Page 27 of Ruthless Rival

I didn’t believe Alberto was a truly terrible person. Obviously, I went to some lengths even he seemed uncomfortable with, so I doubted he would use the governor for something very malicious. This thought made me feel better about pressuring the governor, but it wasn’t hard to make my stomach twist when it came to malice. I had seen plenty of it in my life.

Even if it got out that I was assisting the Mancinis, I didn’t care about my reputation because I was dead to my family anyway. I just had to watch my back because I would certainly have a target on it. It wasn’t like I was safe right now. My father had already been searching for any excuse to send some of my more violent, controllable cousins after me. I knew my father was itching to ruin my life once again as well.

With how Alberto was acting, I didn’t believe I could rely on him for extra protection, but I had been independent for so long now. I could continue standing my ground for myself. It would be nice for Alberto to have my back, though.

When he didn’t put up more of a fight to keep me from sleeping with the governor, I couldn’t help but feel disappointed. Deep down, I didn’t want him to be fine with me seducing another man and putting my hands all over him. Even if taking the governor to bed had been part of the actual plan, I would rather seduce Alberto instead.

My tongue curved over my top lip as I remembered how he kissed me so passionately and deeply like it was our last kiss ever. I hope that it wasn’t, but now, we were tense business partners instead of flirty acquaintances. I might’ve ruined my chance at ever having anything intimate with him since I’d revealed myself.

I sighed as I flopped down on my back, staring up at the ceiling while wishing I wasn’t all alone in my bed. There was a certain man who I wished was right beside me, running his hands and lips over my entire body. Before I could even close my eyes to imagine the scenario a little deeper, my phone rang.

I quickly rolled onto my stomach and snatched my phone off my nightstand, looking down at the screen, hoping to see Alberto’s caller ID. Instead, Jenna’s name showed up. I felt bad about groaning, but I couldn’t help but wish that Alberto were calling for some reason instead…Even if he had no reason to reach out to me.

“Hello,” I answered as I twisted back onto my back, pressing the phone against my ear.

“Hey! You doing okay?” Jenna asked with a curious tone to her voice.

I paused, wondering why she was asking. “Yeah, why?”

“You just haven’t answered Mia’s texts or my texts in a minute. We just wanted to make sure you’re okay. You disappeared on us before,” Jenna told me with a faint laugh.

I grimaced quietly, placing my free hand on my forehead. It just came so easy to forget the normal part of my life. Sometimes, I felt like it was impossible for me to have that. Could I really live my life with a foot in each world? “Oh, I’m sorry about that. Must’ve slipped my mind,” I said, knowing this was a weak excuse, even if it was the truth. I had been so focused on Alberto and my family that I hadn’t found time or energy to reply back to my friends.

“It’s okay. We just worry about you sometimes,” Jenna explained. “You know that you can talk to us about anything, right?”

My eyes burned for a second. I wondered if I deserved my friends. In a way, I felt like I was stringing them along, only being available every once in a while when I forced myself to act normal for once. It didn’t help that I’d been lying to them too. “I know. I’ve just been really busy,” I replied. “We can all catch up soon.”

“Are you doing anything tomorrow night? There’s a new movie coming out that looks really funny,” Jenna asked me, sounding hopeful.

My throat tightened slightly as I frowned. Why couldn’t it have been any other night? “I have something then. A rain check, though,” I assured her.

Jenna went silent for a moment. “Oh, no problem. We can do something else another time,” she told me. “I’ll let Mia know you haven’t disappeared on us again.”

Her laugh didn’t ease the tension in my chest and throat. It only made the uncomfortable sensation worse because I could hear the worry in her voice. “I won’t do that again,” I promised. I couldn’t expect her to believe me, though.

“Good,” Jenna said. “Send a text sometime, okay?”

“I will,” I replied, trying to drill it into my brain to remember to reach out. It wasn’t fair to keep my friends worrying about me so much. Any other people would’ve just forgotten about me, but they remained by my side no matter what.

“Bye!” Jenna chirped before hanging up the phone.

I tossed my phone back on the nightstand with a sigh. For some reason, all I wanted to do was chat and drink with Alberto like we did at Por Qué No. That had been one of the best nights I had experienced in a while. I’d replayed it in my head over and over again, seeing glimpses of my favorite parts.

His grin. His hand on mine. His laugh. His lips against mine.

I let my eyes flutter shut at last, picturing how he towered over me earlier. It would’ve been so easy for me to focus more on the pounding between my legs instead of his serious words. His lips had been so close to mine, and I wanted to feel the light scrape of his beard against my skin as we closed the distance.

One of my hands drifted over the curve of my right breast, my fingertips brushing over my sheer shirt. My fingers trailed lower and lower as I remembered how warm his mouth felt against mine. I bet his lips would feel good on other parts of my body as well.

I steadily pushed my shirt up over my bra, letting the air hit the swell of my breasts that the fabric didn’t cover. Even this felt like too much of a tease, so I pushed my bra up as well to free my breasts from their confines. My nipples hardened under the cool air, making me arch slightly.

The thought of Alberto made me so sensitive to the touch, as I craved his hands on my body. With my eyes closed, I could feel them caressing my breasts and teasing my nipples, using my sensitivity to his advantage…the only way I wanted to be toyed with.

It took too much time to take off my clothes, so I kept rearranging them to get them out of the way. I shoved my pencil skirt up around my waist and pushed the thin fabric of my panties to the side, allowing me to run my fingers over my clit. A shaky breath broke from me as a jolt of pleasure crackled through me.

Why couldn’t he be in this bed with me? I could hear his deep, raspy voice whispering sweet praises near my ear as his big fingers worked in and out of me. A whimper threatened to break from me as I copied my fantasy and slipped two fingers inside of myself. I wondered how he would react if he knew how wet I was for him.

“Alberto,” I whispered into the air as I gave into the pleasure, moving my fingers back up to my clit to rub gentle circles. My pace started to quicken, as my stomach grew tight.

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