Page 56 of Hostile Rival
“See you downstairs, Dani.”
“Yeah.”
Matheus pivots in his dress shoes and stalks into the guest suite. I hang back, watching him leave and wondering if Giana got the message before she left us to it.
Of course she did. There’s no question about it. His heart was pounding and when his hand wasn’t pumping at his dick, it was on me.
I give him a few minutes head start, then move into the suite. On my way past the dressing table, I check my face in the mirror, all warm and fuzzy inside. I haven't had that sort of buzz before. It won’t last long. People like me don’t get a happily ever after.
Deep in thought, my instincts fire up as a second reflection appears in the mirror.
“I wouldn’t get too attached,” Giana glares at me. “You know he’s a Souza, right?”
I straighten, ruffle my wavy hair, and smile inwardly, secretly happy. I’d give myself a ten out of ten for showing this girl who Matheus had picked.
“Really?” I mock, turning to face her. “A Souza. Wow, I had no idea.”
Giana rolls her eyes at the tone I used. “Matheus needs a real woman. Someone he’s proud to have next to him, not a nobody he uses for entertainment when no one else can see.”
Bitch.
“Right.” I smirk, knowing this conversation is pointless, but for some reason, I can’t walk away. “Well, he definitely saw me when his dick was in my mouth. We didn’t need spectators. Although you saw us, didn’t you? Which means you know how much he enjoyed it.”
“Any guy would get hot for a woman who makes herself available.” She folds her arms. “There’s a difference between a good time and a long time. You’re just some woman he met at aparty and I’m Giana Di Rossi, the girl he saved.” I freeze, except for my heart. It leaps into my throat. “Matheus Souza ismyguest and when he leaves here, my father will have offered him a proposal he can’t refuse.”
I take a step into her. “Saved you from what?”
Immediately she backs up, sensing my mood darken. “The men who kidnapped me.”
“He told you that?”
“What’s wrong? Are you jealous?” Her dangly jeweled earrings wobble when she juts out her chin, animated.
My heart is thumping out of anger. But she’ll never see it. “Not jealous when I can still taste the man on my tongue. More curious why you think a Souza would get involved in something dangerous when his family has hundreds of soldiers on their payroll.”
“Because I’m special and he knows it. Why else?”
“Did you see the guy’s face? The one who saved you?”
“I didn’t need to. I looked him square in the eyes. We had a connection.”
“Unbelievable,” I mutter. “Matheus graduated from law school, and you think he’d spend his time as a foot soldier saving a spoiled brat from bad guys?”
Giana scowls. “I’m certain it was him. Matheus Souza saved me.” She glances at the doorway. “The Souzas are power players. They don’t marry social climbing whores. It doesn't bother me that he had five minutes of meaningless fun in this guest suite or that he has a girlfriend. You know why?” Her eyebrows drift upward with the question she doesn’t want an answer to. “Because I’ll be his wife and my family will stay under Souza protection. Whereas you––you’re just the girl who had a mouthful of dick.”
It's not her last comment that boils my blood. No, it's the casual way she points her finger at Matheus and thoughtlessly hands over intel about the man who allegedly saved her life.
It’s no wonder she figured it out, given they had too many conversations when he should have said nothing at all. However, that's Matheus—half sinner, half saint.
This girl is clueless and mindlessly accusing Matheus of something that could get him executed.
In two strides, I’m in her face. “Empty rumors get people killed, Giana. And the people who spread them die too. I bet the Souzas would be very interested to hear how you’re spinning bullshit about their brother.”
She glances at the doorway again. “Are you threatening me?”
“Yeah.” I own it. Not in the slightest bit concerned about her latest bodyguard lingering outside the room. “If you put his life at risk because of some princess fantasy you’ve conjured up, no one will come to your rescue next time. They won’t even find your body parts. I’d hide them myself. Do you understand me, Giana?”
Her eyes narrow. “Get the hell out of my home. And don’t expect an invitation to our wedding. If you put one foot near me, or Matheus again, you’ll be sorry.”
