Paradise: The Masters of The Order Novel Two (26 page)

“What did you do to him?” she asked weakly, not really wanting to know.

“That’s between me and Jacques, but believe me when I tell you, he won’t abuse your trust again.”

She swallowed the desire to defend Jacques and got to the point. “I do trust Jacques, but I know it would make him feel better about, um, things so I would like to ask you to be the one to watch out for me.”

Sabin stood abruptly and dropped to one knee next to her. He put a hand over his heart and kissed the back of hers. “I would be honored, Isabella.” Then he threw his head back with a hearty laugh. “But woo-wee,
mi chica caliente
, I’m gonna have to step up my game to keep a little vixen like you out of trouble.”

The seriousness shattered and she couldn’t resist. “I promise to be a good little Catholic school girl, sir,” she cooed in her best coo for him.

Sabin turned to Jacques. “Brother, if you don’t say yes, I’m gonna explode.”

Jacques called across the table, “Go for it.”

She didn’t understand until Sabin’s hands grabbed her cheeks and drew her into a deep, dirty kiss. Like a double shot of tequila, his kiss burned. But when a man like Sabin Timonen kisses you, you kiss him back. Right there in front of your new friends, a service staff in the double digits and a group of the most famous chefs in Europe.

*****

Well, this is certainly different. I'm arm candy.

Arm candy as he strolled hand in hand with Isabella into the reception hall. He didn’t have much time to feel uncomfortable because a swarm of people enveloped them in a rush of kisses and hugs. Isabella beamed as she introduced him to her family. All one hundred and fifty of them. Cousins, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews and of course, the brothers. Her four very big, very mean, very protective brothers.

Teo, he’d already had the pleasure, and the others weren’t much warmer. "
Mis cariños
," she called them. She had no idea how ironic that was. Talk about hazing the boyfriend. How did Isabella ever date with this bunch hovering menaces? No doubt what her
sweeties
would do if things with little sister’s arm candy ever got, well, sticky.

They'd come to Barcelona to attend a celebration for the fiftieth wedding anniversary of Isabella’s great aunt and uncle. The whole scene made him feel guilty.

Marriage.

Isabella never said the word. In fact, she never mentioned the future, but some things don’t have to be expressed to be true. He was looking at Isabella’s essence reflected in all those loving faces. Her family. Her heart. And the one thing a guy like him could never give.

About halfway through the evening, she disappeared with a smile and he hadn’t seen her in what felt like hours. He wandered onto the terrace to get a break from the love fest.

“You jackass!”

Jacques didn’t flinch, only raised his eyes to find six feet, three inches of seriously pissed off big brother storming across the stone with an accusing finger pointing at his head. Bulging eyes, red face, veins popping, Teo looked like a raging bull with a hard on for the matador. At least, the guy only wielded a finger and not a lance.

“Something on your mind, Teo?” Jacques offered in a calm voice. It wasn’t an act. He was calm. Teo may be able to pummel him into paste, but he didn’t fear physical pain and a single phone call could destroy Teo’s life if Teo gave him a reason. Jacques wouldn’t do that, it would hurt Isabella, but the alpha in him could imagine. “Not enjoying the party, I see,” he added with a decidedly mocking tone. Probably not the smartest move.

Teo erupted. “A collar! A fucking collar! The only reason you’re not dead right now is because for some fucked up reason, my baby sister thinks she’s in love with your ass.”

“So the big brother doesn’t like my gift. That’s an interesting twist.” Teo didn’t have to see the necklace he’d given to Isabella as anything more than an expensive trinket, but he did. He recognized its symbolism. Only one explanation for that perception. There was a lot more to Isabella’s favorite brother than she knew. “Stay out of it, Teo.”

“No can do,
pendejo
. No way.”

Jacques’s first instinct was to throw the meddling goon over the balustrade, but for Isabella’s sake, he would placate him instead. “You don’t like me, fine. The feeling’s mutual, but Isabella gave us both the same “get along” speech so let’s not push it. I know how to care for my woman.” Okay, the possessive bit was a jab.

