Tempting Isabel (Paradise South #1)

by Rissa Brahm

  Fine. Some space. But she would hear him. “From our first time together, before all of this chaos, I felt…whole with you. I felt like I was home. I have never felt so alive. I’m just, well, a better man with you, Isabel. Before you, my life was filled with ease and luxury, but I was an empty shell. Now, being near you, being in love with you, I have challenges to overcome, obstacles to hurdle, but that is what I want! With you! I want to live for the moment, and I want each of my moments to be shared with you, Isabel Ruiz.”

  “Feelings are just…feelings, Zack. Emotions are temporary, fleeting.”

  “Life is fleeting!” he yelled. Then sighed. “You love me, Isabel. And you naturally want to protect me and want me to be happy. As I do for you. But if only one of the two were possible, which would you want more for me, safety or happiness? Which one?” He looked her square in the face. “The ecstatically happy Zack who risks dying sooner than later, or the tortured and desolate Zack, a goddamn zombie for all eternity?”

  She glared at him. “Which one? Come on, this is stupid.”

  “Stupid or not, Isabel, would you be alright if I was miserable and lifeless?”

  “Like I’ve been miserable for all these years! No, of course not, Zack!”

  “Well, without you, angel, that’s what I’d be. And above all else, I want your happiness. And whatever your answer is, as long as it makes you happy, that is what I’ll do. I will go or I will stay, but I believe in the pit of my soul the car wreck proves that I don’t need your protection, but what I do need is your love, Isabel. You, your heart. Now and always.”

  She shook her head, obviously unsure of what to do, but his logic seemed to be making an impact. She looked at him with narrowed eyes, but then got distracted by the butterfly again, which was finally making its exit out the back door.

  She flicked her focus back to Zack then shifted toward the ceiling, toward the sky. “What the fuck do you want me to do here?” she yelled. “Because I sure as hell don’t know! Tell me, for God’s sake, what am I supposed do! What the hell do you want from me?” And with that, she dissolved to the floor, disregarding the remnant glass splinters, crying from the depths of her being.

  Despite his pain, he knelt down slowly, not wanting to crowd her, but needing to comfort her somehow and protect her from the scattered glass debris.

  “Marry me. That is what I want you to do. I want you to marry me, Isabel Ruiz. Fuck fate, just be my wife. Marry me, angel.”

  Wincing, he pulled out from his jeans pocket a diamond ring. He got down next to her, pulled her onto his lap, and held her while she gawked at him, then at the ring.

  *

  She had lost her first love before they ever got to say their vows. Then tragedy had prevented two other arranged marriages. But Zack had already cheated death once, and he was willing to accept the unknown threat of tragedy again, and apparently forever after, in order to be with her.

  If he was willing to take the risk, why shouldn’t she? Why the hell shouldn’t she? And in doing so, make him happy, and attain some happiness for herself.

  But what of her penance? Honoring her lost love, and her mom, and the others?

  Isabel, wouldn’t your mother and Sebastian want you to be happy?

  Yes. Of course. And she knew her surviving family wanted that for her, too.

  Could she finally toss her haunting guilt out to sea and let a wave of joy crash over her once and for all?

  Goddamn it, yes! Yes!

  For now, which was all anyone really has, why couldn’t she and Zack be alive and thriving together? And happy, blissful even.

  She shook her head, not believing any of what was happening. Then, melting into his arms, she looked up at his face and gave him a solid nod. “Yes.”

  She would finally stop fighting Zachary James. Instead, she’d give into his heart and her own.

  She reached up, both hands holding his chiseled face firmly in her grasp, and kissed him with a sweet, all-confirming kiss. And he kissed her back, the first of endless kisses to come.

  *

  He was in a heightened state of bliss. Fucking floating from the virtual morphine straight to his heart.

  While his mouth lingered over hers, savoring each dip and brush of her tongue dancing with his, he took her hand and threaded her finger through the simple diamond and gold ring.

