Page 80 of The Bonventi War
"Sorry, sorry." His voice is low, concentrated. "But we need to clean it properly."
"I know." I try to stay still as he works, his face inches from mine, his breath warm against my skin.
I wince again as Gio gently applies antibiotic ointment to the cut. The sting is immediate, but his concentrated gaze on me is almost more disarming than the pain.
"You don't have to do this, you know. I can clean myself up," I say, falling back into my old ways.
"Raven, if we're going to be together, you're going to have to get used to me taking care of you," he says, continuing to fix me up. "And while I don't have to do anything," he says, dabbing gently around my nose, "I want to."
I smile, and my eyes drift past him to my canvas, the one I did for him. The black paint stands out more starkly now against the white background, the word "SORRY" meaning so much more now.
"Did you see my note I left you?" I say softly.
Gio follows my gaze to the canvas. "I did," he says before returning to tend to my face.
Guilt twists in my stomach. "I... I know it was wrong. What I did. With my father, I mean. I just—" I shake my head, words failing me. "I didn't know what to do." I look up at him. "I truly am sorry."
Gio stops and looks at me. "If anything, I should be the one apologizing. I should have stood my ground, stayed, or made your father leave. Then you wouldn't have..."
He can't finish the rest. I hate seeing him like that because it's not his fault. I pushed him away. I quickly change the subject.
"Good thing I grabbed that AirTag, huh?" I add. "Put it in my pocket. I don't even know why. I guess deep down, I wanted you to know where I was."
Gio gives me a smile. "Smart woman."
"I try." I manage a small smile in return.
He continues cleaning my wounds in silence for a moment. His gentle touches and presses are almost hypnotic, relaxing me. Save for the sound of the occasional crinkling of bandage wrappers, it's just nice to be with him in a quiet moment.
Then a question bubbles up inside me, one that's been nagging at me since this all began, or rather, since I cared to acknowledge my feelings for him shifting.
"Why me?" I ask.
"What do you mean?" He doesn't look up from his work as he applies a butterfly bandage to the cut on my cheek.
"I mean, this kind of protection with women, is this how you meet girlfriends?" I say and hide behind a grin. I'm acting casual, but I am curious.
Gio shakes his head. "No. Never." His voice is firm. "But when I first came to the gallery and saw you, there was something about you." He sets the first aid supplies aside and meets my gaze directly. "You got under my skin. And while I didn't know if you were telling the truth or not, I guess subconsciously, I felt it was more likely you were innocent, caught up in a mess."
I feel my heartbeat speed up.
"And with the cameras..." I trail off, watching his face carefully. "Do you like watching me?"
Gio pauses, his expression unreadable for a moment. Then he smiles at me. "Not at first. I mean, you know, it was a job. But I found it harder and harder to justify my time watching you. In the end, you're beautiful, so of course I do."
I roll my eyes but can't help the warmth spreading through me. "God, obsess much?"
He laughs. "At first, I thought my obsession with you was just my way of trying to fix what happened to Marco," he says, his voice lower now. "But I've recently realized that it has nothing to do with that and everything to do with how I feel about you." His hand comes up to cup my face, careful to avoid the bruises. "I'm not one for feelings and all that mushy shit, but I could never stand another man touching you for as long as I live now that I know you. So, yeah, I'm very obsessed with you, Raven."
I bite my lip. "Me too."
"You're obsessed with yourself?"
"No!" I playfully hit his shoulder. "You. I'm obsessed with you. You're the first thing I think about when I wake up, and the last thing I think about before I go to bed. It's exhausting," I say through a smile.
He leans in and kisses me softly.
"Actually, for longer than I even want to admit, I kind of liked knowing you were."
