Chapter 12
CHAPTER TWELVE
VINCENZO
T he silence between us was so heavy that I could hear every little sound in the car as we drove back to my estate.
I could hear the low hum of the engine, the slight tremor of the metal when we went over a little bump, even hear Isabelle’s breathing. I wanted to turn on the radio, but I decided not to. I wanted her to stew in the tension, to know that I was upset with her.
I felt so angry at what had happened at the end of the ‘double date’ with Sarah and Mark. That Mark was crossing boundaries that were totally off limits as a married man. I knew very little of him, but I had a feeling he still had a thing for Isabelle. The way she carried herself and the way they looked at each other during the wedding, not to mention the little moment I interrupted today… I wondered if she also had a thing for him.
I drove past the guard on the perimeter saying anything. When we reached the entrance, I faced Isabelle. My mind was reeling with emotions, I was irritated and borderline furious but I was going to try my best to stay calm. I stared at her for a while.
“Care to explain what happened back there?” I asked in the calmest tone I could muster through the rage simmering under my skin. I just wanted the truth.
Isabelle’s head immediately snapped towards me, her eyes wide with surprise. Oh, the audacity to look surprised when she knew exactly what I was talking about. She knew that her interaction with Mark was far from normal and she had to explain herself.
“What?! No!” She protested, still looking shocked. “What do you mean?”
I stepped out of the car, slamming the door. If she was going continue playing dumb and treat me like a fool, I wasn’t going to sit there and listen to her lies.
I strode across the halls, my footsteps echoing in the large corridor. I was furious now. I tried to calm down but Isabelle was making me look like an idiot. If anyone in town had seen her with him, it would have been terrible for my reputation. It would make it look like my woman had a wandering eye. Was I a fool for giving her so much leeway?
The staff knew not to approach me when I was angry, so they were nowhere to be found, and neither was my brother. It was best that they kept their distance for now.
I could hear Isabelle’s small footsteps trying to keep up with my long stride, as I dragged her behind me, walking as fast as I could to my room. As soon as we entered it, I turned around and pulled her in, closing the door quietly behind me. I couldn’t hold it in anymore, I had to ask the question that was on my mind.
“Are you still in love with him?” I demanded, my voice low and menacing. I was very close to losing it, depending on the answer she would give me.
She was leaning against the door, her arms folded across her chest defiantly. Even if she knew I was angry, she was still being stubborn.
“Did you not hear me, Isabelle?” She kept still, not looking at me. I stepped closer to her then, closeting the distance between us in less than a second. It was then that she finally looked at me with fear in her eyes.
“Answer my question,” I demanded, looking down at her. In an instant the fear wiped from her face and was replaced with a look of defiance.
“What does it matter to you?” She retorted sharply, before I even finished my sentence.
“It matters to me because I need to know where your loyalties lie.” I was looking into her eyes now, looking for something, anything that could show me how she really felt. Her gaze was firm, but I couldn’t read her, no matter how hard I tried.
“Are you still in love with him?” I asked again.
Isabelle took a step closer then, her fists clenched at her sides. She looked like she was ready for battle. Did she really think she could take me on? This was going to be fun.
She just stood in front of me, her fists balled at her side. She looked angry, but adorable.
“Mark’s words affected me,” she admitted, her voice wavering a bit. Her gaze was uncertain for a while, then she blinked and it was gone. I hated that she hesitated, I hated that she thought about him, I hated that she even said his name.
“But I have no intention of going back to him. He is in my past, he will always remain in my past.” I let out a low scoff and shifted in place as she spoke.
“Then what was that at the hotel?” I still wanted to know.
“What do you mean?” She asked, even though I was sure that she knew exactly what I was talking about.
“Don’t play dumb, you know what I’m talking about. What was that between you and Mark? If he really was your past like you said, what was going on there?” My tone was harsh and unyielding.
“I told you, Mark is in the past and he will remain there.”
“So you say, but your actions at the hotel, they could have blown our cover.”
After I said those words, Isabelle looked stunned for a brief moment, the look on her face a mix between disbelief and amusement, before she suddenly started shaking her head with a smile on her face. Soon she started chuckling, I started to worry that she had suddenly gone mad.
“Are you alright?” I asked, but I realized that was a bad idea because she fired back immediately.
