Authors: Bethany-Kris
Kim took a step back. “Excuse me?”
“Craig is his name, right? Or, that’s what I hear.”
“Craig is a
friend
, Franco.”
“A friend you went out to have coffee with two days in a row this week.”
“He was helping me with differential equations for a worksheet I needed to create!”
“Lower your goddamn voice,” Franco growled. “If you want to act like some spoiled little bitch anywhere else, feel free. In this house, you’re going to behave like you know you need to. It’s pretty simple. You get out of the group or I’ll remove him. And by remove, I certainly don’t mean give him an option to see you in class the next day. Do you understand me, Kimberlynn?”
Gio couldn’t watch anymore. Stepping back into the shadows of the hallway out of view from the kitchen, he sighed heavily. What in the hell was he going to do now? Knowing what he did, Gio was disturbed.
“I’ll drop the study group,” he heard Kim hiss. “But, you can go straight to hell.”
“No thanks, sweetheart. I get enough heat right where I’m standing. Don’t forget, Lucas and Ben are never too far behind. See you tomorrow night.”
Gio didn’t move from his spot against the wall when Kim came storming out of the kitchen with her messenger bag in hand. She didn’t spot him straightaway, but when she did, her footsteps stumbled in their track. Kim wouldn’t meet his stare.
Look at me
, Gio pleaded in his mind.
She was so much better than the man in the kitchen; worth more than the suffocating actions stripping her down to nothing but moving parts and a smile. Why hadn’t anyone told her that?
Kim’s gaze lifted. The hardness she stared at Franco with was gone. A rebellious, angry glimmer took its place. Clearly Franco hadn’t taken every bit of Kim away just yet. There were parts of her still fighting to stay.
Gio wanted to ask if she was okay, but he didn’t get the chance. Just as fast as she looked at him, she was walking right on past. He waited until the front door slammed closed before he made his trek into the kitchen to face Franco.
Franco was leaning over the countertop, shaking his head. No doubt, the guy was pissed. Gio knew that look. He was grateful Kim had left when she did because, by the looks of it, Franco wasn’t about to take much more.
“I’m heading out,” Gio said.
“Was the food good for you?” Franco asked, his demeanor changing in an instant.
“Perfect. Kim’s a good cook.”
“
Mmm
. Tell her if you want something done differently. I won’t mind.”
Gio raised a brow. “My mother told me once that no smart man should tell a woman what to do in her kitchen, and if I did want something different, I was to get up and do it myself.”
“My fiancée isn’t your mother.”
“Good thing.”
Franco didn’t seem to notice Gio’s remark. “Fucking women. They’re like horses, just need to be broken. And that one … she’s this close to snapping.”
Gio hit his limit with that comment. Definitely way too sober for this shit.
• • •
Gio pulled his rental car to a stop at the entrance steps to what he assumed was Kim’s dorm. Screeching tires echoed in the dark parking lot. Leaning over the seat, Gio pushed the passenger door open. A shocked Kim stood only inches away.
“Get in,
Tesoro
.”
Kim stared inside the car. Fear and uncertainty flickered in her stare. “What?”
“Get in the car. Hurry up.”
“I can’t—”
“If you’re worried about those two idiots Franco has following you, they took a detour into the Starbucks around the corner. Knowing the way it takes forever to get through a drive-thru, we’ve got about three minutes before they catch back up. Get in the damn car, Kim.”
The grip she had on her messenger bag tightened. Kim glanced around the parking lot, shifting from one foot to the other like she couldn’t make up her mind. Gio didn’t have time for her inner battles.
“Either get in or step back,
Tesoro
.”
Kim’s gaze narrowed as she surveyed him under the car’s roof light. “Are you high? Because that’s the only reason I could use to explain why you’re asking me to get in your car right now.”
“Not yet, but I plan on getting that way fast,” Gio answered.
Honesty was the best policy, after all.
Gio shrugged, adding, “Thought you might know somewhere to party.”
“Me?” Kim asked, a little too innocently.
“Is that sweetness act supposed to work on me? You forget that I’m the guy who spent hours shacked up with you in a hotel room and very little of that time was spent with us wearing clothes.”
