Page 3 of Rio

“You hot?”he asks.

I stifle the sigh threatening to cut loose from my throat.This man can read me like a book, and this is something I’m not used to.This is why he intrigues me.Why he’s constantly in my head.I feel sweaty all over, with a dampness under my arms, between my legs, down my back.

He sits forward.“You left your best friend’s reception early.Why?”

I shrug.“Too many people.Too much noise.And I hate small talk.”

“Hmm.”He studies me, like he doesn’t believe me.“That wasn’t all of it.”

Damn him.I have work to do.Pierce is going to call soon and demand an update.But Pierce and work are the last thing I want to think about right now.“Dani’s happy.She has someone who sees her.Fights for her.It made me realize … how lucky she is.”

He frowns, and I feel like I’ve said too much.“You could be lucky.”He winks.“All you have to do is not push me away.”

“I know what kind of man you are.”

“You know what kind of man my father is.Please don’t ever make the mistake of thinking that I’m another version of him.I’m not.”

He stands up and places his now empty mini bottle of Jack Daniel’s on the table next to him.My heart thunders inside my chest, but I manage to hold my ground until he closes the distance between us.

“You think I’m dangerous, arrogant, and spoiled,” he challenges, his husky voice reverberating through me.

“I don’tthinkyou’re spoiled.I know it, Knight.You brothers with your billion-dollar trust funds.”

“We’re not trust fund brats, but you have been thinking about me.”He reaches out and brushes a strand of hair behind my ear.Gone is the cocky grin, replaced by a more serious, intense look.He’s looking at me like I’m the only woman in the world.Like we’re already intimate and he knows everything about me.I look up into his eyes—so dark they look black, just like his hair, slicked back today.He looks sharp and dangerous, like he could sling me over his shoulder, and walk out of here, and no one would dare stop him.That charm of his sometimes borders on predatory, and my insides heat up in a way they shouldn’t.

My eyes go to the soft dimple in his chin, and I’m tempted to touch it; to run my fingers over the dip.But I don’t.I scarcely breathe.His tone is softer now, almost a whisper.

“You still let me into your hotel room, and I have a feeling you’re not about to tell me to leave anytime soon.”

My breath hitches, but I don’t move away.

He’s right.

“What are you doing?”I manage to say, feeling a trail of heat where he touches me.

His hand lingers around my jaw.“You can keep hating me tomorrow, but right now, tell me you don’t want this.”

I swallow, and my voice is barely a whisper.“I don’t.”

“What’s changed, princesa?”He walks back a few steps like the shock of my words physically punched him.“When we first met in Manhattan, you were all smiles and flirtation.”

“I didn’t know who you were back then.”

“But you shut me down fast enough.”

I don’t flinch.I don’t smile either.“Because once I found out, everything changed.”It’s not that I hate the rich.I don’t.There are many rich people who do good, but the Knights are not those people.I was raised by a single mother in a favela on the outskirts of São Paulo.I’ve seen poverty up close.I’ve experienced the struggle and the injustice.

“Because of my last name?”

“Because your last name destroys rainforests and bribes politicians,” I snap.“Because Knight Enterprises is the kind of monster I’ve built my whole career fighting.”

The words seem to land harder than I expect.

“Then tell me, what am I doing in your hotel room?”

I narrow my eyes.“I know how to keep my distance.”

“By letting me in?”