Page 44 of Undeniable

He grimaces and nods. I give him a sympathetic frown before I wrap my arms around his torso. We stand there just holding each other for what seems like hours until he speaks again.

“I feel like such a pussy. We have lost plenty of men before, we will lose plenty more I am sure, but this one is getting to me more than any of the others.”

“You have a kid at home who already lost one parent. You can relate.”

“I have more than just Alessandro that I worry about coming home to now,” he says softly, his eyes intently trained on mine.

His words make my heart flip flop and I suck in a sharp breath before he leans down and captures my lips in a sweet kiss. I sigh and lean into him for just a second before he pulls away.

“Stay tonight,” he murmurs just above my lips.

“Are you sure?”

“Never been more sure about anything in my life,” he says with a sad smile.

I give him a small smile before I nod. I know sooner rather than later Alessandro will catch on, he is a smart kid, and we aren’t being very subtle at this point. But if Gio doesn’t care than who am I to say no to a fun adult sleepover that is filled with orgasms and ends with me falling asleep in his arms.

-

After Gio and I are both very sweaty and very satisfied, I curl up into his arms as he places a sweet kiss onto my forehead.

“So, we need to talk.”

Uh oh. Is he already breaking things off? Is there something to break? That can’t be it, right? He said I was his, he wouldn’t just toss me aside 24 hours later. Would he? My heart is thumping wildly as worst-case scenarios flicker through my mind.

“Okay,” I say coolly, like I am not internally freaking out.

“So, I guess you put together that some things are going down right now. I can’t go into too many details, but things are about to get dangerous. Luca invited Alessandro and I to stay with him for a while since their home is more protected and these guys are known to go after families.”

I nod. That makes sense. So, is he firing me? I know their maid watches the kids for Ashlynn when she is at the office, so I am sure that she will be watching Alessandro from now on. It makes me sad to think that I might not get to see Alessandro everyday anymore. Besides my little meltdown last night, I haven’t thought about leaving town in weeks. I like it here, with Alessandro and Becca and Gio. I really like it here with Gio.

“He invited you too,” Gio adds on.

I still as my eyes widen before I slowly look up at him. “You want me to move into your friend’s house?”

“My friend’s house or your friend’s apartment, what’s the difference?” He jokes with a chuckle but quickly stops when he notices that I am not smiling.

I look at him, mulling over my options. This is the worst idea ever. I just know it. If I stay with them, it will only be a matter of time before my past catches up to me. But the pleading look in Gio’s eyes make it impossible to give him any other answer.

“Okay,” I whisper softly.

He squeezes me to his chest and kisses my head again.

“Thank you,” he says, relief thick in his voice.

I feel touched that he is worried enough about me that he wants me with him. I also feel terrified at what kind of danger I may be putting myself in by associating myself so closely to the Italian Mafia. At this point though, do I really have a choice? I know my feelings for Gio are developing rapidly, too fast for me to be able to stop them.

-

The next day Gio doesn’t go to work. Instead, he packs some things for him while I help Alessandro pack. We told him that we thought it would be fun to spend some more time with the Mariano’s, which he quickly agreed to. The kid has been acting like he just got told we are going to Disneyland ever since.

When we get their bags put into the SUV with the help of two guys that showed up to follow us, we get into the car and start down the road towards Becca’s apartment. We could have come by to grab my stuff when I knew that she would be gone and then make up some bullshit excuse of why I am all of the sudden leaving. Or I can be honest, at least mostly.

I tell Gio to stay in the car and that I will be right back. He looks around hesitantly before giving me a tight nod. I can tell that he is really on edge, which puts me on edge. He is usually always calm cool and collected, so if he is nervous then I should probably be in full blown panic mode.

My key slides inside of Becca’s lock easily before I softly push it in and see Becca sitting cross legged on the couch watching trash TV. She hits pause and turns to me with a naughty smirk.

“You bad girl. You didn’t come home last night, or the night before. Things seem to be going really well with Jared, huh?”

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