Bartered (11 page)

Chapter 19

Isobel

Searching for the perfect dress wasn’t a problem, nor was getting ready or figuring out the best way to do my hair that would complement my dress. My problem was
me.
Because, the entire time I was getting ready, I could hear Hugo’s voice saying, “Dress for me tonight, Isobel.” And I was the idiot who chose something that I knew would please the blasted man. So, yes, I was worried because I couldn’t even help myself. If I was spiraling slowly, how long would it take until Hugo fully succeeded with his mission? This was day two with twelve more days to go. Could it be possible that I had bitten off more than I could chew?

Aside from my questionable emotional and mental state where Hugo was concerned, the dress I chose to wear for the yacht party tonight wasn’t overkill
. Though, it was definitely a dress one would end up truly being ravished by her lover in by the end of the evening.

It was champagne colored with Swarovski crystals sewn into the dress. The thin straps on my shoulders
went all the way down mid-back and crisscrossed to the base. The top fit me like a second skin while the bottom was cut short but gave enough room to wiggle about when dancing. It was provocative, alluring, and downright eye-catching. And I had never felt such feminine power until I saw myself in the mirror.

With my hair in a loose
, messy chignon, golden neutral strokes of eye makeup, and gold, strappy Louboutins, I had to do a double take just to make sure the amazing transformation was actually me and not some odd-like dream because the woman staring back at me had serious sex bombshell written all over her. A playful smile broke from my lips as I admired my spanking new look.

“You look stunning
, ma belle.”

I jumped at the sound of his voice
. I twisted my head around and spotted him leaning against the slightly parted doorframe. His dark eyes were enough to tell me that he approved of my outfit.

And
, hell, could he look any
more
irresistible?

My eyes drank him
in as the feeling in my gut became this hollow feeling while my heart constricted. His presence singularly disarmed me. His charisma was quite lethal. His gorgeous appeal was deadly to my hormones.

He wore a black bowtie with his black
, formal outfit. His wet hair was coarsely brushed to the back, evoking that rugged, devil-may-care sex appeal.

“Aren’t you going to come here and say hi?” My question surprised me more
than it did him because his lazy smile which oozed
hot sex and danger
was in place as he strode towards me.

Once he reached me in the middle of the room, he stepped into my comfort zone, lif
ting my chin towards him, eyes wild and beautiful. “I was going to say hi, but I needed a moment to appreciate you from afar.”

Seriously, he was giving me a massive dose of
you-make-me-so-hot-I-want-to-drink-you-in-one-gulp. It was predatory, and it made me aware of him in all of the wrong yet
right
tingling places.

“What?” I mumbled with my heart
pitter-pattering madly against my chest. I felt faint just to have him near me.

“Bonjour, Isobel.” He said in such a way it sound
ed more of a caress to my senses. He was inducing a response from me that I had not an utter clue as to where and how it had come about. I felt hypnotized, enthralled by this very man himself. “What’s wrong, ma belle?” He raised his brow when my mouth parted a little but no sound came out.

Why? Because I
had been bloody rendered speechless. Not only did he look mighty delicious, but he seemed to have taken over me. My skin prickled from awareness of him. It’s
him
. Everywhere. Around. Me. It was perplexing and frustrating, yet my senses were beyond captivated by his powerful magnetism.

“Hugo…” I whispered
, flushing when I realized that I sounded more aroused than I had ever heard myself in my entire existence.

He stepped closer, our lips almost touching, his eyes
holding mine, seeming like he was waiting for something.

“You
feel
it now. This is why I can’t resist you, ma belle.” His eyes flickered back and forth before he engulfed me with his passion through his perfervid kiss.

I was putty in his hands. However, my mind raced, wondering how in the world
he could influence me so. Even Damen, though we had such a loving relationship, didn’t bring out this side of me. That’s why I’d had no idea it existed. It felt forbidden, but I wanted more of it. What did that make me?

“There.” He eyed me after he parted from my swollen lips. “You look branded as mine
now.”

Fuck. I better snap out of this trance before I dug myself so deep in the shithole I wouldn’t be able to manage to get out of it when time came for me to pack my belon
gings and go back to my old life.

This
was temporary, best not to let my mind forget that rather essential detail.

The night started glamorous and lavish as expected. It wasn’t as if I wasn’t at all aware
of how this sort of lifestyle went about, but normally, I was the outsider. Tonight, I was a part of it, and it was truly different from what I had expected. With Hugo at my side, I felt a different kind of rush when women gave those hateful, vying looks directed towards me. I certainly wasn’t used to it.

Hugo gently placed a hand on the side of my hips and pulled me close
to whisper in my ear while my eyes wandered about, basking in the beauty and the over-abundance of style and beautiful people onboard. “We’ve been invited by Jacques. You met him at the gala. This yacht is owned by one of his best friends who’s going to be racing with him tomorrow. His name is—”

“Luca de Medici
,” I finished the sentence as I spotted the rogue playboy from afar, talking to his friends, appealingly in good spirits.

“Oh.
You know him?
” He sounded pretty surprised.

