I freeze as the air is forcefully removed from my lungs.
“If I had a sister, it would’ve been like kissing her. I swear to you, it wasnothinglike the images running through your head right now.”
I close my eyes, blocking out the painstaking visual filtering through my mind.
“It was the only way I could get into the apartment without raising suspicion. If I turned up at my…fuck padwithout a…companion, Theresa would’ve realized you were staying in the building. I couldn’t run the risk of her hounding you there.”
Even though everything he says makes sense, it doesn’t stop the pain stabbing my chest.
“Isabelle…” his voice is croaky and full of hurt, “… please look at me.”
I exhale a long, shaky breath before opening my eyes. His reflects his genuine regret. “I had to know you were okay. I had to know you weren’t crying. I couldn’t bear the idea that the last time I talked to you was when you were crying. The kiss wasnothinglike you're imagining, I swear to you.”
The stranglehold on my heart eases when his eyes display the truth in his statement. His eyes can see straight into my soul, but that also means they're open and exposed, verifying the honesty in his words.
“Was there any tongue involved?”
An inappropriately-timed chuckle escapes his lips before he shakes his head.
His laughter immediately ends when my furious, narrowed eyes glare at him. “No,” he answers more respectfully.
I sigh. A kiss without tongue can be construed as a friendly peck. If tongue were involved, there's no denying it was a sexual act. Although I’m not happy about him kissing Regan, I don’t want to fight with him. I’m sick of fighting.
“While we’re being honest and sharing…” my voice judders with nerves, “… Hugo and I may have cuddled a few times.”
He stiffens as a furious growl roars from deep within his chest.
“It was nothing like you're imagining,” I stumble out, using his words against him. “He was offering me comfort after a nightmare. It was nothing more than afriendoffering anotherfriendcomfort.”
Isaac remains quiet, his chest thrusting up and down with every inhale he takes. His eyes are staring into mine. Actually, they’re more glaring into mine. His gaze is hot and brimming with jealousy—one of the sexiest stares I’ve ever been given.
“Show me.”
When I peer at him, utterly confused, he stands from the sofa, taking me with him. “Show me how he touched you—”
“Comforted,” I retort.
When his lips thin, I roll my eyes before wrapping my arms around his torso in a similar manner to how Hugo comforted me. My heart thumps against my chest when his seductive scent filters through my nose.
“Like that?”
“If you were Hugo, your arms would bea lothigher.” I nudge his arms until they're at a more respectable level. In his current position, his arms are draped near my lower back, meaning his fingertips are brushing my backside.
Once his arms are replicating the position Hugo held me in, high around my shoulders, I say, “Like that.”
He steps away from my embrace. “Take your clothes off.”
“What?”
He strides over to close the double French doors. “Take your clothes off.”
I hold his gaze as I strip out of my clothes as requested, taking my time, purposely antagonizing the domineering ego beaming out of his heavy-lidded gaze. My seductive strip-tease has the effect I'm aiming for when I catch sight of the large bulge in his jeans. I lick my lips, praying that my punishment will include him using some part of his body against me.
When his darkened gaze locks and holds with mine, slickness pools between my legs. I can barely contain my breathing when he prowls toward me. It’s once again the tiger hunting his prey, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Chapter 16
Isabelle
