Reckless Night in Rio

chapter TEN




THE Fantasia gala ball was the single most sought-after invitation of Rio de Janeiro’s Carnaval. Laura had read about it in celebrity gossip magazines in the United States. The glamorous event, held in a colonial palace on the Costa Verde south of Rio, attracted beautiful, rich and notorious guests from all around the world. And tonight, Laura would be one of them. Tonight, she would be Gabriel Santos’s beloved mistress. His pretend mistress, she corrected herself fiercely.

The door of the black Rolls-Royce sedan opened, and she and Gabriel stepped out onto the red carpet that led inside the palace, which had once been owned by the Brazilian royal family.

Gabriel looked brutally dashing in his black tuxedo. Laura felt his hungry gaze on her as he took her arm. She tried to ignore it, tried to smile for the benefit of the paparazzi flashing cameras around them, but her body shook beneath the palpable force of his desire.

I want you, Laura. And I will have you.

Liveried doormen in wigs opened tall, wide doors. Gabriel and Laura went down a gilded hallway, then entered a ballroom that sparkled like an enormous jewel box. Standing at the top of the stairs, Laura looked up in awe at the huge chandeliers glittering like diamonds overhead. From a nearby alcove, a full orchestra played, the musicians dressed in clothes of the eighteenth century, except with sequins and body glitter.

The guests milling around them drinking champagne, laughing, were in gowns and tuxedos that were even more beautiful. More outlandish.

As they paused at the top of the stairs, Gabriel turned to her. ‘Are you ready?’

Laura held her breath, feeling like a princess in a fairy tale, or maybe Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman, with her strapless red sheath gown and long white opera gloves that went up past her elbows. ‘Yes.’

When Gabriel had first seen her in this dress, he’d choked out a gasp. ‘You are without question,’ he’d said hoarsely, presenting her with two black velvet boxes, ‘the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.’

Now, Laura looked at him, tightening her hand over his arm as he escorted her down the sweeping stairs. A thick diamond bracelet now hung over her gloved wrist. Diamond bangles hung from her ears set off by her highlighted hair tumbling in soft waves down her shoulders.

She’d never felt so beautiful—or so adored. This ball was truly a fantasy, she thought in wonder.

Silence fell around them as Gabriel, the dashing, powerful Brazilian tycoon, led her onto the empty dance floor. Laura hesitated beneath the gaze of so many people. Then, seeing them, the orchestra changed the tempo of the music, and it was irresistible.

Within twenty seconds, other couples had joined them. By the second song, the floor was packed with people. But Laura hardly noticed. As Gabriel held her, she felt hot and cold, delirious in a tangle of joy and fear and breathless need.

He swirled her around on the dance floor, in perfect time with the music. She felt his heat through the sleek tuxedo that barely contained the brutal strength of his body, and all she could think about was the night he’d made love to her, when he’d pressed her against his desk and ripped off her clothes, taking her virgin body and making it his own. He’d filled her with pleasure that night. Filled her with his child.

Now, his dark eyes caressed her as he moved. Leaning her back, he dipped her, his handsome face inches from hers. Pulling her back to her feet, he kissed her.

His lips moved against hers, soft and warm, whispering of love that was pure and true. Promising her everything she needed, everything she’d ever wanted.

Promising a lie.

With an intake of breath, she jerked away from him, tears in her eyes. ‘Why are you doing this to me?’

‘Don’t you know?’ he said in a low voice. ‘Haven’t I made it clear?’

‘We had a deal,’ she whispered. ‘One night in Rio. One million dollars.’

‘Yes.’ He looked down at her. ‘And now I’m not going to let you go.’

She stared up at him, frozen, even as other couples continued to swirl around them in a dark, sexy tango.

‘I’m not going to let you seduce me, Gabriel,’ she said, her voice shaking. ‘I’m not.’

He looked down at her, his eyes dark with desire. He didn’t argue with her. He didn’t have to.

With a gasp, she turned and ran, leaving him on the dance floor. Looking wildly for escape, she saw open French doors that led outside to some sort of shadowy garden. She ran for them, only to smack into a wall.

Except it wasn’t a wall. A man grasped her shoulders, setting her aright as he stared down at her. ‘Good evening, Miss Parker.’

‘Mr. Oliveira.’ She licked her lips. Dressed in a tuxedo that only served to accentuate his bulk, he was drinking a martini beside the bar. Behind him, she saw the gorgeously pouting Adriana in a skimpy silver cutout dress that clung like spackle over her breasts and backside, leaving everything else bare down to her strappy silver high heels.

‘Lovers’ spat?’ Felipe Oliveira said mildly.

Gabriel appeared behind her. He put his hands possessively on Laura’s shoulders. ‘Of course not.’

Swallowing, Laura leaned back against Gabriel, feeling the hardness of his body against hers, and tried her best to look as if her heart wasn’t breaking. She forced her lips into a smile. ‘I, um, just wanted a little fresh air.’

