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“I’m not going to let anything happen to you, Izzy. I can fucking promise you that I will gladly lay down my life before I let those monsters touch you or our son,” I whisper in her ear and the minuscule sob is the only response I get before her muscles tense and she rips herself out of my arms.

“You should get to your meeting.” She nods to the clubhouse before turning away from me completely and staring out of the passenger side window, blocking her gorgeous brown eyes from me and I feel her defenses slam back into place like a fist to the jaw. Studying the back of her head, I grind my teeth as I try to get a handle on my frustration before letting out a sigh.

“Where are you going to be?”

She shrugs. “Ali and Carly are around here somewhere so I’ll just go find them and hang out until you’re done.”

I nod, glancing over at the clubhouse as my mind spins. There isn’t a single part of me that wants to leave her right now to go to this meeting and fill my brothers in on everything that’s been happening. I want to stay here, pull Izzy in my arms again, and just hold her until I can convince her that there is more between us than thirty-six hours of sex and an accidental pregnancy, hold her until she’s not so scared anymore, hold her until she knows that I would never let anything happen to her but I know better. Convincing Izzy will be a marathon, uphill, through the desert, with a hundred pounds of gear on my back so despite how much I want to bulldoze right through all of her walls, I open the truck door and step out, holding my hand out for her. She glances over her shoulder at it before meeting my gaze.

“What?”

I roll my eyes. “I’m not leaving you out here in the truck so let’s go.”

“We’re on the compound,” she challenges, turning to me and squaring her shoulders. “I’ll be just fine.”

“I honestly don’t give a shit where the hell we are. I’m not leaving you alone.”

She arches a brow and crosses her arms over her chest as a ghost of a smile teases her lips, letting me know she has no intention of going anywhere with me and my balls tighten. There she is - my Izzy in all her stubborn, pain in the ass glory. I fight back a grin of my own as I arch a brow and meet her stare, refusing to back down.

“Tell you what, darlin’, you can either come with me willingly or I will throw you over my shoulder and the whole compound can listen to you screaming at me to put you down.”

Her eyes narrow and she stares at me, assessing just how serious my threat is as time seems to stall, amplifying the moment between us. Despite the challenge in her gaze, or hell, maybe because of it, anticipation races through my veins, begging me to close the distance between us and pull her into my body again. But what’s new, right? It seems like everything about Izzy, in every second of every day, makes me want to pull her closer but she continues to resist.

“Oh, my fucking God,” she sighs, rolling her eyes as she comes to the conclusion that I’m not going to drop this and there is no way in hell that she’s going to win. She throws her hands up, her annoyance lining her every move as she slides across the seat and hops out of the truck. “There. Happy?”

I flash her a smile. “Deliriously.”

“You’re so damn annoying.”

A laugh rumbles out of me and I throw my arm over her shoulders as we start walking toward the clubhouse door. “Whatever you say, Kettle.”

A scoff rips itself from her body but she doesn’t say a word, crossing her arms over her chest and fixing a glare on her gorgeous face. It’s fucking adorable but no way in hell am I going to tell her that. She pouts all the way across the parking lot, tucked into my side and visibly seething, but doesn’t say another word until we reach the door and she pulls away from me.

“Am I free now?” she snaps, her gaze locked on my face. There is enough venom in her voice to make anyone else take a step back but I fucking love watching her get all riled up. She gets another wide smile from me, which only pisses her off more, and I nod as I smack her ass with my hand, loving the way it shakes from the contact.

“For now. I’ll come find you when I’m done.”

Her wide eyes meet mine, shocked at the bold move, but I don’t say a word, preferring to let her imagination wander. Somewhere between pulling into the parking lot and the moment my hand made contact with her round ass, I decided that if I wanted more from her, I needed to push her, break her out of the nice comfort zone she’s barricaded herself in. It’s risky and I can’t say for sure that it will work but it’s better than doing nothing. Besides, I figure if I can distract her with multiple, mind-blowing orgasms a day, I might be able to slip past her defenses and into her stubborn heart. I smile to myself as she opens the door to the clubhouse and disappears inside in search of her best friends. Izzy is one of the most hardheaded women I’ve ever met but she’d never seen me at my best and I know nothing is going to stand in my way. She is mine, has been since the very moment I sunk into her gorgeous fucking body six months ago, and I intend to fight everyone, including the woman herself to make that point perfectly clear.

Chapter Twelve

Isabelle

What the fuck kind of game is he playing?

My mind spins as I remember the challenge in his warm brown eyes and the devilish smile on his face as he stood his ground in front of me, telling me that he was going to toss me over his shoulder like a rag doll if I didn’t cave to his demands. I squirm in my seat as my heart hammers in my chest and my cheeks heat. The spot on my ass where he smacked me pulses with the memory and I suck in a breath before slowly blowing it out, my skin tingling with a need so intense I swear it might kill me. I’m vaguely aware of Ali and Carly’s conversation about pregnancies and due dates but I can’t take my eyes off of the back door to the clubhouse, waiting for him to appear and flash me another “try me” grin.

God, it was so fucking hot.

What?

No.

Oh, who am I kidding? It was hot, so incredibly sexy that my panties were wet in an instant. When Diego and I first hooked up all those months ago, he was fucking lost and it was evident to anyone who came into contact with him. Not that I can blame him. I know all too well what happens to a person when their life falls apart around them but when I think back to the way he was staring at me in the truck, that man is gone. In fact, ever since I started staying with him, he has seemed different but today was on a whole other level and if I’m being honest with myself, it turned me the fuck on. The chemistry between us was already electric but seeing his confident, take no shit side has me imagining how good it could be to let him take control of me and my body.

Just in bed though.

I don’t fucking submit to anyone unless we’re both naked and I’m about to come my brains out.