1
Sapphire
Conway was gone all day at work. He went to Milan for a meeting with his assistant, Nicole. I knew how devoted he was to his work, so I didn’t expect to see him until dinnertime. So I spent my time at the stables.
There were only six horses, but each one required extensive work. I started cleaning the stables, raking up their feces, and changing the hay. Sometimes their troughs would get dirty, and they needed to be scrubbed before they were refilled with water.
Marco appeared in the doorway to the stall. “Sapphire, you don’t need to do that. That’s my job.”
“I don’t mind.” I held the hose over the now clean trough and filled it with water.
“A pretty lady like you shouldn’t be getting her hands so dirty.”
Conway already made me feel that way. He wanted to treat me like the possession he viewed me as. “I disagree. I think a real lady gets her hands dirty like a man.”
He chuckled. “Well said, darling.”
I walked out of the stall and then guided Aptos back inside, the brown mare with a gentle soul. I placed her inside and shut the door, but she poked her head out to look at me. I rubbed her on the snout. “Good girl.”
I walked to the next stable, where Carbine was housed. The second the black horse saw me, he turned away, giving me his backside instead of his face. I’d made a connection with all of the horses, but this one was important to click with. He was angry all the time, showcasing a constantly irritated attitude.
“Not this one,” Marco said. “Let me handle him.”
“I can do it.” I grabbed the bridle and the reins.
Marco barricaded the door with his size. “I enjoy having you around here, and if you get hurt, Conway won’t allow it anymore. So I have to keep you safe—for my own self-interest. Just leave Carbine to me. He’s a very aggressive horse.”
Since he said it so sweetly, I let it go. “Alright, Marco. I’ll take care of Lady, then.”
“Excellent call.”
At the end of the day, I left my clothes in a special hamper that Dante had instructed me to use. My shoes and jeans were covered with a mixture of horse shit, wet hay, and dust. He didn’t want any of that touching anything else in the mansion.
I took a long shower and scrubbed all the dirt off my body. My hair was caked with oil and sweat, and my fingernails were packed with dirt and grime. I rinsed everything away before I stepped out of the shower and wrapped my body in a towel.
My bedroom was made for a princess, so I didn’t mind being in there. It never had felt like a prison cell since the day I arrived. I had my own space, even a living room where I could read and watch whatever I wanted on TV. Conway had a special program so I could watch American networks because everything else was in Italian.
Even though I should probably learn the language.
I wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon.
I suspected Conway would never let me go, and if he did, I would be much older.
In light of my position, I should be grateful. But a part of me always wondered how my life would have been if none of this had happened. What if I’d stayed in school and finished my education? What if my brother hadn’t gotten mixed up with the wrong people? What if I weren’t living in Conway’s mansion? Would I have fallen in love with my soul mate and had a family?
Now, I would never know.
It made me sad, so I tried not to think about it.
My thoughts turned to Knuckles, thinking about what Conway had said about him the other day. Knuckles was angry that Conway had outbid him, probably because he lost me and took a blow to his pride.
I never wanted to be underneath that man. I never wanted him to touch me. I never wanted him to look at me.
I would much rather be with Conway.
The door to my bedroom opened, and Conway appeared. He was in a three-piece suit, navy blue and crisp. Instead of greeting me with a smile or even a hello, his green eyes focused on me venomously. It wasn’t clear whether he was pleased or pissed. It was a storm of intensity, a warning of an attack.
I stood in my towel with damp hair, unsure if I should be afraid or not.
Then he marched toward me, backing me up into the wall. He snatched my towel and yanked it off before he pressed his body into mine. His hand gripped my neck forcefully, and he crushed his mouth to mine.
Then he kissed me like he hadn’t seen me in weeks.
With my tits pressed against his chest and my body pinned in place, I kissed him back. My passion ignited the second I felt his flames. My arms circled his neck, and my fingers dug into his hair as I breathed with him. My nipples chafed against his jacket, so I peeled it off his body.