Isabella

“Shh… it’s me, raven. Calm down.”

Relief washed over me. Hearing Stephan’s voice had an instant calming effect on me.

I settled into his arms as he removed his hand. Leaning back against his chest, I peeked up at him. “What are you doing here? And why would scare me like this?”

“Nino told me your car was still in the parking lot when he drove my dad over to meet yours.”

“You stopped answering my texts, didn’t bother to call, and then you show up here and try to kidnap me.”

“I wasn’t going to kidnap you.”

“I kinda wish you would,” I confessed.

It was the truth. I wanted more than anything to get away from my father. Graduate school sounded more appealing with each day I was back in my old house, in my old bedroom, and with my father hovering over me, breathing down my neck.

“I need to talk to you about something. It’s important.” Stephan moved his hands down to my ass and squeezed. “Get in. Drive to the park. Don’t talk. Just do what I tell you to do.”

My entire body was on fire, my skin tingling from his touch. He did things to me I could never understand, and because of that, I couldn’t deny him.

He got in the passenger side without speaking a word to me. My head swirled with questions I wanted answered. Five minutes later, I pulled into the lot at the park, which was desolate.

Stephan pointed to a space at the far end, where it was shrouded in complete darkness. “Park over there and turn off the engine.”

I glanced over at him. “What do you want to talk about?”

He scratched the stubble along his jaw, his eyes fixed on me. “Nino was held at knifepoint a few days ago. The guy who hit you at the nail salon, Chris Rizzoli, he had his men send us a message. The last thing he said was your family is involved.”

“I don’t have a clue what that means.” I leaned my elbow on the center console and slid my hand onto his thigh. “My dad keeps things from me. He acts like he hates your family, when he talks to your dad all the time. But I’m not allowed to be with you. It’s a double standard. I’m sick of my dad controlling my life. Take me somewhere, Stephan. Get me out of here before my dad makes me do something I don’t want to do.”

He eyed my hand on his thigh and sucked in a deep breath, before his gaze returned to mine. “What does he want you to do?”

“Marry Karl Vos.” My tongue burned when I said his name, as if I drank acid.

Stephan seemed confused, as he should have been. It didn’t make sense to me. “Why would he want you to do that?”

“Because he thinks it will make us like American royalty and will help him win his campaign. Instead of his numbers climbing, he’s falling out of favor. He needs something big to win this election.”

Stephan threaded his fingers between mine, holding my hand. Through his slacks, I could feel his growing erection. “What did you tell him?”

“That I wouldn’t marry someone I don’t know and don’t love. He’s been controlling my life for too long. I want to get away from him. No, I need to get away. Help me, Stephan.” I moved closer so our mouths were almost touching. “Please.” I unzipped his pants, and his thick cock poked through the slit in his boxers. “I want to be with you. Remember in high school when you said you wanted me to be free?”

His expression changed from unreadable to pure hunger. He stared at me as if he wanted to devour me, and I was hoping after all the waiting he would do just that. Stephan took my hand and wrapped it around the base, aiding me in sliding my hand up and down his length.

He growled, his eyes closing for a second. “Fuck, Isabella. Give me your mouth. I want to fuck every part of you.”

Without hesitation, I got on my knees, leaning over the arm rest, and positioned his cock in front of my mouth. His fingers wove through my hair, and he lowered my mouth onto him until my tongue made contact with his sensitive skin. Taking him one inch at a time, I went slowly at first, until he gripped my head in his hands and helped me find a groove. Each growl that fell from his lips made me work harder, move faster.

When I felt his body tremble, and I thought he was about to come, he ordered me to stop. “Take off your panties and bend over the hood.”

“You want to have sex outside? Stephan, we’re in a park.”

He looked out the window, a smirk turning up the corners of his mouth. “No one is around. Do it. Take off your panties, push up your skirt, and bend over the hood. Now.”

I was already wet from sucking him off, but this was fucking sexy. When Stephan bossed me around, it turned me on for some reason. I hated being told what to do, but it was different with Stephan. He wasn’t trying to control my every waking moment. All he wanted was to control me in the bedroom. And I was more than okay with that.

I opened the car door and got out, with Stephan following behind me. In a hurry, I slid my panties down my thighs and left them on the front seat, before closing the door behind me. Stephan removed his jacket and loosened his tie and collar. With a sexy-as-fuck glaze in his eyes, I stared at him across the hood of the car, salivating over my gorgeous and completely forbidden enemy.

But I could never think of him as the enemy, not when my body responded to him this way. In this moment, nothing felt wrong. Everything about Stephan felt right.

Careful not to dent the hood, I placed my elbows on top, my skirt already bunched up to give him better access. Stephan rolled on a condom, and then he gripped my hips, pulling my ass into his erection.

He leaned forward to whisper in my ear, “You’re such a good girl, Isabella. You should have listened to your dad and stayed away from me.”

It was a threat, but I didn’t care. When I was with Stephan, I lost myself, my body doing most of the talking for me. The only thing I cared about was seeing Stephan again. In these brief encounters with him, I began to wish we could have more, even though a life together was impossible. We were both greedy, taking what we wanted from each other. This was as simple as a business transaction, or at least it was what I’d told myself. That was how it started.

“I don’t want to stay away from you,” I admitted, hoping he felt the same about me. “I never did.”

He moved his hand beneath my chin and tilted my head up until our eyes met. His finger caught in my choker, which made it harder to breathe. “I gave this to you for a reason. You’re mine. You were then and you are now. I never wanted to share you. I still don’t. I’m a selfish bastard. But that doesn’t mean I can have you.” He ran his hand over my ass, massaging my skin. “This is all we can ever be. Sex when no one’s watching.”

“I’m okay with that,” I hissed, closing my eyes when his hand slipped between my legs to feel my wetness. “Stop torturing me, Stephan.”

He slid his hand beneath my shirt, fingering my pussy as he cupped my breast over the lacy bra. I almost cried when he twisted my nipple.

“Is this what you want, princess?”

I moaned when he pinched my nipple harder, his fingers moving filling me to the hilt. “You know what I want.”

He dragged his fingers along my channel one last time, withdrawing them long enough to replace his fingers with his fat cock.

“Always so wet for me.” He pulled out and slammed back into me, each time harder than the last.

It hurt a lot, but not as much as the first time we’d had sex. I told him he didn’t have to take his time with me, teased him via text message. Stephan was punishing me with his cock, showing me how much he missed me with each thrust.

“Stephan,” I moaned. “Ohh, yeah… right there.” I closed my eyes from the blinding pain, which eventually turned to pure pleasure. He spread me open, shoving himself deeper and deeper, burying himself inside me. I took every inch of him, and with each second I grew closer to reaching my climax, he tore another scream from my throat until I was speechless.

Stephan came hard, his fingers finding my nipple once again. He squeezed as his body trembled, shaking through me. He crashed on top of me and kissed the top of my head.

“I didn’t want to see you again. I planned to stay away.” Stephan sounded conflicted about his choice to be with me. “But you’re making it too fucking hard.”

“Don’t fight it,” I whispered, out of breath. “I know I can’t.”

He pulled out of me, and my juices ran down my inner thigh.

I spun around to watch him tie off the condom and tuck himself back into my pants. He zipped up and chucked the condom into a trashcan close by.

“I need to see you again.” He stroked my jaw with his thumb. “I don’t know when, but I want to take you somewhere. Don’t call me. Don’t text me. I’ll get a hold of you when I can.”

I smiled up at him in answer and leaned into his hand.

No matter how much we didn’t want to be together out of family obligation, we couldn’t deny the chemistry between us. And that was how everything in my life slowly began to fall apart.