34
Isa
It was late evening by the time Rafael's yacht docked. I'd spent the trip lounging in the sun next to the dip pool. The cushioned platform was covered with pillows and the perfect place to curl up with a book and a chess board, relaxing with the warmth of the sun on my skin. Rafael sat in a chair next to the lounge bed I occupied, his face buried in his phone as he worked frantically to make arrangements for whatever was so urgent we had to leaveEl Infiernoimmediately. Every now and then he’d glance up and smirk at me studying chess strategy so I could eventually beat him.
He was quiet about the reason for the trip, but despite the sinking dread I felt that something was about to go down, I couldn't seem to focus on that sense of premonition within me.
I was off the island for the first time. I could have the opportunity to escape, and I didn't know what to do with that. I couldn't imagine my life without Rafael, but I also didn't want to insinuate that everything he'd done was okay.
None of it was. But even if I left him, I could never go home. Not when it was the first place he would look, so where would I even go? There was also the minor detail where I'd admitted I loved him. In the heat of the moment, it had seemed like the appropriate thing to do, but I couldn't help but feel like I'd signed my soul to the devil with those words.
Like he would use them against me, and manipulate me into becoming whatever it was he thought his wife should be. Like he'd own the last pieces of me.
I didn't want to give them to him.
He shoved his phone into his pocket, somehow looking relaxed and comfortable in his suit despite the heat. He shrugged on his jacket as he stood and the boat came to a halt at the dock, reaching out a hand to help me out of the lounge. "Leave your book," he said. "We'll sleep on the yacht tonight." I unfolded my limbs carefully so I wouldn't flash the crew my underwear, letting Rafe pull me to stand. The back of the yellow wrap dress was longer than the front, where it was cut perfectly to reveal the scar on my thigh.
With my tattoo and brand open to view, I felt like I had more scars and marks on my skin than I knew what to do with. The faint outline of Rafe's teeth still graced my shoulder, and it was fortunate that no one could see the pink welts on my ass from when he'd whipped me with the riding crop. Regina had all but forced jewelry on me as she helped me dress, a mix of moonstones and turquoise necklaces and bracelets layered on my neck and the left arm that was free of tattoos.
I’d never worn jewelry—not because I didn't like it, but because we hadn't had the money to waste on such things. The metal against my skin felt itchy and uncomfortable just because I wasn't used to it. Rafe brought me through the cabin and down the steps to the lower level at the back, and we stepped onto the boat dock. Two men stood at the other end on land, greeting Rafael with hesitant smiles.
"Who are they?" I asked, grasping him around the elbow and leaning into his side more. Aside from the people he couldn't avoid introducing me to, Rafe seemed content to keep me entirely isolated.
"My cousins," he said, turning a soft look down to me as I stumbled.
"Your cousins?" I hissed. "And you didn't think to tell me you were taking me to meet your family?"
"I knew you'd stress out. Now you have approximately ten seconds of freaking out before it's over and done with." The casual tone to his voice set my nerves even more on edge as we closed the distance between us. "Isa, these are my cousins, Sebastian and Thiago," he said. "This is Isa.My wife."They widened their eyes briefly, before nodding with bright smiles that seemed so different than the darkness that always clung to Rafe like a cloak.
"It's a pleasure to meet you," Sebastian said, stepping in and kissing my cheek. Rafe growled at my side, deterring Thiago from doing the same.
"You too," I said, feeling awkward under the tension of Rafe warning off his own cousins from touching me. But given what he'd done when I defied him with Joaquin, I wasn't willing to push the boundaries and call him out on his bullshit publicly.
"Father is inside," Thiago said, turning on his heel. Sebastian followed as Rafe guided me up the path to the house a little ways up the hill.
"Where are we?" I whispered as we walked.
"Just outside of Barcelona," Rafe returned, patting my arm gently.
"Maybe I should stay on the boat," I said as we approached the grand villa. "I don't want to be in the way." Rafael only chuckled as he led me in the back doors of the house, guiding me to a man who sat in the open living room. He stood from the couch, unfolding himself to stand tall and formidable.
None of Rafe's family looked like him, his appearance clearly taken entirely from his mother’s side. "Rafael," his uncle greeted, moving forward to clap him on the shoulder before his eyes fell to me. They were filled with curious suspicion as he studied me, only turning his attention away when Rafe cleared his throat. “Uncle.”
"Maxim came to tell me that you need to be put down like the rabid dog you are before you ruin the family's reputation. He said a woman has turned you into a lunatic." He raised his brows as his gaze fell to mine. He sat in the chair, motioning for Rafe to follow as he guided me to a loveseat. "So, some of what he said was true. Thereisa woman."
"That woman is mywife,Uncle," Rafael warned, his voice dropping low and his glare menacing as his hand tightened on my thigh. I swallowed past the lump in my throat, feeling the tension rising in the room as his cousins hovered at the edges with tight faces.