Page 36 of Ruthless Touch

My answer appears to bore Alex since his gaze begins to travel down my body once more. “I’m sure. Hospitality is so very Gideon with his Italian suits and expensive leather shoes. I’d become convinced my baby brother didn’t know how to have a good time. You make me question that belief, though.”

He ends his statement by licking his lips, like he’s imagining how I’d taste on his tongue. Why is this man here? And why hasn’t Gideon come up to make him leave? He has no business being here.

I take a few steps back toward the terrace and force a smile to be polite. “Well, it was very nice meeting you. I’m sure you can find Gideon downstairs. I bet he’s eager to see you.”

But Alex follows me step for step until he’s so close that our bodies are nearly touching. “I’m not particularly eager to see him, to be honest. I prefer the view here better. Since you’re with my brother, I think I should get to know the woman living with him. Did he ever tell you about Gia? Because I can’t get over how much you remind me of her. They had a love for the ages, or at least that’s what she said to me one time. Ridiculous, if you ask me, but she was crazy about him, and the sun rose and set on her for Gideon. I don’t think he’s been with anyone since, which is so typical of my brother. Carry a torch for a dead woman for years. Even more ridiculous.”

I listen to all he has to say about this woman Gideon loved named Gia and can’t help but wonder if I’m some kind of replacement for her. If we look that similar, it would make sense. That could also explain why he waited so long to be with me and never even wanted to touch me for weeks on end, even though I was sleeping just inches away from him each night.

Instead of answering his question about whether Gideon ever told me about this woman from his past, I take two more steps until I’m outside on the terrace in the sun. Still with my arms wrapped around my body, I can’t wait for my time with Alex to be over.

“Where are you going? We just met. I think we should hang out and get to know one another. You are my brother’s girlfriend, aren’t you?” he asks as he follows me outside.

The thought of getting to know Alex Rule terrifies me. He hasn’t looked at me in a decent way since he laid eyes on me a few minutes ago, and the way he insists on crowding my space like some kind of hunter eyeing up his prey makes me feel helpless.

Girlfriend. I’d never thought of myself in that term before this moment. Gideon and I don’t do regular things boyfriends and girlfriends do, so the idea of my being his girlfriend feels odd. Until the other day, I only considered myself his prisoner, but now that we’ve slept together a few times, maybe I would be his girlfriend.

“Yes,” I say, my voice shaking as the chaise lounge hits the back of my legs when I take yet another step away from Alex. “I am. I’m sure we can get to know each other later when he’s around. Maybe we could all have dinner downstairs. The chef makes fantastic food. Have you ever had a meal in the restaurant or out on the terrace?”

Not that I’d know what either are like since I’ve only eaten the chef’s creations right here, but this man doesn’t need to know that. God, why hasn’t Gideon or even Raphael come in by now? Someone must be looking for Alex.

He shakes his head at my suggestion we could meet later before he reaches his hand out to run his knuckle along my jaw. I don’t want to look away and give him the thrill of frightening me since I’m pretty sure he’s the type of man who enjoys that kind of thing, but the way he’s staring at me like he plans to devour me at any second makes my skin crawl.

“You really are quite beautiful. How on earth did someone like my brother get you?”

“Gideon is a wonderful man. I don’t know why you’re talking about your own brother like that,” I say defensively, hating how he refers to Gideon like he’s not good enough for me because of how I look. “He’s successful, runs this hotel expertly, and is respected up and down the coast. I’m sure if you ask around you’ll hear the same thing from people who know him outside the hotel.”

Alex purses his lips and moans as he steps closer to me, pressing his body to mine. “Mmmm…beautiful and loyal. I like that. Where do I find someone like you for myself? I don’t run a hotel, but I run a club and you’d be perfect there on my arm. I promise to show you the time of your life. What do you say? Chuck all this hotel stuffiness for a world that will make your body feel like it’s never felt before in your life.”

I open my mouth to tell him no, but before I can, he pulls my head forward and plants a hard kiss on my lips. I struggle to push him away, but I’m no match for him. His other hand roams over my body, grabbing at my breasts and my ass even as I try to wriggle out of his hold.

“Please! Don’t do this! I’m with your brother!” I cry out.

He shrugs like that fact means nothing to him. “So?”

Thankfully, Gideon walks into the penthouse and sees his brother looming over me. “Alex! Back away from her right now. She doesn’t need you terrorizing her in her own home.”

I’ve never heard Gideon sound so brusque and angry. Not even with me, and I’ve tried his patience more than once in the past few weeks. He didn’t even sound that way when Franco called me a slut.

His brother steps back from me, and I breathe a sigh of relief. When Gideon walks out onto the terrace, I hurry over to his side and grab onto his arm, still afraid but at least protected now.

He gives me a gentle smile and kisses me softly on the lips. “Aria, go inside and put on some clothes.”

I hold back the tears as the thought that he thinks because I was in my bathing suit that I was inviting his brother’s ugly behavior rushes through my head. I can’t see by Gideon’s expression if that’s what he believes, though. He just looks hard and unreachable right now.

Without another word, he nudges me toward the doors, and I run inside to put a dress on over my bikini. I hear Gideon and his brother get loud but can’t understand what they’re saying to one another. When I look out from the bedroom door, I see Alex march through the penthouse and then hear the front door slam behind him.

Unsure if I should walk out, I take a few steps into the living room. Gideon is still out on the terrace, but he looks flustered and enraged as he runs his hands through his dark hair. I’ve only known him for a month, but when he does that, I know he’s upset.

Cautiously, I walk out to join him and say in a soft voice, “I didn’t do anything to make him do that. I swear. I was just sitting out getting some sun and he walked in. I told him to go find you in your office, but he said he wanted to get to know me. I didn’t want to, Gideon.”

“Come with me,” he says gruffly, taking my hand as he walks toward the front door.

“Where are we going? Don’t you have to go back to work?” I ask as fear courses through me that he doesn’t believe what I said.

He doesn’t give Raphael his usual pleasant chit chat and silently pulls me into the elevator. Not a word is said the entire time we ride down to the lobby, although he never lets go of my hand, so I want to believe his anger isn’t for me but for his brother.

Sasha is waiting when the elevator doors open. Gideon hands me off to her and says, “Take Aria to get something to eat. Do it out on the terrace so she can enjoy the sun.”

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