Chapter 14

Gia looked like I’d pissed in her Cheerios after I stopped the kiss.

Pulling away from that was one of the hardest things I’d ever had to do. But we needed to have this discussion. Not to mention, I wasn’t going to fuck her in my office. It was heading dangerously close to that scenario. A few more seconds of that kiss, and I wasn’t sure if I would have been able to stop.

She was gasping for air. “What do you need to say?”

My dick was still hard as a rock as I said, “If you had stopped talking for two seconds earlier, you’d realize that you were wrong about what you thought I was going to tell you tonight.”

Deep breath.

I continued, “I don’t want to just fuck…” I corrected my language, because what I had to say was important. “Don’t want to just…sleep with you.” Letting out a breath, I pushed the rest of the words out, “I think we should…see where things go.”

Her jaw dropped. “What are you getting at?”

“Earlier when you walked into my office all made up, looking like freaking Betty Boop, I was in the middle of thinking about this thing with us, trying to figure out my feelings. But there wasn’t anything to figure out except that I’ve been in denial. I can’t promise you anything, Gia. I can’t promise that I’m not gonna fuck this up royally. But…I wanna try.”

Her eyes widened in genuine surprise. “You want more than just a casual fuck with me?”

I nodded. “Yeah.” Moving in, I wrapped my hands around her cheeks and rubbed some of the remaining lipstick away from her mouth. “And you don’t need all that shit on your face. You’re so fucking beautiful without it. Next time you do that, I’m gonna kiss it all off of you.”

“Is that a challenge?” A blush crept up her face. “So…what we do now? Where do we go from here?”

The concept of dating was so foreign to me. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d taken a woman out on a formal date. The slower I took things with Gia, the less chance I had of screwing things up. That meant avoiding being alone with her for a while.

“You’re off tomorrow night, right?” I asked.

“Yeah.”

“I’ll come get you.”

She smirked. “You’re taking me out on a date?”

My heart started to palpitate at the thought. “Look…I don’t really know what I’m doing when it comes to dating. I haven’t been on an actual date in a very long time. But yeah, I’ll pick you up. Take you out.”

“Pick me up. Take me out. That’s sounds a lot like a date to me,” she teased.

I rolled my eyes, then smiled in concession. “Alright, damn it. It’s a date.”

What’s wrong with me tonight?

Indecisive as hell, I took off the third shirt I’d put on in five minutes and threw it in the corner of my bedroom. You’d think I’d never taken a woman out before.

I wasn’t used to dressing up, either, finally settling on a charcoal collared shirt and dark jeans.

The reality was, the right shirt wasn’t going to protect me from my own self-destructive behavior tonight. I knew damn well I had no control over my physical reaction to Gia. Yes, I wanted to get to know her even better. Yes, I wanted to hang out with her. But I wanted to fuck her more than my next breath, and I worried that the minute we started touching again tonight, that need would trump all. I was gonna lose it. I just knew it.

I’d made a reservation for us at a posh seafood restaurant about a half-hour away. I figured the longer the drive, the better. That was more time in the car where I couldn’t get myself into trouble on the very first night of “dating.”

The sun was just starting to set as I pulled up to the beach house.

After I rang the doorbell, I wiped the sweat off my forehead as I waited for her to answer. The fact that she still didn’t know I owned her damn place made me chuckle to myself.

Gia opened, looking good enough to eat right there on the spot, and that only confirmed how fucked I was. She was wearing a low-cut yellow dress that was long and flowy. Even though it was sexy, it didn’t come across as slutty. She wore her hair down in waves. This sparkly headband sat atop her head and across her forehead. It reminded me of something Cleopatra would have worn. Gia was naturally exotic and beautiful, so I was glad she’d listened to me and kept the makeup to a minimum. She didn’t need it.

“You look nice.” I smiled.

“So do you,” she said.

Not knowing what the fuck to do with them, I slipped my hands into my pockets. I’d become conscious of my every movement. It was like I suddenly forgot how to act around her. Now that we knew where things stood and I had free rein to touch her, I was scared shitless that I was going to move too fast and do something to hurt her.

As we made our way back to my Mustang, she asked, “Where are we going?”

“You ever hear of Oceanside Manor?”

“Yes. That place is crazy fancy.”

“Try to behave, then.” I winked, opening up the passenger side door. “No breaking up any brawls tonight.”

As she settled into the seat, she took a deep breath in. “I’ve missed riding in your car.”

Damn, I’ve missed it, too.

She crossed her legs, revealing that the dress she was wearing had a massive slit that allowed me a view of her toned and tanned leg all the way up to the top of her thigh.

Damn. Damn. Damn. So much for extra time in the car keeping me out of trouble.

Reaching into my pocket for a cigarette, I realized I’d run out. There was no way I was gonna survive a thirty-minute ride with “legs” over here if I couldn’t smoke.

Down the road, I abruptly stopped at a 7-Eleven before we had to get on the highway.

“What are you doing?”

“I have to get some smokes. I left my pack at home.”

I ran out of the car fast so I didn’t have to hear her guilt trip about the fact that I was still smoking. Tonight was not the night to quit.

“Pack of Marlboro,” I said to the cashier.

When he rang me up, I reached into my pocket for my wallet to find that it wasn’t there. Patting my clothing down, I soon figured out that I’d left my wallet at home.

Shit!

