The Sweetest Taboo (A Modern Vintage Romance)

Chapter 4

It was a mistake to ride back with her in front of me. I wanted to cup her breasts, nudge my erection against her ass, and drive both of us a little crazy. I wanted to slide a hand inside her shorts and test the theory that she was wet for me.

I”d ridden with her so I could seduce her, but she”d seduced me instead. I wanted her, and the violence of my feelings was new, making me reckless.

When she”d talked about her upbringing, it made sense why she wanted to marry well. She grew up with nothing and now wanted a better life. I understood that. But she had to know that she wasn”t wife material. A woman who gave it away was good to pound into for release, but that was about it.

That evening, I made sure she sat next to me when the Masons came for dinner. I almost felt a little sorry for her because Ace barely paid attention to Isha and was completely focused on Caitlyn.

”I told you,” I whispered to her.

She nodded with a hint of unease, a faraway expression clouding her features ever since we returned from the ride. She appeared fragile and distant, a stark contrast to the slight air of British superiority she usually carried. However, having conversed with her before, I knew she was genuinely personable and even charming. Yet, the woman who now idly picked at her food seemed unmistakably distressed.

”You okay?” I finally asked.

”Yes, of course.” She was back to being polite with me. And the truth was she didn”t seem to care that Ace was into Caitlyn.

”Isha, I hear you”re studying to be a physical therapist,” Candy Mason, Caitlyn”s mother, asked.

I couldn”t stand the woman. She and Deb were good friends. Birds of the same feather, and all that. She was another wealthy Montana rancher”s wife who didn”t love the land, only what it did for her bank balance.

”Yes, at King”s College,” Isha replied.

”Is it like a proper degree?” Caitlyn asked sweetly, but you could feel the barb. Poor Isha, she wouldn”t be able to deal with Caitlyn”s claws.

”It”s a three-year program. I start my last year this September.”

”Do you now?” Candy said with satisfaction. ”Since it”s August now, I assume you”re leaving to go back shortly?”

Isha looked nervously at Ace, who nodded at her. It was subtle, but I caught it.

”Montana State has a decent program,” Ace added with an indulgent smile for his girlfriend, who looked like she wanted the earth to swallow her whole.

”But you can”t stay here. It”s too late to apply for school, isn”t it?” Caitlyn spoke with venom in her voice.

”We”ll figure it out.” Ace winked at Isha and turned his attention back to Caitlyn.

”You should go back to London, darling,” Deb suggested. ”I don”t think Montana suits you.”

Isha looked aghast at the rude comment. Ace didn”t come to her rescue. In fact, no one did.

”What are your plans for after college?” Deb continued, as if she hadn”t just asked her guest to get the fuck out.

I leaned back in my chair, enjoying the show. Poor gold-digging Isha. She didn”t know what she”d walked into. Between Candy, Deb, and Caitlyn, the girl would be lucky to leave with any dignity.

”I have an internship secured at Guy”s and St. Thomas” NHS Foundation Trust, which could turn into a full-time position.”

”Isha is the top in her class,” Ace remarked.

”Really?” Candy scowled.

”How do you even know that?” Isha asked uncomfortably.

”I heard your friends mention it at the bar. That”s where we met. Isha works at a bar in Kensington where I was staying,” he continued, watching Caitlyn intently.

”Is that where you live? In Kensington?” Caitlyn asked.

Ace laughed. ”I doubt Isha can afford that.”

Isha paled at that blatant remark about her social status. It was grossly unfair, what was being done to her, but I needed her gone as much as everyone else at this table.

”I live in Tower Hamlets.”

”You should see her place…man, that area is rundown.” Ace was now making fun of her home and I felt a need to protect her, which I curbed.

This would make it clear to her that her gold-digging designs would not work. I was glad Ace was showing his true colors and giving Isha the opportunity to run. I wouldn”t mind driving her to the airport tonight.

