Page 143 of Enigma: The Complete Collection
CHAPTER21
ISABELLE
My bleary eyes float over the black shadows dancing on a water-stained ceiling. I’ve just awoken from another sexually graphic yet unsatisfying dream. My imagination has always been wondrous, but knowing firsthand how impressive Isaac’s sexual prowess is has my dreams being the most vivid they’ve ever been. My body must be punishing me for betraying the man who sparks my every sense with the simplest touch of his fingertip because every time I’m on the cusp of a climax, I wake up.
Although they're only dreams, I'm beyond frustrated. Before I met Isaac, I could go months without sexual stimulation. Now, I can’t even last a few measly days. My dreams are so convincing, I swear I can smell Isaac’s seductive scent filtering through my nostrils right now. It’s so strong, it’s overtaking the horrid smell of wet carpet plaguing the badly outdated motel room I’m sleeping in.
After Brandon’s revelations about Alex, I went to lie down in an attempt to unjumble some of the confusion clustered in my head. Hugo would only leave me alone on the agreement that the interconnecting door between our rooms was to remain open, and I place my loaded gun on the bedside table. I didn’t expect to fall asleep, but with my sleep lagging the past month, exhaustion must have overtaken me.
I pant, hoping to calm down the erratic beat of my heart. The pulse in my neck intensifies as warm dampness pools between my legs. My body is craving Isaac’s touch so much, it's convinced it can sense his closeness.
Stupid, traitorous body.
When I turn my eyes to the bedside table to see what ungodly time it is, my heart leaps out of my chest. There’s a dark shadow standing near the window of my room. After shooting my hand up to stifle my terrified scream, I scamper up the mattress, my movements so fast, the sheets bunch under my bare legs. While flattening my back on the headboard, my hand creeps to the rickety bedside table, trying in vain to locate my handgun I’d placed there earlier.
My pulse skyrockets when my search comes up empty.
“Looking for this?”
My eyes snap shut as an inappropriate swear word seeps from my mouth. “Jesus, Isaac, you scared the shit out of me.”
Every nerve in my body prickles to attention, but now, it’s more associated with excitement than fear.
After taking a moment to discharge the panic scorching my body, I flick on the bedside table lamp. Isaac is standing next to the motel window. His impressive body is encased in midnight black running pants, a black sweater, dark sneakers, and a baseball cap is pulled down low, concealing his enthralling eyes.
When he heads my way, my heart beats out a funky tune. Even dressed down, his stature demands my attention. While peering at me from beneath his cap, he places my unclipped gun and removed magazine onto the bedside table.
“Hugo made me put it there.”
“I know,” he interrupts as his lips curve into a mouthwatering smirk. “He's trying to protect you, Isabelle. You need to let him do the job he's paid to do.”
“He drew his gun on my friend, Isaac. That’s beyond his job description.”
“And yourfrienddrew his gun on him,” Isaac snaps back. “Doesn’t that now make them even?”
Before I can verbalize a response, my heart leaps into my chest for the second time in under a minute. Hugo barrels into the room with his gun drawn in front of his chest, his pistol only lowering when his eyes collide with Isaac’s halfway across the room.
“I guess it's lucky it was me sneaking around Isabelle’s room and not Col.”
Hugo’s throat works hard to swallow. “Sorry, boss. I’ll get Hunter.” When my eyes narrow into thin slits, he adds on, “and blondie.”
Because of the low angle of Isaac’s cap, I can’t see his entrancing eyes, but I do feel the heat of his gaze running over my barely-covered body. Wanting to get comfortable, I was resting in my long-sleeve shirt and a pair of panties. My inner vixen cheers when his gaze loiters on my exposed thighs longer than what could be categorized as an acceptable glance.
No longer able to reel in my overwhelming desire to touch him, I crawl across the bed on my hands and knees. Air puffs from Isaac’s lips when I raise onto my knees in front of him. I peer into his shadowed eyes that are murkier today than last week. “I’m sorry for everything that happened, but I swear to you, I never divulged anything about your personal life to the Bureau. Even if you never want to see me again, I need to know you believe me.”
Several heart-clenching seconds of silence pass between us. Even with unease being the forefront of our gathering, intimacy is also paramount. It zaps in the air, heating my skin and the area between my legs.
“I know you lied to me, Isabelle.”
Moisture burns my eyes as a sob tears at my throat.
“Let me finish,” he requests when he notices my sullen expression. “I know you lied when you said you led the FBI to my private residence.” Because of our closeness, my breaths flutter his mouth. “I just don’t understand why you did it.”
I fist his jacket, tethering him closer to me while also soundlessly signaling that I’m not letting him go without a fight this time around. “That night, you fired Hugo even though he didn’t do anything wrong. With everything that was happening, you needed him by your side. That’s why I lied.”
Isaac remains quiet, his breathing the only audible noise over the rapid beat of my heart. I stare at him, wishing he’d take his cap off so I could see his eyes. I’ve missed them so much the past week.
Sensing my private bidding, he removes his cap to rake his fingers through his luxurious hair that’s a little overdue for a trim. My fingers itch, dying to join the party. Before they can, he puts his hat back on. When I nibble on my lower lip, battling not to yank his hat back off, Isaac saves it from my menacing teeth.
