I’d kill anyone who even looked at them.
“Gio, put me down. Gio.” Her small fists pummeled my arms and shoulders. “You’re scaring me.”
I regretted that, but it couldn’t be helped. If I’d had any sanity left, I would’ve scared myself. “I’m calling Fox to come get you. I’ll wait with you.”
“No, no, you can’t.” Real panic flashed over her face, more than she’d shown in that horrible back room. Miles more. “He can’t know I come down here. I have no reason to be in the city this late. He’ll flip out.”
I moved to the side of the sidewalk and stopped momentarily. “He should flip out.”
“No, God, please. My sister can’t find out. It’ll kill her.” She gripped the collar of my shirt and pulled with her surprisingly strong hands until I had no choice but to meet her gaze.
Oh, I had a choice. But I needed that quick glimpse into those beautiful, kind eyes. I needed to see there was still gentleness in the world.
That I hadn’t obliterated the gentleness in her tonight.
“It could’ve killed you,” I said, giving in to the urge to touch her eyelashes, starred with rain. The fringed line of them came off on my fingertips and I stared at them, wishing I could wash her face clean off all that gunk and artifice.
She wasn’t meant for this. This was all my fault.
“You saved me,” she began.
My stare made her fall silent. “I didn’t save you. I fucked you,” I said harshly, continuing even when she flinched. She needed to understand. I couldn’t allow her to romanticize a moment of this night, even if it would allow my damaged soul a respite. I didn’t deserve it. “That’s not saving. I hurt you.”
“You didn’t. Goddammit, no, you listen to me—”
Ignoring her, I started walking again. I jostled her against my chest and grabbed her feet, tugging them closer to my body. “I’ll drive you home then.”
“No. I can’t go home dressed like this. My street clothes are in my locker. If my sister sees me made up like this, wearing this,” she fingered her obscenely short skirt, “she’ll go postal.”
“You’re a grown woman. You can wear what you want.” Obviously, I added in my head. Otherwise she wouldn’t have been stripping, putting her beautiful body on display for all those leering, jeering assholes.
I hadn’t even seen all of her body. I didn’t have the right to. But so many of them had.
Her choice, her right. Even as my mamma’s teachings echoed in my head, I fought them. I didn’t want her stripping for my own selfish reasons. She was too perfect, too precious. They didn’t deserve to see those secret parts of her. None of them did.
“It’s different with Mia. She has her reasons.” She swiped rain off her cheeks, but the thick makeup remained. “Please put me down. I can walk.”
“It’s not far. I don’t want you to injure your feet.” Even as I said it, I wanted to laugh at my own ridiculousness.
You just fucked her senseless, but God forbid she get a pebble between her toes.
She didn’t speak again until we reached my Escalade in the parking garage up the block. I finally set her down beside the truck and she took that opportunity to grab both of my cheeks and drag my face down to hers.
“Don’t—”
“I liked it. I wanted it,” she said over my objections. “I came for you,” she whispered, and every part of me went still and hard. Even my cock. I hated that it took so little from her to affect me, but she was worse than my Achilles’ heel. She got to me on a level no one had since Em—
Cutting my thoughts off, I pulled away from her and unlocked the doors. I yanked the passenger one open and gestured. “Get inside.”
“Gio, you can’t avoid this forever.”
“Forever?” I barked out a laugh and rounded the hood. “It’s been fifteen fucking minutes.”
Fifteen minutes since I was inside you. Fifteen minutes since I emptied myself—
Oh, shit.
I climbed inside and waited, breath backing up in my chest, until she climbed in and shut the door. “We didn’t use protection.” I swallowed and stared straight ahead. “You have to get the morning after pill.”