Chapter 34
"Isabella, I just told you to get off the bus, why didn't you? Are you feeling sick?" Aria asked with concern as they walked up the stairs together.
Isabella shook her head. She didn't dare tell Aria that she'd gotten her panties wet on the bumpy bus ride.
She frantically covered her legs with her canvas bag, her nails digging deep into her palms as she walked slowly and awkwardly.
"It's nothing, I just feel uncomfortable. Let's hurry, I'm hungry and looking forward to Amira's cooking."
Aria watched her run upstairs and narrowed her eyes. She thought she'd caught a faint fishy smell just now.
Could Isabella really have been bullied by Vitale today?
Isabella rushed upstairs and ran to her room to change her underwear.
Damn it, ever since meeting Vitale, her body had become incredibly sensitive.
If Aria hadn't pulled her off the bus, she almost would have slipped her fingers under her skirt in public.
This was absolutely ridiculous.
"Are you okay?" Aria came closer with concern, her nose twitching. "You have a very particular smell on you."
Isabella pushed her away and closed the door, "I'm fine, go out first and see if Amira needs help."
Five minutes later, when she opened the door, the warm aroma of roasted chicken and rosemary hit her face.
Isabella saw Amira busy in the kitchen wearing an apron. When she saw her come back, she broke into a bright smile.
"How was work?" She brought the food to the table.
Aria helped set out the knives and forks.
Isabella sat down and mechanically chewed her food, her fork repeatedly stabbing at the potatoes on her plate. She looked distracted.
Amira tapped her plate rim with a fork, the silverware making a crisp sound. "What happened? Work not going well?"
Aria nervously twisted her napkin under the table, wanting to speak but holding back.
Isabella suddenly put down her utensils, metal clashing against porcelain with a harsh sound, "Remember that one-night stand I told you about?"
Amira calmly swallowed her wine, "Of course, the man who made you run back to your hometown overnight?"
"I ran into him." Isabella said softly.
"And then?" Amira continued eating.
Isabella didn't want to say more. She realized that just mentioning Vitale made her face flush, made her think of all the things that bastard did during the day.
Aria suddenly put down her wine glass, red wine spreading across the tablecloth in a dark stain, "Oh my God! You should have seen him! I don't mean that—the point is he insists Isabella be his assistant, or else he'll make us homeless!"
Amira's knife dropped onto her plate, "Your new boss is that guy? Wait! The landlord did say yesterday that the lease might be terminated early."
Isabella pushed back her chair and stood up, the wooden legs scraping harshly against the floor, "I can't eat anymore."
Aria and Amira watched her retreating figure with concern.
Isabella walked to her room and collapsed on the bed, the fabric still carrying the scent of sunshine.
But memories played back uncontrollably.
How Vitale had wrapped his tie around her wrists, his burning lips trailing down her spine.
Aria and Amira tiptoed to the door, exchanging glances in the dim hallway light.
"She has hickeys on her neck," Aria whispered, gesturing at her own neck, "really deep ones, and her legs were shaking when she walked."
Amira gasped, "Isabella, did you have sex in the office? Damn it, is he some kind of animal?"
"We didn't!" Isabella sat up abruptly, the mattress shaking violently. "He only kissed me."
Aria held up the gold-embossed contract, the paper rustling as it trembled, "If we don't sign by tomorrow, we'll all be sleeping under a bridge!"
Amira took the contract and flipped through it, her fingertip running line by line through the terms, "Who drafted these ridiculous terms?"
"Vitale." Aria glanced at Isabella. "The one-night stand who made her run away overnight."
Isabella grabbed a pillow and covered her face, letting out a muffled scream, "Stop mentioning him!"
She suddenly turned over and sat up, her legs unconsciously rubbing together. "Just hearing his name makes me... down there..."
She abruptly fell silent, her cheeks flushed.
"No wonder you had that look on the bus." Aria suddenly understood. "Isabella, were you actually..."
Amira shoved the contract back into Isabella's hands, her fingertips cold, "Think it through. If you don't want to, we'll pack our bags right now."
Isabella gripped the contract tightly, the paper edges creasing, "I asked my father about it."
She unconsciously rubbed her phone case, "He said good jobs shouldn't be passed up. Of course, I didn't tell him about that night."
"So you're going to the hotel to find him?" Amira frowned.
"Yes, I need to think about us. I don't want you sleeping outside." Isabella opened her closet, deliberately choosing the most conservative turtleneck sweater and long pants, "Can't exactly wear a short skirt into the wolf's den."
The three of them hugged in silence.
Aria's hand gently stroked Isabella's back, and Amira stuffed a box of condoms into her backpack.
"Take pictures!" Aria shouted as Isabella left. "We want to see that strong body!"
"Protect yourself!" Amira chased her to the stairwell. "Whatever you do, don't get pregnant!"
Isabella escaped into a taxi.
Those two friends really annoyed her sometimes, but somehow her mood felt a bit lighter.
Trimax Hotel.
Vitale was taking a shower.
Hot water poured from the showerhead, steam filling the bathroom.
Vitale leaned against the cold tile wall, gripping tightly the black lace panties he had torn with his own hands.
These were what Isabella had left behind that night, and he'd treasured them ever since.
The faint scent had long since faded from the fabric, but in his imagination it came alive again.
Vitale closed his eyes, as if seeing Isabella standing in the water, her blonde hair wet and plastered to her cheeks, water droplets sliding down her graceful neck, flowing over her collarbone, finally disappearing into that mysterious territory he had once explored.
"Vitale Luca." The phantom Isabella softly called his name, her voice sweet and seductive, completely different from the woman who was always trying to escape him.
Vitale imagined pressing her against the foggy glass wall, watching her brow furrow slightly from his thrusts.
In his fantasy, she was so docile, so perfectly matched to his every movement, as if born to be one with him.
"Call me Vitale." He murmured through the sound of water, his hand unconsciously moving, as if really caressing her smooth skin.
The steam grew thicker, and the phantom became clearer.
Vitale saw Isabella tilt her head back, moans that drove him crazy escaping her lips.
He saw her slender fingers leaving scratches on his back.
He saw her blue eyes clouded with desire.
"Damn it, you little temptress." Vitale's breathing grew more rapid, imagining himself buried inside her, feeling the tightness and warmth of her pussy.
When climax came, he suddenly opened his eyes. The mist was empty.
Only his heavy breathing echoed in the bathroom.
Vitale irritably wiped his face, pushing his wet hair back.
He reached out to wipe the moisture from the mirror, staring at the fierce-eyed, unsatisfied man reflected there.
"This time," he murmured to his reflection, the corner of his mouth curving into a determined smile, "I won't let you escape again, Isabella."
Vitale walked out of the shower, casually tying his bathrobe, the panther tattoo on his chest appearing and disappearing in the lingering steam.
Tonight, he would make sure that woman who kept haunting his mind would truly climax beneath him.