Chapter 2
The rain started just as we pulled into the hotel parking lot.
What had begun as a clear Miami evening quickly turned into a torrential downpour. Water cascaded down faster than the wipers could handle, and thunder rolled across the sky.
"Shit," I muttered, staring out at the wall of water between us and the hotel entrance. "This came out of nowhere."
Alessandro shut off the engine and turned to me. In the dim light, his profile was sharp, dangerous. "We should head inside. Weather report said this could go on for hours."
Hours. Alone with him. The thought made my pulse quicken.
The racing club's luxury hotel was filling up fast with stranded guests from tonight's event. Through the rain-blurred windows, I could see people hurrying through the lobby, shaking water from their clothes.
"They're probably booked solid," I said, more to myself than to him.
Alessandro was already pulling out his phone. "Let me handle it."
Ten minutes later, we were in the elevator, soaked from our dash through the rain. Alessandro had somehow secured the last room – penthouse level, naturally.
Of course he did.
At least something's going right. I thought as we climbed.
But when we reached our floor, familiar laughter drifted down the hallway. My stomach dropped, and the rage I'd been holding back all day flared to life.
Tyler and Carmen stood outside the room right next to ours, keycard in Tyler's hand.
God, you've got to be fucking kidding me.
"This is too convenient to be coincidence," I muttered, my hands clenching into fists.
Carmen saw us first. Her eyes widened slightly, then she whispered something to Tyler. He turned, and that trademark smirk spread across his face.
"Well, well. Looks like we're neighbors tonight." Tyler's voice carried that fake cheerfulness that meant trouble. "What a coincidence."
Coincidence my ass. They planned this.
Alessandro's hand found the small of my back, warm and possessive. The contact sent electricity through me. "Coincidence," he repeated, his tone flat.
We unlocked our door in tense silence. The moment it clicked shut behind us, I slumped against it.
"They planned this," I said, fury making my voice shake. "Had to be. No way that's random."
Alessandro was already moving through the room, checking the windows, the balcony door. "These walls are thin. We'll hear everything."
As if to prove his point, Tyler's voice drifted through the wall, deliberately loud: "Carmen, remember her birthday four years ago? When I told her I got called in for emergency training?"
My chest tightened. That birthday. The night Tyler had disappeared for hours, leaving me waiting in that stupid dress I'd bought just for him.
The memory of sitting alone in that restaurant, making excuses to the waiter, checking my phone every five minutes... The humiliation burned fresh.
Carmen's voice followed, equally vicious: "Oh, you mean when she actually believed you were at the track? God, she was so pathetic, sitting there in that little dress all night."
"She was always gullible," Tyler laughed. "Makes sense she's for sale now. We all know what Alessandro's really buying."
The words hit me like ice water, but this time, instead of hurt, I felt pure rage.
For sale? You piece of shit. After everything you put me through, you still think you can tear me down?
"At least she landed herself a sugar daddy," Carmen added with malicious glee. "Wonder what she promised him."
My hands clenched into fists. They were making sure I heard every degrading word, getting off on my pain just like they had three years ago.
"Val." Alessandro was watching me carefully, his jaw tight. "Don't let them get to you."
Then I heard Tyler, quieter now, apparently on the phone: "Room 1247. There's definitely some business happening, if you catch my drift."
My blood ran cold. He was calling the hotel.
"Son of a bitch," I whispered.
Five minutes later, there was a knock at our door. Alessandro checked the peephole and his expression darkened.
"Hotel manager."
He opened the door to reveal a nervous-looking man in a suit, holding a clipboard.
"I'm terribly sorry to disturb you," the manager began, clearly uncomfortable. "But we've received a complaint about... inappropriate commercial activity in this room."
I stared at him, my face burning. "Excuse me?"
"The caller suggested there might be some kind of escort service operating here. We have to investigate for legal reasons."
The sheer audacity of it made me speechless. Tyler had actually called in a prostitution complaint.
He's trying to destroy me completely. This isn't just about winning - he wants to humiliate me until I have nothing left.
Alessandro moved between the manager and me, and I could feel the controlled fury radiating from him. "That's a serious accusation. Do you have any evidence?"