Teo jabbed back. “How? With handcuffs and a whip? Seems you’ve got quite a reputation around town and it ain’t the hearts and flowers variety.”

That statement got Jacques’s attention, big time, but he knew better than to show it. He leaned over the railing and waved a dismissive hand through the air. “I’m a wealthy man. People talk, but mostly, they speculate. I doubt much of what you think you know is true.”

The ruse didn’t work. Teo railed on, “A broken heart loves a shoulder to cry on and you’ve broken more than your fair share, my friend.”

No missing the sarcasm in that moniker. Teo and he were anything but friends.

“And exactly where have you come across all these broken hearts?” His voice dismissed Teo’s accusation as if it was complete folly.

“The Dungeon.”

Jacques narrowed his eyes and glanced over at Teo. “I wonder what Isabella would say if she knew you hang out there.” Teo didn’t respond, but the look on his face spoke volumes and Jacques let Teo know it. “Looks like big brother has a few secrets of his own. Don’t worry, Teo. I won’t tell.”

“Oh, I’m sure you don’t tell Isla lot of things.”

“I’ve been honest with Isabella. She knows about my past.”

“Does she? Does she really?” Teo chided. “She has no clue what kind of shit guys like you and I get into and you know it.”

And that was the sorry truth. He’d given Isabella the general outline, but she didn’t ask for the specifics and he knew better than to fill in the blanks. Without the details, Isabella couldn’t begin to understand his past. The past that Teo was throwing back in his face.

“I wonder what my sister would say if she spoke to Tess. Does Isla sleep chained to floor next to you bed too? How about Josette? You treated her so fine. Have you asked Isla to crawl across the foyer at the Opéra Bastille yet? Or maybe we should tell her about how Ann Marie entertained you at the World Cup. Neat trick, what you had her do every time there was a goal. Oh, and let’s not forget my personal favorite…”

“Stop.” Jacques raised his hand. Teo had done his homework. His threat was real. “You don’t have to chronicle my sins. I’m well aware of what I’ve done.”

Teo’s whole body jerked as if Jacques’s acknowledgment of the truth caused him physical pain. “If you do any of those things to my baby sister, I swear to God I’ll…” He ground his teeth. The rage was palpable, but he swallowed it and took aim instead. “How the hell can you think you’re worthy of a woman like Isla?”

Bulls eye.

“You think I don’t know that I’m not worthy of her? News flash, brother. I do. I so fucking do.”

“Then leave her alone, God damn it,” Teo roared.

“I can’t do that and more importantly, I don’t want to. I love her.”

“If you loved her, you’d get the hell away from her. How long do you think you can deny yourself before your needs take over? I’ve tried to do it. It’s impossible. We are what we are, Jacques, and we are bastards. Eventually, the need will take over and that’s not right for my baby sister.”

If Teo was a Dom, and one thousand percent for sure he was, he had to recognize Isabella’s sexuality, but as her brother, he clearly preferred to maintain his vanilla illusion about his sister, no matter how well he knew it was wrong. Isabella may be angry at him for this, but screw it. He was pissed. “Key word, ‘sister.’ You don’t want to see her. You don’t want to recognize her needs. You don’t want to know her, so you don’t.”

Teo closed his eyes and growled the words, “I know Isla better than you ever will.”

“Do you? Do you really? Because let me assure you, I do. Everything. In ways a brother never can.”

“Watch it.” Teo’s eyes were still closed as if not seeing Jacques would somehow made the truth about Isabella less real.

“It’s the truth, Teo, whether you want to face it or not. You may not want Isabella to be the woman she is, but that doesn’t mean she isn’t that woman. You said it yourself. You can’t deny what you are. You can’t. I can’t. Isabella can’t.”

Teo’s shoulders collapsed and he buried his face in his hands.

Shit, now Jacques felt sorry for the guy. “I understand why you’re struggling, Teo. I do, but it doesn’t change anything. She trusts me. You can too.”

“Yeah, and I’m a prima ballerina.”

“You’re making this harder than it has to be.”

