Book Review: Buttons & Betrayal

Title: Buttons & Betrayal
Author: Penelope Sky
Genre: Romance, Dark Romance, Fiction

What It’s About: Sapphire continues to work around the stables on the estate, taking care of the horses, and when she tries to care for Carbine, the more standoffish of the horses, the stablehand interferes and tells her to work on a different one. When she’s done, she returns to her room, and Conway comes to her room after work to have sex with her. She gets upset because she sees a lipstick on Conway and she’s not okay with him getting funny with others at work and then coming to do the same thing to her. Conway doesn’t care, and reminds her that he can do whatever he wants, as she’s his property. When she asks about condoms, he tells her that she has nothing to worry about, and then they proceed to have sex, though Sapphire tries hard not to come. Still, her body betrays her. As a result of the argument, Sapphire refuses to eat with Conway in the same room, and begins skipping meals.

Conway knows what she’s trying to do, so instead he has his butler send food up to Sapphire’s room so that she gets to eat, and tells him that he’ll go see her in 15 minutes. During breakfast, he gets a call from his mother, who tells him that she and his father, Crow, were in Milan and were thinking of passing through for lunch. After breakfast, he goes to see Sapphire, whom he calls Muse, and realizes that she’s already left for the stables. He finds her in the stables, and tells her to head back to the house, and stay in her bedroom for the rest of the day. She doesn’t take kindly to being told what to do, and he has to tell her that his family is coming over. She goes into her room as told.

Conway’s family arrive, and he takes his dad to see the horses, as Crow had purchased Carbine for Conway. When he returns, he finds that Sapphire has sat down with his sister and his mother, becoming fast friends with them. They absolutely love her, including his dad, and Conway realizes that Sapphire played him a little too well–she threatens to tell his family the truth about who he is unless he treats her right and she has the right to refuse him. Even though Conway reminds her that she can just as easily leave and face Knuckles–from whom she’s on the run–his family’s opinion of him is far too important to him to let his reputation be ruined.

They try the new arrangements, and at first Conway really hates that he can’t demand sex or have sex whenever he feels like with her–at his beck and call–as she can deny him. Sapphire wants romance, which Conway doesn’t want to give her at all, but he obliges eventually. And they begin to have dinners together on the terrace, going as far as talking to each other to learn about each other in a civil manner. Conway also reveals that he never sleeps with his models because that would complicate things and them working for him, so the lipstick that Sapphire had seen the other day was solely due to the fact that one of his models had thrown herself at him. They end up having an erotic night together, and the next day Conway takes Sapphire into the office in Milan with him to help him with new lingerie designs. There is some tension because they run into a couple of models who kiss Conway on the cheeks and it’s obvious that Sapphire is not happy with it, but then she gives in and remove her clothes so that he can try materials against her skin. Sapphire also ends up helping him cut the pieces before he sews them together, cutting his time in half. They have conversations about having a family while they work, with Conway admitting that he doesn’t know if he wants to have kids or not. He tells her that she is not likely to have children at all–but Sapphire tells him that she wants to have children so he has to change his mind. He then asks her if she wants to have his children, to which Sapphire responds that at least it’ll be a way to have children.

Conway thinks to himself that no one would be better to have children than Sapphire, but forgets the thought as soon as he can, since he is focused on his work–a lingerie that looks like it’s made out of rope, one that can be moved around to expose the boobs or not, and it doesn’t have any crotch covers. Sapphire asks when it will be ready and instantly Conway is ready to have sex with her. They end up having sex in the bed that he has in his office, which was initially meant to be used for photoshoots. Afterwards, he continues working from his home office when Vanessa calls him asking for Sapphire’s number to get to know her. Conway tells her that Sapphire doesn’t have a phone, so instead, Vanessa invites herself over to Conway’s house to use the pool as it’s very hot outside. He goes over to Sapphire to tell her that Vanessa is going to come over and tells her how she lost her phone so that their lies match up when Sapphire hangs out with Vanessa. Sapphire ends up enjoying hanging out with Vanessa and talking with her at the pool about Vanessa’s school, & her relationship with Conway. In the end Vanessa invites Sapphire to a girl’s night out with her friends.