  “Wait,” she murmured through their kiss, then pulled away. She looked down at her finger. At the ring. “I thought I saw”––she slid the ring off her finger––“something inset here.”

  She took a moment to read it, then read the inscription aloud. “‘Combinación Perfecta de Destino’—Fate’s Perfect Match.”

  She nodded her head and pressed her lips tight to his again, as if she’d never let them part. He wouldn’t ever mind that. Then her arms reached around his body somewhat gently and clawed his back––not so gently. “That’s so you always remember this moment,” she whispered.

  He laughed, which also hurt. Like he needed a memory aid. He couldn’t forget this landmark in time if he were in a true brain-altering accident. This moment was imprinted on his soul.

  “We’ll have to have a really long engagement so I can make sure you aren’t clinically insane. Because…this is really insane!” she said, soaking him in with her gaze.

  He drew his thumb down her cheek, catching a few drops of her salty emotion and licking them off his thumb. Then he held her tight with one arm and grunted from a shockwave of pain as he shifted to reach into his other back pocket. “I almost forgot the other gifts I have for you.”

  On the way over, Antonio had helped Zack gather a collection of items for his grand gesture, and so he felt obliged to play the full hand in appreciation of the other man’s efforts.

  “What are you doing? Can I help you?”

  “No angel, I got it.” He exhaled as he relaxed back into his sit and displayed the first item. “Good, it didn’t break, because that would’ve sucked.”

  “A ketchup packet?” Her lips pursed, and her eyes sighed.

  “Never know when an emergency pizza situation’ll crop up.” He waggled his eyebrows at her.

  She broke out laughing.

  “But wait…there’s more.” He fanned out in his other hand two tickets and a flattened white lily.

  She tilted her head to read the horizontal detail of the tickets. “The Marco concert? Really?”

  “Yeah—Lucinda helped.” He grinned.

  “I actually don’t love Marco’s stuff,” she said through her laughter. “I’m all about metal from the 90s.”

  “I knew it!” He squeezed her arm. “I knew! On the boardwalk.” He narrowed his eyes. “Well good, ’cause it looks like we’re gonna miss the concert anyway.”

  “Why’s that?”

  “Because we’ll be busy attending the sold out Isabel show. It actually starts in a few minutes here and it goes all night long.” He tossed the tickets over his shoulder, pulled her tighter to him, only grimacing for a moment from his achingly sore rib cage, and devoured her mouth, a torrential kiss.

  *

  She shifted her hips, pressing vigorously into his steel, returning the kiss with equal angst. She reached behind him as she gently rocked her hips, and slid her hands in his back pockets, gripping his ass, as if trying to pull him harder into her.

  But an involuntary grunt came from his chest, not accurately expressing the total and utter bliss their kiss delivered, but instead, the sharp pain spreading through his torso.

  She pulled back, concern in her eyes.

  “I’m good, I’m good. More, give me more.” He took her face in his hands, and met her mouth again without mercy.

  “Wait, Zack, I’m taking you to bed to—”

  “Yes, to bed…is good.”

  “To rest, Zack. However badly I want to not rest with you, you’re in pain, babe.”

  But he chose to ignore her and trail kisses down her neck instead.

  She slapped his shoulder lightly. “Come o
n.”

  Heady and delirious, he lifted his head. “That hurt,” he teased, “but fine, my angel, I will let you take me to bed. Tend to me. I’ll have my way with you”––he slid the mangled lily behind her right ear, some of the disheveled petals falling to the floor in a delicate heap—“soon enough, my future wife. Soon and always.”

  “I’m glad you know enough to listen to me.” She winked, then slid off his lap. “A good habit from the got go.”

  “It’s ‘get go,’” He smirked.

  “Huh?”

  “Nothing, angel. Nothing. Um, hey, let me have a second here…” He had to gather his strength to get up. As he caught his breath, pooled his energy, he smiled at her. He moved both hands to her cheeks, stroking her smooth skin with his thumbs. “Isabel?” God, he could say her name a thousand times just to feel it roll from his tongue.

