Well, screw him. Her ego had taken a beating tonight—he could only come when her face was shoved into the bed. He’d probably imagined he was with someone else. Fuck that!
“We need to talk, Eva.” He sounded sad and more than a little upset.
Maybe she’d read the situation wrong. And maybe pigs could fly.
Eva took a deep breath and let it out slowly before opening the door. “There’s nothing to talk about, Gio. It was fun. Come by the club sometime and I’ll buy you a drink.”
Gio had been sitting on the edge of the bed with his head hanging down, staring at his hands. Eva was pleased to see he wasn’t dressed yet. If she could just get to the door, she’d be home free.
“Come here.”
Everything in her wanted to respond to his command, wanted to go to him and ease his worried brow.
“No time. I really have to get downstairs. Save me a dance, okay?” She practically ran out of his room and down the hall to the stairwell. No way was she taking the chance of running into someone she knew in the elevator. Once at ground level, she bypassed the reception hall and headed straight out of the exit to her car.
Eva drove home on autopilot. She ran through the evening frame by frame in her head, examining it from every angle. As soon as she was parked in her garage, she gave in to the tears she’d been fighting for so long.
* * * *
Gio kicked himself for letting her go. He knew—absolutely knew—she wouldn’t be waiting for him downstairs. She’d bolted the moment the door had closed. He sat for a moment and pondered what the hell to do. Not that he had many options. He could sit here feeling sorry for himself or go back to the reception and watch over his brothers like he’d promised his parents.
Without any real desire to do so, he put his tux ensemble, minus a few annoying pieces, back on. He held his cummerbund and smoothed out a few of the wrinkles, while he remembered how they’d gotten there.
He couldn’t believe what an asshole he’d been, shoving his cock inside her before she was ready. He’d probably hurt her, but how was he supposed to know she’d only screwed pencil dicks—or maybe she just hadn’t been with anyone in a long, long time. The macho pig in him liked that idea better. Whatever the cause, he should have been more careful.
Heat rushed to his face as he remembered ordering her to scream his name. He banged his thick skull against the wall. What the fuck had he been thinking?
His stomach was a tight knot as he contemplated his latest sins. He had to figure out how to make things right with her. Remembering the look she’d gotten on her face as he’d tightened his hold around her throat had his cock coming to life again. He tossed the cummerbund on the floor. Fuck it. Maybe she
was
downstairs waiting for him.
Gio headed out of the door and punched the button for the elevator. As he stood there waiting, he waffled back and forth between knowing she was gone and hoping she was still there. Exiting the elevator, he hurried to the hall. His hopes sank as he scanned the crowd. Sure enough, she’d split as soon as she’d had the chance. He wasn’t terribly surprised, but he was hurt. Walking to the bar, he noticed he’d attracted a bit of attention.
Within moments of ordering his Coke, that blond-haired, cocky son of a bitch who’d tried to cut into their dance was invading Gio’s personal space.
“Where’s Eva?”
“You’d have to ask her that.” Gio twisted the stool, effectively turning his back on the asshole.
The blond prick—James, Eva had called him—put a hand on Gio’s shoulder and pushed him. Gio spun and glanced a right hook off the prick’s jaw. The schmo was good. Gio would have to give him that. It should have landed him flat on his ass. Instead, it just rocked him backward.
“You don’t want to do that again. If my boys think there’s a problem, World War Three is going to break out in here. Now answer my simple question before things get out of hand.” His gaze was steady on Gio’s.
“I don’t know where she is.” Gio signaled his brothers to stand down. He was the calm one of the family. If he gave the slightest hint that he wanted to take this prick’s head off, there really would be a mess.
James picked up his phone and punched a preset code.
Fury rocked through Gio. This son of a bitch had Eva’s phone number? Gio gripped the bar to keep from throwing another punch.
A slight smile skittered across Gio’s face when James stared at his phone. Obviously, she’d hung up on him. Before Gio could celebrate that small victory, the prick’s phone bleeped a text message alert.
James spoke into his phone. “Eva, call me now or I’m heading over to your place.”
Why the fuck did this prick know where Eva lived?
