Her Contract Marriage To The Billionaire Alpha

Tenderness

Alyssa POV

The boutique that Xavier took me to is exclusive. As we step inside, a sales assistant immediately makes a beeline for us, her eyes narrowing as she takes in the expensive designer suit that Xavier is wearing, the Rolex watch, and the way he carries himself, even as she wrinkles her nose and looks at me with contempt. I was wearing sweatpants and a sweatshirt still, both of them his. She gives Xavier a winning smile, thrusting her breasts forward. "Is there anything I can help you with sir?" she purrs.

She's blatantly ignoring my presence. Perhaps she automatically assumes that Xavier and I have come in separately or that no man who looks as handsome as him is going to have anything to do with a woman who is dressed so dowdy.

"My wife needs a whole new wardrobe" Xavier's voice is cold as he glances dismissively down at the crestfallen sales assistant.

I fight back the smug expression that wants to take over my face.

"Her?" the sales assistant stammers, looking at me with disbelief.

"Did I misspeak?" Xavier's voice was cutting." Do I need to get a manager?" he asks, staring down his nose as the woman blanches.

"No, sir, I'm just that is..." she stammers and then gives up, forcing a wide smile on her face and speaking to me directly.

"Maam, what can we do for you?" she asks, glancing uneasily at Xavier who is still staring down at her.

"She needs everything. Gowns, pants, trousers, shirts, t-shirts, underwear" Xavier's voice was perfectly calm.

I blush "Xavier", I hiss, but he merely raises a brow.

"Shoes, accessories" he sighs, "oh and make sure there's lingerie", he perks up, and I blush profusely, my face turning a beet tomato red while the sales assistant's eyes are wide and practically bulging out of her skull.

She's no doubt trying to imagine the huge commission she's about to get on everything as she glances around the store, her eyes beginning to sparkle.

"Is there a budget?" the sales assistant is almost jogging on the spot now.

"None. Money is no object", Xavier was dismissive, sitting down on a chair, and glancing impatiently at his watch.

The sales assistant drags me towards the women's clothing section. She begins to fling clothes over my arms as I hold them out. She eyes me carefully. "With your skin tone" she begins, "you want bronze, caramel colors."

I remain silent as she ushers me towards the dressing room. I pause when I hear Xavier's voice. "I would like to see her in that gown" he points, and the sales assistant rushes to grab it, handing me a caramel-colored dress that I take and step into the dressing room with.

I stare at the mountain of clothes. So many and the sales assistant was continuing to pile up more as I began to change, frantically trying on various outfits. I reluctantly put on the dress that Xavier wanted me to wear, staring at myself in the mirror. The color highlights my complexion, giving it an almost golden glow, the spaghetti straps showing off the thinness of my arms. The draped neckline showed off a generous expanse of cleavage and there was a slit down the side of the leg, which was both daring and seductive. I looked like a million dollars. I stepped out of the dressing room as Xavier hung up his phone.

"Brilliant" he begins, and then looks at me, his eyes widening for a moment as I stand there, feeling a little uncertain of myself.

He makes a strangled noise. For a moment, I could almost swear his eyes darkened, to the point they resembled dark obsidian, but when I looked again, they were back to normal, although Xavier looked as though he was having trouble regaining his composure.

"Xavier?" I whisper as his gaze lingers on me, his body motionless "How do I look?" I hesitate.

"How do you look?" his voice is almost a growl "Alyssa, I don't think I want you wearing that dress," he says, a fierce expression on his face.

I frown. He was the one who suggested wearing this dress in the first place and now that I have it on, I can't deny that I look beautiful in it. I don't understand his reluctance to let me wear it. It looks like any other gown that would be worn to a formal event. Perhaps slightly daring, but still appropriate nonetheless, and I was sure that there would be some reason to be able to wear it.

"But Xavier, you asked me to model this" I protested, feeling hurt. "You asked me to put this on. How can you not like it?" I asked, staring down at the fabric which was shimmering beneath the light.

His jaw clenched. "It's not that I don't like it, Alyssa, which is precisely the problem" he bit out, as the sales assistant hovered nearby, "the problem is that I like it a little too much,, on you and that means that other men are going to have the same opinion," he said exhaling loudly.

What? Was he being serious? Did Xavier Trace just admit that he liked me in this dress and that was the reason he didn't want me to wear it? What kind of reasoning was this? I stared at him. He looked as though he was on the verge of losing what little control or sanity he had left. "Get changed" he snapped.

