LOGINIt happened without a warning, without giving me time to think or even decide. One minute, I was sitting on a barstool, feeling this stranger’s warmth, my body growing heated from his warmth, his words, and then the next, I was all over him–me, not him–grabbing his hair and slamming my lips on his, kissing him in front of the whole bar where everyone could see. I didn’t have a single care in the world.
He kissed me back, groaning into my mouth and grabbing my ass. I jumped, wrapping my legs around his waist.
“Take me somewhere,” I muttered against his lips. “Somewhere private.”
He groaned his agreement into my mouth, already moving, but he had to break the kiss so he could see where he was going. I wasn’t happy with that, so I kissed his neck, his jaw, and his throat.
“Isabella,” he breathed, and we both froze.
I raised my head and looked at him, still unable to see clearly.
“I didn’t tell you my name.”
“You did,” he muttered as he kept walking.
I tilted my head. “I… did?”
“Yes, beautiful.”
He put me down, gesturing behind me. “Enter?”
A question, I noticed, like he didn’t know if I still wanted this.
I entered without hesitation, and he followed, grunting to the driver, “Drive.”
Before the driver even started the car, he was on me, kissing me again, more rough, more eager.
“All the years I’ve spent dreaming of this, imagining what it’ll feel like to touch you, doesn't come close to the real thing.” He bit my neck, and I moaned softly. “Nothing beats the real thing.”
“What are–”
He kissed me, biting my tongue, and I moaned deeply, pressing myself harder against him.
We reached whenever we were going, and that was when we finally broke the kiss, our lips swollen and mine throbbing, but I wanted more. God, I NEEDED more. I barely remembered him carrying me up a flight of stairs, but I remembered when we stepped into a room, and he placed me on the bed like I was an egg. I remembered him trailing kisses over any bare skin he could find, and I remembered thinking to myself as he stood up and towered over me, “I wish I could see his face.”
But I know I won't be able to do that until I've sobered up. That’s the con of drinking alcohol for me.
I couldn’t see his face, but I could see his eyes because they were such bright, vibrant green.
“Tell me if you really want this or not,” he said in a low, rough voice as he slowly took off his jacket. “Tell me, and I’ll stop. I don’t want you to have regrets in the morning.”
“I’m definitely going to have regrets.” He froze. “I’m sleeping with a stranger, ain’t I? While I have a husband.”
He resumed taking off his clothes. “A stranger. A husband.”
His jacket and shirt came off, leaving him in his pants, which then came off, followed by his underwear.
God, I wanted to see him so badly.
“I know you can’t see me,” he said, and my eyes went wide. “So come touch me, Isabella. Come feel me.”
“How did–”
“Questions will be asked in the morning, beautiful. Come here.”
Yes. Yes, questions will be asked in the morning.
So I sat up and moved to him. He grabbed my hand softly and placed it on his chest. When I felt the hard muscles and smooth skin, I shuddered, my hand moving with urgency. It passed through his chest and his abs, then went lower. I gasped when I felt it, and he groaned.
“Undress me,” I breathed as I stroked him and he moved his hips, thrusting into my hand. “Hurry.”
In seconds, I was naked, and he had me on my back with my legs spread while he was positioned between my legs. No words were said after that, just our rough breaths and my moan when he slowly inserted himself into me.
It was the tip, just the tip, but I felt the burn, the stretch. He was large, thick, and long, and I knew I was about to have a wild night.
He pushed into me, inch by sweet inch, until he was buried deep in me, my walls stretching to take him, and when he was fully in, they clenched around him.
He moaned loudly, without restraint, shivering against me, and his dick pulsed in me.
“Bella,” he breathed as he moved, and we both moaned.
He started slowly, pulling out until just his tips remained before he pushed back in, slowly, taking his time, letting me feel every inch of him. I felt him throb and pulse, I felt his warmth. Everything. I felt everything, and it was all going to my head. I felt like I was floating in clouds.
