by Penelope Sky
But she did.
I pulled my boxers down again, ready to jerk off so I could release the buildup of anger, frustration, and immense arousal.
But Muse stepped into my room.
The diamond lingerie was back on her body. Her hair was pulled over one shoulder, and she was in the five-inch heels that made her ass even perkier. Her blue eyes were on me, deeply apologetic.
Then she lowered herself to her knees.
Right in front of me.
She rested her hands on her thighs and tilted her chin up to look at me. “Let me make it up to you…sir.”
* * *
I worked from my office at home the following day, and the view from my window showed the stables. It was a beautiful day outside, and the sun was so bright that looking over the grounds was a slight strain on the eyes.
After several hours at my desk, I went downstairs to grab a banana from the kitchen. I took breakfast in my office to avoid Sapphire. She made up for her abstinence by giving me a great blow job, but I was still pissed I’d come in her mouth instead of her pussy or ass.
“Anything else, sir?” Dante asked.
I peeled the banana and took a few bites. “Yes. I want a gynecologist to come by the house and see Sapphire. Make it happen.”
Like always, Dante didn’t ask any questions. “Of course, sir.”
“Where is she, anyway?”
“Last time I checked, she was at the stables.”
“Really?” I finished my banana and tossed the peel in the garbage. When we had breakfast together the other morning, she’d seemed particularly interested in the horses. Now I wondered if she was riding them.
“Would you like a ride there, sir?” Dante asked. “I can bring the golf cart around.”
“That won’t be necessary.” A walk across the field in the sunshine would do me some good anyway. There was no better feeling than experiencing the hot sun right on my skin on a beautiful day like this. My art took place indoors, and it didn’t matter how big my windows were, being inside didn’t compare to direct sunlight.
I walked across the terrace then took the path that guided me to the stables along the outside. The horses perked up when they noticed me, their ears pointing to the sky and their eyes on me. They turned their heads slightly to look at me.
My black stallion trotted toward me across the grass, his beautiful mane flowing back in the wind. He started walking with me along the fence, his black eyes the same color as his deep-colored hair.
I leaned over the fence and rested my elbows against the wood. “Hey, boy.”
A quiet snort came from his nose as he approached me.
“I don’t have any apples, Carbine.”
He smelled my hands as he searched for food, his hot breath flowing over me in powerful waves.
“Let me check in the stables.” I rubbed the front of his muzzle and then scratched him behind both ears. “But your belly is getting a little big. Not sure if you need it.”
He neighed like he understood me.
I gave his flank a playful pat before I walked away.
Carbine continued to follow me along the fence, his hooves hitting the soil with gentle thuds. His tail shifted from left to right, and a small snort escaped his nose every few seconds.
Marco stepped out of the stables in boots and a Stetson. “Carbine misses you.”
I glanced at him one more time before I turned away from the fence and approached the tables. “He’s a good horse.”
“He is when he’s separated from the mares,” Marco said with a laugh. “What brings you down here, sir?”
“I was told my guest was down here.”
“Sapphire?”
I didn’t even like hearing another man call her by name, but I swallowed my annoyance. “Yes.”
“She’s been grooming the horses and feeding them all morning. She’s really taken a liking to the horses. And the horses seemed just as interested in her as she is in them.” He gripped the brim of his hat and adjusted it as he walked beside me. His brown boots were covered with dust, and his skintight jeans made him look like the perfect rancher. He took me into the shade of the stables and away from the summer heat. “How about a ride?”
“Not today.” I looked around the stalls and saw Sapphire standing at the very end with an Appaloosa tied up to the stall. She was brushing his flank with a thick brush, cleaning the outer coat to keep the beast cooler in the warm sun. Dante must have given her clothes to wear, because she was in skintight denim jeans, boots, and a collared shirt.
She was a hot cowgirl.
I held up my hand and silently dismissed Marco.
He read the signal correctly and walked to the other side of the tables. Like Dante, he didn’t ask any questions about my guest. Whether she was a prisoner or not, it wasn’t his concern.
I approached Sapphire from behind. “You’re pretty good at that.”
She looked over her shoulder at the sound of my voice, slightly startled because she hadn’t expected me to be standing there. “Thanks…Marco has shown me a few things.”
I moved to the head of the horse and rubbed her along her snout. “Dante told me you’ve been out here all morning.”
She turned her gaze back to her work, running the brush along the horse. She took long strokes, digging up the loose hair and removing it from the horse’s flank. The horse was surprisingly docile for the fact that Sapphire wasn’t Marco, the person she was used to. Sapphire was a complete stranger, but she didn’t seem to mind. “Yeah. I asked if I could help out, and he’s teaching me a few things. It’s better than sitting around all day. Besides, I like the horses.” She kept her eyes on her work, probably to avoid contact after the tense night we had. She’d gotten on her knees and sucked my dick in apology, and I allowed it to happen because she was too damn sexy to turn down. She didn’t gag and swallowed all of my come like last time—then she let herself out.