Teo met his eyes. “She deserves a crown, man, a fucking crown.”

Of course she did and he was a rich man. A very rich man. He shouldn’t have to point out the obvious, but…“I plan to give the world to her and I have the means to do it,” Jacques said.

“I meant a metaphysical crown, dumbass. She doesn’t care about your money.”

“What can I say, Teo? You can scream and threaten me until you’re old and grey, but I’m not letting her go. I lost her once because I treated her like the women from my past. I won’t make that mistake again. Isabella is my future. The woman I’ve waited my whole life to find. I love her and I always will. I would swear it on my honor if I had any, but I’m telling you the truth.”

“And you show your love by putting a collar around her neck, you twisted fuck. If you had a drop of decency you would do it right.”

Teo didn’t say the word “marriage,” but Jacques heard it loud and clear. His eyes fell. Damn, he didn’t want to face this.

“Seems we both know things about Isla that we’d rather ignore,” Teo smirked. “Think about her for a minute, Jacques. Not the woman you want her to be, but the woman she is. What's most important to her?” Teo asked.

“Family,” Jacques answered without hesitation.

“Give the man a prize,” Teo mocked. “And what does a woman who values family dream about? I’ll give you a hint. It’s not leather and dungeons.”

When Jacques didn’t fight back, Teo continued. “Do you know what her favorite game was when she was a little girl? It was dress-up. She would dress up and we would pretend to get married. The family didn’t eat meat for an entire week so
mi abuelo
could save the money to buy the materials for
mi abuela
to make a princess dress for Isla. White satin, a poufy skirt, sequins, lace. All the trimmings. Isla said someday she would marry a real prince and live in a castle filled with their babies. That was her happily-ever-after when she was a kid and it still is.

“Doms are not princes, Jacques. That’s why she struggles so hard with what the adult woman needs. If I could convince her to run from you, I would, but I can’t, so it falls to you.” Teo looked him straight in the eye and leveled his challenge. “If you truly love her, Jacques Meszaros, you wouldn’t collar her. You would marry her.”

*****

The plane was very quiet on the flight back to Paris. Only the gentle hum of engines and the sound of Jacques’s heavy breathing. The weekend had worn them both out, but Isabella couldn't sleep.

She pressed her fingers against her forehead. This was the worst one yet. In the flurry of her crazy family, she’d forgotten to take her medication. Or maybe she didn't want to. And now she was paying the price. She sat up to slip away and sneak a pill.

"Oh, ow." Her hands shot to her temples. She froze, hoping the outburst hadn't woken her far too observant lover. No such luck.

“Everything alright,
Paradis
?”

“Headache. It’s nothing. Too much wine,” she lied.

As Jacques focused on her his eyes became more than a little bit concerned.

“Go back to sleep, Jacques.”

Damn, she was going to have to schedule a visit with Dr. Boucher. The thought made her want to cry. Before she did, she stood and turned away.

Copper eyes, fully awake and probing, greeted her when she returned from the bathroom. Jacques wasn’t kidding when he said he was hard wired to take care of people he cared about. It was like a switch flipped in him when things went awry. No way she could keep lying to him, but how could she tell him the truth?

“I can’t resist Spanish wines. Tannins. My bad.” She shrugged.

“If you say so, Isabella, but I want you to see a doctor when we get back to Paris.” As her lips parted to protest, he eased back against the headrest and closed his eyes. “In case you don’t know it already, that’s an order.”

I’ve already seen more than my share
. “Alright, Jacques.”

Jacques looked tired. Talk about dragging a guy out of his comfort zone. His expression when
la familia
swarmed him was priceless. He managed to regain his characteristic charm by the time the first smiling Spaniard swallowed him in a bear hug, but she didn’t miss the flash of panic as they walked into that reception hall.

To her family, Jacques wasn’t a gazillionaire tycoon philanthropist, although
Tía
Sophia did mention the repairs needed for the roof of San Sebastian church more than once. To them, he was “Isla’s boyfriend,” the first one they’d ever met and to say that
la familia
was enthusiastically obsessed about him was an understatement.