Page 25 of Our Darling Isabelle

“My little minx.” He grumbles when I pull away, winking at Lana as I strut towards the fitting rooms. She looked ready to grab me by my hair, and I kind of hoped she would try. I’d like to see what Jared would do to her.

I pace the fitting room, peeking out to see Jared still standing guard. He is more serious than usual when we are out, scanning the perimeter every few minutes. Jared looks at me, his lips curling up slightly.

“She still looks like you pissed in her cheerios.” Jared chuckles, nodding to where Lana was carrying a huge armful of clothes towards us. Alec walked beside her with his hands in his pockets, grinning like the cat that ate the canary. Lana hangs some of them on a hook, dropping the others onto a table in the beige dressing room without glancing my way.

Most of the dresses were a dark emerald green, and I frown at the similar color choice. Alec waves Lana away with a dismissive flick of his wrist, grinning at me as he nods to the gigantic pile of clothes.

“Green looked delicious on you, darling. I couldn’t help myself.” He winks, shutting the door behind him as he leaves me with the pile of clothes. He was mocking me for getting jealous and I bite my lip to stop the laughter. That asshat.

“I want to see you try on everything.” He calls out as he heads towards the chairs just outside the fitting room. Lana is fussing over him before he can even sit down. I can hear how desperate she is and it makes me want to laugh while tearing her perfect blonde hair out of her bobble head. I undress and grumpily yank the first dress on, struggling to grab the zipper when an idea blooms.

“Jared.” I say in a sweet tone, poking my head around the door. Just as I expected, Lana is sitting on the arm of Alec’s chair, nearly falling into his lap as she talks to him and holds a glass of champagne. He laughs at something she says, letting her hand rest on his arm as my eye twitches with concealed rage. Jared walks up and leans down to me while I wink at Alec, who has taken notice.

“I need a little help, the zipper is stuck and my boobs are just falling out everywhere without a bra on.” I give Jared a pout and he groans, rubbing a hand over his face.

“You’re going to get me killed, princess.” He mumbles, but steps around the door, blocking everyone else as he pulls the zipper up my exposed back and I giggle dramatically.

“Hey!” Lana cries out. The sound of glass shattering makes Jared and I look over to an amusing scene. Alec is staring daggers at us, his arms crossed and face an icy mask, while Lana was picking herself up off the floor. He had stood up so suddenly he sent her, and the glass she was holding, tumbling onto the ground. I don’t bother to hide the cruel smile as she looks up with tears in her eyes and champagne spotting her blouse.

“We will take them all, ring them up. Isabelle and I will wait in the car.” Alec storms up to me, pushing past Jared, who chuckles under his breath when I cross my arms and tilt my chin up.

“I don’t like this color. Jared can help me try something else on.” I retort. He let her touch him, and that pisses me off more than I would care to admit. His lips curl into a cruel smile.

“Then maybe a few in red, to match the color of your pretty little ass when I’m done with you.” He says, not bothering to lower his voice. My cheeks heat with embarrassment, and I step back to slam the door in his face. Alec lets me change, but he doesn’t budge from where he stands outside the door and I swing it open, meeting his angry gaze with my own.

“Lana, charge them to my account.” He says before grabbing my upper arm and nearly dragging me through the front doors and towards the car.

“Get off me, I can walk just fine!” I snap, trying to yank free, but he doesn’t slow down or loosen his hold. It’s like fighting against steel restraints, but I’ll be damned if I make it easy for him. Alec opens the car door and slides in, dragging me to sit on his lap and slamming the door shut.

“Don’t touch me.” I snap, trying to swat his hands away, but he just laughs, flipping me so I’m lying face down over his lap.

“Alec, don’t you dare!” I growl out, trying to wiggle and fight, but he has both of my hands pinned in one of his against my back, his other arm pinning my thighs down.

“You want to act like a brat? I will treat you like one. You want another man to touch you?” His voice is low, but the rage is there and barely contained.

“Why don’t you go back in there and fuck blondie? She was throwing it at you!” I snap, trying to kick free. Alec throws the bottom of my dress up, exposing my ass before bringing his hand down in a hard slap. I cry out, my entire body jerking from the sting before he rubs the tender skin.

“Let me be clear when I say that I could have her. I could have whatever woman I desire.” Alec hisses. The words cut deep, and I thrash against him, “Fuck you!”

Tears threaten to break free as I turn away, hiding from his intense gaze. He slaps the other cheek, making me whimper this time as an ache builds between my thighs. Part of me is humiliated by my body’s reaction to his punishments, but the other part of me craves them.

“You are the only woman welcome in my bed. I only desire your attention. Markus and I are the only ones allowed to touch you, understand me?” He growls in my ear and I blink away tears, nodding once before he slaps my ass again. His hand rubs away the pain when I hear the trunk shut, then the car starts while Alec sits me up and raises a brow.

“Isabelle?” he asks expectantly.

“Only you and Markus can touch me.” My voice is husky, and he nods, wiping the tears from my cheeks before laying me back on the seat to cover my body with his own.

“Good girls get rewards.” He whispers. The sound of his zipper drives between my thighs as they fall open further, as if of their own accord.

Chapter 19—Markus

Ipressed the cold glass to my forehead, trying to freeze away the thoughts that had burrowed in. These past few months had been peaceful. Isabelle seemed to let us in but then she would pull away again. Something was under her skin these past few days, and she was currently scrubbing the bathroom floor like her life depended on it while I stood silently in the doorway to watch her. I was enjoying the sight of her ass in the air, but my whiskey was nearly empty and I was bored.

“Trying to scrub all the grout up from between the tiles, sweetheart?” I ask, savoring the way she jumps and looks up at me with her wide brown eyes. She glances down at her red hands and the scrub brush she’s frayed the bristles on.

“I think you’re done for the day. Come, take a walk with me.” I nod to the door, waiting while she chews her lip in contemplation.

“Get up or I’ll throw you over my shoulder and drop you on Alec’s desk myself.” I threaten when she doesn’t budge. Isabelle frowns, rolling her eyes before dropping the brush into the soapy bucket, wiping her hands off on her pants and following me out. I gulp down the last of my whiskey and lay the glass in the sink as we passed it on our way to the back door.

---