The asshole’s phone made a buzzing sound before he stepped away. Gio heard him ask if Eva was okay.
Looking about the room, he knew he hadn’t made any friends this evening. He also noticed several eyes following James. After a moment or two, he gave a thumbs-up signal and everyone went back to what they were doing.
Alex slid up beside him at the bar. “You okay?”
“Who is that guy?” Gio asked without taking his eyes off him. Eventually, James slid the phone back into his jacket and sat at a table next to a pretty little brunette wearing a collar.
Was Eva in a poly relationship? That didn’t feel right and she hadn’t been wearing a collar.
“Some sort of muscle for André’s club, bodyguard or something. I think they call him James. I heard some of the guys ribbing him about taking on an Escalade and losing.” Alex chuckled. “He seemed all right earlier. Maybe he just doesn’t like your face.”
“Maybe it’s mutual.” Gio was still pissed off that
James knew Eva’s phone number and home address.
“I’d offer to take him on for ya, but I’m pretty sure he’s carrying and I don’t want any part of that shit.” Alex slammed back the beer he’d been nursing for a while.
Fuck! What the hell is Eva doing with guys that carry guns? What the hell is she doing with other guys period?
He shook his head, knowing that was his fault. He was the one who had left her.
Gio turned his attention to this brother and pushed the empty mug away from him. “No more for you.”
“That’s only my second and André’s opened the bar,” Alex whined.
Gio stared at his brother, giving him no leeway.
“All right. I’m done,” Alex capitulated.
Adriana and André were saying their goodbyes so Gio headed over.
“Congratulations, you two!” Gio exclaimed, planting a smile on his face.
André shook Gio’s hand, and Adriana gave him a hug.
“Maybe once you guys get back from your honeymoon, I’ll come by and check out your club. I think my sister has a few questions for me.” He gave her a wink, as if everything was cool. It didn’t matter that he’d set himself up for a tongue lashing from his baby sister, if it won him an invitation to the club and a chance to see Eva again.
“Come by anytime. I’ve already spoken with the other owners. Your family is always welcome,” André assured him.
“
Our
family, André. You’re a part of us now.” Gio would probably burn in hell for using his sister’s husband like this, but all was fair in love and war.
Chapter Three
Eva kept staring at the entrance to the men’s locker room. The club wasn’t even open yet, so no way could Gio come walking through the door, but she couldn’t help but steal a glance every few seconds. It pissed her off that she couldn’t concentrate on anything else. She wasn’t even sure if she wanted him to make an appearance.
Who was she trying to kid? She wanted to see him again. She even wanted to be under him again, and that was just too pathetic to contemplate. For the last two days, her thoughts had centered on Gio. No matter what she was doing, his image would invade her mind, distracting her once again.
The lights flashed and the music began to play, signaling that the club was about to open. Eva reached for another glass and started polishing out nonexistent watermarks.
“Eva…”
She jumped and the tumbler slid to the ground, sending shards of glass along the floor in the bar area.
Ted hurried to the railing. “Are you all right? Were you cut? Don’t move and I’ll get a broom to sweep it up.”
Eva looked down at her legs and noticed a small nick, but nothing too terrible.
A moment later, Ted was back. He walked behind the bar, his large boots crunching the glass to even smaller pieces. Without even asking, he put his hands on her hips and lifted her onto the counter.
“You’re bleeding,” Ted announced unnecessarily.
“You’re hurt? What happened?”
Eva looked over her left shoulder and cringed.
Damn it! Why did Gio have to arrive now?
“What are you doing here?” she asked, not at all politely.
He shrugged. “André gave the family an open invitation.” He pulled her closer to him and peered at her leg. “Come on. Let me help you get that cut taken care of.” He, too, took hold of her without asking and cradled her in his arms. “Where’s the first-aid station?”
Eva felt a blush rise to her cheeks. “I can walk.”
“Down that hallway. First door on the right.” Ted pointed in the direction of the infirmary.
Traitor!
Eva didn’t want to notice how Gio’s warmth soaked into her skin or that he smelled of sandalwood and citrus.
