Page 35 of Ruthless Rival

“What areyoudoing here?”

Chapter Sixteen:Together at Last

Alberto

A haze of pure red filled my vision as I burst into the hotel room and saw the governor’s hands all over Gabriela’s body as she laid beneath him. With gritted teeth, I grabbed Edward’s arm and wrenched him off Gabriela, tossing him from the bed with a growl.

It only took me snapping my fingers to kick Iso into action. He grabbed the governor by his arms and hauled him out of the room, not even bothering to grab his clothes. The door slammed shut behind them, leaving Gabriela and I alone.

“What areyoudoing here?” she asked.

I whipped around to see Gabriela swinging her sleek legs off the bed to get to her feet, a glare set on her face. Confusion rang through me like a bell. Why was she talking to me like that?

“Keeping you from making a mistake,” I said, watching her stalk her way over to me.

Gabriela didn’t even bother to pull her clothes on. With just her black bra and thong on, she kept her chin lifted and her back straight, facing off with me. This wasn’t the warm welcome I had expected.

“You had every chance before tonight to call these plans off,” she snapped at me.

I stared her down as she stopped a foot away from me, frustration and confusing sparring in my head. “You were determined to do this!” I told her. She seemed set on these plans, convincing me that this didn’t weigh on her soul. Obviously, it did if she was pissed at me for her own idea.

“That’s not the point. I thought you were an honorable man, Alberto,” Gabriela hissed as she took another step closer. Our chests nearly touched as we stared at each other, the air around us thickening. “What are you even doing here? I could’ve given you the governor with a bow on top. That’s all you want.”

I couldn’t help but scoff. She really thought she had me all figured out. I was just now coming around to things myself, realizing how much I wanted this stubborn, fiery woman to be mine. “No, I want you,” I said firmly, not moving my gaze from hers. As much as I wanted to let my eyes roam and take in the delectable sight of her nearly bare beauty, I needed her to know I was serious.

Gabriela laughed in my face, shaking her head in ridicule. “Spare me,” she replied. “What is it you want, Alberto? To fuck me and toss me aside?”

I couldn’t take it. I covered her beautiful, smart mouth with mine, cupping her face in my large hands.

For a second, she submitted, our lips brushing and moving like she wanted this more than anything. Suddenly, she jerked away from me and slapped me across the face.

The sound echoed throughout the room as we both stilled in shock.

“You can’t just come in here and kiss me like I’m just going to melt in your hands. I’m not a fuck toy or a means to an end,” Gabriela bit out, her voice wavering slightly. She breathed in deeply to steady herself.

My cheek ached from her slap, but the most intense sensation was the tingling feeling on my lips from our passionate kiss. “I never thought you were. I like you, Gabriela. I liked you before all the deals and the plans and the bullshit,” I told her as I waved my hand dismissively. None of that mattered to me right now.

Gabriela’s face softened ever so slightly. “It didn’t seem that way when you agreed that I should sleep with the governor,” she said in a quieter voice. Now, she seemed more disappointed than angry.

I sighed and ran my fingers through my hair, drawing some of the salt and pepper strands back from my forehead. “I’d just found out that you lied to me about who you were. I was the one who felt used,” I told her as I took her chin between my thumb and forefinger, bringing her eyes up to mine. “I don’t tolerate dishonesty.”

Gabriela let out a slow breath through her nose. “I meant to use you, but I didn’t think I’d grow to like you,” she murmured as she trailed her hand up my chest. Her eyes flickered down to my lips. “Desire you.”

Heat flared through me as we gravitated back toward each other. My hand on her chin moved to brush through her hair, drawing her face close to mine. “You’re trouble, Castillo, but damn it, I want you,” I said in a low voice before capturing her lips in a heated kiss. I reached down and grabbed the back of her thighs, easily lifting her up and having her wrap her legs around my waist.

Gabriela tore at my tie, loosening the material to yank it off. “You always have too many clothes on,” she scolded me as she grabbed the collar of my shirt.

“I’ve been wanting you to take them off,” I replied before dropping her down on the bed. I crawled over her, shedding my suit jacket as I went along. She looked so beautiful and erotic beneath me, stretching her body out, and arching her back as I caressed her. “But I’m more focused on getting you undressed first.”

Gabriela undid the buttons of my dress shirt, letting her nails glide down my firm chest.

“I always wondered how Italian men were in bed,” she purred.

I smirked and leaned close to her ear. “Better than anyone else,” I promised her before pressing my lips against her neck.

Gabriela leaned her head back in bliss, letting out the sweetest moan I had ever heard. She shoved my dress shirt off and felt how solid my biceps were, digging her nails in when my lips fluttered along her shoulder. “Oh, yes, Alberto…”

I slid my hand under her and unclasped her bra with ease, pulling the material from her body and tossing it aside. My lips wrapped around one of her hard nipples, sucking generously as my other hand caressed her other breast. She was so soft and warm all over…I couldn’t get enough.

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