Read Online Reckless Night in Rio by Jennie Lucas - Free Book Online Page A

memories to add to the time they’d first made love, when he’d pushed her back against his desk, sweeping everything aside in his reckless, savage need. When their sweaty, naked bodies had clung together, their limbs intertwined in explosive passion.
    Now, Laura’s legs trembled as Gabriel drew her toward the two tall brass doors held wide by doormen.
    ‘ Boa tarde , Senhor Santos,’ the first doorman said, beaming.
    ‘Good to see you again, Mr. Santos,’ the second doorman said in accented English.
    Once they were inside the foyer, Laura looked up in amazement at a center courtyard two stories high, with a dome of colored Tiffany glass on the ceiling. But if the glamorous architecture was straight out of the nineteenth century, the boutique’s clothes were as cutting-edge as anything she’d find on Fifth Avenue.
    A bevy of pretty shopgirls rushed to wait upon Gabriel. ‘Allow me to help you, senhor !’
    ‘No, me!’ a second one cried.
    ‘ Senhor , I have something wonderful to show you!’
    Laura scowled. She could just imagine what the eager girls wanted to show Gabriel. Turning, she glared at him. ‘How often do you come here?’
    He snorted, hiding a grin. ‘Once or twice a month.’
    ‘Lingerie for all your one-night stands?’
    ‘Suits for work. I’m known to tip well.’
    Laura looked at the fawning shopgirls, who were all staring at him with undisguised glee. ‘I bet.’
    ‘Sorry, girls,’ he said. ‘We already have an appointment.’
    ‘Mr. Santos,’ an older woman said in English behind them. ‘Welcome.’ She stepped forward with assurance, her red suit a perfect match to her short, sleekly coiffed gray hair. ‘I am ready to be of assistance.’
    ‘This is Mrs. Tavares,’ Gabriel told Laura. His hand tightened around hers as he turned back to the other woman. ‘And this is the girl I told you about. Laura Parker.’
    ‘Certainly, sir.’ Mrs. Tavares came closer. Gabriel stepped back, and Laura found herself standing alone, bereft of his strength, beneath the older woman’s scrutiny. She examined a long tendril of Laura’s mousy brown hair, then nodded. ‘Very fine material to work with, sir.’
    ‘Dress her for the beach.’
    ‘Which beach?’
    ‘A pool party at a luxurious mansion on the Costa do Sul. It will be attended by famous beauties and rich men. Make her shine above the rest.’
    Still staring at Laura, the older woman stroked her chin thoughtfully. ‘How obvious do you wish her beauty to be?’
    ‘Completely,’ he said.
    ‘It will require help from a salon.’
    ‘As you wish.’
    The woman pulled the black-rimmed glasses off Laura’s face.
    ‘Hey!’ Laura protested.
    ‘And an optometrist.’
    Gabriel smiled. ‘I leave her in your hands.’
    Laura’s cheeks were hot. The perfectly coiffed, elegant woman continued to walk around her, looking her up and down in the tight black dress, as if she were a handyman and Laura were a sad, decrepit old house in need of a complete remodel.
    ‘This isn’t going to work,’ Laura said, fidgeting uncomfortably. ‘I think you should go to the pool party without me. I’ll just go to the Fantasy Ball later.’
    ‘You go to the Fantasia tonight?’ Mrs. Tavares gasped. ‘The Baile de Gala ?’
    ‘Yes, and she needs a ball gown,’ Gabriel said. ‘Casual clothes as well. But she must be ready for the party in two hours.’
    Mrs. Tavares froze. ‘So little time?’
    ‘Desculpa.’
    The woman tilted her head, considering Laura. ‘It will not be cheap. Or easy.’
    ‘Cost does not matter. Just results. Satisfy my requirements and you’ll be generously rewarded.’
    The older woman’s expression didn’t change, but Laura saw her sudden stillness. Looking at Gabriel, she gave a slow, respectful nod. ‘It will be done, senhor , as you wish.’
    ‘My driver will pick her up in two hours.’
    With a clap of her hands, Mrs. Tavares turned and started barking out orders to the young shopgirls in Portuguese. With a second