10. Kylie

Chapter ten

Kylie

G io's chuckle has me dragging my eyes away from the closed door of the club. I glance in the rearview mirror to connect with his gaze before he returns his eyes back to the road.

Is this guy always this happy?

"You're Gio, right?"

"Yes, ma'am. And you're Kylie. Luca's Little Bird."

"Bird?" I tilt my head as I search his profile.

"I guess I should say angel. That's what Luca calls you. Rafael's the one who calls you Little Bird, and it stuck." He pauses, frowning. "I should give you a nickname, since those two have their own." He rubs his jaw as he thinks about it.

"Oh, it's not necessary. You can call me Kylie." I have a niggling feeling I should be worried about what he might choose to call me.

"No, no. I won't be left out. I insist. Let's see … what should I call you?" He glances at me in the mirror, grinning, before looking back at the road with a frown as he shakes his head. I hear him mutter, "No, Luca would kill me." That has me curious, but before I could ask, he snaps his fingers and yells, "I got it! Candy!"

I cringe. "Uh, why?"

"You know, cause you're a sugar baby." He obviously thinks it's a brilliant idea .

"No. Absolutely not." I put my hand out as if it would stop him from calling me that.

"Hey, no disrespect. I admire what you're doing."

"What?" I shake my head. "That's … I … why?" I give up trying to form a proper question to that ludicrous statement.

"Seriously, it's not an insult. I think it's cool you don't let society restrict you. You have a need and you found a way to reach it on your terms." He shrugs. "It's admirable."

"Look, I'm not dissing the other girls. I understand why some would sign up for this service, but not all do for the, uh, perks." I finish lamely. "For some, this may not be a choice. I mean, yes, it's a choice. Just … gah! It's hard to explain." I glare down at my hands, trying to think of a better way to make myself clear. Raising my eyes back to the mirror, I catch Gio studying me. The lack of judgment relieves me and my shoulders loosen, only now realizing how tense I've been. I give him a weak smile. "I only mean this is a choice, but it may not be one some of the girls, myself included, would take if they had a better path. Calling me Candy would be a reminder." I wrinkle my nose.

Gio turns serious. "Okay. No Candy."

"Thank you. Sorry, that sounded judgmental. I'm not trying to be. Hell, I shouldn't be telling you any of this. I've broken so many rules tonight; Ms. Wesley would be appalled." I stare out the window at the buildings passing by.

Gio chuckles. "Don't you worry about Margaret. She's a marshmallow."

"Ha!"

Slapping a hand over my mouth, I glance at Gio in panic, but I needn't have worried because he guffaws at my reaction. I don't know why I'm surprised. The guy seems to find humor in everything.

After Gio's laughter dies down, he explains, "Once you get to know her, you'll see she isn't the bulldog she presents herself as. She likes people to think she's hard, but I've seen that woman melt into a puddle for the girls time and again. "

"I don't think she likes me. I keep messing up with her." Turning to the window, I stare out without really seeing anything. "If you can't tell, I'm a bit headstrong."

Gio smirks. "You're exactly what Luca needs,"

We pull in front of the apartment complex where my unit sits on the upper left side. I glance to our window to find a light on when it dawns on me I never gave Gio my address. Would Sweet Connections give out private information before I sign a contract? Wouldn't it be a breach in trust? I frown, not liking that Ms. Wesley would do that even if Luca was a frequent client.

Gio puts the SUV into park and as I unbuckle my seatbelt, he barks out for me to sit still. Confused, I sit back and watch him round the back of the vehicle and open my door.

"You don't have to do that," I state as soon as he swings my door open. "I don't expect you to wait on me as if you work for me."

"Are you calling my gentlemanly behavior into question?" he asks, affronted. His hand goes to his chest, a fake frown plastered on his face as if I insulted him, but there's a sparkle in his eyes.

Lord help me, I giggle.

I really like this guy. As big and intimidating as he is, he's the one who's a total marshmallow on the inside.

"Never.I just don't want you to think you have to treat me like your employer."

Gio's grin broadens as he stares down at me. "Little Bit."

"What?" I frown, confused by the change in topic.

"It's my nickname for you. Little Bit. You are a tiny thing and since Rafe calls you Little Bird, I'll call you Little Bit."

"First of all, you're huge." I poke him in the chest. "That doesn't make me tiny, only tiny to you. I'm considered average for a woman."

"You're what? Five-six?" He snorts.

"No. I'm five-seven, thank you very much," I huff.

"Ok, Little Bit." Gio rolls his eyes.

"What the fuck are you two bickering about? "

"Sweet mother of all that is holy!" Startled, I wobble in my heels as a pair of hands grab my arms to steady me. Turning around, Rafael is standing less than a foot behind me. The breath rushes out of me, seeing all of his handsomeness up close. Luca is still the hottest one of the bunch, but Gio and Rafael are damn near as good looking.

I'm nervous about how this guy has snuck up on me twice tonight. I've always prided myself on being aware of my surroundings. Having a cop for a father, he taught me that, as well as putting my mom and me in self-defense classes until he was sure we could handle ourselves. I'm realizing what a false sense of security it gave me.