“So this was what it was all about for you? You were afraid that I might blow your stupid cover. Are you afraid that I might ruin your chances at your stupid election?” She interjected, her eyes blazing with accusation.
She was fully on the defensive now, her arms practically flailing with every word, her fists balled in anger.
“You might call it stupid, Isabelle, but lives are on the line here.” Including yours , I thought to myself. Some part of me was dreading the idea of her getting hurt in all of this. She was just an innocent woman who didn’t deserve to face the consequences that came with my line of business.
For a moment, I considered telling her the truth about how I felt but I decided against it. For this to work, things between us had to stay the way they were. She had to fear me, not have feelings for me. It would be easier for her to disobey if she didn’t fear me, and for someone as stubborn as Isabelle, it wouldn’t be so hard to go against my words. I had to draw the line between us. Even though that line had already been crossed, it wasn’t too late to make things right.
“You are right, Isabelle,” I said, gritting my teeth, “everything I am doing is for the election. Don’t mistake necessity for affection.”
As I said this, I saw hurt flash in her eyes and I instantly felt bad. Why had I said such harsh words to her? She didn’t deserve that. But soon, the hurt in her eyes was overcome with anger.
“You’re such a liar!” She snapped, stepping even closer to me. Now our faces were only inches apart. I could smell her intoxicating scent.
“You can’t even be honest with yourself, there’s no way you would be honest with me.”
The room was crackling with tension. The proximity, the spoken and unspoken words, the desire hanging in the air. I could feel my hand twitch; a part of me wanted to reach out, touch her, to break the distance, to pull her closer and stop those renegade thoughts of hers. But another part of me was proud, and I was also trying to be logical. After the elections were over, she would go back home and I’d be alone again. I couldn’t afford to get attached to her, we were from totally different worlds. Other than that, I didn't want a relationship if there was a risk it would turn out like the twisted thing my father and mother had. So I restrained myself, battling with the emotions in my head.
“You keep acting like you know everything, but you don’t,” she continued, “you don’t even know yourself, you don’t even know what you want.”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said, my voice coming out so low that it sounded like a growl. I grabbed her then, refusing to listen to my thoughts. I grabbed her arms, pulling her even closer, my breath hot against her skin. Her closeness sent shivers down my spine, but I refused to let it show. I was not going to let her see how much she affected me, it would be giving her too much power.
Isabelle’s defiance didn’t waver, even with our proximity. She met my gaze head on, her own breath coming out in shallow, rapid bursts. I knew that my closeness was affecting her, but she was not letting it show.
She was so stubborn, but it was one of the things that I liked about her. Even though she was an outsider in my world, she was adjusting pretty quickly. I had admired the way she had spoken with Elia. I could tell she was nervous, but she had still carried herself with grace and poise. And her smell, oh, her smell. She smelled so delicious. It took a lot of self-control for me not to pounce on her every single moment of the day.
“You don’t even know me.” My voice was so low, but I was sure that she could hear me. She still stared at me with the same defiant expression. Damn, she was so stubborn, I had never met anyone quite like her. She was beautiful and complex like a hibiscus flower, and over time I vowed I was going to peel off all the petals and get to know who she really was at the core of her stem.
“Then prove it, prove me wrong right now. Show me that everything I said about you was wrong.”
She was challenging me, and boy did I love a challenge. Her lips were just inches from mine. All I had to do was lean forward and my lips would be touching those soft, pillowy lips of hers.
My mind was racing. I had to make a decision. I had to pick between the plans ahead or the undeniable attraction I felt for her.
I couldn’t figure out why, but my body was helpless when it came to her. Even as I stood in front of her, I could feel the blood rushing down to my member. She had an undeniable sexual appeal, but it wasn’t just that.
She was smart, charismatic, caring, thoughtful, she had all the physical qualities I loved in a woman. But we had met under such complicated circumstances. Sometimes, I wondered how things would have been if we had met in a different situation. But there was no point wondering about that now. I had to focus on the present, on who was in front of me now.
So, I leaned forward and did what I had been wanting to do since the first night we spent together.
Isabelle gasped as my lips crashed against hers, then she held me tightly, as if she never wanted to let me go. I held her too, and I didn’t think I could ever let her go, not anymore.