I kiss her hand. We get out.
“Wow. This is a huge place,” she says.
“Typical Fisher. He always has the best.”
“You sound like you know him well?”
“Enough, I guess. He always invites me out when he’s in town, but I’m pretty sure it’s just because he wants my sister Gracie to come with me.”
“He didn’t seem to miss her too much with all his women tonight,” she mutters.
I snort. “Yeah. He and Gracie aren’t together. They only see each other when he’s in town. It’s just fun.”
“Got it.”
We go into the house. Music is blaring loud, and people are pretty wasted. A few girls are topless and giving lap dances.
Shit. I shouldn’t have brought Gia here. This isn’t a party for a girl like her. I should have known it would get crazy.
All the parties I had been to with Fisher were pretty over the top.
I turn to Gia and shout, “I’m sorry. We should go.”
“I’m okay. Let’s find somewhere quieter though?”
Yes. Find somewhere not so loud and with fewer people.
We go room to room, all over the main level and finally find a small sitting area. I shut and lock the door.
There’s a fireplace, so I flip the switch and pull the ottoman closer to the couch. After we sit down and put our feet up, Gia kicks her shoes off, so I take mine off, too.
An amused look fills her face. “Are you comfy now?”
I pull her into my arms. “Now I am. Are you?”
She turns to face me. “Mh-hmm.”
“Where were your friends tonight?”
She shrugs. “All over. Wasn’t my turn to watch them.”
“Funny.” I caress her thigh.
Her hands inch under my shirt and stroke my waist. My skin buzzes from her touch, a sensation I’ve never experienced before.
“Where did you move from?” I ask.
“I was in New York for a while.”
“Wow. New York is a big change. Why did you move?”
“The weather.”
“You and everyone else in Florida. So, what do you do?”
“Nothing exciting. I’m an assistant.”
“Do you like it?”
“It’s okay. Pays the bills. Do you like bartending?”
“Yeah. My brothers want me to work with them in their construction firm, but I like doing my own thing. They tell me what to do all the rest of the time. I don’t need it during my working hours, too.”
“Ohhhh, family drama!” she teases.
“You have no idea.”
“How many people are in your family?”
“I have three brothers, and two sisters, and my parents are still married.”
“Wow. They all live on the island?”
My heart races, and I watch the fire dance. “Close enough,” I mumble, thinking of Beckett in prison.
Don’t bring Beckett up the first time you meet your dream girl.
Her hands stop moving. “You okay?”
I refocus on her. “Yeah. So you don’t see your family?”
“No.”
“Never?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
Gia’s eyes seem dark and not happy. “I don’t like to talk about it.”
“Okay.” She’s got her family secrets, and I’ve got mine right now.
I reach over and stroke a lock of hair behind her ear. Our gazes lock, and my cock twitches. “What kind of girl are you, Gia?”
She tilts her head. “What do you mean?”
I slip my fingers down her bare arm and lick my lip. Keeping my voice calm even though my pulse is beating so hard, I’m sure she can see it in my neck, I ask her, “Are you a vanilla type of girl, or more Neapolitan?”
She nervously laughs and the firelight flickers in her eyes.
“Hmm?” I kiss the curve of her neck, and she shudders. My lips travel to her ear. “Tell me.”
“I...I don’t know.”
“You don’t know?”
She takes a deep breath. “No.”
“Want to know what I thought when I first laid eyes on you tonight?” I peck at her lips then tug at her bottom one with my teeth.
She whimpers, and her eyes flutter.
“Want to know?”
“Yes,” she breathes.
“Sexy.” I kiss her neck. “Sophisticated.” I flick my tongue behind her ear.
“Oh God,” she whispers so quietly, I almost don’t hear it.
“Someone I want to do everything with.” I press my mouth to hers and slip my tongue in as soon as she parts her lips. I move my hand to her leg, and circle my thumb beneath the hem of her dress.
She presses her body against mine and grips my hair as our kiss deepens.
My cock is harder than nails, already wet with pre-cum and throbbing for her.
“I want you. Do you want me, or do you want me to stop?”
She pulls me closer but suddenly pushes my chest, and I freeze. She stares at me, gasping for air. Lust and need are in her eyes, but there’s something else. Fear.
I hold my hands up. “Hey, if I overstepped, I’m sorry. We don’t have to do anything tonight.”
She jumps off the couch. “I have to go.” She slides on her shoes.
“Gia, don’t go. I’m sorry. We can just talk.”
She pulls her phone out and types something then throws it in her bag.
“Have a good night. I have to go.” She gets to the door and flings it open. Music comes blaring in.
“Gia, wait.” I reach for her arm, but she shrugs out of my grasp.
I follow her through the crowded party, which is wilder than when I went in. Most people we shove through are intoxicated.
We get outside. “Gia, please. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean—”
“You didn’t do anything. Everything is fine. I’ll see you around.” She opens the door as soon as the Uber arrives.
See you around?
“Gia, wait,” I attempt one last time, but the door slams, and the car takes off.
“Fuck!” I yell, crouching on the driveway.
For a few hours, I had my dream girl. Now she’s gone, and I don’t even know how to contact her.
And I don’t know what went wrong.
3
Gia
“Someone I want to do everything with,” Connor’s deep voice murmurs to me before he ravishes my mouth with his tongue again.
Oh God. Yes, please.
“I want you. Do you want me, or do you want me to stop?”
Yes, I want you.
I pull him closer, my insides a bowl of quivering Jell-O.
He’s a target.
I shove him away.
His dark-blue eyes smolder as hot as the flames in the fireplace.
The things I want him to do to me.
No. You can’t. He’s a target.
He’s the epitome of perfection.
He could be a Twisted Heart.
You have to get out of here.
I flee, leaving Connor in a welter of confusion, my loins burning for him, scared I’ll let him have me, going past the point of no return.
My job is to find out if he’s a Twisted Heart and on Fisher’s payroll or just an innocent guy. My gut says he’s the latter, but the sexual energy radiating off him is blinding me.