Kim’s didn’t blink a lash at his crude attitude. “This is a bad idea.”
“You’re not an angel, Kim. I’m not asking you to be one. I just want you to get in my car and do something fun. If you think about it, you kind of owe me.”
“Blackmail?”
“Tick, tock. How much time do you think you’ve got before Franco’s idiots come pulling into this lot and see you chatting with someone in a dark car? I’d be willing to bet when he hears that, you’ll be subjected to another one of his spiels like earlier.”
Kim’s jaw clenched. Yeah, Gio hit the mark with that one.
“Get in,” Gio demanded.
“Do something fun, huh?”
“That’s all. Get you away from whatever craziness he’s put inside your head for a night. When you say it’s done, it’s over. I’ll get you back here and no one will know a thing about it.”
“They can’t see me come back, Giovanni.”
“They won’t.”
Kim tossed her messenger bag into the car and climbed in without a single look back.
Kim had no idea what she was doing. Being in Giovanni’s car was crazy. She wasn’t just playing with fire, no. She was dancing on red hot coals with bare feet.
Her entire body was hyperaware of Giovanni’s presence. She could smell him. A concoction of man, smoke, and leather. God, it was like a kick to her senses, knocking her straight into desire overdrive. She had to be careful. Risks were fine to take when the odds were on her side. Kim wasn’t sure they were with Giovanni Marcello.
“This is stupid.”
Giovanni scoffed. “You’re twenty-one. This is what you’re supposed to do. Act stupid. Be reckless. Have a little fun.”
“Sure, but probably not with a guy I fucked and definitely not when I have a fiancé.”
“Probably not,” Giovanni echoed. “Why didn’t you tell me, anyway?”
“I wasn’t engaged then. What did it matter?”
“Oh, it matters,
bella
. Matters the same way I need to avoid a fucking bullet to the head. You should have told me who you were and gave me the choice to save myself the trouble I’m dealing with now.”
“Trouble. Thanks for that.”
“Not you—
this
. I don’t know what the fuck it is with you, but I can’t get you out. I tried. You’re still there. I stay in my own head, and I like it there just fine. You knock me right out of it in a heartbeat. That’s trouble.”
Kim didn’t understand. “What do you mean, get me out?”
Gio tossed a glance her way before going back to the road. The look was anything but passive. It was filled with a heat that slammed straight into her chest, taking away the building anxiety and replacing it with something akin to excitement and want. It pooled straight down to the spot between her thighs, making her stomach twist in anticipation.
Jesus. Kim still wanted this man. It was probably the stupidest thing she ever wanted in her life, considering the position she was in. Knowing Franco’s jealous tendencies, Kim was being a complete idiot even thinking in Giovanni’s direction like she was.
“Yeah, like that,” Giovanni said under his breath.
“Excuse me?”
“
That
,” he repeated firmly. “That air catching in your chest and your hands clenched in your lap. Can’t look my way without thinking about it all. I know, so don’t play stupid with me, Kim. I can’t get you out, either. You should have told me who you were.”
Despite his anger, he kept his tone calm. Kim didn’t begrudge him the way he felt over her secrets. “I didn’t think it made a difference. We weren’t going to meet up again.”
“Look how goddamn well that worked out for us both.”
“Yeah, I figured that one out hours ago. Why follow Ben and Lucas to find my dorm if you don’t want anything to do with me?”
Giovanni shook his head. “I didn’t say that; I said you should have given me the choice. I never said I would have walked away.”
Just like he wasn’t running as fast as he could to get away from her now
, Kim thought.
Clearly, Giovanni was the type who enjoyed taking risks. Unlike her, he didn’t seem to weigh the positives against the negatives. New York was a perfect example. He didn’t question her invitation at all; he wanted something and he took it.
“How did you figure out which dorm building was mine?” Kim asked.
“Lucky. I was close behind Franco’s idiots and they were right on your ass before they pulled into that Starbucks. I just drove into the first lot and caught sight of you walking up to the entrance.”
“Fair enough. You really want to party?”
“That’s what I said, wasn’t it? Not a club, either. I spend five days a week in those fucking places back home working. It’s not fun for me, it’s a job. Give me something new to look at,
Tesoro
.”
