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

aged
whiskey. She had never grown as tall as she’d liked, but with heels
could easily stand at five foot six. Still, none of that mattered
because he never saw her, not like she wanted.
    She’d had a few brief relationships in
the past, the last of which had ended badly. She had started dating
Damien Carter after her father continued to push them together. But
what her father hadn’t known was the cruel streak Damien hid from
the world. It had started with little condescending remarks, but
had quickly escalated. The night he had grabbed her hard enough to
leave bruises had been enough for her. She had ended things,
expecting her father’s disapproval, but was surprised when he
apologized to her.  One of her bodyguards had seen the bruises
on her arms and had reported it to her father. After that, her
father had stopped interfering with her love life, thank
god.
    None of the men in her past had
captured her heart. How could they when it already belonged to
Nick? But she was done waiting for him. It was time to say goodbye
to the dream she’d harbored that he would finally notice her as a
woman and not just a friend.
    Isabella turned her head, breaking eye
contact with Nick as she tried to tune back into the conversation
going on around her. Damn him for coming tonight. He wasn’t
supposed to be there, not when she had decided to find someone to
help her stave off the loneliness in her life, at least for a
night.
    She excused herself from the group she
was with and downed the champagne in her glass with a few quick
gulps. Heading for the ladies room, Isabella apologized to a
gentleman after she bumped into him. His welcoming smile told her
he didn’t mind, but she passed on his silent invitation and walked
away.
    Once in the ladies room she closed her
eyes, welcoming the quiet. Perhaps it hadn’t been a good idea to
drink so much. Her head swimming with the effervescent liquid, she
ducked into one of the stalls as the door opened and the voices of
several women filled the room.
    “ I’m telling you, I think
it’s going to happen soon.”
    “ You’re dreaming,” a
feminine voice scoffed. “Honey, a man like Nick Pacelli isn’t ever
going to get married.”
    Isabella froze at the sound of his
name. The stall she was in was its own individual room, but even
though she couldn’t see who was speaking, she knew who they were.
It was obviously the icy blonde Nick had come to the event with and
the two friends she was never without. Victoria had been seen
around town with Nick for the past two months, but she obviously
thought what she had with him was more than just his usual
short-term arrangement. Silently, Isabella moved closer to the
locked door to listen.
    “ He will. I have him right
where I want him.”
    One of the other women laughed. “Sure
you do. Just make sure you read over the hundred page pre-nup that
is sure to come with it.”
    Victoria hummed before saying, “Even
with a pre-nup I would still walk away with millions. Besides, he
is a god in bed. I don’t think I would ever want to divorce him.
Why would I leave him when I already have the best?”
    “ I thought you said he
hadn’t been calling you lately,” one of the women said, not even
trying to hide the malicious glee in her voice.
    “ Well, if he were done
with me he wouldn’t have asked me to come with him tonight, would
he?” Victoria snapped. “Come on, I don’t want to keep him
waiting.”
    Isabella listened as the other women
left the room. Her chest hurt hearing that Victoria thought Nick
would be proposing soon. She opened the door of the stall and
walked over to take a good look at herself in the mirror. She would
never be what Nick wanted, and it was time to face the truth. She
was tired of wishing for something that would never come
true.
    Stiffening her spine, Isabella turned
and left the ladies room, determined to find someone to go home
with tonight.

Chapter Two
     
    Heading back into the ballroom,
Isabella grabbed