Page 34 of Gio

It felt as if an entire lifetime had passed since then and throughout it all Gio was here, at my side.

My lover.

My protector.

Potentially, my everything.

Chapter 20

Gio

What the hell is taking her so long?

I sat inside the room I used when I stayed at the clubhouse, which I did a lot over the past eighteen months that I spent as a prospect, wondering if Harper would ever emerge from the bathroom. I took advantage of her time to herself to leave a message for Cole because it was best that he found out from me, rather than anybody else, that the Blood Reapers had attempted to kidnap or kill his baby sister. “She’s fine, at least in terms of physical injury. You know Harp, she’s putting on a good face, but I can tell it got to her, because of course it did. She’s a normal fucking person and this is far from the usual of her life. Anyway, yeah, that’s what happened. Call me when you get a chance.”

I stared at the green door that separated me from Harper, wondering if she was okay in there because she’d been in there with the shower running for twenty minutes—at least—and I hadn’t heard a fucking peep out of her. Every part of me wanted to go in there to check on her, but I knew she needed time and space to process everything. It was Harper’s way. She wasn’t a dramatic woman, but she always required space to deal with change. And trauma.

“Gio, are you there?” Her voice was small on the other side of the door, muffled by the shower spray.

But I heard it, and I stood right at the door for a full minute before I twisted the knob and stepped inside. “You okay, Harp?”

She shook her head in the shower as she scrubbed her skin. “No,” she answered in a small voice. “I can’t get the smell of his blood out of my skin or my hair. I can still feel his brain on my face. I can still see it,” she cried, and I was at her side in an instant.

“Harper, you’re okay,” I told her and gripped her shoulders. Her body was naked and beautiful, and I let my gaze rake over every inch of her, appreciating the view while also taking her concerns seriously. “The blood is gone, your mind just hasn’t accepted it yet.”

Harper shook her head. “No, it’s not. I need you to make it stop. Make it go away, Gio. Make me forget it all. Please.” Her voice was a soft, gentle plea and one I knew I was powerless to deny.

“Harp.” My hands slid over her wet hair and down her water-slicked body until they settled at her hips.

“Please, Gio.”

It was a bad idea, to give into our desires when we were both in such a delicate state, but I also knew that I couldn’t deny her—or us—this moment. I couldn’t stop myself if I wanted to and the last thing I wanted was to stop the bullet train that was Harper and I. Something within her called out to me and when she beckoned me, I came. “Anything you need, Harp. I’m here.” I stripped down quickly and joined her under the hot shower spray.

She smiled up at me, her full lips soft and pliant, her gaze dark and filled with affection as she cupped my face. “You are too good to be true, Gio.”

“Maybe I just want you that bad,” I said and cupped her face for a long moment before our lips made contact. I kissed her slowly at first but when I bit down on her lower lip and she moaned, all hope for anything slow, and gentle was lost. “So fucking bad,” I pressed my forehead to hers.

Her gaze was black with desire as she slid her hands up my abs and over my chest until her fingers speared through my wet hair. “Yes,” she moaned and pushed her body towards mine.

I pulled back from the kiss and reached for the soap first, lathering up her body in slow circles until her breaths came out in short, sharp pants. I tackled her hair next, lathering it up and letting the hot spray rinse the soap from her hair and her body. “I like you like this, wet and slick and sudsy.”

“Yeah,” she asked breathlessly. “You do?”

“Fuck yeah,” I growled. “Your tits are shiny, and your nipples are hard. The leftover suds are hiding in interesting places.

She gasped at my touch, crying out when I pinched one nipple and then the other. “Gio.”

I smiled to myself as I turned her to face the shower wall, placing one hand and then the other on the wall before I spread her legs wide. “Arch for me baby.”

Like a good girl, she did as I demanded.

My fingers found her wet and hot, pulsing with need. I fucked her with my index and middle finger, pumping in long strokes that stoked the flames of her passion until she trembled with the need to come. “You’re so fucking wet. So hot. I love it.”

“Show me,” she said, her voice filled with lust.

I stepped behind her and in one smooth move, I was buried balls deep in her wet heat. “Fuck,” I growled.

“Yes, Gio! Oh fuck,” she panted and smacked the shower wall.

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