Gio nudged the door to the infirmary open and glanced around. “Nice set-up.” He put her on the examination table then began peeking inside drawers and cabinets until he had a number of supplies
From the station by the door, Gio drew a pair of disposable gloves and put them on before he began cleaning her wound. “This doesn’t look too bad. We just need to make sure there isn’t any glass still in the cut.”
Eva reached down and gently touched it. She didn’t want him probing the area. “There isn’t.”
He grabbed her wrist and held it away from her leg. “And if there had been, you could have shoved it deeper or cut your hand as well. Now is not the time to be impulsive, Eva.”
“Impulsive? I am
not
impulsive!” She was a planner. She planned everything.
Impulsive, my ass!
He met and held her gaze. “You’re not, huh? So you never intended to go back down to the reception hall Saturday night? Instead of being impulsive and simply changing your mind, you lied to me on purpose?”
Fuck!
“I’m sorry about that. After thinking about the crowd of people down there, I decided I’d rather go home. I’m not as much of a hermit these days, but I still like my quiet time.”
“I never thought of you as a hermit, just a little on the shy side.” Gio turned back to her leg.
Eva was relieved that he was going to leave it at that.
Gio bent his knees and kept his focus on cleaning the miniscule cut. “What did I do wrong?”
He spoke so softly, she barely heard him. Right at that moment, Eva kind of wished a sink hole would open up and save her from having this conversation.
“You did nothing wrong, Gio.” This was not a discussion she wanted to have.
“Oh, something was definitely wrong. I know the ‘I can’t believe I just did that, I need to get the hell out of here’ look you were wearing, and I’d like an explanation.”
“You’d like an explanation? You’d like to know why someone walked out without saying a word? Well, that’s ballsy.” It was easier to be mad than embarrassed so she latched onto her anger with a death grip.
Gio had the good grace to look contrite. “I did finally explain.” He shot her his bad boy grin.
“That’s true,” she conceded. “So by your timeline, I’ll need to give you an explanation five or six
years
from now.”
“I suppose I deserve that.” He placed a small Band-Aid over the cut and stood up. “How are we going to move past this?”
“We aren’t.”
“So you don’t want to see me again?” Gio was looking her straight in the eye.
Eva crossed her arms over her chest and let her sarcasm fly. “Believe it or not, Gio, there are men out there that find me attractive and can remember my name. I’d rather scene with them.”
“What in the holy hell are you talking about? I’ve never forgotten a single thing about you, least of all your name, and you are stunningly beautiful. I’ve told you that about a million times—not that you ever believed me.” The look on Gio’s face was pure astonishment.
Had she read the situation wrong? Had she allowed her monumental insecurities to cloud her judgment? It didn’t matter. “Gio, we had our chance. It didn’t work out.”
“Bullshit! And now you’re just changing the subject. Be careful, little one, or those blue eyes of yours are going to turn brown from all the shit you’re throwing out tonight.” Gio was in her face, not giving her an inch of personal space.
“I don’t want to talk about this. Thank you for taking care of my cut. I need to get back to work.” Eva waited, hoping that Gio would step back.
“Too bad. I want to know what the fuck you’re talking about.” Gio’s hands were on either side of her thighs, hemming her in. “Why the hell would you think I don’t find you attractive? That’s the biggest line of poppy-cock I’ve heard in a while.”
“Poppy-cock? I can’t believe you said that.” Eva couldn’t help but laugh.
“You taught it to me. Now stop evading my question.” A small smirk touched his lips.
Eva remembered the first time she’d used that phrase around him. All he’d heard was the word cock and the conversation that had ensued had been quite lively. She couldn’t think about those bittersweet moments and not mourn her lost dreams. No, she needed to keep her focus on all the issues that had driven them to this point.
”Perhaps it had something to do with you needing to flip me face down so you could imagine you were fucking someone else in order to orgasm.” When he started to speak, she held her hand up, asking for silence. “Then once you’d…finished you couldn’t even be dragged from fantasyland long enough to mutter my name, just a ‘ahh,
sweetheart,
that was wonderful’ or some such drivel.” She shook her head and blinked away tears. “Kind of reminded me of our first time, when you pulled out of me barely half hard and ran from my room.”