She chuckles. “You were horrified. You peeled my shirt off before you even knew what you were doing. Once you had the shirt off, you looked like a deer caught in the headlights.” Her laughter and the joy on her face calms the embarrassment I still feel over that night. “You turned so fast I thought you almost fell. Then you took off your shirt and handed it to me. As soon as I had it on, the wine from my bra seeped through and left this mark on it.”
I watch as she traces the stain over her right breast and follows it over to her left. I swallow hard. I can feel myself harden in my pants as I follow every movement her hands make. Abruptly she stops, and I bring my gaze to her face. I recognize the hunger in her eyes, but I can also detect hesitancy.
“You should rest. Take my room. I will be up a while longer.”
Her brows crease with confusion. “Yeah, okay. I should sleep.”
I walk over to her and lead her back to my bedroom. “I will be in my office down the hall if you need anything. I need to check in on Greer.”
“Of course.”
I watch as she begins to close the bedroom door, but she stops when it’s almost closed and looks at me through the crack.
“I’m glad you kept it, Gio.”
Before I can respond, she closes the door the rest of the way.
I watch the door for a solid thirty seconds before I turn and go to my office. Once settled behind my desk, I bring up the cameras at the club. Scanning them, I find Greer easily. She’s dancing in the middle of the dance floor with the girls she had befriended and a ring of guys around them. I watch as Matt worms his way past the guys to dance close to Greer. From an outsider perspective, it looks as if he’s just making his way in. Knowing Matt, he’s doing whatever he has to do to stay close.
With that being said, Bash would not be happy about how close he is to Greer.
I pick up my phone and call Dante. “Report.”
“She seems to be fine, boss. She tried sneaking another drink, but the bartender only gave her soda. She doesn’t even realize there is no whiskey in it I don’t think. She’s buzzed but not wasted. Matt is keeping a close eye on her.”
I find Dante standing above the rest, watching over the dance floor in the VIP area.
“And her so-called friends?”
As he reports, a light knock comes from the door. I glance over and watch Izzy slide through the door and shut it behind her. She leans against it while she waits for my reaction.
I give her a smile, and that’s all the encouragement she needs. I watch her hips sway as she walks around my desk to stand next to me. I turn my chair to face her and am surprised when she climbs into my lap, straddling me.
“What are you doing?” I whisper as I put my hand over the phone.
“I don’t want to be alone tonight, Gio.”
Instead of heat, her eyes are filled with sadness. She wraps her arms around my shoulders and curls into my neck.
“Scare the guys off. I don’t like how close they are. Call me if anything changes,” I tell Dante, cutting him off. I don’t wait for a response. I hang up the phone before wrapping my arms around Izzy. “What do you need from me, Iz? Tell me and it’s yours.”
“I need you to hold me. Can you do that without wondering what it might mean? I’m so tired of overanalyzing everything. I just want to be held and to have a peaceful sleep.”
“Then that’s what you will get.” I tap her hip. “Let’s go to bed.”
I don’t even glance at the computer screen as she stands up and grabs my hand to lead me out of the room. I shut and lock the door behind me before following her down the hall and into my room. I wait for her to crawl into bed before kicking off my shoes and stripping down to my boxers. I slide in next to her, but don’t make a move to touch her.
This is new territory for me. Back in the day, I wouldn’t have questioned grabbing her hips and pulling her in tight to me. Now, I feel like I’m walking on eggshells, trying to maintain this delicate balance we have established. While I want her more than my next breath, I also don’t want to do anything to jeopardize what we have. It hurts not having her as mine, but it hurt more not having her at all.
Before my thoughts spiral out of control, Izzy turns toward me and pushes me onto my back. Then she slides over until her head is resting on my chest, her arm curled around my middle, and her leg is thrown over my hips.
I let out a breath I didn’t know I had been holding as I curl my arms around her, holding her to me.
She looks up at me before leaning forward and pressing a soft kiss to my lips. “I don’t know what this means but hold me and don’t let go. Okay, Gio?”
“Never,cuore mio.I will hold you as long as you let me.”
I don’t know how long I lie there listening to her breathe, but as her breaths even out, I keep repeating the same prayer to God over and over.
