Page 61 of Unraveling an Enigma
My lips crimp at her submissiveness. Isabelle is a strong and independent woman, but the instant we step into the bedroom, she happily surrenders her power to me. Nothing in the world has made me feel more influential than that. Not takeovers, not business ventures, and not how much capital I have in my bank accounts, nothing compares to the feeling I get knowing she trusts me enough to fully relinquish control of her body to me. Not one single thing.
I stride toward Isabelle so fast, she doesn’t have the chance to object. My hands grip the back of her slender thighs, hoisting her up so her legs impulsively wrap around my waist. The warmth of her fragrant pussy heats my stone-hard cock. Her mouth gapes open to accept my kiss the instant my tongue strokes her top lip.
I nip, lick and explore her succulent mouth like it is the very first time I’ve ever sampled it. Once I am happy that I’ve thoroughly inspected every scrumptious portion of her mouth, I pull away from her now swollen lips. I rest my forehead against hers and gaze into her beautiful chocolate eyes once she flutters them back open.
“Good morning,” I greet her with a smirk.
My smirk enlarges to a full grin when I place Isabelle back down on her feet. She wobbles as she reluctantly makes her way into the bathroom to get prepared to leave.
* * *
Isabelle’s nervous fidgeting becomes more apparent the closer we get to Megan’s family residence. Hugo is driving my car with Isabelle and I sitting in the back seat. Hunter and Brandon are following behind us in Hunter’s van that is stacked with the most up-to-date computer equipment and surveillance devices money can buy.
When Hugo pulls the car into a long dirt driveway, Isabelle’s panicked eyes rocket to me. “When we show you the information we gathered yesterday, I need you to remember Jenni and Jasper are both safe and unharmed,” she pleads, her voice surprisingly smooth considering how hard her hands are shaking.
My eyes shift from looking at Isabelle to Hugo, who is watching me with caution through the rearview mirror. “Did you discover anything that would warrant the local authorities being called in?” I ask.
Hugo nods. “Yes, but Isabelle and Brandon agreed they wouldn’t call it in until your security team was first given access to it.”
My eyes snap to Isabelle, who is eyeing me curiously. “This won’t keep your hands sparkling clean, Isabelle.”
Her eyes roam over my face. “I know, but I love you,” she replies breathlessly. “Wouldn’t you get your hands a little dirty for someone you love?” she quotes, staring into my eyes.
Her words impact me more than they did the first time I heard them seep from her mouth in ecstasy the morning I was arrested. Because this time, they weren’t said during intimacy. She said it because she truly means it.
When the car comes to a stop at the front of a derelict house, Isabelle scoots across the leather seat and clasps my hand within hers. “I trust the man I’ve fallen in love with will handle this in an appropriate andlegalmanner,” she says, her eyes drifting between mine. “You are not the man your FBI files says you are, Isaac, so I am going to trust you will uphold my beliefs on that.”
I take a moment to ponder her statement. I know, like any good myth, the reality barely corresponds with the fabricated fiction. So, I have no doubt my police record would be full of half-truths and misrepresentations of who I really am, but, even so, I have always been a protector. It’s who I am. Nick is my responsibility. He is my blood. He gave me back the gift of life. So, it is my job to protect him from any potential threats just as much as it is for me to protect Isabelle from Col and Theresa. To me, there is no difference.
“I protect what is mine, Isabelle.” My tone is as surly as my mood is becoming.
Her shoulders hunch forward. “I know that, Isaac, but there are legal ways you can handle any situation,” she argues. “The FBI or the local sheriff’s office would be more than willing to assist in a situation like this.”
I scoff. “Like how they handled my arrest?” I ask, my voice a nasty snarl. “They illegally detained me for hours so they could barbarically destroy my house, under the legality of a warranted search the Judge signed off on under false pretenses. Are they really the people I should seek out during a crisis?” My voice is thickly doused in sarcasm.
Isabelle shifts her focus to the passenger window.
“Answer me, Isabelle,” I demand sternly. “Are they truly the people I should trust?”
Isabelle remains quiet. With her refusing to answer my question, I swing open the back passenger door with the intention of joining Hugo outside. I need to escape before I say something I may regret later. Just before I exit, my gaze turns back to Isabelle. A sharp pain stabs in my chest when I see tears forming in her eyes.
“Please stay in the car. You’ll be safer here.” My tone is firm, but my suggestion still comes out as a plea.
My jaw muscle tenses when she snubs my suggestion and cranks open the passenger door to step out onto the dirt driveway.
“One thing at a time, Isaac,” I murmur while stepping out of the car and pacing to stand next to Hugo.
The pain weighing down my chest intensifies when Isabelle twists her body so her back is facing me before her hands dart up to rub across her cheeks with a sense of urgency.
“Boss…” Hugo says solemnly when he too notices Isabelle’s defeated posture.
I shoot him a wry look, stopping him mid-sentence. “I’ll fix that after I handle this,” I inform him, keeping my focus on one task at a time. I’m juggling so many things, mistakes are bound to happen if I don’t start being more cautious.
Hugo’s lips thin before he nods. My eyes absorb the rundown farmhouse. It reminds me of my dad’s house he purchased in Petersburg three years ago before he renovated it. My dad is very much like Nick. No matter how many times I’ve offered to buy him a more suitable house or to pay for his renovations, he always refuses my proposals. “You don’t spend anything you haven’t earned yourself,” he commonly quotes.
“Give Brandon and me ten minutes to clear the premises before you and Hunter enter,” Hugo requests when Hunter’s van pulls in next to my town car.
I nod. “You have five minutes.”
