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I stared at Carbine as the surprise erupted inside my body. I didn’t expect such generosity from a man who claimed to be evil. He danced on the very edge, swaying between good and evil. He was both and neither at the same time. On the one hand, he saved my life by paying a fortune to keep me away from Knuckles. But on the other hand, he took my freedom in compensation.
Didn’t make much sense. “I don’t understand Conway.”
“He’s complicated, to say the least,” Marco said with a chuckle. “He cares about money too much. I think if he walked away from it, he would be a lot happier.”
“But it seems to be the only thing that does make him happy.”
“No. Success is what makes him happy. He wants to leave a mark on the world. But since he’s always in competition with himself, he always wants to improve. He’ll work himself to death even though he’s already the best at what he does. Work will be his downfall.”
Conway wanted to keep me because of the way I inspired him. And he refused to feel any connection with me or any other woman to keep things meaningless. Marco knew Conway well, and he’d made the same observation I did.
Work really was all he cared about.
* * *
I had a towel wrapped around my body and was just about to hit the pool when Dante appeared. “Conway would like to see you in his studio.”
I pulled my hair into a bun to keep it off my neck and kept walking toward the patio. “I’ll be there after my swim.”
“Uh, miss. He expects to see you now.”
I didn’t like being treated like a dog. He issued a command, and I was supposed to follow it like a mindless idiot. No matter how much I owed him, I couldn’t shake off the irritation. I turned back around, seeing Dante stand in the hallway with his hands held together at his waist.
Then he gave a nod toward the stairs. “If you defy him, we’re both responsible.”
Dante would look incompetent if he failed to follow his master’s orders, and while I didn’t appreciate Dante’s dislike of my character, I didn’t want to cause problems. I headed up the stairs. “Wait, where is his study?”
“Second floor with the double black doors.”
I moved to the second floor, a level I hadn’t even seen before. In one of the sitting rooms was a black piano along with a bar. Another living room featured a large TV. A gaming console was there, and I wondered who it belonged to because Conway didn’t seem like the video game type.
I located the double doors and stepped inside. “You called?” I asked sarcastically.
He stood at a table identical to the one in his studio in Milan. He was examining a white fabric with his fingertips, feeling the softness between his thumb and forefinger. “Yes. And I expected you to answer quicker.”
“I was going for a swim.”
“You can swim some other time.” He snapped his fingers without looking at me. “Undress.”
My eyes snapped wide apart. “Enough with the snapping. If you want me to do something, all you have to do is ask.”
He lifted his gaze to me, his green eyes hostile. He was in black jeans and an olive t-shirt, his chiseled arms looking tight as he worked at the table. He hadn’t shaved that morning, so the stubble was starting to thicken along his jaw. I’d never seen him in lighter colors, only dark. But the dark hue looked perfect on a man like him, a man whose eyes contained the underworld. “I thought we established I don’t have to ask for anything.”
“And I thought we established that our relationship would be much easier if you did.”
He dropped the fabric he was holding and straightened his shoulders. Even with slight movements, he appeared far more menacing. “Undress.” He didn’t snap his fingers this time, but his gaze told me I shouldn’t defy him again. “That was me telling you, not asking you.”
It was better than the snapping, so I dropped my towel and removed my bikini top and bottom. He’d seen me naked before, so now I didn’t feel so shy. But the instant I was naked, I felt the heat around him amplify. His green eyes absorbed my curves like two sponges. I could feel his arousal, feel his cock harden without even being able to see it. I felt his eyes touch me, his piercing gaze powerful enough to press into me.
He maneuvered around the table, his fingertips sliding across the surface. The large windows allowed the sunlight to filter through and give his designs exposure to natural sunlight. He approached me from the side and stopped once his body came into my contact with my shoulder.
I could feel everything from him, feel the way he wanted me.
