Bartered (The Encounter #1)(23)

“I wish I could.” I bit the bottom of my lip, hating the fact I was in this position. Almost a week ago, I had been absolutely sure Hugo wouldn’t have any power over me. That I would be in control of everything. I wasn’t so sure any longer. But for Damen, I’d keep fighting this off until I was out of fight. “But nothing will come of it. That I can assure you.”

“You seem certain.”

Damen. Just think of Damen and his love. “Because I am.”

Thinking hard, I wondered about the times he had intimately touched me yet didn’t execute anything that was agreed upon. It made me wonder if this was his plan all along—for something more rewarding in the end. Unless, of course, this was just my imagination going into overdrive. After all, he’d been distant on moment and seductive the second. He blew hot and cold, making it hard for me to read his true intentions.

“Why am I really here?” glancing at him wearily, I voiced out my suspicion.

“Care to elaborate?”

“Let’s drop the pretense that you plan to do anything with me other than being your go-to, all around person to make your life easier,” I challenged him to deny it. “So I’m asking again, what’s my purpose?”

He immediately looked formidable. The baffled man earlier vanished as if it had been a figment of my imagination. “Your purpose is me, Isobel,” he stated succinctly.

Our eyes battled before I stepped into his space, our noses almost touching, challenging him. “Sex. This boils down to sex.” I hatefully gritted out. “Funny how nothing’s happened.”

“I want you,” he hissed into my face, eyes locking with mine. “I want to possess this body like no other man has ever done. I want to f*uk your pu**y until I’ve had my fill with it, until you can’t think of Damen.”

Oh, wow. Had this been the reason why he’d been all twisted with me?

“Didn’t you get the memo? No vaginal sex. That’s what we agreed upon. Have you forgotten? I could rehash it for you if you want.”

“I never forgot that I’m only allowed to have you the other way…” His eyes dropped to my lips before he pressed his chest against my aching breasts, making the tension much more powerful. “It’s tempting, ma belle.” He said the words as if he was caressing them on my skin—I felt the heat of them. “Sometimes, I lay at night wondering if I should take that offer because I can’t seem to get my fill of you.” He paused. “But doing that will cause pain, and I don’t want to hurt you.”

“Huh.” He didn’t want to hurt me. Funny how that wasn’t in the contract, but here he was, acting noble when he was after something I wasn’t willing to give. “So, instead, you’re waiting around, hoping I’ll change my mind,” I provided the answers without blinking.

“Yes.” He didn’t deny it.

Well, too bad. My vagina wasn’t open for business, not even for a man who made me feel this aroused with merely one look from him. He exuded a kind of power over me… Regardless, I knew better.

“That’ll never happen, Hugo.” This was all a game to him. I had become a challenge. The only thing I could hang on to was my love for Damen. I knew that would give me enough strength to fight this sexual attraction we both had for each other.

“Let’s make a deal.”

“Another one?”

“Spend some time with me—two weeks—and at the end of that, you can make your decision. Whatever it is, I promise to respect it and leave the subject alone.” He seemed sincere enough.

But this was Hugo Xavier we were talking about. He had inherited an empire, which had the capacity to triple all of his riches. No doubt he was sharp and conniving. Trusting him would be unwise, yet declining this offer would lead him to play dirty, and I wasn’t sure I could handle that. At least with this one, I could keep my guard up and come out proving him wrong.

“And?” I pressed with determination. “I have a feeling there’s an and attached to that sentence.”

“And you’re bound to spend the rest of your time until the contract is up; babysitting, making coffee, driving me crazy from flaunting something I can’t have.” He seamlessly provided me with hope.

“That sounds too easy.” I was a tad doubtful. After all, he had me in exchange for pardoning my father’s debt of three hundred thousand Euros. To a man like him, it might not amount to much, but to me, it meant everything.

“We shall see. I have yet to seduce you, ma belle.” His thumb brushed the bottom of my lip, making me tingle all over. It was as if he zapped electricity within me, sparking fireworks everywhere, in every pore of my body. “Maybe seducing you wouldn’t be too easy.”

Bloody shit. Why did he have to come out and make me feel like this was going to be the fight of my life? My mind was tortured enough; battling with my body’s needs and wants would be another matter. Suffice it to say that, at the very end of this ruse, it would be I who made the final decision. Believing this comforted me enough to stand my ground.

“Seduce away because this woman won’t bat an eyelash even when you try.”

He made a throaty, deep-bellied laugh. The sexy kind where a woman was bound to feel enthralled, staring at his throat, noticing how even he could make that look wholly enticing.