Page 78 of Wild Card

She stretches when I pet her and purrs gustily.

“How did you get her?” I ask.

“She helped us find you,” he says. “And when Freddie’s family had to leave quickly, I was worried they’d leave her behind, so I went to look for her, and I was right.”

“I thought I’d imagined her.” I say, stroking her soft fur. “What’s her name?”

“Sugar. Because of the bakery. And she’s a sweetheart too.”

“Hi, Sugar. Thank you for hanging out with me when I was hurt.”

A pained look crosses Gio’s face. I scratch Sugar’s chin, and she pushes her little face into my hand.

“If we’re going to make this work, you can’t keep holding all that guilt. You’re just my neighbor now. A sexy as fuck, massive Italian man who happened to open a bakery two doors from my place.”

He huffs out a laugh. “You’re the one who’s sexy as fuck. But I’ll do my best to keep up. And I want to take care of you, Catriona. I know you’re a strong woman. I love that and I don’t want you to change anything about you. But you shouldn’t have to do everything on your own.”

“That would be nice.” And it would. I am independent, and I like doing things on my own. But I also like having someone like Gio in my corner. He makes me feel safe and wanted. I rise up to meet him and take his hands in mine.

“Not to be presumptuous,” he begins.

I interrupt him.

“Do you even have a bed yet? Not that we need it but…”

“Christ. Yes. The bedroom’s just off to the side over there. But that’s not what I meant. I mean not yet. I have something I want to give you.”

“Is it cannoli related?”

He takes my hand and presses it to his cock. He’s hard and I stroke him through his pants. He sucks in a breath.

“Fuck, Beauty. I’ll give you that, too. But first…” He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a little velvet bag. “Happy birthday, my fairy princess.”

I open it and find a gold necklace with a little horn on the end.

“It’s for protection,” he murmurs.

I hand him the necklace and turn my back to him, pulling my hair up on my head. He secures the necklace and kisses my neck.

“It’s supposed to ward off evil,” he says, punctuating his words with kisses. “I’m going to look after you, Catriona. But I want you to have this too.”

I turn around and hug him.

“Thank you. It’s beautiful.”

He takes my hand and leads me into the bedroom. There’s not much furniture yet, but there’s a giant bed pushed up against one wall.

“You are the sexiest, most amazing woman I’ve ever met,” he says, running his hands down my sides. “You’re perfect, Catriona. And I’ll do whatever it takes to be worthy of a woman like you.”

He strokes my face, and I close my eyes, enjoying his touch.

“I love you, Gio.” It feels strange to say, but it’s true, and I never want to be afraid of my feelings.

He presses a series of hot kisses down my neck.

“Fuck, I love you too. I love everything about you.”

I drag him onto the bed, and he maneuvers me on top of him, rocking his hips against me as he teases his fingers under my skirt.

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