Page 37 of Glass & Groundwork
Gio's eyes gleamed with interest. “I think I could marry you.”
“Too late, I'm taken,” I wiggled my ring finger in his face, making him chuckle.
“He's a lucky man,” Gio said with a smile that was far too genuine for the joke I meant it to be, giving me butterflies.
“I'd say it's mutual,” I whispered, staring up at him.
Our gazes locked and somethingnotplatonic passed between us. Gio’s brown eyes pierced into mine and I couldn’t move. Before I knew it, he bent down and smashed his mouth against mine. Aside from light kisses on my head or the quick pecks I gave him, we hadn’t kissed like this since the wedding. The surprise gave way to hunger and I grabbed the waist of his jeans, pulling him closer. A loud hum rumbled from the back of Gio’s throat as his tongue dove into my mouth.
Fuck, this wasn’t helping how with horny I already was, and the effect of his kiss and the blood rushing south was dizzying. I was seconds away from grinding against him, needing the friction. Instead, Gio broke the kiss abruptly and stepped back, leaving me wobbly from the loss of him.
Gio caught my arm and steadied me, but then let go, and looked away. “Shit. I’m sorry, Jasper.”
I got closer, getting in his downward line of sight. “Don’t be, Gio. I was a very willing participant. Besides, wearemarried, you’re allowed to kiss me, legallyandmorally. I don’t want you to feel like you have to or that there are any expectations, but I can promise I don’t mind one bit, and you never have to be sorry.”
He gave me a wary smile, his cheeks ruddy beneath the silver and black scruff. “I don’t want you to feel like I have expectations of you, either. That’s not what I did this for.”
I put a hand on his chest and looked him straight in the eye, wanting him to see how sincere I was. “I know, Gio. I never thought that.”
He let out a soft sigh and his eyes brightened slightly at the confirmation, as though it was something he’d been worrying about.
Gio tilted his chin toward the stove. “This all looks delicious. Thank you. You didn’t have to do this.”
I shrugged. “I wanted to. I feel like you’ve done so much for me, it’s the least I can do.”
Gio straightened, his gaze fully clearing now, and the caretaker side of him came back to the forefront. “You don’t need todoanything, this isn’t conditional or duty-based. However, I understand that doing something isn’t just for those receiving, but for the giver as well, and I’ve learned not to take the gift of giving away from people. So, thank you.”
This man was such a fascinating mix of passionate, shy, and nurturing, and I really admired each part of him.
Gio
Icouldn’t stop thinking about the kiss in the kitchen. It had been days since that moment and it was as vivid in my mind as when it happened. Fuck, I could practically still feel his tongue on mine and his hardness pressing into my thigh. He’d given me permission to kiss him anytime, but I was trying not to give in.
The next time I kissed him I might not be able to stop, I barely had the last time. This wasn’t me. Sex and intimacy weren’t priorities in my life, and I was completely fine with that. Had been for twenty years. But now that I’d had a taste of desire with Jasper and the ease in which he showed affection, I wanted more. Except… I didn’t. I didn’t want to feel out of control. So I’d been spending more time with the bees, more time meditatingand trying to rein in whatever it was that was building between me and Jasper.
Sitting among the bees only helped so much when I would come back to the house to find Jasper with his hair tied up, or with his curls hanging around his face, or wearing overalls and a crop top, or wearing crocheted shorts, or…fuck. Anything Jasper did or wore didn’t help the situation. Especially not when I would catch him in quiet moments with the kids, like helping Nicky with her homework, or gossiping with Yahir about celebrity relationship drama.
Jasper really seemed to be intentional about giving his time to them. Of course, I knew part of it was trying to keep himself occupied while waiting for his work bench to be ready, but it wasn’t just that. He was showing an interest in each individually, and it really touched my heart to see. Jasper was finding his place here, and the kids had all taken a liking to him.
Most surprising was the way Noah seemed to be growing more comfortable with him. We didn’t talk as much as I would like, but I was trying to give him space to process and grieve the changes in his and Nicky’s lives. It wasn’t that we didn’t connect at all, there were rare moments when Noah would show his appreciation. He was slow to trust, though, and I knew he was bracing himself for the possibility of having his life uprooted again. When the people who were supposed to love you unconditionally revealed that there were, in fact, conditions, it was hard to allow that kind of bond again.
I wasn’t trying to replace their parents, but I was trying to allow them to know and feel that they were safe and that they weren’t going anywhere unless they chose to. It took time. Jasper had the benefit of being younger and not looking or feeling like a parental figure, but like a cool, fun uncle who was easier to connect to.
Nicky and Noah were watching a show after dinner. Noah tended to watch from behind a book, but it was his time to unwind with his sister. I was doing dishes in the kitchen but had enough of a line of sight into the living room to see Jasper ask to join them. He sat beside Noah, and, at first, was simply watching the show with them. I could hear their voices rise and glanced over to find Jasper and Noah facing each other, talking animatedly. As much as I wanted to give them space, my curiosity was piqued to see what they were going on about. It was rare Noah showed any kind of excitement.
I turned off the faucet in an effort to eavesdrop, totally uncool, but I couldn’t help it.
“Yes! That’s exactly what I thought when I first read it,” Noah exclaimed.
“Right? Like it’s so obvious the author has written himself into the story, you just know he was pining for the lover he could never have,” Jasper replied. They continued their conversation and I tried to return my focus to the dirty dishes. A smile stretched wide as I scrubbed melted cheese off the plates from the omelets Frankie and Jasper made for dinner.
Books. I should have known. I figured they were a security blanket of sorts, and tried to simply leave Noah be when he was reading, but Jasper managed to find something he wanted to talk about. The man was remarkable.
The rest of the evening, I was completely distracted, as I tried not to look like I was watching him, but Jasper kept drawing my attention, even without meaning to. Everything he did enraptured me. Every laugh, every touch, every moment with my kids, every glance my way, and every shared smile. He made me happy. And he made mewant. Not just physically, though, yes, that was getting harder to ignore, but emotionally, too. He made me want this to be real.
When we retired to our room that night, Jasper was extra fidgety. I had already changed into my sweat shorts and A-shirt, while Jasper stood, wearing his pants, as if he was debating taking them off. He would usually be stripped down to his briefs by now. Jasper said he slept better without clothes, and since I’d already seen him in his underwear the first time he stayed the night, I didn’t think anything of it. Of course, it had been torturous, too, with so much bare skin on display, and waking up each morning with his chest on mine. Jasper usually was gracious enough to ignore the stiffy I often woke with.
Something was different tonight, though. He didn’t get in bed right away. He was standing with his hands on his hips with an expression that looked miles away. The uncertainty I saw made my protectiveness flare up.