Sapphire does want to go, but Conway disagrees with her desire to go to the party. They end up settling on him being nearby while she hangs out with Vanessa. The day of the party, Conway and Sapphire drive to Milan in his car. En route, Vanessa texts Sapphire the name of the Club, Club Bellissima, which raises Conway’s eyebrows. He drives them to a building, drops off the car at a parking space, and explains that he purchased the whole building because he doesn’t like neighbors. He then walks her over to the Club and when he moves to the head of the line, Sapphire is confused because the line is way in the back, but he was able to get them in ahead of the line. Conway separates from Sapphire, letting her go meet with Vanessa and her friends. They all got to talking about Conway because Vanessa introduced Sapphire as Conway’s girlfriend. The way that they talking about him made Sapphire feel uncomfortable because they were objectifying him as a rich and hot guy. Suddenly a man appeared at the table holding a vodka drink, setting it down in front of Sapphire, and sliding into the booth beside her. This makes her uncomfortable and the girls tell him that he’s being creepy. Before it could go any further, he was yanked out of the chair and Conway threatens him.

This pisses off Vanessa because she doesn’t know why her brother is following her around. He ignores the ladies and just scans the crowd while Sapphire apologizes to Vanessa for bringing him with her. At some point Vanessa notices a guy in a leather jacket and goes up to talk to him, while her friends find other men to talk to as well, and they leave Conway and Sapphire alone. While they hang about, Conway’s uncle Cane visits them, and Sapphire gets introduced and they talk a bit. It turns out that Cane owns Club Bellissima which is why Conway is able to get ahead of the line. Both Conway and Cane wonder about the guy that Vanessa talks to, having the same reaction to the situation, which surprises Sapphire. She tells them to let Vanessa make her own mistakes. After Cane walks away, Conway continues to buy more alcohol and drinks even though they could leave at that point. Sapphire and Conway get a little heated, but Conway isn’t willing to leave his sister alone despite Sapphire telling him several times that Vanessa is a grown woman. Instead, she gets up to leave on her own, and within a few seconds, Conway appeared next to her, choosing to leave with her as opposed to staying to watch his sister. He takes Sapphire to his apartment in Milan where they have sex, but they don’t stay the night even though Sapphire asks him to stay the night. They return to Verona instead and Sapphire is upset with him because he treats her so coldly but then he is quick to defend her.

That night Sapphire has a nightmare in which she watches her brother die in an alleyway courtesy of Knuckles, who in turn tells her that he’s coming after her. Waking up from that nightmare, she wants to go to Conway’s room, but he had made it clear to her that he won’t have her in his bed, and he doesn’t care. Instead, she decides to walk out to the stables to the horses, to get some fresh air. Her leaving the premises triggers the house alarm, causing Conway, and Dante to prepare guns and bulletproof vests in case it was an invasion. It is Dante who tells Conway that it was Sapphire, and Conway walks over to see her in the stables. At first she won’t tell him why she’s outside in the stables, but after a bit more prodding and prying, Sapphire tells him that she had a nightmare, and her first instinct was to go to his room, but due to his intolerance this is the best she could do. She turns to go back to the house, and they walk home together, but she doesn’t let him touch her or hold her. He offers for her to sleep with him in the same bedroom, but she tells him that it’s okay. Conway realizes that he was reaping what he sowed–she wasn’t turning to him when she needed him.

Instead he chooses to go into her room, and into her bed. He tells her to stop worrying about the guy, but she wonders if he would come after her. Conway tells her that he can’t come after her due to the rules of the Underground. After he comforts her, she makes the first move and asks him to make love to her. He hesitates because he’s never done anything but hard fucking–then he chooses to go through with it. The next day they wake up, and Conway decides to take her on a horseback riding instead of heading into work. He takes her out on Carbine in the paddock so that she can learn to ride at least a little bit.