I’d been so preoccupied with my wardrobe like a pussy, I forgot the most important thing.

Leaning against the counter, I let out a long breath and slid the cigarettes back toward the man.

“Sorry, dude. Forgot my wallet.”

Gia must have sensed the pissed look on my face when I returned to the car.

“What’s wrong?”

Cranking the ignition, I sighed. “We have to go back. I left my wallet at home. We’ll just stop by my place, and I’ll run in and get it.”

She placed her hand on my thigh, and it made my dick stir. “Don’t be silly. I can pay for dinner.”

There was no freaking way I was going to let Gia do that, even if I paid her back. I couldn’t imagine anything more humiliating than watching her open her wallet tonight and pay the tab.

“Nah. I’ll head back.”

The entire ride to my house, I was bracing myself for her reaction when we pulled into my driveway. She’d never seen where I lived.

As we finally approached—as predicted—her eyes bugged out of her head when she got a load of my digs.

“Oh my God. This is your house? It’s amazing.”

Even though I didn’t blow money like my father and brother, with the riches I’d inherited, the one thing I’d afforded myself was a damn nice place of residence.

Two levels, all glass windows on the exterior, and overlooking the ocean, it was definitely a sweet property. There was no denying that. It was on a small private area of beach, secluded—just the way I liked it.

I was just about to run in when Gia asked, “Do you mind if I go in with you? I’d love to see the inside.”

It shouldn’t have surprised me that she wanted to see the house. Technically, I should’ve been a gentleman and invited her in. I just didn’t trust myself alone with her. But what was I supposed to do now, make her stay in the car after she’d asked to see it?

“Yeah. Sure.”

Once inside, Gia looked around, soaking in my modern but minimalist style. Most of my furniture was black or gray. The walls of the main space were white and covered in my mother’s paintings. I’d specifically asked her to paint different variations of the moon over the ocean at night.

Gia was soaking it all in. “Rush…this place. It’s…”

“Thank you.”

It didn’t take her long to notice the artwork. She walked straight over to the portrait of the fullest moon. “Did your mother do these?”

I trailed behind her. “Yes.”

“They’re amazing,” she said brushing her finger gently over the canvas. “Do you have an obsession with the moon?”

“You could say I like the moon, yeah. He’s always there for me and has a little bit of a dark side, like I do, I suppose. I asked my mother to paint different interpretations of the moon over the water at night.”

I could tell the wheels were turning in Gia’s head, like she was trying to figure out the meaning behind why I loved the moon, maybe trying to find some correlation between it and my yearning for dependability or love or some shit.

“Well, I definitely think the moon suits you over the sun.”

I cocked a brow. “Because I’m a lunatic?”

She laughed. “Well, yeah, but also just the dark, mysterious vibe.”

Gia just kept wandering around the house, oblivious to my itch to leave. “Do you mind if I check out the second level?”

I wasn’t going to be able to get out of this, but a part of me was starting to want to show her more as I became used to having her inside my home. Instead of answering, I nudged my head and led her to follow me up the stairs.

She waltzed through my bedroom and burst open the doors that led to the upper deck.

The last of the sun was going down over the breezy ocean. Gia just stood there soaking in the evening air and the scenery. She looked exquisite with her hair blowing around as she gazed out at the water.

We were both quiet for a long while, listening to the seagulls before she finally spoke.

“If I lived here, I’m pretty sure I would never leave.”

An image of Gia in shackles, tied to my bed, unable to leave, flashed through my brain.

Can’t help your thoughts, right?

When she turned to me, for some reason, I got the urge to say, “You’re really pretty. You know that?”

Where did that come from?

“I bet you say that to all the girls you bring up to this balcony.”

I rarely brought women home if I could help it. Typically, I’d go to their place. On the rare occasions that I couldn’t avoid it, I never took them up to my private bedroom, which led to this balcony. I’d use the first-floor guest bedroom to “entertain.”

“You’re the first girl who’s ever stood on it.”

Her forehead wrinkled. “Are you serious?”

“Yes. I’m a private guy. I’ve never brought a woman up here before. This…the upstairs…is like my sanctuary.”

“How come you let me up here, then?”

“Fuck if I know. I guess…I trust you…or something.”

Her brow lifted. “Or something?”

“Something I don’t even understand. I lose my mind around you. From the second I met you, you set something off in me that I haven’t been able to contain.”

“So, don’t...contain it.”

I inched closer to her, placing a piece of hair behind her ear. “It’s like I want to protect you and corrupt you at the same time. It’s fucked-up.”

“It’s not fucked-up. It’s sweet.”

“You wouldn’t think it was sweet if you knew what was going on in my head right now.”

“I think I have a vague idea.”

Wanting to kiss her so badly, I held back, instead looking down at my phone. “We should get going…”

“Did you have a dinner reservation?”

“Yeah. We missed it.”

She looked hesitant to say, “Do you mind if we hang out here instead of going there? I’m not really in the mood to go to a restaurant. I feel like I spend half my life in one. I would love to just sit out on this deck with a glass of wine. Maybe get some takeout?”

That sounded like exactly what I’d want to do if I weren’t so damn scared to be alone with her.

When I didn’t answer, she said, “It’s okay if you’d prefer not to.”

“No. It’s fine,” I spit out. “We can stay here.”

My night just got a whole lot more challenging.