“For real. What’s the hurry? A hot date or something.”
I growled low in my throat. “I’m certain that’s not it.”
He grunted, showing he knew what was good for him. If he kept on about her having a man in her life, I might kill him. Call me cocky, a conceited son of a bitch, but I was confident my girl still loved me, even after all this time.
Paolo kept his distance so Isla wouldn’t notice she was being followed. We knew where she lived because Fabio had texted me the address after our meeting. Despite being busy, he’d managed to get mesomething. I just wished it was more than where she lived. Like did she have a roommate, boyfriend… husband?
Bile slithered into my throat, forcing me to swallow. The idea of Isla with another man was fucking revolting. Christ, I hated the thought. But it also made me more determined to see her tonight, boyfriend or husband be damned.
I also didn’t give a shit if it was late and she was exhausted after working all damn day. Like what was that about? Was she pulling double shifts to make ends meet? I would assume that was the case considering the obscene rental rates in the Bay Area. Hell, in all of California.
The selfish bastard in me refused to go another second withoutmygirl. Obviously, I was projecting my frustration onto unknown entities when I should’ve directed it at myself for letting Isla go in the first place. But who had time for that? Not me.
I could practically feel her petite frame in my arms, smell her intoxicating scent, and taste her soft, sweet lips. Just thinking about her made me ache and my cock turned to stone.
A shiver worked its way through my body as I remembered what it felt like to sink into her tight, supple pussy. I’d jacked off to the memory of her hundreds of times since she left.
We’d had an incredible, crazy-active sex life. Three times a day wasn’t enough for us sometimes. Going fifteen months, four hundred and forty-three days without sex—yes, I counted the days—had made me the horniest and grumpiest man on the planet.
It wasn’t like I couldn’t have fucked a willing woman every single day. Of course, I could’ve, but I didn’t want to go back to being the man-whore I was before Isla.
Plus, sleeping with another woman would’ve felt like a betrayal.
I’d meant it when I said I would never cheat on Isla. Never. Even though she’d broken up with me, I couldn’t bring myself to move on.
How could I have been so stupid? Why did I let her walk out the goddamn door? I should have figured out a way to keep her safe, and give her a little of what she wanted, like the wordsI love you.
What was it that they said?Karma’s a bitch. The loneliness I’d experienced had been acute. After Isla left, every text or phone call I received had made my heart quicken and I would pray it was her. But it never was her and it destroyed me a million times over.
So, seeing her now brought a rush of emotions back, ones I’d attempted to bury but failed miserably. I no longer feltnumb. Alternatively, my hands burned with the need to touch her. My cock strained in my pants as if sensing her presence.
How could I have been such a goddamn idiot? Never again. Once I got her back, I would never let her go.
“This is interesting,” Paolo muttered and pulled me out of my thoughts.
“What?”
“The GPS shows we’re going in the wrong direction. Coming off the bridge, we should be going south, not north.”
“Where is she going?” I asked but didn’t really want an answer. I knew where and so did Paolo. Isla had a man in her life.
“Do you want me to keep following her?”
I cut my gaze at him. “Yes.”
Isla turned left at an intersection, then made a sharp right, and Paolo did the same. She pulled in front of what looked like a small cottage.
We drove past her, and I craned my neck to see if she went inside. My eyes were locked on her as if she could vanish in the blink of an eye. Paolo turned the car around and parked across the street two houses down.
“What do you think, boss? Think she has a guy?” Paolo asked.
“What else could it be? It’s late and she worked all damn day. If it’s not a man, then what?” I slammed my hand on the dashboard.
Ridiculous tears stung behind my eyes. All my hopes of having a second chance with Isla, for real this time, were gone. I’d never get the opportunity to give her everything she deserved.
As much as I’d love to murder the man inside, I couldn’t do that to her. I talked big and acted like I didn’t give a fuckabout anyone but myself, but it was all for show. After losing Isla, I’d do anything to make her happy, even if it made me a miserable man.
“We should leave,” Paolo said.
