined back on the chaise, one knee raised and his hands behind his head.
"Hands down, princess."
Sophie counted to three in her head then dropped her hands, acutely aware of her reflection in the huge gilt mirror leaning against the wall, and of the way Lucien’s demeanour had changed as she revealed herself. He certainly didn't look quite so relaxed any more.
He stood slowly and stalked around her, appraising her from every angle before coming to a standstill behind her. There was a silence. Then he spoke.
"You look utterly fuckable."
His hands slipped around her body to tease her jutting nipples as he kissed her neck. "Utterly. Fucking. Fuckable."
His fingers skimmed around and down to cup the cheeks of her bottom.
"Let me see the corset next."
He kissed her shoulder and nudged her towards the screen.
Sophie moved back behind it and laid her head against the cool mirror for a second. This was one of those once-in-a-lifetime experiences, so far beyond the everyday that she needed to commit it to memory because it would never happen again.
The corset Lucien had picked was outrageously gorgeous. With matching high waisted, aubergine satin knickers that hugged her curves, every hook and eye Sophie fastened down the centre of the heavy silk corset made her figure more statuesque. She barely recognised the fifties starlet she glimpsed in the mirror. Lucien's low whistle of appreciation told her that he liked what he saw too when she stepped around the screen.
"Look at you," he breathed as he ran his hands over the taut silk, making her shiver. He circled her cinched-in waist, and Sophie licked her lips, impossibly turned on by the clear lust radiating from his blue gaze.
She ran a teasing hand down his chest. "You like it?"
He yanked her against him, letting his body show her exactly what he thought. His kiss was thoroughly X-rated as his hands moved restlessly over her silk clad body.
"I'd like to take this off you," he muttered, breaking their kiss.
Sophie was beginning to revel in her power. She skimmed her hand over his erection, letting her grasp linger for a second. Now, her composed tone was easier to summon.
"I'll be right back."
The third outfit Lucien had selected appeared on the hanger to be the most demure.
A dress, of sorts. Sheer, form-fitting black cobweb lace, short anyway, but slit to the top of one thigh for fuller exposure. Slender bones encased in velvet seams ran the length of the dress for structure, and underwired balconette cups and lingerie straps placed the outfit definitely in the bedroom rather than the nightclub department.
The lace-up back was a two-man job… and Lucien was the only man to hand.
Sophie stepped from behind the screen and turned her back to him at once.
"Help me with this?"
"To put it on or take it off?"
Sophie tried not to jump when his fingers touched the ties, tugging them until the already clinging dress moulded to her body like a second skin. She closed her eyes with each little pull, aware of the way her waist cinched in and her breasts curved out. Lucien tied the slim velvet ribbons at the base of her spine and then turned her in his arms to survey the results of his handiwork.
The dress felt amazing. Its clever, intricate design covered her body in an almost respectable fashion, whilst still being sexy with a capital 'S'.
Lucien reached out and trailed a slow finger down her throat, all the way between the rounded curves of her breasts.
"Perfect."
He drew her close against his body, and his hand slipped into her hair as he lowered his head to hers. She'd expected hard and sexy, and she got slow, delicious and sexier still. Lucien's mouth touched her cheek, her jaw, before finally settling over hers.
His lips were warm and yielding and his thumb stroked her cheekbone as his tongue touched against hers. It was a kiss designed to make her feel adored, and Sophie's whole body tingled with anticipation of more.