Vanquished (The Encounter #3)(29)
Taking careful steps with my three-inch stilettos, I had to admit we looked ridiculous still dressed in our eveningwear. We were in the middle of nowhere with the car running and both doors wide open. We looked mad or on the set of a photo shoot. The joke was lost at the sight of him looking so dangerously handsome and unmistakably incensed beyond comprehension.
“Do you really want me to answer that, Hugo?”
“Yes, I f*cking do!”
It was just as well. The lie had begun, so what was another hundred? Thousand?
Steeling my resolve, I didn’t dare look away from him. “He’s a decent man who seems to genuinely care about me. Not only that, but he’s easy to be around. We get on well, so it wasn’t that difficult … to start this new phase with him …”
“Right. Certainly, it wasn’t difficult because you had already set your sights on the next man who was idiot enough to be seduced by your cunning ways!” he spat out as if I was the lowest scum on earth.
Though I knew this was part of the game I had to play, it still hurt to see him look at me in such a way. “Whatever makes you feel better, Hugo.”
His face darkened as he approached me. “How much did it cost him for you to be his whore?”
I loudly gasped before I raised my hand and connected it with his cheek, loudly smacking it for his degrading insult. “Don’t you dare throw that in my face!” I shrieked as my body shook. “You know how much it took out of me to be one for you. I am no one’s anything!”
His dark eyes turned savage, harsh, and animalistic. “Of all the punishments to bestow upon me, Isobel, you had to choose one that would surely hurt me the most.”
I had expected more verbal assault, but this swift change threw me off kilter. The unexpected pain that came with his confession engulfed me in such profound sadness that I was shocked to find my eyes growing misty by the second.
“I am so very sorry for everything that you’re feeling. I didn’t do this to betray you, Hugo…” My voice came out in a shaky whisper.
I was so overawed with all that had happened. I felt as if all the composure and will to get it together had just slipped away, making me feel every damn thing that I had held inside for quite some time. My heart sped up so fast I could barely catch my breath, and before I could manage to utter another word, my world spun into complete darkness, lulling me into calming quietness.
Chapter Fifteen
Isobel
Warmth. It was warmth that made my senses aware of a body scooping me up and holding me close. He had strong arms and gave off the impression that carrying me was of no effort at all, hopefully taking me to a much more comfortable place. His smell engulfed my senses, drowning me in his signature scent that was all too him—masculine and sexy with just enough spice not to be overpowering.
Hugo Xavier. I loved you then, and I still love you now … Forever won’t change it.
Releasing a melancholy sigh, I could have basked in the idea of being in his arms, but the dull ache in my head began to throb with a heated pulse at my temple. It was all I could feel. My body honed in on that one pulsating spot, as if to give me a warning that it wasn’t functioning well. I knew I should have been worried, but I was too groggy to fully comprehend what it entailed.
Unknowingly, I made a groan then reached out to massage the throbbing point with what little energy I could muster.
“We’re almost there, ma belle.” The voice broke through my thoughts in a hoarse tone, making me grumble an incoherent complaint about my headache.
In the background, I could sense him climbing up the stairs before reaching the landing. He then took a few more strides before I heard him opening a door. It wasn’t long until I felt him lower me, sensing the coolness of sheets touching my warm skin. It couldn’t be denied; it was refreshing, and my body immediately surrendered to the feathered down softness of the pillow that cradled my throbbing head.
“Is there anything I can get you before I call on the doctor to check on you?” His soft breath stroked the side of my cheek as he obviously whispered close to my ear.
Doctor? My eyes rapidly snapped wide open with evident alarm and horror. “I’m fine. I don’t need one. I just need to rest.” My blabbering came to an immediate pause as I took in the room I was in.
The pale blue walls and the country chic floral blue, pale pink, and white bed covers immediately screamed that I was in a different territory. This was not his villa that was off the coast close to Monte Carlo.
Slowly meeting his gaze, even though he was too close for comfort as he looked down with a worried frown, I simply had to know where in the bloody hell I was. “You didn’t have the villa refurbished, did you? Because this room is unfamiliar to me, even though it is, indeed, lovely and cozy.”
A tiny hint of a smile crossed his chiseled face, mesmerizing me a little. “It was closer to come here to the chateau than to drive back to Monaco.”
“Chateau?” I asked in confusion. “You have a chateau? Well, of course you would. You wouldn’t be a true French aristocrat if you didn’t own one.”
A huge, infectious grin greeted me, his dark eyes sparkling before they roamed about my face. It made me catch my breath. I had an inkling that he was going to kiss me soon enough, and if that ever happened, I wasn’t sure if I had the wherewithal to push him away. Seeing him again had only cemented how much I loved the blasted man.