by Penelope Sky
I didn’t want to lie to my father. It made me feel like shit on the bottom of his shoe. I respected him too much to give him false information. It made me feel deceitful, like I was betraying him. But to tell him the truth would be worse, that she was merely a slave I purchased for my own pleasure. I would be no better than the men he despised. His disappointment would kill me, and I would never recover from the deadly blow. “I do.” I forced the words out, feeling them burn my throat on the way out. My heart rate picked up slightly, the blood pounding in my ears. An adrenaline rush moved through me, and I wasn’t sure if it was from the lie I just told, or the feeling I got from saying the words. “I’m just not ready for that kind of commitment right now.”
He continued to stare at me, his jaw hard and his eyes deadly.
“What?”
“I didn’t say anything.”
“But you’re looking at me like you’re saying something.”
He looked forward again and gave a slight nod toward Muse. “I just know women like that are rare. Not only is she beautiful, but she’s got spunk. She reminds me of your mother. And I wished I had married her sooner only so I could enjoy as much time with her as possible. A single lifetime just isn’t long enough.” He rested his arms on the armrests. “I tried to remain uncommitted as long as I could, but then your mother left me.”
This was brand-new information to me. The limited information I had about them suggested they’d been happily in love since the day they met. “She left you?”
“Yes. She said she loved me, and I refused to say it back. I wasn’t a man at the time. I was scared of feeling anything, scared of losing someone else I cared about. It was easier just to live an empty life. But when she left…I never felt more alone. Just don’t make the same mistake I did. If you’ve found the woman you love, don’t drag your feet. Be the man that she deserves. Because before you know it…” He snapped his fingers. “Someone else can replace you.”
The idea of Muse being with another man besides me made me sick to my stomach.
“That’s my advice, son. I can tell you’re her whole world.”
My father was never wrong about anything, but this was a one-time exception. Muse was jealous and didn’t want to share me with anyone, but that didn’t mean she loved me. How could she love me after what I did to her? How could she love me in our situation? I wasn’t sure what we had, but it was a complicated relationship based on forced servitude and a strange friendship.
“I can read people well,” he continued. “And I know I’m not wrong about her.”
* * *
It was midnight when we finally went to my bedroom on the second floor. My old bedroom was exactly how I left it, the gray comforter blending in with the dark wood of the headboard. I had a small sitting area with a TV, along with a private bathroom. It had a balcony that faced the east side of the property.
Muse stepped inside and took a look around. It was bare, tidy, and neat. I didn’t have posters on the wall or collections. I’d spent most of my time outside the house when I was growing up, except at night when I’d sneak women over. That’s when my obsession with lingerie emerged. Touching their bras and panties and peeling them off was the best part about sex.
She stopped in front of the bed then faced me.
“So, what do you think?”
“Of your room?” she asked.
“Yeah.”
“It’s nice.” She peeled off her dress then unclasped her bra, keeping her gaze on me as she undressed herself. She kept her black thong on, the dark color looking incredible against her skin. Her brown curls settled past her shoulders, and she stared at me with those brilliant eyes that made my dick rock-hard.
“Still going to erase my memory of every woman I’ve had up here?”
“Yes.” She touched my body and pulled my shirt over my head. Once my chest was bare, she moved into me and kissed me everywhere, starting at my collarbone and exploring my pecs. She moved farther down, her kiss touching my sternum and then my stomach. Lower and lower she went, her tongue tasting my hot skin.
Then she got to her knees.
Right in front of me.
She undid my jeans and yanked them down along with my boxers. My long cock popped out, already drooling at the tip. She pressed her mouth to my balls and started to kiss and suck, her warm breath drifting across my tender skin.
I definitely wasn’t thinking about any of the others now. I never thought I would have a woman like her in my bedroom, all curves and beauty. I never thought such a sexy woman would rub her tongue all over my dick.
She brought my cock into her mouth and started to deep-throat him, sucking him better than last time because she had more practice. She moved her head back and forth, taking in my length over and over as her saliva dripped to her chin. She gripped my base and started to jerk me, giving me a deadly combo that made me want to explode right then and there.
Just when I hit my threshold, she pulled away.
On purpose.
My eyes narrowed as she stood up, looking sexy in that skintight thong. She pressed her hand into my chest and guided me back to the bed, a teasing look in her eyes. She shoved me, making me fall back onto the bed.
Then she crawled on top of me and straddled my hips. She moved with confidence rather than shyness. Her experience had given her new self-esteem. Now she was sexy and authoritative. She’d fucked me enough times to know what she wanted—and to know exactly what I wanted.
She rested her hands against my chest then slid down my cock, taking me in by guiding herself backward onto my length. She slowly pushed him inside until he was completely sheathed, her ass sitting on my balls.
Fuck yeah.
She pushed against my chest as she moved, using her hips to rock back and take in my length over and over. She moved slowly, making sure the bed didn’t creak and the headboard didn’t tap against the wall. But the slower she moved, the more I wanted to come. Her tits were beautiful in my face, and my cock was smeared with her overwhelming arousal.
