Book One: His Sinful Obsession

Isadora's POV

"Are you sure your Dad is cool with me staying?" 

Claire rolled her eyes at my question. She stood by the door, gesturing at the room behind her. "For the one-hundredth time, Isadora, No. He doesn't mind." 

"Oh, come on, I don't want to impose. He's one of the country's top ten billionaires." I said, clutching my luggage tightly. I had packed it in a rush, and now that I was calmer, perhaps deciding to spend the holiday with Claire on a whim wasn't a good idea.  

But after all I had gone through this past week, the way my life and everything I had ever known crumbled to nothing; I couldn't be alone after that.  

Dad, Mom, Josh? I needed to be away from them all.  

Claire grabbed my hand and yanked me into the room. I could barely contain my gasp at how magnificent it looked. The Kavanuagh's LakeFront Mansion had to be the world's eighth wonder because it looked magnificent and smelled like money.  

Good grief.  

"It is exactly for that reason that you should impose," Claire chuckled, gesturing around the grand space. "What is he going to do with all these rooms?" 

"Stash his money?" I joked, and we both giggled. 

"He has the bank for that," Claire said, cupping my face. Her kind green eyes stared down tenderly at me. "And you need this. You need a break, Isa." 

I nodded, giving her a small smile. "Maybe I do," 

"No maybes, I'm sure you do. Now tell me you brought your swimsuit!" My best friend cheered, grabbing my luggage before I could say a word, and tossed it on the bed.  

"Calm down, will you?" 

"Come on, James has a pool party, and we have to go!" She unzipped the luggage and yanked out a tiny dress. "He's hot, and he has a brother, I think? You'll forget all about that jackass in no time." 

I wanted to tell her that I wasn't even thinking about the jackass in question—my ex-boyfriend, but she was too busy muttering to herself and rifling through my clothes.  

"Haha!" She held up a purple one-piece, waving it like a flag before tossing it on my face. "You're wearing that," 

"What if I don't want to?" I whined, picking up the swimwear and throwing it back at her. Claire laughed and dodged the flying cloth while racing to the door.  

"My house, my rules, sweetie. Now, meet me downstairs in the next thirty minutes, or I'll carry you over my shoulders to that party if I have to.”

She was gone before I could blink. I sighed and flopped on my back, staring up at the ceiling, when my phone buzzed with a text.  

Josh: “You took the cat, too? Really? We got him together, Isa. I have a right to him.”  

Tears pricked the corner of my eyes, and I tossed the phone away from me, feeling awful. I sat up and grabbed the swimsuit, deciding to get dressed.  

Claire was right; I needed the distraction.  

I wore a summer dress over my swimsuit, walked out of the room, and halted in my tracks. The hallways looked confusing. I tried to remember how we had gotten to my room in the first place, and I didn't have much luck.  

"I'll just find the entrance," I mumbled, walking down the hall. "How hard can it be?" 

Ten minutes later, it turned out to be very hard. I was lost and still stuck in one of the hallways. The sound of deep bass music coming out from one of the rooms lured me closer.  

I knocked on the double doors, but no one responded, so I pushed one of the doors open, and I could swear my jaw dropped to the floor.   

My eyes fell on the sexiest back I had ever seen. I watched deeply pronounced muscles contract and relax as he flexed his shoulders and felt my mouth and other parts of me water.   

A tall man stood a few meters away, standing before some weird-looking equipment. Beads of sweat ran down his very naked back, making his tanned body gleam like gold in the light and my eyes locked on a bead of sweat rolling down his spine and then dipped into his very low sweatpants.  

Wow. 

I let out a shaky breath, gripping my dress with my fingers at the sight.  

He moved and turned around to stretch his side, and I couldn't stop the soft noise that slipped from my lips. If I thought his back was sexy, then his chest was hot as dynamite. Clean-cut abs glistened in the light, rippling and moving as he did. His sweatpants were low; I could see the beginning of his V lines, and that made my thighs clench so hard.  

God. I think I'm in the twilight zone.  

The music stopped, and that jolted me. My eyes widened when I noticed he had stopped stretching and was staring right at me with the most piercing green eyes. 

I staggered back in surprise, blushing furiously, and parted my lips to give an excuse. Nothing came out, not even a squeak.  

Ah, come on. 

He moved then, towards me, slowly like a predator stalking prey. My heart pounded so loud in my ears. I tried not to stare at the way his pants clung to his hips, moulding his thighs, or the way his belly button moved with each step, or that firm-looking bulge in his pants.  

I pressed my legs together instinctively and gasped when he drew too close.  

"I... Uh... Sir," 

A gust of warm air hit my skin. He walked right past me! I turned around, gaping at his retreating figure - a very sexy figure, by the way, then slapped my hand over my face.  

What on earth was I thinking? My brain completely went blank when I saw him. I had ogled him shamelessly and had gotten caught. 

"Isa? Girl, where are you?" Claire's voice rang through the hallway. 

Wait a minute, those green eyes.  

My palm slid down my face in horror. There was only one other person in the mansion. Tristan Kavanaugh. Billionaire extraordinaire. Most wanted divorcees in the country and-

"There you are," Claire grinned, strutting down the hallway, all dolled up for the party. "When I didn't see you at the entrance, I knew you had gotten lost." 

Claire's father. The piping hot man was Claire's father, and I couldn't get the image of his muscles rippling ever so deliciously out of my head. I sighed wistfully. It was going to be a long, long holiday.