After lunch, and afternoon sex, Conway goes out to meet with Carter, who had paid Conway for Anastasia–a girl that they saved from the Underground along with Sapphire. They talk about Sapphire, with Carter teasing Conway about it, though he dares Conway to make out with other girls when Conway claims that they’re not monogamous, and Conway tries to prove him wrong, but ends going home to Sapphire instead. They start undressing to have sex, when Sapphire slaps him across the face, because there are lipstick marks, and he smells like a woman. Conway doesn’t want to face the truth when she asks him how can he tell her that she’s the most desirable woman in the world but then want someone else. Instead he tells her that she doesn’t mean anything to him, and that he will go out to fuck as many woman as he wants, which she will accept and when he gets home, she’ll fuck him as usual. That makes Sapphire turn cold.

The next day she does her own work at the stables, then grabs lunch and eats at the stables before falling asleep in the grass. Conway wakes her up and they get into an argument around her safety, while walking to the house. Afterwards they end up in Sapphire’s bedroom, and for the first time she refuses to kiss him–because if this was casual fucking then kissing was too intimate. She chooses to turn her back to him before they have sex, and they have sex that way. They continue to have sex that way–no cuddling, no romance, no kissing–just straight sex. Conway has her come to his studio to work with him on a new piece, called The Queen. Sapphire tries to convince Conway to give her something to do–either a hobby, or to help him in his business as she has two years of business classes under her belt. They talk some more while he works on the piece, and then he has her put it on. They end up having sex again, but he tells her that she’s not allowed to shower afterwards–his fantasy is that she works in the stables full of his come.

Conway has been in a bad mood lately and hasn’t been able to produce anything new, but he has to get three more pieces for the next line for his show. Nicole looks at the sketches he had produced, but they’re nothing of his usual quality so he needs more time to create something. Conway has thoughts full of self-loathing, and he knows it has something to do with Muse, and how she’d stopped kissing him, destroying the connection they’d had. He realizes that he has to make a decision–his fantasy has changed from casual sex with multiple women to worshipping one, and he will lose regardless of his decision–either he will have to make an exception and open the door to something he’d never walked, or continue to let his work suffer. He comes home and goes to Sapphire’s room to ask her to have dinner with him. She refuses and when he turns off the TV, she asks him why don’t they just fuck and he leaves her alone. The harshness of the tones and words is rough on Conway, so he decides to tell Sapphire what he had planned to say at dinner. He tells her that he’s been with no one else since the day they met–the day he came home with lipstick after meeting with Carter was because he tried to disprove Carter’s belief that he cares about her, but he actually couldn’t go through with another woman because he hadn’t been attracted to her. He just wanted to come home to her. He admits to her that he lied because he doesn’t want Sapphire to know how much he cares for her, that they are mutually exclusive, and that it’s the first time that he’s wanted to be in bed with the same woman over and over. He admits that he just wants her and it terrifies him. He admits that he wants things to go back the way they were, and that he’s committed to her; that he won’t be with anyone but her.

Sapphire takes some time to process this because she was so deeply hurt by Conway’s actions, which she explains to him. And they reconnect again, with Conway kissing her. They do make love in his bed and it’s the first time in two weeks that it feels very good to both of them. After all of the lovemaking, Sapphire stands up to go back to her room, but Conway tells her to stay with him in his bed, and he watches her fall asleep before he too drifts off to sleep. The next morning after his morning swim, while they have breakfast together and talk about his family, Muse asks Conway for compensation–he had lied to her and hurt her. In return, she wants to live in his room with him. He wanted to say no out of spite, but knew it wasn’t true–he truly wanted to wake up to her and have sex with her all of the time. Sapphire tells him that she sleeps better, feels safer when she’s next to him, and likes sleeping next to him with his come insider her. This gets Conway hard enough to fuck her in his room before they both head out to his office in Milan.