He pressed that sweet spot in me every time he thrust, and when my insides quivered, he would shiver and moan so deliciously.
Slowly, he picked up pace, slamming in harder and faster. He was touching places in me I never thought a man could touch, hitting those places in me over and over until I was a shivering, moaning mess. I wrapped my arms around his neck, locking my legs around his waist to keep him in place.
He kissed me, deeply, his tongue tangling with mine, sucking.
His thrusts became faster, rougher, and my moans grew higher.
“Fuck…” he moaned as he pulled back, grabbing my legs and placing them on his shoulders. This new position made him go deeper.
I saw stars.
My moans became gasps, my breath coming fast and short, my body shaking.
When I came, I came with a sharp cry, my eyes squeezed tight, my body shaking so hard, I thought I was convulsing.
When my climax took its course, my body went limp, and everything went dark.
***
My head was pounding so hard that it felt like someone was in there, beating a drum. And that was what dragged me from sleep. When I opened my eyes, I hissed, shutting them.
Bright. It was so bloody bright. I gave my eyes time to adjust, and when they finally did, I opened them again. I looked around, taking it all in, wondering how I got home. But the more I looked, the more this place looked unfamiliar. I sat up immediately, but I regretted that when a sharp pain made itself known in my waist and between my legs.
My eyes went wide.
“What… what happened?”
I looked around the room, but it was just me.
I stood up slowly, wincing as I moved to the bathroom, but when I passed the mirror, I paused and went back to it.
When I saw my reflection, my scream shook the glass.
CORDELLAI was put in the same room with Sophia. She was lying on the bed next to me, in cuffs. It took everything in me, all my years of practicing self-control and restraint, to hold back and not finish what I started with the dagger.Isabella was a damn fool. Letting her live because she wanted her to suffer? That was bloody bullshit. She deserves death, a cruel, slow death, so she could feel the weight of everything she has done, and it would follow her even in death. It would haunt her even when she was dead and gone.She shifted, and I gritted my teeth, my fists clenching as my claws crawled out. Every moment from her, every sniff, every beat of her black heart was a test to me. A test not to lunge at her and rip her throat apart with my claws.“I can tell you want to kill me,” she said, her voice low. My jaw was clenched tight as I slowly turned to her. She was looking up at the ceiling, not blinking. “Why not do it?”“Because it’s not in my place,” I spat. “I know the men wou
“Love?” both men asked at the same time, the same expression on their faces, and I just nodded slowly.“Yeah,” I sighed, still nodding. “Love.”“What does that even mean?” Leonardo asked, and I could see he was losing patience. He shook his head. “No, that’s not important right now. Are you hurt? Where did all this blood come from?”He moved and reached for me, but I stepped back, and both of them just stared at me like I had grown a second head.“Isabella, what’s going on?” Alexander asked carefully, like he was talking to a spooked animal, genuine concern in his voice, but I didn't care about that right now. I didn't care about what any of them was feeling. All I cared about was me and this crushing feeling in my soul. “It’s important,” I said, ignoring both their questions. “What I'm about to say is damn important, and you will damn well listen to me! Got it?”“Okay,” Alexander agreed, still using that careful tone with me while Leonardo just continued to stare.“Okay,” I repeate
Nobody moved. Not Cordella, who stood behind Sophia, still holding the dagger to her chest while barely standing. Not Sophia, whose eyes were wide with shock, blood spilling slowly from her mouth. Not me, all I could see and smell was blood.But then Cordella pulled the dagger out of Sophia’s chest, and the stillness was broken at once. Sophia snapped out of her shock and gasped, pressing a hand to her chest, slowly going down on her knees. Cordella fell backward, her breathing heavy.“No, no,” I muttered in a panicked trance. There was so much blood. It was so thick in the air that it was all I could smell. It felt like it was pressing down on me, and all I could see was Richard in my arms, bleeding. All I could see was the light leaving his eyes.“Why’s there so much blood?!” I screamed, pulling my hair.Cordella and Sophia were lying on the floor, bleeding heavily, and it seemed their blood was filling up the room. It felt like I was drowning in it. It felt like the blood was risi