“No
, I don’t know him personally, but I know
of
him.” I paused, my gaze taking in the man in question with one appreciative glance. “Everyone does.” Who wouldn’t notice those emerald green eyes, the scruff, and the smile that meant to drill holes in your underwear? And goodness, the tabloids did no justice when you saw the enigmatic man in real life.

Hugo’s
fingers dug into the fabric of my dress and right into my sensitive skin. “Is it really necessary to stare at him while I’m right next to you?” he furiously hissed. “Save me some pride, Isobel. Have some decorum.”

I frowned. “Are you being serious?” I gave him a disbelieving glare before it totally sunk in that he meant each word. “
Oh,
you totally are.” His handsome face merely darkened at my close scrutiny. “I don’t get you and your jealous streak. It baffles me,” I said out loud without thought. His expression didn’t look pleased. In fact, it looked downright murderous.

“How about we save this conversation
for a later date? I truly don’t want to spend the rest of my night pondering such a question.”

My, why was he acting odd? Could it be that the magnificent Hugo Xavier felt a pinch of envy because I was fawning over Luca de Medici? That surely tickled my fancy.

“Well, shouldn’t we say hi? You still need to introduce me. This is just so exciting.”

“Really, Isobel.” The slashing look he gave me made my smile even wider.

Pretending to look exasperated, I thought of teasing him a little. “Oh, calm your arse down. Would it make you feel better if I told you that I think you’re sexier than him?” A playful smile tugged at my lips.

“I might
,
if
you meant it.” He definitely hadn’t bought it.

“Well…” I trailed off
, “let me think about that.”

Seeing him reacting this way was making me all sorts of wicked. A man with his looks and power could do as he pleased
, but here he was, acting like a cute, handsome fool for
me
.

“Witch
,” he muttered under his breath before he unceremoniously cupped his hands on the sides of my head and kissed me right in the middle of the party. It wasn’t one of those hasty kisses which seem sweet and gentle. This one meant ownership, making it known to the rest of the people around that we were here together and couldn’t get enough of one another. Because, yes, I couldn’t get enough of his drugging kisses. Because, yes, I was guilty of taking pleasure in letting the rest of the women here know he was with me.

He drove me crazy. He drove me to
the point of madness. Yet, with one kiss from him, everything went blurry.

The kiss went on and on. Just when I thought this couldn’t possibly
keep on like we were some lovesick fools right in the middle of the yacht, Hugo broke the drugging spell himself, eyeing me like he’d want me for a meal right this instant.

He wiped the traces of my lipstick off his lips with a quick swipe of his thumb. “Don’t move a muscle. My cock is hard
, and unless you want the people of Monaco to know what you do to me, you’d better stay put.” He gave me his notorious, teasing grin.

“Was that really necessary?” I gave him a mock scathing look because I couldn’t very well hide the damn fact that his hardened length
had excited me quite a bit. In fact, the very thought of it had already gotten me bothered, wet, and heady.

“I believe so. You needed a good reminder
of where your desires should be aimed.” He cocked his head to the side before thrusting his hips a little towards my navel, making me shiver like a bitch in heat. “Now look at you. You look thoroughly kissed by your dashing man.”

He was being so possessively cunning that I couldn’t help
smiling at his persistence. “You’re truly insane.”

“Amongst other things.” He winked at me before we stayed awhile in our tight-k
nit positions, waiting for his rock hard beckoning to subside.

Once the conundrum of his erection was put to rest
—indefinitely—he brought me towards Jacques and the rest of the people who surrounded Luca.

“You’re hurting my eyes, Isobel.” Jacques grinned at me as he gave me a thorough head to foot inspection.

“Lovely to see you again, Jacques.” I beamed at him, just a tad struck at his gorgeousness. “Where’re your friends Callum and Stella?” I observed that those two weren’t here tonight.

“Those two might not be partying for good
,” he sort of yelled into my shoulder as the music started to beat a tad loudly for my delicate sense of hearing. “Stella’s expecting their first born,” he informed me with a look of pride in his eyes.

He was
a great friend. Whomever would be truly happy for their friend, even though he’d just lost a good party buddy, was a great friend.

Glancing
to my left side, I saw that Hugo was in a deep conversation with Julien when another man entered my small space.

“There’s no fucking reception.” The man sounded displeased as he shut the screen off his phone.

“Don’t be so dramatic. Drink a little, wait it out. I’m sure it just needs a little break from you.” Jacques playfully responded before giving me a wink. “This man used to be the wildest in our brotherhood.” He tapped the guy on the shoulder to get his attention before he lifted his head and two vivid, piercing, bluer-than-blue eyes snapped onto my face, catching me off guard. “Dimitris Kosta.”

Oh.
Bloody
. Fuck. I froze like the insipid ninny that I was again. “
You’re
him.
You’re
Blasphemous.”

He looked so confused that he even gave Jacques a questioning look before he tried to laugh it off as if I wasn’t the major weirdo onboard. “You’ve seen the film
, then, I take it?”

“More than I care to admit,” I said
, a tad breathless as I gazed at him with full-on admiration. I was obscenely obsessed with the movies. I couldn’t for the life of me fathom how such a lucky woman could choose between two men in her life. The passion the movie had ignited in me always left me wondering why Damen and I couldn’t be as consumed as those lovers were in the movie.