Page 39 of Enigma: The Complete Collection
His lips curve into a sly smirk. “Are you jealous, Isabelle?”
“No,” I reply in exasperation.
His smirk turns into a genuine smile as his eyes study my face. “You have absolutely nothing to be jealous about.”
“Stop skirting and answer the question,” I retort, ignoring my inward scream that’s delighted by his compliment.
He shakes his head. “No, Isabelle, I have not slept with Clara.”
I try to hide my smile, but my inner vixen is hollering too loud to conceal it.
“So, what was that about then?” I pop a piece of bagel into my mouth since my hunger has returned full force. “Because she was acting very much like she was your girlfriend.”
“Do I need to call a lawyer?” Isaac’s brow arches high. “Because this sounds a bit like an interrogation.”
“Only people who have something to hide need to call a lawyer.”
“I have nothing to hide.” He cockily shrugs. “Because I always ensure my hands are thoroughly clean.”
“Just because your hands are clean now doesn’t mean they weren’t stained previously.”
“Just because your hands are clean now doesn’t mean they won’t become stained,” he interrupts. “You don’t know what the future holds, Isabelle. Nobody does. So, until the day your body is laid into its final resting place, you can’t guarantee your hands will remain clean.”
“Yes, I can. Morally and ethically—”
“What about for someone you love? You wouldn’t get your hands a little bit dirty for someone you love?” he interrupts, his tone clipped and stern.
My brows scrunch as my eyes dart between his. Just being here this weekend abundantly proves what he’s saying is true. I’ve only associated with Isaac a handful of times, and I’m already willing to risk my career just to be near him. So, imagine what I’d be prepared to do for someone I love.
“Not everything is black and white. There’s a whole heap of gray no one pays any attention to,” he utters before standing from his chair and striding back into the house, not once glancing back at me.
CHAPTER20
Isense Isaac’s presence before I see him. An aura like his permeates the air, and you can’t help but be drawn to him. My eyes lift to his when he sits on the smidgen of the daybed that doesn’t have my body sprawled on it. I’ve been lazing in the mid-morning sun reading.
After dropping my Kindle on my face numerous times, I flipped onto my stomach and have been kicking my legs wildly into the air. I’ve been reading nonstop for the past two hours. Harlow and Cormack did invite me to go out to lunch with them, but I’ve never enjoyed being the third wheel on dates.
Isaac places his hand on my lower back and leans over my shoulder to peruse the book I’m reading. His touch could be classified as friendly, but my body reacts as if it’s a sexual one. I haven’t seen him since breakfast. I assumed he must have been agitated from our conversation this morning and was avoiding me, but the fact he’s sitting so close to me, I’d say my assumption was wrong.
“Phew, I was getting worried it was another Mills and Boons book.”
Smiling at his huff, I roll over to face him. Because he doesn’t move his hand splayed on my lower back, it brushes past my hip bone and lands on the bottom half of my stomach when I roll.
The veins in my neck thrum as my pulse surges just from the sheer closeness of his god-gifted body. He’s more casually dressed than he was previously, his muscular physique well-displayed in a tight-fitting white shirt and a pair of black running shorts.
When I spot a trail of sweat running down his cheek and detect the slight aroma of his delicious manly scent, I assume he must have just returned from a run.
“What are you reading?” His tempting purr makes my insides warm.
“Thoughtlessby S. C. Stephens.” I’m breathless from his close proximity. “It’s about two people who shouldn’t be together but are destined to be together. I’ve read the entire series three times already.”
His brow arches high as his mouth etches into a firm line.
“You just don’t understand the wondrous entrapment you feel when you read about a character like Kellan Kyle,” I reply cheekily. “He’s my number one book boyfriend.”
His lips twist. “It’s guys like him who make it hopeless for a man to date these days. All girls are expecting a guy like Kell—”
“Kellan Kyle.”