Love. Love. Love. Love was the reason Cordella hated me, and the blame was pinned on her while the real culprit walked free. Love was the reason Sophia hid her true colors all the while plotting behind all our backs. It was the reason I lost my babies and Richard. The reason why Cordella and Sophia were now fighting to the death.Love was the problem why she wanted to kill me, and if Sophia won this fight, then she was going to succeed in doing that.And at the center of all this was Alexander and Leonardo. This whole drama was centered on them. They did nothing. They were partially innocent, but they were the cause of all this. Love. Love. Love.A feeling that should only be sweet and fill you with nothing but light had been turned into something so cruel. A weapon. Motive. Sophia screamed as she lunged at her with the knife, and Cordella dodged it easily. Cordella was talented when it came to things like this, but seeing the way Sophia held that knife, I know she was, too.“I sho
Cordella and I both watched, frozen as the doorknob twisted slowly. Whoever it was was being careful, thinking they might wake me. I wanted to scream for them to hurry up, to put an end to this quickly, but Cordella still kept her hand pressed to my mouth. But it didn't matter. Whoever it was will get in eventually, and Cordella will finally be caught. Finally. I couldn't wait for her to be punished. I would watch, and I would feel no guilt for enjoying watching her suffer.But then… it stopped. The doorknob no longer moved, and silence fell. My heart dropped to my stomach. Were they gone? Did they think coming in was going to bother me? Who was it? Alexander? Leonardo?I resumed my struggles, screaming again, hoping they could hear it even though it was muffled.Please. Someone. Help me. I kept fighting, kept trying to push her off me, but she didn't seem fazed by any of it. No, her eyes remained fixed on the door, her eyebrows furrowed. And then she stiffened, just as the doorkn
“For what?” I asked softly with my eyes closed, my forehead still on his, and he still held my hand. “What did you do?”“I just… I feel so useless. There’s nothing I can do about any of this, but I just can't stand by and watch you be in pain.”“Then you could hold me,” I whispered, opening my eyes slowly, and they landed on him. “You could kiss me, and make love to me, and tell me how everything’s going to be fine. You could be there for me when I need you. You could be everything but distance and so far away.”A sliver of tears lined his eyes, and he shut them, squeezing them tighter. When he opened them again, there were no tears, but his eyes were still glossy. He kissed my forehead gently, his lips pressed there for a moment before he moved to kiss my lips, but I turned my head away. “Don’t. You’ll catch my cold.”He held my jaw gently and turned my head back to him, whispering, “I don’t mind,” before he kissed me slowly, gently. He broke the kiss and cupped my face, caressing m
We kissed until my lungs burned, until I could feel my lips throbbing. Our lips remained glued even when I was gasping for breath and grabbing Leonardo’s hair hard, but still, I didn't want it to end, I didn't want Leonardo to pull away. But he did, eventually, cursing harshly, and I gasped for bre
My sisters were smart and observant. Just a slight shift in my expression and they would notice that something was amiss. So I had to keep it cool, be a blank slate, channel my inner Alexander.“For days now?” I asked, my eyebrows furrowed. “That’s strange. This has never happened before.”Joyce no
“You look just as beautiful as I remembered,” Theodare said with a smile, as if we were here on friendly terms. “Richard is a fool for letting a gem like you go.”“What is he doing here?” I asked my father, ignoring Theodare’s remarks. “You say he framed you, and yet you’re here with him?”“A much-
LEONARDO“Then explain, father, why you’re hard.”I looked down at my dick like this was news–which it was–and scowled at it as it disgusted me. I adjusted my pants and looked back at Alexander, clearing my throat. “That is just a physical reaction. It’s normal.”“Oh?” He raised an eyebrow, a stupi







