**ISABELLA'S POINT OF VIEW**

The morning light filtered softly through the curtains of the guest room, pale and calm. I lay for a while staring at the ceiling, my body heavy with a weariness that sleep couldn't ease. Last night's encounter in Damien's office still lingered. The way he'd taken me on that desk—quick, demanding, possessive—had left me aching in places I couldn't ignore. My wrist still ached slightly where Matteo had gripped it. Two different men, two different kinds of control, an