by Penelope Sky
He straightened at the fence, returning his arms to his sides. “Will you have dinner with me tonight?”
Despite the summer heat, I felt goose bumps sprinkle across my arms. “Sure.”
“Great. I’ll see you then.”
* * *
We sat on the terrace with a single white candle between us. Dante prepared juicy steaks with stalks of asparagus along with a side of potatoes. He selected the wine to complement the food, and we had a five-star meal right in the backyard.
The sun had set thirty minutes ago, and now a faint line stretched over the horizon. Splashes of blue, orange, and pink mixed with the clouds that started to roll in as the temperature cooled.
Conway and I didn’t say much. Ever since we came to our agreement, we spoke to each other less. There was simply less to say since he wasn’t bossing me around all the time. The basis of our relationship was fighting back and forth. Without it, there wasn’t much to go on.
But I preferred the quiet over arguing.
He stared at me most of the time, his black shirt showing off the thickness of his arms. He’d shaved before dinner, so his jaw was clean of the stubble he had earlier that afternoon. His eyes were dark like his shirt, giving him a look of constant shadow. The only time he pulled his gaze away was to look at his steak as he cut off a piece.
I was getting used to his stares. The look was identical to what it used to be, but it somehow felt different. “Was Vanessa’s story true? You really did that?”
He sipped his wine before he answered. “Yes.”
“Why?”
“Men are disgusting assholes—that’s why.”
“Yes, but not all of them are.”
He shook his head. “Yes, all. Of all women, you should agree with that statement.”
I couldn’t when an exception was sitting right across from me. But since he hated being labeled as a good guy, I didn’t tell him that. “Do you look after her a lot?”
“A lot more than she thinks. She got upset with me when I followed her, but she thinks that’s the first time. The fact that she’s never noticed me before concerns me.”
“She seems like a capable young woman.”
“She’s not. She’s young and naïve. She thinks the world is a beautiful place and she needs a blank canvas to capture it all. Fucking annoying.”
“Sounds like she has a good spirit.”
“She does. I wouldn’t be so concerned if she weren’t so damn beautiful.” He sighed before he took another drink of his wine. “I’m her brother, and even I can’t pretend she’s ugly. Anytime I’m out with her, all the men stare at her. But I can’t strangle twelve men at one time, so I just have to deal with it. So how many men stare at her when she’s by herself?”
“She may be ignorant, but I doubt she’s ignorant to that. Every beautiful woman knows what it’s like to be stared at.”
“But not every woman understands she’s not invincible. Vanessa has a false sense of self. She thinks she’s stronger than she really is. If someone grabs her, she thinks she’ll be able to fight them off…but she can’t.”
His deep concern for his sister made me wonder if there was more to the story than he was telling me. “Conway, did something happen?”
It was the first time he’d dropped his gaze during the conversation. “Meaning?”
“You and your father both seemed…uncomfortable by the topic.”
He drank his wine again, this time taking a much bigger sip. “I’d rather not talk about it.”
So there was a reason. “I’m sorry I asked.”
He finished his glass and refilled it. “When she decided she wanted to study in Milan, it was difficult for my parents to let her go. They’ve protected her her entire life. Since she’s close to me, I feel the need to look after her. So far there haven’t been any issues, but you never know. A part of me wants her to marry a very powerful man, that way I’ll never have to worry about her ever again.”
“Maybe she will.”
He shook his head. “She’s too independent and has way too much sass. She scares men away.”
“A truly good man won’t be scared away. So, when she meets the right one, he’ll stick around.”
“Maybe.”
I adjusted the sleeves of my dress. I was wearing the dress that Dante had brought to my room, light blue with a deep plunge down the front. The neckline was so low I couldn’t wear a bra with it, so I’d taped my nipples down so they wouldn’t press through the thin fabric. “I think it’s sweet that you care about her so much. I can tell she loves you.”
“Because she has to.”
“No…definitely not.”
He looked across the fields at the land in the distance. Judging by his coldness, the subject had officially expired. “I don’t know anything about your family. What were they like?”
“My father died a really long time ago. Car accident. My mother followed him a few years later when she got sick. I have an aunt that lives in California, but I’ve never been close to her. Nathan was all I had…until I realized who he really was.”
“I’m sorry.”
I didn’t have a close family the way Conway did. Even when my parents were alive, we were never close. When my brother and I lived under the same roof, we didn’t spend much time together. Maybe if we had, I would have realized what was going on. If I weren’t so focused on myself, maybe I would have been able to help him.
“You don’t like to talk about this. I’m sorry I asked.”
I hadn’t realized how well Conway could read me until then. “There’s something I’d like to know.”
“Yes?”
“When you first saw me…what were you thinking?” I knew what I was thinking when I first saw him, and I’d even shared that moment with him. Would he share that moment with me?
“I wasn’t thinking anything.”
I didn’t believe that was possible, so I stared at him and waited for more.
“I just saw you, and I finally stopping thinking.” He kept his eyes on the horizon. “In my world, my mind is always going a million miles an hour. I’m constantly wondering what I should do next, what model will complement my next piece. But when I saw you…I stopped thinking altogether. It was so quiet. You were the answer I wasn’t looking for. You were the perfect model I never thought I would find. It was so true, so real, I didn’t need to think about anything at all.”
