Buttons and Shame (Buttons 4)

And the place was beautiful.

I got out and walked up to the place, noticing the butterflies that drifted across the property. There was lots of shade from the trees, protection from the powerful Tuscan sun. The breeze ruffled the leaves and made natural music against my ear.

It already felt like home.

I got the front door unlocked and stepped inside. My designer incorporated everything I asked for, turning the place into a tasteful home. All the women would love it, obviously. And my guests would feel comfortable.

My driver carried all of my bags inside and to the master bedroom on the second story. I’d bought my guest some clothes even though it was a poor investment. I was returning her in a few days, and Tristan would probably throw everything away and strip her down to her bra and panties.

She wandered in behind me, admiring the large entryway and the living room with an enormous fireplace. The hearth was three times the size of the average fireplace. The white furniture contrasted against the cream walls with different colored pillows. I preferred darker colors, but my designer insisted it didn’t match the quality of the home. Since she knew about this stuff better than I did, I trusted her. “You can have one of the guest rooms. Doesn’t matter to me.”

Now that she was off-limits, I pushed her from my mind and concentrated on work. Crow was still riding my ass about the money, so it was a good thing I was returning her and stopping the shipment. Perhaps it wasn’t a good idea to begin with.

I still wanted to fuck her, but I made my peace with it. I thought I could be the man I once was, the monster that took what he wanted with little regard for other people’s feelings. But it seemed like that version of myself had died the moment Pearl sacrificed herself for me. My brother would never allow me to be alone with his wife as long as we lived because of my mistake. I couldn’t go back to that—not after I hurt someone I loved.

“Cane?”

“Hmm?” I stepped farther into the room and admired the artwork the decorator had selected. This one in particular was of a woman in a sun hat moving through the farmers market in Florence. Her face wasn’t visible, but one of her hands reached out to grab an orange. The details of her digits alone were fascinating. She wore one ruby along with a gold bracelet. She had the kind of bone structure that made me assume she was beautiful, that whatever was underneath that hat was something truly incredible.

“Don’t send me back.”

I recognized the desperation in her voice. Above all else, I noticed the fear. I turned around and looked at her, only partially pitying her. “There’s nothing I can do. I have no use for you.” I wasn’t going to keep her around and let my shipment go as planned if I wasn’t being fairly compensated for the exchange. And right now, I was only babysitting her.

“And what if I became useful to you?”

My heart palpitated at the question, hearing the implication in her words. I slowly turned around and faced her, seeing the red tint in her cheeks and the discomfort in her eyes. Like any other time I looked at her, my cock swelled like a balloon. Something about her made me turn into a simple man with simple needs. All I wanted to do was pound my cock inside her and listen to her scream. “Prove how useful you are. We’ll see what happens.”

I hadn’t called Tristan yet because I was curious to see what my guest would offer me. My intention wasn’t to blackmail her. If she didn’t want to be there, I wouldn’t force her to do anything. Logically, I should send her back.

But this worked out in my favor.

Now she had to decide where she’d rather spend the next month. Underneath me or underneath him.

The choice shouldn’t be difficult.

I sat in the living room and stared at the enormous flames in the fireplace. The windows were still open, and the nighttime darkness crept inside. Something about being in the middle of nowhere put me at ease. I used to love the loud cacophony of the city, especially when I headed to bars and picked up a woman for the night, but now my interest had faded.

I wasn’t sure what I wanted.

She stepped into the living room with a dark blanket covering her body from head to toe. She appeared to be cold despite the fact that it’d been a hot afternoon. The AC had been working at full blast earlier, but once the sun set and the fog settled in, it became cool again.

I eyed her from my spot on the couch, my cock hardening in my jeans the second we were in the same room together. I couldn’t explain my attraction to this woman; those beautiful blue eyes and those soft features weren’t that unique. But something about her made me run ten degrees warmer than usual.