Chapter Colin Adams
COLIN ADAMS
I’d been watching Isabelle for a few seconds now.
She’s… strange.
I swear this woman is way too needy—one minute she hates me, the next she wants me to kiss her. I’ll never understand women.
“Please, stop…”
“What did I do?”
“You look at me like I’m nothing. I…” She got out of the car and headed for her house. When she put the key in the lock, my hand covered hers. “Wait.”
“What do you want now? Humiliating me wasn’t enough?”
Isabelle was on the verge of tears, and that’s when it hit me that the little game I’d been playing hadn’t landed the way I thought it would. I’m an emotionless animal, and I know it. If my life hadn’t gone to hell the way it did, maybe I could’ve been a decent man—but that’s not an option anymore.
“I’m sorry.”
Those words almost never left my mouth. Even when I was wrong—and I usually was—I didn’t apologize.
“Why are you such an idiot most of the time? I never did anything to you! All I’ve tried to do is help, and you treat me like crap?”
“You’re talking about the kiss?”
“Forget the damn kiss!” she snapped, stepping closer, her eyes practically sparking. “I just wanted to be treated like a normal person! Why is that so hard for the almighty Colin Adams?”
“Isabelle—”
“Shut up! I’m not finished! You think you’re some kind of god. You hide behind that bitterness, but deep down, everyone knows—you can’t even stand yourself. You’re an arrogant, self-centered brute!”
I couldn’t blame her for saying it. Isabelle was absolutely right.
I’m a bitter man—angry, short-tempered, and a dozen other toxic things. Her words didn’t offend me; they only reminded me that I was exactly what I chose to be.
“Good night, Isabelle. You should go inside.”
“No!” she shouted, making me turn back to her. “Since you brought up the kiss—look at me. Tell me, what’s wrong with me?”
“Nothing. It’s me who—”
“And now?”
She slipped off one of her heels, and I froze, confused about what she was planning.
“Isabelle, what are you doing? Stop that.”
“Sorry if you don’t feel any desire for me. I just want to show you what you’re missing! In fact, maybe I should—”
“Stop!” I barked, grabbing her before she could move again. I didn’t even know if I wanted to stop her… or if I wanted her more than I was willing to admit. “Enough, Isabelle. Go inside. Now.”
“No!”
“You’d better do as I say.”
“That’s the thing—you don’t get to order me around outside your mansion!” she shot back, her voice rising with defiance.
“Isabelle… I’m not asking again.”
“Oh, really?” She stepped closer. “What are you gonna do, huh? Insult me? Fire me?”
“Don’t come any closer.”
“Hmm, I get it now. You’re scared of me, aren’t you?” She brushed her lips against mine, and that impulsive move broke whatever restraint I had left.
I grabbed Isabelle and kissed her.
I didn’t think. I didn’t weigh the consequences or what it might destroy. I just gave in.
And the instant my lips touched hers, everything I’d been holding back came crashing down.
The kiss started fierce, desperate—like the world had narrowed down to that single, explosive moment. Her mouth was hot, her taste sweet and sharp all at once, blending with the air we were both gasping for.
Isabelle moaned softly, surprised, and for a second I thought she might pull away—but she didn’t. She stayed. And when her hands clutched the collar of my shirt, I knew there was no going back.
Her body molded perfectly against mine, knocking the breath out of me. Everything about her seemed designed to push me past my limits—the warmth of her skin, her scent, the sound of her ragged breathing.
I gripped her waist, feeling her fingers twist in my shirt, and the kiss deepened—slow at first, then hungry, like we were trying to make up for every second lost to stubbornness and silence.
Her heartbeat pounded against my chest, wild and frantic, and with every move of her lips, the ground seemed to disappear beneath my feet.
Time stopped. The air turned thick, heavy, too hot to breathe.
She tasted like defiance—like something forbidden and inevitable. And the more I tried to control myself, the more I wanted her.
Her tongue found mine in a rhythm that completely disarmed me. My skin prickled, my blood rushed, and my body reacted long before reason had the chance to. The kiss wasn’t just desire—it was anger, release, confession. A wordless outpouring turned into touch.
When I finally pulled back, just enough to look at her, Isabelle still had her eyes closed, lips damp, cheeks flushed. Her breathing was uneven—and mine wasn’t any better.
“Isabelle…” I whispered, my voice barely there, trying to regain control that no longer existed.
She opened her eyes slowly, and what I saw there wrecked me completely.
It wasn’t fear. It was want. It was surrender.
And somehow, it was everything I was most afraid to feel.
I stayed there, my hands still on her waist, torn between the urge to kiss her again and the certainty that if I did, I wouldn’t be able to stop.
But then Isabelle tilted her face up, and her gaze undid me all over again.
It was like she was asking for silence, while her body was begging for the opposite.
Her chest rose and fell quickly, her lips parted—still close enough that I could feel her breath brushing my skin. That was all it took to break me again.
I kissed her once more.
This time, slower.
I wanted to memorize her taste, every movement, every breath that escaped against my mouth.
The kiss grew deeper, heavier, deliberate.
Her hands slid up to the back of my neck, her fingers tangling in my hair as she pulled me closer.
I felt her tremble—a soft, involuntary shiver that ran through her skin and into mine.
I could feel everything: the scent rising from her neck, the delicate drag of her fingertips along my beard, the muffled sound of our uneven breaths.
It was as if the entire world had vanished, leaving only the wild, uneven rhythm of our bodies and the sound of our mouths finding each other, again and again.
Isabelle tasted like something I shouldn’t want—but couldn’t stop craving.
Sweet. Warm. Provocative.
And the more I sank into that kiss, the more I lost myself in her.
Her tongue met mine in a pace that stole my breath, and every time she pulled away for even a second, I pulled her back, unable to stand the space between us. Our breaths tangled, and every brush of our lips felt like a silent confession—a surrender to everything we’d tried so hard to deny.
At some point, we were pressed together—chest to chest, heartbeat to heartbeat.
The kiss wasn’t impulse anymore. It was need.
I felt her melt against me, and something inside me cracked wide open. Because in that moment, I realized it wasn’t just desire. It was something I’d been trying to silence for far too long—and now, I couldn’t anymore.
I pulled my mouth from hers just enough to breathe, but not enough to let her go.
Resting my forehead against hers, I whispered hoarsely, the words slipping out before I could stop them.
“I should stop… but I can’t.”
She opened her eyes slowly, and the look I found in them sealed my fate.
There was no going back.
“Isabelle, is that you?” a woman’s voice called out nearby.
We froze, breaking the kiss just as the porch light flicked on. Isabelle startled, bending down to grab her dress, struggling to slip it back on.
“It’s me, Mom. I’m coming in.” She turned the doorknob quickly—the key was still in the lock.
“Isabelle…”
“Just go. This was wrong and… goodbye.”
I stood there, staring at nothing as she disappeared inside.
What the hell just happened?
What the hell!
I shouldn’t have done that—kissing her right there on her doorstep. It was wrong.
“You’re an animal, Colin. A damn idiot who can’t even control himself!” I shouted into the empty room.
I hadn’t kissed anyone since Jennifer died—and I didn’t want to. Still don’t.
So why the hell did she shake me like that? Why now, of all times, did I lose control with her?
She irritates me, pushes my buttons, curses me in her head (yeah, I noticed that back at the mansion), and yet somehow I still care what I do around her.
I can’t even blame the alcohol—I only had two glasses of champagne. Isabelle was the one who did the opposite, who made sure to provoke me.
Now I have no idea what the hell is going to happen between us.