I felt my pulse quicken in my neck, felt the vein tremble. My breathing increased slightly, remembering the sight of his silhouette in that dark auditorium. The fact that I made this brilliant man stop thinking made me understand the true impact I had on him.
“And ever since that moment…you’ve been my star.”
It made me wonder if he’d felt that way about other models before me. Did I replace Lacey Lockwood? Did she replace someone before her? “Do you feel that way about models often?”
He turned back to me, his eyes narrowed. “Never.”
“Just me…?”
He nodded. “I’ve never laid eyes on a more beautiful woman. When I told you that, I meant it.”
When he was kind like this, it was hard for me not to like him. And I didn’t just like him because he was such a beautiful man. I liked him because there was so much more to him. He could make me feel so pretty so easily. “Did you sleep with Lacey Lockwood?”
His eyes narrowed. “What does that have to do with anything?”
“I’m just wondering if you regularly sleep with your models.”
“Who I sleep with is none of your business,” he said coldly.
I swallowed the insult and knew I’d spoiled the night by asking the question, even though that was never my intention. Since we were sleeping together, I’d thought the conversation was appropriate.
Conway closed his eyes and sighed, probably realizing his reply was ice-cold. “No, I’ve never slept with her. I don’t sleep with my models.”
I couldn’t hide my surprise at the revel
ation. I felt my eyebrows lift. “What?”
He did his best to fight the irritation that burned in his eyes. “You heard what I said.”
“But…I’m surprised by that.”
“I don’t mix business with pleasure.”
“You’re sleeping with me.”
“And that’s why you aren’t one of my models anymore. Now you’re just my inspiration, my private fantasy.”
“The girls seem so infatuated with you…and that lipstick on your neck…I just assumed.”
“The second I sleep with them, everything would get complicated. This way, their rank is based solely on merit. There’s no chance of jealousy when I won’t fuck any of them. I can get ass just as hot off the runway.”
I didn’t like to picture him getting ass from anyone, although I wasn’t sure why. “So that lipstick really wasn’t from sleeping with someone?”
He held my gaze and didn’t flinch. “No. Like I said, I haven’t slept with anyone.”
“But you intend to?”
He paused before he answered the question. “I already explained that to you.”
I could coerce him into monogamy, but that might make him lie about it. I preferred honesty.
“Are you finished?” he asked.
“Yes. It was delicious.”
We left the table and returned to the house. After two flights of stairs, we were in the hallway where our bedrooms were located.
He was making an effort to treat me the way I wanted to be treated. I knew I should give him what he wanted in return. After spending an evening across from him looking so sexy in that t-shirt, the idea didn’t sound bad.
It sounded nice, actually.
I couldn’t believe I’d waited so long to get laid—it was pretty damn incredible.
He stopped in front of my doorway, his eyes focused on my lips.
I knew what would happen next. I pressed my hands against his chest and moved into him, my lips aiming for his. He wanted to skip the kissing, but it was my favorite part. I loved feeling his mouth against mine. It was when I felt most connected to him.
I kissed him.
He kissed me back.
I kept the kiss soft and short. My fingers felt the hardness of his body, and I breathed into his mouth, thinking about the way his large cock felt inside me. It used to hurt, but now I loved how full he made me feel.
I pulled my mouth away and dropped my hands. “Get in bed. I’ll be there in a second.”
His eyes immediately darkened when he realized he was getting what he wanted.
“I just want to fix myself up a bit…”
“Top drawer.”
“Sorry?”
“There’s lingerie in your top drawer.” He turned his back to me and walked into his bedroom. The door clicked audibly behind him, but he didn’t turn around to look at me again.
Now my heart was beating so fast. My palms were searing hot but frozen at the same time. I walked into my bedroom and opened the top drawer to discover the dozens of selections. Different fabrics and different colors, every piece was sexy in a unique way. The first one I grabbed had so many strings I wasn’t sure how it worked, so I grabbed the one underneath it. A silver lace bodysuit with a fastened crotch, it was the next choice in the pile. I assumed they were sorted by preference, so I pulled it on.
I’d done this before so I shouldn’t feel nervous, but it felt like the first time all over again. The last time I was in his bedroom, he peeled the white lingerie off my body and took away my innocence. I slept beside him all night, his strong arms wrapped around me. It was a nice memory…despite the circumstances.
I walked into his suite in the silver heels I found in my closet and made my way toward his bedroom. My pace was sluggish because I was nervous. We were operating our relationship differently, and something about that made me uneasy. I didn’t know what to expect. The fact that I wanted him while sitting across from him at dinner all night made me wonder if I’d lost my mind. I had the power to refuse him as much as I wanted, but I didn’t want to refuse him at all.
I wanted to get into that bed with him.
Like I was on the runway, I straightened my body and held my head high. My shoulders were back, my collarbone was prominent, and my tummy was tucked toward my spine. My heels echoed lightly against the hardwood floor, so he could hear my approach as easily as I could.
