“That sounds good,” Gia finally said as we stopped in front of the small bathroom. There was a door on one end that led straight to my bedroom. I put her down, waiting until she gave me a small smile, even if it was shaky, before I stepped away.
“This is my room; I’m going to unlock it tonight. I know you’ve had a rough go of it, and I can’t have you fainting on me tonight.”
Gia stood alone now, her hands clasped in front of her belly as she stared at me. “We definitely don’t need that.”
Seeing a twinge of awkwardness leeching back into her face, I quickly moved through the bathroom, setting out an extra towel, a spare loofah, and then rolling out a smaller towel against the tile floor. I didn’t want her to slip when she got out.
“There you go,” I said.
Gia’s pale face was directed straight to the floor. “Thank you so much, Colton. I’m so sorry. This has got to be the biggest pain in the ass. I don’t understand why you’re doing any of this.”
I stepped up, ignoring the warning in my heart as I placed my hand under her chin and tipped her face up to my gaze.
“Gia…” I leaned in, waiting for her to look at me. “Look at me, baby.”
Finally, those baby blues snapped up to meet mine. “I will never be all right with you being in danger, but I can’t deny that I feel like fate is giving me another chance.”
“Another chance?”
Heat pulsed in my veins, nearly blocking out all other sounds. “To do this.” And then, as gently as I could, I leaned in and pressed my mouth against the softness of her lips. Gia was perfectly still under me, against me, her lips soft and a little parted as I kissed her.
I pulled away, my heart hammering in my ears.I needed to get her into the shower. I needed to get her settled, to know she was safe and to make her understand that she was safe with me. Always. “Baby…”
But I couldn’t get another word out. Not when Gia suddenly tucked herself up against me, her needy mouth pressing first a kiss against my throat, then my jaw, and then right against my lips.
Chapter Four
Gia
I was kissing him. God help me, I was kissing this man. And I was going to do it again and again and again. Because, fuck me, this man was a monster-sized life raft in the insanity of my life. First, he’d been rough, and then he’d actually done the hard work to apologize. And while I hadn’t pictured myself running back into his life with my tail between my legs, I couldn’t make myself stop now.
Because he felt good.
He felt safe. He felt happy.
And fuck, did I want both of those things so much right now. I had been so shocked when he’d told me he wanted another chance, even more so when he’d closed that soft mouth over mine, neatly annihilating everything else in my path as his kiss singed my entire being.
But then he’d pulled away. And I could see it in his eyes—he’d mean to be kind, to give me time. He’d just wanted to be sweet.
Fuck sweet.
I wanted to be consumed. I wanted to focus on everything. To forget that my former best friend was launching a campaign against me. That I was starting all over after all my hard work. That I had no idea where my life was going.
But it wasn’t just that I wanted to be consumed… I wantedhimto be the one to do it. I wanted to feel the heat of him, to press myself against that hard, unyielding body. To feel the bite of his teeth as he cursed the world.
Apparently, I liked the grumpy types. Who knew?
I teased my tongue into his mouth, making him moan loudly as he shifted closer, the heat of his body sinking into my chilled flesh.
“Fuck, baby,” Colton mumbled, pulling back. “There’s no rush. I don’t want to hurry you.”‘
I whimpered, pressing my body against his. “What if I want to be rushed? What if I don’t care about waiting?”
Colton’ shook his head, moving his hands all over my body, cupping and then pushing away, as if completely torn between wanting to drag me closer and pushing me away.That wouldn’t do. Iwantedthose hands on me. I wanted this man’s entire body on me, weighing me down, making me scream.
“Gia, please, I like you. I want this to be right. And you’ve had a rough night.”
I was panting as his warm palms found my hips and set me away from him. “No,” I moaned, “No, I want to feel you. I want you, Colton.”
