by Teresa Wolf
DANGEROUS LUST
THE DEVIL WEARS A SUIT Book #1
Teresa Wolf
Contents
About the book
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Let’s Connect!
Author Note + Thank you
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced, transmitted, or stored in an information retrieval system in any form or by any means, without prior written permission from the author.
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author’s imagination.
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Copyright © (2020) Teresa Wolf
For those chasing their dreams, turn your obstacles into reason to succeed.
About the book
Things started to take a turn for the dangerous when the stunning Hope Bridges met charming billionaire Gabriel Lark. Gabriel couldn’t resist the strong gravitational pull that the beautiful seductress emanated. And it didn’t take long before the two allowed their mouths and hands to explore each other’s bodies.
As the hours passed, tragic events soon followed. April Forman, Hope’s friend and housemate, was found murdered in her hotel room. And Hope vowed to figure out who did it.
It seems that this once hot and steamy chance encounter is slowly, but surely, turning fatal. What does fate have in store for the two love birds?
Can love subsist on lust alone? Will our protagonists discover each other’s dangerous secrets and decide to part ways? Or, worse, will they turn against each other?
1
Half a dozen bodyguards escorted Gabriel Lark to the rooftop, orbiting him. Gabriel wasn't the most agreeable person, and, honestly, he never seemed to be in a good mood. He was especially annoyed today. He'd been getting death threats from an anonymous source, and although he normally wouldn't have taken such things seriously, this time it seemed serious.
Being the CEO of a tech company with a reputation for alleged malicious intent meant the occasional angry email or letter from unhappy users and customers. And seeing as he wasn't known for his self-control, he had had more than a few run-ins with disgruntled employees. But this particular situation wasn't one to yawn at; this person seemed to be quite formidable and determined.
As Gabriel climbed the steps that led to the hangar on the roof, he thought of the first email he’d gotten from this person.
The email was from an IP address they couldn't trace. Usually, these people used a simple virtual private network, which was easy to track to the end address, but even Gabriel’s team of professional hackers had been unable to trace the mysterious writer. The only thing they could get was a name: London Bridge. They assumed it was a British hacker trying to be funny, but when London Bridge sent them the locations of Gabriel’s private properties in various countries that were not public information, no one was laughing, especially Gabriel.
He wasn’t all that scared, but his security team would not let him be ‘reckless’ as they put it, so here he was, with twice as many seven-foot guards as usual. They finally reached the roof, and Gabriel pulled the collar of his coat up and crossed his arms in an attempt to keep out the cold air and drizzle of the night. They walked towards the helicopter, visible now, about twenty-five feet away.
Suddenly, one of the guards ahead of him tuned in to a message in his earpiece, leaning forward in concentration. Then he turned towards the others yelling, “Get back inside, Go! Now!”
Gabriel considered himself a fearless man, but at that moment, his guards didn't have to prompt him to run. All of them ran back towards the door they came through, and just as Gabriel made it to the entrance, there was a loud explosion behind them. He turned around to look and saw that the helicopter had exploded, and was in flames, releasing billows of black smoke into the air. Gabriel stared in horror. This person meant business, and they clearly weren't going to stop until he was dead.
“What the hell was that?” Gabriel gasped.
“Peter found an explosive on the helicopter and radioed me about it," Tristan, his head bodyguard said. "We got lucky, but Peter and the pilot were too close to the explosion. We need to get you out of here right now."
As they descended the stairwell, Gabriel pondered the incident. At first, he considered Tristan's theory that they had got lucky, but then he concluded that it was no accident that he was still alive. Gabriel was sure his opponent was smart enough to time the explosion correctly, and he concluded that the explosion was only meant to scare him.
‘But why? Why would they want to scare me?’ He thought. ‘Why not just kill me? They want something, and they want me to know that they’re serious.’
His guards led him into the lobby below, circling even tighter around him. They stayed in the lobby, not trusting that the car was safe to travel in either. Gabriel sat on a couch, his right leg crossed over his left, and thought, while Tristan looked for another mode of transportation. By this time, the fire department had arrived on the scene, but Gabriel declined to answer any questions beyond what Tristan had told them. Amidst the chaos, Gabriel scanned the room, looking for a possible suspect. He stroked his chin with his long fingers as he always did when he was in deep thought.
As his eyes wandered the room, they fell on the most beautiful woman he's ever seen. She was standing at reception in a red blouse and a black pencil skirt, a perfect combination that accentuated her beautiful breasts and full ass. She wore red-soled heels: She didn’t seem to need the height boost, but they made her long legs look even sexier.
Gabriel sat up on his chair, not even realizing it, and watching her. He loved everything about her; her full, red lips, the way her crimson hair flowed down her shoulders, her perfect skin. He started thinking of having those perky breasts in his hands, imagining how her perfect ass felt, and as he started to get hard, he couldn’t bear the thought of letting his opportunity to talk to her go by.