I watched her hand go across the animal’s back. Because of her height, she struggled to reach the very top, where the horse’s spine curved inward. I grabbed the wooden step from the closet then set it on the ground in front of here. “Here.”
She stepped up and was instantly a foot taller. “Wow, so this is what it’s like to be you…”
I was still a few inches taller than her. “Almost.”
She reached forward, using the horse for balance as she stretched across to get the untouched patches. “Marco said I need to get to know the horses before I ride them. They’ll get used to me, and I’ll get used to them. Then there shouldn’t be as many problems.”
“It’s a good idea.”
She finished brushing the beast before she stepped back down the ladder. Her collared shirt was tucked in, showing off her sexy waistline. The skintight jeans showed the outline of her long and toned legs. Whether she was naked or fully clothed, she looked stunning. “Anything I can help you with?”
“You’re having lunch with me.”
“When?” She carried the brush to the sink and rinsed it of the horsehair that had been collected during grooming. Even when she had to lean over the sink, she kept her shoulders back and her posture perfect. Now the action was programmed into her spine.
“Thirty minutes.”
“You aren’t working today?”
“It’s Saturday.”
“Then where were you this morning?”
My eyes narrowed at the question. Since she was my slave, she wasn’t entitled to ask any questions. No matter how many times I laid down the law, she never seemed to get it. So I refused to answer the question, my silence clear enough.
She rolled her eyes and looked at the sink again.
“Did you just roll your eyes at me?”
“Yes. It was pretty clear.”
After the bullshit stunt she’d pulled last night, I couldn’t believe she had the audacity to test the limits. Maybe I shouldn’t have shown an ounce of compassion. Maybe I should have just fucked her without thinking twice a
bout it. “I can get you on your back any second, Muse. Don’t push me.”
She turned off the water then turned her blue gaze on me. “I don’t think you have it in you—and that’s something you should be proud of.”
* * *
She changed into a sundress before she joined me for lunch on the terrace. Dante positioned the umbrella so we were completely in the shade. Not only was the sun hot that afternoon, but the humidity was high. The summers in the countryside were breathtaking, something I would never get used to. But I would never be a fan of the wet heat.
My villa reminded me of my childhood home. That was why I’d bought it. It wasn’t situated in western Tuscany, though. I was much farther north and closer to the east. Sometimes in the winter, I received a bit of snow. But in Florence and Tuscany, snow didn’t exist.
Muse sipped her iced tea then broke off a piece of bread from the basket. She was hungrier than usual, probably because she’d been on her feet in the stables all morning. She wasn’t leisurely riding the horses around, but being active in their grooming and feeding. If she did that every day, I guess I wouldn’t care if she didn’t use the gym.
She took a few bites then drank her iced tea again, pretending everything was perfectly alright between the two of us.
I stared at her with my intense expression, watching every little movement she made as I waited for her to look at me. My gaze was piercing, hot like a bullet just fired from the barrel. There was no mistaking that she felt it. Anyone this close to me would feel it.
She finally lifted her gaze. “It’s hard to enjoy my lunch when you stare at me like that.”
“Good.” That was the point.
“How would you feel if I stared at you like that?”
“I’d encourage it.” Despite her confidence and elegance, she would never hold my gaze with the same unflinching focus.
She popped another piece of bread into her mouth and chewed as she lifted her eyes and looked at me. She held my gaze with the same cool confidence, not blinking and not challenged.
But that wouldn’t last long.
It was easy for me to stare at her because I found her to be the most sexually alluring thing on the planet. Everything about her, from her thick eyelashes to the fullness of her lips, got me off. If I were to paint a picture of the perfect woman, she was what I would paint. And her false attempts to meet my intimidation was simply laughable.
Time stretched on. Neither one of us backed down.
“I’m going to fuck you sometime this week. That’s all the time I’m giving you.” I couldn’t give her all the time in the world. If I gave her too much power, then she would know she could push me. I didn’t give anyone any leverage over me, and I shouldn’t have given her a voice at all. But I had—and now we were here. I was negotiating with a woman I’d spent a hundred million dollars on.
It was ridiculous.
She finally broke eye contact, the subject of the conversation obviously striking a nerve.
I knew she would cave.
“If you think you can keep postponing it indefinitely, that’s not going to happen. Maybe I’m not evil, but I’m not good either. My patience is very thin, and I’m already frustrated by your lack of cooperation. It seems like you’ve forgotten what I’ve done for you…”
“I never will.” Her voice escaped as a whisper, nearly as quiet as the breeze. “I am grateful…even if I don’t show it in the way you want.”
“I want to start collecting on your debt—now.”
She grabbed another piece of bread and tore it into two pieces. Then she ripped the pieces into more pieces, playing with the freshly baked bread rather than enjoying it. “If I were in a different circumstance, it would be easy. But since I’m not…it’s a little more difficult.”
“That’s not my problem.” Her lack of experience had nothing to do with me. It only made me feel a little less angry for spending so much money on her. At least she was untouched. Having a gorgeous virgin wasn’t common.