It was foolish to argue with him, I know. But I wanted this dress. It fits me perfectly. I could see Xavier's eyes narrow as he looked at me and saw the defiant expression on my face.

"Alyssa" he rasps and just as I'm about to speak, to continue to argue, something makes me glance downwards as he shifts uncomfortably on his feet.

My eyes widened slightly. I exhaled. I realized he wasn't joking when he said that he was affected by me being in the dress. He's struggling with an erection as I stand there, and I cough, my cheeks beginning to burn as he smirks at me.

"I'll go change" I squeak.

He sits back down as I rush back into the dressing room, fanning my face. I felt hot all over all of a sudden. I could feel my body heating up as I began to carefully pull the dress off. I changed clothes, trying on various outfits, but none of them compared to how the dress had looked on me. The sales assistant knew her stuff though and the items she had brought me all fit, were well-made, and complimented my figure and skin tone. I blushed as she brought me several pieces of lingerie, but when I peeked over at where Xavier had been sitting, he was nowhere to be seen.

"He went to take another call," the sales assistant said with a nonchalant shrug, as I breathed in relief, "Said to tell you he would be back shortly and to finish up as soon as you could."

I nodded, putting the lingerie aside. I didn't need to try them on. The sales assistant put them at the counter and I began to pick out my accessories and shoes. I was feeling guilty as I took in the amount of clothes that were being piled on the counter to be placed through. There were so many. This was going to cost a small fortune.

The sales assistant began to ring things through. I bit my lip, watching as the items began to tally up. The dress was placed to the side and I glanced at it with a sigh. I heard footsteps behind me and then felt Xavier's hand on my shoulder. I glanced up, but his expression was indecipherable as he looked at the register.

"Is this all?" he asked.

My mouth almost dropped open. "Is this all?" I spluttered, as the man looked at me amused. "This is enough to clothe me for several years," I told him in disbelief. "How many things did you think I was going to purchase?"

"Add some more lingerie" he instructed the sales assistant, who happily nodded and went to fetch some.

"Xavier" I hissed.

He ignored me. "I'm quite partial to that one"-he pointed to a cream-colored babydoll and matching g-string set that had my face flaming as the sales assistant snatched it up and added it to the items she was ringing up.

"I don't remember agreeing to dress up in lingerie for you" I snapped.

"You will" his tone was casual.

The sales assistant laughed, enjoying our banter. Now that she had seen the extent of what we were buying, she was all smiles. I looked forlornly at the dress. Sadly, I couldn't afford to buy it, which was a shame. It was one of the few things I would have bought for myself if I had the money to splurge. I saw Xavier looking at me and then back at the dress. His lips flattened, and then he took a gentle hold of it, passing it to the sales assistant as my mouth parted slightly in shock.

"Add the gown. It would be a shame to let something that fits so perfectly on her and looks so stunning go to someone else" he said smoothly.

"Of course. What would you like us to do with all these items?" the assistant seemed well-versed in what to do as she rang up the final tally.

I winced. Xavier, however, didn't falter, taking out his wallet and handing over his credit card.

"Have the items sent to my address. I'll write it down, here" he said, grabbing the pen the girl offered and scribbling away. "If you can get them sent out today it would be appreciated as she's in desperate need of clothes," he added.

That was an understatement. The sales assistant gave him back the credit card, beaming at him. "No problems Mr Trace. We are always happy to serve our customers to the highest satisfaction. Mrs Trace" she bowed her head to me, "I will have these clothes sent out by our courier within the next few hours."

"Thank you," I told her, while Xavier merely nodded, unimpressed. He put his wallet away and then turned around, beginning to lead the way out of the store.

I walked behind him, lost in thought. As we stepped out onto the street, my shoe caught on a piece of loose cobblestone and I tripped. My arms flung out in reflex, while I tensed, prepared to feel my body hitting the ground. To my surprise, Xavier moved faster than I could have given him credit for, whirling around and catching me as I stumbled forward, his eyes quickly glancing over me as he helped me to straighten back up.

"Careful" he grunted as I stared at him wordlessly, my heart still racing, his eyes now filled with concern. "You could have seriously hurt yourself just then" he scolded, taking hold of my hand and beginning to watch the ground intently as he led me towards the limousine.

This man was difficult to read. It was like hot and cold with Xavier, but one thing remained consistent. Everytime he touched me, no matter where or how small, I felt tingles run down my spine and what felt like electricity course through my body.