Free TRAGIC: Rook and Ronin, #1 by J. A. Huss

undergarments."
    I open the closet and there are my seven articles of clothing sitting on top of the stackable washer lid. Folded. "Uh…"
    When I turn Ronin is standing next to me taking a swig of beer. He swallows and grins. "I can help you out with that, if you'd like."
    "I'm lost. Are we talking about getting me panties, or taking them off me?"
    He laughs. "Both, I think. Come on," he says, taking my hand and setting his beer down on the coffee table as we walk by. He pulls me outside and the only thing I smell is cherry blossoms. Every single cherry tree is filled with flowers, so many flowers every bough bends under the weight. It creates a heaviness that transfers across the terrace and pulls me into the scenery. Ronin catches my gaze and stops for a moment. "We're gonna take pictures of you out here tomorrow. It will be perfect, don't you think?"
    I stare at the trees a few more moments and then mutter, "They're so beautiful I can barely stand to look at them."
    "I know the feeling." His boyish charms are gone now as he looks down on me with a hunger I haven't seen on a man's face in a very long time. "And a picture of you surrounded by those blossoms will be enough to make a guy shed a tear over the perfection of it all."
    I wait for the joke but it never comes. He just stares at me for a few more seconds and then squeezes my hand and pulls me into the studio.
    "Where are we going? I have no clothes on!"
    "Exactly," he comes back with. We enter a small hallway near the stairs and walk to the end of it and turn a corner to find a double door. It has a keypad and Ronin punches in his code, which I notice is the same one that opens the outside doors. The same one he gave me the first day I met him.
    "That code of yours works a lot of stuff around here. You should maybe not hand it out to just anyone."
    "I didn't." He grins and pushes against the frosted glass until the doors begin to open automatically. He waves me into the room and then flicks on the lights.
    I gasp.
    "Welcome to the Chaput Studios wardrobe and dressing room. You may choose anything you want from this side of the closet." He points to the largest area where racks are overflowing with clothes. There must be thousands of outfits here. "Those over there," his gaze goes to the smaller section, "are for the next week's shoot. And these right here," he says, pointing to a large chest of thin drawers, "are undergarments. These are all new, so take what you want."
    "Am I allowed?" I ask, stunned.
    "Allowed what?"
    "To take this stuff."
    "I just said you could."
    "But won't Antoine or Elise get mad that I'm pilfering your stuff?"
    "I run the girls, Rook. That means I run the closet too. This is like my little kingdom."
    I laugh again. Shit, this guy has me laughing like an idiot this morning. "You're the King of the Closet?"
    He bows. "The one and only."
    "And you have spare panties for me ?"
    "Just shut up and pick some clothes, you goof."
    "I don't know where to start, honestly. I've not had a lot of opportunities to shop."
    He looks over at me as I take seat on a long bench in the middle of the room. His expression is a little sad. "I'm not going to ask, because I know you've got things you're not about to reveal to me, not after three days anyway. But I'd just like you to know, that is not right. Whatever you've been through, whatever it was that made you so… sad. I'd just like to say you deserve better."
    I swallow down some old hurt and mumble out a, "Thank you."
     

 
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter Fifteen - RONIN
     
    "You're welcome, but you're definitely getting clothes today. This closet is bursting with shit so I'll tell you what, you look through the bras and panties and I'll bring you clothes. I have excellent taste anyway."
    I go off to find her something comfortable. I pass by the sexy stuff, then grab a pretty nightie just in case, and continue on and find the casual wear.
    Rook's clothes aren't that bad. I mean, she looks hot as hell to me. I