“Tristan, I think we should stay here for the night,” Gabriel said to his head bodyguard. He stood up to speak to him, and although Gabriel was not a short man, he felt like a dwarf as he looked up at Tristan. “It’s the safest place right now.”
"I don't think so, sir," Tristan began. "The person could be in this very room; we can't risk it."
“Look, it’s pouring out there. We can’t trust any of our cars to take us, and they know where I live. The last place they’ll expect me to stay is here, where I almost died,” Gabriel rambled. When Tristan began to protest, Gabriel cut him off, “We’re staying here, Tristan. Give me some space; let me go talk to the manager.”
Gabriel began to make his way toward the woman, and he couldn’t help but smirk. Although she was incredibly attractive, Gabriel was confident in his abilities in the art of seduction, and he'd had a sufficient amount of practice. As he got to the reception desk, he leaned on the table and look at the woman, who was to his side now. Gabriel hadn't noticed before that her blouse was a little wet, probably from the rain, and the light material clung to her body, emphasizing her breasts, which were tucked tightly in a black bra. Gabriel was not prepared to be this aroused, and he gulped audibly, hoping she couldn't hear it.
Hope looked to her left and saw a very handsome man standing right next to her. She looked up at this tall man, his wet, jet-black hair pulled back, with a few defiant strands loose. He was in an expensive-looking suit that looked like it was an extension of him and not just clothing. She looked into his pretty, blue eyes, and when he stared back, she quickly looked away.
“Hey,” he said
, his deep, sexy voice making her heart jump.
Hope looked up at him again and returned to greeting, but then she went back to her phone screen. She didn’t have anything to do on her phone, but it was clear that he’d come over to talk to her, and she wasn’t going to make it easy for him.
“What’s your name?” Gabriel asked.
The woman looked up at him, slightly raising an eyebrow. “Hope,” she said, sounding a little bored.
“Well, Hope, I’m Gabriel. I saw you standing here and thought you were incredibly beautiful, so I couldn't pass up the chance to come to talk to you," he said. Gabriel was very direct, which Hope had to admit was quite disarming. She couldn't help but blush, although she masked it by clearing her throat.
“Would you like to have dinner with me?” Gabriel asked. He looked at Hope the way he looked at all the girls whose pants he wanted to dive into, and it always worked. But Hope didn’t seem to be reacting the way he expected.
“I don’t know, I’m really tired,” Hope looked away from him. “Besides, April will be showing up any minute now.”
“I could bring the dinner to you then,” Gabriel said, happy to flex the things he could get done; anything to impress this impenetrable woman.
“Cause you’re such a big hotshot, right?” Hope smirked. She had him trying to impress her, which is just what she wanted.
“Well, given that I own this hotel, I’d say my influence is pretty substantial here," Gabriel said. It felt good finally getting it out there. This was the point where the game usually changed completely. This was the point where he got the girl.
“Yeah, Lark, right? Didn’t you just almost get blown up like ten minutes ago?” Hope said, dismissing Gabriel’s statement.
Gabriel wasn’t sure what to do now. He realized she had known who he was all along, and she still wasn’t giving him the time of day. It was something he hadn’t experienced in quite a long time, and it only made his desire to have her even stronger.
Gabriel moved closer to her, leaving little space between them. He took her hand, confiscated her phone, and dropped it on the counter, forcing her to look into his eyes. He held her hands in his and looked into her brown eyes.
“Hope,” He began. “You could wait here for your girlfriend and then spend the night eating ice-cream and bonding over your favorite shows on Netflix, or you could come with me, and we could… talk over some wine. What do you say?”
At this point, Hope was doing everything she could not to squeal in excitement. She couldn’t take how much confidence he had. He was standing so close to her, that his enchanting cologne only got sexier, and so did he. She was no doubt red in the face because she could see in his reaction that he knew he’d won.
“How about you come over to my room,” Hope said, taking her hand back and picking up her phone. “And maybe we can have that talk.”
“What’s a world without compromise, right?” Gabriel smiled.
“Right.”
As Hope led Gabriel to the elevator, he spotted Tristan about to interrupt, and he gave him a signal that said to leave him alone. Gabriel knew he was being reckless, but he couldn’t help himself, he just had to have this woman.
They entered the elevator, and as soon as the doors closed, Gabriel pushed Hope against the wall, with his right hand around her neck. She looked at him defiantly, a challenge, and he was more than happy to accept it.
Gabriel leaned in for a kiss, and Hope could feel his warm, minty breath, but as soon as their lips came into contact, he pulled away, merely brushing his lips against hers. This made Hope lean into him impulsively. Gabriel smiled triumphantly. He slid his left hand down to her ass, grabbing it, and pushing her torso towards his.
Hope felt herself heating up. He took complete control of her body, and he wasn’t asking permission either. Somehow, that just made her want him to take her even more. It seemed Gabriel knew that was what she wanted, but she felt as if he was paying her back, for playing hard to get, by teasing her.
