Page 56 of The Price of Power

“Partly,” he answered before taking another long sip. “And also because if a man only does good for the praise it brings, then what he thinks is goodness is nothing more than pride.”

Oh, wow.

“That’s…surprisingly wise,” I admitted.

“It ought to be,” he said. “It’s what my papà used to say.”

Chapter Eighteen

OLIVIA

Another night at the club led to another morning that started late, groggy, and alone.

I didn’t know how Gabriel did it, keeping us out late with a mix of work and partying that I hadn’t been capable of even back in college.

And even when he brought me back home, he still wasn’t done. We’d made love until the early hours of the morning, and afterward, I collapsed into sleep.

And just like last time, he was already showered, dressed, and halfway out the door by the time I woke up.

“Slow down,” I teased when I caught up to him, finishing his cappuccino in the kitchen. “I’m starting to think you’re getting up so early because you can’t wait to get away from me.”

“Never,” he said with a half smile. “I’ll be back to pick you up at eight again for dinner.”

“Okay.” I nodded as he stood up. “I’ll make sure I’m done working on your brother’s books before then.”

“Oh, that reminds me,” he said, popping the last bite of his breakfast pastry in his mouth. Letizia had made fruit-filled bomboloni this time. “You don’t have to work in the bedroom if you don’t want to. The desk in my office might be more comfortable.”

“You have an office?” For some reason, he was the last person I could imagine trapped behind a desk, pushing papers around.

“On the second floor,” he said. “Letizia can show you where it is.”

“Thank you,” I said as he opened the back door and headed out.

“Well, you two appear to be getting along well,” Letizia said, turning around from her usual post by the stove. She took the kettle off the burner and poured the steaming hot water into a white porcelain mug that she’d hung a tea bag in earlier.

“I guess so.” I thanked her with a nod when she slid the cup in front of me. I didn’t know what else to say.

During the day, our relationship as captive and captor was more polite and respectful than I had any right to imagine it would be. Then, at night, it changed into something as spicy as sin.

But even in the moments when I was so overwhelmed by pleasure that I couldn’t speak, the threat that Gabriel presented to me and my family never really went away. It was always hanging over my head.

For every story of saving a little kid or paying a young man’s way through college, there was another intimidating comment telling me to pray I never found out about the true power of his wrath.

But given the way Letizia was smiling at me now, I had a feeling she didn’t know the true nature of our relationship.

“Mr. Gabriel doesn’t allow just anyone into his office, you know,” she said. “It must mean he trusts you.”

Okay…now I was certain she didn’t know.

“I don’t know about that,” I said. “I think he just knows I won’t do anything stupid.”

Letizia’s eyes narrowed as she shot me a questioning look. “I’m pretty sure that’s the definition of trust.”

Maybe it was.

After I finished my tea and apricot-filled bun, I followed her up the stairs to Gabriel’s office. It was a small room, decorated in the same dark wood and masculine tones as just about every other room in the house. The walls were covered with built-in bookcases—all of them full—and the desk was massive, taking up most of the floor space.

Still, for something that was clearly the center of attention, it didn’t look like it had recently gotten a lot of use. It wasn’t that the place looked abandoned. Letizia was far too proud of a housekeeper to ever allow a layer of dust to settle on shelves or cobwebs to accumulate in corners.

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