Chapter 11
ELEVEN
Milo
My business was one match strike away from igniting. Missing cars, enemies swooping in, and now I’ve added the complication of Sable and her unpredictable brother to the mix.
I stood in the doorway of the dressing room of the posh boutique as the co-owner, Camila Rossi, dressed Sable in expensive designer clothes. The other women I’d brought here had brimmed with excitement over such a shopping spree. But to my disappointment, Sable appeared distant and out of place.
Why is she so difficult to figure out? It was almost as if she threw up a shield when it came to me. Like she didn’t want me to understand her. It was fucking frustrating, especially after last night.
“This dress is perfect.” Camila spun Sable to face me. “Don’t you think so, Milo?”
Sable gazed down at her feet as I took in the gold, silk dress with a plunging neckline. I particularly liked the slit that went all the way to her hip, showing off her long, slender leg.
“She’s stunning.” I strolled toward Sable and took her hand. “Do you like it?”
She nodded.
What the fuck? A fifteen-thousand-dollar dress didn’t warrant a verbal response?
“Camila,” I said. “Bring us a few more dresses while I have a moment with Sable.”
“Of course.” Camila touched my shoulder. “I know exactly what you like.”
When I ignored her not-so-subtle flirting, she took the cue and did what I told her to do. Once she was out of the room, I focused my attention on Sable.
“What’s the problem?” I took her chin between my fingers. “If you don’t like the dress, just tell her and she’ll find you something else. That’s her job. Her feelings won’t be hurt.”
“The dress is beautiful,” she said. “Everything I’ve tried on is perfect.”
“Then what’s the problem?”
“It’s too much.”
“It isn’t.”
“I’m overwhelmed.” She stared in the mirror and motioned toward her reflection. “I don’t recognize her.”
“You’re going to have to get used to her.” I brought her closer to the large mirror that showed her from every angle. “You belong in dresses like this. I can give them to you.”
“I don’t need them.”
It was ten in the morning and I needed a fucking drink. I should be at the dealership fixing the mess the missing cars had caused, but instead I found myself here trying to do something nice. No good deed…
“If you’re going to be with me, you need to look the part.” I stood behind her, gripping her forearms. “I want you in clothes like this.”
She locked her gaze with mine through the glass. The boldness in her eyes intrigued me. Was she going to challenge me? Because I would show her which one of us was in control.
“I owed you,” she said.
“And I told you last night, your debt is paid. Whatever happens between us now is because it’s what we both want.”
“We can figure out what we want without you spending thousands of dollars on me.” She pressed her hand to her stomach. “Don’t you see that will still put me in your debt?”
“You don’t like owing me?” Smart girl. “You put yourself in this position.” Because of the situation she created, I couldn’t relent. I wanted her, and now I had to show her what belonging to me meant.
I went over to the silver bar cart in the corner of the room and poured her a glass of lemon-infused water.
“I just don’t think all of this is necessary.”
“We’ll have to disagree.” I handed her the water. “It’s not like I can’t afford it, and besides, I own this place, so it’s a profit for me.”
“You own the boutique?”
“I own a lot of businesses.”
It was essential in my line of work to have multiple streams to funnel revenue in and out. When the opportunity arose to finance the boutique, I jumped on it.
“Camila doesn’t own it?”
“She thinks she does, and she refers to me as a silent partner, but in the two years she’s had this place, I’ve given her all the capital and she reaps the benefits.”
“So I’ve gathered.”
“What does that mean?” I asked.
“While you were taking a call, she tried to get as much information about our relationship as she could, all the while letting me know how close the two of you are.”
“You’re jealous?”
“Get over yourself.” When she rolled her eyes, I found her defiance intriguing but not enough to let it go. “I have pride, and if I say I don’t need all these clothes, then I don’t need them. This has nothing to do with who you’ve slept with.”
She’s fucking jealous. The concept was foreign to me, because I never put myself in a position to have a woman be jealous. I didn’t do relationships or attachments. Sable wasn’t going to be the exception.
“Where was your pride when you offered me this?” I reached under the dress and grabbed her. “I don’t recall your self-righteousness when you sought me out for a few thousand dollars.”
“That was different.” She swatted my hand, putting me in even more of a foul mood. “I don’t need expensive dresses.”
Camila scurried back into the room with four or five sparkly items draped over her arm. She looked between me and Sable before her gaze landed on me.