I wanted to be his fantasy, to give him the kind of experience he craved most. It was difficult for me to do that since I had so little practice. Whenever he came into my bedroom for sex, it was usually face-to-face and his cock was deep inside me.
The door was open so I crossed into his bedroom.
His fireplace was lit, casting a golden light across the bed. He sat upright against the wooden headboard, his massive shoulders stretching from one side to the next. His tanned skin glowed in the light, and the shadows separating his muscles were dark and exaggerated. He turned his head slightly to look at me, his hands resting on the covers that were pulled up to his waist. All of his clothes were scattered across the floor, so I knew he was naked under there.
I couldn’t wait to see for myself.
I walked to the edge of the bed then slipped off my left heel.
“Keep the heels on.”
I flinched before I pulled it back on. I straightened again before I looked at him, unsure what to do. Did I climb on top of him? Did I strip for him? Did I crawl up his body and start sucking his cock?
I wasn’t sure.
But I knew I had to stop overthinking it. Instead of concentrating on what I thought he wanted, I just went with my instincts. Men liked sex, regardless of what position it was. And they wanted a woman to want them. All I had to do was that, and it should be good enough.
I crawled onto the bed and moved on top of him, my legs straddling his hips. I lowered myself and sat right on his hard cock, all nine inches of his thickness. It was warm to the touch, even through the lace that separated us.
His hands started at my knees and slightly migrated up my thighs toward my hips. He pressed his fingers into me with a bit of pressure, and his eyes followed his movement. Up, up, he went, moving over my belly until he secured his hands around my ribcage. Then he flicked his eyes up to mine.
He looked so sexy with the back of his head resting against the headboard. He was aroused but in a lazy way. His cock twitched slightly underneath me, the gentle pulsing hitting me right against my clit. He looked into my eyes with confidence, like he knew I wanted to be there as much as he did.
He slid his hands around my waist and slowly they moved to my ass. My bodysuit was a thong, so my cheeks were bare to his touch. He kneaded them with his fingertips, gripping my cheeks and massaging them.
Once I stopped thinking about my situation and operated based on my emotions, my heartbeat slowed down, and my hands immediately moved on their own. They held on to both of his shoulders for balance, and I leaned in to kiss his full lips.
He kissed me back immediately, this time with no reluctance.
I took a deep breath the instant I felt him, the chemistry hotter than last time. He turned his head slightly and gently pulled my bottom lip into his mouth. He kissed me a little harder before he closed his mouth and opened it again. He guided me in a sexy dance with our lips, our bodies moving together slowly and our mouths devouring one another.
His hands gripped my cheeks harder, and he scooted me even closer toward him, drawing my tits against his hard chest. He massaged my ass harder, his fingertips exploring me deeper than before. I could feel his chest rise with every breath he took, feel the excitement as his pulse started to pick up.
The sexy sounds our mouths made filled the room, louder than the distant fireplace on the other side of the room. The quietness was one of the sexiest aspects of the moment because we could listen to every reaction we had for each other.
His hand slipped into my hair next, and he pulled it away from my face, his kiss growing deeper and harder. He moved his li
ps to the corner of my mouth then sprinkled kisses along my jawline, slowly moving to my neck. Then he kissed me everywhere, laying his mouth across my shoulders as he gripped my hair tighter. He secured his arm around my waist and tugged me closer to him, his heavy breaths filling my ear canal.
Now I wasn’t thinking at all.
I was just touching him, kissing him, feeling him. I didn’t think about the past or why I was there. I didn’t think about our new agreement or what I was running from. Right now, I was just a woman who wanted a man. I was just a woman spending the night with the sexiest and richest lingerie designer in the world.
His mouth trailed back to mine, and he kissed me again, this time more aggressively than before. His fingers dug into me whenever he gripped me, clawing at my body like he couldn’t get enough.
My hands explored his hard chest, feeling the hammering of his strong heart. He was just as excited as I was, unbridled like a wild horse.
He sucked my bottom lip into his mouth as he reached between my legs and unfastened the fabric with the quick movements of his thumb and forefinger. It immediately came undone, and the bodysuit bunched up toward my waist.
He moved two fingers over my entrance then moaned into my mouth when he felt the pool of liquid drip onto his hand. He rubbed his fingers and thumb together, his lips still pressed to mine. “Jesus…”
It was the first time I didn’t feel ashamed of the way I felt about him. My pussy was aching to feel his enormous cock inside me. I wanted to experience that stretching now that it felt so good. I was immensely attracted to this man, not just because of his appearance, but his dedication to his work and his obvious self-respect. Not to mention, he was so powerful that even a terrifying man like Knuckles backed off. “I want you, Conway.”
He ended the kiss and stared into my eyes instead, his expression cold and hot at the same time. His jaw was hard, and the fire cast a thick shadow along his mouth. His full lips were pressed together, and his eyebrows were furrowed in the sexiest way. “You mean that, Muse?”
I didn’t expect him to ask that because it didn’t seem important. Whether I really wanted him or not, he shouldn’t care. He’d bought me to enjoy. Like he said, I was just a toy he used for his own amusement.