She wanted to fuck me harder than I wanted to fuck her.
I propped myself on my elbows to get a better view. I sat back and watched her fuck me, watched her please herself with my body. When her tits were in my face, I snuck a kiss to each one. Her nipples were delicious, especially when they were hard like that.
She kept going, her pants and moans growing deeper.
I watched her with infatuation, watched her be the biggest turn-on ever. There was nothing I loved more than taking charge and fucking her the way I wanted. But after watching this performance, I wasn’t so sure.
Seeing her want me was the sexiest thing ever.
She wanted me to think only of her, not the cherries I’d popped on this bed. She wanted me to only think about her pussy, no one else’s.
I closed my eyes and resisted the urge to come. It was getting stronger by the second.
“I’m almost there.”
I opened my eyes and grabbed her hips. I guided her body differently, teaching her how to rub her clit against my body on the way down before she pulled up again.
When she moaned between her teeth, I knew she recognized the difference.
I clenched my jaw as I fought the heat in my balls. My cock was already thickening, ready to fill her tight pussy with all my come. I was ready to explode, to fill my woman with everything that I had.
“God…” Her hips started to buck against me automatically once she reached her trigger. Her breathing escalated, and she hid her moans behind her teeth. She did her best to be silent as she came, but the quiet screams escaped.
I didn’t give a fuck if anyone heard us. I lay back and gripped her hips, releasing inside her with a deep groan. My cock twitched happily, and I dumped all my come inside my woman. The climax was strong enough to make my chest ache, to make my balls tighten against my body.
So fucking good.
She lay on top of me and kissed me, gave me her tongue as my cock softened inside h
er cunt. She moved her hands into my hair and kissed me with more passion than she ever had. Her lips moved against mine with purpose, her tongue danced with mine. She moaned into my mouth like my kisses were as good as sex.
I squeezed her thighs and kissed her back.
She spoke against my mouth. “Again.”
I smiled in between our kisses, feeling the intensity of her attraction. “Alright. Again.”
* * *
We had breakfast on the terrace again, but this time, it was just my parents and Vanessa. Carter was spending time with his parents at their place. Muse needed more time getting ready, so I headed down before her so I could enjoy my coffee.
My parents were already there, sitting under the Tuscan sun just as they did when I was growing up. Vanessa was dressed for a photo shoot even though it was just a Saturday morning with her family.
“How’d you sleep?” my mother asked.
After I let Muse have her way with me twice, pretty damn well. My childhood bed was as comfortable as ever. Now her scent was on the sheets and in the room, giving it a womanly touch that hadn’t been there before.
Because only girls had been there.
“Good,” I answered. “How about you guys?”
“I always sleep well,” Mom answered. “With your father beside me every night.”
My father was as stern as ever, not reciprocating her words with noticeable affection.
Vanessa stuck out her tongue in disgust.
Mom swatted her wrist. “When you bring your husband home, you want me to make that face at you?”
“If I talk like that, please,” Vanessa countered.
“Did Sapphire sleep alright?” Mom asked.
“Yeah, she’s just finishing getting ready,” I answered. She wanted to do her hair and makeup perfectly for my parents. When it was just the two of us, she didn’t care about her appearance. But now, she actually wanted to make a good impression. I wasn’t worried about her telling my family my secret anymore. Hadn’t crossed my mind once.
“Maybe you two should stay for another night,” Mom said. “Take her down to the winery and show her around.”
As much as I’d like to stay, I had a lot of preparations to complete. “I would, but I have too much work to do. But once this show is over, I’ll take a vacation and stay down here for a while.”
Mom smiled at that comment. “That sounds nice. I would like to get to spend more time with both of you.”
My parents did their best not to be clingy with me, but I noticed the pain in their eyes every time I left. If they had it their way, I would be down the road from them just the way Cane was. Maybe one day it could be that way. But for now, it was too difficult. “We’d like that too.”
Muse came down a moment later, looking beautiful in her new skirt and a drapey top with a floppy hat to keep the sun out of her face.
I stood up and pulled out her chair for her.
She hesitated slightly at my politeness since I didn’t do this when it was just the two of us.
I leaned down and kissed her on the lips. “You look beautiful.”
She kissed me back quickly, self-conscious with my parents sitting there. But she smiled anyway. “Thank you.”
I scooted in her chair then sat beside her.
Vanessa stared at me in shock.
“What?” I asked with a glare.
“I just didn’t know you were capable of being a gentleman,” Vanessa said. “That’s all…”
Mom chuckled before she drank her coffee.
My father acted like he hadn’t heard her. He tuned out the heated conversations between my sister and me. All he had to do was say a single word, and it would silence the argument immediately.
We enjoyed breakfast and made small talk about the weather and the vineyards. My hand rested on Muse’s thigh because it was impossible for me to sit beside her without touching her. Muse ate everything on her plate and helped herself to the bread on the table. She ate a lot more that morning than she ever did a home, clearly comfortable around my parents and in a good mood.
