Bartered (16 page)

His brows furrowed as he searched my eyes for answers. “If you feel pressured about our plans for the future
, then say so. I won’t speak about it again if it makes you panic.” Then his eyes dropped to my lips, leaving me breathless.

Damen, please…
stay back.
My heart and my body responded like they usually did.

He was familiar and the man I was in love with
. Could I really find fault in my reaction to him?

“I never felt pressured
. Not with you—never with you.” My eyes glassed with moisture as I gave him a pleading look. “Damen… please.”

“
Iso
, don’t break me like this.”

“It’s only temporary. I promise.” Fuck, I could feel my conscience kicking in, wor
king its way into my heart, my once steel resolve becoming shaky.

Damn
, he wouldn’t heed anything. He simply pushed on, persisting to know answers that had boggled him ever since I had broken it off with him.

“Did you fall in love with some other guy
? Is that why you wanted to take a break?” He looked broken before, but after asking me this, he seemed to be in a great amount of pain.

I shook my head, not willing to deny my feelings for him. I wasn’t all that cruel
, after all. “No! Of course not.” This was something I could tell him, at least, and hopefully, it’d help ease his pain.

He took a moment and bit his bottom lip before looking down
at the floor, looking lost in thought. After a good minute or so, when he did look up, I couldn’t read his face. His eyes sought mine as he stepped closer, drowning me in the familiar depths that I’d stared at for years and years of us being together. The quick jab in my heart made me bleed when I saw how much this break-up had taken a toll on him. He still looked gorgeous, yet there was something lacking in his eyes. The smile in his eyes was gone, replaced by something sad and gloomy.

“Do you still love me?”

Did he think that I didn’t?
I thought ch to myself as I stared into him, seeking what I had just asked myself. In that instant, I realized that he had considered everything, even this. That my love had simply ebbed away without looking back. This…

This
broke my resolve.

“I do,” I said as I shut down my brain and let my heart reign free. “I still love you.”

He reached out to cup my cheek, bringing my face towards him. “Then what’s the problem, Iso?” he asked, and before I had the chance to respond, he kissed my answer away, forgetting everything I had just told myself not to do, letting my emotions go haywire.

I was
in Greece for an entire week with no sightings of my father, nor had we heard from him. I couldn’t leave without having to beg my grandmother to lend one of her helpers to live with my mother until she was well and could function on her own again. My grandmother was, of course, reluctant at first, but my relentless pursuit of the subject left her exhausted. So in the very end, it was my grandfather who told me that it was okay to borrow one of the ladies to help nurse my mum.

The short visit caused a lot of resentment and anger
, yet at the same time, I couldn’t take back what had happened with Damen after we kissed. The man wouldn’t let me go after that. Moreover, given my high emotional state, I didn’t fight him off when he went further, taking his intentions to another level.

Chapter 25

Hugo

“Isobel,” I said the second I got inside her bedroom without knocking, “it’s good to see you back.” Beaming, I let my eyes rove over her beautiful face and body, needing assurance that she was safe and unharmed. She was putting her computer aside and hadn’t said a word. My curiosity was piqued at her odd behavior. “Aren’t you going to come here and greet me properly?” I slowly strode over to her, resolving her lack of response for exhaustion.

Once I got to her on the other side of the bed where she was sitting and waiting, I immediately kissed her forehead before cradling her cheek to kiss her on the lips. Her i
ntoxicating scent filled my nostrils, and I instantly felt a wave of calmness wash over me.

“You’ve been gone for far too long. How is your mother?
I hope she is well and safe.” I searched her eyes and was taken aback to see hers stare back at me full of trouble and hesitation. “Is something the matter?”

She shook her head before licking her lips and
looking away. “My mum will eventually get better. Thanks for asking.”

I frowned
as I gazed upon her, knowing very well that my instincts couldn’t be far off when they were telling me that something was amiss. “Is there something you want to tell me, Isobel?” My voice may be soft, but I was on edge, hoping she wasn’t hiding anything from me.

She made a wan smile. “I’m just tired…” she trailed off. “I didn’t get much sleep
once I got there, so I’m beyond exhausted.”

