Bartered (The Encounter #1)(8)

My heart was Damen’s, and it would always stay that way, even if Hugo Xavier made me feel things—things that were forbidden. One penetrating look of his eyes never failed to draw something out of my body. It was raw. Carnal. Magnetizing.

The man exuded power and beauty with each breath he took, women sighed at the sight of him. Moreover, even though I found his handsomeness disarming most of the time, it would be a mistake if I got carried away and submitted to the animalistic, passionate man hiding behind those tantalizing eyes.

He was the kind of man who needed full submission from his woman, most especially in the bedroom. It was something I had never feared because I wasn’t like Sherry or Chantel, who both had fallen into the Xavier spell. No. I was a woman in love with another man. A man whom I had vowed to spend the rest of my life with at the tender age of sixteen—before we had even shared our first kiss.

Hugo Xavier was just a man—nothing extraordinary. Six months with him wouldn’t jeopardize me emotionally. I was certain of it.





Chapter 6


Hugo


I watched as Isobel carefully placed the espresso cup and saucer next to me, and how gracefully she slightly bent her body while protruding her delectable bottom as her provocative scent blanketed my space. I tensed as her scent filled me from my nostrils all the way down to my chest, sitting low in my stomach before settling in my groin. Cocking my head to the side, I silently cursed in vain, hating the fact she had this effect on me. She was just so… feminine and so achingly gorgeous that it was hard not to be affected by her. One look was all it took. It stoked the temptation I had pushed aside for the past week.

Normally, it was up to me if I wanted to be affected by their displays of subtle flirtations and such, but it was different with her. Why? I wondered, frustrated at the contracts we had signed a week before. I simply couldn’t fathom her request, and had thought it a joke, that she’d change her mind the next morning. However, the joke had been on me.

I toyed with the idea of making her change her mind through seduction. I wanted her—badly. She would eventually beg me to take her. After all, that was the only way I would take her, and that was if she’d let me, giving me her full consent because, if I crossed that line, the contract would no longer be valid, and I would be the one paying her the same amount her father owed me.

Seducing her into submission was my way of showing her I would be willing to honor her wishes and, at the same time, get what I wanted in the end. I loved a good challenge, and Isobel offered that in spades. It was a wager I had with my ego and pride that I couldn’t turn down.

Seeing as she stood to the side, awaiting orders, I focused on the coffee before me, picking up the steaming cup as I took the dark espresso shot in one go. The scalding hot contents burned my tongue all the way down to my throat, the bite making me grit my teeth as I lavished on the instant effect it had on my body.

My sex drive was far from abysmal. Even after I had taken one of my lovers, with one look at Isobel, I would immediately get hard again. It had been difficult to be around her in the villa, which was why I had tried to keep it platonic for a whole week, because I wasn’t sure I could handle being alone with her. Most especially after that horrid clause in the contract. My hunger hadn’t dissipated. In fact, I believed the damn clause had only made her even more appetizing in my eyes.

After a week of avoiding her, I thought it would be a perfect opportunity to take her out tonight to an event I had committed to attending. It would also suit the other purpose of wanting to get to know her better, and being as it was a public place, there would be a slim chance I would try to devour her on the spot.

Clearing my throat, I checked the time before giving her a quick, swiping glance then focused back on my computer screen. “I have a gala to attend tonight, and I’m taking you with me.”

Her brow rose, giving me that sexy look while her lips glowered at me. “Oh, Sherry is not available?”

There was a subtle hint of bite in her words. It made me feel the need to reinstate who was the boss here.

“I take whomever I choose, Isobel. And tonight, I choose you. Do you have a problem with that?”

She paused, staring at me, before blinking those tantalizing, long, sooty lashes at me. “No, Hugo, I don’t have a problem with that.” Pressing her lips together, she straightened her stance. “What time do you need me ready by?”

“I need you by six. You can leave to get ready whenever you like—spa, dress shopping, and whatever else you need. There’s a driver waiting for your disposal.”

“In that case, I better get going to get myself primed and pretty for yours truly.” Her brow rose, challenging me.

She was already primed and pretty; I doubted she could get any prettier than this. “You go ahead and do just that, ma belle. I’ll see you at six.”

“See you then,” she murmured as she quietly strode towards the doors, my eyes following her stride, watching her hips sway from one side to the other.

Hard and frustrated, I took my phone to call Chantel, asking her to come by and give me a quick visit. It had been like this for the past seven days—me always ending up calling Sherry or Chantel mid-day to cater to my needs even at the office. Furthermore, when those times happened, Isobel wouldn’t look me in the eye before she exited the room to leave me to do my business. Abstinence wasn’t in my DNA. Besides, I was a hot-blooded French man who always got what he wanted. Sex was one aspect in my life I could fully enjoy without restrictions, and I tried to supply my life with it as much as possible.