Page 74 of Game of Revenge

She turned around and walked fast toward the house.

I sat back down on the chair, running my fingers through my hair, holding my face in my hands with my eyes closed. How had things gotten so fucking complicated so fast?

To think that, at the beginning, when I came up with the plan to befriend Richard, my first thought was to seduce Amelia, the daughter I had heard so much about in my investigations. She was his pearl—or so I thought.

She was a young, beautiful, twenty-seven-year-old woman, and I was a thirty-four-year-old man who knew the effect I had on women. It wouldn’t have been hard. But she was in a fairytale relationship with Richard’s pet, George, and I understood from Richard that they were to wed. I figured that avenue was closed, as Richard wouldn’t take kindly to me messing up his plans. She ended up in my home anyway, in my arms, ruining every plan I had laid out for myself, becoming my center, my core. And I didn’t know how to get her to see me, to trust me. But I would try it all. Defeat was not an option.

Chapter 35

Amelia

I only stopped when I got to my room, a safe place. I was very conflicted. He seemed to care about what I thought, and that made me want to trust him, but I had learned not to trust or believe anything other people said without proof.

Men lied, after all.

I grew up with the worst of them all, so why would I ever put my heart in the position to be trampled on? Alejandro was danger. The way he looked at me was borderline criminal. The way my nipples tensed earlier, just from him looking at me, was unbearable.

I was never going to solve the emotional turmoil I felt. I knew that, so all I could do was resist falling for the devil as much as I could while we had to live together.

And yes, I was mad. I knew I shouldn’t be, but I was. The fact that he had slept with Elena and Karina annoyed and worried me. I wasn’t convinced that there was nothing between him and Elena. I shouldn’t care; I knew that. Alejandro wasn’t mine, and I had George—though I clearly had to break up with him now after the window episode. The worst was that all I felt about that future breakup was relief.

Why did he have to show up shirtless? I admired his presence and the aura of control that filled any space he was in. He was the kind of man who would never go unnoticed anywhere he stepped foot in. Then, for the second time, I got to drool over his muscles as they beautifully contracted under his bronze skin. His arms, looking so strong…I had felt myself get wet. He hadn’t even touched me.

My hands had wanted to play with his hair. And that erection…it was unmistakable. Seeing his blatant desire for me felt like a drug. But I wouldn’t give in. I couldn’t cave without losing control. And I feared that, once I did, there would be no turning back.

I spent a pretty uneventful rest of the day trying to decide whether I should tell Alejandro about the diamonds. That was trust—telling him something that might either keep me alive or put me in harm's way. But I knew where they were, and if I could use that information to help Alejandro, I knew I would.

That admission scared me to death because it meant that I cared for him, a lot more than I wanted to admit. He did save my life, after all. That was one of the key facts that made me feel like I could trust him with this, and part of why I wanted to help him.

Most of my day was spent listening to music, writing, and daydreaming, forcing myself to remember my life before all of this, before him. The job I had been looking forward to. My freedom from Richard. I didn’t find the same enjoyment in those thoughts that I used to, but I still found comfort in them. I entertained myself until bedtime.

I chose to wear a white, slightly see-through, silk sleeping gown to go to bed. It was a cool night, and I loved feeling the air travel under my gown, caressing me, while I allowed myself to think about Alejandro’s touch.

It wasn’t really a choice at this point, more like an obsession, an escape, something both my body and soul craved to no end. I couldn’t help but stand by the bay window, listening to the calming sound of the waves, admiring the black sky slightly lit by the moon and the stars.

I wanted to go to Alejandro’s room so badly my body ached at just the idea of being near him. I wanted to feel him again, but my pride was stronger, as long as I kept my distance from him. I was afraid that once I got to feel him inside of me, there would be no going back to the guards and rails I was so fond of.

But when I heard a knock at the door, my treacherous body reacted. I turned my head back to the sea, but I could hear his every step, seeing his shadow as he approached me.

He leaned on the other side of the bay window, also mesmerized by the night. I turned my head slightly, looking at him from the corner of my left eye. I couldn’t stop myself, my eyes traveling along his lips, his jawline, his neck, hardened by the shadow of the moon. I wanted him desperately, my resolve slowly making way for anticipation.

When I looked back up, he was looking at me with those sensual, dark, possessive eyes I could lose myself in. He was walking to me now, looking deep into my soul. He kissed me with his hungry lips, mine parting in complete surrender. I stood there stiffly, my arms locked, refusing to give in, even as my body was begging me to, my self-control holding onto a sliver of resistance. He moaned, but he lifted and shook his head, walking away.

“Good night,” he said heavily.

Those words, the idea of him walking away, led to a panic, and before he could leave, I grabbed his hand with mine. I looked up, trying to tell him what I couldn’t voice out loud. He groaned and grabbed my lips with so much ferocity I had to hold onto him not to fall, my heart beating faster and faster as he slid his arms around me, pulling me closer, my body yielding to his every touch, his every caress. Alejandro's hands roamed under my nightgown, leaving a trace of trembling anguish everywhere he touched.

He slowed himself down, his fingers caressing my face, gliding down to my neck, the side of my breast, my hip bones, teasing me. I was letting go, grabbing his hair, feeling his strong shoulder, holding him close.

He grunted as he lifted me off the floor and set me down on the bed. He stood over me, taking off his shirt. He lifted my gown above my head and took a minute to admire what he had revealed.

“You are so beautiful,” he whispered.

I got a little shy, hiding my body a bit with my hands.

“No, mi niña, let me see you. All of you.”

The desire in his eyes showed that he was dying to be with me as much as I wanted him. I felt reassured and removed my hands as he devoured every inch of my body with his gaze.