  “Zack.” She blinked her eyes. Emblazoned on his soul, those eyes.

  “Did you visit your grandfather, this house, a lot when you were little?”

  “Just about every other weekend. We loved it here. We’d be at the beach from dawn ’til dusk.”

  “Did you have lots of friends, or did you just play with your brothers and sisters?” He wanted to know everything there was to know about her.

  And he wanted to jog her memory.

  “Most kids stayed away from me. I wasn’t called a jinx then, but I was so accident prone and clumsy, I might as well have been. But the foreigners would play with me.”

  “Yeah, I remember.”

  “Remember? Remember what?”

  “Did you play with a boy named Bennie on the beach? He was scared to surf with the rest of the kids, so he was always left behind, but he’d build—”

  “Sandcastles! Yes, wow, Bennie! How…do you know?”

  “Bennet Zachary James, Jr.,” he said, holding one of his hands out to her in mock introduction. “I dropped the ‘Bennet’ and replaced it with my middle name the day he left.” He watched her eyes studying his, recognizing, remembering.

  Her chest lifted, hitched, then finally released as she exhaled a forever breath. “Oh my God, Zack! I had such a crush on you…for years! And you stopped playing with me when I was like ten or eleven. I was devastated! This is just…insane!”

  Why she was so shocked at anything anymore, he couldn’t say. He knew now that Fate did what she had to in order to get her story done right, written just the way she wanted it. The ultimate author.

  “I crushed on you hard, too, but you were younger than me…by what, three or four years?

  “Six, I think.” Eyebrows lifted. “Amy told me you’re thirty-two. Older than dirt,” she teased.

  “God, do you remember how huge that gap was as a teenager, though? But how I wished and dreamed we’d know each other when we were older.” He smiled, leaning in to kiss her neck. He nuzzled her, inhaling her essence. “So here we are, engaged and neighbors,” he said through his repeated kisses, now to her collarbone moving down to the swell of her breast.

  “Just a few condos down…I remember. I used to stalk you…just a little bit.”

  “I know. And are you ready after all these years to claim your victim?”

  “Yes, but you’re not ready to be claimed. Still damaged goods. Like I said before, I’m puttin’ you straight to bed. You need rest, Mister.”

  He kissed her cheek. “Fine, but you’ll rest with me. Kiss my hurts?”

  “Now there’s the corny crap I fell for when we first met—or re-met—at the Five Breezes. Come on my lucky charm,” she said with a wink, “I’ll kiss your hurts.”

  She helped him up and led him to the bedroom. She held his hand tight, the sweet pressure making him even more eager to be skin to skin and heart to heart with his angel. Even though each elated breath sent sharp stiches of pain shooting through his rib cage, he relished the excitement, the joy.

  But his body really had been overexerted throughout the day. “Wait, angel.” He paused at the doorway of the bedroom, dizzying euphoria threatened his balance.

  But he knew the fix.

  Not oxygen. Not meds.

  Just his strong, stunning, sensual Isabel to anchor him, to love him.

  He pulled her into his embrace and pressed his mouth to hers, parting her lips, melting into her mouth like it was the last kiss he’d ever give her. And he’d committed to doing just that for as long as he lived, because they’d never know fate’s plan for them, but he did know that his now was absolute perfection. Now, with Isabel, his divine angel.

  THE END

  Author’s Note

  I so hope you enjoyed Zack and Isabel’s story—I absolutely loved writing it for you!

  Now, do you want more good stuff featuring Zack and Isabel and the other couples in the Paradise South series—for free?

