Page 38 of The Price of Power

“My point is that if I’m here to settle a debt, it doesn’t make much sense for you to spend loads of unnecessary money on me.”

“You think I should dress you in rags?” My whole body stiffened as he lifted a hand and traced the back of his fingers down my upper arm, trying to subdue the shiver of excitement his touch fired off inside me. “…Or maybe nothing at all?”

I shook my head. What I wanted were my own damn clothes, but I didn’t dare bring that up again. I was barely holding it together after a touch on the arm. There was no way I could withstand him pushing me against the wall again.

“There is a middle ground between the two extremes, you know,” I told him.

“Not with you, there isn’t,” he whispered, tantalizingly close to my ear. “As far as I’m concerned, with you, it’s all or nothing.”

Somehow, I got the feeling he wasn’t simply talking about clothes anymore. Not that I was about to ask for clarification.

“All I’m saying is that I don’t understand your rationale for spending what had to be a small fortune on someone who will only be with you for the summer.”

“And I don’t understand why you care,” he said, still just as close.

“I don’t.” And I didn’t. I really, really didn’t. “I’m just curious, that’s all.”

“Oh, I see. You’re curious.” There was a mocking quality to his voice as he traced his fingers back up my arm. “Then let me satisfy that curiosity.”

Shit. Did he have to purr that word right against my ear? The low, rough sound made me want to lean back against his chest and allow the heat of his body to soften every muscle in my body.

“I bought these clothes because I wanted to,” he said. “That’s the only reason I need to do anything. But you still don’t get that, do you, dolcezza?”

Pulling his hand away from my arm, he reached over my shoulder to pull one of the hangers off the rod. A shimmering silver dress with a plunging neckline hung from the silk-covered arms. He pressed it against my chest, matching the straps to the fall of my shoulders and letting the hem brush against my thighs.

“I want to see you dressed like this,” he said, pulling the fabric tight against my waist…and my back against his chest in the process. I bit into my lower lip, desperate to swallow down the moan that threatened to sneak out at the sudden contact. “And when others see you, I want them to know that you’re mine. All mine.”

I closed my eyes and tried to slow my breathing, but it wasn’t any use. My heart kept right on pounding like a jackhammer against my breastbone. There was no disguising the effect his touch had on me.

Apparently, all Gabriel had to do was whisper a few rumbly words against my ear, and I melted like a piece of chocolate on a warm day.

“Besides, I can always just add the cost of your wardrobe to the money your brother owes me.”

And just like that, all the tension rushed back into my body. My eyes popped open, and without thinking, I spun around in his arms.

“What money?” I demanded. Immediately, abandoning the promise I’d made to myself, my gaze locked with his. “We made a deal. I stay with you for three months, and you forgive my brother’s debt.”

“That wasn’t the deal.” A wicked smile curled his lips, and I couldn’t help thinking it wasn’t fair for someone so evil to look so damn good. “I only agreed to forgive your brother, not his debt.”

“No. No, no, no.” I shook my head vehemently. “Don’t play this bullshit semantics game with me. What the hell were you forgiving if not his debt?”

“Well, Theo’s not currently dead, is he?”

“Currently?” I didn’t think it was possible, but somehow, my eyes stretched even wider. “You mean you’re still planning on killing him?”

“Only if, after ninety days, he still hasn’t paid what he owes me.”

My stomach dropped. I’d seen the numbers. I knew the truth. Short of selling the whole business, there was no way Theo could come up with that kind of cash. And even if he did find someone willing to buy a tiny, failing liquor distribution company, it would still take time for the deal to go through, and for any of that money to become liquid, and?—

“And what if I stayed with you past the ninety days?” I asked in desperation. “Would you give him more time?”

Gabriel laughed. “A minute ago, you were an ‘unwilling guest.’ Now, you’re practically begging me to stay. Which is it?”

“Answer my question first.”

His brows arched at my demand.

Something told me he wasn’t used to hearing many of those. Honestly, I was more than a little surprised that I had the guts to talk that way myself. But what choice did I have? His little game had me backed into a corner.

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