When we stopped in front of my apartment building, Giorgio asked in a concerned voice, “Are you okay?”
I stared up at him in silence.
I didn’t know how to answer the question.
Because of what Maurizio had done to me – because of everything he’d taken from me – I’d never be entirely okay again.
But now that Giorgio was here…
I felt better than okay.
I feltsafe.
When I didn’t answer, he looked slightly alarmed. “Look… you know I’m different from that guy, right? I wouldneverhurt you. I wouldneverdo anything to scare you.”
I knew that.
I knew he wascompletelydifferent from Maurizio.
In fact, Giorgio was completely different from any man I’d ever met.
He was powerful…
And strong…
And he had protected me when no one else could.
“I want you to be happy,” he said.
He was so earnest –
I believed him more than I’d ever believed another person in my entire life.
“I did what I did so you would feel safe,” he continued, a worried crease in his brow. “You don’t owe me anything, ever.”
At that moment, I saw him – reallysawhow much he cared for me –
And all the fear I’d felt about Giorgio was gone.
Only relief and desire remained.
“If what I did was too much, I apologize,” he said.
It wasn’t too much.
In fact, it was the single most wonderful thing any man had ever done for me.
Because of him, I was free –
And alive –
And I knew what I wanted.
Without thinking, I stood up on my tiptoes –
And kissed him as hard as I could.
Giorgio seemed shocked –
