Barbarian (Empire Book 2) by Penelope Sky

Author:Penelope Sky [Sky, Penelope]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Hartwick Publishing
Published: 2023-02-17T00:00:00+00:00

I had to fix my makeup and comb my hair before we left because I looked like a goddamn train wreck. But it was worth it to get fucked like his whore. Now we sat together at the table, in one of the nicest restaurants, the kind that had a yearlong waitlist. I’d been there once because a billionaire client had taken me.

Bartholomew was so out of place for a restaurant like this, but he also fit perfectly. He knew how to order wine, knew how to conduct himself like he’d done this a hundred times. He seemed to have a secret life.

“Have you eaten here before?” I asked.

“Yes.”

“Like, a lot?”

“Many times.”

“You don’t seem like a man who enjoys this sort of thing.”

He grabbed the stem of his glass and took a drink. “Part of the job.”

“Fine dining?” I asked. “You booked this reservation in advance but didn’t want to waste it?”

“I didn’t have a reservation.”

“Then how did you get in?”

“I own it.”

I stiffened at his announcement because that explanation made perfect sense and I should have guessed. He told me he owned a lot of businesses in Paris because it was the only way to wash all his money.

He grabbed the bottle and refilled my glass.

Sometimes I forgot who Bartholomew was. To me, he was just my lover, but to everyone else, he was a billionaire drug kingpin.

“Have you been here before?”

“Once—and I loved it.”

“With whom?”

“A client.” I noticed the way he ignored my compliment. Probably didn’t care if people liked the restaurant or not. “He’s super rich, so he was able to get a reservation.” They asked for a fifty percent deposit, and that was five hundred euros. I didn’t have that kind of money.

He drank from his glass again.

“This is our first time out… It’s nice.”

“I’m glad you’re enjoying it.”

“You don’t do this sort of thing, do you?” I could tell this experience wasn’t as fulfilling for him as it was for me.

“For business. Not pleasure.”

“You’ve never taken a woman on a date before?”

He gave a subtle shake of his head. “Dinner just postpones sex, and sex is all I’m interested in.”

“What about with me?”

His dark eyes were settled on me, still like a calm lake, a deep brown like the soil after a rain. The restaurant was decorated with gold and soft lighting, and it deepened the shadows under his jawline. Time seemed to pass differently for him than it did for everyone else, because long pauses of silence didn’t unnerve him. “The situations aren’t comparable.”

“Why not?” I already knew the answer, but I wanted to hear him say it, to treasure the fact that we were together again, that he was mine and not someone else’s. Our time together still felt like a dream after the nightmare of his absence.

“Because you’re my woman.”

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