I liked to watch her eat. The girls at the studio drank hot water for breakfast and ate a simple slice of salmon for lunch. Their lives revolved around starving themselves and working out. I understood that was how it had to be, but I didn’t want Muse to have those eating habits. I wanted her to eat like a real person. I wanted her to be strong and healthy. She wasn’t on the runway, so her weight didn’t matter. When she was in my bed, she could be any weight she wanted to be.
After we finished our long breakfast, we said goodbye at the gate.
Mom hugged me for a long time, like she wouldn’t see me for months instead of weeks. “I love you, son.” She came up to my chest, so she rested her face against my pectoral.
I patted her back. “Love you too, Mama.”
She squeezed me before she finally let go. “I’m so proud of the man you’ve become.”
My eyes softened as I looked down at my mother. “Thanks, Mom.”
“You’re so successful, so handsome, and you treat Sapphire so well. That’s all your father and I ever really wanted… for you to be a good man.”
Instead of making me feel good, shards of ice pierced me everywhere. She was flattering me, but she somehow cut me down and made me feel like shit. My mother was praising me because she thought I was a good person. But I was anything but good. Muse was with me because she had no other choice. I bought her like livestock and made her sleep with me as part of her debt.
If my mother knew, she would never forgive me.
I didn’t know what to say to her, so I said nothing at all.
My father came next and hugged me. “Love you, son.”
“Love you too, Father.”
He kissed me on the forehead then faced me head on. “Something on your mind?”
He could read my expressions because they were nearly identical to his. “Yeah, I just remembered something I have to do at the office.”
My father didn’t question it. “Get home safely.”
“I will.”
He kissed Muse goodbye before he finally let us go.
We piled into the SUV then went to Carter’s place to pick him up. My eyes were on the road, and I searched for the right street where I should turn, but I couldn’t get my mother’s words out of my head.
I’m so proud of the man you’ve become.
I wasn’t a man at all.
I was a monster.
11
Sapphire
Conway dropped off Vanessa at her apartment in Milan after we’d dropped Carter at his. He got her bags out of the back and carried them inside.
Vanessa and I hugged at the sidewalk.
“My family loves you,” she said. “So, thanks for putting up with Conway. I’d rather hang out with you instead of him any day.”
I knew she was joking, so I smiled. “Thanks for being so good to me.”
“You want to get lunch this week?” Vanessa asked. “There’s this great little café right down the street you’ll love.”
Conway walked up at that moment.
“Yeah, sure,” I said. “After a few hours at the studio, I’ll come by.”
“Come by where?” Conway asked, sticking his nose where it didn’t belong.
“We’re having lunch together this week,” Vanessa said. “And, no, you aren’t invited.” She flipped her hair and walked off.
Conway growled quietly under his breath, annoyed with his sister.
Then Vanessa ran back and darted into his side, nearly tackling him as she hugged his waist. “You know I love you.”
With the snap of a finger, Conway’s anger was gone. He looked down at her before he patted her on the back. “Sometimes I forget. But I love you too.”
She turned and walked back into her apartment. She waved from the doorstep before she walked inside.
I grinned at Conway.
“What?” he asked, turning serious again.
“Noth
ing.” I climbed back into the car, and then we were on the road a moment later.
Conway drove with one hand on the wheel, and even though no one else was in the car to witness, he reached for my hand. He held it on the center console between us, his eyes on the road like the affection was completely normal. He kissed me and touched me, but those embraces always led to sex.
But this…this was something else.
“No one can see us, Conway.”
His thumb gently brushed over my knuckles. “I know.”
I stared at the side of his handsome face, his hard jaw and corded neck. He wore his sunglasses, and even though his pretty eyes were hidden, he still looked phenomenally handsome. Sometimes it was hard to believe that the sexiest billionaire in Italy was mine—and he paid a fortune just to have me.
“Are you going to tell me what was bothering you yesterday?”
I was hoping the subject had been forgotten. “It’s stupid, and you aren’t going to want to hear about it.”
“It probably is stupid. Doesn’t mean I don’t care.”
“Wow, so sweet and rude at the same time.”
He grinned, showing all of his perfectly straight teeth. “Muse, tell me.”
“Alright…your family is so amazing that it makes me a little sad.”
“Sad, how?”
“You’re just so close. Your parents love you. They love Vanessa. I don’t know…you have such a beautiful gift. Even when my family was alive, we were never close. When I see the closeness and the love…I get jealous. And not jealous like I am when I see you with another woman. Jealous in a different way.”
He squeezed my hand. “You feel alone.”
“Yeah…”
“You’re in a different country, and you’ve been through a lot. Makes sense. But you’re forgetting something.”
No, I wasn’t forgetting anything. I didn’t have a penny to my name, and I’d been sold in the Underground because I couldn’t survive on my own for more than a day. I’d gotten myself into a shitty situation, and there was no way to get out of it. “What am I forgetting?”