“I like the idea of being with a perfect man, but not because I need him—just because I want him.” She tapped the water with both of her palms. “Now, are you going to get in? You’ve been lying there for like thirty minutes.”
“It’s nice in the sun.” I raised my arms over my head and gripped the top of the chair.
“You’re already so tan. How did you get that color?”
“I work in the stables every day.”
Her jaw dropped. “You work out there?” She pointed to the barn. “In this heat?”
“I like taking care of the horses. Gives me something to do.”
“Aren’t you busy modeling?”
“Not really. I mainly help Conway with his designs now.”
“Oh, that’s right,” she said with a nod. “I remember him saying that now…because he’s an overprotective and jealous man.”
“Very.”
She pulled off her sunglasses and set them on the edge of the pool. “I’m going out with some friends on Saturday night. You want to come along?”
It would be nice to get out of the house and do something with someone besides Conway. He was the only person I spent time with, other than Marco and Dante. Vanessa and I got along well, so it would be nice to have another friend. “Yeah, sure. What are you guys doing?”
“Dinner, because eating is what we do best. And then we’ll probably go to a club.”
I suspected Conway wouldn’t like that. “Sounds fun.”
“Milan is such a great city. There’s always stuff to do. You’ll like it.”
My experience with Milan up until that point hadn’t been great. Maybe a night on the town would change my opinion about it. Last time I was there on my own, I was stripped naked and sold in the basement of an opera house. Hopefully, I wouldn’t end up in the same place this time.
“Look who it is…” Vanessa looked past me, seeing Conway approach.
He came to my side in jeans and a black t-shirt, his body chiseled and his face handsome. He looked like a powerhouse in a suit, but when he was dressed in regular clothes, he looked just as sexy. And when he wore nothing at all, he looked the sexiest.
He stared down at me, his eyes roaming over my body in my bikini. He had no shame, not caring that his sister was close by. “Having fun?”
“We were a second ago.” Vanessa had always been nice to me, but the second her brother was around, she returned to her role of being his younger sibling. “Now, there’s a huge cloud over the sky.”
He ignored her, keeping his eyes on me. “You look beautiful by the pool.”
I stared at him through my sunglasses and felt my nipples harden against my bikini top. I’d been the recipient of that gaze enough times to know how possessive it was. If Vanessa weren’t around, he’d lift up my top and suck my nipples until they were raw. He’d pull me into the pool and fuck me right against the wall. I tried to fight the heat that flushed my skin, but the burn was difficult to stave off. I started to sweat, and that had nothing to do with the hot sun.
I had to break eye contact because it was becoming too intense—especially in front of his sister. If I could read his intentions so well, what if she could too?
“Sapphire and I are going out on Saturday night with some of my friends,” Vanessa said. “Girls’ night out.”
That broke Conway’s concentration immediately. He turned his gaze on her. “Really?”
“Yep.” Vanessa grabbed one of the pool floats and glided across the water.
When Conway looked at me again, I knew exactly what he was thinking.
There was no way in hell I was going.
* * *
Vanessa left after we had a late lunch.
Conway had retreated to his office after our conversation, and without even saying a word to us, it was obvious he was pissed at what Vanessa said.
It was only a matter of time before he cornered me.
I went into my bedroom and showered to rinse off the chlorine, and then I dried my hair with the fanciest blow dryer I’d ever seen. It dried my hair quickly without frying it. Everything Conway put in my room was good enough for royalty. I basically had the life of a princess.
I pulled on my underwear and then looked in my closet for something to wear. Dante was always placing new outfits in my wardrobe, usually summer dresses. Everything was designer quality, so it felt like I was going shopping every time I opened the doors. I found a white sundress with matching sandals, so I pulled that out to wear for the evening.
The door opened without warning. “If you think you’re going out on Saturday, then my sister is making you as dumb as she is.” He slammed the door behind him, all the veins in his forearms popping with adrenaline. Even the vein in his neck was vibrating.