Gio

by Kenya Wright

  “He’s lying.”

  “Okay.”

  “What else did he say?”

  She got out of my hold. “Let’s just leave it alone. I figured Ru was overdoing it and lying. I don’t really want to talk about it anymore.”

  “Simone?” I called after her.

  She stopped and turned my way. “Yes.”

  “We won’t be eating in the house. I’m taking you out.”

  She gave me a suspicious look. “Did you happen to purchase a building too?”

  “What?”

  “Nothing.” Finally, her signature smile showed on her face as she walked to me. “Dinner without Ru sounds good.”

  I gave her my arm and she hooked hers around it.

  “We have to get my car out of the garage,” I said.

  We headed down the stone trail. I thought about the comment she’d made earlier.

  “Ru bought a building?”

  “Yes.”

  “Why?”

  “He thought it would be a good place for me to stay while we worked on your album. I thought he’d lost his mind. The place is thirty minutes away and a rat’s nest.”

  I nodded, thinking of how I would rearrange Ru’s face. “You were right. He is a great manager. He’s really being proactive.”

  “Very funny.”

  “Are we going to pretend like he’s not deliberately trying to cock block me?”

  “Well, it’s clearly not working. I don’t think anyone, or anything, could block your cock from me, Gio.”

  I’d had a serious expression and she’d triggered a grin. “Not the point, princess.”

  I pulled out my remote control and pressed a button. The garage’s double doors opened. The lights in the massive room turned on, and the whole space illuminated. My four, shiny blue cars lined the walls, each distinct. All were my favorite.

  I turned to her. “Do you want to drive?”

  “I think I’ve shown enough of my snow driving skills this week.”

  “Fair point.” I grinned. “How hungry are you?”

  “I can wait for a while.”

  “Good. I’ll get you to my favorite spot safely. And once we’re there, we can talk more about your manager.”

  She frowned.

  I’m taking her far away from here.

  Had I known he’d tried to get her to live in a building away from me, I would’ve gotten the jet ready and had her on it tonight.

  We spent the whole ride playing the radio and singing some of the songs. To my embarrassment, one of mine came on, but it was amazing to hear her sing my lyrics. I loved the verses on her tongue. I damn near crashed into another car watching those sexy lips twist and curve.

  My cock went hard, pressing against the jeans. When Simone sung out some of the sexier songs that played on the radio, I wanted to free my cock and have her suck it while I drove. Nothing would’ve been better than to feel that warm, wet mouth sliding up and down my length.

  But I had to control myself. Ru had snuck around and whispered bullshit into her head. Granted, if I was him, I would’ve been worried about me sleeping with Simone too. But I wasn’t him, and I wanted her all to myself.

  He must go.

  It took a few hours to get to Salt Lake City, but we arrived at Bourbon Blues right as the sun set. There were very few cars in high end restaurant’s parking lot. Its small hotel was on the second floor, catering to only high-end guests that paid large amounts for privacy. Most of the city didn’t even know suites were above the restaurant.

  I’d rented out the whole building for tonight, not wanting any people around interrupting us and asking for autographs and selfies. Besides, if the paparazzi had gotten wind of me bringing a woman out here, they would’ve had Simone’s face plastered all over every page in the country, trending for days.

  No. Right now, I just want her all to myself.

  I guided her in.

  After Ru’s stupid stunt, I wanted a truly romantic evening for Simone and had to pull out all the stops—sumptuous cuisine, exquisite flowers, and beautiful surroundings. I’d stressed all those instruction to the owner of Bourbon Blues and he didn’t disappoint.

  Darkness battled with the soothing glow of candlelight. In fact, hundreds of silver and ivory candles as well as delicate flowers spread around the restaurant, forming the space into a romantic scene from Shakespeare’s, A Midsummer Night’s Dream. I half expected a fairy dusted in glitter to take our order.

  Our table sat in the center of the room. Decorated pale pink roses surrounded them. Classical music played in the background.

  A woman stood at the maître d’ station. “Hello, Mr. Ferraro. We’re happy to have you back.”

  “It’s always a pleasure to come here.”

  “This place is amazing.” Simone’s voice was soft against my ear. “Thank you for bringing me.”

  “I hope you enjoy it. If you do, I’ll bring you back here all the time.”

  The woman led us to our table and waited until we were seated before handing us the wine list. I let Simone order the wine and then we decided on our dishes.

  On our right, two men dressed in tuxedos played their violins to a soft melody. Simone curved her lips into a smile. Delicate notes danced around the space.

  Our waiter returned with the bottle, pouring Simone a small sample of the deep, red wine. Simone took a sip, nodded, and the waiter poured the rest of her glass and then mine. While the wine tickled the tongue with flavor, I worried about my beautiful Simone.

  She’d sipped a bit more than I expected. By the time she set the glass on the table, it was far less than when she’d first picked it up. Almost empty. Our waiter hurried over and filled her glass again.

  Simone picked it up and drank some more, before setting it down.

  Worry hit me. “Talk to me, princess. What’s wrong?”

  “I’m fine.”

  I leaned back in my chair, watching her. “Does this deal with more of Ru’s meeting? Like I said before, there’s been no woman in my house since I’ve moved there besides my staff and mother.”