Isha smiled warmly, and I noticed she”d put on some kind of invisible blanket around her, which made her sit up straighter, and that regality that was so attractive about her shone through.

”Tower Hamlets, like any urban area, faces its share of challenges. It has been historically one of the more economically deprived areas of London, which contributes to higher rates of crime and social issues compared to more affluent boroughs,” she stated. ”But significant regeneration efforts and improvements in recent years have made a big difference. It may not be Chelsea or Mayfair, but I love living where I do. The diversity is abundant, as is the cultural richness. It”s a close-knit community.”

Fuck me! I found strength in a woman attractive, and there was something about how she”d delivered her little speech that got my dick to stand up and say hello.

Dinner continued, and by the time we were done with our desserts, the ”let”s get Isha the hell out of Montana” part of the program was getting old, even for me. Sending someone a message was one thing, but kicking someone repeatedly went against my sense of fairness.

It went too far when I found Isha being accosted by Caitlyn on the porch where she”d escaped to.

”Is that why you”re here?” Caitlyn demanded.

”Excuse me?” Isha, who”d been leaning on her elbows over the railing, straightened. I watched the scene unfold without interfering.

”It”s obvious from your clothes and where you live you don”t have a lot of money.”

I saw nothing wrong with what Isha was wearing. She had on a white dress with yellow flowers that was buttoned down in the front and covered her from neck to mid-calf. Her arms were bare, but Caitlyn was wearing a tight, short dress that made her look like an expensive hooker.

”No, I don”t have a lot of money,” Isha admitted, and I could feel her amusement.

”How much would it take for you to leave Montana now?”

Oh fuck!

But I was curious to hear Isha”s answer, so I held back my desire to go out and defend our guest.

”None at all,” Isha replied simply. ”If Ace wants me gone, I”ll be on my way.”

”Oh, he”ll want you gone. You”re nothing but a slut, and you won”t get your gold-digging paws on my man.”

I stepped away from my prime spot to watch them as Caitlyn marched back into the house. I came out and Isha sighed when she looked at me.

She put her hands on the porch railing and leaned forward, her gorgeous ass sticking out.

”Did you enjoy the show?”

She”d known I was watching. ”Very much.”

”You think I”m a gold-digging slut as well?” There was a tremor in her voice, and something protective and possessive leaped inside me. I hadn”t expected either, and it was disconcerting.

”If the shoe fits, darlin”.”

”Can”t any of you believe I may just be fond of Ace?”

I chuckled. ”Do you know how much the Ledger family is worth?”

She shook her head. ”Can”t say I do or care.”

”You keep telling everyone that. Ace is, as you know, a fucking good catch.”

”If you say so,” she remarked softly.

”Go home, Isha. No one wants you here. Not even Ace.”

”Yeah, I”m getting that feeling,” she admitted and surprised me. ”I”ll talk to Ace.”

I wanted her to leave, so I couldn”t understand why I was feeling suddenly bereft that she would. Maybe I could fuck her once…just once to scratch the itch, get rid of this pounding in my head and throbbing in my dick every time I looked at her.

I ran a finger up her bare arm and saw her clutch the railing harder. ”You respond to me like no one ever has before.”

”I do not.” She pulled away and folded her arms.

”Oh, yes, you do. You feel it as much as I do.”

”Feel what?” she challenged me.

”A need to fuck.”

There was something about how she reacted whenever I made an overtly sexual remark that, in anyone else, I”d have attributed to innocence. But a woman who looked like Isha, holy hell, no way was she innocent. That face, that body, she was traffic-stopping beautiful.

”I”m afraid I don”t think that will be possible,” she spoke clearly, not like the ingenue act she”d been putting on when we”d been riding.

So, maybe this was the real Isha.

”Playing hard to get could leave you with nothing, darlin”,” I warned her. I didn”t chase after women. I didn”t need to.

She smiled then, and it immediately made me hard. ”I already have nothing, Rowan, how will I know the difference?”