Gabriel’s hand found its way to Hope’s warm thigh. He lifted it up and wrapped her leg around his waist. He leaned into her and now she could feel his erection against her. She had to admit that she was impressed. Hope began to gasp, as she couldn’t control herself anymore; he won.
Gabriel began to kiss her neck, moving up and teasing her lips again before retreating to nibble on her earlobes. Hope's hands could do nothing except feel for Gabriel's strong back.
Gabriel knew he had been successful in breaking her defenses, and he couldn't help himself anymore. He looked at her full, red lips once more, and then went in for a kiss. Just as he was about to meet her lips, and as if a punishment for his teasing, the ding of the elevator doors being opened interrupted him.
The couple quickly arranged themselves, and the elevator doors opened. Standing there was a blonde girl wearing a similar outfit to Hope.
“There you are!” the girl said, looking at Hope.
“Sorry, I got… caught up,” Hope replied. “Gabriel, this is my friend, April.”
“I see,” Gabriel said, eyeing April. He was quite annoyed that she had interrupted them, so much so that he couldn’t help but clench his fist.
“Hi! Nice to meet you,” April said. It was obvious that she was attracted to him.
"Alright, well, I'll be seeing you then, Gabe," Hope said, and then she got out of the elevator. She walked down the hall with her friend, who was having a hard time tearing her eyes away from Gabriel. Gabriel was reminded once more that this was the natural effect he had on women, something he had almost forgotten while talking to Hope. Although the interruption had enraged him, he was glad he'd met Hope, and as he watched her perfect ass walking down the hallway, he was determined to finish what he'd started.
2
Hope woke up the next morning feeling a bit anxious. She lay on her bed, staring at the dark ceiling of her hotel room, and all she could think about was all she'd thought about the night before: Gabriel Lark. She remembered their scene in the elevator, but they never actually kissed, so she wasn't sure to call it even.
The room began to get brighter, and Hope realized she had been staring at the ceiling for too long. She got up to start the day, with the first item on the list being to go over to April's room. Hope planned her day meticulously, and although there were some unexpected turns last night, she was going to get back on track today. Hope went out into the hall, where she saw the housekeeping woman knocking on April’s door, across hers.
“Good morning,” Hope greeted the woman.
"Good morning, Miss Bridges," the housekeeper returned. "I'm trying to get into Miss Forman's room, but she's not responding.
“Don’t worry about it, April always sleeps in late,” Hope smiled. “Do you have an all-access keycard or something?”
“Yes, I do,” the woman said as she checked her pocket.
Hope glanced at the security cameras in the hall. She wondered if there were cameras in the elevator as well. She felt embarrassed at the thought that someone might have seen Gabriel and her last night. The housekeeper finally brought out the keycard, opened the door, and they both went in.
“April!” Hope called as she stepped in. “You okay? Rise and shine, Watson.”
April was Hope’s partner in crime, as well as almost everything else. Although April was the more outgoing and vocal of the two, she often called Hope Sherlock because she thought she was smart. They called themselves Sherlock and Watson as a sort of inside joke, as well as a way to get the other person to stop being mad when they fought.
When the two women walked into the room, April wasn’t there. Her bed didn’t look as slept-in as April usually left it. Hope went over to the bathroom door.
“April?” Hope knocked. “You in there?”
There was no answer. At this point, the housekeeper and Hope’s eyes met, sharing their worry.
Hope opened the door, and there she was. April was lying in the tub, her eyes closed, the tub filled with blo
ody water. Hope stood perfectly still, paralyzed by shock. The housekeeper let out a scream that snapped Hope out of her trance.
"Oh my God, April!" Hope screamed. She ran to the tub, but April just slumped there, lifeless and cold in her own blood.
Hope tried to open her eyelids, screaming at her friend to wake up, but if the color of her friend wasn’t enough to tell her she was dead, the coldness of her skin confirmed Hope’s worst fear.
"Call 911 now!" Hope yelled at the housekeeper, the crack in her voice from crying audible. The housekeeper scrambled to get to the telephone in the room, and Hope could hear her speaking to someone on the phone.
Hope stroked her friend’s cheek. “I’m sorry,” she cried.
"Oh, shit," Hope heard behind her. She turned to see none other than Gabriel Lark standing at the door, and the color drained from his face. "What the fuck happened?"
“I think she slit her wrists,” Hope cried.
Gabriel inched closer to the tub, carefully assessing the situation. He definitely wasn’t prepared to see this when he came over to see Hope this morning, even though he was used to being surprised. His mind started to race all over the place; he did have a killer on the loose who had tried to kill him, just the night before. Gabriel was already starting to think that maybe there was more to this beneath the surface. He looked at April; at her grey body.
“Are you sure she did this to herself?” Gabriel asked.
Hope looked at him with a puzzled expression, one that demanded an explanation. Gabriel looked for her wrists, but they were under the bloody water, and he couldn't risk interfering with the police's crime scene by checking.