He kisses the inside of my thigh and brings my leg back down to the ground. I let my fingers untangle from his hair and drop my arms limply to my sides. When he looks up at me, that deadly edge is still in his eyes as his tongue comes out to lick his wet lips.
I’ve never seen anything more dangerous in my life, and yet I want him to fuck me right here on the floor.
When my dress falls back into place and he stands up, I blink in surprise. “We’re leaving,” he says as he takes me by the wrist and pulls me out of my bedroom.
“I can’t leave,” I say, dazed.
“I wasn’t asking.” My legs are weak, and my body still tingles from the pleasure as I have to hurry my feet to keep up with his long strides.
When we round the corner, he stops, and I almost run into his back. I look up to see my brother and Chris with Eve a few feet behind them. Her eyes widen as she takes in Isaac and then my no doubt crazed expression.
Isaac’s hand tightens around my wrist for a moment before he steps in front of me, blocking them from my view.
Before today if you asked me who might win in a fight between my brother and Isaac, I’d say it would be a toss-up. The only reason I think Paul got a swing on him the night of the wedding is because Isaac didn’t see it coming.
Right now, though, with that look in Isaac’s eyes, I think he might actually be able to take Chris and my brother at the same time.
“Is everything okay here?” Dasher asks.
“It’s fine,” I say quickly, wanting to de-escalate this as quickly as possible. There’s a party in full swing only a few feet away with dozens of people. One of whom is my daughter. I swallow. Our daughter.
I step out from behind Isaac, pressing myself into his side as I put a smile on my face. “Isaac wanted a spin around the dance floor with me. Didn’t you?” I look up to him with pleading eyes.
There’s a moment when he turns to me, and I hold my breath to see what his reaction will be. I silently plead with him, not wanting this to end the same way as last time, and mercifully his eyes soften. It’s not much, but I’ll take it.
He lets go of my wrist only to tangle his fingers with mine. This grip is gentle and soft, but I’m not kidding myself into thinking that I’ve only bought us any more than a little time.
My brother doesn’t look like he’s buying anything.
Four
ISAAC
I’m silent as her fingers squeeze around mine and she leads me down the hall and to the stairs. I look over the railing at the crowd below, and I don’t want to get in the middle of all those people. Maybe I’ve been in a cage for too long, and something in me has changed. But as she looks over at me and nods toward the stairs, I know that I would go anywhere with her.
The happy crowd is milling around, and the music that was playing before is slower now. They’re playing something soft that sounds like Christmas, and Jillian leads me to the center of the dance floor.
She turns in front of me and smiles shyly, stepping close. My hands naturally go to her waist, and her hands rest on my chest like we’ve done this a thousand times.
“I don’t know how to dance.” My voice sounds like I haven’t used it since the last time I saw her. All those years ago.
“Me either.” Her cheeks are still flushed from earlier, and my core clenches. She looks away shyly, and I pull her flush against me, causing her eyes to meet mine.
“Keep them on me, Jill,” I say as she softens in my arms.
“It’s so strange,” she whispers, almost to herself.
“Am I that bad at dancing?” When she smiles at me, I feel like I could scale a building in one jump.
“I think you’re doing just fine.” We sway to the music, and the rest of the room fades away. “I mean…that you’re here.”
“I would have come sooner.”
Her eyebrows draw together at that, and I wonder how much she knows. As soon as I got out of that cell, the first thing I did was try and find my brother. Not only for revenge, but to find her. From the look of confusion in her eyes, maybe he never told her what he did. It doesn’t matter, because I’m not going anywhere without her.
“Isaac, don’t you think this is a little crazy?” She glances around to the crowd and then back to me. “It’s been so long since…”
She trails off, and images of that first meeting play in my mind. So many times I clung to those memories because it’s all that got me through. Now that I’m here, and I’ve got my hands on her, I know that even the memory of her couldn’t compare to the beauty in front of me.