Page 32

There can be no doubt that the way my body reacts means that I want her. I want her in my bed, and I want to be between her legs. I want her to ride me like a bucking bronco. I want her to scream my name until her voice goes hoarse.

My hand is still sore from where she bit me, and it throbs now as a reminder that she is deadly dangerous on her own. Fuck it, I like her dangerous. I think about how the fight with Michael must have gone down, how she kicked his ass, and the thought arouses me. I give her a small smile.

“Good night, Gia,” I say gently, hoping she doesn’t see the effect she has on me.

She turns and walks off without replying.

I go shower and take care of my erection. Thinking about her makes me cum hard, and the release of tension makes my entire body shudder and spasm.

I pull on some boxer shorts when I’m done, finish freshening up, and climb into bed. Then sleep eludes me. She is all I can think about all night long. Her shape, her strength, her attitude, even her bite. Since she bit my hand, I’m certain I won’t let her teeth near my dick.

Once morning dawns, though, I force the idea of her out of my brain. I want my sole focus to be on Giovanni today. He’s going to be so excited to be home for the summer holidays. He calls every Sunday to tell me what’s happening, but I’m sure he’ll rehash it all on the drive home.

I don’t let a driver take me; this I do myself. I prefer to put in one-on-one effort with my son.

I think about his mother, my first love and high school sweetheart. She was so excited to have him. When she died while giving birth, I was devastated and swore that Giovanni would always come first in my life.

It hasn’t been easy, but we’ve made it work. I’m raising him the way Melissa would have wanted him raised, of that, I’m sure. She didn’t always agree with our lifestyle, but she knew I’d never let anything happen to our child.

My only regret is that Giovanni is growing up without a mother.

When I pull up to the school building, Giovanni is already standing outside the school with his luggage. I smile at him when I see him.

“Daddy,” he yells as I get out. He runs and launches himself into my arms, and I swing him around.

“Hey, buddy, how are you?” I ask. “Were you waiting long? Sorry, traffic sucked.”

“No, not long. I’m super-duper excited to get home. Can we go now?”

I chuckle. “Get in the car. I’ll put your things in the trunk.”

Giovanni runs to the car and gets in, strapping himself in safely. I put his luggage into the trunk and get back into the car.

“So tell me all about it,” I say as I start the car.

Giovanni doesn’t need to be told twice. He launches into a day-by-day blow of his school year even though we’ve seen each other for Christmas, Thanksgiving, and spring break.

When we’re halfway home, he shifts to start talking about all the things he wants to do over the summer, which is mostly hang out with me and play in the pool.

He also says he wants to eat at big people restaurants because they’ve started food tech and he wants to try different things. I’m happy with that. He’s a well-behaved kid; he’ll be fine in a good restaurant.

I pull up to the mansion and get out. “Lunch should be ready, so let’s eat, then you can go get changed, and we can do something.”

Giovanni takes my hand. “Did Maria make my favorite?”

“Oh, Maria probably didn’t cook lunch today. It’s probably the new lady who’s staying with us for a while,” I say without thinking.

Giovanni pulls away from me and runs into the house. “I want to see her,” he yells as he takes off for the kitchen.

Shit.

I take off after him. “Giovanni. Stop.”

It’s too late as he runs into the kitchen and stares at Gia curiously. “You’re pretty,” he says.

Gia looks uncomfortable. Maria goes to Giovanni and hugs him tightly. “Oh, Gio, you are home. Look how big you are.”

Giovanni hugs her, then pushes her away. “What are you making? I did food tech this year, so I cooked some stuff too. I like cooking.”