“Well, I don’t want it to be this cold and robotic thing.”
“Well, I don’t do romance. So, what do you expect?”
“I need something more.” She lifted her gaze to look at me. “When we worked together at the studio, you kissed me on the shoulder and the neck…”
“I can do that again.” And I intended to. I knew she liked it. I could feel her tighten underneath me at my touch.
“You were gentle and it felt good. That’s what I want.”
I could do that—one time. “Done.”
“But…I want you to kiss me.”
Not this bullshit again. “I made my position on that very clear.”
“And I want you to change it.”
My hand closed into a fist, pissed that she would make any kind of demand from me. “Too bad.”
“I don’t understand, Conway. You can fuck me but not kiss me?”
“Kissing is innately romantic. It’s definitely a lot more romantic than two people fucking and getting off. That’s all I want from you, to fuck you whenever I want, come inside you, and then go on with my life. I don’t want to pause and take the time to kiss you.”
Her expression slowly hardened into annoyance. “Well, that’s not what I want for my first time. I can’t screw a man without at least kissing him. It makes me feel like I don’t know you. I feel something when you hold me and kiss my neck…but I need more than that. You’re acting like I’m asking you for money or something. I’m not asking for much.”
“Yes, you are,” I snapped. “You’re asking for a lot more than you realize.”
“How long do you intend to keep me?”
My body tensed at the mere suggestion of letting her go. “Until you die.”
She smirked slightly, trying not to laugh. “I’m not going to look the same in fifteen years.”
“I have to squeeze every penny out of you.” No matter how many new designs I released, it would take forever to make back that money I spent.
“And if that’s the case, then we should make this relationship as positive as possible.”
“It’s not a relationship. You’re my property.”
“And what about friendship? Trust? You don’t want those things?”
I clenched my jaw slightly, refusing to answer.
“I’m telling you what I need to make this work.” She leaned forward, her long hair falling over one shoulder. “I’m not going to lie, I’m attracted to you, Conway. I’ve looked at you many times and wanted to kiss you. The idea of spending the rest of my life in a mansion in Italy with a gorgeous man to protect me is a dream come true in many ways…since I don’t have any other options. It’s sad for me to think about it that way, but it’s true. Out there in the real world, I have nothing. I can never go back to America because I’ll never make enough money to live. Even if I get a job, the government will take my checks to pay back the loan I’ll never repay…plus interest. I have a psychopath that will make good on his word the second he has a chance. This is all I have. So I’d rather make it as good as possible. For that to happen, I need to be connected to you. I’m not talking about falling in love or even romance…just human affection. I’m basically your mistress…treat me like your mistress.”
I considered what she said and had a difficult time arguing against it. She was my willing prisoner, so I never had to worry about her running off. She wanted me the way I wanted her, but she needed different terms. I didn’t need to treat her like a slave because she wasn’t one. She was my fantasy, a fantasy I would never have to lose. So I might as well give her what she wanted to make it as enjoyable as possible. Because she was right—this was a lifetime commitment. She wouldn’t just be one of the women in my bed, but the key to my artistic success. The more I enjoyed her, the better designer I would become. “I’ll consider it.”
She tilted her head slightly. “What’s the big deal, Conway?”
“I can’t afford to let the sex turn into something more.”
“Because…?”
“My designs are fueled by masculine sexuality. Men just want to fuck, to feel kingly by being in between a woman’s legs. They aren’t interested in lovemaking or romance. That’s why my lingerie is so prized. It speaks of that innate and carnal desire. So I keep my sexual encounters exactly the same—as nothing but fucking.”
She listened to me in silence, her head still slightly tilted. “And you don’t think it would be smart to broaden your audience more? Not all men are only interested in fucking a woman and walking away. There are some men out there stupidly in love with the person they’re with.”
A few. Not many. “Trust me, that’s not what most men want.”
“So you’ve never made love to a woman?”
I’d known what I wanted in life at a very young age. Romance had never interested in me. There was so much beauty between a man and a woman having a purely physical encounter. It allowed more passion, knowing they would only have one night together. They wanted to make it last before the sun rose the following morning. “No.”
“You’ve never been in love?” she asked incredulously.
“No.” Nor would I ever.
“How old are you?”
“Twenty-eight.”
“And you’ve never met anyone that’s meant something to you?”
The only person who stole my complete focus was sitting across from me at that very moment. “No.”
She finally turned her gaze away, looking at her food. “That’s sad…”
“You haven’t met anyone that’s meant something to you either.”
“But I want to.”
The idea of her falling for some guy immediately ticked me off. “Now you never will—as long as you’re mine.”
Her eyes moved up again, this time with disappointment.
I didn’t feel bad for what I said. For one hundred million dollars and her life, she would give up her romantic freedom.
She suddenly set her napkin on the table, her food only half eaten. Then she stood up and walked away, leaving me to enjoy my lunch alone.
