Page 18 of Our Darling Isabelle

“I wanted something to play with while you deal with all the boring stuff.” Markus’ face lights up with a boyish grin, making my stomach flop at how handsome he is. These men share so many similarities but yet they are so different.

“We don’t mix business and pleasure. I don’t want the other families to know about her.” Alec grumbles, his knuckles popping in his free hand as he tightens his fist.

“You deal with business while I take care of pleasure, then.” Markus shrugs.

“Did you even think this through? Showing people that want to tear our empire down with their bare hands that we have a weakness is ridiculous. Did you not think this would put her in danger?” Alec asks, his voice growing more clipped.

“Two men with an affinity for murder have kidnapped me and are forcing me to live with them. I’m not sure I could be in more danger, except maybe if I were in a lion cage.” I huff, rolling my eyes. Alec grabs my jaw, squeezing my cheeks as he turns me to look at him.

“We want to protect you, keep you to ourselves. Our reason for putting our hands all over this perfect fucking body are ones you enjoy, beg for even. Imagine us as your enemies, with a taste for torture.” His eyes seem black in the evening light. Even as street lights zip past, it only adds to the demons lurking beneath the surface and I’m reminded of how threatening they really are. Alec brushes a thumb over my cheek with a tenderness that defies his demeanor and my head spins from the swirl of emotions. Markus squeezes my thigh, trying to get my attention.

“We will keep you safe, don’t worry.” He murmurs. I want to believe him, but I have a sinking feeling nobody will protect my heart from them.

“Or you both can deal with business; Jared can take me somewhere else to have fun. I’d love to go out and ride bumper cars or something instead.” I suggest, only half joking. Markus smile falters as his lip curls and eyes squint while I bite back a smile. Baiting him never ends in my favor, but I had to break the tension before it suffocated us all. Jared’s boisterous laugh carries from the front seat as he pulls around behind a massive casino. My eyes are wide as I stare up at the flashing lights. Even the back of the building is lit up with the dull glow of rainbow lights and nervousness pools in the pit of my stomach. I’ve never been to any place like this.

“One last thing.” Markus whispers in my ear as Jared climbs out, shutting the door. His hand shoots under my dress, grabbing the crotch of my panties as his knuckles brush across my heated flesh. I jump off the seat, nearly dropping into Alec’s lap as Markus tears the panties from my body and leans over, shoving them into Alec’s pocket with a mischievous grin.

“Those are my nicest ones, Markus! We have to go back, I am not going in there without panties.” I yell, yanking my short dress down to cover my bare skin. Both men ignore my protest as Markus climbs out, pulling a cigarette from his pocket and winking at me.

“Now all I’m going to be thinking of is her pussy.” Alec gives me a heated look before stepping out and reaching back to drag me out behind him. I squeal, gripping the hem of my dress when he stands me up, pressing his lips to my neck and pinning me to the car.

“Best behavior, darling.” His voice is a whisper, but full of warning before he steps back and steers me through the door into an office. Markus and Jared stay outside to finish smoking and Alec pushes me to sit on his desk, my dress riding up and my stupid mouth pushes buttons. I wrap my legs around his waist, feeling bold.

“I’ll sit like this when we go in there, letting everyone see my pussy.” I shrug but regret my words the moment they leave my lips. Alec cups a hand over my mouth, grinding himself against my core as he bares his teeth.

“Anyone’s eyes linger on you, and I will bring them in here to watch me fuck you over this desk while I put a bullet between their fucking eyes. Their death will be on your conscience because I don’t have one. Don’t push me, darling.” His voice is barely above a growl and I’m left feeling something entirely different from fear. A hot flush spread through my body as his fingers play with the wetness growing at my core. An interruption cuts our moment short as the men walk through the back door. Although I should be grateful, I feel a twinge of disappointment.

“Jesus Christ.” Jared mutters before cutting through to a door on the other side. He swings it open and the loud music pours through the room as Alec steps back and helps me stand while fixing my dress. Markus holds his hand out for me, his grin widening when I hesitate. I’ll get them both back for this. They talk about others enjoying torture when that’s exactly what this was.

Finally taking his hand, I allowed Markus to pull me through the doors, my eyes widening at the sheer size as we stepped inside. The building is two stories tall, and the walls are painted dark gray with neon lights framing the place. To our left are rows of slot machines, each one occupied with more people milling around, watching or eagerly awaiting their turns. Ahead of us are various card tables, each of them crowded with so many people I can’t see what games are being played.

