Page 15 of Ruthless Touch
I push her hand away and step around her to walk back into the penthouse. “Poor Gideon. He’s so busy. Why should anyone expect him to be kind or show me any attention? Maybe in those hours when I’m here with him after long days downstairs he could do something like talk to me or show me he likes having me around. But no. He’s done none of that. He simply walks in, looks at me like he’s pleased I’m still here waiting for him in the exact spot where he left me twelve hours before, and goes to bed. Sorry, but I have no time for being patient with your favorite guy. You go be patient with him, Sasha. I’m sure he’d like that more anyway.”
In a flash, she’s behind me. Before I can turn to face her, she spins me around so we’re toe-to-toe with one another. I see something other than interest in me now in her eyes, and whatever she’s thinking scares me.
“You’re a beautiful woman, Aria. Maybe that’s why you can’t see a good thing when it’s standing right in front of you.”
“Are you talking about you or Gideon?” I ask, truly unsure what she means at this moment.
That makes her smile, and her eyes soften again. “Well, to be honest, I could mean either of us, but right now I’m referring to Gideon. He can give you anything you could ever want or need. You just need to give him time. He’ll come around. Just be patient.”
Sensing she might actually tell me the truth, I take a step closer to her so our bodies are nearly touching and our lips are only inches apart. “Tell me, Sasha. What kind of man can lie in a bed with a beautiful woman night after night and not touch her? What exactly am I patiently waiting for? He’s hard nearly every moment he’s around me. Tonight downstairs, he was as hard as a rock behind me. I felt his cock pressing against my ass. So why doesn’t he do anything?”
For a long moment, she doesn’t say anything as her eyes scan my face, giving me a reprieve from her intense stares. I wait for an answer, truly needing to know what I’m waiting for from a man who clearly wants me but won’t do anything about it.
Finally, she answers, “If you’re asking me if he’s said why he doesn’t do anything with you, all I can tell you is he hasn’t. Gideon and I don’t talk about you.”
She stops and gives me a big grin. “Well, except for when I tell him he should bring you out to play more and he tells me to stop. You see, I agree with you. I think he should have done something by now. I think he might believe you still care about your ex, so he doesn’t feel like he should bother getting attached. But that’s just my opinion.”
Her answer stuns me. Shaking my head, I step back away from her, needing space to understand what she just said.
“Why would he think that? Franco happily handed me over to Gideon, although once again I feel the need to mention to anyone who’ll listen that selling a woman isn’t okay or legal. I wouldn’t have anything to do with Franco ever again.”
Sasha takes my hand in hers and smiles. “Well, when you have the chance to show him that, I suggest you do and see if that thaws things out between you two. Now, come on and let’s get back down to the party. He wants you down there with him.”
I give in, unable to fight her anymore after hearing her crazy idea about Franco. Why would I feel anything for a man who happily gave me away for money? That’s insane.
“Fine. Let’s go.”
She keeps her hand on mine and leads me through the penthouse, grabbing my gold mask off the table on our way toward the door. I shouldn’t trust her at all since she’s loyal to only Gideon, but I can’t help but feel there’s something good about her.
As we step into the elevator and the doors close in front of us, she drops my hand to press the button for the first floor. We begin to descend back toward the party, and I ask, “Do you ever get annoyed by having to run these errands for him?”
She doesn’t hesitate to answer, shaking her head as she says, “Never. That’s my job. Whatever Gideon needs me to do, I do. Whatever he requires, I make sure it happens. It’s all there is to being an assistant.”
No wonder he adores her and barely tolerates me. She’s there at his beck and call, waiting on him hand and foot. If he expects me to be that, I’m afraid we’ll never be together.
I’m not a Sasha. I never will be.
When we return to the ballroom, Gideon gives me a smile as he adjusts my mask around my eyes. “Thank you for coming back, Aria.”
I try to return the smile, but all I can think is I’ll never be what he wants. Why he doesn’t just let me go so he can be with the woman he truly cares about I don’t understand, but I can’t keep letting myself get hurt waiting for him to show me he cares.
He falls silent, so I look around for his assistant since I’m sure she’ll say something, but she’s nowhere to be found. “Where did Sasha go?”
Gideon turns to face me and answers, “She’s doing what she’s supposed to do. I don’t need her here with us right now.”
I can’t help but feel happy about her being gone. I may not think she’s completely made of ice anymore after our little conversation upstairs, but when she’s around, he’s never going to see me.
“We’re going to be talking to someone in a few moments, Aria. Stay by my side and don’t say a word,” he instructs me.
“Is this more orgy rules? I had no idea random fucking of strangers in public had so many regulations,” I say with a chuckle.
Just then, I see two familiar faces and my entire body tenses. Marcello Angeloni and Franco walk toward us carving their way through the crowd like they own this place. The youngest Angeloni brother wears a tux with a red mask that only covers near his eyes and contrasts with his jet-black hair. Franco looks like he always has—like a man perpetually looking for a fight, even though he’s in a tux. His mask resembles a white skull and covers all of his face except his mouth.
I clutch Gideon’s arm, immediately terrified at what’s going to happen next. Is he going to hand me back to Franco because he thinks I still care about him? He can’t do that!
“Please, Gideon. You promised to keep me safe. I can’t believe you let that man in here. I hate even seeing his face,” I say as I press my body against his side, silently praying to God he doesn’t plan to simply abandon me with my ex.
He doesn’t answer, except for a single nod, and then slides his arm around my waist to pull me close to him. Marcello and Franco stop directly in front of us, and even though I can’t imagine Gideon could want people like them here in his hotel, he greets them like a gentleman.