Eighty
Isobel
“Is this what you do all day; stare into oblivion?” Julee interrupted my shortened reverie.
I wasn’t technically staring into oblivion as she’d spitefully put it. I was merely thinking about what had occurred last night with Hugo.
After I had embarrassingly come for the umpteenth time, I had been too out of it to use any strength to function, let alone walk. Consequently, he had carried me in his arms and brought me to my room where he’d run a bath for both of us and washed me. I had never felt like I was being taken care of that way. It was sweet and something out of the ordinary, especially coming from a man like Hugo. Nevertheless, I had lavished in it, falling in and out of sleep in the nook of his neck and chest. I didn’t even remember getting into bed with him. However, when I had woken up this morning, I’d noticed the indent on the other pillow.
“I’m throwing an event at The Riviera. A task that was done by my sister, Celeste, but after she passed, I carried on the project,” she informed me, even though I couldn’t care less what she was talking about. The woman was purely horrid.
Not getting the clue she was unwanted, she kept on pestering me. “If you’re not doing much else, you could be of help.”
Oh, she was asking for my help when a little less than twenty four hours ago she had accused me of being an ill-mannered gold digger? Seriously. How about not?
“I’ll think about it, Julee. I have a lot going on at the moment,” I responded with a subtle tinge of sarcasm, since it was quite obvious to anyone around here I practically didn’t do much until Hugo bossed me about.
Julee gave me a scathing look, eyeing me up and down as if I was a cockroach she wanted to squash with her heel, before she lifted her snobbish chin and harried away.
Shaking my head, I was about to get up to go to the kitchen in search for some sweets when my phone rang on the table.
“Hello?”
“, ma belle?” (How are you, my beautiful?) His sexy, French voice filtered through the phone, making me feel all sorts of arousal.
Stifling my weird reaction to his raspy bedroom voice, I focused on his question. “I’m doing well. And you? I didn’t realize you’d slept with me last night until this morning.”
He made a deep laugh, causing me to react all the more. Damn this overheated body. Last night was intense, but I didn’t expect myself to go haywire each time he called me, too. I mean, it was bad enough when he was around me.
“Does it bother you that I shared your bed?”
Well…yes, it did. But instead of saying that, I ended up telling him something else, “I don’t know. I was asleep.” The image of him holding me close kept appearing in my mind, and each time it did, I’d get these butterflies in my stomach.
“I didn’t intend to, but when you asked me not to go, I couldn’t resist the invitation, either.”
What? I had asked him to stay? How come I couldn’t remember it? I mean, I remember falling asleep on his chest in the bathtub while he was washing me, but that was where my memory stopped.
“Oh… Well, I don’t remember that part.”
Hugo made a toe-curling laugh. “I’d love to do more of that every night if you like. I love how you taste on my tongue, ma belle.”
Flashbacks of the beach and him in between my legs—the carnal images of us—left me panting, breathless.
“We’re invited to go to a yacht party tonight. I’ll be home at five, and we can leave around six. Is that good enough time for you to get ready?”
“Yes, it should be enough.”
“You’re all I thought about today, and I can’t wait to see you again tonight,” he said, sounding like he truly meant it. “Dress for me tonight, Isobel.” It was the last thing he said before he hung up, leaving me wondering what had just taken place in that conversation.
Dress for him? Damen had never asked me that before. How did one dress for a man? I had no clue how to perceive his request. I wasn’t sure if he meant not wearing underwear or dress like a slut, though maybe the latter. He did go berserk with that small dress I wore last night. I think it even drove him over to the edge.
He was the mine kind of guy. Possessive and extremely demanding and, not to mention, dominating. The kind of man I had told myself I wasn’t attracted to, and yet, here I was, undeniably attracted to the man who was the epitome of it. I was a hypocrite. No, scratch that—I was a confused hypocrite. Because, as much as I told myself not to give in an inch, there was something about him I couldn’t resist, either.
Take a chance.
Touch me.
Kiss me.
I dare you.
I had dared to kiss him. Every inch of me had sung, had been alive, when I pressed my lips against his. It was like a magnet, I couldn’t help being drawn to him, even if I was protesting, kicking and screaming all the way. I still ended up in his arms. God help me because, when he was doing all those things to me and my body, all I could think about was him. It was beyond troubling, to say the least, that the man I loved didn’t enter my conscience whatsoever.
“How did it go with Hugo last night?” Elena sprung out of nowhere, joining me on the outdoor patio before pulling the chair across from me and sitting comfortably. “I’ve never seen him that angry with any of his girlfriends before.”
Smiling at her, I shook my head in denial. “You’re being silly.” If she only knew what had gone on between Hugo and I last night… I still couldn’t fathom how easily tempted and persuaded I had been to let him have a meal of me out in the open. I hadn’t been able to stop him because he had been weaving magic through my veins, and I was still feverish from it. The aftereffects of being served a healthy dose of Hugo Xavier-ism.
“Men can’t take it when their women are hot and naughty.”
I wasn’t Hugo’s woman, but Elena didn’t know that.
“He was just being weird.”
“Weird? Or maybe he really likes you,” she pressed on with colorful exaggeration. “Or maybe you’re the one for him. I mean, he looked angry and devastated at the same time. Poor cousin, if I wasn’t so shocked about his reaction, I might’ve laughed and teased him about it, but that would’ve been cruel.”
“The one? Uhhh, no.” I stared back at her, beyond stunned. “We’re just having fun, and come on, have you forgotten this is your cousin we’re talking about here? The great Hugo Xavier.”
“I’m telling you, you’re different. So even if you believe it or not, just be prepared. ‘Cause my cousin has his own way of handling things. Be careful, though, because once you mess up, he’ll leave you, and you wouldn’t even know it until it’s too late.”
Well, that was a lot to wrap my mind around. Nevertheless, whatever happened between Hugo and I, I was still walking out when the contract was up.