Bartered (The Encounter #1)(51)



Hugo released a sigh before chastely kissing my forehead. “I do understand. I really do.”

For the rest of the night, we barely spoke, simply dancing the night away. He didn’t release me until it was time for us to head back inside the house. Just as expected, he came to sleep in my bedroom. And just as I’d predicted, he tried to get me naked as well, but this time, my reluctance in doing any intimacy with him was quite obvious compared to last night.

“Hugo, I’m sorry, but I can’t,” I rushed out, feeling mighty frustrated that I was turned on and wanted him to go through with it. Yet I just f*uking couldn’t do it. “It’s that time of the month.” Another lie sprung out of nowhere, which was more viable if I thought hard about it. “I hope you don’t mind.” I couldn’t even look him in the eye because I knew, without a doubt, that it hurt him.

“I see,” was all he said before turning off the light.

Instead of acting like a complete jackass, I was surprised when I felt him hold me, barely whispering “dream sweet” into my ear before I fell asleep, dreaming about him.





Chapter 27


Isobel


The ingenious idea of being on my period gave me a short-term hiatus from Hugo’s sexual persistence. For about a week, he would come home and sleep with me, holding me close without even trying to do anything, not even kissing.

At first, the relief for having his understanding and withdrawal was a blessing. However, as the days went by without him trying anything, it got me a tad worried. Even engaging him in conversations about how his day went or pointless and useless subjects that usually were a laugh between us back in the day didn’t seem to rouse any spark from him. Hugo became detached, yet he didn’t push me away in bed and still sought my warmth, holding me close every night without fail.

After the week ended with me worried instead of the other way around, I thought to myself that I needed to at least make an effort. Maybe if I could give him what he used to get from me, maybe it would help ease his grumpiness. Although I vowed not to initiate anything further with Hugo, I couldn’t help feeling awful since he was more than entitled to take what should’ve been his. Yet, his respectful nature had prevailed, giving me a choice. A decision. If I wanted to have him or not.

With my decision already made, it was noon when I summoned one of his drivers in the villa to take me to see Hugo at The Riviera.

The drive wasn’t a long one, and the moment I got there, I immediately headed straight for his office, deciding I wanted to take him out to eat. However, when I got there, it seemed that he’d just came back from one with Sherry.

I spotted them the second I got out of the elevator. They were strolling about, laughing at something as she held on to his arm while he had his hand almost cupping her pert bottom. The scene before me was so unexpected the emotions that welled out of me truly were a surprise. In a matter of seconds, I felt hot with intense jealousy racking me. The feeling was so acute I had a hard time breathing, and it felt as if my body was shaking, or maybe it truly was shaking. I wasn’t sure. Everything seemed to be happening at an alarming rate, and I couldn’t comprehend how to function.

I wasn’t his anything, so I wasn’t sure how to approach them, or maybe I should just let them be. I could go back to the villa and pretend that I hadn’t gone out of my way to see him, and maybe pick up where things had halted before I left for Athens.

My back and forth of weighing things went on a screeching halt when I saw Sherry’s hand disappear somewhere in his nether region, quite possibly on his dick. What enraged me most was Hugo’s look of pure delight. They were going to f*uk… in his office. The sudden realization hit me like a ton of bricks, and without thought, I paced towards them, needing to put an end to their sordid display of wretchedness where any of his employees could easily witness if they pried hard enough.

“Hugo,” I uttered his name in such a painful fashion I almost felt faint with it.

He heard me call out to him, and the moment our eyes connected, he pulled Sherry to whisper into her ear while I stopped in my tracks, staring at them both.

In my stillness, I caught a different side of Hugo. There was tenderness even in the way he was speaking to her or how he was holding her close to him. I hadn’t witnessed the kind of bond he had with her and Chantel.

The curling feeling in my gut worsened when I saw him give her a chaste kiss on the lips before she bestowed him one of her flirty smiles then moved away, sashaying her bountiful assets as she headed my way. While she passed me, she granted me a small, mischievous smile before entering the elevator.

I stared after her as jealousy doubled when I realized that I would probably never be as confident as her and couldn’t entice a man by merely blinking. How long has he been seeing her again? I thought sadly.

“Isobel,” he called out to me, his face giving nothing away.

Swallowing whatever I could muster to moisten the dryness of my throat, I forced myself to shake out of my trance and move towards where he was patiently waiting, holding the door open to his office. I knew without even speaking to him that something had shifted between us. Even with this realization, the second I passed him and smelled his scent, there was something inside me that snapped.

“Are you f*uking her?” I shot him the question even before he had the chance to shut the door properly. Once it was secured, he took his jolly time to stroll about the room, making himself a drink, while I stood there, simmering slowly in my own twisted and unexpected sprout of jealousy—the jealousy that had taken me aback because, before today, I hadn’t been aware I felt anything for him other than sexually. Maybe there was more to it than I had let on, but I wasn’t going to ponder it this instant. Maybe later on when I had the chance to truly see the reason behind it all.

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