In the office, another of his models tries to kiss him on his cheek, and Muse intervenes putting herself between the two of them. They come up to his studio, only to find Carter already there, and Carter and Sapphire get to introduce themselves to each other. Carter offers for them to grab lunch, but Conway says they’re too busy. Carter says that it’s fine as they’ll be having dinner at Conway’s parents’ home on Friday so they’ll catch up on the drive down. Once Carter leaves, the two of them get to work on the designs that Conway had in mind. Nicole comes by and asks him to speak in private, and at first he offers that she tell him the information in front of Sapphire, but after a bit more begging from Nicole, Conway asks Sapphire to step out. Nicole then reveals to Conway that Andrew Lexington of Lady Lingerie (his competitor) is downstairs the conference room, and he’s come here looking for Sapphire. Conway tells Nicole to show him to his office, and asks her to not tell Sapphire–he doesn’t like this at all. An extra twenty minutes later he goes to his office to meet with Andrew, who is curious as to why Conway hasn’t been using her in shows, and tells him that he would like to make an offer to Sapphire to work for him. Conway declines and tells him that she’s not going anywhere, though Andrew tries to convince him that it’s up to Sapphire.

Conway is pissed off after he comes back from his meet up with Andrew, and that mood stays on their drive home. It doesn’t go away until his mom calls him and invites him to dinner on Friday, which he accepts. Sapphire asks him about his old bedroom as that was part of the conversation with his mom, and teases him that she wants to erase the memories of all the girls he snuck into his childhood room. Sapphire moves her stuff into Conway’s room, and Conway comes back with some outfits that he wants her to wear. They end up having sex, and as they’re falling asleep, Sapphire asks what Conway was upset about–he refuses to share. Then they talk about the visit to his parents, which will be a short trip because he’s super busy and he has to finish a few more pieces for the show coming up in six weeks, which will be held in New York. He reveals to her that she won’t be staying in Italy, but rather coming with him to New York for the show, even despite the list of crimes–when she’s with him, she’s above the law.

Conway, Sapphire, Vanessa, and Carter drive all the way down to Tuscany for the dinner. One of the topics they discuss is kids, and Sapphire reveals that she would like to have two–a boy and a girl, which Vanessa agrees with but says that she wouldn’t be against having three. Once they arrive at the house, they all greet each other and have a great time talking amongst each other, with Sapphire seeing a little bit more about how Conway’s family is so close. At one point, Crow talks to Conway about Sapphire, and asks him when he’s going to ask her to marry him. The conversation continues around that topic and Crow tells him that he wished he married their mother sooner so they could enjoy their time together for as much as possible, and he tried to remain uncommitted as long as he could, but she left him. He tells Conway to not make the same mistake as he did of not saying or doing things that shows he loves her, because someone else can replace her. Conway thinks his dad is incorrect when he says that he’s her whole world, because there’s no way she would love him.

That night they have sex in his old bedroom, and then the next morning they have breakfast with his parents on the terrace. He pulls out a chair for Sapphire, which shocks Vanessa as she didn’t think her brother could be a gentleman. As they say their goodbyes, Conway’s mom tells him that he is a good man, and she’s proud of him, which makes him feel guilty because if she knew the truth of his relationship with Sapphire, she wouldn’t think that of him at all.

They drop Carter and Vanessa off at their respective places, and on the ride back, Conway takes her hand in his, even though no one could see them. Sapphire also tells him that his family is just so close–something that she never experienced herself, and so she feels alone. Once they arrive at the mansion, Conway goes up to his office to deal with email sand work, while Sapphire watches some TV. Suddenly her phone number starts to ring and she picks it up only to find out that it’s a call from Andrew Lexington. She tries to shut him down but he asks her to listen to him, and tells her that he is willing to pay double whatever Conway is paying her. She reveals to him that Conway is paying her 100 million, and Andrew says that he is willing to pay her double that over a 10 year contract. She asks to think about it, and he tells her that he’ll call back in a week. Once he hangs up, Sapphire thinks about it, but she’s not willing to jump at the opportunity to leave Conway.

My Thoughts: Much better than the first book, now we’re getting to see the tension between the two characters, and the relationship truly build. I love seeing how Sapphire manages to get the upper hand with Conway through his family and then as a result, they have to put up a front for the family until and unless they break up. It’s definitely something that I was looking forward to as a reader – seeing how they get closer to each other. This is a great 2nd book in this series and I can’t wait to see what happens in Book 3; how does this relationship change?