Gabriel wrapped his arms around her more tightly, nestling her backside firmly against his thighs as he nuzzled her temple. ‘And I wanted to dance.’

Oliveira looked at them, his eyes narrowed. ‘You’re both liars.’

Gabriel shook his head. ‘No—’

‘I’ll tell you what is really going on,’ the older man interrupted. ‘You think I am stupid enough to fall for this. But if I sign those papers tomorrow selling you the company, you know what will happen?’

‘You’ll make a fortune?’ Gabriel drawled.

His hooded eyes hardened. ‘You will end this charade and be once again free to pursue what does not belong to you.’

Gabriel snorted. ‘Why would I possibly be interested in your fiancée, Oliveira, when I have a woman like this?’

The other man looked at Laura, then shook his head. ‘Santos, you change lovers with the rise of each dawn. Miss Parker is beautiful, but you will never commit to her for long. There is nothing you can say to convince me otherwise.’ He finished the last of his martini. ‘I will sell to the Frenchman.’

‘You will lose money!’

‘Some things, they are more important than money.’

Gabriel exhaled. Laura felt his body tense behind her, tight and ready to snap. ‘St. Raphaël is a vulture,’ he growled. ‘He will break my father’s company up for parts, fire the employees, scatter the pieces around the world. He will crush Açoazul beneath his heel!’

‘That is not my problem. I will not give you any reason to remain in Rio.’ Oliveira’s jowly face was grim as he started to turn away, holding out his arm for Adriana, who could barely contain the smug look on her beautiful face.

They’d lost.

Laura’s heart leaped up to her throat, choking her.

They’d failed. She had failed.

‘You’re wrong about me, Oliveira,’ Gabriel said desperately. ‘I can commit. I’ve always been ready to commit. I was just waiting for the woman I could love forever.’

Frowning, the older man and Adriana glanced back at them. They stopped. Their eyes went wide.

As if in slow motion, Laura turned to face Gabriel, who was standing behind her.

Except he was no longer standing. He’d fallen to his knee.

He’d pulled a black velvet box out of his tuxedo pocket.

Opening it, he held up a ten-carat diamond ring.

‘Laura,’ he said quietly, ‘will you marry me?’

Laura’s jaw dropped.

She looked from the ring to Gabriel kneeling in front of her. She looked back at the ring.

I was just waiting for the woman I could love forever.

He’d changed his mind about love and commitment? Did he want her in his bed so badly he was willing to marry her?

He smiled, and everything else fell away. She was lost in his dark eyes.

‘What is this?’ Oliveira demanded. ‘Some trick? Now she’s your pretend fiancée?’

Gabriel just looked at Laura. ‘Say yes. Make this an engagement party.’

And Laura exhaled.

All her wedding dreams came crashing down around her. This proposal had nothing to do with love, or even sex. It was entirely about business.

This was his plan B.

Tears rose in her eyes, tears she hoped would appear to be tears of joy. Unable to speak over the lump in her throat, she simply nodded.

Rising to his feet, Gabriel kissed her. Tenderly, he placed the diamond ring on her finger. It fit perfectly. Laura stared down at it, sparkling on her hand like an iceberg. It was beautiful. And so hollow.

‘Hmm,’ Oliveira said, watching them thoughtfully. ‘Maybe I was wrong about you, Santos.’

‘You said you’d never marry anyone!’ Adriana sounded outraged.

Never looking away from Laura’s face, Gabriel smiled. ‘Plans change.’

‘But people don’t,’ she spit out. ‘Not this much. You would never marry a woman with a baby!’

Stiffening, Gabriel turned to her.

‘She has a baby,’ Adriana said spitefully to Oliveira. ‘They were seen together on Ipanema Beach. He just brought Laura here this morning, after they’d been apart for a year. Why would he suddenly decide he’s in love with a woman after being apart for over a year? It’s a trick, Felipe,’ she declared. ‘It’s a lie. He’s not committed to her. He won’t commit to anyone.’

‘I can explain, Oliveira,’ Gabriel said through his clenched jaw.

Felipe Oliveira’s jowly face hardened as he slowly turned to face his younger rival. ‘No,’ he said. ‘I’m afraid you can’t. I don’t appreciate this elaborate theater you’ve performed. The deal is officially off.’

The man turned away. Laura saw Gabriel’s frustration, saw his vulnerability and the desperate expression on his face as he lost his father’s company forever.

‘Wait,’ Laura gasped.

Snorting a laugh, Felipe Oliveira glanced back at her with amusement. ‘What could you possibly have to say, little one?’

‘Everything that Adriana said is true,’ she whispered. ‘I have a baby. And I hadn’t seen Gabriel since I left Rio over a year ago. But there’s a reason why he came for me. A very good reason he’d want to marry me.’

Folding his arms over his belly, Oliveira looked at her with a shake of the head. ‘I am dying to hear it.’

Laura didn’t glance at Gabriel. She couldn’t, and still say what she had to say. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath. Then she spoke the secret she’d kept for over a year.

‘Gabriel is the father of my baby.’