Alejandro adjusted the silver cufflinks on his sleeves with precise, measured movements, standing before the mirror in his massive walk in closet.
The room was dimly lit, casting warm golden light across the fine–cut lines of his tailored suit.
The scent of clean cologne and expensive fabric hung in the air. He looked calm and confused, but he was anything butposed
His jaw flexed in annoyance over the swirl of thoughts that had been happening in his head. Normally, he could get his thoughts under control, bot not
this time,
He hated this. Not the function, not the dressing up, not even thekesles and endless cameras that he’d have to faceter on–no, he could handle <b>that </b>
What he hated was the noise in his head, the soft echo of footsteps from earlier, the breathyugh, and the sweet, infuriating rise and all of her voice
Nivera.
The woman who had entered his life identally
He reached for his watch and slid it on slowly, the soft click of metal tightening against <b>his </b>wrist sounding louder than it should
He was supposed to be thinking about the event, the business associates he would have to make eye contact with, and the politicians and investors that would flock around him like sharks scenting blood.
But his thoughts had been elsewhere. For <b>days </b>now. For far too long. It needed to stop.
It had been subtle at first. A little nce here, ament there. Buttely? She’d been messing with the order in his world.
She was a distraction. An infuriating one, yet one he found himself more and more addicted to.
Alejandro reached for his tie and let it drape around his neck, pausing <b>as </b>the memory crept in
Nivera, standing before him in that red satin dress. The way her chest had risen and fallen with shallow breaths. How the strap had slipped offher shoulder just so.
He swallowed hard.
She didn’t know it, but their interactions were the only moments in his day that felt… appealing. Everything else <b>was </b>chaos.
Paperwork, strategy, threats, and enemies hiding behind deals. He lived his life with a de pressed against his neck–and then she came in<b>, </b>and for the first time over, he found a woman he could tolerate..
Goodness! Alejandro chuckled dryly under his breath..
He should have destroyed her from the start, as he wouldn’t be standing in his closet unable to get her out of his mind.
That had been the n. To reduce her to nothing. Buttely? He didn’t even want to raise his voice at her.
She <b>was </b>like a soft, damn breeze in the heat of his madness.
And that was dangerous, both for him and for hef
And that kiss. Especially that <b>kiss</b>.
His fingers stilled <b>over </b>the ti
It reyed in his mind like some damn song stuck on repeat. He’d had kisses before–hundreds<b>, </b>maybe.
But that one?
It crawled under his skin, spreading like poison in his bloodstream. It wasn’t just how soft her lips had been or the surprised little gap she’d let out.
It was how present he’d been in that moment. How real it felt, and he hated reality.
He growled, tugging at the tie with more force than necessary
He hadn’t had sex since she’de into his life. That had to be it, it was just..ck of release. Pent up frustration
Nothing more. That would exin the way his body reacted to hers. The heat in his gut every time she stepped into a room
Like earlier, when the came out in those damn dresses
Red, Green, ck. That champagne–coloured one that made her look <b>like </b>a goddamn gift–wrapped sin
And that final one the ck one that clung to her body, slit high, neckline scandalously low. He had nearly lost it.
He adjusted his <b>cor</b>, ignoring the growing tightness in his trousers.
Fuck.
The number of things that went through his mind <b>as </b>she walked out in those dresses… he couldn’t even <b>say </b>out loud. Not unless he wanted to terrify her
or himself.
Herlips. Her skin. The smooth line of her back when he fixed her zip. The way she reacted to his voice like it was physically wired to her spine
God, <b>he </b>wanted to kiss her again. D
Devour her.
No. He shook his head. That wasn’t happening. He didn’t want <b>a </b>rtionship. Didn’t need it.
It made men soft. <b>Weak</b>. Like half the fools begging for scraps at the feet of women who didn’t care for them, or the women who let their life go because
of a man.
He would not fall. Not for anyone. And especially not for someone as wild and unpredictable as Nivora Elton.
