M E Clayton [Clayton - Claiming Isabella

Copyright 2018 Monica Clayton

Published by M.E. Clayton at Smashwords

All Rights Reserved

Smashwords Edition License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoymentonly. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people.If you would like to share this book with another person, pleasepurchase an additional copy for each recipient. If youre readingthis book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for yourenjoyment only, then please return to Smashwords.com or yourfavorite retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you forrespecting the hard work of this author.

This book is a work of fiction. The entire content isa product of the authors imagination and all names, places,businesses and incidences are used fictitiously. Any resemblance toactual persons (living or dead), places or occurrences, is entirelycoincidental

Formatting: Smashwords

Cover: Adobe Stock

Warning: This book contains sexual situations andother adult themes. Recommended for 18 years of age and over.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements

First and foremost I have to thank my family for their support!Nothing I accomplish is a success without their love.

Secondly, Ihave to thank Kamala for not laughing at me when I told her Iwanted to write a book. Also for being my guinea pig and for lovingthe kooky group of characters that took residence in my head asmuch as I do! Chasing Quinn,Claiming Isabella, Conquering Kam and Capturing Happiness wouldnever have happened if not for her encouragement andenthusiasm!

And seeing asthis is my first attempt at writing (and writing a series), I wantto thank everyone who took a chance on me when they bought thisbook! Please note that this is a completely independent project andany typos, errors or silliness falls solely on myshoulders.

Dedication

For my son -

Just likeJulian, your demons may be are a part of who you are, but they willnever overshadow all that is good about you. I love you with everypiece of my soul.

Authors Note

Claiming Isabella can be read as a standalone, but youll want toread Catching Avery where it all began and Chasing Quinn where itkept continuing. No one wants to miss out on kidnapping plots,pissing contests, karaoke nights and inappropriate office sex! Notto mention, youll already be in love with Julian and Isabella bythe time you read this!

Happy ReadingFolks!

Prologue

The SevenDeadlies.

There's Sloth,Gluttony, Envy, Lust, Greed, Wrath and Pride.

So which is theworst?

First, there'sSloth. Being lazy and unproductive can be just as addicting asdrugs or gambling. Your mind and body get used to doing nothing,to being nothing. Sloth can make you neglectresponsibilities and make you lose value in yourself and others.Laziness can keep you poor, unfit and a burden onsociety.

Second, there'sGluttony. Over indulgence. There's a guilty feeling that comes withgluttony. We feel it when we overeat, when we over spend, etc. Ithink it's safe to say, we've all experienced gluttony at leastonce in our lives. Gluttony likes to sneak up on you. There'snothing wrong with having just one more slice of pizza...until youfind yourself fifty pounds overweight one day, of course. What'sthe harm in having ten different purses, when you can only carryone at a time? Gluttony will have you overweight and in debt beforeyou even know whats hit you. The sneaky little bastard!

Then, there's Envy.Envy can keep you from making any real personal connections inlife. I mean, how can you really call yourself a friend if yousecretly hate whenever one of your friends find good fortune? Envycan make you detest everything you own and have worked hard for.Your car, your house, your clothes are all perfectly fine...untilyour neighbor gets a fancier car, bigger house and designerclothes. Envy can eat you up alive. Envy can turn your soul dark.That's no bueno...no bueno at all.

Now, let's talk aboutLust.

Lust.

Lust is amotherfucker of a sin. Nations topple because of lust. Families aredestroyed because of lust. People become diseased because of lust.Lust clouds the best of judgments. But to be fair, can you name onething...just one thing...that feelsbetter than sex? The feel of a man's hands on your body, the goosebumps you get when his lips touch your skin, the heat you feel whenyou know he's turned on by you, the power you feel because you knowthere is nothing he won't do to satisfy you, that first thrustinside you and let's not leave out the aria of the entire sexualopera...when he makes you cum. What feels better thanthat?

Next, there'sGreed. Greed can make you shady and underhanded. It can make you sohungry for more, that you go into debt because your neighbors justbought a Lexus, but you're driving a Toyota. Greed tricks you intobelieving your life is always missing something. It makes youbecome an episode on Investigation Discovery because you poisonedyour husband for his life insurance. Greed has you always feelingempty, and for some, there's almost nothing you won't do to fillthat void. When you're greedy, contentment is a false achievement.You will never be satisfied. Never.

Onto Wrath. Wrath isthe equivalent to temporary insanity. You can literally lose yourmind when you are in a state of wrath. Wrath will have youdestroying property and it can make you verbally and physicallyabusive. Wrath will have you looking at a life prison sentencebecause you've gone and murdered someone in the heat of the moment.Wrath will make you unreasonable. Wrath can make you feared bythose you love and who love you. Wrath can consume your soul. It'smind numbing to all things good and peaceful. Wrath is a truemonster with no rationale. Wrath can destroy everything good inyour life.

Finally, we havePride. Pride, pride, pride, pride, pride....it sure is a nastylittle guy. Pride can cause an insurmountable amount of pain. Itkeeps you from saying sorry, when you really should. It is thelargest killer of relationships around. It makes life harderbecause you refuse to ask for help and it kills love because youcannot bring yourself to forgive. A lot of people can forgivemistakes, but when all you can think about is how that mistake madeyou look stupid? Lying, infidelity, neglect, all that can be workedthrough...humiliation, not so much. Pride can make you walk awayfrom the best thing that ever happened to you. It can also make youlonelier than you have ever been.

So, let me introducemyself....

My name is IsabellaNichole Delucci and this is a little story about how my friendsquest for a one night stand invited these seven jackasses into mylife.

Chapter 1

Sloth: Because when everyone else around me doesnt put inthe effortwhy should I?

Isabella~

My ass hadnt hit the chair yet and my phone wasalready ringing like clockwork. I couldnt stop the smile that litup my face when I looked at the name flashing across the screen. Iwasnt surprised by the call, just giddy that it kept being madeall this time later.

Iswi ped the phone icon andanswered, Good Morning.

Marry me, came theexact same greeting I received every morning since I metJulian.

About fourmonths ago, my friend, Quinn, dragged me and our other friend,Avery, out to a new hot spot called Xaviers because she was indire need of getting laid. But instead of finding some random penisto take home, we ended up bumping into their bosses, and while itsbeen a whirlwind of drama worthy of a soap opera, Avery is nowengaged to Nicholas and Quinn is living with Chase.

However, it ended upbeing only me who got her world rocked that fateful night atXaviers. Avery and Quinn made Nicholas and Chase fight for them,while I quietly rolled over and gave myself up to Julian almostinstantly.

And Ive been gettingmy world rock almost nightly ever since.