“Isabelle…” This groan isn’t in annoyance. He’s panicked about the moisture pooling in my eyes. Ophelia’s life may not have perished the night he saw her with nothing but a torrent of tears streaming down her face, but that doesn’t mean he can’t hatemytears. “… please don’t cry.”
He ensures the only cries I release are those in ecstasy by lowering his hand to the area where our bodies are intimately joined. Excitement sweeps across my belly when he circles the bundle of nerves between my legs. It’s a slow, breathtaking orgasm that should steal the worry from my mind as quickly as his whispered promises that everything will be okay. But, for once, my love for this man outshines my desires.
“I need to know, Isaac. If you’re sick, I need time to process my worry before working out how I’ll fight alongside you through this.” I talk through the intense swirls of my stomach. “I love you so much, just the thought of you being sick makes me want to be physically ill.”
He pulls my mouth to his by the back of my head and gives me one of the most intense kisses I’ve ever been given. He holds nothing back, showcasing he isn’t just talented in the bedroom but has the romance department down pat as well.
After kissing me so senseless, the heat of our exchange dries the wetness in my eyes, he braces his forehead against mine. Isaac is still inside of me, but since he isn’t thrusting his hips, the dense cloud of lust that forever bombards me when he’s near isn’t as potent. It makes me feel grown-up like we’re close to having an adult conversation without needing to maul each other in the process.
“I was born a fighter, Isabelle. Whether in the ring or outside of it, I’ll never stop fighting.”
My breath hitches in my throat as horrid thought after horrid thought fills my head. He didn’t confirm he’s sick, but he didn’t deny it, either.
“But, in saying that, there’s only one thing I’m fighting for right now.”
He pauses, building the suspense. I’d beg him to continue if I could talk through the lump in my throat.
After what feels like hours, but is mere seconds, he murmurs, “You, Isabelle. I’m fighting for you.”
I love the desperateness in his voice, but it doesn’t weaken my panic. “You already have me, Isaac.”
He shakes his head, denying my claims. “When you left me to go back to Tiburon—” When I attempt to interrupt him, to advise Ineverleft him, he cuts me off with a stern glare. “I promised to show you how you could have both your dreams and me.”
“And you’ve done precisely that.” Even with my voice husky from the moans released at the start of our exchange, the honesty in it can’t be missed.
“You said I stole your career, your wish to have a family, and almost your life.”
“I didn’t mean what I said. I was frustrated and hurt.”As I am now.This is one of the many things I feel guilty about.
“That doesn’t make them untrue, Isabelle. I did take those things from you.”
I cup his cheeks. I feel the love I have for this man shuddering up my arms. I wasn’t lying when I said the idea of losing him makes me unwell. “And you gave them all back. I have everything I’ve ever wanted, thanks to you.”
I freeze when he says, “Except a family.” He gathers my hands from his face, kisses each palm, then places them over his chest. “When I made the decision I did, I never thought this type of love was possible. I wasn’t seeking nor wanting anyone permanent in my life. You flipped everything I knew on its head more than once. But I can fix the mistakes I’ve made, Isabelle. I can make them right.”
“How?” I’m not overly familiar with the male anatomy, but I’m reasonably sure once you’re sterile, there’s no turning back.
“I can have my procedure reversed.”
I smile at the uncomfortable delivery of his words. It’s wiped off my face when his cock softens during his confession. I didn’t think anything made Isaac nervous, but the prospect of his manhood going under the knife is a good reason to change things up.
“Jae’s worried the illness I had in my childhood limits the chance of a successful outcome, but I’m willing to take a risk.”
His comment floods my heart with love, but it isn’t him. “You’re not a risk-taker, Isaac. You make controlled, rational decisions. It’s why your empire is so successful.”
His smirk kills me every time. It steals my hesitation before making me hot all over. “Yet my biggest risk was by far my most rewarding. Not a single asset I’ve acquired is more valuable than you, Isabelle.”
I press my lips to his. The confirmation in his eyes when he stares at me is too deserving of a half-hearted reply. My kiss causes an avalanche of hands, tongues, and teeth. We maul each other like we suppressed the urge to drive each other to the brink in the wee hours of this morning. We didn’t, but we don’t care.
“Callie is asleep, so tell Roger to take the long route home,” I murmur over his kiss-swollen lips.
The stubble on his chin scrapes my neck when he drags his lips to my ear. “I already did.”
Not even half a mile later, we’re lost in one another.
8
Isabelle
