Free Chasing Fire 1: The Innocent (BDSM Erotic Romance) by Mara Stone Page A

cast in shadows,
and the darkness seemed to love him just as much as the light. At
twenty-four, Nick had become one of the youngest CEO's in the
country when he had taken over his family’s corporate empire on the
death of his father.
    Shy and awkward; it had been difficult
to look the dark god in front of her in the eye. “Please, don’t
tell anyone,” Isabella had whispered. “I—I’m not supposed to have a
bike.”
      Nick had crouched
down in front of her and gentle smoothed a stray lock of hair off
her face. “I won’t. Are you hurt?”
    “ No. I—I’m fine,” Isabella
had stuttered out. She had never been around many men before, and
certainly never around anyone as handsome as Nick.
    He had helped her to her feet, leading
her over to one of the stone benches. “My name is Nicolas
Pacelli.”
    “ Isabella
Lupton.”
    He had smiled at her, and it was in
that moment she had fallen in love.
    Over the years, Isabella had loved Nick
from afar. Her father did a lot of business with him, and every
time she would see him her heart would flutter with teenage
longing. She hadn’t seen him as much as she’d liked growing up, but
when she did, he always made her feel special in some
way.
    Nick had been a constant in her life,
even when he wasn’t around. The day after she’d first met him, a
package had arrived for her. It had been pads for her elbows and
knees and a bright pink helmet. Her father had studied the gift in
confusion until the delivery man pulled a shiny, brand-new bicycle
out of the back of the cargo van. Her father had demanded to know
where the bike had come from, but there had been no
card.
    The following year, Isabella had seen
Nick at a party her father had thrown at their estate. She had been
forced to attend, and had been pleading with her father to sign her
up for driving lessons before he left for an extended business trip
the following day.
    “ Isabella, this is neither
the time nor the place for this discussion. Behave
yourself.”
    Isabella had pasted a fake smile on her
face as her father had walked away to join a group of his
colleagues. She’d retreated to a corner to nurse her wounds in what
privacy she could find, when Nick strolled over. She had been
excited to see him again, but she knew his penetrating gaze picked
up more than she wanted him to see. For a few minutes he had been
courteous, but abrupt with her before he left to join the rest of
the party. It had only been a year, but so much had changed. Gone
was the smiling young man she had remembered, replaced with a man
who wore his suit like armor and used his eyes as a
weapon.
    After her father had left for his trip,
Isabella had woken when their housekeeper had knocked on her
bedroom door. Downstairs there had been a studious looking man who
quickly explained he was a driving instructor and he’d been
retained to teach her. Knowing in her heart it had been Nick who
had arranged it, she had tracked down his phone number and called
him to say thank you, but ended up leaving a message with secretary
instead.
    As she had gotten older, she’d watched
Nick with his bevy of beauties on his arm with envy and a little
hurt. She knew there was more than just the ten year age difference
separating them, but even when she came of age he had still seen
her as that same little girl he’d met all those years ago. He had
sent her a gift when she had graduated high school, and again when
she graduated from college. He was always kind and patient with
her, when the rest of the world saw him as a ruthless businessman
with very little tolerance for anything less than
perfection.
    Their paths had crossed more frequently
as she began working for her father, and each time she had seen
him, her heart broke a little more. Nick’s tastes seemed to run to
the tall, blonde, model type. Isabella might not be considered a
model, but she was pretty in her own right with a wealth of rich,
chestnut-colored hair and large brown eyes the color of good