“He's going to love it, take a deep breath because he's on the other side of the door.” Abel doesn't try to stifle his laughter as he pushes the door closed behind me.

I turn around slowly and see Giovanni standing with a group of people a few paces away. His gaze lifts to find me. His eyes go wide and his demeanor changes. Without finishing his conversation, he steps away and makes his way to me. A look I saw the other morning is in his eyes, and my cheeks flush at the memory.

“Bella, you look…” he doesn't finish as his eyes rake up and down my body. I feel my chest and cheeks flame as he makes his interest so publicly known. He shakes his head and leans in, pressing his lips to my ear before quietly murmuring “Amore mio, stasera mi costringerai a uccidere qualcuno.”

My body goes still as I jerk back with an unspoken question in my wide gaze. The lessons his mom and Jade have been giving me allow me to pick out pieces of that. He's going to kill someone? He chuckles before explaining “You don't realize just how tempting you are,Bella.”

His eyes crease in the corners as his smile becomes wicked before he leans in and presses his mouth to my red painted lips, with no care in the word. Thankfully, Brittany got me a transfer proof lipstick. My body becomes pliant as I melt into him ready to take everything he's willing to give. A low growl escapes the man who has my full attention just before he pulls away. My eyes flutter open to see Abel standing next to him with an amused expression, gesturing to us that we need to enter the restaurant.

“Are you sure you're ready for this?” Giovanni's warm chocolate eyes send my heart bouncing around in my chest. The way this man cares for me will never be something I get used to.

My hands loop around Giovanni's bicep as I nod, “I know you won't let anyone hurt me. Right now, I'm more worried about falling in these shoes.” I giggle as we walk together into the classy establishment.

As soon as the hostess sees Giovanni, her demeanor changes slightly as she presses her breasts together and leans in toward him to show off her cleavage. I arch a perfectly manicured brow – thank you Britt – at the exchange. He doesn't seem to notice her behavior as we follow the woman to our table. After he pulls out my chair to help me take my seat, I place my hands on the table, while I watch the scene unfold before me. She places her hand on his forearm and begins to lean into him again, as if she's going to speak into his ear.

“Excuse me, ma'am.” I call for the woman's attention as sweetly as I can muster in my irritated state. “Do you paw at all of your guests this way or only the patrons who are so obviously on a date?”

Giovanni chokes on the water he just lifted to his lips at my directness. The hostess stammers out a pathetic apology before she rushes back to her station. When my eyes land on his face, I'm greeted by the most beautiful smile. His eyes sparkle with pride as he places his hand over mine, squeezing gently.

“Bella, no one holds a candle to you.” He chuckles reassuringly.

My shoulders drop as I let out the breath I'd been holding in an attempt to center myself and not use some of the moves Giovanni has been teaching me on the woman. When I don't reply right away, his hand squeezes mine again.

“It doesn't mean that I'm ok with her touching what's mine.” I roll my eyes, unable to hide my annoyance.

The eyes of every person in the restaurant land on us at one point or another while we're enjoying our meal over conversation. A few people even approach and introduce themselves as Giovanni's colleagues. I just smile and nod while shaking hands with men who look like older versions of my father.

The drive back to Ludovico Estate ends too quickly. Giovanni’s hand lays on top of my thigh with his thumb caressing my bare skin the entire drive. I feel so amped up I inwardly groan when we arrive back at the house. While I may be grateful to be in a safe space of solitude for a while. Ok, not complete solitude, but at least people I know. As soon as we step through the entryway he presses me against the wall, his mouth lands on mine. My lips part in a gasp at the sudden connection, and he wastes no time sliding his tongue inside. His expert tongue explores my mouth like we hadn't just kissed a few hours ago.

The moment he sucks on my tongue, I moan and melt into him, my hands loop around his neck and I let go of everything as we take the time for ourselves. This is the first moment we've been alone since seeing one another tonight. That is until the clicking of heels sound against the hardwood floor inching closer to us. He pulls away and groans as his mother appears from the direction of the living room.

“Oh, good! It looks like you two are having a great night. I was just heading to bed.” Her infectious grin is one I've seen before when we had our talk in the garden. I shake my head and bury my face in Giovanni's chest.

“Goodnight, Mother.” He groans as the sound of her steps sound further in the distance. “Let's get to bed.” His tone changes to something warmer when he speaks to me.

When we get back to our room, he kicks off his shoes into the corner while I stand unsure of what to do. He presses a soft kiss to my forehead before telling me he's going to get a shower before he lays down. Still in a daze as he disappears into the bathroom I find my way to the bed and sit down with my back against the headboard.

I pick up the book I had been reading earlier and dive back in. There's an entire chapter dedicated to the male character burying his face between the female characters legs and the thought has me squirming. I flip the page to find that she's had another orgasm when a low growl startles me from the story.

“What are you reading, Short Stack?” Giovanni asks, he's leaning against the side of the bed, his eyes trained on the paperback book in my hands. His bare chest on full display with water droplets cascading down his dewy skin. I glance down to find he's only in a towel. My throat bobs as I swallow hard at the sight before me.

“Oh, it's just a book that Brittany recommended.” I murmur as I cross my arms over my chest hiding the cover from him.

His brow arches as he sits on the bed next to me.

“It must be pretty damn exciting, because I can smell your arousal from here.” His lips turn up into a wicked smirk.

“Wait, what? I smell? What do you mean I smell!” My eyes widen as I scramble closer to the headboard, dragging my knees into my chest.

Giovanni's deep chuckle reverberates through the room landing directly between my legs. What. The. Fuck. He crawls up the bed, the towel still snug around his waist though I can see it pitched like a fucking tent again. His lips find mine, the tension in my body seeming to dissipate the moment he swipes his tongue against my lips, teasing me.

“Amore mio, it's not a bad thing. You smell delicious.” His face dips to my neck where he sucks gently at a spot just behind my ear causing my back to arch into him. He lifts his face to mine before speaking again. “May I taste you?”

I don't know how to form words. My gaze travels to the book which he moved to the bedside table and back to him as he continues to trail kisses down my chest. My every nerve ending feels like it's on fire. Giovanni's eyes lock on mine as he slides the strap of my black dress and down my shoulders just enough to yank down the top, exposing the lace bra my friend chose. A low growl rumbles up his chest as he dips his fingers into the cups to yank them down. Giovanni sucks in a breath when he sees my breasts for the first time. My nipples pebble so tight it's almost painful until his mouth latches on, sucking the peaked tip so hard I feel my legs begin to tremble. I become frustrated when he pulls back until he latches onto the next one, only to leave me on the edge again.

“Giovanni!” I cry out between pants as he pulls me down a bit further onto the bed.

He grins up at me as he trails kisses down my abdomen over the material of the dress until he carefully tugs up so that my thong covered pussy is exposed, the dress now only covering my midsection.