“If that’s what you want.” I needed to make a dent in her collection of buttons.
“I want you to be sweet, romantic.”
I didn’t know how to do that. “I can try.”
“No. You will.”
When she ordered me with so much conviction I wish she would command me to do something more sinister, like taking twenty lashes across my back. I want her to hurt me more than I ever hurt her. The idea was enough to make me hard. “I have a house on the coast. Would you like to stay there?”
“You do?” she asked in surprise.
“Yes. Right on the Mediterranean.”
“I would love that.”
“When would you like to go?”
“Tomorrow.”
“I have work.”
“Now you don’t.” Her eyes darkened just the way I did when I was in full control. She had the same possessiveness. She had the same brutality just in a different form. She may be petite but she was tough. Hard as steel and rough around the edges.
“Then we leave in the morning.”
***
Lars packed our things into the trunk before we got inside the car. I wore a t-shirt and jeans, something I hardly wore outside the house. It was nice to wear something besides a stiff suit.
Button wore a white dress, looking like my greatest fucking fantasy. It was a halter-top around her neck and it fit her waistline perfectly. Her long legs stretched out in front of her in her heeled wedges. Lars picked out the perfect clothes for her.
We drove through the hillside and headed to the west. My hand eyed hers in her lap and I did as she asked. I grabbed it and held it on her thigh, being romantic like she wanted.
She gave my hand and gentle squeeze and the corners of her lips rose in a smile.
She and I didn’t speak on the drive because there wasn’t much to say. The last time we had a date we both asked more questions than we did before. I realized she loved a man long before me and they parted on good terms. She learned a great deal about me, the type of stuff I kept confidential.
We arrived at the house within thirty minutes. It wasn’t nearly as large as my estate in the valley but it was enough for ten people or less. I didn’t visit very often because I was busy with work and life. The only time I came to the property was when I wanted to be alone—even away from Lars.
We pulled into the gate and I parked the car in the roundabout driveway. A found stood in the center, erupting water from the tip and making it sprinkle like drops of rain.
Button stared at the place in awe, her fingertips pressed to the window. “This place is amazing.”
“I’m glad you liked it.”
“I can’t believe you didn’t mention it before.”
There were a lot of things I didn’t mention. I got out of the car and grabbed our bags from the trunk.
She came to my side and grabbed her own things, shouldering them and preparing to walk into the house.
I stared at her in surprise. “Knock it off.” I grabbed the bags and placed them over my shoulders. How was I supposed to be sweet and romantic if she was doing things she shouldn’t?
She didn’t argue and stepped back.
I arrived at the door and entered the security code before we walked inside. The place was sterile because the maids still cleaned the dust every week. It was prepared for visitors at a moment’s notice.
She walked inside first and stared at the place in awe. Her eyes trailed to the pristine white furniture in the living room and the subtle beach decorations that contrasted against my vineyard estate. It looked nothing like the place she was used to but still contained the air of symmetry. “It’s beautiful.”
I found it ironic that she stood in a skin-tight white dress. She matched the house perfectly, looking like she came with the purchase. She could easily live there, complementing the house and giving it the one aspect it was missing.
I carried the bags into the master bedroom then returned to the living room where the entryway to the deck stood. I unlocked everything and opened the doors wide apart. Just past the sand was the turquoise blue ocean. The waves came to shore, carrying the methodical sounds of the water rushing up to the beach. Distant sounds of seagulls cried overhead. Far out into the water were majestic yachts and fishing boats.
Button stared across the water as the breeze flew through her hair. It trailed behind her and one strand flew across her face, sticking to the skin above her lip. She pulled it away absentmindedly, her eyes still on the horizon.
I hadn’t seen this view in a long time, but I chose to look at her instead. I was reliving my first moment through her eyes. I experienced a million new things when I watched her reaction to everything. It made me appreciate what I had despite everything I lost.