I nodded, worried. “Of course. Have you had dinner?” It was half past eight
, and from what I had been told, she hadn’t had a nibble of food since she’d flown in two hours ago. I would’ve gone home to welcome her back immediately, but I had barely flown in myself from Switzerland after some business. I had immediately come straight to see her, bound with excitement and expectation. I definitely hadn’t been picturing her as cold and distant. Weary and exhausted? Yes, of course. But standoffish? No. Especially not after how things had been between us before she’d left.

She declined my invitation for dinner, excusing herself to the bathroom to shower while I stared after her, pondering what had gone wrong.

Listening to her movements in the bathroom, I looked about her room for about five minutes before deciding to leave her be. Perhaps we could talk again in an hour or so. Maybe she’d feel better then.

Finally getting up to leave her room, I strode towards the
other wing on the opposite side of the villa to my bedroom to change. All the while, I thought of our cold and detached exchange in her bedroom.

Entering my domain, I headed straight to my walk-in closet before taking my clothes off to shower before dinner. I wasn’t particularly hungry
; however, I felt I needed to give her space even though all I wanted was to spend the entire night with her in her bed… naked… while we caught up on events. I wanted to hear what had happened on her trip in Athens, amongst other things.

After
a quick shower, I went downstairs to work whilst having dinner, biding time until I felt she’d had enough time of her own before facing me again.

The intended one hour wait became two
as I was consumed by the current project I was working on. I took a moment to breathe and gather my thoughts, feeling slightly euphoric at the thought of tasting her again tonight. After a week without her here and with no distractions to speak of, my mind—whenever not occupied with work—had continuously wandered towards her, wondering how she was doing in Athens.

There were times
when I wanted to simply call her and ask her myself, but I also wanted her to have some privacy since her mother was ill and she probably couldn’t be bothered. I thought that, if she truly wanted to talk, she would’ve easily called me. However, after her quick message stating that she had arrived and was fine, nothing had come from her. From then on, I had counted the days until she was back here with me, in my house where I could see her whenever I wanted.

Sherry and Chantel were back from their vacations and the two
had moved in to the hotel because I had made a vow to myself that I would concentrate solely on Isobel, and I meant to keep that promise. The ladies, of course, were baffled with the immediate change of living arrangements, yet I wasn’t one to fully disclose my life, even to my past lovers. I meant to speak to them once I’d had a discussion with Isobel before letting them both go with a hefty parting present.

Leaving my library, I pictured her in bed
, dressed in one of those silky, short, slip-on nightdresses with nothing underneath. She knew I went berserk whenever she did that. And since she and I hadn’t seen each other in a while, I was hoping she’d be more than eager to participate tonight in what I had hungered for.

Striding towards her room, each step that got me closer to my destination made me feel nervous all of a sudden. I wasn’t sure why
, but her unwelcoming response had been so unexpected that it somehow pained me a little.

Not
bothering to knock on her door, I let myself inside and found her on the bed with her laptop, just as I had found her earlier. When she saw me enter, she immediately shut it off and placed it on the side table before giving me a pained smile.

“Hey
, I was wondering where you’ve been.”

Maybe it was the fake smile that I had just witnessed or her odd attitude, but I surely didn’t buy the fact that she was “wondering” where I’d been. Had she meant
it, she could’ve easily found me downstairs, but she hadn’t.

“I’ve been in the library this whole time
, working as I nibbled on dinner.

“So
, tell me about your trip,” I stated as I slowly took my clothes off. She watched me with hesitation, as if she wanted to look yet didn’t deem it suitable, which was another point that got me confused. She had seen me naked countless times; what had changed to make her shy and reluctant like she had been in the very beginning?

“Very quiet
. My father wasn’t there when I landed, thank goodness for that.” She sounded relieved, although something was bothering her.

Knowing myself, I’d wait until I fully
had an idea of what was causing her to act this way before confronting her about it. Maybe it was just the stress of it all, but something nagged at me, and I simply couldn’t place what it was.

Shrugging
off the rest of my clothing, I slid into bed with her before I automatically pulled her freshly scented body towards me. Spooning her, my cock immediately nestled against her pert bottom. My nose indulged in her smell as I kissed along the back of her neck and shoulder blade.

