giving me the luxury of having most of the top floor to myself. I didn’t have to keep quiet when my ladies came to visit.
London finally woke up when we arrived. She stood in front of the house and examined it despite the darkness. There weren’t streetlights in Tuscany since it was rural countryside. Features were difficult to make out, and the guys had to break out their flashlights to find the entryway. “I can’t see much…but it looks nice.”
“Wait until the sun comes up.” We walked inside, and my team carried the luggage exactly where it needed to go. Ariel stepped off to the side and made a phone call, probably returning all the calls she missed during the flight.
I hadn’t slept on the plane, so I was tired. I was ready to have a few glasses of scotch in front of the fireplace in my bedroom to wind down. Then I’d fuck London before I went to bed. Business could resume when the sun came up.
But I had to take care of something first.
London lingered in my proximity, not exploring the rest of the house without my permission. She was getting better with obedience, learning to follow my commands without my actually giving them. Like a new puppy, she was slowly being trained.
“Lovely.”
She faced me, her hair messy from sleeping in my lap during the flight. She was a low-maintenance woman who required little upkeep to remain beautiful. It was the only time I’d witnessed such a thing. Josephine spent more time perfecting her appearance than anyone I knew. Since she was royalty, I understood the necessity. But after looking at London every day, I realized appearances meant nothing. She was far more beautiful than most women I knew, without lifting a finger. Not too many women could say that.
But I would never tell her that. “Wait for me upstairs. Third door on the left.”
“Why?”
My eyes narrowed.
She immediately understood this was one of those times when I wanted to be obeyed without question. She didn’t ask any more questions and took the stairs to the second landing. The rest of the men finished unloading the car then took their positions around the perimeter.
Ariel hung up her call.
No one was around, and we finally had the privacy I’d been waiting for. “Ariel, as much as I need you to stick around, I’m not gonna put up with that bullshit again. When I ask you to do something, you do it. Or you can find someone else to sign your checks. You understand me?”
She crossed her arms over her chest, wearing the same irritated look on her face as earlier. She had an astute business mind, and she understood all the tiny cogs in the machinery I’d built. There was no one better to have as a business partner. She had a brilliant brain and a fierce attitude. But I refused to be disrespected like that.
“We’ve always had a great business relationship. Suddenly, London comes around, and everything I value about our partnership goes out the window. I don’t know what your problem is, so you need to tell me.” I wondered if she was jealous seeing me with another woman. In all the years we’d been working together, I’d never suspected she saw me as anything more than a business partner and friend. There was never any attraction between us, any sort of chemistry. I’d never made a pass at her because I didn’t mix business with pleasure. She seemed to share my same ideology. But if that wasn’t it, I couldn’t figure it out.
“I’ve seen you with your women. You’re cold, heartless, and right to the point.”
I stared at her blankly, unsure why she was stating the obvious.
“But when this woman comes around, everything changes. You didn’t hand her over to Bones like you planned, and she’s sleeping in your bed every night. It’s none of my business who you fuck, and I really don’t care about your sex life, but this woman can’t turn into something more. And it seems like it’s going in that direction. We both know there’s a very small pool of women you can spend the rest of your life with. London isn’t on the list.”
Now everything made sense. “That’s what you’ve been worried about?” I had to hold back my laughter because it was ridiculous. “If that’s what the problem is, we don’t have a problem. London is something I keep around for entertainment. That’s it.”
“But you can’t keep her around forever.”
“I