“I can do that. There’s a spot downtown,” Kim said, resting back into the seat. “It’s hard to notice it unless you’ve gone. The outside looks like a warehouse. That’s kind of the point. Anonymity. There’s not a place for parking. Most people walk or catch a cab. They don’t advertize; they want a certain kind of patron who wants a certain kind of party, and they definitely don’t want the police skipping in to ruin the fun.”
“Underground, then?”
“Yeah. That what you’re looking for?”
Giovanni grinned, heating Kim’s blood instantly. “That’s exactly what I’m looking for.”
• • •
Pulse was packed. The place was a hotspot for people who wanted free reign on how they partied. Lights were non-existent but for a few spotlights. Glow in the dark neon paint was splattered from floor to ceiling. Stairs led to an upper section. Music never stopped, which meant the people didn’t, either. While there was a bar for liquor, separate tables were also set up along the far walls with bottles of unopened water.
It wasn’t a huge secret why Pulse was as popular as it was in the underground network of club goers. For the ones who really wanted to party, be that with whatever they desired to drink, pop, or smoke to get them there, they could—freely. The water kept the goers from getting dehydrated in whatever state they were in.
A hand to Kim’s lower back reminded her of Giovanni’s presence. Not that she could forget he was there. Every damned inch of her knew it.
“This good?” Kim asked loudly to be heard over the pumping music.
“Yeah, this is good,” Giovanni replied. “Perfect.”
Giovanni never left his spot behind Kim as she made her way to the bar. Patrons were everywhere. Hidden in shadowed corners, up above looking down, and all the spots in between. The venue already felt hot. That was what she liked about Pulse. No cares, judgment or bother. Everyone wanted to have a good time.
At the bar, Kim rapped her knuckles down on the counter to catch one of the three bartenders’ attention.
“What do you drink?” Kim asked Giovanni as he leaned with his back facing the bar and his front to the crowd.
“I’m not here to drink. Order whatever you want. I assume it’s all cash.”
“Always,” Kim answered. Without a word, his hand disappeared into the inside of his leather jacket only to reappear with a small roll of bills he handed to her. Kim took the money with hesitance. “You don’t need to pay for me, Gio. You’re not drinking.”
Giovanni smirked. “It’s Gio, now?”
Kim wasn’t entirely sure why she used the shorter version of his full name. Maybe because she heard it used by others. That was a Giovanni she didn’t know. One she might possibly be able to separate from the man she did. If anything, it was a way to keep from tumbling into more trouble. A shitty way, but a way.
“Everyone else calls you that,” Kim explained.
“Most do, sure.”
“I also heard the whole Skip thing. Seems there’s quite a few people who know you by that, too.”
Giovanni glanced at her from the side. “But not you.”
“I can’t see that one working for me, anyway. It doesn’t really fit.”
“You don’t need to see it at all,” Giovanni said, turning back to stare at the crowd. “Skip is a thug, a gangster because he needs to be. Sure, he’s a lot like me, but he isn’t all the same. I’d prefer if you didn’t have to know him, or rather, that side of me at all. That’s why you can’t see it and why you don’t need to.”
Kim didn’t know what to say to that.
Giovanni didn’t give her the chance to figure something out. The bartender waited for Kim to order what she wanted, and the chick looked like her patience was wearing thin. “Get your drinks and I am paying, like it or not.”
When Giovanni pushed away from the bar, Kim asked, “Where are you going?”
“This place isn’t on the legal side of the law, obviously. I told you I wanted to have fun, so I’m going to go find some.”
Kim could read between the lines. “Stay on the floor where nobody stops moving.”
“Good to know,” Giovanni murmured, slipping his jacket off and handing it to Kim. Just as easily, he pulled a few bills from the roll in her hand. “Because I’ve been itching for two weeks to have a date with Molly.”
• • •
“Do you trust me?” Giovanni asked, his mouth so close to Kim’s ear his lips ghosted along the shell.
“I’m still not sure,” Kim replied honestly, spinning around on her barstool to face him.
Giovanni held an opened bottle of water in his hand. He’d been gone twenty minutes at least. Long enough for Kim to throw back three rounds of gin and tonics and to find a place to sit at the bar.