  “You don’t have to say that.” She took another sip and set her glass on the table. “In fact, I’m annoyed that Ru took it there and that this is our conversation tonight. I just wish...”

  “What?”

  “That the both of you would stop worrying about the other.”

  It was a fair point, but one that wouldn’t come true. Ru knew that Simone had caught my attention. There would be no way that I’d step out of Simone’s life, which would annoy the fuck out of Ru. And personally, I liked the idea of her firing him, but I had to approach the topic carefully.

  Simone was strong willed and independent. She reminded me of my mother in that sense. Dad couldn’t tell Mom what to do with her career. Even though he hated certain slime ball directors and producers, he trusted Mom to handle her life and only stepped in when she asked. I wished I could be more like him, but as a child, I’d always been reprimanded for not sharing.

  “I won’t stop worrying about Ru,” I said. “But, I won’t bother you about him. Can we agree to that?”

  “That’s fair.”

  “What else did he tell you that made you worry?”

  She shook her head. “I feel silly even bringing it up.”

  “But, it’s on your mind just the same.”

  She sighed. “Ru said that he’s seen this situation before where usually the guy starts having sex with the singer/songwriter and begins to not want to share her. Eventually, her main purpose is writing a few songs only for him as she’s taking care of him. Finally, she ends up becoming the guy’s sex toy or wife. Either way, her career ends.”

  “And what’s his proof of this?”

  She shrugged. “Over half of the relationships in the industry.”

  I thought about the married ones I knew. Besides my parents and Jason’s, I didn’t personally know a lot of power couples. Ru had a point, of course. Most of the guys I hung with had married wom
an that catered solely to them. Half of the women ended their blossoming careers to wear the ring and get the last name.

  I smiled. “You’re not that type of woman, Simone. I couldn’t stop you from pursuing your career. Neither could Ru or anyone else. I told you before, we’re lucky to have found you, but you’re going to be a star whether we help or not.”

  She looked like she was relaxing for the first time that evening. “Thank you for saying that.”

  “You control your destiny in the end.”

  “I think I needed to be reminded of that. Ru had nothing but negativity.”

  “Perhaps, he has a few points.”

  “Like?”

  “I don’t want to share you, but what Ru doesn’t get is that I know I have no authority over anything you do.” I reached across the table, taking her hands in mine. “So, ignore him. There’s nothing about us that anyone can guess or foretell. Our future steps are up to us.”

  “And what are our future steps?”

  I was scared to answer her. She probably wanted us to take it slow, while I wanted to fast forward to moving her in. The whole time she’d been with him and his meeting, I was thinking she should move in. We could finish my album and then work on hers and then...anything else that came to mind.

  I rubbed my thumb briefly across the soft knuckles of her hands before turning her palm upward and caressing it. “I want you. All of you. Your heart, voice, body, soul. Everything. And I want to give all of me to you. Everything I own. Everything I can offer. That’s how I feel.”

  Her words came out low and shaky. “Do you really?”

  Even though the men played their violins and the restaurant staff silently moved around the space, for me, the room went still, leaving just Simone and me.

  “Princess,” I tried to keep the desperation out of my voice, “I would give you anything, if it meant that you would remain with me forever.”

  Our gazes met. In her eyes, I saw the same passion that had flowed when we’d made love last night.

  “Ru can say whatever he wants.” I brushed my fingertips along her palm. “He can show a diagram, presenting all of the statistical data he’s found on douchebags in the industry.”

  She grinned.

  “He could buy a building, house, car, plane, yacht, whatever to hide you from me or take you away, but still I would be right here, waiting, begging, hoping.”

  She bit her bottom lip, and I wanted to pull her into my arms and suck on it myself.

  “Ru can’t predict what I will do because he’s never seen me in love.”

  She widened her eyes.

  “In fact,” I admitted, “I’ve never seen me in love either. This is my first time, but I know it to be true.” I touched my chest with my free hand. “Every inch of my core feels different, when I’m around you. And when you’re gone, I swear I feel empty. Have you ever felt that way?”

  “I did today, when I was with Ru. I hated the things that he was predicting would happen to us. I hated the thought of you possibly trying to break my heart.”

  “Hmmm.”

  “What?” she asked as the waiter brought our dishes. Savory smoke steamed from both plates.

  “I don’t like that Ru upset you.” I let go of her hand as she prepared to eat. “Is there anything I can do to fix this problem?”

  I could tie a rope around his neck and hang him from a tree. I could buy him a one-way plane ticket to the Middle East. I’m sure Midnight knows a couple of guys that wouldn’t mind kidnapping Ru.

  “We talked about him overstepping today,” she said. “I’ve got it.”

  I nodded. “Okay.”

  She took a bite of her dish and then asked, “Do you think his worrying about you and I is rational?”

  I hadn’t even picked up my fork as I considered the question. “On one hand, if I was him, I wouldn’t be excited that you were sleeping with me. Jason and I had a reputation in the industry. Mine comes more from partying with Jason and people assuming we love the same things.”

  “But you don’t?”