Markus stops my open mouth gaping by pulling me to the right, where the music gets louder as we pass the dance floor. Everyone is moving sensually to the music, packed tightly together, and I feel like I’m interrupting. He leads us to three short stairs which lead on to a raised stage which is roped off for guests. There are thick red curtains that conceal most of this side of the room. I roll my eyes and reach down to hold my dress as it slips higher each time I raise my foot to the next step. Alec’s huge hand grips my hem before I can, shielding me as we walk and I bite back a smile at the gesture.

At the top of the stairs is a huge, elevated floor with booths along the right wall and small white tables spotted along the floor. Waitresses flutter about, delivering drinks and food to the packed tables. I notice then that these aren’t just waitresses when some of them make their ways to the poles on the far wall.

“Maybe you can give me a job here when our deal is up.” I lean against Alec, and he grips the back of my neck to press his lips to my ear.

“Remember what I fucking told you, darling.” His voice is thick as his hand trails down my spine and my body shivers from his touch.

“Our girl looks a little overloaded.” Markus says, his lips pressing over my thundering pulse. I nod, barely registering what he says as my head swims from my senses being overwhelmed. Not so much from the loud music and pulsing lights, but from their all-consuming presence and touch.

My feet already ache as Markus drags me towards another set of stairs, these leading to the second floor. The stairs are modern, stainless steel and anyone can look up at any moment to see right up my dress. Two hulking bouncers nod and I recognize them as David and Eric, my delegated babysitters when Markus and Alec are busy. I tug Markus’ hand, motioning to my dress, but he just grins and pulls me in front of him. Alec storms around us, shooting him a glare to walk in front of me with his eyes flittering over the guests beneath us. I try to watch my feet while walking with my thighs pressed together, struggling with how dark it is despite the flashing lights.

At the top, we step into a slightly quieter space with fewer tables and I’m grateful for the change in ambience. This appears to be a little more exclusive than downstairs, an obvious difference to the crowd on each level. I raise my brow when I notice the dancers are completely naked on a stage that is covered with cash as they lazily twist and dance to the music. My staring is cut short when I realize we are walking towards a stage that is roped off, with more of the same heavy red curtains pulled back.

“Don’t let her out of your sight or I will kill you myself.” Alec warns Markus, and he holds his hands up innocently.

“Boo.” Somebody whispers in my ear, making me jump as I whip my head around. David is grinning at me as Eric stares ahead, expressionless. They’re both big guys, bulky like they live in the gym. David has a constant friendly smile on his face and his dark curls bounce when he walks. I can’t help but admire the way his dark skin looks when the disco ball reflects across his crossed arms.

“You are too easy to sneak up on. We got to work on that, girly.” He grins when I punch his arm playfully. Markus frowns while watching us, his jealousy making me swallow a laugh.

“They finally let you out. Must have been good behavior.” He winks at me and I smile back, rolling my eyes at him. Eric is his opposite, strawberry blonde hair shaved short with a constant scowl on his freckled face. He is a kind person, the guy just has a serious case of resting bitch face. He nods at me and points Markus to a table in the far corner that overlooks the floor below us. I peek in to watch Alec disappear behind the curtain and immediately know I want to be anywhere but here. The men inside are all older, each one of them looking lethal, and every pair of eyes turns to lock on mine before I jerk away. I miss being locked inside.

Chapter 15—Isabelle

Ioverate to the point of being stuffed. Not only was I already curvy, but being bloated was not cute in this skintight dress. What was I supposed to say when Markus ordered steak and a loaded potato for me? No way I was turning down something from their high-end restaurant. Markus had pulled me away from the hyenas Alec was stuck with, finding a quiet table for me to take a breath and I was grateful. Alec didn’t look amused as we walked off, but I felt safe with Markus. David and Eric stuck close to us as well, so he was just being paranoid.

“I might pop.” Markus groans, patting his stomach and making me smile. I throw back the last of my third glass of wine and tried not to focus too much on the fact our waitress now walked out with substantially fewer buttons on her shirt done up. Her large breasts nearly falling out when she leans over Markus to refill his glass, ignoring me as I hold mine out. He didn’t even look up, just keeps his eyes glued to mine.

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