Kim gave Giovanni another once over, as best she could in the mostly dark venue. A lazy smile, calm features, and hooded lids said he must have found what he was looking for in the crowd. Anyone who didn’t know any better would probably think he was just relaxed. Not Kim. She’d been there, done that, and couldn’t bring forth a lot of memories about the time to show for it.
Giovanni thoroughly enjoyed the state he was in. A casual, confident aura wafted from him. His arms crossed over his broad chest were wrapped loose instead of tight. The dismissive expression he usually viewed the room with was gone, replaced with a playful regard he leveled entirely on her.
Kim was attracted to the attitude he sported before, but she liked this carefree—or was it careless?—side of him, too. Even if it was brought on by something unnatural. He was sexy in his dark wash jeans and gray V-neck shirt. The dimness of the room shadowed his strong features and made him seem all the more mysterious. It certainly added to the dangerous appeal he wore like a second skin.
Giovanni stepped in close enough to her body that the heat of his danced along her skin as he placed the bottle of water down to the bar. Then, when the warmth of his palm grazed along her neck unexpectedly, Kim barely managed to hold back the groan building in her chest.
She was so screwed.
“So, do you trust me?” he asked again.
“Should I?”
Giovanni chuckled. “Probably not.”
Giovanni’s hand slid down under his leather jacket Kim wore, stopping to grasp at her waist. She hadn’t wanted to forget his jacket somewhere or have it end up stolen. It was hotter than hell in the place with the jacket on, but Kim wasn’t about to take it off when wearing it surrounded her in Giovanni’s scent, driving her wild.
Evidently, Kim was failing at tampering her more lustful thoughts.
The hand at her waist tightened, his thumb sweeping under the hem of her shirt to brush against pebbling skin. A pulsing beat passed from his digit to her body, a shocking sensation coiling in her middle. It reminded Kim of what it felt like to be wearing nothing at all and having every inch of him surrounding her totally.
“What are you doing?” Kim’s throat felt thick at his proximity.
Giovanni released Kim’s waist only to pinch her chin between his forefinger and thumb. He tilted her head up, locking her gaze with his. “I like red on your lips.”
“Oh?”
“
Mmm
. Your hair down free is better than being up. Easier to wrap my hands around it.”
Kim laughed lightly, her nervousness taking back over. “Stop it. You’re high.”
“And honest,” Giovanni replied. “You’re not a mess, Kim. Being twenty-one means you still get to do crazy nonsense, make mistakes, and figure out who in the hell you want to be down the road. Don’t let him take the things away that make you who you are.”
Kim’s chest ached in knowing Giovanni heard every bit of Franco’s controlling abuse earlier. She suspected he had, but his words confirmed it. This was probably going to be bad for them both and she didn’t even care. “I’m trying not to.”
“Good. Open up that pretty mouth of yours,
Tesoro
, and let me help you bleed him out.”
Giovanni traced her bottom lip with his thumb, keeping that heavy stare of his on her all the while. On its own accord, Kim’s mouth opened and when his digit stopped at the middle of her bottom lip, she felt his index finger slide onto her tongue.
He seemed to be watching her expression with more interest as something shaped like a half-circle pressed to her tongue. Trust, he’d said. Kim reminded herself of that as the artificially sweetened taste of a chalky tablet began to dissolve almost immediately when it mixed with her saliva.
It wouldn’t be the first time Kim took something here at Pulse without first knowing what it was. Was it stupid? Completely. Overly irresponsible and thoughtless to the point of insanity. Oh, she was aware of just how dumb it was but she couldn’t find it in herself to give a fuck.
Kim’s earlier encounter with Franco left her in a terrible place where the only thing she had to fight back against him with were her actions. The relentless intent from Franco to trap and smother her in a life with him she didn’t want left her rebelling more often than she wanted to admit.
Drugs were dangerous, no doubt about it. Knowing so didn’t stop her from encompassing Giovanni’s finger still holding the softening half of a tablet down to her tongue. Kim was not above punishing herself if it meant it would feel good while she did it. Tomorrow, she would handle the consequences of her foolishness. Tonight, she just wanted to have a good time. The future she had to look forward to would be nothing but torture.