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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?”