I also realize I've been staring too long when Gio and Rafael stop talking and turn to look at me. Shoot, I have no idea what they'd been saying.

"Uh, hi." I stick my hand out. "You must be Rafael." He places my keys in my hand instead of shaking it. "Oh." I turn to look for where he parked my car, forgetting he drove it here.

"It's across the street under the light post." Rafael tilts his head to indicate behind me. "Your car is one second away from the junkyard, you know that, right?"

Flustered, I ignore the insult to my car. "Thank you. I appreciate you driving it here." He tips his chin down, then glances at Gio with a look I can't decipher before walking around us to climb into the passenger seat without another word.

An unsettling feeling sits in my stomach. I glance at Gio, who's glaring at Rafael through the car window before he masks it and turns to me. He gives me a smile as he extends his hand toward the building. "Come on, Little Bit. Let's get you tucked away." He gently moves me out of the way to shut my door, then walks to the building's entrance, expecting me to follow.

After a quick glance at Rafael, I rush after him. "You don't have to walk me up. I've got it from here."

Gio holds the door open for me and nudges me in when I stop at the door. "One thing you better understand now, Little Bit, anytime you are in our care, we will escort you to the door. We will open your door and do any manner of things to keep you protected. It's who we are and you're not going to change that."

I glance over my shoulder as we climb the stairs to the second floor. He's checking out our surroundings, reminding me he's Luca's bodyguard. It's his job. Letting it go, I stop in front of my door and stick the key in the lock. Pushing the door open, I turn to him. "All right. Thanks for escorting me home and please tell Rafael I really do appreciate him driving my car here. Good night, Gio."

Gio nods. "Good night. And lock the door."

I smile and playfully roll my eyes as I shut the door and lock it. I wait for his retreating footsteps before I rush to Talia's bedroom door and knock.

"Come in." She waits until I step into her room before asking, "Well?" She's sitting cross-legged on her bed with her laptop and papers spread around her. I'm glad this is one of her nights home so I could talk to her about Luca.

I lean against her doorway and cross my arms. "He's unexpected. Not too old and really good-looking. Maybe too good-looking, but my parents won't question why I'm with him." I'd already shared my concern with Talia that I would be paired with an old man and have to hide him from my dad. No way would he believe this charade otherwise.

She perks up. "Yeah?" She wiggles her eyebrows. "Are we talking politician or business exec good-looking?" She rolls her hand, urging me to give her more detail.

"Uh, more like the sinful kind." Her eyes widen. "I'm not sure what he does. He doesn't look like a politician or a business exec. He dresses like one, but I can't imagine him in either role." I look down at the carpet, frowning. Why didn't I ask what he did for a living? Now that I think about it, we didn't ask each other many questions.

"What's your version of sinful?" Talia asks.

I hesitate in answering. The image of Luca's smolder has me remembering how our first kiss went. I can still taste him on my tongue and that's when heat climbs my cheeks as I look around her room—anywhere but at her.

Until she snorts.

"You should see your face right now. "

I roll my eyes, shaking my head at her, but with a smile. "He's very attractive, ok? If you saw him, you would drool. Trust me. You know the actor, Michele Morrone?"

"Seriously?"

"Yeah, but better looking. He's got a harder edge to him, if that makes sense."

"Damn, girl. You got that on your first contract?" She's staring at me with envy.

I lift my shoulder, tuck my chin down and smirk.

"I want a picture ASAP." She points her ink pen at me.

I turn to leave her room, but tell her over my shoulder, "He's picking me up tomorrow at seven."

"Dang it. I won't be here," she mutters as I close her door before heading to my room.

I undress as soon as I enter my bedroom with my mind on that explosive kiss. It was hot and I'm not sure I would have had the forethought to stop if he hadn't done it for us.

With need still pulsing inside me, I rush through my night-time ritual. After slipping on a clean pair of underwear and a t-shirt, I go to my nightstand to find my clit stimulator I have hidden in a box before turning my radio on low so that Talia won’t hear anything if she decides to use the bathroom.

I pull the covers back and climb in before turning off my bedside lamp. Grabbing the stimulator, I place it on my fingerbefore turning it on. Luca's face effortlessly comes to mind, and I relive how it felt when he squeezed the back of my neck. It was like a lightning bolt had zapped down my body straight to my clit. He had me at that moment. I would have done anything he asked of me to be able to explore that more.

Getting wetter by the moment, I slide my hand into my underwear, and as soon as I make contact, I groan in pleasure. It has been so long since I've felt the need for an orgasm, I'm not sure I will last long.

I recapture the moment Luca pulled me to him and took my mouth. I remember the feel of his tongue on mine and imagine him licking my clit. Groaning, I slide my free hand under my shirt to play with my nipple as I recall his taste—cinnamon and alcohol.

It was intoxicating.

Remembering the need to crawl into his lap and grind down on his hardness, I push the stimulator harder against my clit. I pant and groan as my orgasm builds before finally tumbling over, harder than I've ever orgasmed before. After a few seconds, I jerk the stimulator away, my clit already too sensitive and my inner walls still pulsing.

"Holy shit." If the memory of his kiss is that intense, what will happen when he has me at his mercy?