Gio took a swig of his beer before addressing Nellie. "That took a while, didn't it?" "Yeah, it got a little messy. Court days kept getting rescheduled and what not." Nellie shook her head. "But finally it's over and I couldn't be happier.""Time to move on." Roni smiled. "And girl, as good as you look, you're gonna enjoy your freedom. You better.""Oh, I plan to. I'm already going on that weekend party cruise with the girls from work.""I know," Roni pouted. "If I weren't pregnant, I would've gone with you."Noah's expression immediately soured. "No, you wouldn't have."Roni laughed and leaned into him. "I meant with you, silly. I've never been on one. It could've been sort of a honeymoon.""This was so last minute. Someone canceled and I took their place, but," Nellie smiled, lifting her eyebrow, "we can plan another time. You can still go if you're pregnant. There'd still be lots to do, or we could wait until after the baby is here.""You know in all my years," Jack spoke u
BiancaFor the next three days, Bianca had managed to keep herself preoccupied with school and work in the mornings and early afternoons while Felix worked out. Then in the evenings, she'd be back at the cabin with him.Toni had called and texted her in the past few days, excited that she'd seen her on TV and in the tabloids: well, photos and some footage of her getting into her car or walking onto the small satellite university campus where she attended the only class she wasn't taking online. They'd been pretty sneaky so far and surprisingly respectful of her space, because most of the photos Toni had mentioned, Bianca hadn't even been aware when they'd been taken. Only once had she noticed a photographer across the parking lot, aiming his camera at her. She'd never understand how celebrities could stand it. It had totally crept her out.Bianca had to laugh at how giddy all this made her friend. The woman was glued to the television and her computer now that she had a friend who w
"Bianca," Toni's voice was full of remorse. "Sweetie, don't cry. I didn't know this was bothering you that much."Bianca sucked it up and took another deep breath feeling like a blubbering idiot. "It's just that I keep having these dreams, Toni. In the last one, I got out of bed with Felix, tip-toed over to Gio's room, took off my clothes, and climbed in his bed. And the thing is it's always so real, yet it's so easy for me to do it. I know it's only a dream, but even in dreams, I usually think the way I would in real life. And in the dreams, I want him so desperately." She breathed in, thankful that she was completely in control of her emotions now and continued. "I can barely look at him for fear that he'll know. He'll see it in my eyes. And the worst part is I talk in my sleep.""Oh, shit. You do?""Well, I used to. I haven't slept in the same room with my grandma in years, but years ago, she told me I did. What if I do one of these nights, and I say his name? Say the things I do
GioLast night had been rough. Each day that passed, having to see Bianca with Felix was that much worse than the last. It made Gio wonder how much longer he could take being here. But then they'd have another one of their moments, and the more urgent question became how in the hell would he ever bring himself to leave? He couldn't decide which was worse: having to see her with Felix or never seeing her again—at least only as often as he ever saw Felix, which, if he wasn't training him, was only every six months or so.Felix had left early that morning. Gio hadn't even been up when he left, and if he had been, he would've pretended not to be. Felix would be gone for almost two days. The last thing Gio wanted was to witness their long goodbye.After taking a shower, he called his mom to check in. She'd asked him to call at least once a day, so he figured he'd get it out of the way now. Then he called Jack. The night of Noah's dinner, Jack had discreetly asked him to call him when he
Knowing that getting carried away could be dangerous up on the lift, he refrained from doing all the other things he wanted to do, like suck her lips and taste her neck, but just kissing her was already working him into a frenzy. Her hand was on his thigh, and she kept sliding it up and down, squeezing at times. That alone was driving him insane, making him kiss her even deeper.They kissed the entire way up. The only times he'd pulled away at all were to look deep in her eyes. He wanted to make absolutely sure she wasn't regretting this. Gio had no idea how this was going to work or how far this would go. Was this the only time she'd allow this? He didn't even want to consider that. There'd be no way he'd be able to fight this anymore, not knowing what he knew now—that she was just as hungry for him as he was for her. Not once since he'd started kissing her had she so much as slowed it down. Her tongue kept up with his, matching every swirl, even sucking on his tongue as he did hers.
BiancaThe angora scarf Bianca wrapped around her neck should have brought on a little guilt. She'd purchased it just a few weeks ago with thoughts of Felix caressing the soft fabric. Now all she could think of was that she'd soon be snuggling up next to Gio in it.She'd been tempted to call Toni while she was in the bedroom changing. A very small voice in her head wanted Toni to talk her out of this: tell her she was making a huge mistake. But the much louder, more compelling voice all but snuffed out the little one. It screamed what she really wanted to do and that was to be with Gio all day. Have him hold her and kiss her like he had on the lift when she'd nearly melted into one huge puddle. As dangerous as she knew this could be, Bianca could hardly wait for it to happen again.On the ride to the movies, Bianca struggled to concentrate on what she was saying as she looked into Gio's eyes. "There's this really nice hiking trail we can check out after the movies. It's well kept fo
Bianca would never tire of the way he gazed at her. "Then lead the way, beautiful."Such a simple compliment and Bianca felt her face flush. She'd just sucked face with the guy, heard his moans, felt his hunger for her, and this made her blush? It was so silly she had to look away and he laughed. "Wow. Really?"She covered her face with her gloved hands, trying to keep from going into a laughing fit because she felt so stupid and the worst thing that could happen did—the squeak. It was loud, and one look at Gio's laughing face and she was in near tears, laughing.He pulled her to him laughing and moved her hands away from her face. "Don't cover your face. I love seeing you laugh."Bianca buried her face in his warm jacket as he brought his arms around her waist, holding her tighter. The enthralling smell of him, his aftershave, his skin as she lifted her face to his, was enough to calm her laughter, get her heart pounding again for a different reason now.She glanced back at the c
GioGio waited, but Bianca said nothing more. She just stared at him in that same way she'd been doing since they left the cabin that morning. Those eyes owned him now—completely. It was almost painful to look into them now and know she belonged to someone else. That she was his for just a few stolen moments and tomorrow she'd be back in Felix's arms . . . his bed.He hugged her, squeezing his eyes shut, not wanting to be looking into those eyes when he asked her, "What've you been dreaming, Bianca?"Did he really want to know? He realized only moments ago when he found himself getting carried away that as much as he wanted to take her and do all the things he'd been fantasizing about on a daily basis, now he couldn't—shouldn't. Not just because she was Felix's girl but because what was happening was exactly what he'd been afraid of.Kissing her today had been a leap of faith. One he'd hoped would get her out of his system. Instead, it'd backfired on him. His need for her now had m