  Just go to www.RissaBrahm.com/Join and you’ll get a deleted scene from each of the Paradise South books as they come out:

  5 Deleted Scenes from the Paradise South books

  Tempting Isabel — (Isabel & Zack)

  Taking Jana — (Jana & Antonio)

  Catching Preeya — (Preeya & Ben)

  Satisfying Ali — (Ali & Dev)

  Freeing Kyla — (Kyla & Liam)

  And…

  You’ll receive 1 Free Novelette called P.S. in Paradise — (Full Epilogues for all 5 Books, which will only be sold as part of the Paradise South series Box Set) — for FREE!

  So, head to [www.RissaBrahm.com/Join] and get your free stuff on!

  Also reserved for my newsletter subscribers: first-to-know news on release dates, fabulous giveaways and other cool bonus material like character sketches and interviews, failed flings, and more! So, go check it out! xo~Rissa

  P.S. Your candid and detailed review of Tempting Isabel posted on Amazon helps other romance readers know if my stuff is for them. Your opinion really matters and is so appreciated! [www.RissaBrahm.com/Tempting-Isabel]

  P.P.S. I always love hearing from you directly! Reach out anytime…

  e: me@RissaBrahm.com

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  Books by Rissa Brahm

  PARADISE SOUTH

  Tempting Isabel, Book 1

  Taking Jana, Book 2

  Catching Preeya, Book 3

  Satisfying Ali, Book 4

  Freeing Kyla, Book 5

  P.S. in Paradise (The series’ Epilogue Novelette Collection)

  All five delectable, deep, and destined romances of the Paradise South series include captivating heroes and heroines to love and lust for throughout their impassioned journeys toward their happily ever afters.

  Enjoy them all: [www.RissaBrahm.com/Books]

  Acknowledgements

  Infinite thanks:

  To my content editor, Tessa Shapcott; copy editor, Kristie Stramaski, and my proofreaders, Michelle Josette, J.F., and Markham Correct.

  To my beta readers: Saleena C., Lady P., Penny L., Kirsty F., Sandra L., Kerrie K., Gretchen H., Tiffany S., Zana K., Argie S. and Margo K.

  To my Launch Team for their time, feedback, and energy. Kirsty F., Phyllis P., Saleena C, Mary B. H., Kerrie K., Penny L., June M.

  To Phyllis B., for enjoying my stories and encouraging me on.

  To June M., for your time, perspective, care and enthusiasm.

  To Authors Kimberly Llewellyn, Lynn Carmer, and Joanne Rock for your expert guidance and support.

  To the works of Jasinda Wilder for helping me find my voice.

  To the works of Laura Kaye for showing me deep point of view.

  To the works of Nalini Singh and Megan Hart for helping me go beyond the surface of a character.

  To the RWA TARA chapter for all your support.

  To my Mom, always there for me.

  To my husband, for the best twists and turns, reining me in when I went dark and dramatic, and for spending endless hours brai
nstorming and offering your oh-so-vital male perspective.

  To my daughter, for bearing with me and for pushing me on: “Go work, Mom.”

  To VK and GRP, for time, support, goals, cattle prods and love.

  About the Author

  Contemporary romance writer Rissa Brahm grew up in New York and has since lived in all four corners of the United States, and beyond. The beautiful paradise of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico—the core setting of her hot & heartfelt debut series, Paradise South—is Rissa’s most recent and beloved home.

  When not chained-by-choice to her MacBook, she is embarking on outdoor adventures with her husband and little girl, laughing to tears with a good rom com, eating amazing Indian food with something chocolate for dessert; reading good, hot scorchers in bed; biking, long walks, and yoga; zoning out to killer music from across the decades and the globe; and getting lost only to discover a new exciting route home again.

  You can connect with Rissa on Facebook, Twitter or by email anytime by heading to www.RissaBrahm.com.

  Copyright Information

  This is a work of fiction. All of the names, lyrics, characters, organizations, businesses, places, brands, events and incidents portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  Copyright © 2016 by Rissa Brahm TEMPTING ISABEL / TEMPTING ISABEL, BOOK 1 / TEMPTING ISABEL BOOK 1 OF THE PARADISE SOUTH SERIES

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer, who may quote short excerpts in a review.