He began knottinghistle, hands moving on muscle memory. But his thoughts didn’t stop.
They were going to a party tonight. A big one. High–end. shbuld’s and press and half of the industry watching
Nivera would be seen. Not just seen–noticed–and that made something dark rise in his chest.
Alejandro clenched his jaw. He could already picture the bastards who would try something
The way their gazes would linger too long or how they’de up with fake smiles <b>and </b>wandering hands.
He would break everyst one of them.
If he had <b>his </b>way, he would rather stay home. However, Nivera needed to boost her visibility again, remind the industry of who she was
Her face in front of the cameras would put her back in the headlines–and her scandal would continue to be washed away.
And the only reason he was doing so was because she was his investment.
She’d help him too. Just by being there, dressed like that, she’d keep the desperate women at bay. Those vultures circling for a chance to im the mysterious bachelor
<b>This </b>arrangement served them both.
Strictly beneficial.
That was all
And <b>yet</b>.
He paused halfway through the knot, staring nkly at his reflection.
Was it really because she was his investment?
He remembered all too well the way she hadughed. The genuine one, not the sarcastic smirk she usually wore.
The softness in her eyes when he tended to her bruised cheek.
She had gotten under his skin far more than he had imagined
Alejandro sighed<b>, </b>adjusting the knot in his tie again.
“I’m losing it,” he muttered.
Just as he gave the tie onest tug, he walked out of the closet and back into his room and immediately, there was a soft knock at the door.
“Come in.”
“Alejandro,” the door opened, <b>and </b>he heard the voice of the culprit who had been guing his thoughts.
He turned, and when he opened it, every breath left his body.
Nivera stood there, framed in the soft hallway light. Her hair was styled effortlessly, cascading down her shoulders in smooth waves. Her makeup was subtle but entuated every alluring feature. And that ck dress –
Fuck
She <b>was </b><b>a </b>vision, Seduction wrapped in silk and shadow.
Alejandro’s jaw tightened<b>, </b>and he had to physically stop
top his eyes from reaming too long.
She arched a brow, clearly amused. “Are you going to say something or just stare?”
He blinked, forcingposure <b>back </b>into his face.
“We’re going to bete; <b>I </b><b>haven’t </b>finished getting ready,” he said evenly.
“Oh,” that was her simple response.
That was a lie. He was done getting ready, but with him seeing her, he needed a moment to himself and to get the growing bulge in his pants <b>under </b>
control.
Hist
heart thudded in a <b>way </b>it never <b>had </b>before, and he didn’t have a name for what that <b>meant </b>
“I’ll wait for you downstairs,” she told him,
“<b>Wait </b>here,” he instructed her.
He turned back toward the mirror under the guise of checking his tie, but really, he was buying time–time to bury the sudden storm of heat rushing through him. Her scent clung to the air like temptation
Maybe it would’ve been smarter not to go tonight. To keep her at home. Hidden.
20:47 Wed, 23 Jul &
But what did that say about him?
That he didn’t want to share het.
That she was bing something his
No. He shook his head firmly. That wasn’t what this was. She was useful, unpredictable but sharp. She brought colour into a world that had been grey for
too long.
Most importantly, she was helping him.
And after tonight, maybe she’dnd something again. A runway show. A contract. Something that would keep her busy and out of his head
But even as he thought that, Alejandro knew he was lying to himself.
Because some twisted, possessive part of him didn’t want her to leave.
He wanted her close. Where he could see her. Control the chaos she brought
And maybe, just maybe… keep pretending she didn’t
The sound of her heels clicking gently against the marble floor echoed through his suite as she moved past him. He looked up and caught a glimpse of her in the mirror–confident, stunning, a challenge and a prize wrapped into one
He muttered under his breath, more to himself than anything
“Tonight’s going to be hell.”
But he was already sure of one thing-
He wouldn’t be able to take his eyes off her, and so would a lot of men,
And heaven help
man who tried to put a hand on her
the m
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