Chapter 13

ISABELLA

Settled on the terrace of a small restaurant with Alex, I recount in great detail my evening with Jax, and to say the least, I'm grateful that we're in a secluded spot. Alex and I couldn't be more at odds with each other; he reacts to every sentence without any secrecy.

I move my head closer to him and lower my voice. "I don't understand why neither of them wants to sleep with me. First Asher and then Jax. They like me... or so I think."

"You need to step it up a notch. Go up to their place and ask the first one you see out on a date, put on a sexy outfit and be enterprising."

"But I don't want to come across as a...you know what."

"A whore?" He snorts. "My dear, there's no way in hell you'll come across as a whore, you'll just come across as a woman who knows what she wants."

"You think so?" I ask without really expecting an answer from him. I know him well enough to know that if he says it, he means it.

He's right, I've got to force myself into seduction mode. I've already done it, before Dominic, when I went out at parties, I flirted with guys. Admittedly, it never went very far, but I know how to do it.

"I'll do it." I say almost to myself.

" Attagirl!" He yells and the three people at the table closest to ours turn to look at us and I giggle like a teenager.

I spent a great afternoon shopping with my best friend. I've never liked shopping on my own, but with Alex I've always loved it. He doesn't beat around the bush when he loves or hates an outfit, and he always has very graphic explanations.

"Are you sure?" I ask him, looking at myself in the mirror. "I feel like my chest might suffocate me." And I'm not even exaggerating. They're so compressed, my breasts seem to be crying out for help.

"That was the point. If I were attracted to big breasts, I'd want to put yours in my mouth." He tells me from my bed where he's slumped over with a bag of chips.

"Uh... thanks?" I reply unsurely and he shoves a handful of chips back into his mouth. "And stop eating like a gross, I'm going to have chips all over my bed."

"What do you care? You're not sleeping here tonight."

"Come on, let's go! Wish me luck." I leave the room. "Shit! How do I get up to the Penthouse? You need, like, a code for the elevator."

"Ask the nice man at the front desk. And ask him where he goes to the barber, his mustache is perfect."

"Seriously?" I ask, rolling my eyes.

Arriving at reception, it was a simple matter to justify my need to go up to the Penthouse. Stuart told me to follow a young woman in front of the elevator that also went up to their house. I was so happy to be able to go up without having to lie too much that I didn't ask myself too many questions about the young woman's identity.

I got on the elevator just after her and stopped dead in my tracks when she faced me with a big smile. She's like the most beautiful woman I've ever seen in real life. She looks like a real model with her long blonde hair and gorgeous legs.

"Are you going to see the Black Brothers too?

"Er... yes."

"You're here to..." She giggles. "Well, I hear they're gorgeous. I didn't think there'd be two of us, but seeing as there are three, I guess it makes sense."

What the fuck is she talking about?

"I'm not sure I follow. What exactly are you here for?"

"To relieve them, sexually I mean. Three male alphas like these have a huge sexual appetite and since they still don't have a ma..." My ears suddenly start ringing and I can't hear a thing. She's a fucking whore! Literally. Fuck, but me too? Well, I hadn't come to relieve them, but to relieve myself. The difference between her and me is that she's an altruistic whore and I'm a selfish one.

I've got to get out of this fucking elevator before I get to their lobby. I feel so stupid for thinking I had a chance.

"Are you all right? Do you look a little pale?"

"Me? No, I'm fine. I'm just fine. Everything's fine. Everything's fucking fine."

She looks at me, frowning, and we hear the elevator beep. The doors open on Jax, shirtless with a towel around his waist and his abs glistening. He's got the body of an Appolon. He looks at the blonde with a smirk and his eyes widen when he notices my presence. His eyes roam over my body as the blonde exits the elevator, leaving me behind.

"Al..." He raises his hand and the blonde stops talking abruptly.

I press the elevator button so the doors close and I can get out of here.

"Fuck." Jax says as the doors don't close. He manages to hold them inextricably. "Isabella, please come in."

"I don't want to disturb you..."

"You're not disturbing us." Asher interrupts. Unlike Jax, he's fully dressed in black jeans and a long-sleeved white T-shirt. "Isabella, come in."

I step out of the elevator in spite of myself without taking my eyes off Asher.

"What the hell are you doing here?" He asks, looking at me.

I blink a few times.

"My father thought..." The blonde begins.

"He thought wrong. Now turn around, go home and never come back."

She looks confused for a moment and Jax clears his throat. "Do we have to repeat ourselves?"

She shakes her head and once in the elevator, Jax presses the button to close the doors, leaving the three of us in the foyer.