"Well, no sir, but we have to follow up..."
"Reports from who?" Alessandro's voice had taken on that deadly quiet tone.
The manager shifted uncomfortably. "The caller preferred to remain anonymous."
"I see." Alessandro stepped forward, and there was something predatory about the movement. "And this anonymous caller – were they perhaps staying next door?"
The manager's face reddened. "I couldn't say..."
"Then perhaps you should check their room instead," Alessandro said smoothly. "Since false reports about paying guests are grounds for removal, aren't they?"
The manager looked like he wanted to disappear. "Of course, sir. If the complaint is unfounded..."
"It is," Alessandro said firmly. "And I suggest you inform your anonymous caller that harassment is unacceptable."
"Absolutely. Again, our sincere apologies."
The manager retreated quickly down the hallway.
Alessandro closed the door and turned to me. I was shaking with rage and humiliation.
"He actually..." I couldn't finish.
"Called you a prostitute," Alessandro finished grimly. "Yes."
From next door came muffled laughter. They'd heard everything and were celebrating their latest attempt to destroy me.
"They're going to pay for this," I said quietly, and this time I meant it. The kid gloves were off.
Alessandro's expression was deadly calm. "Yes. They are."
I sank onto the edge of the bed, suddenly exhausted. "I can't believe I was ever friends with her. Carmen knew exactly what Tyler did to me, and she's helping him do it again."
"Some people," Alessandro said quietly, moving closer, "show you who they really are when they think they can get away with it."
That's when the sounds started from next door. At first it was just muffled conversation, then laughter. Then something else entirely.
The unmistakable rhythm of a headboard hitting the wall. Carmen's voice, breathless and genuine, calling Tyler's name.
My face burned with embarrassment and fury. "You've got to be kidding me."
The sounds intensified – real, intimate sounds that made my stomach churn. Every moan, every gasp was authentic and deliberate.
They're really doing this. Actually fucking just to torture me.
"They're actually..." I couldn't finish the sentence.
Alessandro's jaw tightened. "They're making sure you hear everything."
More rhythmic thumping against the wall. Carmen's voice rose higher, completely uninhibited.
I stood up abruptly, my hands clenched into fists. "I'm going to kill them both."
"Wait." Alessandro caught my arm, his eyes thoughtful. "Two can play this game."
I stared at him, my breath catching at the intensity in his dark eyes. "What do you mean?"
Before I could process what was happening, his hands were on my waist, pulling me closer. The heat of his touch made my knees weak.
"Trust me," he murmured against my ear, his breath sending shivers down my spine.
Then his lips found my neck.
The sensation shot through me like electricity. His mouth was warm, insistent, and when his teeth grazed my skin, my breath caught audibly.
"Just like that," he whispered, his breath hot against my throat. "Let them hear."
His hands tangled in my hair, tilting my head back as he kissed along my collarbone. I bit my lip, trying to stay quiet, but the way he was touching me made it impossible to think straight.
The noise from next door seemed to falter for a moment.
"You're a natural," he murmured against my skin, his voice rough with something that definitely didn't sound like pretense.
I could barely process what was happening. The way he was touching me, kissing me – it felt real. Too real.
Alessandro's hands moved to frame my face, his dark eyes intense and hungry. "Are you ready for this?"
But before I could answer, his mouth crashed into mine. The kiss was desperate, demanding, and I couldn't help the way my body responded. My hands fisted in his shirt as he pressed me back against the wall.
When his mouth found that sensitive spot just below my ear, I completely lost control.
"Alessandro—" His name escaped my lips, louder than intended, echoing through the room.
Dead silence from next door.
Then his teeth scraped against my throat, and I couldn't hold back anymore.
"Fuck," I breathed, not caring who heard.
That's when Tyler's voice cut through the wall, sharp and angry: "What the hell are you two doing over there?"
Alessandro lifted his head, his breathing heavy, his dark eyes locked on mine. Without breaking eye contact, he called back in a voice that was perfectly calm but carried an unmistakable edge:
"What we should have been doing all along."