Bartered (The Encounter #1)(11)

Oh, please. Maybe to his standards I was. I was far from being one, but I didn’t dare argue with him.

“More champagne?”

“I’m afraid your waiting services are no longer needed, Julien.” Hugo’s arctic voice interrupted us, making us both turn while my breath caught as our eyes clashed. I supposed whoever he had spoken to earlier on, it hadn’t gone as planned.

Hugo harshly said something in rapid French, making me bite my lip as I stared at the both of them, uncertain if I should hide. He sounded like he was infuriated, but Julien’s easy smile contradicted my assumptions.

“Isobel, it was marvelous to speak to you this evening. I will see you again.” He made a gallant bow before he brazenly winked at Hugo and then left us in quite a heavy shroud of thick silence.

Damn.





Chapter 8


Isobel


“Hugo.” Frowning at him, I failed to understand what was going through his mind. This man was far too complex for my na?ve outlook on men. Apart from my father, I had no close experience with men like Hugo and Julien—men with too much power. At a snap of their fingers, the world fell at their feet. They exuded it—even that Callum Kensington man earlier on had shown similar assured confidence.

Money. Obscene amounts of it could lead a man into believing they could walk on air, or on any ground for that matter.

“We’re leaving,” he gritted out before he gave me a slashing look.

Wait. He seemed almost accusing. What was that look for anyway? I was merely speaking to his friend, not having a quick romp in the storage room.

“Leaving? Now? The event hasn’t even started.”

“We are leaving.” He had that expression on him, as if he was speaking to a child, ready to reprimand when the need arose. “Unless, of course, you want to stay for a cozier tête-à-tête with Julien, then you’re more than welcome to stay.”

Aghast, I stared at him agog. “What?”

For the first time, he came close to me, breath hot against my ear while I slightly trembled against his body.

“You heard me well,” he warned. “So choose.”

Trembling to be this close to him, I was confused at my body’s reaction towards the man. Whenever he was near, I somehow did that. I had no clue why, either.

“I came here with you. I’m leaving with you.”

Without a word, he ushered us out of there, bypassing his friends that seemed too confused when Hugo didn’t acknowledge them as they said something about where we were heading.

Once we reached the outside and the valet had handed him his keys, we travelled back the same road we had taken about an hour ago. The only difference was that the air about him was more untouchable compared to the quiet indifference he’d portrayed.

Gazing at his profile, I sadly noted how his rogue sexiness only added to his appeal when angry. He drove the car as if he was racing towards Hell, uncaring that he bypassed one hundred on the speedometer.

I wasn’t sure what was bothering him; however, there clearly was something on his mind. Was it the meeting earlier on, or could it be because he found me cozy with Julien? The first choice was more viable since the second meant he would be jealous, which was ridiculous since we hadn’t known each other long enough and hadn’t been speaking at all when the purpose didn’t serve it. Therefore, if Julien was to be believed that they were particularly close, then his anger was most likely angled towards his friend.

“She caused a lot of complications in his life…” Julien’s words flittered through my mind, wandering towards the woman in question. I wondered how he had handled his ex-lover.

Approximately twenty minutes later, I was taken aback when he drove us into the marina, parking right at the dock’s entrance before my eyes caught the sight of the floating palace, alit with sleek elegance.

“Is this another party?” He’d never said anything apart from the auction we had missed.

“No,” he curtly replied as he slid out of his Trojan of a car before opening my door and offering his hand to help me out. “We’re having dinner.”

“Oh.” I was quite dumbfounded since we had left in haste while he brooded in silence, and then, only twenty minutes later, he was on to dinner. Color me confused.

We went aboard the mega yacht and were greeted by a butler before he ushered us towards the dining area that was purposely and elaborately done on deck, near the huge Jacuzzi set at the very end of the bow. Apparently, a hot tub on the opposite side wouldn’t suffice.

Apart from the intimidating air of opulence that surrounded us, I was quite enthralled to dine alone with him. He didn’t make all these detailed, extravagant efforts, but it was he who’d requested it, so I felt quite honored to be the woman sitting opposite him. I was sure these situations occurred to him on a daily basis, but to me, it meant something. With Damen’s limited funds due to the sour turn of the Greek economy and my father’s exorbitant lifestyle, though our families were known to be well-off, we actually lived a life on a budget.

“It’s beautiful tonight.” My eyes took in the stars above as I breathed in the crisp air and the magical aura that surrounded us. The moon hung high, brightly lit as it cast its brilliance on the Mediterranean, basking it with his pulling beauty, painting a picturesque magnificence I had barely appreciated until tonight.