  “Not at all. As you can see, I prefer silence and snowy mountains to drugs, women, and the back-stabbing faux gold streets of Los Angeles.”

  She giggled. “You should never do a commercial for LA.”

  “No, I should not.” I decided to keep it real with her. “Yeah. If I was Ru, I would be worried and keep a close eye, but I wouldn’t have bought a building or created fake gossip about me having women in the house. All of that is a problem.”

  She paused from eating.

  “Regardless of what type of manager you have, you should be able to trust what he says and have faith in his actions. Can you say that about Ru?”

  “I could, before today.”

  I nodded, not wanting to push it any further. In the end, Ru had to go, but I didn’t know how I could do it without upsetting Simone. Thankfully, he was already stepping onto her bad side. I almost didn’t need to put my energy into it. He’d become desperate today. Another day, he’d do something else stupid and then I would happily point and laugh as she fired him.

  She sighed. “I think I have a lot to think about with this situation, but trust me, I’m going to take it one day at a time.”

  “And anytime Ru or anyone else goes to you about me, and it makes you uneasy, come to me.”

  “I will,” she whispered.

  “Good.” I hit her with an intense gaze. “Because after last night, I’m not letting go. I’ll fight Ru and anybody else, if I have to.”

  She grinned. “You won’t have to fight anyone.”

  “But I will. As far as I’m concerned, it’s me and you against the world.”

  “Bonnie and Clyde?”

  “All fucking day, princess.” I toasted to us and she followed, giggling the whole time. “But, tonight...we forget about all of this. I’ve rented the whole place, including the private suites upstairs.”

  “There’s a hotel up there?”

  “Yes, for celebrities wanting privacy. We have the second floor to ourselves.” I’d been annoyed about Ru getting her out of my bed this morning. Tonight, we needed distance between him.

  Sorry, Ru. You’ll have to dance with ghosts all by yourself this evening.

  Chapter 17

  Simone

  There's nothing like music

  to relieve the soul

  and uplift it.

  ~Mickey Hart

  Dinner finished with laughter and flirting. I couldn’t believe I’d allowed Ru to make me upset and unsure of Gio. Granted, I hadn’t dated in a long time. I still needed to relax and give whatever Gio and I had going a chance.

  That night as I sat across from him at the table, listening to him declare how much he’ll be there for me, I decided to let all my assumptions and nervousness go. Maybe I should spend less time overthinking it and more energy enjoying the moments we shared.

  Since he’d rescued me, I spent my days like a princess. And it was time I relished in each day, whether we stayed together forever or not.

  Mama always would say, “Take a step out on faith.”

  She’d said it to me the day I planned on moving to New York to chase my singing dream. I thought she would’ve talked me out of it and tried to get me back in South Carolina. But she understood.

  And I took that step out on faith, as hard as it was, struggling and working to maintain my confidence in an industry that knocked a person down more than built them up.

  Now, I must take a step out on faith with Gio, regardless of what Ru or anybody might say.

  Sometimes, having faith that any situation will work out was the hardest thing to do. It meant that I would have to leave my comfort zone. I’d been all alone these years, partly due to being committed to singing and the other half hiding in fear. I was scared to get my heartbroken again. I was terrified of wasting my time with some guy that wouldn’t treat me right and possibly drag me down. I was horrified of the possibility of someone I loved, walking away.

&nbs
p; And now I would have to step off the ledge, without looking down under my feet, without knowing where I would land and if I would be safe.

  But in the end,

  I would because

  Gio was worth the fall.

  He gave me pleasure, but more importantly, he believed in me. No other man had ever stopped from looking at himself in the mirror and turned to me, wondering about my dreams—my goals. My needs.

  No one ever cared like him.

  I don’t care what Ru thinks. I’m going to see where this goes.

  Even if I crumbled, even if I crashed to the ground ass first, it would all be worth it. The experience of being in his arms, of tasting his lips, of feeling his thick cock moving inside of me...it was worth any possible heartbreak or tears.

  Fuck. I’m falling for him.

  And I didn’t give one damn at all.

  After dinner, he guided me toward a private elevator that he explained only went to our suite. For several quiet seconds, we waited for it to arrive. The whole time, he slipped his gaze along my body. An intense passion filled his eyes. No man had ever looked at me like that. It stirred so many hungry emotions in me and had my heart swelling and ready to burst. He took my breath away.

  He leaned forward. “What’s on your mind, princess?”

  “I’m thinking about you and how special you make me feel.” I lifted one hand and touched one of those chiseled cheeks, not trusting my fingers to go any lower. Being around him made me horny as fuck. I couldn’t wait to get to his room.

  How long had it been where I’d thought of something else besides music? Giovanni had changed everything and had my mind spinning in the whirlwind of him.

  “I make you feel special?” he asked.

  “Yes.”

  “That’s no good. You’re supposed to feel like the most exquisite, breathtaking woman in the whole world.”

  I tossed him a wicked grin. “I feel that way too.”

  “Hmmm. My job is still not done.” With a wicked smile, Gio brought his lips to mine. I could feel the corners of his lips holding that smile and I wondered how else he would rock my world. Then, he deepened the kiss, and that smile of his left as his mouth focused on setting me on fire.