“I couldn’t get you out of my head
, ma belle.” My hand sought the end of her silk nightdress before my hand reached farther down her body, needing more of her. “Take this off, I want to see,” I rasped out with urgency, hoping I’d calm the hell down and savor her slowly, like a decadent dessert that needed to be relished with each bite, tasting every aspect of its phenomenal flavor.

She made a soft gasp when I hastily took off the dress
. Then my lips lunged and clasped on her nipple, biting and tasting her with gusto.

“Hugo…” she rasped out, seeming like she wanted
to stop me, yet she moaned with each touch I granted her.

“Relax
, ma chérie. I promise to make it good for you.” My lips trailed along her jawline as I slowly situated myself in between her legs, desperate to feel the heat of her warmth, to feel the slickness of her moisture as I slid along her slit. My hunger felt like it was eating me alive. I wanted her so much that it borderlined on being painful.

The hunger surely dissipated the moment my eyes caught something on the base of her neck. It was faint
, but it was an obvious mark—a mark that lovers leave on a woman’s skin when marking their territory. The fainting color around it told me that this hickey wasn’t fresh, but for her to even have one was beyond baffling.

Pausing, I tried to breathe in
through my nostril; however, the lacerating pain of betrayal immediately got to me. Therefore, I slowly made a grunting sound before rolling back to my side of the bed.

The moment my head hit the pillow, my lips pressed together as my arm covered my
shut eyes, needing to think, needing to make sense of things.

It couldn’t have been some random man,
I thought with alacrity. Isobel wouldn’t dare violate our contract unless it was someone she couldn’t resist—this man being her ex and only lover, Damen Zabat.

“Hugo?” Her voice was a small whisper, hearing her say my name only
adding to the intensity of her betrayal.

So young and so innocent
. How easily she had been swayed by the man she loved.

Did she fuck him
, too?
I thought as I tasted acid on my tongue. God, I hoped not.

“Sleep well
, ma belle. I’m sorry that I even tried tonight.” Not wanting to talk any longer, I pushed my feelings aside and pulled her body towards me once more. This time, I meant nothing sexual but to have her close as we slept the night away, just like before. Before she acted upon her passions.

I could get past this
. However, if I ever found out that she had gone beyond the usual kissing and petting, this was over for good.

Betrayals didn’t bide well with me
, even if the woman in question was the most beautiful thing I had ever laid my eyes upon, or that she made me feel senseless and helpless to the point of being pathetic.

Even in my pursuit of passions, that
, too, had a limit.

“There’s a delivery for Miss Isobel Callas. Should I give it to Benoît?”
my secretary popped her head in the office, asking me a question that merely ignited my suspicions.

“
Non
. Bring it to me,” I responded before my jaw locked, before grinding my teeth together as I told myself to hold it together when the only thing I wanted to do was throw something at the wall.

Delivery for Isobel
from whom?
From her father? I hardly thought the bastard would have the guts to do such a thing. Could it have been from her friends in London? If so, why the hell didn’t she tell them the address to the villa instead of the hotel? There was something that didn’t match up. The moment that the
delivery
arrived in my office, I wondered no longer.

It was a large flower arrangement. A massive
, grandiose display of pink, red, white, and green blooms was set on the coffee table. I stared at it as if I was gauging an opponent before I carried on with a plan of attack.

The hickey
and now this? Even a daft man could figure out what this all meant.

I grunted out a cruel laugh before I bolted out of my seat, scowling at the white env
elope that had her name all over it.

Staring at the card, it took me a second to decide whether to read it or not. My po
ssessive streak, added with my piqued curiosity, jumbled with the hurt and betrayal that Isobel struck me with. There wasn’t even a moment’s hesitation before I yanked the card off the vase and opened that damning thing.

To my Isobel,

Spending most of our time in bed, making love and talking about the future, made me realize that what we share is something special—and it’s worth fighting for. So this is me, fighting for what we have. What we’ve always had.

Your heart never lies. Not when it was beating against my own, not when you kissed me
, or when you made love to me. I felt your love, Iso. Don’t be afraid, I’m not going anywhere.

I miss you
, and I’ll wait for however long it takes until you’re back in my arms again.

Happy 4
th
year anniversary, my love.

Damen

No wonder she didn’t want anything to do with me when she got back. Though she
’d moaned for a bit under my arms, there was no mistaking that she hadn’t fully been enjoying any of it.