Page 83 of Sweet Deception

I'm looking forward to using Luca's soaker tub before going to bed tonight. I've been tense with all the studying and all I want to do is pour a glass of that raspberry champagne Luca got me hooked on and relax in the tub before bed.

As soon as I unlock the door, I rush in and set the alarm. I have anxiety over entering the wrong code and I'm not sure what I'll do if that happens.

Since my mind is solely focused on the alarm, I don't register the noise behind me until I turn around and run into a hard chest.

I don't think, I just react.

Dropping my bag, I scream bloody murder as I bring my knee up to my assailant, catching him in the groin. Realizing too late it's Gio, I freeze with wide eyes and mouth open as he lets out an ungodly whine before bending over and covering his crotch. It takes me a moment to break out of my shock, but when I do, I fan my hands in panic.

"Holy shit! I'm so sorry! Are you ok?" Too afraid to touch him, I look around frantically. For what exactly? I don't know.

When all Gio does is stay bent as he moves his hands to his knees, I have the bright idea to rush to the freezer for a bag of frozen peas. I find one and run back to him. He stands as I near and I don't think, I just slam the bag to his groin. Gio quickly grabs my wrist to pull it back as he curses.

"Jesus woman. What are you trying to do to me?"

When I realize what I've just done, I can't contain my laughter. Gio backs away from me with a glare, ripping the bag of peas out of my hand before limping his way to the kitchen. When I finally get my laughter under control, I follow him, wiping tears from my eyes.

After putting the bag back in the freezer, he grunts at me before limping to the couch.

"I guess that'll teach you not to sneak up on me again." I giggle as the image of him bent over, wheezing, flashes through my mind.

Gio grunts again. "Kneeing a man will stall him, but that won't save you in the long run. If you were my opponent, I'd still be able to take you down." He informs me haughtily.

"Oh, I know. If you'd been an intruder, I would have grabbed the Eiffel Tower statue sitting on the stand by the door and I would have stabbed you with it before hitting the panic button on the alarm and running out of the front door. But since I registered it was you a second after kneeing you in the balls, I showed restraint." I shrug and then move to the other side of the couch.

I get another grunt.

"While as clever as that would've been, if you paid attention to your surroundings, you would've been aware someone was already in the house and you wouldn't have entered."

I sigh.

Gio sneers.

Knee a guy in the balls and he gets grumpy.

"What are you doing here? Not that I don't want to see you, but you've been as MIA as Luca lately." I try to keep the sting out of my voice, but I don't think I manage it when Gio's features soften.

"Things have been busy, but that's about to change." He leans forward to snatch the remote and turn the TV on.

"Oh? How may I ask?"

"Nope. You can ask Luca. For now, I was instructed to come here and wait for him instead of going to the office. We have some details to discuss."

I huff. "Fine. I wanted to take a bath anyway, so I'll leave you both to it and head upstairs." I pad over to the wine fridge to pull out the champagne bottle. There's not much left, so I just take the whole thing with me and try not to get too excited that Luca is coming home early tonight.

It's been another week of just nights and I'm resigned to the fact that this is what it is. Honestly, it just makes things easier. Talia was right. I read too much into Luca's actions in the beginning and I need to keep a level head about our contractual relationship.

I still enjoy my nights with him. He's a generous lover and I'm always satisfied when he finally lets me sleep. He's even affectionate. More times than I can count, I wake lying on top of him. I wasn't sure if I was the one doing that in my sleep until last night. Feeling restless, I was awake when Luca rolled me on top of him and began playing with my hair. I pretended to be asleep and allowed myself to just enjoy the moment. My heart wants to read more into it, but I've been successfully squashing that urge.

At least the situation has made my last weeks of school easier. I haven't had to stress balancing my time between Luca and studying.

Earlier in the week, I called the superintendent at Mom's school and he got me in right away for an interview. I'm nervous, but also excited. Teaching kindergarten class is exactly what I want. The younger kids freely express their emotions and being able to help mold them into future adults will be such a rewarding experience.

I just need to make it through finals week and pass my teacher certification test. Then hopefully, I'll receive a call about the position soon. The pressure is high but I'm feeling pretty confident in both.

I grab my tablet from the nightstand and pad over to the freestanding tub in the bathroom. There's a small circular stand next to it where I place the items before turning the faucet on and adjusting the temperature.

Turning, I kneel by the vanity and open the cabinet door, grabbing the bubble bath from under the sink and pouring it in. The scent of peaches fill the room and I absolutely love it. I remember the morning Luca gave me the bubble bath, saying it reminded him of me. It was one of his sweet gestures that keeps messing with my head.

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