Page 24 of Georgia On My Mind (Southern Promises)

“Yes, Georgia is my birth name, but I go by Gia now. It’s a long, long story, Hart. One that I really don’t want to get into with you.”

His face fell, and he felt like he had just ruined their perfect morning together. “I’m sorry, Gia. I didn’t mean to pry. I’m just so damned attracted and interested in you… I want to get to know the real you. That’s all.”

Her head jerked, and she looked at him with narrow eyes. “The real me? That’s what you want to know?”

“Well, yeah…”

She shook her head and stared off into the distance. “There was no ‘real me’ until my Aunt Caroline took me in. That’s when I changed my name to ‘Gia.’ That’s when my life really started.”

Hart knew he was getting close to something, the salesman in him wanting to coerce her into telling him more—he couldn’t help himself. “Well, what happened before the name change?”

He watched her chug the sunny liquid in her glass and wipe her pink lips with the back of her hand. Her blue eyes appeared darker. “Hart, you really have no idea what you’re asking me. I had a pretty traumatic childhood, and as I said before, it’s something I don’t care to re-live by telling you all about it.”

Standing, he knew he had crossed a line and held his hand out in a truce, trying to salvage their time together. Gia hesitated before allowing him to pull her up out of the chair and into his sturdy arms. He could feel her shaking.

“You’re trembling.” Running his hand down the back of her hair, he gripped her tighter. “I’m so sorry, Gia. I won’t bring it up again.” He could feel her nod into his chest.

They continued to embrace, neither one of them saying a word. He kissed her temple and leaned his forehead on the top of her head, silently chastising himself for ruining the morning. Her soft lips grazed his cheek, peppering his skin with subtle kisses, surprising him. Pulling back, he looked into her eyes, cupping her face gently with his hands. The first kiss he offered was on her forehead, then her eyes, cheeks, nose and finally, her mouth. Her hands fisted in his shirt as she opened up to him, their tongues, tentative at first before passion consumed them.

Hart couldn’t hold back. His hands slid down her curves and gripped her buttocks. Gia’s kisses were like gasoline on his fire, igniting something primal from within.

“Take me to your bedroom,” she whispered breathily into his ear. He couldn’t speak, grasping her hand and leading her quickly through the house, up the stairs and into the spare bedroom that had become his home for almost a year. He stood within inches of the bed and watched her close the door behind them. Her blue eyes had life in them again; her eyebrow arched provocatively as she moved toward him like a jungle cat. Her short, dark hair was tousled from their make-out session, and her sweater hung dramatically off one shoulder, dangerously close to revealing her bare breast. There was no way she was wearing a bra under that thing.

She jerked at his pants, making him inhale sharply, his bulging boner apparent. With his pants around his ankles, he was at her mercy as he stood there in his boxers. She lifted the edges of his t-shirt and swiftly brought it up and over his head before freeing herself from her sweater. He was right—she was braless underneath. He reached out to touch her full breasts, her hand immediately grabbing at his wrist.

“No. Not yet,” she whispered lustfully. He nodded and let her lead the way. As she slowly eased herself down to the floor onto her knees, she took his boxers down with her. When her soft hands finally touched his sensitive hardness, he shivered with want. She looked up at him and smiled before leaning forward with her mouth wide open. As her lips came down on his skin, he held his breath. Closing his eyes, he ran his hand over her head and pulsed to the slow rhythm of her mouth sucking his penis. She used her tongue to run his length and sucked on his balls, causing him to see stars.

“Do you like that?” He heard her ask.

“Oh, god, yes. You’re incredible.”

Her mouth consumed him, and she gripped him harder, twirling her wet tongue around his shaft. He fisted his hands in her hair, pushing deeper into her mouth, aware that he was about to come undone.

“Gia… I can’t…I can’t hold back much longer.” She nodded, sucking him even harder. “Gia!”

Releasing himself from her mouth, she took hold of him and jerked him off until he came all over her bare chest. He swayed backward and sat unexpectedly on the bed, the aftershocks of the sexual encounter pulsating through his body. He tried to get a hold of his breathing as he took in the image of Gia biting her lip, her chest glistening in the daylight with his manhood. Grabbing his t-shirt, he ran it across her breasts.

“I’m sorry about that. I made a mess.”

Not saying a word, she watched him intently, her nipples erect as he cleaned her off. When he finished, he tossed the shirt across the room where it landed on the floor near a chair. “Stand up for me,” he requested.

When she was standing, he ran his hands up and down her exposed skin before slowly untying the drawstring of her pants. They fell to the ground, and she stepped out of them. The fabric of her panties curled in on itself as he tugged and pulled them off. She stepped out of those too.

Looking up at her with wide eyes, he ran his fingers across her soft mound. “You’re so fucking beautiful,” he managed to utter. He continued, dipping his finger into her wetness, causing her to moan. “Oh, yes.” Gripping his shoulders, she looked down at him moving to the rhythm of his hand.

“I want to make love to you, Gia. I have protection in the nightstand.”

Not a word was said as she pushed him down on the bed and straddled him. Chuckling, he shook his head. “You may be in charge at the dance studio, but right now, I want to drive this train.” Grasping her shoulders, he quickly flipped her over to where he was straddling her. Stretching his arm, he reached for the nightstand, opened the drawer, and pulled out a silver packet, his growing bulge throbbing between his thighs.

“You want me, Gia?” he asked, his breath quickening.

She nodded beneath him. He leaned down and skirted his lips across her cheek, leaning into her ear. “I wanna hear you say it.”

She swallowed hard before he heard her sweet voice. “Please, I need you now.”

Quickly, he ripped at the foil packet and fumbled to get the condom on his engorged manhood. Gia helped, gently holding him in place. Their eyes locked in on each other as Hart eased himself into her wet folds. She gasped, arching her back, the tightness sending a jolt of pure pleasure through his body. Wrapping her strong legs around his waist, they moved together in a steady rhythm, climbing faster and faster. It had been a long, long time since he had been with a woman, even longer since he had been with someone so utterly perfect for him. Gripping her gorgeous body in his arms, he shuddered in delicious pain as his orgasm hit him head on, and for a moment, ecstasy consumed him.

Chapter Fourteen

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