Chapter 108

ISABELLA

I didn’t just want him to command me—I wanted him to ruin me. Punish me in the most unhinged, devastating way… just like he used to. The way that left my body wrecked, my soul in tatters. The way that fractured me in places no one could see. Even if it had wrecked my life. Even if every part of me screamed to run. Even if I knew—knew—that this man, this desire, would be the end of me.
But God help me... I ached for it.
Levi’s fingers brushed my lips, and I exhaled sharply, trembling. When his thumb slipped between them, I didn’t hesitate. I tilted my head, parted my mouth, and sucked—slow, deliberate, like I belonged to him. A soft moan escaped before I could stop it.
His breath ghosted against my cheek as he leaned in, his voice a low, dark whisper. “You respond like it’s muscle memory. Like your body knows mine.” He paused. “Who are you?”
The words slammed into me.
I jerked my head back and slapped his hand away, my heart thundering. I tried to slide off the desk, but his palm landed on my stomach, holding me in place.
“Let me go,” I whispered. “Please.”
He stared at me—long and hard—as if trying to unearth a buried truth written on my skin. His gaze burned through me, and I squirmed under it.
“Now you suddenly can’t speak?” His voice dipped into mockery.
“I have nothing left to say to you,” I said, forcing my voice to stay steady.
“On the contrary, Isabella,” he murmured, his fingers grazing the curve of my waist, “you have a lot to explain.” Then he stepped back just far enough to release me—but not to set me free. “And don’t even think about getting off that desk unless I tell you to.”
His words struck somewhere deep inside me, igniting a wildfire of dread, hunger, and pure insanity.
“The first time we met at that bar,” he said, pacing a little now, “you acted like you knew me. I thought it was a tactic. A clever little game to hook me. But now...” His voice darkened, roughened. “Now I’m starting to think it was real. The way you react to my touch—it’s not performance. I lost—”
My phone rang.
I flinched, breaking the spell.
I looked down at my bag, torn between relief and dread. “Can I take this... sir?” I asked, lacing the word with dripping sarcasm.
He gave a short nod.
I didn’t recognize the number. Maybe I should’ve let it ring. Maybe I should’ve let him finish, let him break me completely. But something in my gut screamed that this—this interruption—was bigger than the two of us.
I answered. “Hello?”
“Isabella—” Caroline’s voice. Shaky. Broken.
My heart stopped. “Caroline? What’s wrong? Why are you crying?”
Her words came in broken sobs. “It’s Matt. Some guys beat him up. He’s in the hospital. Unconscious.”
The line cut off.
The world tilted. My lungs forgot how to breathe. Matt.
I leapt off the desk, bolting for the door, my hands shaking so badly I couldn’t grip the handle.
Levi got there first. He pulled it open for me. I shoved past him—only to be stopped a second later.
I’d turned the wrong way.
His hand caught mine, jerking me back. “Why the hell are you stopping me?” I snapped, nearly hysterical.
“You’re not driving like this,” he said firmly, tightening his grip on my shoulders. “And this is the wrong way. You were about to head straight into the construction site.”
His voice was calm, but there was steel beneath it. He was right. I hadn’t even realized where I was going. The whole building was still under construction, and I would’ve walked straight into chaos. He must have cleared the floor just for this meeting, just to avoid a scene with his workers.
“Calm down,” he said again, more forcefully this time. “I don’t know what’s going on yet. But I’ll take you.”
I couldn’t argue. I didn’t have the strength.
We rushed toward the elevator. He slammed the button before I could. The doors opened, and I all but ran inside. He followed, his hand finding mine.
I didn’t pull away. I couldn’t.
His touch—firm, grounding—was the only thing holding me together.
Our eyes dropped to our joined hands. We looked like a real couple. If only that could ever be true.
The silence pressed in until he broke it. “Tell me what’s wrong,” he said, his voice gentler now.
I struggled to breathe, tears threatening to spill. “Matt. He’s my brother. Caroline—my sister—just called. She said he’s in the hospital. He was beaten. He’s unconscious.”
He blinked, clearly trying to piece it together. “I didn’t know you had siblings.”
“You don’t know anything about me,” I snapped. The elevator doors slid open.
We stepped out. I dove into my bag, searching for my car keys with shaking hands. I needed to get to him. Now.
But Levi grabbed them before I could.
“What the hell are you doing? Give me my fucking keys!” My voice cracked under the weight of fury and fear. “My brother’s in the hospital! This isn’t the time to play alpha!”
“You’re not driving like this,” he said, unlocking the car without looking at me. “You’re shaking. You could crash. I’m driving.”
I hated that he was right. I hated needing him.
Still, I exhaled hard and got into the car without another word.
He shut the door gently.
“Which hospital?”
“Adile Clinic,” I whispered.
He entered it into the GPS and pulled out of the lot. I sat stiffly, staring down at my trembling hands. I couldn’t stop them.
A part of me wanted to scream until the world shattered.
But I stayed quiet. Because right now, screaming wouldn’t save Matt.