“Is everything okay?” she asked as she draped the garments over the white, leather sofa. “It sounds like you’re having an argument.”
Sable finished her water and shoved the glass back at me. “We’re fine,” she said. “This slit is too high. You can see my underwear.”
“Oh, sweetie.” Camila laughed. “You’re not supposed to wear underwear with it. That’s the best feature of the dress.”
I set Sable’s glass on the bar cart, and then poured myself a vodka as Camila adjusted the dress. Sable backed away when Camila slid her hand down the top of it and lifted Sable’s breasts up to define her cleavage.
Modesty wasn’t going to work today.
“You were made for this dress,” Camila said. “Don’t you think so, Milo?”
I sipped my drink, taking in every inch of my ungrateful companion. Her fiery beauty dazzled me. I couldn’t wait to get her out in public and show her off, but first I needed to teach her a lesson.
I took my time pacing the room, never taking my gaze away from Sable. Circling the women, I stopped and stood behind them, still keeping my eyes on Sable through the mirror. She did her best not to look directly at me.
“Take the dress off,” I said.
Sable glanced at me before pushing the strap off her shoulder.
“Not you.” I took a long, slow sip of my vodka. “I want Camila to take it off for you.”
Camila smiled at me, but I shut her down with a stern glare.
She had been a third a few times when I had a willing partner, but Sable was far too naive to agree to anything like that. Sable had to understand that I was in control and she had to trust me to take it as far as I thought she could handle.
She would learn that lesson.
Camila turned Sable to face me, and then lowered the zipper of the dress, slipping it from Sable’s shoulders. Sable pressed her hand to her chest, stopping the expensive material from falling from her body.
“Don’t make me say it again.” I nodded at Camila to finish the task as I set my glass on the cart. “My patience has run dry.”
Sable looked at the floor as Camila shimmied the dress down her slender frame. Camila swiped Sable’s hair to the side, revealing her breasts to me. She stood before me in a tiny pair of unremarkable, black panties. They were probably from a drugstore pack of three.
She deserved to have everything a woman who accompanied me should have, including designer panties that I would rip from her whenever I wanted to fuck her.
“Come here.” I extended my hand. “Maybe you’ll be more agreeable without the expensive dress on your body to complain about.”
She didn’t take my hand, which infuriated me, but she did come toward me.
I cupped the side of her face in my hand and brushed my mouth along hers. A soft breath escaped her lips, tempting me to kiss her, but I fought the primal urge to connect with her in such an intimate manner. I had other business to deal with first.
I turned her away from me and clasped her wrists in my hands on either side of her hips.
“We’re going to have an exercise in control,” I whispered into her ear. “Camila is going to help.”
Sable tensed when Camila came closer to us and waited for my instruction. I had seen the eagerness in Camila’s eyes before. She got off on pleasing me. We were never together as a couple, but she did enjoy joining in when I asked her.
I released one of Sable’s wrists and trailed my hand up her stomach and to her breasts. As I circled her nipple with my fingertip, I lowered my lips to her ear.
“I don’t care for resistance.” I twirled my fingers around her nipple. “Especially when I’ve been nothing but generous.”
“Can we do this in private?” she asked.
“And abandon the lesson?”
I glanced at Camila and then down at Sable’s breasts. She obeyed the silent demand and smiled at me before kissing Sable’s neck.
“Milo?” Sable whispered. “I don’t… Can we…”
When Camila licked Sable’s pert nipple, Sable froze. I gripped Sable’s neck and forced her to look at me as Camila feasted on her breasts.
“Eyes on me,” I said as I moved my other hand across her stomach and inside her panties. “I’ll never push you further than I think you can handle. Can you trust me?”
“I want to but…”
Her eyes widened when I pushed my fingers inside her, being careful not to hurt her after last night’s encounter. I had to keep in mind that her body was delicate and not used to sex.
“I want you to be more receptive when it comes to my demands.” I spread her apart with my fingers, stroking her clit with my thumb. “I need to know that you will do what I ask, so that I can keep you safe and fulfill all of your desires.”
She clenched around my fingers, maintaining eye contact with me as best she could. Occasionally, she glanced at Camila, the anxiety prominent on her striking face.
“Camila,” I said. “On your knees.”
Camila swirled her tongue around Sable’s nipple before dropping to her knees in front of us, gazing up at me and licking her lips.