Page 27 of Gio

I sucked in a deep breath, and I let it out slowly while I squeezed the trigger. The whole world slowed down as I watched the bullet travel down the alley before it tore through the paper target. “It landed! It landed!” I jumped up and down and spun to find Gio right in front of my face. “Did you see that?”

He wore a heart-stopping smile. “Yeah, I saw it. Great job.”

“Thank you.” I took a nervous leap forward and wrapped my arms around his waist. “Thank you,” I whispered again.

“You liked it didn’t you?”

I shook my head. “It’s way too loud and even now my heart is racing like crazy. Honestly? I hope that I never have to shoot a gun but, but it feels really good knowing that if I need to I can.” I hugged him again. “That means a lot to me, Gio.”

His arms went around me and squeezed tight. “Anytime, babe.”

I smiled and took a step back to practice loading the gun on my own. “Babe? Is that what you call your women?”

He laughed. “I don’t call them.”

I glared at him. “Seriously?”

He nodded and shrugged nonchalantly. “They know the score so no one’s feelings are getting hurt. I’m not a bad guy.”

“I know you’re not it’s just, that sounds callous and gross.”

“Now you sound like your brother.” His smile dimmed but only for the questions of seconds. “What about you?”

“What about me?” I fumbled with loading the magazine, grunted a curse and tried again.

“Tell me about your life in California.”

I didn’t want to share the details because they were depressing as hell and hearing them out loud sounded downright pathetic. “Not much to tell. I have a few friends, but I work too much to actually spend any time with them. There’s no one special and there hasn’t been, not even a pet.” I was too scared to look up because I didn’t want to see pity in his hazel eyes. “I can hear you thinking, Gio.”

He sighed. “It’s just that it doesn’t sound like you. When I thought of your life out there, I thought you were happy andfull of life with lots of friends, maybe a chubby cat who left hair all over the place. Movie nights at your place, beach parties and road trips.”

I sighed heavily and took aim at the paper target once again. One steadying breath and I squeezed the trigger three times and then three more times. “You really imagined my life like that?”

“Yeah. Of course I did. You were meant to have that life, Harp. I don’t like that you don’t have it.”

I laughed and turned to face him. “The picture you painted does sound pretty nice.”

His gaze was serious. “Have you considered working for yourself?”

“I have,” I admitted with a nod. “But I’m not ready, at least I don’t feel as if I’m ready. I have some contacts but not enough to rival the big names, and I’m not sure my connections with vendors are enough to get priority over other event planning companies.” I had given it quite a lot of thought over the past twelve months and I was pleased he was so attentive and caring about my career. None of my other boyfriends—notthat Gio was my boyfriend—had ever even asked me about work.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

I shrugged. “You’re just really sweet, Gio.”

He rolled his eyes, but his cheeks went a little pink. “Yeah, that’s me. Sweet as pie. Come on.”

I watched him interact with the guys working the gun range and the store and it reminded me so much of the boy I crushed on throughout my teenage years. He was charming and friendly,so damn personable that everyone around him felt better just by interacting with him.

After I’d handed the gun back and we’d left the range, we stopped beside his bike and he turned to me, circling his hands around my body. “Okay, ready to head home?”

I shook my head as my breath hitched and put my hands on his shoulders. “Not yet.” I pressed my lips to his and he groaned, letting his hands slide down until he was gripping my ass. I pushed closer, deepening the kiss until I was hot and needy and ready to jump him right there in the parking lot.

Gio pulled me close enough that I felt his cock, long and hard against my belly. He growled again and kissed a trail of heat from my mouth to my throat.

I moaned and ran my fingers through his hair, tugging just enough to get his attention. “How fast can we get back to your place?”

He flashed a wolfish smile and put the helmet on my head before he jumped on the bike and motioned for me to join him.

---