CHAPTER 4
1514 Words
ISABEL’s POV
My heart slammed as Xavier’s men pulled up in front of a big penthouse. The place screamed money.
I had kicked, yelled, and fought the whole way here. But it was like trying to break steel with a spoon. Useless. These guys weren’t fazed. Not even a little.
As they tried to drag me out of the car, I did what I do best lately, I bit. Hard.
“Agh! This crazy chick bit me!” the guy screamed like I took a chunk out of his soul. Honestly, I might have.
He pulled his hand back, clutching it like I broke something. I gave him my best death glare. At this point? Biting felt like a talent.
“I’m gonna kill her”
“Touch her, and Xavier will bury you himself,” another guy snapped. He had tattoos climbing up his neck, and his face looked like he’d seen and done some seriously illegal things.
Before I could blink, he grabbed my legs. His grip was solid, and every time I struggled , it felt like I was bruising.
I screamed and kicked, but he didn’t even flinch. I might as well have been throwing punches at a wall.
They dragged me inside the penthouse. Everything was marble and glass, polished to a ridiculous shine. The kind of place you don’t walk into, you get invited, or in my case, dragged like some unwanted guest.
The elevator doors slid open, and we rode up in silence. Just the sound of the lift and my breathing.
I tried to stay calm, but inside, I was losing it. What the hell did Xavier want with me?
The doors dinged open again, and they pulled me down a hallway like a ragdoll. Then they stopped in front of a room, some kind of high-end study with low lights and rich wood furniture.
And there he was.
Xavier.
Sitting like a damn king behind his desk. Legs crossed. One hand swirling a glass of red wine like he had all the time in the world. His eyes was on me the second I was dragged in.
His men left and it was just me and him in the room.
And just like that, I forgot how to breathe.
“Let me go!” I shouted. But even I knew it was useless. He didn’t seem like the type to give up what he claimed.
He didn’t even flinch. Just raised an eyebrow and said, “That’s not happening.”
“What do you want from me?” I snapped, trying to hold onto the last thread of strength I had left.
He leaned back slightly, studying me. Like I was some kind of puzzle he was trying to figure out.
“I haven’t decided yet,” he said, almost like he was amused. “But I will say no one’s ever pointed a gun at me and lived to talk about it. That makes you... interesting.”
Interesting?
The way he said it made my blood run cold. I wasn’t a person to him. I was entertainment. A challenge. A problem he wanted to keep around just to see how far I'd break.
And that? That was terrifying.
“You’re unbelievable,” I snapped, clinging to the little courage I had left.
Xavier let out a dark laugh. “Maybe. But that fire in you? It’s kinda hot.”
Ugh. Seriously? I hated that even now while I was trying to resist the urge to scream, I still noticed how ridiculously good-looking he was. The man looked like temptation in a suit. The nice jawline, the expensive watch glinting on his wrist, and those stormy grey eyes that didn’t just look at you, they studied you. Like they wanted to rip you apart and figure you out.
And God help me, the way he adjusted those damn glasses? Shouldn't be allowed. He looked like a villain in a luxury perfume ad.
“You have no right to keep me here,” I said. I balled my fists tight. Anything to keep me from shaking.
He raised an eyebrow, totally unfazed. “Oh, I do. Giorgio owed me millions. Taking you clears 2% of his debt. So now you belong to me. You owe me now not Giorgio”
What?
“You can’t just transfer a debt like I am some object,” I snapped.
He leaned forward now, resting his elbows on his knees. “In your world? No. In mine? That’s how the game works.”
I wasn’t a person to him. I was a freaking asset, like a damn briefcase full of cash.
He waved his hand casually, like I was a task to be crossed off. “Take her to the room.”
His men stepped in again, and just like that, my choice was gone. Again.
They didn’t drag me this time. No, they acted like I was some kind of VIP guest being escorted to a suite. Polite, and fake as hell.
The room they led me into looked like it was ripped straight out of a luxury magazine. A big bed with white sheets, floor-to-ceiling windows showing the whole damn city. You’d think I hit the jackpot.
But I knew what this was a cage. Just a prettier one.
They brought food on silver trays like I was royalty. But the door stayed locked. The guards stayed posted. I was still a prisoner.
I paced for hours. Days passed. I had run out of tears somewhere around day four. Now it was just anger. Quiet, boiling anger.
I needed a way out. Anything.
Then finally, one night my chance.
The guards outside my door? Distracted. Laughing. Probably watching something on their phones.
And for the first time since I got here, they forgot to lock the door.
My heart stopped. Then it started pounding like crazy.
This was it.
No shoes. No plan.
But I wasn’t staying one more second in this golden prison.
I slipped out, barefoot and silent, praying the rug muffled my steps enough to keep me invisible.
Please don’t let them hear me. Please.
I didn’t know where I was going yet. But anywhere was better than being Xavier’s property.
And if he caught me?
God help me, I’d figure it out when it came to that.
I didn’t care where I ended up, I just needed out. A stairwell, an elevator, a damn window I could jump through if I had to.
This place was huge. Every turn looked the same. I was going in circles, and deep down, I knew I was lost.
But I didn’t stop.
I shoved open the next door I saw, praying for an exit.
Nope. Not an exit.
It was a bedroom.
His bedroom.
And standing there, right in the middle of it, was Xavier.
Fresh out of the shower.
Oh. My. Freaking. God.
A towel was wrapped around his waist, water dripping down his abs. yes, the kind of abs that belong in a Calvin Klein ad. His hair was wet, slicked back in that perfect messy way that only made him look hotter. I swear, this man was a walking temptation.
And there I was. frozen.
For a second, I didn’t breathe. My eyes soaked in every detail against my will. The way his V-line disappeared beneath the towel, the droplets running down his chest like they were in slow motion. His skin looked like it belonged in a fantasy novel, and his biceps? Yeah. I hated how much I noticed them.
Our eyes locked.
And immediately, I came back to reality.
Run, Isabel. Run now.
I turned, but I was too late.
He moved fast, his hand wrapped around my arm and he yanked me back. I stumbled, crashing into his chest. Damn it. It was warm. Solid. Very shirtless.
“Where do you think you are going?” He shut the door behind us with one casual kick before pinning me against it.
I shoved against him, but it was like trying to move a wall. “Let me go,” I snapped.
He leaned in closer, and now I could smell him; clean, expensive. Soap, spice, and danger all in one.
“Trying to escape me?” he said, that grin on his lips.
I clenched my jaw. “You don’t own me.”
He laughed. “Don’t I?” he whispered, his eyes scanning me in a way that made me want to slap him and maybe kiss him. Ugh. Brain, shut up.
Then he tilted his head, like he was actually enjoying this cat-and-mouse game. “Now the question is..”
He paused for a while as I felt his hand on my waist, his breath fanning my face, his lips suddenly getting closer like he might just kiss me any moment.
At that moment I held my breath as his lips, his lips gently caressed against mine, teasing me before he asked “ now I will just have to punish you tonight for trying to escape”
A punishment?
- Writer
